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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #52400 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52400)
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-The Project Gutenberg eBook of Brothers, by Famous Men of Ancient
-Times, by S. G. Goodrich
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
-will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
-using this eBook.
-
-Title: Famous Men of Ancient Times
-
-Author: S. G. Goodrich
-
-Release Date: June 23, 2016 [eBook #52400]
-[Most recently updated: June 27, 2022]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
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-Produced by: Haragos Pál and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
-at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously
-made available by The Internet Archive)
-
-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAMOUS MEN OF ANCIENT TIMES ***
-
-
-
-
-                              FAMOUS MEN
-                                  OF
-                            ANCIENT TIMES.
-
-                                  BY
-
-                            S. G. GOODRICH.
-
-
-                                BOSTON:
-
-                      THOMPSON, BROWN & COMPANY.
-                           23 HAWLEY STREET.
-
-
-
-
-                                PREFACE
-
-
-The reader of these pages will perhaps remark, that the length of the
-following sketches is hardly proportioned to the relative importance of
-the several subjects, regarded in a merely historical point of view.
-In explanation of this fact, the author begs leave to say, that, while
-he intended to present a series of the great beacon lights that shine
-along the shores of the past, and thus throw a continuous gleam over
-the dusky sea of ancient history,—he had still other views. His chief
-aim is moral culture; and the several articles have been abridged or
-extended, as this controlling purpose might be subserved.
-
-It may be proper to make one observation more. If the author has been
-somewhat more chary of his eulogies upon the great men that figure in
-the pages of Grecian and Roman story, than is the established custom,
-he has only to plead in his vindication, that he has viewed them in the
-same light—weighed them in the same balance—measured them by the same
-standard, as he should have done the more familiar characters of our
-own day, making due allowance for the times and circumstances in which
-they acted. He has stated the results of such a mode of appreciation;
-yet if the master spirits of antiquity are thus shorn of some portion
-of their glory, the writer still believes that the interest they
-excite is not lessened, and that the instruction they afford is not
-diminished. On the contrary, it seems to him that the study of ancient
-biography, if it be impartial and discriminating, is one of the most
-entertaining and useful to which the mind can be applied.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                               CONTENTS.
-
-
-                                                    PAGE
-
-          MOHAMMED,                                    7
-
-          BELISARIUS,                                 25
-
-          ATTILA,                                     60
-
-          NERO,                                       68
-
-          SENECA,                                     74
-
-          VIRGIL,                                     83
-
-          CICERO,                                     95
-
-          JULIUS CÆSAR,                              130
-
-          HANNIBAL,                                  145
-
-          ALEXANDER,                                 157
-
-          ARISTOTLE,                                 183
-
-          DEMOSTHENES,                               197
-
-          APELLES,                                   209
-
-          DIOGENES,                                  213
-
-          PLATO,                                     218
-
-          SOCRATES,                                  229
-
-          ALCIBIADES,                                244
-
-          DEMOCRITUS,                                252
-
-          PERICLES,                                  256
-
-          ARISTIDES,                                 261
-
-          ÆSOP,                                      264
-
-          SOLON,                                     271
-
-          LYCURGUS,                                  277
-
-          HOMER,                                     282
-
-          CONFUCIUS,                                 291
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                      FAMOUS MEN OF ANCIENT TIMES
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                               MOHAMMED.
-
-
-This individual, who has exercised a greater influence upon the
-opinions of mankind than any other human being, save, perhaps, the
-Chinese philosopher Confucius, was born at Mecca, in Arabia, A. D.
-570. He was the only son of Abdallah, of the noble line of Hashem and
-tribe of Koreish—descendants of Ishmael the reputed progenitor of the
-Arabian race.
-
-The Koreishites were not only a commercial people, and rich by virtue
-of their operations in trade, but they were the hereditary guardians
-of the Caaba, or Kaaba, a heathen temple at Mecca. The custody of this
-sacred place, together with all the priestly offices, belonged to the
-ancestors of Mohammed.
-
-The Mohammedan authors have embellished the birth of the prophet with a
-great variety of wonderful events, which are said to have attended his
-introduction into the world. One of these is, that the Persian sacred
-fire, kept in their temples, was at once extinguished over all Arabia,
-accompanied by the diffusion of an unwonted and beautiful light. But
-this and other marvels, we leave to the credulity of the prophet’s
-followers.
-
-Mohammed’s father died early, and his son came under the guardianship
-of his uncle, Abu Taleb. He was a rich merchant, who was accustomed
-to visit the fairs of Damascus, Bagdad, and Bassora—three great and
-splendid cities, and Mohammed often accompanied him to these places.
-In his twelfth year, Mohammed took part in an expedition against
-the wandering tribes that molested the trading caravans. Thus, by
-travelling from place to place, he acquired extensive knowledge, and,
-by being engaged in warlike enterprise, his imagination became inflamed
-with a love of adventure and military achievements. If we add to
-this, that he had naturally a love of solitude, with a constitutional
-tendency to religious abstraction; and if, moreover, we consider that
-in his childhood he had been accustomed to behold the wild exercises,
-the dark ceremonies, and hideous rites of the temple of Caaba—we
-shall at once see the elements of character, and the educational
-circumstances, which shaped out the extraordinary career of the founder
-of Islamism.
-
-It appears that Mohammed was remarkable for mental endowments, even in
-his youth, for, in a religious conversation with a Nestorian monk, at
-Basra, he showed such knowledge and talent, that the monk remarked to
-his uncle, that great things might be expected of him. He was, however,
-attentive to business, and so completely obtained the confidence of his
-uncle, as a merchant, that he was recommended as a prudent and faithful
-young man, to Khadijah, a rich widow, who stood in need of an agent to
-transact her business and manage her affairs. In this capacity he was
-received, and so well did he discharge his duties, that he not only won
-the confidence of the widow, but finally obtained her hand in marriage.
-This event took place when he was about twenty-five years old, Khadijah
-being almost forty.
-
-Mohammed was now rich, and, though he continued to carry on mercantile
-business, he often retired to a cave, called Heva, near Mecca, where
-he resided. He also performed several journeys to different parts
-of Arabia and Syria, taking particular pains to gather religious
-information, especially of learned Jews and Christians.
-
-For some time, Mohammed, who lived happily with his wife, confided
-to her his visits to the cave Heva, professing to enjoy interviews
-with Heaven there, by means of dreams and trances, in which he met
-and conversed with the angel Gabriel. There is little doubt that his
-habits of religious retirement and gloomy reflection had unsettled
-his judgment, and that he now gave himself up to the guidance of
-an overwrought fancy. It is probable, therefore, that he believed
-these visions to be of divine inspiration; else, why should he first
-communicate them, as realities, to his wife?
-
-Soon after this, he informed other members of his family of his
-visions, and, being now about forty years old, assumed with them,
-the character and profession of a prophet. Several of his friends,
-particularly his wife, and his cousin Ali, a young man of great energy
-of character, yielded to the evidence he gave of his divine mission.
-Having been silently occupied about three years in converting his
-nearest friends, he invited some of the most illustrious men of the
-family of Hashem to his house, and, after conjuring them to abandon
-their idolatry, for the worship of ONE GOD, he openly proclaimed his
-calling, and set forth, that, by the commands of Heaven, revealed
-through the angel Gabriel, he was prepared to impart to his countrymen
-the most precious gift—the only means of future salvation.
-
-Far from being convinced, the assembly was struck silent with mingled
-surprise and contempt. The young and enthusiastic Ali, alone, yielded
-to his pretences, and, falling at his feet, offered to attend him, in
-good or evil, for life or for death. Several of the more sober part of
-the assembly sought to dissuade Mohammed from his enterprise; but he
-replied with a lofty fervor, that if the sun were placed in his right
-hand, and the moon in his left, with power over the kingdoms they
-enlighten, he would not, should not, could not hesitate or waver in his
-course.
-
-Inflamed by the opposition he met with among this assembly, Mohammed
-now went forth, and, wherever he could find crowds of people, there he
-announced his mission. In the temples, in the public squares, streets,
-and market-places, he addressed the people, laying claim to the
-prophetic character, and setting forth the duty of rejecting idolatry,
-for the worship of one God. The people were struck with his eloquence,
-his majesty of person, the beautiful imagery he presented to their
-minds, and the sublime sentiments he promulgated. Even the poet Lebid
-is said to have been converted by the wonderful beauty and elevation
-of the thoughts poured forth by the professed prophet. The people
-listened, and, though they felt the fire of his eloquence, still they
-were so wedded to their idolatries, that few were yet disposed to join
-him.
-
-To aid in understanding the revolution wrought by Mohammed, it may
-be well to sketch the condition of the Arabians at that period. The
-original inhabitants of Arabia, though all of one stock, and occupying
-a peninsula 1200 miles in length by 700 in width, had been, from
-time immemorial, divided into a variety of distinct tribes. These
-constituted petty communities or states, which, often changing, still
-left the people essentially the same. In the more elevated table lands,
-intersected by mountain ridges, with dreary wastes consisting of sandy
-plains, the people continued to pursue a roving life, living partly
-upon their flocks of camels, horses, and horned cattle, and partly
-upon the robbery of trading caravans of other tribes. The people of the
-plains, being near the water, settled in towns, cultivated the soil,
-and pursued commerce.
-
-The various tribes were each governed by the oldest or most worthy
-sheik or nobleman. Their bards met once a year, at Okhad, holding a
-fair of thirty days, for the recitation of their productions. That
-which was declared to be the finest, was written in gold and suspended
-in the great temple of Mecca. This was almost the only common tie
-between the several states or tribes, for, although they nominally
-acknowledged an emir, or national chief, they had never been brought to
-act in one body.
-
-The adoration of the Arabians consisted chiefly in the worship of the
-heavenly luminaries; but they had a great variety of deities, these
-being personifications of certain powers in nature, or passions in
-mankind. They were represented by idols of every variety of shape,
-which were gathered around the ancient temple of Caaba, at Mecca, a
-large square edifice, considered as the central point of religion, and
-the favorite seat of divinity. Their worship was attended with the most
-horrid rites and shocking ceremonies: even children were sacrificed to
-the idols, and one of the tribes was accustomed to bury their daughters
-alive. Except that they fancied the souls of the departed to be
-transformed into owls, hovering in gloom around the grave, it does not
-appear that they had the least idea of a future state of existence.
-
-Such was the state of religion among the native Arabians. Among the
-foreign settlers in the towns there were a few followers of the Greek
-and Roman philosophy; the Christians were never numerous. These latter
-were divided into a variety of sects, and those belonging to the Greek
-church, advocated monasteries, and were addicted to the worship of
-images, martyrs and relics. Some of these, even elevated the Virgin
-Mary into a deity, and addressed her as the third person in the Trinity.
-
-Mohammed, while he no doubt looked with horror upon this state of
-things, having studied the Bible, and clearly comprehended its sublime
-revelation of one God, conceived the idea of uniting the people of
-his native land under a religion of which this fundamental principle
-should constitute the basis. His purpose was to crush idolatry, and
-restore the lost worship of the true God. How far he was sincere, and
-how far he was an impostor, we cannot venture to affirm. It is probable
-that he was a religious enthusiast, deceived by his own fancies, and,
-perhaps, really believing his own visions. At the outset of his career,
-it is likely that he acted in good faith, while he was himself deluded.
-When he had advanced so far as to see power and dominion offered
-to his grasp, it is probable that his integrity gave way, and that
-thenceforward we are to consider him as under the alternate guidance of
-craft and fanaticism.
-
-Several of the nobles citizens of Mecca were finally converted by
-Mohammed. Khadijah was now dead, and the prophet had married Ayesha,
-the daughter of Abubeker, a man of great influence, and who exercised
-it in favor of his son-in-law. Yet the new faith made little progress,
-and a persecution of its votaries arose, which drove them to
-Abyssinia, and caused Mohammed himself to fly for safety to Medina.
-This flight is called the Hegira, and, taking place in the year 622, is
-the epoch from which Mohammedan chronology is computed, as is ours from
-the birth of Christ.
-
-At Medina, whither his tenets had been carried by pilgrims, Mohammed
-was received with open arms. He was met by an imposing procession,
-and invested at once with the regal and sacerdotal office. The people
-also offered him assistance in propagating his faith, even by force,
-if it should be required. From this moment, a vast field seems to have
-been opened to the mind of Mohammed. Hitherto, he may have been but a
-self-deceived enthusiast; but now, ambition appears to have taken at
-least partial possession of his bosom. His revelations at once assumed
-a higher tone. Hitherto he had chiefly inculcated the doctrine of one
-God, eternal, omnipotent, most powerful and most merciful, together
-with the practical duties of piety, prayer, charity, and pilgrimages.
-He now revealed, as a part of his new faith, the duty of making war,
-even with the sword, to propagate Islamism, and promised a sensual
-paradise to those who should fall in doing battle in its behalf. At the
-same time he announced that a settled fate or destiny hung over every
-individual, which he could not by possibility alter, evade, or avert.
-
-He now raised men, and proceeded, sword in hand, to force the
-acknowledgment of his pretensions. With alternate victory and defeat,
-he continued to prosecute his schemes, and at last fell upon the towns
-and castles of the peaceful and unwarlike Jews. These were soon taken
-and plundered. But the prophet paid dearly for his triumph. A Jewish
-female, at the town of Chaibar, gave him poison in some drink, and,
-though he survived, he never fully recovered from the effects of the
-dose.
-
-Thus advancing with the tribes settled in his own country, the power of
-the ambitious apostle increased like the avalanche in its overwhelming
-descent. Mecca was conquered, and yielded as well to his faith as
-to his arms. He now made expeditions to Palestine and Syria, while
-his officers were making conquests in all directions. His power was
-soon so great, that he sent messages to the kings of Egypt, Persia,
-and Ethiopia, and the emperor of Constantinople, commanding them to
-acknowledge the divine law revealed through him.
-
-At last, in the tenth year of the Hegira, he proceeded on a farewell
-pilgrimage to Mecca. The scene was imposing beyond description. He was
-attended by more than a hundred thousand of his followers, who paid
-him the greatest reverence. Everything in dress, equipage and imposing
-ceremony that could enhance the splendor of the pageant, and give it
-sanctity in the eyes of the people, was adopted. This was the last
-great event of his life.
-
-Mohammed had now become too powerful to be resisted by force, but
-not too exalted to be troubled by competition. His own example in
-assuming the sacred character of an apostle and prophet, and the
-brilliant success which had attended him, gave a hint to others of
-the probable means of advancing themselves to a similar pitch of
-dignity and dominion. The spirit of emulation, therefore, raised up a
-fellow-prophet in the person of Moseilama, called to this day by the
-followers of Islam “the lying Moseilama,” a descendant of the tribe of
-Honeifa, and a principal person in the province of Yemen.
-
-This man headed an embassy sent by his tribe to Mohammed, in the
-ninth year of the Hegira, and then professed himself a Moslem; but on
-his return home, pondering on the nature of the new religion and the
-character and fortunes of its founder, the sacrilegious suggestion
-occurred to him, that by skilful management he might share with his
-countryman in the glory of a divine mission; and, accordingly, in the
-ensuing year he began to put his project in execution. He gave out that
-he, also, was a prophet sent of Heaven, having a joint commission with
-Mohammed to recall mankind from idolatry to the worship of the true
-God. He, moreover, aped his model so closely as to publish written
-revelations resembling the Koran, pretended to have been derived from
-the same source.
-
-Having succeeded in gaining a considerable party, from the tribe of
-Honeifa, he at length began to put himself still more nearly upon a
-level with the prophet of Medina, and even went so far as to propose
-to Mohammed a partnership in his spiritual supremacy. His letter
-commenced thus: “From Moseilama, the apostle of God, to Mohammed, the
-apostle of God. Now let the earth be half mine and half thine.” But
-the latter, feeling himself too firmly established to stand in need of
-an associate, deigned to return him only the following reply: “From
-Mohammed, the apostle of God, to Moseilama, the liar. The earth is
-God’s: he giveth the same for inheritance unto such of his servants as
-he pleaseth; and the happy issue shall attend those who fear him.”
-
-During the few months that Mohammed lived after this, Moseilama
-continued, on the whole, to gain ground, and became at length so
-formidable, as to occasion extreme anxiety to the prophet, now rapidly
-sinking under the effects of disease. An expedition, under the command
-of Caled, the “Sword of God,” was ordered out to suppress the rival
-sect headed by the spurious apostle, and the bewildered imagination
-of Mohammed, in the moments of delirium, which now afflicted him, was
-frequently picturing to itself the results of the engagement between
-his faithful Moslems and these daring apostates.
-
-The army of Caled returned victorious. Moseilama himself, and ten
-thousand of his followers, were left dead on the field; while the rest,
-convinced by the shining evidence of truth that gleamed from the swords
-of the conquerors, renounced their errors, and fell quietly back into
-the bosom of the Mohammedan church. Several other insurgents of similar
-pretences, but of minor consequence, were crushed in like manner in the
-early stages of their defection.
-
-We have now reached the period at which the religion of Mohammed may
-be considered as having become permanently established. The conquest
-of Mecca and of the Koreishites had been, in fact, the signal for the
-submission of the rest of Arabia; and though several of the petty
-tribes offered, for a time, the show of resistance to the prophet’s
-arms, they were all eventually subdued. Between the taking of Mecca
-and the period of Mohammed’s death, somewhat more than three years
-elapsed. In that short period he had destroyed the idols of Arabia; had
-extended his conquests to the borders of the Greek and Persian empires;
-had rendered his name formidable to those once mighty kingdoms; had
-tried his arms against the disciplined troops of the former, and
-defeated them in a desperate encounter at Muta.
-
-His throne was now firmly established; and an impulse given to the
-Arabian nation, which induced them to invade, and enabled them to
-conquer, a large portion of the globe. India, Persia, the Greek empire,
-the whole of Asia Minor, Egypt, Barbary, and Spain, were eventually
-reduced by their victorious arms. Mohammed himself did not indeed live
-to see such mighty conquests achieved, but he commenced the train
-which resulted in this wide-spread dominion, and, before his death,
-had established over the whole of Arabia, and some parts of Asia, the
-religion which he had devised.
-
-And now, having arrived at the sixty-third year of his age, and the
-tenth of the Hegira, A. D. 632, the fatal effects of the poison, which
-had been so long rankling in his veins, began to discover themselves
-more and more sensibly, and to operate with alarming virulence. Day
-by day, he visibly declined, and it was evident that his life was
-hastening to a close. For some time previous to the event, he was
-conscious of its approach, and is said to have viewed and awaited it
-with characteristic firmness. The third day before his dissolution,
-he ordered himself to be carried to the mosque, that he might, for
-the last time, address his followers, and bestow upon them his parting
-prayers and benedictions. Being assisted to mount the pulpit, he
-edified his brethren by the pious tenor of his dying counsels, and in
-his own example taught a lesson of humility and penitence, such as we
-shall scarcely find inculcated in the precepts of the Koran.
-
-“If there be any man,” said the prophet, “whom I have unjustly
-scourged, I submit my own back to the lash of retaliation. Have I
-aspersed the reputation of any Mussulman? let him proclaim my fault
-in the face of the congregation. Has any one been despoiled of his
-goods? the little that I possess shall compensate the principal
-and the interest of the debt.” “Yes,” replied a voice from the
-crowd, “thou owest me three drachms of silver!” Mohammed heard the
-complaint, satisfied the demand, and thanked his creditor that he
-had accused him in this world, rather than at the day of judgment.
-He then set his slaves at liberty, seventeen men and eleven women;
-directed the order of his funeral; strove to allay the lamentations
-of his weeping friends, and waited the approach of death. He did not
-expressly nominate a successor, a step which would have prevented the
-altercations that afterwards came so near to crushing in its infancy
-the religion and the empire of the Saracens; but his appointment of
-Abubeker to supply his place in the function of public prayer, and the
-other services of the mosque, seemed to intimate indirectly the choice
-of the prophet. This ancient and faithful friend, accordingly, after
-much contention, became the first Caliph of the Saracens, though his
-reign was closed by his death at the end of two years.
-
-The death of Mohammed was hastened by the force of a burning fever,
-which deprived him at times of the use of reason. In one of these
-paroxysms of delirium, he demanded pen and paper, that he might compose
-or dictate a divine book. Omar, who was watching at his side, refused
-his request, lest the expiring prophet might dictate something which
-should supersede the Koran. Others, however, expressed a great desire
-that the book might be written; and so warm a dispute arose in the
-chamber of the apostle that he was forced to reprove their unbecoming
-vehemence. The writing was not performed, and many of his followers
-have mourned the loss of the sublime revelations which his dying
-visions might have bequeathed to them.
-
-The favorite wife of the prophet, Ayesha, hung over her husband in
-his last moments, sustaining his drooping head upon her knee, as he
-lay stretched upon the carpet; watching with trembling anxiety his
-changing countenance, and listening to the last broken sounds of his
-voice. His disease, as it drew towards its termination, was attended at
-intervals with most excruciating pains, which he constantly ascribed
-to the fatal morsel taken at Chaibar; and as the mother of Bashar,
-his companion who had died upon the spot from the same cause, stood
-by his side, he exclaimed, “O mother of Bashar, the cords of my heart
-are now breaking of the food which I ate with your son at Chaibar.” In
-his conversation with those around him, he mentioned it as a special
-prerogative granted to him, that the angel of death was not allowed
-to take his soul till he had respectfully asked permission of him, and
-this permission he condescendingly granted. Recovering from a swoon
-into which the violence of his pains had thrown him, he raised his eyes
-towards the roof of the house, and with faltering accents exclaimed, “O
-God! pardon my sins. Yes, I come among my fellow-laborers on high!” His
-face was then sprinkled with water, by his own feeble hand, and shortly
-after he expired.
-
-The city, and more especially the house of the prophet, became at once
-a scene of sorrowful but confused lamentation. Some of his followers
-could not believe that he was dead. “How can he be dead, our witness,
-our intercessor, our mediator with God? He is not dead. Like Moses and
-Jesus, he is wrapped in a holy trance, and speedily will he return to
-his faithful people.” The evidence of sense was disregarded, and Omar,
-brandishing his scimitar, threatened to strike off the heads of the
-infidels who should affirm that the prophet was no more. The tumult was
-at length appeased, by the moderation of Abubeker. “Is it Mohammed,”
-said he, “or the God of Mohammed, whom ye worship? The God of Mohammed
-liveth forever, but the apostle was a mortal like ourselves, and,
-according to his own prediction, he hath experienced the common fate of
-mortality.”
-
-The prophet’s remains were deposited at Medina, in the very room where
-he breathed his last, the floor being removed to make way for his
-sepulchre, and a simple and unadorned monument was, some time after,
-erected over them. The house itself has long since mouldered, or been
-demolished, but the place of the prophet’s interment is still made
-conspicuous to the superstitious reverence of his disciples. The story
-of his relics being suspended in the air, by the power of loadstone in
-an iron coffin, and that too at Mecca, instead of Medina, is a mere
-idle fabrication. His tomb at the latter place has been visited by
-millions of pilgrims, and, from the authentic accounts of travellers
-who have visited both these holy cities in disguise, we learn that it
-is constructed of plain mason work, fixed without elevation upon the
-surface of the ground. The urn which encloses his body is protected by
-a trellis of iron, which no one is permitted to pass.
-
-The Koran or Alkoran, meaning _the Book_, is a collection of all the
-various fragments which the prophet uttered during the period in which
-he professed to exercise the apostolic office. They were originally
-written on scattered leaves, but they were collected by Abubeker, two
-years after Mohammed’s death. They are in the purest and most refined
-dialect of Arabia, and are distinguished by extraordinary graces of
-style.
-
-The Koran furnishes not only the divinity, but the civil law of the
-Mohammedans. It professes to contain the revelation of God’s will by
-Gabriel to Mohammed, and through him to mankind. One of the books gives
-an account of the translation of the prophet by night to the third
-heaven, upon a winged animal, named Alborak, and resembling an ass,
-where he saw unutterable things. The great doctrines of the Koran, as
-before stated, are the existence of one supreme God, to whom alone
-adoration and obedience are due. It declares that the divine law was
-faithfully delivered by Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Christ. It
-declares the immortality of the soul of man, and the final judgment,
-and sets forth that the good are to dwell in everlasting bliss, amid
-shady and delicious groves, and attended by heavenly virgins. The hope
-of salvation is not confined to the Moslem, but is extended to all who
-believe in God and do good works. Sinners, particularly unbelievers,
-are to be driven about in a dark burning hell, forever.
-
-The practical duties enjoined by the Koran, are the propagation
-of Islamism, and prayers directed to the temple of Mecca, at five
-different periods of the day, together with fasting, alms, religious
-ablutions, pilgrimages to Mecca, &c. It allows a man but four wives,
-though the prophet had seventeen, and it is curious to add that all
-were widows, save one. It strongly prohibits usury, gaming, wine and
-pork.
-
-We cannot deny to Mohammed the possession of extraordinary genius. He
-was a man of great eloquence, and the master of a beautiful style of
-composition; and he possessed that majesty of person, which, united to
-his mental qualities, gave him great ascendancy over those who came
-into his presence. He lived in a dark age, amid a benighted people;
-yet, without the aids of education, he mastered the religious systems
-of the day, and took a broad and sagacious view of the moral and
-political condition of the people of Asia. He conceived the sublime
-idea of uniting, by one mighty truth, the broken fragments of his own
-nation, and the destruction of idolatry by the substitution of the
-worship of one God. It is true, that he sought to accomplish these
-ends by unlawful means—by imposture, and the bloody use of the sword;
-we must admit, also, that he was licentious and although we cannot
-fail to condemn his character, we must acknowledge the splendor of
-his abilities and allow that while he imposed on his followers, he
-established a faith infinitely above Paganism, and sprinkled with many
-rays of light from the fountain of Divine Truth.
-
-[Illustration]
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-[Illustration]
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-
-                              BELISARIUS.
-
-
-This celebrated general, to whom the emperor Justinian is chiefly
-indebted for the glory of his reign, was a native of Germania, on the
-confines of Thrace, and was born about the year 505. It is probable
-that he was of noble descent, liberally educated, and a professor of
-the Christian faith. The first step in his military career was an
-appointment in the personal guard of Justinian, while that prince was
-yet heir apparent to the throne.
-
-The Roman or Byzantine empire, at this period, embraced almost exactly
-the present territory of the Turkish dominions in Europe and Asia
-Minor, with the addition of Greece—Constantinople being its capital.
-Italy was held by the Goths; Corsica, Sardinia and Barbary in Africa,
-by the Vandals.
-
-Justin I., an Illyrian peasant, having distinguished himself as a
-soldier, had become emperor. His education was of course neglected, and
-such was his ignorance, that his signature could only be obtained by
-means of a wooden case, which directed his pen through the four first
-letters of his name. From his accession, the chief administration of
-affairs devolved on Justinian, his nephew and intended heir, whom he
-was reluctantly compelled to raise from office to office, and at length
-to acknowledge as his partner on the throne. His death, after a languid
-reign of nine years and a life of nearly fourscore, left Justinian sole
-sovereign in name, as well as in fact.
-
-In order to appreciate the life and actions of Belisarius, it is
-necessary to understand the character of the new emperor, during
-whose long reign his great exploits were performed. The first act of
-Justinian on ascending the throne, was to marry a dissolute actress,
-named Theodora, who, though licentious, avaricious, cruel and
-vindictive, soon acquired an almost complete control over him. His mind
-was essentially feeble and inconstant, and, though his Christian faith
-was doubtless sincere, it was less fruitful of virtues than of rites
-and forms. At his accession his treasury was full; but it was soon
-exhausted by his profuseness, and heavy taxes were imposed, offices
-put to sale, charities suppressed, private fortunes seized, and, in
-short, every act of rapacity, injustice and oppression, practised by
-his ministers, to support the wasteful magnificence of the court.
-
-The troops of the empire at this period were by no means what they
-had been in the time of Scipio and Cæsar. They consisted, to a great
-extent, of foreign mercenaries, and were divided into squadrons
-according to their country; thus destroying all unity of feeling, and
-annihilating that national spirit which once made the Roman arms the
-terror of the world. These hired troops, which greatly outnumbered
-the native soldiers, marched under their own national banner, were
-commanded by their own officers, and usually followed their own
-military regulations. The inefficiency of such mingled and discordant
-forces, is obvious; yet it was under such a system that Belisarius
-entered upon his military career.
-
-With a feeble and corrupt government, an ill-appointed and trustless
-army, the Roman empire was still surrounded with powerful enemies. It
-is scarcely possible to conceive of a great nation in a condition of
-more complete debility and helplessness, than was the kingdom of the
-Cæsars, at the period in which Belisarius appears upon the active stage
-of life.
-
-Kobad, king of Persia, after a long cessation of hostilities, renewed
-the war toward the close of Justin’s reign, by the invasion of
-Iberia, which claimed the protection of the emperor. At this period,
-Belisarius, being about twenty years of age, had the command of a
-squadron of horse, and was engaged in some of the conflicts with the
-Persian forces, on the borders of Armenia. In conjunction with an
-officer named Sittas, he ravaged a large extent of territory, and
-brought back a considerable number of prisoners.
-
-On a second incursion, however, they were less fortunate; for, being
-suddenly attacked by the Persian forces, they were entirely defeated.
-It appears that Belisarius incurred no blame, for he was soon after
-promoted to the post of governor of Dara, and the command of the forces
-stationed there. It was at this place that he chose Procopius, the
-historian, as his secretary, and who afterwards repaid his kindness by
-a vain attempt to brand his name with enduring infamy.
-
-Soon after Belisarius obtained the command of Dara, Justinian came
-to the throne, and enjoined it upon his generals to strengthen the
-defences of the empire in that quarter. This was attempted, but the
-Persians baffled the effort. Belisarius was now appointed general of
-the East, being commander-in-chief of the whole line of the Asiatic
-frontier. Foreseeing that a formidable struggle was soon to ensue, he
-applied himself to the raising and disciplining an army. He traversed
-the neighboring provinces in person, and at last succeeded in mustering
-five and twenty thousand men. These, however, were without discipline,
-and their spirit was depressed by the ill success that had long
-attended the Roman arms.
-
-In this state of things, the news suddenly came, that 40,000 men, the
-flower of the Persian army, commanded by Firouz, was marching upon
-Dara. Confident of victory, the Persian general announced his approach,
-by the haughty message that a bath should be ready for him at Dara
-the next evening. Belisarius made no other reply than preparations for
-battle. Fortifying himself in the best manner he was able, he awaited
-the onset; exhorting his men, however, by every stimulating motive he
-could suggest, to do honor to the name and fame of Rome.
-
-The battle began by a mutual discharge of arrows, so numerous as to
-darken the air. When the quivers were exhausted, they came to closer
-combat. The struggle was obstinate and bloody; and the Persians were
-already about to win the victory, when a body of horse, judiciously
-stationed behind a hill by Belisarius, rushed forward, and turned the
-tide of success. The Persians fled, and the triumph of Belisarius was
-complete. They left their royal standard upon the field of battle, with
-8000 slain. This victory had a powerful effect, and decided the fate of
-the campaign.
-
-The aged Kobad, who had conceived a profound contempt for the Romans,
-was greatly irritated by the defeat of his troops. He determined upon
-a still more powerful effort, and the next season sent a formidable
-army to invade Syria. Belisarius, with a promptitude that astounded he
-enemy, proceeded to the defence of this province, and, with an inferior
-force, compelled the Persian army to retreat. Obliged at length, by
-his soldiers, against his own judgment, to give battle to the enemy,
-he suffered severely, and only avoided total defeat by the greatest
-coolness and address. Even the partial victory of the enemy was without
-advantage to them, for they were obliged to retreat, and abandon their
-enterprise. Soon after this event, Kobad died, in his eighty-third
-year, and his successor, Nushirvan, concluded a treaty of peace with
-Justinian.
-
-The war being thus terminated, Belisarius took up his residence at
-Constantinople, and here became the second husband of Antonina, who,
-though the child of an actress, had contracted an exalted marriage on
-account of her beauty, and having filled a high office, enjoyed the
-rank and honors of a patrician. While thus raised above the dangerous
-profession of her mother, she still adhered to the morals of the stage.
-Though openly licentious, she obtained through her bold, decided, and
-intriguing character, aided by remarkable powers of fascination, a
-complete ascendancy over Belisarius. It is seldom that a man is great
-in all respects, and the weakness of the general whose history we are
-delineating, was exhibited in a blind and submissive attachment to this
-profligate woman.
-
-A singular outbreak of popular violence occurred about this period,
-which stained the streets of Constantinople with blood, and threatened
-for a time to hurl Justinian from his throne. The fondness of the
-Romans for the amusements of the circus, had in no degree abated.
-Indeed, as the gladiatorial combats had been suppressed, these
-games were frequented with redoubled ardor. The charioteers were
-distinguished by the various colors of red, white, blue, and green,
-intending to represent the four seasons. Those of each color,
-especially the blue and green, possessed numerous and devoted
-partisans, which became at last connected with civil and religious
-prejudices.
-
-Justinian favored the Blues, who became for that reason the emblem
-of royalty; on the other hand, the Greens became the type of
-disaffection. Though these dangerous factions were denounced by the
-statutes, still, at the period of which we speak, each party were ready
-to lavish their fortunes, risk their lives, and brave the severest
-sentence of the laws, in support of their darling color. At the
-commencement of the year 532, by one of those sudden caprices which
-are often displayed by the populace, the two factions united, and
-turned their vengeance against Justinian. The prisons were forced, and
-the guards massacred. The city was then fired in various parts, the
-cathedral of St. Sophia, a part of the imperial palace, and a great
-number of public and private buildings, were wrapped in conflagration.
-The cry of “_Nika! Nika!_” Vanquish! Vanquish! ran through every part
-of the capital.
-
-The principal citizens hurried to the opposite shore of the Bosphorus,
-and the emperor entrenched himself within his palace. In the mean time,
-Hypatius, nephew of the emperor Anastatius, was declared emperor by
-the rioters, and so formidable had the insurrection now become, that
-Justinian was ready to abdicate his crown. For the first and last
-time, Theodora seemed worthy of the throne, for she withstood the
-pusillanimity of her husband, and, through her animated exhortations,
-it was determined to take the chance of victory or death.
-
-Justinian’s chief hope now rested on Belisarius. Assisted by Mundus,
-the governor of Illyria, who chanced to be in the capital, he now
-called upon the guards to rally in defence of the emperor; but these
-refused to obey him. Meanwhile, by another caprice the party of the
-Blues, becoming ashamed of their conduct, shrunk one by one away, and
-left Hypatius to be sustained by the Greens alone.
-
-These were dismayed at seeing Belisarius, issuing with a few troops
-which he had collected, from the smoking ruins of the palace. Drawing
-his sword, and commanding his veterans to follow, he fell upon them
-like a thunderbolt. Mundus, with another division of soldiers,
-rushed upon them from the opposite direction. The insurgents were
-panic-struck, and dispersed in every quarter. Hypatius was dragged
-from the throne which he had ascended a few hours before, and was soon
-after executed in prison. The Blues now emerged from their concealment,
-and, falling upon their antagonists, glutted their merciless and
-ungovernable vengeance. No less than thirty thousand persons were slain
-in this fearful convulsion.
-
-We must now turn our attention to Africa, in which the next exploits
-of Belisarius were performed. The northern portion of this part of the
-world, known to us by the merited by-word of Barbary, hardly retains a
-trace of the most formidable rival and opulent province of Rome. After
-the fall of Jugurtha, at the commencement of the second century, it
-had enjoyed a long period of prosperity and peace—having escaped the
-sufferings which had fallen upon every other portion of the empire. The
-Africans in the fifth century were abounding in wealth, population, and
-resources. During the minority of Valentinian, Boniface was appointed
-governor of Africa. Deceived by Ætius into a belief of ingratitude on
-the part of the government at home, he determined upon resistance, and
-with this view, concluded a treaty with the Vandals in the southern
-portion of Spain.
-
-These, embarking from Andalusia, whose name still denotes their former
-residence, landed at the opposite cape of Ceuta, A. D. 429. Their
-leader was the far-famed Genseric, one of the most able, but most
-lawless and bloody monarchs recorded in history. Of a middle stature,
-and lamed by a fall from his horse, his demeanor was thoughtful and
-silent; he was contemptuous of luxury, sudden in anger, and boundless
-in ambition. Yet his impetuosity was always guided and restrained by
-cunning. He well knew how to tempt the allegiance of a foreign nation,
-to cast the seeds of future discord, or to rear them to maturity.
-
-The barbarians on their passage to Africa consisted of 50,000 fighting
-men, with a great crowd of women and children. Their progress
-through the African province was rapid and unopposed, till Boniface,
-discovering the artifices of Ætius, and the favorable disposition of
-the government of Rome, bitterly repented the effects of his hasty
-resentment. He now endeavored to withdraw his Vandal allies; but he
-found it less easy to allay, than it had been to raise, the storm. His
-proposals were haughtily rejected, and both parties had recourse to
-arms. Boniface was defeated, and in the event, Genseric obtained entire
-possession of the Roman provinces in Africa.
-
-Carthage, which had risen from its ruins at the command of Julius
-Cæsar and been embellished by Diocletian, had regained a large share
-of its former opulence and pride, and might be considered, at the
-time of which we speak, the second city in the western empire. Making
-this his capital, Genseric proceeded to adopt various measures to
-increase his power, and, among others, determined upon the creation
-of a naval force. With him, project and performance were never far
-asunder. His ships soon rode in the Mediterranean, and carried terror
-and destruction in their train. He annexed to his kingdom the Balearic
-islands, Corsica and Sardinia; the last of which was afterwards
-allotted by the Vandals as a place of exile or imprisonment for captive
-Moors; and during many years, the ports of Africa were what they became
-in more recent days, the abode of fierce and unpunished pirates.
-
-With every returning spring, the fleet of Genseric ravaged the coasts
-of Italy and Sicily, and even of Greece and Illyria, sometimes bearing
-off the inhabitants to slavery, and sometimes levelling their cities to
-the ground. Emboldened by long impunity, he attacked every government
-alike. On one occasion, when sailing from Carthage, he was asked by
-the pilot of his vessel to what coast he desired to steer—“Leave the
-guidance to God,” exclaimed the stern barbarian; “God will doubtless
-lead us against the guilty objects of his anger!”
-
-The most memorable achievement of Genseric, the sack of Rome in 455,
-is an event too much out of the track of our narrative to be detailed
-here. We can only pause to state, that, after spending a fortnight
-in that great metropolis, and loading his fleets with its spoils,
-he returned to Africa, bearing the Empress Eudocia thither, as his
-captive. She was, at length, released, but one of her daughters was
-compelled by Genseric to accept his son in marriage.
-
-The repeated outrages of the Vandal king at length aroused the tardy
-resentment of the court of Constantinople, and Leo I., then emperor,
-despatched an army against him, consisting of nearly one hundred
-thousand men, attended by the most formidable fleet that had ever been
-launched by the Romans. The commander was a weak man, and being cheated
-into a truce of five days by Genseric, the latter took advantage of a
-moment of security, and, in the middle of the night, caused a number
-of small vessels, filled with combustibles, to be introduced among the
-Roman ships. A conflagration speedily ensued; and the Romans, starting
-from their slumbers, found themselves encompassed by fire and the
-Vandals. The wild shrieks of the perishing multitude mingled with the
-crackling of the flames and the roaring of the winds; and the enemy
-proved as unrelenting as the elements. The greater part of the fleet
-was destroyed, and only a few shattered ships, and a small number of
-survivors, found their way back to Constantinople.
-
-A peace soon followed this event, which continued uninterrupted till
-the time of Justinian. Genseric died in 477, leaving his kingdom to his
-son Hunneric. About the year 530, Gelimer being upon the Vandal throne,
-Justinian began to meditate an expedition against him. His generals,
-with the exception of Belisarius, were averse to the undertaking. The
-same feeling was shared by many of the leading men about the court, and
-in an assembly, in which the subject was under discussion, Justinian
-was about to yield to the opposition, when a bishop from the east
-earnestly begged admission to his presence.
-
-On entering the council chamber he exhorted the emperor to stand forth
-as the champion of the church, and, in order to confirm him in the
-enterprise, he declared that the Lord had appeared to him in a vision,
-saying, “I will march before him in his battles, and make him sovereign
-of Africa.” Men seldom reject a tale, however fantastic, which
-coincides with their wishes or their prepossessions. All the doubts of
-Justinian were at once removed; he commanded a fleet and army to be
-forthwith equipped for this sacred enterprise, and endeavored still
-further to insure its success by his austerity in fasts and vigils.
-Belisarius was named supreme commander, still retaining his title as
-General of the East.
-
-In the month of June, A. D. 533, the Roman armament, consisting of five
-hundred transports, with twenty thousand sailors, and nearly the same
-number of soldiers, became ready for departure. The general embarked,
-attended on this occasion by Antonina and his secretary, the historian
-Procopius, who, at first, had shared in the popular fear and distaste
-of the enterprise, but had afterwards been induced to join it by a
-hopeful dream. The galley of Belisarius was moored near the shore,
-in front of the imperial palace, where it received a last visit from
-Justinian, and a solemn blessing from the patriarch of the city. A
-soldier recently baptized was placed on board, to secure its prosperous
-voyage; its sails were then unfurled, and, with the other ships in its
-train, it glided down the straits of the Bosphorus, and gradually
-disappeared from the lingering gaze of the assembled multitude.
-
-With a force scarcely one fourth as strong as that which was
-annihilated by Genseric, about seventy years before, Belisarius
-proceeded upon his expedition. Having touched at Sicily and Malta,
-he proceeded to the coast of Africa, where he landed in September,
-about one hundred and fifty miles from Carthage, and began his
-march upon that city. He took several towns, but enforcing the most
-rigid discipline upon his troops, and treating the inhabitants with
-moderation and courtesy, he entirely gained their confidence and good
-will. They brought ample provisions to his camp, and gave him such a
-reception as might be expected rather by a native than a hostile army.
-
-When the intelligence of the landing and progress of the Romans reached
-Gelimer, who was then at Hermione, he was roused to revenge, and took
-his measures with promptitude and skill. He had an army of eighty
-thousand men, the greater part of whom were soon assembled, and posted
-in a defile about ten miles from Carthage, directly in the route by
-which Belisarius was approaching. Several severe skirmishes soon
-followed, in which the Vandals were defeated.
-
-The main army now advanced, and a general engagement immediately
-ensued. In the outset, the Vandals prevailed, and the Romans were on
-the eve of flying, defeated, from the field. A pause on the part of
-Gelimer was, however, seized upon by Belisarius to collect and rally
-his forces, and with a united effort he now charged the Vandal army.
-The conflict was fierce, but brief: Gelimer was totally defeated, and,
-with a few faithful adherents, he sought safety in flight. Knowing that
-the ruinous walls of Carthage could not sustain a siege, he took his
-way to the deserts of Numidia.
-
-All idea of resistance was abandoned; the gates of Carthage were thrown
-open, and the chains across the entrance of the port were removed. The
-Roman fleet soon after arrived, and was safely anchored in the harbor.
-On the 16th September, Belisarius made a solemn entry into the capital.
-Having taken every precaution against violence and rapacity, not a
-single instance of tumult or outrage occurred, save that a captain of
-one of the vessels plundered some of the inhabitants, but was obliged
-to restore the spoil he had taken. The soldiers marched peaceably to
-their quarters; the inhabitants continued to pursue their avocations;
-the shops remained open, and, in spite of the change of sovereigns,
-public business was not for a moment interrupted! Belisarius took
-up his quarters in the palace of Gelimer, and in the evening held a
-sumptuous banquet there, being attended by the same servants who had so
-lately been employed by the Vandal king.
-
-With his usual activity, Belisarius immediately applied himself to
-the restoration of the ruinous ramparts of the city. The ditch was
-deepened, the breaches filled, the walls strengthened, and the whole
-was completed in so short a space as to strike the Vandals with
-amazement. Meanwhile, Gelimer was collecting a powerful army at Bulla,
-on the borders of Numidia at the distance of four days’ journey from
-Carthage.
-
-Having placed the capital in a proper state for defence, at the end
-of three months from its capture, Belisarius led forth his army,
-leaving only five hundred troops to guard the city. Gelimer was now
-within twenty miles of the capital, having raised an army of one
-hundred thousand men. No sooner had the Romans taken up their march
-toward his camp, than they prepared for battle. The armies soon met,
-and Belisarius, having determined to direct all his endeavors against
-the centre of the Vandal force, caused a charge to be made by some
-squadrons of the horse guards. These were repulsed, and a second onset,
-also, proved unsuccessful.
-
-But a third prevailed, after an obstinate resistance. The ranks of
-the enemy were broken; Zazo, the king’s brother, was slain, and
-consternation now completed the rout of the Vandals. Gelimer, under
-the influence of panic, betook himself to flight; his absence was
-perceived, and his conduct imitated. The soldiers dispersed in all
-directions, leaving their camp, their goods, their families, all in
-the hands of the Romans. Belisarius seized upon the royal treasure in
-behalf of his sovereign, and in spite of his commands, the licentious
-soldiers spent the night in debauchery, violence and plunder.
-
-Gelimer fled to the mountains of Papua, inhabited by a savage but
-friendly tribe of Moors. He sought refuge in the small town of Medenus,
-which presented a craggy precipice on all sides. Belisarius returned to
-Carthage, and sent out various detachments, which rapidly subdued the
-most remote portions of the Vandal kingdom.
-
-Immediately after the capture of Carthage, he had despatched one of his
-principal officers to Justinian, announcing these prosperous events.
-The intelligence arrived about the time that the emperor had completed
-his _pandects_.[1] The exultation of the monarch is evinced by the
-swelling titles he assumes in the preamble of these laws. All mention
-of the general by whom his conquests had been achieved, is carefully
-avoided; while the emperor is spoken of as the “pious,” “happy,”
-“victorious,” and “triumphant!” He even boasts, in his Institutes, of
-the warlike fatigues he had borne, though he had never quitted the
-luxurious palace of Constantinople, except for recreation in some of
-his neighboring villas.
-
-While the Roman general was actively employed at Carthage, Pharus was
-proceeding in the siege of Medenus, which had been begun immediately
-after the flight of Gelimer. Pent up in this narrow retreat, the
-sufferings of the Vandal monarch were great, from the want of supplies
-and the savage habits of the Moors. His lot was likewise embittered by
-the recollection of the soft and luxurious life to which he had lately
-been accustomed.
-
-During their dominion in Africa, the Vandals had declined from their
-former hardihood, and yielded to the enervating influence of climate,
-security and success. Their arms were laid aside; gold embroidery shone
-upon their silken robes, and every dainty from the sea and land were
-combined in their rich repasts. Reclining in the shade of delicious
-gardens, their careless hours were amused by dancers and musicians,
-and no exertion beyond the chase, interrupted their voluptuous repose.
-The Moors of Papua, on the contrary, dwelt in narrow huts, sultry in
-summer, and pervious to the snows of winter. They most frequently
-slept upon the bare ground, and a sheepskin for a couch was a rare
-refinement. The same dress, a cloak and a tunic, clothed them at every
-season, and they were strangers to the use of both bread and wine.
-Their grain was devoured in its crude state, or at best was coarsely
-pounded and baked, with little skill, into an unleavened paste.
-
-Compelled to share this savage mode of life, Gelimer and his attendants
-began to consider captivity, or even death, as better than the daily
-hardships they endured. To avail himself of this favorable disposition,
-Pharus, in a friendly letter, proposed a capitulation, and assured
-Gelimer of generous treatment from Belisarius and Justinian. The spirit
-of the Vandal prince, however, was still not wholly broken, and he
-refused the offers, while acknowledging the kindness of his enemy.
-In his answer he entreated the gifts of a lyre, a loaf of bread, and
-a sponge, and his messenger explained the grounds of this singular
-petition. At Medenus, he had never tasted the food of civilized
-nations, he wished to sing to music an ode on his misfortunes written
-by himself, and a swelling on his eyes needed a sponge for its cure.
-The brave Roman, touched with pity that such wants should be felt by
-the grandson and successor of Genseric, forthwith sent these presents
-up the mountain, but by no means abated the watchfulness of his
-blockade.
-
-The siege had already continued for upwards of three months, and
-several Vandals had sunk beneath its hardships, but Gelimer still
-displayed the stubborn inflexibility usual to despotic rulers, when
-the sight of a domestic affliction suddenly induced him to yield. In
-the hovel where he sat gloomily brooding over his hopeless fortunes,
-a Moorish woman was preparing, at the fire, some coarse dough. Two
-children, her son and the nephew of Gelimer, were watching her progress
-with the eager anxiety of famine. The young Vandal was the first to
-seize the precious morsel, still glowing with heat, and blackened with
-ashes, when the Moor, by blows and violence, forced it from his mouth.
-So fierce a struggle for food, at such an age, overcame the sternness
-of Gelimer. He agreed to surrender on the same terms lately held out to
-him, and the promises of Pharus were confirmed by the Roman general,
-who sent Cyprian as his envoy to Papua. The late sovereign of Africa
-reentered his capital as a suppliant and a prisoner, and at the suburb
-of Aclas, beheld his conqueror for the first time.
-
-With the capitulation of Gelimer, the Vandal was at an end. There now
-remained to Belisarius but the important task of making the conquered
-countries permanently useful to the Romans. But, while occupied
-in this design, his glory having provoked envy, he was accused to
-Justinian of the intention of making himself king over the territories
-he had conquered. With the weakness of a little mind, the emperor so
-far yielded to the base accusation as to send a message to Belisarius,
-indicating his suspicions. The latter immediately departed from
-Carthage, and, taking with him his spoils and captives, proceeded to
-Constantinople.
-
-This ready obedience dissipated the suspicions of the emperor, and he
-made ample and prompt reparation for his unfounded jealousy. Medals
-were struck by his orders, bearing on one side the effigy of the
-emperor, and on the other that of the victorious general, encircled by
-the inscription, _Belisarius, the glory of the Romans_. Beside this,
-the honors of a triumph were decreed him, the first ever witnessed in
-the Eastern capital.
-
-The ceremony was in the highest degree imposing. The triumphal
-procession marched from the house of Belisarius to the hippodrome,[2]
-filled with exulting thousands, where Justinian and Theodora sat
-enthroned. Among the Vandal captives, Gelimer was distinguished by the
-purple of a sovereign. He shed no tears, but frequently repeated the
-words of Solomon, “Vanity of vanities: all is vanity.” When he reached
-the imperial throne, and was commanded to cast aside the ensigns of
-royalty, Belisarius hastened to do the same, to show him that he was to
-undergo no insult as a prisoner, but only to yield the customary homage
-of a subject. We may pause for a moment to reflect upon the caprices
-of fortune, which had raised a comedian, in the person of Theodora, to
-see the successor of Genseric and Scipio prostrate as slaves before her
-footstool.
-
-Both the conqueror and captive experienced the effects of imperial
-generosity. The former received a large share of the spoil as his
-reward, and was named consul for the ensuing year. To the Vandal
-monarch, an extensive estate in Galatia was assigned, to which he
-retired, and, in peaceful obscurity, spent the remainder of his days.
-
-We must now turn our attention to Italy. Theodoric the Great, the
-natural son of Theodomir, king of the Ostrogoths, became the master of
-Italy toward the close of the fifth century. The Gothic dominion was
-thus established in the ancient seat of the Roman empire, and the king
-of the Goths was seated upon the throne of the Cæsars.
-
-Theodoric has furnished one of the few instances in which a successful
-soldier has abandoned warlike pursuits for the duties of civil
-administration, and, instead of seeking power by his arms, has devoted
-himself to the improvement of his kingdom by a peaceful policy. Upright
-and active in his conduct, he enforced discipline among his soldiers,
-and so tempered his general kindness by acts of salutary rigor, that
-he was loved as if indulgent, yet obeyed as if severe. He applied
-himself to the revival of trade, the support of manufactures, and the
-encouragement of agriculture.
-
-At the death of this great monarch, in 526, his grandson, Athalaric,
-then only ten years of age, became king. After a nominal reign of eight
-years he died in consequence of his dissipations, and was succeeded by
-Theodatus, the nephew of Theodoric. This prince having attained the
-throne by the murder of Amalasontha, the widow of Theodoric, Justinian
-regarded him as an usurper stained with an atrocious crime, and
-therefore determined to drive him from his throne.
-
-Accordingly, a force of twelve thousand men was despatched to Italy
-under Belisarius. Landing at Catania, in Sicily, they surprised the
-Goths, and had little difficulty in reducing the island. Fixing his
-head quarters at Syracuse, he was making preparations to enter the
-heart of Italy, when a messenger came to inform him that a serious
-insurrection had broken out at Carthage. He immediately set out
-for that place. On his arrival the insurgents fled, but Belisarius
-pursued them, overtook them, and, though their force was four times as
-great as his own, they were completely defeated in a pitched battle.
-Returning to Carthage, the Roman general was informed by a messenger
-from Sicily that a formidable mutiny had broken out in his army there.
-He immediately embarked, and soon restored his troops to order and
-discipline.
-
-The rapid conquest of Sicily by Belisarius struck terror into the heart
-of king Theodatus, who was weak by nature, and depressed by age. He was
-therefore induced to subscribe an ignominious treaty with Justinian,
-some of the conditions of which forcibly display the pusillanimity of
-one emperor, and the vanity of the other. Theodatus promised that no
-statue should be raised to his honor, without another of Justinian at
-his right hand, and that the imperial name should always precede his
-own in the acclamations of the people, at public games and festivals:
-as if the shouts of the rabble were matter for a treaty!
-
-But even this humiliating compact was not sufficient for the grasping
-avarice of Justinian. He required of Theodatus the surrender of his
-throne, which the latter promised; but before the compact could be
-carried into effect, he was driven from his throne, and Vittiges, a
-soldier of humble birth, but great energy and experience, was declared
-his successor. Establishing his head quarters at Ravenna, the Gothic
-king was making preparations to sustain his cause, when Belisarius,
-who had taken Naples, was invited to Rome by Pope Sylverius.
-Taking advantage of this opportunity, he immediately advanced, and
-triumphantly entered the “eternal city.”
-
-Rome had now been under the dominion of its Gothic conquerors for
-sixty years, during which it had enjoyed the advantages of peace and
-prosperity. It had been the object of peculiar care, attention, and
-munificence, and had received the respect due to the ancient mistress
-of the world. Still, the people at large looked upon their rulers as
-foreigners and barbarians, and desired the return of the imperial sway,
-seeming to forget that they were preferring a foreign to a native
-government.
-
-Belisarius lost no time in repairing the fortifications of Rome, while
-he actively extended his conquests in the southern parts of Italy. His
-military fame was now a host, and most of the towns submitted, either
-from a preference of the Byzantine government, or respect for the
-military prowess of the Roman general.
-
-The great achievements of Belisarius strike us with wonder, when we
-consider the feeble means with which they were accomplished. His force
-at the outset of his invasion of Italy did not exceed 12,000 men.
-These were now much reduced by the bloody siege of Naples, and by his
-subsequent successes, which made it necessary to supply garrisons for
-the captured towns.
-
-Vittiges, in his Adriatic capital, had spent the winter in
-preparations, and when the spring arrived, he set forth with a powerful
-army. Knowing the small force of Belisarius, he hurried forward towards
-Rome, fearing only that his enemy should escape by flight. The genius
-of Belisarius never shone with greater lustre than at this moment. By
-numerous devices he contrived to harass the Gothic army in their march,
-but owing to the flight of a detachment of his troops whom he had
-stationed at one of the towers, to delay their progress, they at last
-came upon him by surprise.
-
-He was at the moment without the city, attended by only a thousand of
-his guards, when suddenly he found himself surrounded by the van of the
-Gothic cavalry. He now displayed not only the skill of a general, but
-the personal courage and prowess of a soldier. Distinguished by the
-charger whom he had often rode in battle—a bay with a white face—he
-was seen in the foremost ranks, animating his men to the conflict.
-“That is Belisarius,” exclaimed some Italian deserters, who knew him.
-“Aim at the bay!” was forthwith the cry through the Gothic squadrons
-and a cloud of arrows was soon aimed at the conspicuous mark. It
-seemed as if the fate of Italy was felt to be suspended upon a single
-life—so fierce was the struggle to kill or capture the Roman leader.
-
-Amid the deadly strife, however, Belisarius remained unhurt; and it is
-said that more of the army fell that day by his single arm, than by
-that of any other Roman. His guards displayed the utmost courage and
-devotion to his person, rallying around him, and raising their bucklers
-on every side, to ward off the showers of missiles that flew with
-deadly aim at his breast. Not less than a thousand of the enemy fell in
-the conflict—a number equal to the whole Roman troop engaged in the
-battle. The Goths at length gave way, and Belisarius, with his guards,
-reentered the city.
-
-On the morrow, March 12th, A. D. 537, the memorable siege of Rome
-began. Finding it impossible, even with their vast army, to encircle
-the entire walls of the city, which were twelve miles in length, the
-Goths selected five of the fourteen gates, and invested them. They
-now cut through the aqueducts, in order to stop the supply of water,
-and several of them, having never been repaired, remain to this day,
-extending into the country, and seeming like the “outstretched and
-broken limbs of an expiring giant.”
-
-Though the baths of the city were stopped, the Tiber supplied the
-people with water for all needful purposes. The resources and activity
-of Belisarius knew no bounds: yet he had abundant occasion for all the
-advantages these could supply. The relative smallness of his force,
-the feebleness of the defences the fickleness and final disaffection
-of the people, the intrigues of Vittiges, and his vastly superior army
-constituted a web of difficulties which would have overwhelmed any
-other than a man whose genius could extort good from evil, and convert
-weakness into strength.
-
-For a whole year, the encircling walls of Rome were the scenes of
-almost incessant attack and defence. The fertile genius of Vittiges
-suggested a thousand expedients, and the number as well as courage
-of his troops enabled him to plan and execute a variety of daring
-schemes. Yet he was always baffled by his vigilant rival, and his most
-elaborate devices were rendered fruitless by the superior genius of the
-Roman general. At last, on the 21st of March, A. D. 538, foreseeing
-that Belisarius was about to receive reinforcements, and despairing
-of success in the siege, Vittiges withdrew his army, suffering in his
-retreat a fearful massacre, from a sally of the Roman troops.
-
-Vittiges retired to Ravenna, and Belisarius soon invested it. While
-he was pressing the siege, Justinian, probably alarmed by the threats
-of the Persian king, entered into a treaty with the ambassadors of
-Vittiges, by which he agreed to a partition of Italy, taking one half
-himself, and allowing the Gothic king to retain the other portion.
-Belisarius refused to ratify this treaty, and soon after, was pressed
-by the Goths to become their king. Vittiges even joined in this
-request, and Belisarius had now the easy opportunity of making himself
-the emperor of the West, without the remotest fear of failure. But
-he was too deeply impressed with his oath of allegiance, to allow
-him to entertain a treacherous design toward his sovereign, and he
-rejected the tempting offer. The merit of his fidelity under these
-circumstances, is heightened by the consideration that he had refused
-the ratification of the treaty, and was well aware that reproach, or
-even hostility, might await him at Constantinople.
-
-Soon after these events, Ravenna capitulated, and Belisarius became
-its master. His fame was now at its height; but this only served to
-inflame the envy of his rivals at Constantinople. These, insidiously
-working upon the suspicious temper of Justinian, induced him to command
-the return of Belisarius to Constantinople. With prompt obedience,
-he embarked at Ravenna, carrying with him his Gothic captives and
-treasure. After five years of warfare, from the foot of Etna to the
-banks of the Po, during which he had subdued nearly the same extent
-of country which had been acquired by the Romans in the first five
-centuries from the building of that city, he arrived at Constantinople.
-
-The voice of envy was silenced for a time, and Belisarius was appointed
-to the command of the army now about to proceed against the Persians.
-The captive monarch of the Goths was received with generous courtesy
-by the emperor, and an ample estate was allotted to him in Asia.
-Justinian gazed with admiration on the strength and beauty of the
-Gothic captives—their fair complexions, auburn locks, and lofty
-stature. A great number of these, attracted by the fame and character
-of Belisarius, enlisted in his guards.
-
-In the spring of the year 540, Chosroes or Nushirvan, the Persian king,
-invaded the Roman provinces in the east. The next year Belisarius
-proceeded against him, and took his station at Dara. Here, instead of
-a well-appointed army, he found only a confused and discordant mass
-of undisciplined men. After various operations, being baffled by the
-treachery or incapacity of his subalterns, he was obliged to retreat,
-and closed a fruitless campaign, by placing his men in winter quarters.
-
-Being recalled to Constantinople, he went thither, but took the field
-early in the spring, with the most powerful army he had ever commanded.
-Nushirvan advanced into Syria, but, thwarted by the masterly manoeuvres
-of Belisarius, he was at last obliged to retreat. Soon after, the Roman
-general being again recalled by Justinian, the most fatal disasters
-befel the Roman army.
-
-During these Persian campaigns, the political security, as well as the
-domestic happiness of Belisarius, were shaken by the misconduct of his
-wife. She had long been engaged in an intrigue with Theodosius, the
-young soldier newly baptized as an auspicious omen in the galley of the
-general, upon his departure for Africa. Though told of this, Belisarius
-had been pacified by the protestations and artifices of Antonina; but
-while he was absent in Asia Minor, she, being left in Constantinople,
-pursued her licentious career with little scruple.
-
-Her son Photius, a gallant young soldier, being a check upon her
-conduct, became the object of her hatred. While at the distance of a
-thousand miles, during the Persian campaign, he still experienced the
-malignant influence of her intrigues, and urged by a sense of duty
-to his step-father, made him acquainted with his mother’s depravity.
-When she afterwards joined her husband on the frontier, he caused her
-to be imprisoned, and sent Photius towards Ephesus to inflict summary
-punishment upon Theodosius. The latter was taken captive by Photius,
-and borne to Cilicia.
-
-Antonina, by her convenient intrigues in behalf of Theodora, had laid
-her under great obligations, and obtained the greatest influence
-over her. The empress, therefore, now interfered to save her friend.
-Positive injunctions were sent to Cilicia, and both Photius and
-Theodosius were brought to Constantinople. The former was cast into
-a dungeon and tortured at the rack; the latter was received with
-distinction; but he soon expired from illness. Photius, after a third
-escape from prison, proceeded to Jerusalem, where he took the habit of
-a monk, and finally attained the rank of abbot.
-
-Belisarius and Antonina were summoned to Constantinople, and the
-empress commanded the injured husband to abstain from the punishment
-of his wife. He obeyed this order of his sovereign. She next required
-a reconciliation at his hands; but he refused to comply with a demand
-which no sovereign had a right to make. He, therefore, remained
-at Constantinople, under the secret displeasure of Theodora and
-Justinian, who only wanted some plausible pretext to accomplish his
-ruin.
-
-The invasion of Nushirvan, in the ensuing spring impelled the
-terrified emperor to lay aside his animosity, and restore the hero
-to the direction of the eastern armies; but in this campaign, his
-former offence was aggravated, and the glory of saving the East was
-outweighed by the guilt of frankness. Justinian was recovering from a
-dangerous illness; a rumor of his death had reached the Roman camp, and
-Belisarius gave an opinion in favor of the emperor’s nearest kinsman
-as his successor, instead of acknowledging the pretensions of Theodora
-to the throne. This declaration inflamed with equal anger the aspiring
-wife and the uxorious husband.
-
-Buzes, the second in command, who had concurred in these views, was
-confined in a subterranean dungeon, so dark that the difference of day
-and night was never apparent to its inmate. Belisarius himself was
-recalled, with flattering professions of confidence and friendship,
-lest resentment should urge him to rebellion; but on his arrival at
-Constantinople, the mask was thrown aside; he was degraded from the
-rank of general of the East; a commission was despatched into Asia to
-seize his treasures; and his personal guards, who had followed his
-standard through so many battles, were removed from his command.
-
-It was with mingled feelings of compassion and surprise, that the
-people beheld the forlorn appearance of the general as he entered
-Constantinople, and rode along the streets, with a small and squalid
-train. Proceeding to the gates of the palace, he was exposed during
-the whole day to the scoffs and insults of the rabble. He was received
-by the emperor and Theodora with angry disdain, and when he withdrew,
-in the evening, to his lonely palace, he frequently turned round,
-expecting to see the appointed assassins advancing upon him.
-
-In the evening, after sunset, a letter was brought him from Theodora,
-declaring that his life was granted and a portion of his fortune spared
-at the intercession of his wife, and she trusted that his future
-conduct would manifest his gratitude to his deliverer. The favorable
-moments of surprise and gratitude were improved by Antonina with
-her usual skill. Thus, by the artifices of two designing women, the
-conqueror of armies was subdued, and Belisarius once more became the
-duped and submissive husband.
-
-A fine of three hundred pounds weight of gold was levied upon the
-property of Belisarius, and he was suffered for many months to languish
-in obscurity. In 544, however, he was appointed to the command of
-the war in Italy, whither he soon proceeded. Here, in his operations
-against far superior forces, he displayed the same genius as before,
-and in February, 547, he again entered Rome. He pursued the war with
-various fortune; but at last, finding his means entirely inadequate
-to the necessities of the contest, he begged of the emperor either
-reinforcements or recall. Engrossed by religious quarrels, Justinian
-took the easier course, and adopted the latter. Thus, after having
-desolated Italy with all the horrors of war for several years, he now
-abandoned it, from mere weakness and caprice.
-
-Belisarius returned to Constantinople, and for several years his
-life affords no remarkable occurrence. He continued in the tranquil
-enjoyment of opulence and dignities; but, in the year 559, various
-warlike tribes beyond the Danube, known under the general name of
-Bulgarians, marched southward, and desolated several provinces by
-sword, fire, and plunder. Zabergan, their enterprising leader, having
-passed the frozen Danube in the winter, detached one portion of his
-army for the pillage of Greece, and the other against the capital.
-
-So sudden and bold an aggression filled Constantinople with helpless
-and despairing terror. The people and the senators were agitated with
-fear, and the emperor sat trembling in his palace. In this general
-confusion and affright, all eyes were turned with hope to the conqueror
-of Africa and Italy. Though his constitution was broken by his military
-labors, his heart was alive to the call of his country, and Belisarius
-prepared to crown his glorious life by a last and decisive battle. He
-resumed his rusty armor, collected a handful of his scattered veterans,
-and in the return of martial spirit he seemed to shake off the weakness
-of decrepitude.
-
-Sallying from the city with three hundred mounted men, he met Zabergan
-at the head of two thousand cavalry. Selecting a favorable position, he
-withstood the onset, and, seeming to recover the powers of his youth,
-he astonished all around him by his intrepidity and skill. After a
-severe and bloody struggle, the Bulgarians were driven back in the
-utmost disorder; four hundred fell on the field, and Zabergan himself
-escaped with difficulty. The whole army of barbarians, amounting to
-many thousands, were seized with contagious fear, raised their camp,
-and retreated to the north.
-
-Belisarius was preparing for a close pursuit, when again his enemies
-awaked the suspicions of Justinian by suggesting that he was aiming
-at popular favor with disloyal views. The enthusiastic praises of
-his heroic conduct, by the people, turned even the emperor’s heart
-to jealousy, and he chose rather to purchase the departure of the
-barbarians by tribute, than to permit Belisarius to obtain new laurels
-by chastising their audacity.
-
-From this period, Belisarius continued under the displeasure of
-Justinian, whose suspicious temper seemed to grow more virulent as his
-faculties sunk in the dotage of years. In 563, several conspiracies
-against the life of Justinian were detected, and under torture, some of
-the domestics of Belisarius accused their master of participation. This
-testimony, disproved by the long life and the habitually submissive
-loyalty of Belisarius, was sufficient for his conviction. He was
-stripped of his fortune, deprived of his guards, and detained as a
-close prisoner in his palace.
-
-The other conspirators were condemned and executed; but, in
-consideration of the past services of Belisarius, the decree of death
-was changed for that of blindness, and his eyes were accordingly put
-out.[3] He was now restored to liberty, but, deprived of all means
-of subsistence, he was compelled to beg his bread before the gates of
-the convent of Laurus. There he stood with a wooden platter which he
-held out for charity, exclaiming to the passers-by, “Give a penny to
-Belisarius the general!”
-
-The affecting scene was long impressed upon the recollection of the
-people; and it would seem that this spectacle of persecuted merit
-aroused some dangerous feelings of indignation and pity, and he was,
-therefore, removed from public view. Belisarius was brought back to his
-former palace, and a portion of his treasures was allotted for his use.
-His death, which was doubtless hastened by the grief and hardships of
-his lot, occurred in 565; and Antonina, who survived him, devoted the
-remains of her life and fortune to the cloister.
-
-In person, Belisarius was tall and commanding; his features regular
-and noble. When he appeared in the streets of Constantinople, he never
-failed to attract the admiration of the people. As a military leader,
-he was enterprising, firm, and fearless. His conception was clear,
-and his judgment rapid and decisive. His conquests were achieved with
-smaller means than any other of like extent recorded in history. He
-experienced reverses in the field; but never did he fail without
-strong and sufficient reason. His superior tactics covered his defeats,
-retrieved his losses, and prevented his enemies from reaping the fruits
-of victory. Never, even in the most desperate emergencies, was he known
-to lose his courage or presence of mind.
-
-Though living in a barbarous and dissolute age, Belisarius possessed
-many shining virtues. In the march of his armies, he would avoid the
-trampling of the corn-fields, nor would he allow his soldiers even to
-gather apples from the trees without making payment to the villagers.
-After a victory, it was his first care to extend mercy and protection
-to the vanquished. The gift of a golden bracelet or collar rewarded
-any valorous achievement among his troops; the loss of a horse or
-weapon was immediately supplied from his private funds; the wounded
-ever found in him a father and a friend. To all, he was open and easy
-of access, and by his courteous demeanor often comforted, where he
-could not relieve. From his generosity, one would have deemed him rich;
-from his manners, poor. His private virtues promoted and confirmed the
-discipline of his soldiers. None ever saw him flushed with wine, nor
-could the charms of his fairest captives overcome his conjugal fidelity.
-
-But the most remarkable feature in the character of Belisarius is his
-steadfast loyalty, and the noble magnanimity with which he overlooked
-the suspicious meanness and ingratitude of his sovereign. It is
-impossible to find in history another instance of an individual so
-strongly induced to rebellion by treacherous treatment on the part of
-his country, and the opportunity of placing a crown upon his head
-without the risk of effectual opposition, who refused, from patriotic
-motives, the double temptation.
-
-That Belisarius had faults, is not to be denied. His blind submission
-to his wife displayed great weakness, and led him into most of the
-errors which are charged upon his public career. In his last campaign
-in Italy, his wealth having been exhausted by an enormous fine, he
-endeavored to repair his losses by imitating the rapacity universally
-practised by other commanders of that period. He thus inflicted upon
-his memory a serious stain, and showed that, however he was exalted
-above the age, he was still a man. His whole career affords a striking
-moral, coinciding with the emphatic language of Scripture, “Put not thy
-trust in princes.”
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Footnote 1: These were a digest of the civil law of Rome, made by the
-order of Justinian, and have been preserved to our time. They contained
-five hundred and thirty-four decisions or judgments of lawyers, to
-which the emperor gave the force of law. The compilation consists of
-fifty books, and has contributed to save Justinian’s name from the
-contempt and reproach which had otherwise been heaped upon it.]
-
-[Footnote 2: A space where the chariot races were exhibited.]
-
-[Footnote 3: This portion of the story of Belisarius has been the
-subject of controversy. It has been doubted by Gibbon and other
-historians, whether the infliction of blindness upon Belisarius and
-his beggary, were not mere traditionary fables. But Lord Mahon, in his
-excellent life of the great Roman general from which we have drawn the
-preceding account, appears to have established their authenticity. The
-beautiful tale of Belisarius by Marmontel, is fictitious in many of its
-details.]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                       ATTILA, KING OF THE HUNS
-
-
-This renowned barbarian was the son of Mandras, and of a royal line. He
-served in the army of his uncle, Roas, who was king of the Huns. At his
-death, in 433, he succeeded him, sharing the throne with his brother
-Bleda. The Huns at this period were very numerous and warlike. They
-extended over the southern part of Russia, and a considerable portion
-of the present empire of Austria. Attila’s kingdom lay between the
-Carpathian mountains and the Danube, and was called Pannonia.
-
-At this period, the Roman empire had been for more than a century
-divided into the Eastern and Western empire. Theodosius II. was
-now emperor of the former, and Constantinople its capital, while
-Valentinian III. was emperor of the latter, and Rome, or Ravenna, the
-seat of his government.
-
-Both branches of the Roman empire were now sunk in the lap of luxury.
-They were spread over with splendid cities, and enriched with all the
-refinements of art, and all the spoils gathered from every quarter
-of the world. These offered a tempting inducement to the fierce and
-hungry barbarians of the north. Alaric[4] had shown the way to Rome a
-few years before, and taught the weakness of the queen of the world.
-Constantinople was not likely to be an inferior or more inaccessible
-prize. Attila’s dominions bordered upon those of the two empires, and
-the distance to either capital was not more than five or six hundred
-miles.
-
-Among the first achievements of the two brothers, they threatened
-the Eastern empire with their armies, and twice compelled the weak
-Theodosius to purchase peace on humiliating terms. They then extended
-their dominions both east and west, until they reigned over the whole
-country from the Baltic to the Caspian Sea.
-
-Attila was regarded by the Huns as their bravest warrior, and most
-skilful general. He performed such feats of valor, and success so
-uniformly attended his career, that the ignorant and superstitious
-people were inclined to think him more than mortal. He took advantage
-of this feeling, and pretended that he had found the sword of their
-tutelar god, and that with this he intended to conquer the whole earth.
-Being unwilling to hold a divided sceptre, he caused his brother Bleda
-to be murdered, and when he gave out that it was done by the command of
-God, the event was celebrated with the greatest demonstrations of joy.
-
-Being now sole master of a warlike people, his ambition made him the
-terror of all the surrounding nations. It was a saying of his own, that
-no grass grew where his horse had set his foot, and the title of the
-“Scourge of God” was assigned to him, as characterizing his career.
-He extended his dominions over the whole of Germany and Scythia. The
-Vandals, the Ostrogoths, and a part of the Franks, acknowledged his
-sway, and both the Eastern and Western empires paid him tribute.
-Historians tell us that his army amounted to 700,000 men.
-
-Having heard of the riches of Persia, he directed his march against it.
-Being defeated on the plains of Armenia, he turned back, to satisfy
-his desire of plunder in the dominions of the emperor of the East.
-Regardless of existing treaties, he laid waste the whole country from
-the Black Sea to the Adriatic. In three bloody engagements, he defeated
-the troops sent against him by Theodosius. Thrace, Macedonia, and
-Greece, were overrun by the savage robber, and seventy flourishing
-cities were utterly destroyed.
-
-Theodosius was now at the mercy of the victor and was obliged to sue
-for peace. One of the servants of Attila, named Edekon, was tempted
-by an agent of the emperor to undertake the assassination of his
-master, on his return to Pannonia; but, at the moment he was about to
-accomplish his object, his courage failed him, he fell on his knees
-before Attila, confessed his criminal design, and disclosed the plot.
-Constantinople trembled at the idea of Attila’s revenge; but he was
-contented with upbraiding Theodosius, and the execution of Crisapheus,
-who had drawn his servant into the scheme.
-
-Priscus, a Roman historian, who was an ambassador to Attila in the
-year 448, gives an interesting account of the king and his people. He
-found the palace in the midst of a large village. The royal edifice was
-entirely of wood: the houses of the Huns were also of wood, sometimes
-mixed with mortar made of earth. The only stone building was a set
-of baths. The wooden pillars of the palace were carved and polished,
-and the ambassador could discover some evidence of taste in the
-workmanship, as well as barbarous magnificence in the display of rich
-spoils taken from more civilized nations.
-
-They were soon invited to a sumptuous entertainment, in which the
-guests were all served upon utensils of silver and gold; but a dish of
-plain meat was set before the king on a wooden trencher, of which he
-partook very sparingly. His beverage was equally simple and frugal. The
-rest of the company were excited into loud and frequent laughter by
-the fantastic extravagances of two buffoons; but Attila preserved his
-usually inflexible gravity. A secret agent in the embassy was charged
-with the disgraceful task of procuring the assassination of this
-formidable enemy. Attila was acquainted with this, which was the real
-object of the mission, but he dismissed the culprit, as well as his
-innocent companions, uninjured. The emperor Theodosius was compelled,
-however, to atone for his base attempt, by a second embassy, loaded
-with magnificent presents, which the king of the Huns was prevailed
-upon to accept. Theodosius died not long after, and was succeeded by
-the more virtuous and able Marcian.
-
-Attila was at this time collecting an enormous army, and threatened
-both divisions of the Roman world at once. To each emperor he sent
-the haughty message, “Attila, my lord and thy lord, commands thee
-immediately to prepare a palace for his reception!” To this insult, he
-added a demand upon the emperor for the remainder of the tribute due
-from Theodosius. Marcian’s reply was in the same laconic style: “I have
-gold for my friends, and steel for my enemies!”
-
-Attila determined to make war first on Valentinian. Honoria, the
-emperor’s sister, who had been guilty of some youthful error, and was
-consequently confined in a convent, had sent Attila a ring, offering to
-become his wife. It was to claim her and half the empire as her dower,
-that Attila professed to be making these formidable preparations. At
-last, he appeared to accept the excuse of Theodosius for not allowing
-his sister to become his wife, and speedily marched with a prodigious
-force to the westward. He set out in midwinter, and did not pause
-till he reached the Rhine. Having defeated the Franks, he cut down
-whole forests to make rafts for his army to cross the river, and now,
-throwing off the mask, entered Gaul, a dependency of Rome.
-
-The horrors of his march it is scarcely possible to describe.
-Everything was destroyed that came in his way. Before him were terror
-and despair; behind, a broad track marked with desolation, ruin and
-death. He proceeded in his victorious career, till he reached the
-ancient town of Orleans. Here an obstinate defence was offered. The
-combined armies of Rome, under the celebrated Ætius, and the Goths
-under Theodoric, attacked him here, and compelled him to raise the
-siege. He retreated to Champaign, and waited for them in the plain of
-Chalons. The two armies soon approached each other.
-
-Anxious to know the event of the coming battle, Attila consulted
-the sorcerers, who foretold his defeat. Though greatly alarmed, he
-concealed his feelings, and rode among his warriors, animating them for
-the impending struggle. Inflamed by his ardor, the Huns were eager for
-the contest. Both armies fought bravely. At length the ranks of the
-Romans and Gauls were broken, and Attila felt assured of victory, when,
-suddenly, Thorismond, son of Theodoric, swept down like an avalanche
-from the neighboring heights upon the Huns. He threw them into
-disorder, spread death through their ranks, and Attila, pressed on all
-sides, escaped to his camp with the utmost difficulty.
-
-This was the bloodiest battle ever fought in Europe, for 106,000
-men lay dead on the field. Theodoric was slain, and Attila, who had
-gathered his treasures into a heap, in order to burn himself with them
-in case he was reduced to extremities, was left unexpectedly to make
-his retreat.
-
-Having returned to Hungary and reinforced his army, he proceeded to
-repeat his demand for the hand of Honoria. He mastered the unguarded
-passes of the Alps, and, in 452, carried devastation into the north
-of Italy. At last he approached the city of Rome, when a supplicatory
-embassy met him, Pope Leo I. being at its head. The eloquence of the
-pontiff, united to prudential considerations, prevailed, and the city
-was saved; Attila returning to his home beyond the Danube. The Romans
-looked upon this preservation as a miracle, and they have preserved
-a legend that St. Peter and St. Paul appeared to the barbarian, and
-threatened him with instant death, if he did not accept the proffered
-terms.
-
-Attila now soothed himself by adding the beautiful Ildico to his
-numerous wives, whom he wedded with all due ceremony. On this occasion
-he gave himself up to licentiousness, but in the morning after his
-marriage, he was found dead in his tent, and covered with blood, Ildico
-sitting veiled by his side. The story went abroad that he had burst
-a blood-vessel, and died in consequence, but a common suspicion is
-entertained that he was stabbed by his bride.
-
-The news of Attila’s death spread terror and sorrow among his army.
-His body was enclosed in three coffins,—the first of gold, the second
-of silver, and the third of iron. The captives who dug his grave were
-strangled, so that the place of his burial might not be known.
-
-In person, Attila was marked with the Tartar characteristics, from
-which he, as well as the people of his kingdom, were descended. He was
-low in stature, broad-chested, and of a powerful frame. He was dark
-complexioned, with a few straggling hairs for beard, a flat nose, large
-head, and small eyes. No one could look upon him, and not feel that
-he had come into the world to disturb it. The number of persons slain
-in his battles amounted to hundreds of thousands, yet to so little
-purpose, that his empire was immediately dismembered upon his death.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Footnote 4: Alaric was one of the most eminent of those northern
-chiefs who successively overran Italy, during the decline of the
-Western empire, and the first who gained possession of imperial Rome.
-He learned the art of war under the celebrated emperor of the East,
-Theodosius, who curbed the depredations of the Goths. At his death,
-Alaric became their leader, and overran Greece, A. D. 396. In the year
-403, he entered Italy with a powerful army, but was defeated, and
-retired to his own country. In 410, he again entered Italy, besieged
-and took Rome, which he entered at midnight, and gave it up to plunder
-and pillage for six days. He now led his troops into the southern
-provinces of Italy, but died suddenly while he was besieging Cozenza.
-He was buried in the channel of the river Bucente, in Naples, that his
-remains might not be found by the Romans. To perform the burial, the
-water of the river was turned out of its course.]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                                 NERO.
-
-
-Claudius Cæsar Nero was son of Caius Domitius Ænobarbus and Agrippina,
-the daughter of Germanicus and wife of the Emperor Claudius, after the
-death of her first husband. He was adopted by the Emperor Claudius,
-A.D. 50, and when he was murdered by his wife, four years after, Nero
-succeeded him on the throne. He possessed excellent talents, and
-was carefully educated by Seneca and Burrhus. The beginning of his
-reign was marked by acts of the greatest kindness and condescension,
-by affability, complaisance and popularity. The object of his
-administration seemed to be the good of his people; and when he
-was desired to sign his name for the execution of a malefactor, he
-exclaimed, “I wish to heaven I could not write!” He appeared to be an
-enemy to flattery, and when the senate had liberally commended the
-wisdom of his government, Nero desired them to keep their praises till
-he deserved them.
-
-But these promising virtues were soon discovered to be artificial,
-and Nero displayed the real propensities of his nature. He delivered
-himself from the sway of his mother, and at last ordered her to be
-assassinated. This unnatural act of barbarity shocked some of the
-Romans; but Nero had his devoted adherents; and when he declared
-that he had taken away his mother’s life to save himself from ruin,
-the senate applauded his measures, and the people signified their
-approbation. Even Burrhus and Seneca, Nero’s advisers, either
-counselled or justified his conduct. Many of his courtiers shared the
-unhappy fate of Agrippina, and Nero sacrificed to his fury or caprice
-all such as obstructed his pleasures, or stood in the way of his
-inclinations.
-
-In the night he generally sallied out from his palace, to visit the
-meanest taverns and the scenes of debauchery in which Rome abounded.
-In his nocturnal riots he was fond of insulting the people in the
-streets, and on one occasion, an attempt to offer violence to the wife
-of a Roman senator nearly cost him his life. He also turned actor, and
-publicly appeared on the Roman stage, in the meanest characters. He had
-an absurd passion to excel in music, and to conquer the disadvantages
-of a hoarse, rough voice, he moderated his meals, and often passed the
-day without eating.
-
-The celebrity of the Olympic games having attracted his notice, he
-passed into Greece, and presented himself as a candidate for the
-public honors. He was defeated in wrestling, but the flattery of the
-spectators adjudged him the victory, and Nero returned to Rome with all
-the pomp and splendor of an eastern conqueror, drawn in the chariot
-of Augustus, and attended by a band of musicians, actors, and stage
-dancers from every part of the empire.
-
-These private and public amusements of the emperor were comparatively
-innocent; his character was injured, but not the lives of the people.
-His conduct, however, soon became more censurable; he was guilty of
-various acts which cannot be even named with decency. The cruelty of
-his nature was displayed in the sacrifice of his wives Octavia and
-Poppæa; and the celebrated writers, Seneca, Lucan, Petronius, &c.,
-became the victims of his wantonness. The Christians did not escape
-his barbarity. He had heard of the burning of Troy, and as he wished
-to renew that dismal scene, he caused Rome to be set on fire in
-different places. The conflagration became soon universal, and during
-nine successive days the fire was unextinguished. All was desolation;
-nothing was heard but the lamentations of mothers whose children had
-perished in the flames, the groans of the dying, and the continual fall
-of palaces and buildings.
-
-Nero was the only one who enjoyed the general consternation. He placed
-himself on a high tower and he sang on his lyre the destruction
-of Troy; a dreadful scene which his barbarity had realized before
-his eyes. He attempted to avert the public odium from his head, by
-a feigned commiseration of the sufferings of his subjects, and by
-charging the fire upon the Christians. He caused great numbers of them
-to be seized and put to death. Some were covered with the skins of wild
-beasts, and killed by dogs set upon them; others were crucified; others
-were smeared with pitch and burned, at night, in the imperial gardens,
-for the amusement of the people!
-
-Nero began to repair the streets and the public buildings at his own
-expense. He built himself a celebrated palace, which he called his
-golden house. It was profusely adorned with gold and precious stones,
-and with whatever was rare and exquisite. It contained spacious fields,
-artificial lakes, woods, gardens, orchards, and every device that
-could exhibit beauty and grandeur. The entrance to this edifice would
-admit a colossal image of the emperor, one hundred and twenty feet
-high; the galleries were each a mile long, and the whole was covered
-with gold. The roofs of the dining halls represented the firmament, in
-motion as well as in figure, and continually turned round, night and
-day, showering all sorts of perfumes and sweet waters. When this grand
-edifice, which, according to Pliny, extended all round the city, was
-finished, Nero said that he could now lodge like a man!
-
-His profusion was not less remarkable in all his other actions. When
-he went fishing, his nets were made with gold and silk. He never
-appeared twice in the same garment, and when he undertook a voyage,
-there were thousands of servants to take care of his wardrobe. His
-continued debauchery, cruelty, and extravagance at last roused the
-resentment of the people. Many conspiracies were formed against him,
-but they were generally discovered, and such as were accessory,
-suffered the greatest punishments. One of the most dangerous plots
-against Nero’s life was that of Piso, from which he was delivered
-by the confession of a slave. The conspiracy of Galba proved more
-successful; for the conspirator, when he was informed that his design
-was known to Nero, declared himself emperor. The unpopularity of Nero
-favored his cause; he was acknowledged by the whole Roman empire, and
-the senate condemned the tyrant, that sat on the throne, to be dragged,
-naked, through the streets of Rome, whipped to death, and afterwards
-to be thrown from the Tarpeian rock, like the meanest malefactor.
-This, however, was not done, for Nero, by a voluntary death, prevented
-the execution of the sentence. He killed himself, A. D. 68, in the
-thirty-second year of his age, after a reign of thirteen years and
-eight months.
-
-Rome was filled with acclamations at the intelligence of this event,
-and the citizens, more strongly to indicate their joy, wore caps such
-as were generally used by slaves who had received their freedom. Their
-vengeance was not only exercised against the statues of the deceased
-tyrant, but his friends were the objects of the public resentment, and
-many were crushed to pieces in such a violent manner, that one of the
-senators, amid the universal joy, said that he was afraid they should
-soon have cause to wish for Nero. The tyrant, as he expired, begged
-that his head might not be cut off from his body and exposed to the
-insolence of an enraged populace, but that the whole might be burned
-on a funeral pile. His request was granted, and his obsequies were
-performed with the usual ceremonies.
-
-Though his death seemed to be the source of universal gladness, yet
-many of his favorites lamented his fall, and were grieved to see
-that their pleasures and amusements were terminated by the death of
-the patron of debauchery and extravagance. Even the king of Parthia
-sent ambassadors to Rome to condole with the Romans, and to beg that
-they would honor and revere the memory of Nero. His statues were
-also crowned with garlands of flowers, and many believed that he was
-not dead, but that he would soon make his appearance and take a due
-vengeance upon his enemies. It will be sufficient to observe, in
-finishing the character of this tyrannical emperor and detestable man,
-that the name of _Nero_ is, even now, the common designation of a
-barbarous and unfeeling oppressor.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                         LUCIUS ANNÆUS SENECA.
-
-
-This individual, whose “Morals” are so familiar to us, was born
-at Corduba, in Spain, six years before Christ. His father was a
-rhetorician of some celebrity, and a portion of his works has come down
-to our time. While Lucius was yet a child, he removed from Corduba to
-Rome, which henceforward became his residence. The son, possessing
-very promising talents, received the greatest care and attention in
-respect to his education. He was taught eloquence by his father, and
-took lessons in philosophy from the most celebrated masters. According
-to the custom of those who sought to excel in wisdom and knowledge, he
-travelled in Greece and Egypt, after completing his studies, and his
-work entitled _Quæstiones Naturales_ showed that he made good use of
-his opportunities during this excursion; it also proves that he was
-master of the science of his time.
-
-Young Seneca was fascinated with the philosophical speculations of
-the Stoics,[5] to which sect he became devoted. He even adopted the
-austere modes of life they inculcated, and refused to eat the flesh of
-animals; but when the emperor, Tiberius,[6] threatened to punish some
-Jews and Egyptians for abstaining from certain meats, at the suggestion
-of his father, he departed from this singularity. In compliance with
-his father’s advice, who urged upon him the necessity of devoting
-himself to some kind of business, he adopted the profession of an
-advocate.
-
-As a pleader, Seneca appeared to great advantage, and consequently
-excited the envy of Caligula, who aspired to the reputation of an
-orator. Apprehensive of the consequences, he changed his views, and
-became a candidate for the honors and offices of the state. He was made
-prætor, under Claudius, but, being charged with a shameful intrigue
-with a lady of rank, he was banished to Corsica. Though his guilt was
-not satisfactorily proved, he continued for five years in exile; during
-which period he wrote a treatise on Consolation. In this, he seems to
-draw contentment and peace from philosophical views, and one would
-fancy that he was elevated by these, above the evils of his condition.
-Yet, unhappily for his reputation in respect to consistency and
-sincerity, history tells us that, at this period, he was suing to the
-emperor in the most abject terms for restitution.
-
-Claudius[7] at length married Agrippina, and Seneca, being recalled,
-was made preceptor of Nero, the son of Agrippina, who was destined to
-become emperor. From the favorable traits of character displayed by
-the pupil of the philosopher in the early part of his career, it might
-seem that Seneca’s instructions had exerted a good influence over him.
-But an impartial scrutiny of the events of that period has led to the
-probable conclusion that he was a pander to the worst of Nero’s vices.
-It is certain that he acquired immense wealth in a short period of
-time, and it appears that this was obtained through the munificence
-of his royal patron. The latter was avaricious and mercenary, and was
-likely to part with his money only for such things as ministered to his
-voluptuous passions.
-
-The possessions of Seneca were enormous. He had several gardens and
-villas in the country, and a magnificent palace in Rome. This was
-sumptuously furnished, and contained five hundred tables of cedar,
-with feet of ivory, and all of exquisite workmanship. His ready cash
-amounted to about twelve millions of dollars. It appears certain
-that such riches could not have been acquired by means of Seneca’s
-precepts; and the inference of many of his contemporaries, as well as
-of posterity, has been, that the virtue which appears so lovely in his
-pages was but the decorous veil of avarice, vice, and crime.
-
-For a period after his accession to the throne, Nero’s conduct was
-deserving of praise; but he soon threw off all regard even to decency,
-and launched forth upon that career which has made his name a by-word
-and reproach for all after time. Seneca, being accused of having
-amassed immense wealth by improper means, became greatly alarmed;
-for he knew the tyrant so well as to foresee that, under color of
-this charge, he was very likely to sacrifice him, in order to obtain
-his property. Pretending, therefore, to be indifferent to riches, he
-begged the emperor to accept of his entire fortune, and permit him to
-spend the remainder of his days in the quiet pursuits of philosophy.
-The emperor, with deep dissimulation, refused this offer—no doubt
-intending in some other way to compass the ruin of Seneca.
-
-Aware of his danger, the philosopher now kept himself at home for
-a long period, as if laboring under disease. Some time after, a
-conspiracy for the murder of Nero, headed by Piso, was detected.
-Several of the most noble of the Roman senators were concerned, and
-Seneca’s name was mentioned as an accessory. Nero, doubtless glad of an
-opportunity to sacrifice him, now sent a command that he should destroy
-himself.
-
-It has been a question whether Seneca was really concerned in the
-conspiracy of Piso. The proof brought against him was not indeed
-conclusive, but it is obvious that his position might lead him to
-desire the death of the tyrant, as the only means of safety to himself;
-and Seneca’s character, unfortunately, is not such as to shield his
-memory against strong suspicion of participation in the alleged crime.
-
-Seneca was at table, with his wife, Paulina, and two of his friends,
-when the messenger of Nero arrived. He heard the words which commanded
-him to take his own life, with philosophic firmness, and even with
-apparent joy. He observed that such a mandate might long have been
-expected from a man who had murdered his own mother and assassinated
-his best friends. He wished to dispose of his possessions as he
-pleased, but his request was refused. When he heard this, he turned to
-those around who were weeping at his fate, and told them, that, since
-he could not leave them what he believed his own, he would leave them
-at least his own life for an example—an innocent conduct, which they
-might imitate, and by which they might acquire immortal fame.
-
-Against their tears and wailings, he exclaimed with firmness, and asked
-them whether they had not learned better to withstand the attacks of
-fortune and the violence of tyranny. As for his wife, he attempted to
-calm her emotions, and when she seemed resolved to die with him, he
-said he was glad to have his example followed with so much constancy.
-Their veins were opened at the same moment; but Nero, who was partial
-to Paulina, ordered the blood to be stopped, and her life was thus
-preserved.
-
-Seneca’s veins bled but slowly, and the conversation of his dying
-moments was collected by his friends, and preserved among his works. To
-hasten his death, he drank a dose of poison, but it had no effect, and
-therefore he ordered himself to be carried to a hot bath, to accelerate
-the operation of the draught, and to make the blood flow more freely.
-This was attended with no better success, and, as the soldiers were
-clamorous, he was carried into a stove, and suffocated by the steam.
-Thus he died, in the 66th year of the Christian era.
-
-The death of Seneca has been loudly applauded, and has sometimes been
-pronounced sublime; but this is owing to an ignorance of the time,
-and inattention to Seneca’s own doctrines. With the Stoics, death was
-nothing; “It is not an evil, but the absence of all evil.” This was
-their creed. With such principles, there could be no fear of death,
-and consequently, we find that courage to die—if it be courage to
-encounter that which is not an evil—was common in Seneca’s time. “At
-that period of languor and luxury,” says M. Nisard, “of monstrous
-effeminacies, of appetites for which the world could hardly suffice—of
-perfumed baths, of easy and disorderly intrigues, there were daily men
-of all ranks, of all fortunes, of all ages, who released themselves
-from their evils by death. How was it possible for them to avoid
-suicide, with no other consolation than the philosophy of Seneca, and
-his theories on the delights of poverty?
-
-“Marcellinus[8] is attacked with a painful but curable malady. He is
-young, rich, has slaves, friends, everything to make life pleasant: no
-matter, he conceives the fancy of the pleasure of dying. He assembles
-his friends; he consults them as if he were going to marry. He
-discusses with them his project of suicide, and puts it to the vote.
-Some advise him to do as he pleases; but a Stoic, a friend of Seneca’s,
-then present, exhorts him bravely to die. His principal reason is that
-he is _ennuyé_. No one contradicts the Stoic. Marcellinus thanks his
-friends, and distributes money to his slaves. He abstains for three
-days from all food, and is then carried into a warm bath, where he
-quickly expires, having muttered some words on the pleasure he felt in
-dying.
-
-“This pleasure was so little of an affectation, so much had it become
-the fashion, that some of the austere Stoics thought themselves bound
-to place certain restrictions upon it. They committed suicide from
-_ennui_, from idleness, from want of patience to cure themselves of
-their ills,—for distraction—much in the same way that they killed
-each other in duels, under Cardinal Richelieu.”
-
-Viewed in this light, Seneca’s death had nothing in it of the sublime:
-he yielded but to a fashion; he only practised what was common. If he
-sincerely believed his professed creed—that death is the absence
-of all evil—he neither evinced courage nor dignity; if he did not
-believe, then his conduct displayed but the skilful acting of a part,
-and under circumstances which mark him with the deepest hypocrisy.
-
-It is impossible to deny that Seneca’s works are full of wisdom, though
-they fall far short of the Christian’s philosophy. In his treatise upon
-benefits, for example, we have the following passage:—
-
-“The good will of the benefactor is the fountain of all benefits;
-nay, it is the benefit itself, or, at least, the stamp that makes it
-valuable and current. Some there are, I know, that take the matter
-for the benefit, and tax the obligation by weight and measure. When
-anything is given them, they presently cast it up—‘What may such a
-house be worth? such an office? such an estate?’ as if that were the
-benefit which is only the sign and mark of it, for the obligation
-rests in the mind, not in the matter; and all those advantages which
-we see, handle, or hold in actual possession, by the courtesy of
-another, are but several modes or ways of explaining and putting the
-good will in execution. There needs no subtlety to prove that both
-benefits and injuries receive their value from the intention, when
-even brutes themselves are able to decide this question. Tread upon a
-dog by chance, or put him in pain upon the dressing of a wound, the
-one he passes by as an accident, and the other, in his fashion, he
-acknowledges as a kindness. But offer to strike at him—though you do
-him no hurt at all—he flies in the face of you, even for the mischief
-that you barely meant him.”
-
-This is all just and true: it makes the heart the seat of moral action,
-and thus far coincides with the Christian’s philosophy. But if there be
-nothing after death, what sanction has virtue? It may be more beautiful
-than vice, and consequently preferable, just as a sweet perfume is
-more desirable than an offensive odor. It is good taste, therefore,
-to be virtuous. Still, each individual may choose for himself, and
-without future responsibility, for all alike must share the oblivion
-of the tomb. The insufficiency of this philosophy to ensure virtue, is
-attested by the life of Seneca, as well as that of most of his sect. It
-resulted in the grossest hypocrisy; an ostentation of virtue, covering
-up the practice of vice.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Footnote 5: The Stoics were the followers of Zeno, a Greek philosopher
-of Citium. They professed to prefer virtue to everything else, and
-to regard vice as the greatest of evils. They required an absolute
-command over the passions, and maintained the ability of man to attain
-perfection and felicity in this life. They encouraged suicide, and held
-that the doctrine of rewards and punishments was unnecessary to enforce
-virtue upon mankind.]
-
-[Footnote 6: Tiberius succeeded Augustus Cæsar, as emperor; at his
-succession he gave promise of a happy reign, but he soon disgraced
-himself by debauchery, cruelty, and the most flagitious excesses. It
-was wittily said of him by Seneca that he was never intoxicated but
-once, for when he became drunk, his whole life was a continued state of
-inebriety. He died A. D. 37, after a reign of twenty-two years, and was
-succeeded by Caligula.
-
-For a brief period, Rome now enjoyed prosperity and peace; but the
-young emperor soon became proud, cruel and corrupt. He caused a temple
-to be erected to himself, and had his own image set in the place of
-Jupiter and the other deities. He often amused himself by putting
-innocent people to death; he attempted to famish Rome, and even wished
-that the Romans had one head, that he might strike it off at a blow! At
-last, weary of his cruelties, several persons formed a conspiracy and
-murdered him, A. D. 41. History does not furnish another instance of so
-great a monster as Caligula.]
-
-[Footnote 7: Claudius succeeded Caligula in 41, and, after a reign of
-thirteen years, he was poisoned by his wife, Agrippina.]
-
-[Footnote 8: Seneca, Ess. lxxvii.]
-
-
-
-
-                                VIRGIL.
-
-
-Mantua, the capital of New Etruria itself built three centuries before
-Rome, had the honor of giving birth to Publius Virgilius Maro. This
-event happened on or near the fifteenth of October, seventy years B.
-C, or during the first consulship of Pompey the Great and Licinius
-Crassus. Who his father was, and even to what country he belonged, has
-been the subject of much dispute. Some assert that he was a potter of
-Andes; but the most probable account is, that he was either a wandering
-astrologer, who practised physic, or a servant to one of this learned
-fraternity. It is observed by Juvenal, that _medicus, magus_ usually
-went together, and that this course of life was principally followed
-by the Greeks and Syrians; to one of these nations, therefore, it
-is presumed, Virgil owes his birth. His mother, Maia, was of good
-extraction, being nearly related to Quintilius Varus, of whom honorable
-mention is made in the history of the second Carthaginian war.
-
-It appears that all due attention was paid to young Virgil’s education.
-He passed through his initiatory exercises at Mantua; thence he removed
-to Cremona, and afterwards to Milan. In all these places he prosecuted
-his studies with the most diligent application, associating with the
-eminent professors of every department of science, and devoting whole
-nights to the best Latin and Greek authors. In the latter he was
-greatly assisted by his proximity to Marseilles, the only Greek colony
-that maintained its refinement and purity of language, amidst the
-overwhelming influence of all the barbarous nations that surrounded
-it. At first, he devoted himself to the Epicurean philosophy, but
-receiving no satisfactory reason for its tenets from his master, the
-celebrated Syro, he passed over to the academic school, where physics
-and mathematics became his favorite sciences; and these he continued to
-cultivate, at leisure moments, during his whole life.
-
-At Milan, he composed a great number of verses on various subjects,
-and, in the warmth of early youth, framed a noble design of writing
-an heroic poem, on the Wars of Rome; but, after some attempts, he was
-discouraged from proceeding, by the abruptness and asperity of the old
-Roman names.
-
-It is said that he here formed the plan and collected the materials
-for his principal poems. Some of these he had even begun; but a too
-intense application to his studies, together with abstinence and
-night-watching, had so impaired his health, that an immediate removal
-to a more southern part of Italy was deemed absolutely necessary for
-the preservation of his existence. He fixed upon Naples, and visiting
-Rome in his way, had the honor, through the interest of his kinsman
-and fellow-student, Varus, of being introduced to the emperor,
-Octavius, who received him with the greatest marks of esteem, and
-earnestly recommended his affairs to the protection of Pollio, then
-lieutenant of Cisalpine Gaul, where Virgil’s patrimony lay, and who
-generously undertook to settle his domestic concerns. Having this
-assurance, he pursued his journey to Naples. The charming situation
-of this place, the salubrity of the air, and the constant society of
-the greatest and most learned men of the time, who resorted to it,
-not only re-established his health, but contributed to the formation
-of that style and happy turn of verse in which he surpassed all his
-cotemporaries.
-
-To rank among the poets of their country, was, at this time, the
-ambition of the greatest heroes, statesmen, and orators of Rome.
-Cicero, Octavius, Pollio, Julius Cæsar, and even the stoical Brutus,
-had been carried away by the impetuosity of the stream; but that genius
-which had never deserted them in the forum, or on the day of battle,
-shrunk dismayed at a comparison with the lofty muse of Virgil; and,
-although they endeavored, by placing their poems in the celebrated
-libraries, to hand them down to posterity, scarcely a single verse of
-these illustrious authors survived the age in which they lived. This
-preponderence of fashion, however, was favorable to Virgil; he had for
-some time devoted himself to the study of the law, and even pleaded one
-cause with indifferent success; but yielding now to the impulse of the
-age and his own genius, he abandoned the profession and resumed with
-increased ardor the cultivation of that talent for which he afterwards
-became so distinguished.
-
-Captivated at an early age by the pastorals of Theocritus, Virgil was
-ambitious of being the primitive introducer of that species of poetry
-among the Romans. His first performance in this way, entitled Alexis,
-is supposed to have appeared when the poet was in his twenty-fifth
-year. Palæmon, which is a close imitation of the fourth and fifth Idyls
-of Theocritus, was probably his second; but as this period of the life
-of Virgil is enveloped in a considerable degree of obscurity,—few
-writers on the subject having condescended to notice such particulars
-as chronological arrangement,—little more than surmise can be
-offered to satisfy the researches of the curious. The fifth eclogue
-was composed in allusion to the death and deification of Cæsar, and
-is supposed to have been written subsequently to Silenus, his sixth
-eclogue. This is said to have been publicly recited on the stage, by
-the comedian Cytheris, and to have procured its author that celebrity
-and applause to which the peculiar beauty and sweetness of the poem so
-justly entitled him.
-
-The fatal battle of Philippi, in which Augustus and Antony were
-victorious, at once annihilated every shadow of liberty in the
-commonwealth. Those veteran legions, who had conquered the world,
-fought no more for the dearest rights of their country. Having been
-once its protectors, they now became its ravagers. As the _amor patria_
-no longer inspired them, the treasury of the Roman empire proved
-inadequate to allay their boundless thirst for wealth. Augustus,
-therefore, to silence their clamors, distributed among them the
-flourishing colony of Cremona, and, to make up the deficiency, added
-part of the state of Mantua. In vain did the miserable mothers, with
-famishing infants at their breasts, fill the forum with their numbers,
-and the air with their lamentations; in vain did the inhabitants
-complain of being driven, like vanquished enemies, from their native
-homes. Such scenes are familiar to the conquerors in a civil war; and
-those legions, which had sacrificed their own and their country’s
-liberty, must be recompensed at the expense of justice and the
-happiness of thousands. Virgil, involved in the common calamity, had
-recourse to his old patrons, Pollio and Mecænas;[9] and, supported
-by them, petitioned Augustus not only for the possession of his own
-property, but for the reinstatement of his countrymen in theirs also;
-which, after some hesitation, was denied, accompanied by a grant for
-the restitution of his individual estate.
-
-Full of gratitude for such favor, Virgil composed his Tityrus, in
-which he has introduced one shepherd complaining of the destruction of
-his farm, the anarchy and confusion of the times; and another rejoicing
-that he can again tune his reed to love amidst his flocks; promising to
-honor, as a superior being, the restorer of his happiness.
-
-Unfortunately for Virgil, his joy was not of long continuance, for, on
-arriving at Mantua, and producing his warrant to Arrius, a captain of
-foot, whom he found in possession of his house, the old soldier was so
-enraged at what he termed the presumption of a poet, that he wounded
-him dangerously with his sword, and would have killed him had he not
-escaped by swimming hastily over the Mincius. Virgil was, therefore,
-compelled to return half the length of Italy, with a body reduced by
-sickness, and a mind depressed by disappointment, again to petition
-Augustus for the restoration of his estate. During this journey, which,
-from the nature of his wound, was extremely slow, he is supposed to
-have written his Moeris, or ninth eclogue; and this conjecture is
-rendered more probable by the want of connexion, perceivable through
-the whole composition—displaying, evidently, the disorder at that time
-predominant in the poet’s mind. However, on his arrival at Rome, he had
-the satisfaction to find that effectual orders had been given in his
-behalf, and the farm was resigned into the hands of his procurator or
-bailiff, to whom the above pastoral is addressed.
-
-The Sibylline Oracles, having received information from the Jews that
-a child was to be born, who should be the Saviour of the world, and
-to whom nations and empires should bow with submission, pretended to
-foretell that this event would occur in the year of Rome, 714, after
-the peace concluded between Augustus and Antony. Virgil, viewing this
-prophecy with the vivid imagination of a poet, and willing to flatter
-the ambition of his patron, composed his celebrated eclogue, entitled
-Pollio, in which he supposes the child, who was thus to unite mankind
-and restore the golden age, to be the offspring of Octavia, wife of
-Antony, and half sister to Augustus. In this production, the consul
-Pollio, Octavia, and even the unborn infant, are flattered with his
-usual delicacy; and the rival triumviri, though a short time before in
-open hostility, have the honor of equally sharing the poet’s applause.
-
-While Pollio, who seems to have been the most accomplished man of his
-age, and is celebrated as a poet, soldier, orator and historian, was
-engaged in an expedition against the Parthini, whom he subdued, Virgil
-addressed to him his Pharmaceutria, one of the most beautiful of all
-his eclogues, and in imitation of a poem of the same name, by his
-favorite author, Theocritus. This production is the more valuable, as
-it has handed down to posterity some of the superstitious rites of the
-Romans and the heathen notions of enchantment. Virgil himself seems to
-have been conscious of the beauty of his subject, and the dignity of
-the person whom he was addressing; and, accordingly, has given us, by
-the fertility of his genius and the brilliancy of his imagination, some
-of the most sublime images that are to be found in any of the writings
-of antiquity.
-
-By the advice, and indeed at the earnest entreaty of Augustus, Virgil,
-in his thirty-fourth year, retired to Naples, and formed the plan of
-his Georgics: a design as new in Latin verse, as pastorals, before
-his, were in Italy. These he undertook for the interest, and to
-promote the welfare, of his country. As the continual civil wars had
-entirely depopulated and laid waste the land usually appropriated for
-cultivation, the peasants had turned soldiers, and their farms became
-scenes of desolation. Famine and insurrection were the inevitable
-consequences that followed such overwhelming calamities. Augustus,
-therefore, resolved to revive the decayed spirit of husbandry, and
-began by employing Virgil to recommend it with all the insinuating
-charms of poetry. This work took up seven of the most vigorous years of
-his life, and fully answered the expectations of his patron.
-
-Augustus, having conquered his rival, Antony, gave the last wound to
-expiring liberty, by usurping the exclusive government of the Roman
-empire. To reconcile a nation, naturally jealous of its freedom, to
-this, seems to have been the grand object of Virgil, in his Æneid. This
-poem was begun in the forty-fifth year of the author’s life, and not
-only displays admirable poetical genius, but great political address.
-Not an incident that could in any way tend to flatter the Roman
-people into a submission to the existing government, has escaped his
-penetrating judgment. He traces their origin to the Trojans, and makes
-Augustus a lineal descendant of Æneas. At the command of the gods they
-obey him, and in return are promised the empire of the world.
-
-So anxious was Augustus as to the result of this poem, that he insisted
-upon having part of it read before the whole was completed. Gratitude,
-after threats and entreaties had been used in vain, at length induced
-its author to comply; and, knowing that Octavia, who had just lost her
-son, Marcellus, would be present, Virgil fixed upon the sixth book,
-perhaps the finest part of the whole Æneid. His illustrious auditors
-listened with all the attention which such interesting narrative and
-eloquent recital demanded, till he came to that beautiful lamentation
-for the death of young Marcellus, and where, after exhausting
-panegyric, he has artfully suppressed the name of its object, till the
-concluding verse:
-
-
-    “Tu Marcellus eris.”
-
-
-At these words, Octavia, overcome with surprise and sorrow, fainted
-away; but, on recovering, was so highly gratified at having her son
-thus immortalized, that she presented the poet with ten _sesterces_ for
-each line; amounting, in the whole, to about ten thousand dollars.
-
-Having at length brought his Æneid to a conclusion, Virgil proposed
-travelling into Greece, and devoting three years to the correction and
-improvement of his favorite work. Having arrived at Athens, he met with
-Augustus, who was returning from a victorious expedition to the East,
-and who requested the company of the poet back to Italy. The latter
-deemed it his duty to comply; but, being desirous to see as many of
-the Grecian antiquities as the time would allow, went for that purpose
-to Megara. Here he was seized with a dangerous illness, which, from
-neglect, and the agitation of the vessel in returning to Italy, proved
-mortal, at Brundusium. Thus the great poet died on the twenty-second
-of September, nineteen years B. C, and at a period when he had
-nearly completed his fifty-second year. He expired with the greatest
-tranquillity; and his remains, being carried to Naples, were interred
-in a monument, erected at a small distance from the city; where it is
-still shown, with the following inscription, said to have been dictated
-by him on his death-bed:
-
-
-    Mantua me genuit; Calabri rapuere, tenet nunc
-    Parthenope; cecini pascua, rura, duces.
-
-
-In his will he had ordered that the Æneid should be burnt, not having
-finished it to his mind; but Augustus wisely forbade the destruction of
-a performance which will perpetuate his name, as one of the greatest
-of poets. It was, therefore, delivered to Varius and Tucca, Virgil’s
-intimate friends, with the strictest charge to make no additions, but
-merely to publish it correctly, in the state it then was.
-
-In person, Virgil was tall, and wide-shouldered, of a dark swarthy
-complexion, which probably proceeded from the southern extraction
-of his father; his constitution was delicate, and the most trifling
-fatigue, either from exercise or study, produced violent headache and
-spitting of blood. In temper he was melancholy and thoughtful, loving
-retirement and contemplation. Though one of the greatest geniuses
-of his age, and the admiration of the Romans, he always preserved
-a singular modesty, and lived chastely when the manners of the
-people were extremely corrupt. His character was so benevolent and
-inoffensive, that most of his cotemporary poets, though they envied
-each other, agreed in loving and esteeming him. He was bashful to a
-degree of timidity; his aspect and behavior was rustic and ungraceful;
-yet he was so honored by his countrymen, that once, coming into the
-theatre, the whole audience rose out of respect to him. His fortune was
-large, supposed to be about seventy thousand pounds sterling, besides
-which he possessed a noble mansion, and well-furnished library on the
-Esquiline Mount, at Rome, and an elegant villa in Sicily. Both these
-last, he left to Mecænas, at his death, together with a considerable
-proportion of his personal property; the remainder he divided between
-his relations and Augustus,—the latter having introduced a politic
-fashion of being in everybody’s will, which alone produced a sufficient
-revenue for a prince.
-
-The works of Virgil are not only valuable for their poetic beauties,
-but for their historical allusions and illustrations. We here find a
-more perfect and satisfactory account of the religious customs and
-ceremonies of the Romans, than in any other of the Latin poets, Ovid
-excepted. Everything he mentions is founded upon historical truth.
-He was uncommonly severe in revising his poetry—and often compared
-himself to a bear that licks her cubs into shape.
-
-In his intercourse with society, Virgil was remarkable; his friends
-enjoyed his unbounded confidence, and his library and possessions in
-Rome were so liberally offered for the use of those who needed them,
-as to seem to belong to the public. Amiable and exemplary, however, as
-he was, he had bitter enemies; but their revilings only served to add
-lustre to his name and fame.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Footnote 9: Mecænas, a celebrated Roman, who distinguished himself
-by his liberal patronage of learned men and letters. His fondness for
-pleasure removed him from the reach of ambition, and he preferred
-to live and die a knight, to all the honors and dignities that the
-Emperor Augustus could heap upon him. The emperor received the private
-admonitions of Mecænas in the same friendly way in which they were
-given. Virgil and Horace both enjoyed his friendship. He was fond of
-literature, and from the patronage which the heroic and lyric poets of
-the age received from him, patrons of literature have ever since been
-called by his name. Virgil dedicated to him his Georgics and Horace his
-Odes. He died eight years B. C.]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                                CICERO.
-
-
-Marcus Tullius Cicero was born on the 3d of January, 107, B. C. His
-mother, whose name was Helvia, was of an honorable and wealthy family;
-his father, named Marcus, was a wise and learned man of fortune, who
-lived at Apulia. This city was anciently of the Samnites, now part of
-the kingdom of Naples. Here Cicero was born, at his father’s country
-seat, which it seems was a most charming residence.
-
-The care which the ancient Romans bestowed upon the education of their
-children was worthy of all praise. Their attention to this, began from
-the moment of their birth. They were, in the first place, committed to
-the care of some prudent matron, of good character and condition, whose
-business it was to form their first habits of acting and speaking; to
-watch their growing passions, and direct them to their proper objects;
-to superintend their sports, and suffer nothing immodest or indecent
-to enter into them, that the mind, preserved in all its innocence,
-and undepraved by the taste of false pleasures, might be at liberty
-to pursue whatever was laudable, and apply its whole strength to that
-profession in which it should desire to excel.
-
-Though it was a common opinion among the Romans that children should
-not be instructed in letters till they were seven years old, yet
-careful attention was paid to their training, even from the age of
-three years. It was reckoned a matter of great importance what kind of
-language they were first accustomed to hear at home, and in what manner
-their nurses, and even their fathers and mothers spoke, since their
-first habits were then formed, either of a pure or corrupt elocution.
-The two Gracchi were thought to owe that elegance of speaking for which
-they were distinguished, to their mother, Cornelia, who was a very
-accomplished woman and remarkable for the purity of her diction, as
-well in speaking as writing.
-
-Young Cicero experienced the full advantage of these enlightened views,
-in his childhood. When he was of sufficient age to enter upon a regular
-course of study, his father removed to Rome, and placed him in a public
-school, under an eminent Greek master. Here he gave indications of
-those shining abilities, which rendered him afterwards so illustrious.
-His school-fellows carried home such stories of his extraordinary
-powers, that their parents were often induced to visit the school, for
-the sake of seeing a youth of such endowments.
-
-Encouraged by the promising genius of his son Cicero’s father spared no
-cost or pains to improve it by the help of the ablest professors. Among
-other eminent instructors, he enjoyed the teaching of the poet Archias.
-Under this master, he applied himself chiefly to poetry, to which he
-was naturally addicted and made such proficiency in it, that, while
-he was still a boy, he composed and published a poem, called Glaucus
-Pontius.
-
-After finishing the course of juvenile studies, it was the custom to
-change the dress of the boy for that of the man, and take what they
-called the _manly gown_, or the ordinary robe of the citizen. This was
-an occasion of rejoicing, for the youth thus passed from the power of
-his tutor into a state of greater liberty. He was at the same time
-introduced into the forum, or great square of the city, where the
-assemblies of the people were held. Here also, they were addressed
-by the magistrates, and here all the public pleadings and judicial
-transactions took place.
-
-When Cicero was sixteen years old, he was introduced to this place,
-with all customary solemnity. He was attended by the friends and
-dependants of the family, and after divine rites were performed in
-the capital, he was committed to the special protection of Q. Mucius
-Scævola, the principal lawyer as well as statesman of that age.
-
-Young Cicero made good use of the advantages he enjoyed. He spent
-almost his whole time in the society of his patron, carefully
-treasuring up in his memory the wisdom that fell from his lips. After
-his death, he came under the instruction of another of the same
-family—Scævola, the high priest, a person remarkable for his probity
-and skill in the law.
-
-The legal profession, as well as that of arms and eloquence, was a sure
-recommendation to the first honors of the republic; for it appears to
-have been the practice of many of the most eminent lawyers to give
-their advice gratis to all that asked it. It was the custom of the old
-senators, eminent for their wisdom and experience, to walk up and down
-the forum in the morning, freely offering their assistance to all who
-had occasion to consult them, not only in cases of law, but in relation
-to their private affairs. At a later period, they used to sit at home,
-with their doors open, upon a kind of throne, or raised seat, giving
-access and audience to all who might come.
-
-It is not surprising that a profession thus practised should be honored
-among the Roman people, nor is it wonderful that Cicero’s ambitious
-mind should have been attracted by so obvious a road to honor and
-preferment. But his views were not satisfied with being a mere lawyer.
-He desired especially to be an orator; and, conceiving that all kinds
-of knowledge would be useful in such a profession, he sought every
-opportunity to increase his stores of information. He also attended
-constantly at the forum, to hear the speeches and pleadings; he
-perused the best authors with care, so as to form an elegant style;
-and cultivated poetry, for the purpose of adding elegance and grace to
-his mind. While he was thus engaged, he also studied philosophy, and,
-for a time, was greatly pleased with Phædrus, the Epicurean, who then
-gave lessons at Rome. Though he retained his affection for the amiable
-philosopher, Cicero soon rejected his system as fallacious.
-
-It was always a part of the education of the young gentlemen of Rome,
-to learn the art of war by personal service, under some general of
-name and experience. Cicero accordingly took the opportunity to make
-a campaign with Strabo, the father of Pompey the Great. During this
-expedition, he manifested the same diligence in the army that he had
-done in the forum, to observe everything that passed. He sought to be
-always near the person of the general, that nothing of importance might
-escape his notice.
-
-Returning to Rome, Cicero pursued his studies as before, and about
-this time, Molo, the Rhodian, one of the most celebrated teachers of
-eloquence of that age, coming to the city to deliver lectures upon
-oratory, he immediately took the benefit of his instructions, and
-pursued his studies with ceaseless ardor. His ambition received an
-impulse at this time, from witnessing the fame of Hortensius, who made
-the first figure at the bar, and whose praises fired him with such
-emulation, that, for a time, he scarcely allowed himself rest from his
-studies, either day or night.
-
-He had in his own house a Greek preceptor, who instructed him in
-various kinds of learning, but more particularly in logic, to which
-he paid strict attention. He, however, never suffered a day to pass,
-without some exercise in oratory, particularly that of declaiming,
-which he generally performed with some of his fellow-students. He
-sometimes spoke in Latin, but more frequently in Greek, because the
-latter furnished a greater variety of elegant expressions, and because
-the Greek masters were far the best, and could not correct and improve
-their pupils, unless they declaimed in that language.
-
-Cicero had now passed through that course of discipline, which, in his
-treatise upon the subject, he lays down as necessary for the formation
-of an accomplished orator. He declares that no man should pretend to
-this, without being acquainted with everything worth being known, in
-art and nature; that this is implied in the very name of an orator,
-whose profession is to speak upon every subject proposed to him, and
-whose eloquence, without knowledge, would be little better than the
-prattle and impertinence of children.
-
-He had learnt grammar and the languages from the ablest teachers,
-passed through the studies of humanity and the polite letters with
-the poet Archias been instructed in philosophy by the principal
-philosophers of each sect—Phædrus the epicurean, Philo the academic,
-Diodorus the Stoic—and acquired a thorough knowledge of the law from
-the greatest jurists and statesmen of Rome—the two Scævolas.
-
-These accomplishments he regarded but as subservient to the object
-on which his ambition was placed,—the reputation of an orator. To
-qualify himself, therefore, particularly for this, he had attended
-the pleadings of the greatest speakers of his time, heard the daily
-lectures of the most eminent orators of Greece, constantly written
-compositions at home, and declaimed them under the correction of these
-masters.
-
-That he might lose nothing which would in any degree improve and polish
-his style, he spent the intervals of his leisure in the company of
-ladies, especially those who were remarkable for elegant conversation,
-and whose fathers had been distinguished for their eloquence. While he
-studied the law, therefore, under Scævola, the augur, he frequently
-conversed with his wife, Lælia, whose discourse he says was tinctured
-with all the eloquence of her father, Lælius, the most polished orator
-of his time. He also frequented the society of her daughter, Mucia, as
-well as that of two of her granddaughters, who all excelled in elegance
-of diction, and the most exact and delicate use of language.
-
-It is impossible not to admire the noble views which Cicero had formed
-of the profession to which he was to devote his life. Nor can we
-withhold praise for the diligence, energy and judgment with which he
-trained himself for entering upon the theatre of his ambition. If in
-all respects he is not to be regarded as a model for imitation, still,
-his example is thus far worthy of emulation to all those who seek to
-enjoy a virtuous and lasting fame.
-
-Thus adorned and accomplished, Cicero, at the age of twenty-six years,
-presented himself at the bar, and was soon employed in several private
-causes. His first case of importance was the defence of S. Roscius, of
-Ameria, which he undertook in his twenty-seventh year; the same age at
-which Demosthenes distinguished himself at Athens.
-
-The case of Roscius was this. His father was killed in the recent
-proscription of Sylla, and his estate, worth about £60,000 sterling,
-was sold, among the confiscated estates of the proscribed, for a
-trifling sum, to L. Cornelius Chrysogonus, a young favorite slave, whom
-Sylla had made free, and who, to secure possession of it, accused the
-son of the murder of his father, and had prepared evidence to convict
-him; so that the young man was likely to be deprived, not only of his
-fortunes, but, by a more villanous cruelty, of his honor also, and his
-life.
-
-The tyrant Sylla was at this time at the height of his power. Fearing
-his resentment, therefore, as well as the influence of the prosecutor,
-the older advocates of Rome refused to undertake the defence of
-Roscius, particularly as it would lead them into an exposure of the
-corruptions of the age, and the misdemeanors of those high in rank and
-office.
-
-But Cicero readily undertook it, as a glorious opportunity of enlisting
-in the service of his country, and giving a public testimony of his
-principles, and his zeal for that liberty to the support of which he
-was willing to devote the labors of his life. In the management of the
-cause, he displayed great skill and admirable eloquence. Roscius was
-acquitted, and Cicero was applauded by the whole city for his courage
-and address. From this period he was ranked as one of the ablest
-advocates of Rome.
-
-Having occasion in the course of his pleading to mention that
-remarkable punishment which their ancestors had contrived for the
-murder of a parent—that of sewing the criminal alive into a sack, and
-throwing him into a river—he says, “that the meaning of it was, to
-strike him at once, as it were, out of the system of nature, by taking
-him from the air, the sun, the water, and the earth; that he who had
-destroyed the author of his being, should lose the benefit of those
-elements whence all things derive their being. They would not throw him
-to the beasts, lest the contagion of such wickedness should make the
-beasts themselves more furious; they would not commit him naked to the
-stream, lest he should pollute the very sea, which was the purifier of
-all other pollutions; they left him no share of anything natural, how
-vile or common soever; for what is so common as breath to the living,
-earth to the dead, the sea to those who float, the shore to those who
-are cast up? Yet these wretches live so, as long as they can, as not to
-draw breath from the air; die so, as not to touch the ground; are so
-tossed by the waves, as not to be washed by them; so cast out upon the
-shore, as to find no rest, even on the rocks.”
-
-This passage was received with acclamations of applause; yet, speaking
-of it afterwards himself, Cicero calls it “the redundancy of a juvenile
-fancy, which wanted the correction of his sounder judgment; and, like
-all the compositions of young men, was not applauded so much for its
-own sake, as for the hopes which it gave of his more improved and
-ripened talents.”
-
-The popularity of his cause, and the favor of the audience, induced
-Cicero, in the course of his plea, to expose the insolence and villany
-of the favorite, Chrysogonus, with great freedom. He even ventured
-some bold strokes at Sylla himself. He took care, however, to palliate
-these, by observing, that through the multiplicity of Sylla’s affairs,
-who reigned as absolute on earth as Jupiter in heaven, it was not
-possible for him to know everything that was done by his agents, and
-that he was perhaps forced to connive at some of the corrupt practices
-of his favorites.
-
-Soon after this trial, Cicero set out for the purpose of visiting
-Greece and Asia, the fashionable tour of that day with those who
-travelled for pleasure or improvement. At Athens he spent six months,
-renewing the studies of his youth, under celebrated masters. He was
-here initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries, the end and aim of which
-appear to have been to inculcate the unity of God and the immortality
-of the soul.
-
-From Athens, he passed into Asia, where he was visited by the principal
-orators of the country. These kept him company through the remainder
-of his tour, frequently exercising themselves together in oratorical
-exhibitions. They came at last to Rhodes, where Cicero applied to Molo,
-and again became his pupil On a public occasion he made an address
-at the end of which, the company were lavish of their praises. Molo
-alone was silent, till, observing that Cicero was somewhat disturbed,
-he said, “As for you, Cicero, I praise and admire you, but pity the
-fortune of Greece, to see arts and eloquence, the only ornaments which
-were left to her, transplanted by you to Rome.”
-
-Soon after Cicero’s return from his travels, he pleaded the cause of
-the famous comedian, Roscius, whom a singular merit in his art had
-recommended to the familiarity and friendship of the greatest men of
-Rome. The case was this. One Fannius had made over to Roscius, a young
-slave, to be trained for the stage, on condition of a partnership in
-the profits which the slave should acquire by acting. The slave was
-afterwards killed, and Roscius prosecuted the murderer for damages, and
-obtained, by composition, a little farm, worth about 800 pounds, for
-his particular share. Fannius also sued separately, and was supposed to
-have gained as much, but, pretending to have recovered nothing, sued
-Roscius for the moiety of what he had received.
-
-One cannot but observe, from Cicero’s pleading, the wonderful esteem
-and reputation which Roscius enjoyed—of whom he draws a very amiable
-picture. “Has Roscius, then,” said he, “defrauded his partner? Can such
-a stain adhere to such a man, who—I speak it with confidence—has more
-integrity than skill, more veracity than experience; whom the people of
-Rome know to be a better man than he is an actor, and, while he makes
-the first figure on the stage in his art, is worthy of the senate for
-his virtues?”
-
-His daily pay for acting is said to have been about thirty pounds
-sterling. Pliny computes his yearly profit at 4000 pounds; but Cicero
-seems to rate it at 5000 pounds. He was generous, benevolent, and a
-contemner of money; after he had raised an ample fortune from the
-stage, he devoted his talents to the public, for many years, without
-pay; whence Cicero urges it as incredible that he, who in ten years
-past might honestly have gained fifty thousand pounds, which he
-refused, should be tempted to commit a fraud for the paltry sum of four
-hundred. We need but add that the defence was effectual.
-
-Soon after Cicero’s return to Rome, he, being about thirty years of
-age, was married to Terentia, a lady of good station in life, and of
-large fortune. Shortly after, he was a candidate for the office of
-quæstor, in which he succeeded by the unanimous suffrage of the tribes.
-
-The provinces of the quæstors being distributed by lot, the island
-of Sicily fell to Cicero’s share. This was called the granary of the
-republic, and this year, there being great scarcity at Rome, the people
-were clamorous for a supply. As it was a part of the duty of the
-quæstors to supply the city with corn, a difficult duty devolved upon
-Cicero; for, while he was to see that Rome was adequately furnished, it
-was necessary to avoid impoverishing the island. He, however, acquitted
-himself with the greatest prudence and address, displaying courtesy to
-the dealers, justice to the merchants, generosity to the inhabitants,
-and, in short, doing all manner of good offices to everybody. He
-thus obtained the love and admiration of the Sicilians, and, at his
-departure, they paid him greater honors than had ever been bestowed,
-even upon their own governors.
-
-In his hours of leisure, Cicero pursued his rhetorical studies, making
-it a rule never to let a day pass without some exercise of this kind.
-At the expiration of his year, he left the island, and, on his return
-to Rome, he stopped at Baiae, the chief seat of pleasure at that time
-in Italy, and where there was a perpetual resort of the rich and great,
-as well on account of its delightful situation, as for the use of its
-luxurious baths and tepid waters.
-
-Pleased with the success of his administration, and flattering
-himself that all Rome was celebrating his praises, he reached this
-place, and mingled amongst the crowd. What was his disappointment
-and mortification, to be asked by the first friend he met, “How long
-since you left Rome, and what is the news there?” “I came from the
-provinces,” was the reply. “From Africa, I suppose,” said one of the
-bystanders. “No, I came from Sicily,” said Cicero, a little vexed.
-“How, did you not know that Cicero was quæstor of Syracuse?” said
-another person present; thus showing his ignorance, while he pretended
-to be wiser than the rest. This incident humbled Cicero for the time,
-and made him feel that he had not yet made himself so conspicuous as to
-live perpetually in the eye of so mighty a city as Rome.
-
-Having now devoted himself to a life of business and ambition, he
-omitted none of the usual arts of recommending himself to popular
-favor, and facilitating his advancement to the highest honors. “He
-thought it absurd,” says Plutarch, “that, when every little artificer
-knew the name and use of all his tools, a statesman should neglect the
-knowledge of men, who were the proper instruments with which he was to
-work; he made it his business, therefore, to learn the name, the place,
-and the condition of every eminent citizen; what estate, what friends,
-what neighbors he had; and could readily point out their several
-houses, as he travelled through Italy.”
-
-This knowledge was deemed so necessary at Rome, where the people
-expected to be courted by their public men, that every individual who
-aspired to official dignities, kept a slave or two in his family, whose
-sole business it was to know the name and person of every citizen at
-sight, so that he might whisper them to his master as he passed through
-the streets, and enable him to salute them familiarly, as particular
-acquaintances. Such artifices, which appear degrading in our day, were
-by no means beneath the practice of one so elevated in his sense of
-propriety as Cicero.
-
-Having reached his thirty-seventh year, and being therefore eligible to
-the office of edile, he offered himself as a candidate, and was elected
-by the people. Before he entered upon its duties, however, he undertook
-the prosecution of C. Verres, the late prætor of Sicily, charged
-with many flagrant acts of injustice, rapine and cruelty, during his
-triennial government of that island. This was one of the most memorable
-transactions of Cicero’s life, and has given him greater fame than any
-other.
-
-In order to obtain the evidence, he proceeded to Sicily, where he was
-received with the greatest kindness and favor, though every art was
-resorted to, by the agents of Verres, to obstruct his inquiries. On
-his return, he found the most formidable preparations to resist him.
-Hortensius was engaged for Verres and several of the leading families
-had taken his part. Cicero, however, produced his witnesses, whose
-depositions overwhelmed the criminal with such proofs of guilt, that
-Hortensius had nothing to say for his client, who submitted without
-defence to a voluntary exile.
-
-From this account, it appears, that, of the seven orations on the
-subject of this trial, which now remain among the works of Cicero,
-two only were spoken, and these contain little more than a statement
-of the whole case. The five others were published afterwards, as they
-were prepared, and intended to be spoken, if Verres had made a regular
-defence.
-
-From the evidence produced, it appears that every species of rapine
-was practised without scruple by Verres, during his prætorship. Cicero
-estimated the amount of his plunder at 800,000 pounds sterling, or
-nearly four millions of dollars. It is shocking to read the black
-catalogue of this man’s crimes; yet, such was the corruption of
-society, especially among the higher classes, that Cicero, instead of
-gaining favor by his exposure of these abuses, brought upon himself
-the hatred and ill-will of the largest portion of the nobility.
-They doubtless looked upon the public offices as their inheritance,
-and did not like to see the accustomed privileges of the provincial
-governors abridged. We may add here that Verres continued long in a
-miserable exile, deserted and forgotten by his former friends, and
-was actually relieved in his necessities by the generosity of Cicero.
-He was afterwards proscribed and murdered by Mark Antony, in order to
-obtain some fine statues, which he had obtained by robbery, during his
-government in Sicily, and which he had refused to part with, even in
-the extremity of his poverty.
-
-From the impeachment of Verres, Cicero entered upon the office of
-edile, and in one of his speeches gives a short account of its duties.
-“I am now chosen edile,” says he, “and am sensible of what is committed
-to me by the Roman people. I am to exhibit with the greatest solemnity
-the most sacred sports to Ceres, Liber, and Libera; am to appease
-and conciliate the mother Flora to the people and city of Rome, by
-the celebration of the public games; am to furnish out those ancient
-shows, the first which were called Roman, with all possible dignity and
-religion, in honor of Jupiter, Juno, Minerva; am to take care also of
-all the sacred edifices, and, indeed, of the whole city.”
-
-The people of Rome were passionately fond of the public games and
-diversions, and the allowance for them being small, the ediles were
-obliged to supply the rest. Many of them, in their ambition to flatter
-the people and obtain their favor, incurred such expense in these
-entertainments, as to involve themselves in ruin. Every part of the
-empire was ransacked for whatever was rare and curious to increase the
-splendor of these shows; the forum, in which they were exhibited, was
-usually beautified with porticoes for the purpose, and these were
-decorated with the choicest pictures and statues, which Rome, and
-indeed, all Italy could furnish. Several of the great men of Cicero’s
-time had distinguished their magistracy by their magnificence, some of
-them having entertained the city with stage plays, in which the scenes
-were entirely covered with silver. Cæsar, in the sports exhibited upon
-the occasion of his father’s funeral, caused the entire furniture of
-the theatre to be made of solid silver, so that the wild beasts trod
-upon that metal.
-
-Unseduced by these examples, Cicero took the middle course, which was
-suited to his circumstances. In compliance with the custom, he gave
-three entertainments, which were conducted with taste, and to the
-satisfaction of the people. The Sicilians gave him effectual proofs of
-their gratitude by supplying him largely with provisions for the use
-of his table and the public feasts he was obliged to provide. Cicero,
-however, took no private advantage of these gifts, for he distributed
-the whole to the poor.
-
-Soon after leaving the office of edile, Cicero was chosen prætor; a
-magistrate next in dignity to a consul. The business of the prætors was
-to preside and judge in all causes, especially of a public or criminal
-kind. There were eight of them, and their several jurisdictions were
-assigned by lot. It fell to Cicero to hear charges of extortion and
-rapine, brought against magistrates and governors of provinces.
-In this office, he acquired great reputation for integrity and
-impartiality—qualities, in the corrupted state of Rome, scarcely to be
-found, either in public or private life, among men of high stations.
-While he seemed full of employment as prætor, and attentive to his
-duties in the senate, Cicero still had a large practice as advocate. It
-is evident that nothing but ceaseless industry and wonderful facility
-in the despatch of business, could have enabled him to discharge his
-multifarious duties, and with such surpassing ability.
-
-His office of prætor having expired, Cicero now fixed his hopes upon
-the consulship. While he was aiming at this, and resorting to all the
-ordinary means of attaining his object, by flattering the people,
-allaying the hostility of the nobles, and strengthening his interest
-on every hand, he was expending large sums of money in decorating his
-several villas, especially that of Tusculum, in which he took the
-greatest pleasure. This was situated in the neighborhood of Rome,
-and furnished him an easy retreat from the hurry and fatigue of the
-city. Here he built several rooms and galleries, in imitation of
-the schools and porticoes of Athens, in which he was accustomed to
-hold philosophical conversations with his learned friends. He had
-given Atticus, a lover of the arts, who resided at Athens, a general
-commission to purchase for him pictures, statues and other curiosities;
-and Atticus, having a rare taste in these matters, thus assisted him to
-embellish and enrich his residence with a choice collection of works of
-art and literary treasures, of various kinds.
-
-Cicero, being now in his forty-third year, became eligible as consul,
-and offered himself as a candidate for that high office. As the
-election approached, his interest appeared to take the lead; for the
-nobles, envious and jealous of him as they were, were alarmed by the
-threatening aspect of the times, and saw the necessity of entrusting
-the consular power to strong and faithful hands. The intrigues of
-Cæsar, the plots of Cataline, the ambition of Pompey, seemed to heave
-and convulse the elements of society to its foundation, and portend a
-storm which threatened the very existence of the state. Thus, by the
-voices of the people as well as the favor of the patricians, Cicero was
-proclaimed First Consul, and Antonius was chosen his colleague.
-
-This year, Cicero’s father died in a good old age, and he gave his
-daughter Tullia, in marriage, at the age of thirteen, to C. Piso Frugi,
-a young nobleman of great hopes and of one of the best families in
-Rome. He was also much gratified by the birth of a son and heir to his
-family.
-
-Cicero had now passed through the usual gradations to the highest
-honors which the people could bestow, or a citizen desire. He entered
-upon his trust with a patriotic determination to discharge its duties,
-not so much according to the fleeting humor, as the lasting interests
-of the people. The most remarkable event of his consulship was the
-conspiracy of Cataline, which he detected by his sagacity, and defeated
-by his courage and address.
-
-Cataline was adapted by art and nature, to be the leader of desperate
-enterprises. He was of an illustrious family, of ruined fortunes,
-profligate heart, undaunted courage and unwearied industry. He had a
-capacity equal to the hardiest attempt, a tongue that could seduce, an
-eloquence to persuade, a hand to execute. His character, compounded of
-contradictory qualities—of great virtues, mastered by still greater
-vices—is forcibly drawn by Cicero himself.
-
-“Who,” said he, “was more agreeable at one time to the best citizens?
-Who more intimate at another with the worst? Who a man of better
-principles? Who a fouler enemy to this city? Who more intemperate in
-pleasure? Who more patient in labor? Who more rapacious in plundering,
-who more profuse in squandering? He had a wonderful faculty of engaging
-men to his friendship and obliging them by his observance; sharing
-with them in common whatever he was master of; serving them with his
-money, his interest, his pains, and, when there was occasion, by the
-most daring acts of villany, moulding his nature to his purposes,
-and bending it every way to his will. With the morose, he could live
-severely; with the free, gayly; with the old, gravely; with the young,
-cheerfully; with the enterprising, audaciously; with the vicious,
-luxuriously. By a temper so various and pliable, he gathered about him
-the profligate and the rash from all countries; yet held attached to
-him, at the same time, many brave and worthy men, by the specious show
-of a pretended virtue.”
-
-Associated in the plot with Cataline, were about thirty-five
-individuals as leaders, some of them senators, and all of them men of
-rank and consideration. Several were from the colonies and the larger
-towns of Italy. Among the most important of these persons were Lentulus
-and Cethegus, both patricians, possessing powerful family influence;
-the two Syllas nephews of the dictator; Cassius, who was a competitor
-with Cicero for the consulship, and Autronius, who had obtained an
-election to that office, but was not permitted to hold it, on account
-of his gross briberies. Julius Cæsar was suspected of being also
-engaged in the scheme, but it is probable that while he was willing to
-see it attempted, hoping to be benefited by the convulsion that might
-follow, he was too wary to commit himself by any overt act of treason.
-
-A meeting of the conspirators was finally held, in which it was
-resolved that a general insurrection should be raised throughout Italy,
-the different parts of which were assigned to different leaders.
-Cataline was to put himself at the head of the troops in Etruria; Rome
-was to be set on fire in different places at once, under the direction
-of Cassius, and a general massacre of the senate, with all the enemies
-of the conspirators, was to be affected under the management of
-Cithegus. The vigilance of Cicero being the chief occasion of their
-apprehensions, two knights of the company undertook to gain access
-to his house early the next morning, upon pretence of business, and,
-rushing into his chamber, to kill him in his bed.
-
-But no sooner was the meeting over, than Curius, one of the assembly,
-and in the interest of Cicero, sent him a particular account of all
-that had transpired. He immediately imparted the intelligence to some
-of the chiefs of the city, who assembled at his house that night,
-and made preparations for the emergency. The two knights came before
-break of day to Cicero’s house, but had the mortification to find it
-carefully guarded. Cataline had set out in the hope of surprising the
-town of Preneste, one of the strongest fortresses of Italy, and within
-twenty five miles of Rome; but Cicero’s messenger anticipated him, and
-when the attack was made the next night, he found the place so well
-guarded, as to forbid an assault.
-
-Cicero now assembled the senate at the temple of Jupiter, in the
-capital, where they were accustomed to meet only in times of public
-alarm, and laid before them the facts which we have narrated. Cataline
-had returned to Rome, and being a member of the senate, met the charge
-with profound dissimulation and the most subtle cunning. Cicero,
-however, poured forth upon him such a torrent of invective, and placed
-his guilt in so strong a light, that the conspirator became desperate,
-made a threatening speech to the senate, and left the hall. That night,
-he departed and repaired with expedition to head the forces at Etruria.
-The result of the whole enterprise was, that several of the accomplices
-were executed, and Cataline himself fell bravely fighting at the head
-of those troops he had induced to join his cause. Cicero received the
-thanks of the senate, and the most unbounded applause at the hands of
-the people.
-
-Cicero’s administration being now at an end, nothing remained but to
-resign the consulship, according to custom, in an assembly of the
-people, and declare upon oath that he had administered the office with
-fidelity. It was usual for the consul, under such circumstances, to
-address the people, and on the present occasion an immense concourse
-of people met to hear the farewell speech of Cicero. But Metellus, one
-of the new tribunes, ambitious to signalize himself by some display
-of that remarkable veto power committed to the tribunes, determined to
-disappoint the orator and the audience.
-
-Accordingly, when Cicero had mounted the rostrum, and was about to
-address the people, Metellus interfered, remarking that he who had
-put citizens to death unheard, ought not to be permitted to speak for
-himself. This was a reflection upon Cicero, because the associates
-of Cataline had been executed by a vote of the senate, without the
-ordinary trial. Cicero, however, was never at a loss, and, instead of
-pronouncing the usual form of the oath, exalted his voice so that all
-the people might hear him, saying, “I have saved the republic and the
-city from ruin!” The vast multitude caught the sounds, and, with one
-acclamation, declared, “You have sworn the truth!” Thus, the intended
-affront of Metellus was turned to the advantage of Cicero, and he was
-conducted from the forum to his house with every demonstration of
-respect by the whole city.
-
-It was about this period that Cicero is supposed to have pronounced his
-oration, still extant, in defence of his old preceptor, Archias. He,
-doubtless, expected from his muse an immortality of fame; for Archias
-had sung in Greek verse the triumphs of Marius over the Cimbri, and of
-Lucullus over Mithridates. He appears, however, to have died without
-celebrating the consulship of Cicero; and Archias, instead of adding to
-the fame of the orator, would have been buried in complete oblivion,
-had not his memory been perpetuated in the immortal pages of his pupil.
-
-Pompey the Great now returned to Rome, in the height of his fame and
-fortunes, from the Mithridatic war. It had been apprehended that he
-was coming back to Rome, at the head of his army, to seize upon the
-government. It is certain that he had this in his power, and Cæsar,
-with the tribune Metellus, was inviting him to it. But he seemed
-content, for the time, with the glory he had achieved. By his victories
-he had extended the boundaries of the empire into Asia, having reduced
-three powerful kingdoms there, Pontus, Syria and Bithynia, to the
-condition of Roman provinces, taken the city of Jerusalem, and left
-the other nations of the east, as far as the Tigris, tributary to the
-republic.
-
-For these great services, a triumph was decreed him, which lasted two
-days, and was the most splendid that had ever been seen in Rome. Of
-the spoils, he erected a temple to Minerva, with an inscription giving
-a summary of his victories:—“that he had finished a war of thirty
-years; had vanquished, slain, and taken two millions one hundred and
-eighty-three thousand men; sunk or taken eight hundred and forty-six
-ships; reduced to the power of the empire a thousand five hundred
-and thirty-eight towns and fortresses, and subdued all the countries
-between the lake Moeris and the Red Sea.”
-
-The spectacle which Rome, at this period, presents is full of warning
-to mankind. In the very height of her pride and her power, holding
-the whole civilized world in her grasp, she was still torn with
-dissensions, and corrupted through every vein and artery of society.
-With political institutions favorable to liberty, and calculated to
-promote public and private virtue; yet vice and crime stained the
-character of public men, while profligacy, in every form, characterized
-the people at large.
-
-Nor could anything better be expected; for the general policy of the
-nation was alike wicked and unwise. Instead of seeking prosperity by
-the peaceful arts of life, they sought to enrich themselves by robbing
-other nations. War was the great trade of the state; the soldier was
-a hero; a successful general, the idol of the nation. The greatest
-plunderer received the greatest honors, and glory was proportioned to
-the blood spilled and the spoils obtained. A system so immoral could
-not fail to debauch the nation, nor was it difficult to see that, from
-robbing other countries, the victorious general, having attached the
-soldiery to himself by leading them on to booty, would soon learn to
-turn his arms against the country. Such had now become the experience
-of Rome; and the natural course of ambition seemed to be to obtain
-the command of an army in some of the provinces, gorge the soldiers
-with plunder, and, having become the idol of the troops, to march upon
-Rome and seize, by intimidation or force, the sceptre of power. Such a
-course had been expected of Pompey, and was soon after adopted by Cæsar.
-
-The triumvirate, consisting of Cæsar, Pompey and Crassus, was now
-formed, and Cicero yielded, for a time, to their power. His patriotism
-and integrity were obstacles, however, to the success of their schemes,
-and he became the object of their hatred and persecution. Perceiving
-the storm that was ready to burst over him, he threw himself at the
-feet of Pompey and begged his protection. This, however, was refused;
-and seeing no alternative but to defend himself by force, or retreat
-till the storm had blown over, he adopted the latter course by the
-advice of Cato and Hortensius. He left the city, and attended by a
-numerous train of friends, pursued his way to Sicily.
-
-After his departure, the dissolute Clodius, who had become tribune,
-caused a law to be passed, denouncing Cicero in violent terms, and
-forbidding all persons, on pain of death, to harbor or receive him.
-Immediately after, his houses, both in the city and country, were given
-up to plunder; the marble columns of his dwelling on the Palatine
-hill were carried away by one of the consuls, and the rich furniture
-of his Tusculum villa, by another. Even the ornamental trees of his
-plantations were taken up and transplanted to one of his neighbor’s
-grounds. To make the loss of his house in Rome irretrievable, Clodius
-caused the space to be consecrated to the service of religion, and a
-temple to be built upon it, dedicated to the goddess of liberty!
-
-Nor did the vengeance of Cicero’s enemies stop here. Clodius pursued
-his wife and children with the same fury, and made several attempts
-to gain access to his son, then six years old, with the intention of
-putting him to death. But the child was carefully guarded, and finally
-removed from the reach of his malice. Terentia took sanctuary in the
-temple of Vesta, but she was dragged forcibly out, and insolently
-examined as to the concealment of her husband’s property. Being a
-woman of singular spirit, however, she bore these indignities with
-masculine courage.
-
-The desolation of Cicero’s fortunes at home, and the misery which he
-suffered abroad, in being deprived of everything that was dear to
-him, soon made him repent his flight. His suffering was increased
-on reaching Sicily, for there he found his former friends afraid to
-receive him, in consequence of the decree of banishment which had
-been passed at Rome, and which forbade him to remain within four
-hundred miles of the city. He therefore found it necessary to leave
-Sicily, and after various changes of opinion, he resolved to proceed
-to Thessalonica, in Macedonia. Here he took up his residence with his
-friend Plaucius, who treated him with the utmost kindness.
-
-Cicero was so dejected by his misfortunes, that he shut himself up
-in his apartments, and refused to see all company. When his brother,
-Quintus, was on his way from Asia to Rome, Cicero felt incapable of
-supporting an interview, and did not see him, so deeply were his
-feelings affected. At the same time, his letters to his friends were
-full of regret, complaint and despondency. It is obvious that, in this
-period of trial, he displayed great weakness of character, though it
-is probable that his affectionate disposition—his fondness for his
-children, and love of his friends—rendered separation from them an
-evil almost worse than death. It would seem, also, that he had so long
-enjoyed the homage paid to his talents, had so long lived in the blaze
-of popular favor, that his present exile seemed like being deprived of
-the very light of heaven.
-
-But the period of his return to Rome was now approaching. Clodius, by
-a series of the most flagrant outrages, made himself hated at Rome,
-and finally put himself in opposition to Pompey himself. The people at
-large were favorable to Cicero, and it was not long before the senate,
-with great unanimity, passed a resolution favorable to his recall.
-Pompey urged the measure with ardor, and declared that Cicero ought to
-be received with such honors, as might atone for the sorrows of his
-exile.
-
-Preparations were made to obtain the passage of a law coinciding
-with the resolve of the senate; but Clodius, with his slaves and a
-multitude of hired gladiators, resisted the tribunes who sought to
-gain possession of the market-place, for that purpose. Several bloody
-encounters followed, and for a time the streets of Rome were deluged
-with blood. The dead bodies were thrown into the Tiber, which were so
-numerous as almost to obstruct its channel. Nothing can better show
-the greatness of Cicero’s reputation, than the facts now transpiring
-in Rome. For several months the attention of the people of that city,
-and of Italy, was wholly occupied with the question of his recall.
-The ambassadors of kings, the messengers of princes,—affairs which
-involved the fate of nations—were all laid aside, till this absorbing
-subject could be disposed of.
-
-The senate, after long deliberation, and in a full assembly, at last
-passed a decree for his restoration; Clodius, among four hundred and
-fifty, giving the only vote against it. When the news reached a
-neighboring theatre, the air was rent with acclamation. Æsopus, the
-actor, was performing, at the time, the part of Timolean, banished from
-the country, in one of the plays of Accius. By a happy change of a
-few words, and giving the utmost effect to his voice, he directed the
-thoughts of the audience to Cicero, while he uttered these sentences,
-“What, he who always stood up for the republic! who, in doubtful
-times, spared neither life nor fortunes—the greatest friend in the
-greatest dangers—of such parts and talents! O Father—I saw his house
-and rich furniture all in flames! O, ungrateful Greeks, inconstant
-people; forgetful of services,—to see such a man banished, driven
-from his country, and suffer him to continue in this condition!” It
-is not possible to describe the thrilling effect of these words, or
-the enthusiasm of the people. When Lentulus, the consul, who had
-taken an active part in Cicero’s favor, entered the place, they all
-rose up, stretched out their hands, and, with tears of joy and loud
-acclamations, testified their thanks. Several of the senators coming
-into the theatre, were received with the most deafening applause.
-Clodius also making his appearance was assailed by reproaches, threats
-and curses.
-
-Though a decree was now regularly obtained for Cicero’s return, Clodius
-had still the courage and address to hinder its sanction by the popular
-assemblies. There were several meetings of the senate, and the whole
-city was shaken to its foundation with the question now at issue. All
-Italy and indeed many of the remote provinces were thrown into a state
-of ferment by the struggle, and the mighty interests of the empire
-were postponed till this important question could be settled. Ptolemy,
-the king of Egypt, driven from his kingdom, and seeking protection at
-the hands of Rome, even though a lodger in Pompey’s house, could not
-obtain an audience, till Cicero’s cause was decided.
-
-The greatest preparations were now made for submitting the question
-to the popular assemblies. Never had there been known so numerous
-and solemn a gathering of the Roman people as on this occasion. The
-whole country seemed to be drawn together. It was reckoned a sin to
-be absent. Neither age nor infirmity was thought a sufficient excuse
-for failing to lend a helping hand to the restoration of Cicero.
-The meeting was held in the field of Mars, for the more convenient
-reception of so vast a multitude. It was an august scene. The senators
-presided at the polls, to see the ballots fairly taken. The result was
-that Cicero was recalled from exile by the unanimous suffrage of all
-the hundreds, and to the infinite joy of the whole city!
-
-Cicero, having been advised of the course of events, had returned
-as far as Brundusium, where he was met by his daughter Tullia. In a
-few days he received the welcome intelligence of his recall. Setting
-out immediately for Rome, he everywhere received the most lively
-demonstrations of joy from the people. Multitudes were drawn together
-to congratulate him on his return. The whole road, from Brundusium to
-Rome, being crowded with men, women, and children, seemed like one
-continued street. Every prefecture, town and colony throughout Italy
-decreed him statues, or public honors, and sent deputations to him,
-with tenders of congratulation. Cicero himself remarks, that Italy
-brought him back on its shoulders, and that the day of his return was
-worth an immortality.
-
-Cicero was now restored to his dignity, but not to his fortunes.
-Restitution had been decreed, and the sum of £22,000 was finally paid
-him. This he accepted, though it was scarcely more than half what he
-had actually lost. He now attached himself to the cause of Pompey,
-but spent several years with little public employment, being chiefly
-occupied with his rhetorical studies and the business of an advocate.
-The turbulent Clodius was at last slain by Milo, and Cicero was thus
-delivered from his most troublesome enemy.
-
-The senate now conferred upon him the office of pro-consul, or
-governor, of Cilicia, in Asia Minor, whither he immediately proceeded.
-He discharged the duties of this office with ability, and, on his
-return, was decreed a triumph. But he was prevented from enjoying it
-by the factious opposition of his enemies. On his return, he found
-Rome agitated with serious disturbances. The rupture between Cæsar and
-Pompey had taken place, and the horrors of a civil war seemed to be
-impending over the republic. In vain did he attempt to reconcile the
-fierce and haughty rivals.
-
-Cæsar advanced upon Rome, and Pompey was forced to fly with the consuls
-and the senate. Cæsar had met Cicero at Formiae, and sought to gain
-him over to his cause, but though convinced that he would prevail in
-the coming struggle, he felt himself prompted, by a sense of honor to
-return to Pompey, who had served him so effectually during his exile.
-After the fatal battle of Pharsalia and the flight of Pompey, he
-returned to Rome, where he was graciously received by Cæsar.
-
-He now devoted himself to literary and philosophical pursuits, and,
-soon after, divorced his wife Terentia, an act which has justly
-subjected him to much reproach. It is true that she was a woman of
-an imperious and turbulent spirit, expensive and negligent in her
-private affairs, busy and intriguing in public matters. But these
-qualities were in some degree compensated by her devotion to Cicero,
-and especially by the energy with which she had sought to effect his
-return during his exile. His letters to her at this period recognise
-her efforts in his behalf, and are full of the most tender expressions
-of affection and esteem.
-
-It must be remarked that the nuptial bond was lightly regarded at this
-period in Rome, and divorces were so common as to be little thought
-of. Terentia was soon after married to Sallust, the historian, by
-which it would seem that her separation from Cicero inflicted upon her
-no disgrace. Cicero would perhaps have been little blamed, were it
-not that he was soon after married to a young lady named Publilia, of
-whom he was guardian, and who had been committed to his care by her
-father’s will. She had a large estate, and this was doubtless Cicero’s
-inducement to the match, if not to the divorce of Terentia. It is the
-suspicion of such motives, in these transactions, that has sullied the
-fame of Cicero. We may add here, in respect to Terentia, that she was
-once or twice married after the death of Sallust, and lived to the age
-of one hundred and three years.
-
-Cæsar, having established himself as dictator, Cicero was induced to
-assent to his government. Accordingly, he pronounced a famous oration,
-in which he mingled as much counsel as panegyric for the despot. He
-was rapidly regaining his former consideration, when the conspiracy
-of Brutus and his associates terminated the career of the ambitious
-usurper. Antony now took Cæsar’s place, and while he was prosecuting
-his designs, Cicero returned to his literary occupations. He went to
-Greece for a time, but soon returned, and pronounced those famous
-orations against Antony, which are called Philippics.
-
-Octavius, known as Augustus Cæsar, and the nephew of Julius Cæsar,
-united his interests with those of Antony, and having obtained the
-consulate, soon gained an ascendency over the senate. Cicero, in his
-retirement at Tusculum, saw that the power having passed into the
-hands of desperate men, the liberty of Rome was no more. He soon heard
-that his own name was included among those of the proscribed. He fled
-immediately to Astura, on the sea coast, where he found a vessel
-waiting for him.
-
-He here embarked, but contrary winds drove him back to the shore. At
-the earnest entreaty of his slaves, he embarked a second time, but
-returned to await his fate at his country seat near Formiae, declaring,
-“I will die in my country, which I have more than once saved.” His
-slaves, seeing the neighborhood already disturbed by the soldiers of
-Antony, endeavored to convey him away in a litter, but soon discovered
-the assassins, who had been sent to take his life, at their heels.
-They prepared for resistance, but Cicero, who felt that death was
-unavoidable, bowed his head before Pompilius, the commander of the
-murderers, who had once been saved by his eloquence, and suffered death
-more courageously than he had borne misfortune.
-
-Thus died Cicero, and with him the liberties of Rome. The dynasty of
-the emperors was built upon the ruins of the republic, and, continuing
-for five centuries, was finally extinguished in the gloom of the dark
-ages. Cicero was killed on the 7th December, 43 B. C., at the age of
-sixty-three. His head and hands were severed from the body, by his
-murderers, and carried to Antony, who caused the former to be placed
-upon the rostra in the forum, between the two hands. The odium of these
-barbarities fell chiefly upon Antony, yet they left a stain of perfidy
-and ingratitude upon Augustus, which can never be wiped away.
-
-In his person, Cicero was tall and slender, yet his features were
-regular and manly. He mingled great dignity with an air of cheerfulness
-and serenity, that inspired both affection and respect. His
-constitution was naturally weak, but his prudent habits enabled him to
-support all the fatigues of an active and studious life, with health
-and vigor. In dress, he avoided singularity, and was only remarkable
-for personal neatness and appropriateness of attire. In domestic
-and social life, his demeanor was exceedingly amiable. He was an
-affectionate parent, a zealous friend, a generous master. Yet he was
-not more generous to his friends than placable to his enemies. It was
-one of his sayings, delivered in a public assembly, that “his enmities
-were mortal, his friendships immortal.”
-
-The moral character of Cicero was not blemished by the stain of any
-habitual vice. He was, indeed, the shining pattern of virtue in an age,
-of all others, the most licentious and profligate. His great soul was
-superior to the sordid passions which engross little minds—avarice,
-envy and malice. His familiar letters, in which he pours out his whole
-heart, are free from anything base, immodest or vengeful. A uniform
-principle of benevolence, justice, love of his friends and his country,
-is seen to flow through the whole, inspiring all his thoughts and words
-and actions.
-
-The failings of Cicero consisted chiefly in his vanity and that
-despondency under adverse circumstances, which seemed unworthy of his
-character. With these abatements, we must pronounce him a truly great
-and good man—the glory of Rome, an honor to human nature. His works,
-a large portion of which are extant, are among the richest treasures
-bequeathed to us by antiquity, and there are few minds so exalted, even
-with the advantages of our own time, as not to find instruction in his
-pages.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                          CAIUS JULIUS CÆSAR.
-
-
-This celebrated Roman, famous for his intrigues, his generalship, his
-eloquence and his talents, was born in the year 100 B. C. He was of a
-good family, and his aunt Julia was wife of Caius Marius, who had been
-consul. We know little of him in his youth, though it would seem that
-he early attracted attention by his abilities and ambition. At the age
-of fifteen, he left his father, and was made a priest in the temple of
-Jupiter, the year after. At the age of seventeen, he married Cornelia,
-a daughter of Cinna. By this marriage, and through his aunt Julia, he
-was allied both to Marius and Cinna, the two principal opposers of
-Sylla, who had acquired an ascendency in Rome, and exercised his power
-with fearful and bloody tyranny. Soon after his marriage, Cæsar became
-an object of suspicion to the despot; he was stripped of his office
-as priest of Jupiter, his wife’s dower was confiscated, and he, being
-threatened with death, deemed it prudent to seek safety in flight.
-
-He wandered up and down the country, concealing himself for a time
-among the Sabines; but at last he escaped by sea, and went to Bithynia
-in Asia Minor, and sought protection of king Nicomedes. His stay at
-this place was, however, short. He re-embarked, and was taken, near
-the isle of Pharmacusa, by pirates, who were masters of that sea, and
-blocked up all the passages with a number of galleys and other vessels.
-They asked him only twenty talents for his ransom. He laughed at their
-demand, as the consequence of not knowing him, and promised them fifty
-talents.
-
-To raise the money he despatched his attendants to different cities,
-and in the meantime remained, with only one friend and two servants,
-among these people, who considered murder a trifle. Cæsar, however,
-held them in great contempt, and used, whenever he went to sleep,
-to send them an order to keep silence. Thus he lived among them
-thirty-eight days, as if they had been his guards rather than his
-keepers.
-
-Perfectly fearless and self-possessed, he joined in their diversions,
-and took his exercises among them. He wrote poems and orations, and
-rehearsed them to these pirates; and when they expressed no admiration,
-he called them dunces and barbarians—nay, he often threatened to
-crucify them. They were delighted with these freedoms, which they
-imputed to his frank and facetious vein. But as soon as the money was
-brought for his ransom, and he had recovered his liberty, he manned
-some vessels in the port of Miletus, in order to attack these corsairs.
-He found them still lying at anchor by the island, took most of them,
-together with the money he had paid them, and caused them to be
-imprisoned at Pergamus.
-
-After this adventure, Cæsar took lessons of Appolonius Molo, of Rhodes,
-a celebrated teacher of rhetoric, who had been the instructor of
-Cicero. He here displayed great talents, especially in an aptitude for
-eloquence, in which he afterwards excelled. After this, he served under
-different generals in Asia, and upon the death of Sylla, returned to
-Rome, where he soon became conspicuous among the aspiring politicians
-of the day.
-
-Rome was at this time a republic, in which there was a constant
-struggle for ascendency between the aristocracy and the
-democracy—between the privileged few and the people. Sylla had placed
-the former on a firm footing; for a time, therefore, Cæsar, who
-courted the people, took no open part, but looked calmly on, waiting
-and watching for his opportunity. He, however, seized every occasion
-to please and flatter the people; he gave expensive entertainments to
-which they were invited; he attached to his person the talented and
-enterprising young men; he distributed presents, paid compliments, and
-said a thousand pleasant things, calculated to flatter those whose
-favor he desired. He also made public speeches on various occasions,
-in all of which he avowed sentiments which gratified the plebeians.
-Thus beginning afar off and steadily approaching his object he was ere
-long in a situation to realize it. Cato, who had watched him carefully,
-discovered his dangerous ambition, but he could not prevent the success
-of his schemes.
-
-At the age of thirty-one, he was chosen by the people, as one of the
-military tribunes, an office which gave him the command of a legion, or
-division in the army. The year following, he was quæstor, or receiver
-of public moneys in Spain; and in the year 68, having returned to Rome,
-he was chosen edile—an office which gave him charge of the public
-buildings.
-
-In this situation, he had an opportunity to indulge his taste for
-magnificence and display; at the same time, he gratified the people. He
-beautified the city with public edifices and gave splendid exhibitions
-of wild beasts and gladiators.
-
-He was now thirty-five years old, and being desirous of military glory,
-he sought a command in Egypt. He offered himself as a candidate—but
-failed. The next year he took his measures more carefully. The
-corruption of the voters of Rome, at that time, was such as to excite
-our disgust. On the day of election, there were stalls, openly kept,
-where the votes of the freemen were bought, with as little shame, as if
-they had been common merchandise. We hardly know which most to despise,
-the crafty leaders, who thus corrupted the people, or the venal voters,
-who abused and degraded the dearest of privileges.
-
-Though Cæsar was from the beginning a professed champion of the
-democracy, yet the manner in which he treated those whose support he
-sought, showed that his designs were selfish; that he wished to make
-the people instruments of his ambition. A man who will flatter the
-mass; use false, yet captivating arguments with them; appeal to their
-prejudices; fall in with their currents of feeling and opinion, even
-though they may be wrong, may profess democracy but he is at heart an
-aristocrat: he has no true love for the people; no confidence in them;
-he really despises them, and looks upon them but as the despicable
-tools of his ambition. Such was Cæsar, and such is always the popular
-demagogue. While nothing is more noble than a true democrat—a true
-well-wisher of the people—and one who honestly seeks to vindicate
-their rights, enlighten their minds, and elevate them in the scale of
-society; so nothing is more base than a selfish desire to govern them,
-hidden beneath the cloak of pretended democracy.
-
-The measures of Cæsar were now so open, and his real character so
-obvious, that we should wonder at his success with the people, did we
-not know the power which flattery exerts over all mankind, and that
-when a man of rank and talents becomes a demagogue, he is usually more
-successful than other men. It was so, at least, with Cæsar. He courted
-the populace on all occasions; he distributed money with a lavish hand,
-particularly among the poorer voters.
-
-After many intrigues, he obtained the office of prætor, at the end
-of a sharply contested election. This office was one of high dignity
-and trust. The prætor administered justice, protected the rights of
-widows and orphans—presided at public festivals was president of the
-senate, in the absence of the consul, and assembled or prorogued the
-senate at his pleasure. He also exhibited shows to the people, and in
-the festivals of Bona Dea, where none but women were admitted, his wife
-presided.
-
-In obtaining this office, Cæsar achieved a great triumph. He also
-increased his power, and reached a situation which enabled him still
-more to flatter the people. An event, however, occurred about this
-time, which gave him great annoyance. During the ceremonies in honor
-of the Bona Dea, at his house, a profligate person, named Clodius,
-disguised as a woman, gained access to the festivities. This caused a
-great deal of scandal, and Cæsar divorced his wife, Pompeia, whom he
-had married after the death of Cornelia.
-
-In the year 63 B. C., a conspiracy, which had for its object the
-subversion of the Roman government, was detected by Cicero, the orator,
-then consul. It was headed by Cataline, a Roman nobleman of dissolute
-habits, whose life had been stained with many crimes. His accomplices
-were men of similar character, who took an oath of fidelity to the
-cause, which they sealed by drinking human blood. After the disclosure
-of the plot, Cataline braved the senate for a time, but five of his
-associates being seized, he fled to Gaul, where, having raised some
-troops, he was attacked, and fell, bravely fighting to the last.
-
-When the trial of the five accomplices came on in the Roman senate,
-there was but a single person who dared to oppose their execution, and
-this was Cæsar. His courage, moral or physical, never failed him. In
-policy and war, he often undertook what might seem the most desperate
-schemes, yet the event usually bore out his judgment, or his skill
-and energy generally ensured success. In the present case, he failed;
-though his speech in the senate had a wonderful effect. Even Cicero
-wavered. As that speech is handed down by Sallust, it is a masterly
-performance. It gave Cæsar a high place as an orator, he being now
-regarded as second to Cicero alone. Though he did not obtain his direct
-object respecting the conspirators, and was driven from his office by
-the aristocratic faction, he gained more than he lost, by increased
-popularity with the plebeians.
-
-In the year 60 B. C., when the time was approaching for the choice of
-consuls, Cæsar being a candidate, the aristocratic faction saw that
-they could not defeat his election; they therefore thought to check
-him, by associating with him Bibulus, one of their own party. When
-the election took place, Cæsar and Bibulus were chosen. The latter
-was rather a weak man, and offered no effectual obstacle to Cæsar’s
-schemes. On one occasion, he determined to check his colleague, and for
-this purpose, resorted to the use of an extreme power, vested, however,
-in his hands. It was the custom, before any public business, to consult
-the augurs. These were officers of state, who were supposed to foretell
-future events.
-
-The augur sat upon a high tower, where he studied the heavens, and
-particularly noticed comets, thunder and lightning, rain and tempest.
-The chirping or flying of birds—the sudden crossing of the path by
-quadrupeds—accidents, such as spilling salt hearing strange noises,
-sneezing, stumbling, &c.—were all esteemed ominous, and were the means
-by which the soothsayers pretended to unravel the fate of men and of
-nations. When these gave an unfavorable report, a consul could stop
-public business, and even break up the sittings of the senate. Bibulus
-resorted to the use of this power, and not only declared that the
-augurs were unfavorable, but that they would be so all the year! This
-extravagant stretch of authority was turned to ridicule by Cæsar and
-his friends, and the baffled consul, in disgust and shame, shut himself
-up in his own house. Cæsar was now, in fact, the sole consul of Rome.
-
-Pompey the Great was at this period in the full flush of his fame.
-His military achievements had been of the most splendid character. He
-was, therefore, a man of the highest consideration, and even superior
-to Cæsar in standing. The latter, by a series of intrigues, gained
-his favor, and these two, rivals at heart, both yearning for supreme
-authority in Rome, entered into a political alliance, which they
-cemented by the marriage of Julia, Cæsar’s daughter, to Pompey. It
-mattered not, among these unscrupulous politicians, that Julia had long
-been betrothed to Marcus Brutus. Cæsar, at this time, also took a wife,
-named Calpurnia, daughter of Piso—a political match, which greatly
-enlarged his power. Three great men were now at the head of affairs in
-Rome—Cæsar, Pompey, and Crassus—and this union is called in history
-the First Triumvirate.
-
-Cæsar was, however, the master as well of the senate as of the people.
-By his influence, an agrarian law was passed, for the division of some
-public lands in Campania, among the poorer citizens, which he carried
-by intimidation. Everything gave way before him; even Cicero, who was
-in his way, was banished. Cæsar’s desire was now to have an army at
-his command: this he obtained, being appointed to the charge of the
-provinces of Gaul, on both sides of the Alps, for five years.
-
-From this time, the history of Rome presents a striking parallel to
-that of the republic of France during Bonaparte’s first campaigns
-in Italy. In both cases we see a weak republic, torn by contending
-factions, and rather feeding discontent than seeking tranquillity. In
-both cases we see vast provinces of the distracted republic occupied
-by a general of unlimited powers—a man of superior genius, desperate
-resolves, and fearful cruelty—a man, who, under the show of democratic
-principles and a love of the people, gains a complete ascendency over
-the soldiers, that he may lead them on to victory, bloodshed, plunder,
-and despotism!
-
-We shall not follow Cæsar in the details of his victorious career. It
-is sufficient to say, that, in nine campaigns, he waged war against
-the numerous tribes which occupied the present territory of France,
-Britain, Switzerland, and Germany. Some of these were warlike and
-populous nations, and frequently brought into the field immense armies
-of fierce and formidable soldiery. Though often pushed to extremity, by
-a series of splendid achievements, Cæsar reduced them all to subjection
-at last. During this period, it is said that he fought nearly a
-thousand battles, captured eight hundred towns, slew a million of
-men, and reduced to captivity as many more! If the warrior’s glory is
-estimated by the blood he sheds, the life he extinguishes, the liberty
-he destroys—Cæsar’s crown must be one of surpassing splendor.
-
-Though Cæsar did not visit Rome during this long period, he was by no
-means ignorant of what was transpiring there. It was his custom to
-spend his winters in Cisalpine Gaul, that is, on the southern side of
-the Alps, about two hundred and fifty miles from Rome. Here he was able
-to keep up a correspondence with his friends, and to mingle in all the
-intrigues that agitated the mighty city—the heart of the empire.
-
-Pompey had at length broken through the alliance with Cæsar, and set
-up for supreme authority. It was now understood that Cæsar had similar
-views, and Rome began to look with fear and trembling upon the issue
-that was approaching between these powerful rivals. Pompey succeeded
-in getting certain acts passed by the senate, requiring Cæsar to quit
-his army, and come to Rome. The latter saw danger in this, and while he
-determined to visit Rome, he resolved that his army should accompany
-him. The southern boundary of his provinces was a small stream, called
-the Rubicon. When Cæsar came to this, he hesitated. To cross it with
-his troops, was a declaration of war. Staggered with the greatness of
-the attempt, he stopped to weigh with himself its evils and advantages;
-and, as he stood revolving in his own mind the arguments on both sides,
-he seemed to waver in his opinion. In a state of doubt, he conferred
-with such of his friends as were by, enumerating the calamities
-which the passage of that river would bring upon the world, and the
-reflections that might be made upon it by posterity. At last, upon some
-sudden impulse, bidding adieu to his reasonings, and plunging into the
-abyss of futurity—in the words of those who embark in doubtful and
-arduous enterprises—he cried out, “The die is cast;” and immediately
-passed the river.
-
-He now travelled with the utmost rapidity, having but about three
-hundred horse and five thousand foot. The consternation of the whole
-country was evinced by the movements visible on all hands—not
-individuals, only, were seen wandering about, but whole cities were
-broken up, the inhabitants seeking safety in flight. Pompey himself,
-with his friends, fled from Rome, and Cæsar entered the city, and took
-possession of the government without opposition.
-
-A senate was hastily assembled, and the forms of law observed, though
-in obedience to Cæsar’s will. He was declared dictator, and then
-marched to Brundusium, whither Pompey had fled. After many skirmishes,
-the two armies met on the plains of Pharsalia, a town of Thessaly, in
-Greece, and a decisive and bloody engagement took place. Pompey was
-defeated, and, wandering like a distracted man, came at last to Egypt,
-where he was treacherously murdered. Cæsar followed, as the remorseless
-eagle pursues its prey, but finding his rival slain, he repaired in
-triumph to Rome. These events occurred in the year 48 B. C.
-
-After various proceedings, Cæsar was elected consul for ten years, and
-declared dictator for life. The mask was now thrown off—the despot
-stood disclosed. Forty senators, incensed at his subversion of the
-constitution of Rome, entered into a conspiracy to take his life, and,
-on the 18th of March, B. C. 44, they stabbed him, as he was entering
-the senate chamber. Proud even in death, Cæsar muffled his face in his
-cloak as he fell, that his expiring agonies might not be witnessed.
-
-Thus lived and thus died, Julius Cæsar. His talents were only equalled
-by his ambition. If he sought glory, it was often by worthy means—by
-valuable improvements, and real benefits. Yet he hesitated not to
-trample upon life, principles, bonds, rights—upon liberty—his
-country—everything that stood in the way of his towering wishes.
-
-He left behind him an account of his battles, written from day to day,
-as events occurred. These are called Commentaries, and furnish a fund
-of authentic narrative for history, beside being admired for their
-elegance of style. It was after a victory over Pharnaces, king of
-Pontus, in Asia Minor, that he used the remarkable words, _veni, vidi,
-vinci_—“I came, I saw, I conquered.” They well express the celerity
-and decision of his movements. In private affairs he was extravagant of
-money; his debts at one time amounted to eight hundred talents—almost
-a million of dollars. These were paid by his friends. In public
-concerns he did not appear greedy of wealth. As an evidence of the
-activity and energy of his faculties, it was said that at the same time
-he could employ his ear to listen, his eye to read, his hand to write,
-and his mind to dictate. His disposition led him irresistibly to seek
-dominion; in battle, he must be a conqueror; in a republic, he must be
-the master. This leading feature in his character is well illustrated,
-in his saying to the inhabitants of a village, “I would rather be first
-here, than second in Rome.” His character is delineated by an eminent
-writer, in the following terms:—
-
-“Such was the affection of his soldiers, and their attachment to his
-person, that they, who, under other commanders, were nothing above the
-common rate of men, became invincible when Cæsar’s glory was concerned,
-and met the most dreadful dangers with a courage which nothing could
-resist.
-
-“This courage, and this great ambition, were cultivated and cherished,
-in the first place, by the generous manner in which Cæsar rewarded his
-troops, and the honors which he paid them. His whole conduct showed
-that he did not accumulate riches to minister to luxury, or to serve
-any pleasures of his own, but that he laid them up in a common stock,
-as prizes to be obtained by distinguished valor; and that he considered
-himself no farther rich, than as he was in a condition to do justice to
-the merit of his soldiers. Another thing that contributed to make them
-invincible, was their seeing Cæsar always take his share in the danger,
-and never desire any exemption from labor and fatigue.
-
-“As for his exposing his person to danger, they were not surprised at
-it, because they knew his passion for glory; but they were astonished
-at his patience under toil, so far, in all appearance, above his
-bodily powers; for he was of a slender make, fair, of a delicate
-constitution, and subject to violent headaches, and epileptic fits. He
-had the first attack of the falling sickness at Corduba. He did not,
-however, make these disorders a pretence for indulging himself. On the
-contrary, he sought in war a remedy for his infirmities, endeavoring
-to strengthen his constitution by long marches, by simple diet, by
-seldom coming under cover. Thus he contended against his distemper, and
-fortified himself against its attacks.
-
-“When he slept, it was commonly upon a march, either in a chariot or a
-litter, that rest might be no hindrance to business. In the daytime he
-visited the castles, cities, and fortified camps, with a servant at his
-side, and with a soldier behind, who carried his sword.
-
-“As a warrior and a general, we behold him not in the least inferior to
-the greatest and most admired commander the world ever produced; for,
-whether we compare him with the Fabii, the Scipios, the Metelli—with
-the generals of his own time, or those who flourished a little before
-him—with Sylla, Marius, the two Luculli, or with Pompey himself,
-whose fame in every military excellence, reached the skies, Cæsar’s
-achievements bear away the palm. One he surpassed in the difficulty of
-the scene of action; another in the extent of the countries he subdued;
-this, in the number and strength of the enemies he overcame; that,
-in the savage manners and treacherous dispositions of the people he
-humanized; one, in mildness and clemency to his prisoners; another, in
-bounty and munificence to his troops; and all, in the number of battles
-that he won, and enemies that he killed. In less than ten years’ war
-in Gaul, he took eight hundred cities by assault, conquered three
-hundred nations, and fought pitched battles, at different times, with
-three millions of men, one million of which he cut in pieces, and made
-another million prisoners.”
-
-Such was Cæsar, one of the greatest, yet worst of men. It appears that
-after his death he was enrolled among the gods. It is evident that a
-people who looked upon such a being as divine, must have worshipped
-power, and not virtue; and that what we call vice and crime, were, in
-their view, compatible with divinity.
-
-[Illustration]
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-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                               HANNIBAL.
-
-
-This great man, a native of Carthage, and son of Hamilcar Barcas, was
-born 247 B. C. At this period, Rome and Carthage were rival powers and
-both seated upon the borders of the Mediterranean Sea. Rome had been
-in existence about five hundred years, and had already extended her
-conquests over Italy and a portion of Spain. She had not yet crossed
-the Alps, to conquer the more northern Gauls or Goths, but she was
-rapidly advancing in power; and, about a century after, Greece and Asia
-Minor fell before her. Already her proud eagle began to spread his
-wing, and whet his beak for conquest and slaughter.
-
-Rome was a nation of soldiers; and, paying little respect to commerce,
-manufactures and productive industry, she sought to enrich herself by
-robbing other countries—thus building herself up by the very means
-which the Goths and Vandals employed, seven hundred years after, for
-her destruction. Carthage was, in most respects, the opposite of Rome;
-her citizens were chiefly devoted to commerce and manufactures. The
-Mediterranean was dotted over with her vessels, and she had numerous
-colonies in Spain and along the coasts of Africa.
-
-The city of Rome was the centre of the republic and the seat of
-government. Here all the laws were enacted; here all the military
-movements and other affairs of state were decided upon. The city was
-at this time nearly twenty miles in circuit, and defended by a triple
-range of walls. The number of its inhabitants was several millions.
-
-Carthage was also a vast city, situated in Africa, about four hundred
-miles south-west of Rome, the Mediterranean Sea lying between them. It
-originated with a small colony of people from Tyre, a maritime city in
-Syria, about a hundred years before Rome was founded by Romulus. It
-increased rapidly, and became a flourishing place. The city exercised
-dominion over the whole country around. Its government was a mixture
-of aristocracy and democracy; the chief men ruling on all ordinary
-occasions, but sometimes consulting the people.
-
-The Carthaginians were an industrious nation and appear to have had no
-taste or leisure for the gladiator fights, the shows of wild beasts,
-the theatrical exhibitions and other amusements, that excited such
-deep interest among the idle and dissipated Romans. They were, in many
-respects, exemplary in their morals—even abstinence from wine being
-required of the magistrates while in office. Their religion, however,
-was a gloomy superstition, and their punishments were cruel. They even
-sacrificed children to their gods, in the earlier periods of their
-history.
-
-Though chiefly addicted to commerce, the Carthaginians paid great
-attention to agriculture. The rich men laid out their surplus money in
-cultivating the lands; and in the time of Hannibal, the whole extent
-of country around Carthage, which was the territory now called Tunis,
-was covered with vast herds of the finest cattle, fields waving with
-corn, vineyards and olive grounds. There were a multitude of small
-villages scattered over the country; near to the great city, the whole
-landscape was studded with the splendid villas of the rich citizens. To
-such a pitch was the art of agriculture carried, that one Mago wrote
-twenty-eight books upon the subject. These were carried to Rome, after
-the conquest of Carthage, and greatly increased the knowledge and skill
-of the Romans, in the science of husbandry.
-
-It was at a period when these two great powers had already extended
-themselves so far as to come in frequent collision, that Hannibal was
-born. His father was a general, who had served in Spain and fought
-against the Romans in the first Punic war. His mind was filled with
-hatred of that nation; and while Hannibal was yet a boy of nine years
-old, and about to accompany his father in his Spanish campaigns, he
-caused him to kneel before the altar, and swear eternal hatred to the
-Romans.
-
-Asdrubal, the brother of Hamilcar, succeeded, at the death of the
-latter, to the command of the Carthaginian army in Spain; at his death,
-Hannibal, now twenty-one years old, was made general of the whole army,
-as well by the acclamations of the soldiers, as the decree of the
-Carthaginian senate. He immediately marched against various barbarous
-tribes in Spain, yet unsubdued, and quickly reduced them to submission.
-
-During the first Punic war, Carthage had lost her finest colonies—the
-island of Sicily, as well as the Lipari isles—all of which had fallen
-into the hands of Rome. She had now recovered from the losses of that
-war, and Hannibal determined to revenge the injuries Rome had inflicted
-upon his country. Accordingly, he laid siege to Saguntum, in Spain, a
-large city subject to Rome, and situated on the Mediterranean, near the
-present town of Valencia. Faithful to their alliance, and expecting
-succors from Rome, the people made the most determined resistance for
-eight months. They were at last reduced to such fearful extremity
-for food, that they killed their infant children and fed upon their
-blood and flesh. Filled with a horrid despair, they finally erected
-an immense pile of wood, and setting it on fire, the men first hurled
-their women, slaves and treasures into the blaze, and then plunged into
-it themselves. Hannibal now entered the city, but, instead of finding
-rich spoils, he only witnessed a heap of ashes. The solitude of that
-scene might have touched even a warrior’s heart. The present town of
-Murviedo, the site of the ancient Saguntum and the witness of these
-horrid scenes, still abounds in remains of Roman architecture.
-
-The second Punic war was begun by these proceedings against Saguntum.
-Hannibal, who had determined upon the invasion of Italy, spent the
-winter in making his preparations. Leaving a large force in Africa, and
-also in Spain, to defend these points, he set out, in the spring of
-the year 218, with eighty thousand foot and twelve thousand horse, to
-fulfil his project.
-
-His course lay along the Mediterranean; the whole distance to Rome
-being about one thousand miles by the land route which he contemplated.
-When he had traversed Spain, he came to the Pyrenees, a range of
-mountains separating that country from Gaul, now France. Here he was
-attacked by wild tribes of brave barbarians, but he easily drove them
-back. He crossed the Pyrenees, traversed Gaul, and came at last to
-the Alps, which threw up their frowning battlements, interposing a
-formidable obstacle between him and the object of his expedition. No
-warrior had then crossed these snowy peaks with such an army; and
-none but a man of that degree of resolution and self-relience which
-will not be baffled, would have hazarded the fearful enterprise.
-Napoleon accomplished the task, two thousand years afterwards, but with
-infinitely greater facilities.
-
-Hannibal, after a march of five months, descended the southern slopes
-of the Alps, and poured down upon the soft and smiling plains of Italy.
-The northern portion, called Cisalpine Gaul, was peopled with Gothic
-tribes, long settled in the country. They were desirous, however, of
-throwing off the Roman yoke, and therefore favored the Carthaginian
-cause. Hannibal, whose army had been greatly reduced in his march,
-especially in crossing the Alps, remained among some of these people
-for a time, to recruit, and then proceeded southward toward Rome.
-
-On the banks of the river Tessino he was met by a Roman army despatched
-against him; but, after a bloody conflict, he was victorious. In a few
-weeks he again encountered the Romans, and again he triumphed. Thus,
-the whole of Cisalpine Gaul fell into his hands, and these people,
-relieved from the presence of the Roman army, aided him freely with
-every kind of supplies.
-
-Rome now presented a scene of the greatest activity. She was not
-yet softened by luxuries, or corrupted by indulgence; she did not,
-therefore, yield to fear, as in after days, when the wild leaders
-of the north poured down from the Alps, like an avalanche. She was
-alarmed, but yet she met the emergency with courage and resolution.
-Every artisan in the city was busy in preparation; the senate were
-revolving deep schemes; generals held councils of war; soldiers were
-recruited and trained; the people ran to and fro in the streets,
-telling the last news, and recounting some marvellous legend of the
-Carthaginians and their dreaded leader. All was bustle and preparation.
-
-When the spring of the year 217 B. C. arrived, two Roman armies took
-the field; one under the consul Flaminius, and the other under the
-consul Servilius. Hannibal first marched against Flaminius, but in
-passing the swamps of the river Arno, his army suffered greatly, and
-he himself lost one of his eyes. Soon after this, Flaminius, who was
-a rash and headstrong man, came up with him on the banks of the lake
-Trasimenus, and gave the Carthaginians battle. Here, again, the genius
-of Hannibal triumphed. The conflict was dreadful, and the water of the
-lake where the armies met, was red with blood. But the Romans were
-totally defeated.
-
-After this event, a famous general, Quintus Fabius Maximus, was
-appointed dictator of Rome, and, under his direction, a new policy was
-adopted. Instead of sending armies to act offensively against Hannibal
-at a distance, the defensive system of warfare was rigidly observed.
-This prudent course, adopted by Fabius, has given a signification
-to his name; the _Fabian_ policy being a term which is used as
-synonymous with _prudent_ policy. It is thought that Washington, in our
-revolutionary war, imitated this great Roman general.
-
-But the successes of Hannibal and the disasters of Rome, had not
-yet ended. In the year 216, another battle was determined upon, and
-Hannibal met the enemy at Cannæ, near the present city of Naples. Here,
-again, the Romans were defeated with dreadful slaughter. Not less than
-forty thousand of their soldiers were slain. To this day, the relics
-of the fight are ploughed up from the ground, and the spot where the
-battle took place, is called the “field of blood.” If the red stain
-has long since vanished from the soil, time cannot wash out the bloody
-record from the memory of man.
-
-Beside this fearful carnage, ten thousand Roman soldiers were taken
-prisoners. The Carthaginian loss was small. We can only account for
-such events as these, by the supposition that Hannibal, whose army
-was scarcely half as large as that of the Romans, was a man greatly
-superior in capacity even to the able and practised generals of Rome,
-who were sent against him. Nothing in modern times has been witnessed,
-to compare with his achievements, except those of Napoleon, operating
-in the same countries, and also contending against disciplined troops
-and generals long practised in the military art.
-
-The whole of lower Italy was now in the possession of Hannibal. He had
-entered the country by the north, and, having passed Rome, was in the
-southern portion of the peninsula. It would seem that he was now near
-the consummation of his wishes, and that the imperial city must fall
-before him; but such was not the event. A defensive system was still
-observed, and the city being too formidable for attack, Hannibal was
-obliged to look around for aid. He applied to Philip of Macedon and the
-Syracusans, but the Romans contrived to keep both occupied at home.
-
-Hasdrubal, the brother of Hannibal, had charge of the Carthaginian
-forces in Spain, where he conducted the war with ability. In a great
-battle, he defeated the Romans; and two generals, by the name of
-Scipio, fell. Another Scipio was sent thither, and he soon recovered
-in Spain what the Romans had lost there. Hasdrubal now left that
-country to join his brother, and, crossing the Alps without opposition,
-reached Italy. Before he could effect the junction he desired, he was
-met by the Roman forces, his army cut to pieces and he himself slain.
-Hannibal was now obliged to act on the defensive. Yet he continued
-to sustain himself here for a series of years without calling upon
-Carthage for supplies.
-
-Scipio, having finished the war in Spain, now transported his army
-across the Mediterranean: thus _carrying the war into Africa_, and
-giving rise to an expression still in vogue, and significant of
-effective retaliation. By the aid of Massinissa, a powerful prince of
-Numidia, now Morocco, he gained two victories over the Carthaginians,
-who were obliged hastily to recall their great commander from Italy.
-He landed at Leptis, and advanced near Zama, five days’ journey to
-the west of Carthage. Here he met the Roman forces, and here, for the
-first time, he suffered a total defeat. The loss of the Carthaginians
-was immense, and they were obliged to sue for peace. This was granted
-on humiliating terms by Scipio, called Africanus, after this victory.
-Hannibal would still have resisted, but he was compelled by his
-countrymen to submit. Thus ended the second Punic war, 200 B. C, having
-continued about eighteen years.
-
-Hannibal now applied himself to the reform of abuses in the government
-of Carthage. In this he was supported by the people, but he incurred
-the dislike of certain leading men among his countrymen. These,
-insensible to his great services, and only guided by their jealousy,
-sent to the Roman authorities certain representations, calculated to
-excite their suspicion and arouse their anger against him. Ambassadors
-were accordingly sent to Carthage, to demand his punishment; but
-Hannibal, foreseeing the storm, fled to Tyre. From this place he went
-to Ephesus, and induced Antiochus to declare war against Rome, B. C.
-196. He had himself but a subordinate command, and when the war, which
-proved unfortunate, was over, he was compelled to depart, and seek a
-refuge with Prusias, prince of Bithynia, in Asia Minor. The Romans,
-being uneasy so long as their formidable enemy was alive, sent to
-Prusias to demand that he should be given up. Hannibal, now driven to
-extremity, and sick of life, destroyed himself by poison, B. C. 183, in
-the sixty-fifth year of his age.
-
-We have no accounts of this wonderful man except from his enemies, the
-Romans, and nothing from them but his public career. Prejudiced as are
-these sources of evidence, they still exhibit him as one of the most
-extraordinary men that has ever lived. Many of the events of his life
-remind us of the career of Napoleon. Like him, he crossed the Alps with
-a great army; like him, he was repeatedly victorious over disciplined
-and powerful forces in Italy; like him, he was finally overwhelmed in a
-great battle; like him, he was a statesman as well as a general; like
-him, he was the idol of the army; like him, he was finally driven from
-his country and died in exile. No one achievement of Bonaparte’s life
-was equal to that of Hannibal in crossing the Alps, if we consider
-the difficulties he had to encounter; nor has anything in generalship
-surpassed the ability he displayed in sustaining himself and his army,
-for sixteen years, in Italy, in the face of Rome, and without asking
-for assistance from his own country.
-
-During this whole period he never once dismissed his forces, and
-though they were composed of Africans, Spaniards, Gauls, Carthaginians
-and Greeks—persons of different laws, languages and habits—never
-was anything like mutiny displayed among them. How wonderful was the
-genius that held such a vast number of persons—the fiery spirits of
-so many different nations—subject to one will, and obedient to one
-authority! Where can we look for evidence of talent superior to this?
-We cannot doubt that Hannibal, in addition to his great mind, possessed
-those personal qualifications, which enabled him to exercise powers
-of fascination over all those persons who came into his presence; and
-that, in this respect too, he bore a resemblance to Napoleon.
-
-We may not approve, yet we can hardly fail to admire, the unflinching
-hostility of Hannibal to Rome. He had been taught this in his
-childhood; it came with the first lessons of life, and from the lips
-of a father; he had sworn it at the altar. Rome was the great enemy
-of his country; and as he loved the last, he must hate the first. His
-duty, his destiny, might serve to impel him to wage uncompromising war
-against Rome; for this he lived—for this, at last, he died.
-
-Nor can we believe that this sentiment, which formed the chief spring
-of his actions, was unmixed with patriotism. Indeed, this was
-doubtless at its very root. It was for the eclipse that she cast over
-Carthage, that he would annihilate Rome. It was from a conviction
-that one of these great powers must give way to the other—that
-the existence of Rome boded destruction to Carthage—that he waged
-uncompromising and deadly war upon the former.
-
-That Hannibal was patriotic, is evinced also by the reforms which he
-sought to effect in the government of his country. These had for their
-object the benefit of the people at large. For this, he obtained the
-confidence of the mass, while he incurred the hostility of the few.
-It is no evidence against him that he fell a victim to the jealousy
-thus excited, for such has too often been the fate of the lover of his
-country.
-
-[Illustration]
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-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                      ALEXANDER, KING OF MACEDON.
-
-
-It is now somewhat more than two thousand years since this warrior
-flourished; yet his image continues to stand out from the page of
-history in bold relief, seeming not only to claim our attention, but to
-challenge our admiration. A brief outline of his history may enable us
-to judge upon what basis this undying fame is founded.
-
-Alexander was born 354 B. C., on the same day that Erostratus destroyed
-the famous temple of Diana at Ephesus, by fire. A wit of the time
-remarked that “it was no wonder that the temple of Diana should be
-burnt at Ephesus, while the goddess was at Macedon, attending the
-birth of Alexander.” Plutarch observes that this witticism was frigid
-enough to have extinguished the flames. Philip, Alexander’s father,
-being absent at the time of his birth, received three messages in one
-day: the first informed him that his general, Parmenio, had won a great
-battle; the second, that his horse had gained the prize at the Olympic
-games; the third, that his wife had borne him a son.
-
-At the time of Alexander’s birth, Macedonia, which lay north of Greece,
-and now constitutes that part of Turkey called Romelia, had become a
-warlike and powerful kingdom. Philip was not only an able warrior, but
-an ambitious and sagacious statesman. He greatly civilized his own
-people, trained them to arms, and added to his kingdom several adjacent
-states. By a series of victories and crafty negotiations he had also
-become the nominal protector, but real master of Greece. It was against
-the insidious policy of Philip that Demosthenes pronounced his caustic
-speeches, which gave rise to the term “Philippics.”
-
-Although Philip was ruthless in war and unscrupulous in policy, still
-he was a very enlightened prince. He understood many of the arts,
-customs and feelings which belong to civilization; nor was he destitute
-of noble traits of character. We are told that a Grecian, named
-Arcadius, was constantly railing against him. Venturing once into the
-dominions of Philip, the courtiers suggested to their prince that he
-had now an opportunity to punish Arcadius for his past insults, and to
-put it out of his power to repeat them. The king took their advice, but
-in a different way. Instead of seizing the hostile stranger and putting
-him to death, he sent for him, and then caused him to be dismissed,
-loaded with courtesies and kindness.
-
-Some time after Arcadius’ departure from Macedon, word was brought
-that the king’s old enemy had become one of his warmest friends, and
-did nothing but diffuse his praises wherever he went. On hearing this,
-Philip turned to his courtiers, and said with a smile, “Am not I a
-better physician than you are?” We are also told of numerous instances
-in which Philip treated his prisoners of war with a kindness quite
-unusual in the barbarous age in which he lived. Though dissolute in
-private life, as a prince he was far in advance of his nation in all
-that belongs to civilization.
-
-No better evidence of his enlightened views can be required than is
-afforded by the pains he bestowed upon the education of Alexander,
-his eldest son, and heir to his throne. He obtained for him the best
-masters, and finally placed him under the care of Aristotle, then the
-most learned and famous philosopher of Greece, and one of the most
-extraordinary men that ever lived. It cannot but be interesting and
-instructive to trace the history of the greatest warrior, who was, at
-the same time, the pupil of the greatest philosopher, of antiquity.
-
-Alexander was an apt and attentive student, and easily mastered the
-studies to which he applied. He was somewhat headstrong if treated
-with harshness, and he resisted, if an attempt was made to drive him.
-He, however, was docile and obedient when treated gently. It would
-seem, that, in this at least, he was very much like the clever boys
-of our own day. He mastered not only matters of science, but polite
-literature also. He was greatly delighted with Homer’s Iliad, and, it
-is thought, modelled himself upon the warlike heroes of that poem. In
-after days, even in his campaigns, he took a copy of this work with
-him, and in the camp, read it at moments of leisure, and slept with it
-at night beneath his pillow.
-
-Alexander was greatly attached to Aristotle during his pupilage,
-though he changed both in feeling and conduct towards him afterwards.
-Philip seems to have formed a high estimate of the services rendered
-by Aristotle. The latter being born at Stagira—and hence called the
-Stagirite—which had been dismantled, Philip ordered it, in compliment
-to the philosopher, to be rebuilt, and re-established there the
-inhabitants which had either fled or been reduced to slavery. He also
-ordered a beautiful promenade, called Mirza, to be prepared on the
-borders of the river, for the studies and literary conversation of the
-people. Here were shown, even in the time of Plutarch, Aristotle’s
-stone seats and shady walks.
-
-It is interesting to remark here, that both Philip and Alexander,
-powerful sovereigns and men of great minds, were yet inferior, in what
-constitutes greatness, to Aristotle. They treated him, indeed, as their
-inferior—an object of their patronage; and it is also true, that
-both Philip and Alexander are remembered at the present day; but the
-consequences of their actions ceased ages ago. Not so with Aristotle:
-his books being preserved, have come down to our times, and for two
-thousand years have been constantly exercising a powerful influence
-over mankind. There can be no doubt, therefore, that the schoolmaster
-is infinitely above the prince; the one lives for a generation, the
-other for all time; the one deals with external things which perish;
-the other with knowledge, science—principles—which never die. The one
-is a being of action, the other of mind; the one may be great for a
-brief space in the eye of vulgar observation, but he is soon quenched
-in utter oblivion; the other, though his body be dead, still lives by
-the power of the spirit. It is desirable to impress this truth on our
-hearts, for it shows that true glory lies in cultivating and exercising
-the mind; while, in comparison, it is a poor and mean ambition, which
-incites us to seek only worldly power or wealth or station.
-
-At an early period, Alexander displayed noble qualities, amid some
-vices. He was exceedingly ambitious, and when news came that his father
-had taken some strong town, or won some great battle, “My father will
-conquer,” he exclaimed impatiently “the whole world, and will leave
-nothing for me to conquer.” Though in the light of our Christian
-philosophy, nothing more wicked than the feelings here displayed could
-exist, still it accorded with the education he had received, and was
-an earnest of that love of war and conquest which signalized his after
-career. It may be stated, also, that Alexander did not value riches
-or pleasure, in his youth, but seemed to be always excited by a love
-of glory; he did not desire a kingdom that should afford him opulence
-and the means of luxury, but one that would bring wars and conflicts,
-and the full exercise of ambition. A sad portrait this, viewed in the
-light of our day—yet the very description of a hero, and almost of a
-god, in the age and country in which he lived.
-
-When Alexander was about twelve years old, a horse was brought for sale
-from Thessaly called Bucephalus. The price required was about £2,500
-sterling, or $12,000. Yet when any one attempted to mount him, he
-became restive and unmanageable. Philip was incensed that such a price
-should be asked for so vicious a beast, but Alexander had observed him
-carefully, and saw that he was indeed a noble creature. He therefore
-wished to try him. His father rebuked him sharply, but the prince
-persevered, and desired to mount the horse. “If you are not able to
-ride him upon trial,” said Philip, “what forfeit will you pay?” “The
-price of the horse,” said Alexander. This produced a laugh rather at
-Alexander’s expense—but the forfeit was agreed upon, and he ran to
-the horse. He had observed that he was startled at his shadow, the
-sun shining very brightly; so he turned his head to the sun, leaped
-lightly upon his back, obtained a firm seat, and gave the animal the
-rein. The noble beast felt, with that quick intelligence of which his
-race is capable, that one worthy to be his master was on his back, and
-set forward. Finding him inclined to run, Alexander, nothing daunted,
-but with a spirit as wild and fearless as his own, and no doubt with a
-bounding and joyous sympathy, gave him the spur, and made him fly over
-the plain.
-
-Philip and all his courtiers around him were greatly frightened at
-first, but soon Alexander wheeled Bucephalus about, and rode him back
-to the place from which he started. The animal was completely subdued;
-yet there was something in his proud look, as he now stood still before
-the admiring throng, which seemed to say, “I yielded, but only to one
-worthy of being a conqueror.” Alexander was received by a shout of
-acclamation—but Philip was overcome by the noble chivalry of his boy,
-and wept in very joy. “Seek another kingdom, my son!” said he, in the
-fulness of his heart, “for Macedon is too small for thee!” Such was the
-value in those days set upon personal gallantry and courage; and we
-know that these qualities are of the utmost importance, when hard blows
-usually decide the fate of empires.
-
-Everything seemed to show that Alexander had very early acted under
-the idea of being a king, and of pursuing, in that character, a career
-of conquest. No doubt all around him, the courtiers, his father and
-mother, and his teachers had thus trained him, and no doubt all this
-coincided with his natural turn of mind. He not only showed personal
-courage, but a precocious desire of practical knowledge. When less than
-twelve years of age, ambassadors came to visit the court of Macedon
-from Persia. Philip was absent, and Alexander therefore received them
-with great politeness, and a sobriety quite astonishing. He asked no
-trifling or childish questions; but made a great many inquiries about
-the roads to Persia; the distance from place to place; the situation
-of certain provinces; the character of their king; how he treated his
-enemies; in what the power of Persia lay, &c. All this astonished
-the ambassadors, who, in their excitement, exclaimed, “The boasted
-sagacity of Philip is nothing to the lofty and enterprising genius of
-his son!” Such, indeed, were the striking qualities of young Alexander,
-that the people of Macedon, in their admiration, called the youth king,
-and his father only general!
-
-Philip was pleased with all this, but as Alexander grew older, troubles
-sprung up between them. Olympias, the mother of Alexander, was a woman
-of fierce and restive temper, and she was justly incensed by a foolish
-marriage which Philip made with a young lady, named Cleopatra. At the
-celebration of this union there was great festivity, and the king got
-drunk. Alexander’s mind, having been poisoned by his mother, was in
-such a state of irritation, that he spoke rudely at the feast. Philip
-drew his sword, but his passion and the wine he had drunk, caused
-him to stumble, and he fell upon the floor. “See,” said Alexander,
-insolently—“men of Macedon, see there the man who was preparing to
-pass from Europe into Asia! He is not able to pass from one table to
-another!” After this insult, he left the table, and taking his mother,
-they repaired to Epirus.
-
-Here they spent some time, but Philip at last induced them to come
-back. Other troubles, however, arose, and finally king Philip was slain
-by Pausanius, whom he had injured. Olympias was thought to have incited
-the young man to this desperate act, and suspicion of participation
-fell upon Alexander.
-
-The latter, now twenty years of age, succeeded to his father’s throne.
-His dominion extended over Macedon and the adjacent tribes to the
-north, including nearly the whole of that territory which now forms a
-part of Turkey, and lies between Greece, and the Argentaro mountains.
-Macedonia itself, was far less civilized than the southern parts
-of Greece: the people were, indeed, men of a different race, being
-esteemed barbarous, though the kings claimed to have been of Hellenic
-origin, and even to trace their lineage to Achilles and Hercules. The
-nation was much softened in its manners by the wise administration of
-Philip, while, at the same time, they were carefully trained in the art
-of war. The surrounding tribes, still more savage than his own people,
-and often giving exercise to his arms, still served to fill his ranks
-with the most daring and powerful soldiery.
-
-Greece, too, constituted a part of the kingdom now left to the youthful
-Alexander. But his father had only conquered, not consolidated into
-one empire, his vast dominions. Upon his death, the barbarians on
-the north, and the states of Greece at the south, feeling themselves
-liberated from a tyrant, and little fearing a youth of twenty, either
-revolted or showed a disposition to revolt. Alexander’s advisers
-recommended him to give up Greece, and seek only to subdue the
-barbarous tribes around him, and to do this by mild measures.
-
-Such a course did not suit the young king. He took the opposite course;
-marched north as far as the Danube, defeating his principal enemy, and
-thus securing submission to his authority in that quarter. He then
-pushed southward, and fell upon the restive Thebans, destroying their
-city, and reducing the place to a mere heap of ghastly ruins! No less
-than six thousand of the inhabitants were slain in battle, and three
-thousand were sold as slaves!
-
-In the midst of the horrors which took place immediately after Thebes
-was taken—fire and the sword, slaughter, rapine, violence, raging on
-all sides—a party of savage Thracians, belonging to Alexander’s army,
-demolished the house of Timoclea, a woman of high standing and quality.
-Having carried off the booty found in her house, and shamefully abused
-the lady, the captain asked her if she had not some gold and silver
-concealed. She replied that she had—and taking him alone into the
-garden, showed him a well, in which she said she had thrown everything
-of value when the city was taken. The officer stooped to look into
-the well, when the lady pushed him down, and rolling stones down
-upon him, soon despatched him. The Thracians, coming up, found what
-she had done, and, binding her hands, took her to Alexander. When he
-asked her who she was—“A sister of Theagenes,” said she, proudly and
-fearlessly,—“a Theban general, who fought for the liberty of Greece,
-against the usurpation of Philip—and fell gloriously at the battle of
-Cheronæa!” Alexander was so much struck by her noble mien and patriotic
-sentiments, that he caused her and her children to be set at liberty.
-Such are the few rays of light, that flash across the dark path of the
-conqueror!
-
-Greece was soon brought to a state of submission and, as Alexander now
-contemplated an expedition against Darius, king of Persia, the several
-states, having held an assembly at Corinth, concluded to furnish their
-quota of supplies. Many statesmen and philosophers came to Corinth,
-where Alexander was to congratulate him upon this result; but the king
-was disappointed to find that Diogenes, the cynic philosopher, was not
-among the number. As he desired greatly to see him, he went to his
-residence in the suburbs of the city, to pay him a visit. He found the
-philosopher, basking in the sun; at the approach of so many people, he
-carelessly roused himself a little, and happened to fix his eyes on
-Alexander—“Is there anything,” said the king, condescendingly—“in
-which I can serve you?”—“Only stand a little out of my sunshine,” said
-Diogenes. This answer produced a laugh among the crowd, who thought it
-mere vulgarity; but Alexander saw deeper, and, reflecting upon that
-superiority, which could regard even his presence without surprise,
-and look with disdain upon his gifts, remarked, “that if he were not
-Alexander, he would wish to be Diogenes.”
-
-Alexander set out, in the spring of the year 334 B. C., upon his
-expedition against Persia—from which, however, he never returned.
-He had thirty thousand foot, and five thousand horse, and a supply
-of money. His troops were well armed, the infantry bearing shields,
-spears, and battle-axes of iron; the horse were equipped with similar
-weapons, but defended with helmets and breastplates. The officers
-all bore swords. The arms of the Persians were similar, though many
-of their troops used the bow: the forces of Alexander were, however,
-better provided, better trained, and far more athletic than their
-Asiatic enemies.
-
-We must pause a moment to look at that mighty power which had now
-swallowed up Assyria, Babylon, and the countries from the Grecian
-Archipelago on the west, to India on the east; an extent of territory
-nearly three thousand miles in length, and comprehending at once the
-most fertile and populous region on the face of the globe. Such were
-the power and resources of the Persian empire, that, about one hundred
-and fifty years prior to the date of which we are speaking, it had sent
-an army, with its attendants, of five millions of persons, to conquer
-that very Greece, which was now preparing to roll back the tide of war,
-and put a final period to its proud existence.
-
-The reigning king of Persia was Darius III., a weak but conceited
-monarch, who held his court at the splendid city of Persepolis,
-which had long been the capital of the empire. His situation was
-very similar to that of the sultan of Turkey at the present day. The
-Persians, though their king ruled over almost countless nations, were
-comparatively few in number. His revenue was derived from the tribute
-of dependent princes, and the extortions made by his own satraps or
-governors. His empire, consisting of so many nations, required constant
-watchfulness, to keep all parts in subjection; and as the Asiatic
-troops were inferior, he kept in his pay, at all times, a considerable
-number of renegade Greeks, as soldiers.
-
-Being made aware of the design of Alexander, Darius sent a vast army
-westward, and marching into Syria himself, determined there to await
-his enemy. Alexander crossed the Propontis, now Sea of Marmora, which
-immediately brought him into Asia Minor, and the dominions of Persia.
-As soon as he landed, he went to Ilium, the scene of the Trojan war,
-and the ten years’ siege of Troy, celebrated in the Iliad. He anointed
-the pillar upon Achilles’ tomb with oil—and he and his friends ran
-naked around it, according to the custom which then prevailed. He also
-adorned it with a wreath, in the form of a crown. These ceremonies
-are supposed to have been intended to enforce the belief that he was
-descended from Achilles—a claim which he always maintained.
-
-Meantime, the Persian generals had pushed forward and posted themselves
-upon the banks of the Granicus, a small river now called Ousvola, which
-empties into the sea of Marmora. Alexander led the attack upon them
-by plunging into the river with his horse. He advanced, with thirteen
-of his troop, in the face of a cloud of arrows; and though swept down
-by the rapidity of the current, and opposed by steep banks lined with
-cavalry, he forced his way, by irresistible strength and impetuosity,
-across the stream. Standing upon the muddy slope, his troops were now
-obliged to sustain a furious attack, hand to hand, and eye to eye.
-The Persian troops, cheered by their vantage ground, pushed on with
-terrific shouts, and hurled their javelins, like snow-flakes, upon the
-Macedonians. Alexander, being himself distinguished by his buckler and
-crest, decorated with white plumes, was the special object of attack.
-His cuirass was pierced by a javelin, at the joint; but thus far he was
-unhurt. Now he was assailed by two chiefs of great distinction. Evading
-one, he engaged the other; after a desperate struggle, in which his
-crest was shorn away, and his helmet cleft to his hair, he slew one of
-the chiefs, and was saved, at the moment of deadly peril, by the hand
-of his friend Clytus, who despatched the other.
-
-While Alexander’s cavalry were fighting with the utmost fury, the
-Macedonian phalanx and the infantry crossed the river, and now engaged
-the enemy. The effect of a leader’s example was never more displayed.
-Alexander’s exhibition of courage and prowess, made every soldier a
-hero. They fought, indeed, like persons who knew nothing, and cared
-for nothing, but to destroy the enemy. Some of the Persians gave way
-and fled. Their hireling Greeks, however, maintained the fight, and
-Alexander’s horse was killed under him—but not Bucephalus. “When Greek
-meets Greek, then comes the tug of war.” The fight was, indeed, severe,
-but at last Alexander triumphed. The victory was complete. The loss of
-the Persians was twenty-five thousand slain; that of the Macedonians
-less than fifty.
-
-Alexander had now passed the gates of Asia, and had obtained entrance
-into the dominions of the enemy. He paused for a time to pay the last
-honors to the dead. To each, he erected a statue of brass, executed
-by Lysippus. Upon the arms which were taken and distributed among the
-troops, he caused this inscription to be made:—“Won by Alexander, of
-the barbarians in Asia!”
-
-We may pause here to note that Bonaparte seems to have imitated the
-Macedonian conqueror in this kind of boasting. As he was on his march
-to Russia, he caused to be graven on a stone fountain at Coblentz upon
-the Rhine, as follows:
-
-“Year MDCCCXII. _Memorable for the campaign against Russia._ 1812.”
-
-The Russian commander, when Napoleon had been dethroned, passing
-through Coblentz with his troops, caused to be carved, immediately
-beneath as follows:
-
-“_Seen and approved by the Russian commander of the town of Coblentz,
-January 1, 1814._”
-
-It is true that no such speedy retort awaited the Macedonian conqueror,
-yet he was bound upon an errand which was ere long to put a period to
-his proud career.
-
-Alexander soon pushed on to the East, and, meeting Darius near the
-Gulf of Issus, now Aias, and forming the north-eastern point of
-the Mediterranean, a tremendous engagement took place. Darius was
-defeated, and more than one hundred thousand of his soldiers lay
-dead on the field. Darius escaped with difficulty, leaving his tent,
-and even his wife and daughter, in the hands of the enemy. When the
-fighting was over, Alexander went to see the tent of Darius. It
-was, indeed, a curiosity to one like the Macedonian king, little
-acquainted with eastern refinements. He gazed for a time at the
-luxurious baths of Darius; his vases, boxes, vials and basins, all of
-wrought gold; he inhaled the luscious perfumes, and surveyed the rich
-silk drapery and gorgeous furniture of the tent—and then exclaimed,
-contemptuously—“This, then, it seems, is to be a king,”—intimating
-that if these were the only distinctions of a king, the title deserved
-contempt.
-
-While Alexander was thus occupied, he was told that the wife and
-daughter of Darius were his captives. The queen was one of the
-loveliest women that was ever known, and his daughter was also
-exceedingly beautiful. Though Alexander was told all this, he sent word
-to the afflicted ladies that they need have no fear; and he caused them
-to be treated with the utmost delicacy and attention. He refrained from
-using his power in any way to their annoyance; and thus displayed one
-of the noblest graces of a gentleman and a man—a nice regard for the
-feelings of the gentler sex. This anecdote of the conqueror has shed
-more honor upon his name for two thousand years, than the victory of
-the Issus; nor will it cease to be cited in his praise, as long as
-history records his name.
-
-The historians represent Alexander as simple in his tastes and habits
-at this period. He was temperate in eating, drank wine with great
-moderation, and if he sat long at table, it was for the purpose of
-conversation, in which he excelled, though given to boasting of his
-military exploits. When business called, nothing could detain him; but
-in times of leisure, his first business in the morning was to sacrifice
-to the gods. He then took his dinner, sitting. The rest of the day
-he spent in hunting, or deciding differences among his troops, or in
-reading and writing. Sometimes he would exercise himself in shooting
-or darting the javelin, or in mounting and alighting from a chariot
-in full career. Sometimes, also, he diverted himself with fowling and
-fox-hunting. His chief meal was supper, which he took at evening, and
-in a recumbent posture, with his friends around him. He was not fond of
-delicacies and though they were always found at his table, he usually
-sent them to others. Such was Alexander during the early periods of his
-campaigns in Asia.
-
-After various operations, Alexander marched against Phoenicia and
-Sidon, which submitted at once. Tyre resisted, but, after a siege of
-seven months, was taken by storm. Eight thousand Tyrians fell in the
-onslaught, and thirty thousand captives were sold into slavery. Gaza
-was now taken, after a siege of two months. Alexander then marched
-to Jerusalem, to punish the inhabitants for refusing to supply him
-with men and money. The high priest, Jaddus, went forth to meet the
-conqueror, attended by the priests and the people, with all the
-imposing emblems and signs of the Jewish religion. Alexander was so
-struck with the spectacle, that he pardoned the people, adored the name
-of the Most High, and performed sacrifices in the temple, according to
-the instructions of Jaddus. The book of the prophet Daniel was shown to
-him, and the passage pointed out in which it was foretold that the king
-of Grecia would overcome the king of Persia, with which he was well
-pleased.
-
-The conqueror now turned his arms against Egypt, which yielded without
-striking a blow. Having established the government on a liberal
-footing, he set out, A. D. 331, to attack the Persian king, who had
-gathered an army of a million of men, and was now in Persia. About
-this time, he received a letter from Darius, in which that prince
-proposed, on condition of a pacification and future friendship, to
-pay him ten thousand talents in ransom of his prisoners, to cede him
-all the countries on this side the Euphrates, and to give him his
-daughter in marriage. Upon his communicating these proposals to his
-friends, Parmenio said, “If I were Alexander, I would accept them.”
-“So would I,” said Alexander, “if I were Parmenio.” The answer he gave
-Darius, was, “that if he would come to him, he should find the best of
-treatment; if not, he must go and seek him.”
-
-In consequence of this declaration, he began his march; but he repented
-that he had set out so soon, when he received information that the wife
-of Darius was dead. That princess died in childbed; and the concern of
-Alexander was great, because he lost an opportunity of exercising his
-clemency. All he could do was to return, and bury her with the utmost
-magnificence.
-
-Alexander, having subdued various places that held out against him,
-now proceeded in his march against Darius. He found him with his
-immense army encamped on the banks of the Bumadus, a small river in
-what is now called Kourdistan. Alexander immediately approached, and
-prepared for battle. Being near the enemy at night, the murmur of the
-immense multitude, seeming like the roaring of the sea, startled one of
-Alexander’s friends, who advised him to attack them in the night. The
-reply was, “I will not steal a victory!”
-
-During that night, though it was foreseen that a dreadful and doubtful
-battle was to be fought the next day, Alexander, having made his
-preparations, slept soundly. In the morning, on the field, he wore a
-short coat, girt close about him; over that, a breast plate of linen
-strongly quilted, which he had taken in the battle of the Issus. His
-helmet was of polished iron, and shone like silver. To this was fixed
-a gorget, set with precious stones. His sword was light, and of the
-finest temper. The belt he wore was superb and was given him by the
-Rhodians, as a mark of respect. In reviewing and exercising, he spared
-Bucephalus, but he rode him in battle, and when he mounted his back it
-was always a signal for the onset.
-
-Aristander, the soothsayer, rode by the side of Alexander, in a white
-robe, and with a golden crown upon his head. He looked up, and lo, an
-eagle was sailing over the army! His course was towards the enemy. The
-army caught sight of the noble bird, and, taking it for a good omen,
-they now charged the enemy like a torrent. They were bravely resisted,
-but Alexander and his troops burst down upon them like an overwhelming
-avalanche, cutting their way towards the tent of Darius. The path was
-impeded by the slaughtered heaps that gathered before them, and their
-horses were embarrassed by the mangled and dying soldiers, who clung to
-the legs of the animals, seeking in their last agonies to resist them.
-Darius, now in the utmost peril, turned to fly, but his chariot became
-entangled in the slain. Seeing this, he mounted a swift horse, and fled
-to Bactriana, where he was treacherously murdered by Bessus.
-
-Alexander was now declared king of all Asia, and, though this might
-seem the summit of his glory, it was the point at which his character
-begins to decline. He now affected the pomp of an eastern prince, and
-addicted himself to dissipation. He, however, continued his conquests.
-He marched to Babylon, which opened its gates for his reception. He
-proceeded to Persepolis, which he took by surprise. Here, in a drunken
-frolic, and instigated by an abandoned woman, named Thais, he set fire
-to the palace, which was burnt to the ground.
-
-He now marched into Parthia, and, meeting with a beautiful princess,
-named Roxana, daughter of a Bactrian king, he fell in love with her,
-and married her. Some time after this, upon some suspicion of the
-fidelity of Philotas, the son of Parmenio, he caused him to be put
-to the torture till he died. He then sent orders to have his father,
-an old and faithful soldier, who had fought under Philip, and who
-was now in Media, to be put to death, which were but too faithfully
-executed. This horrid transaction was soon followed by another, still
-more dreadful. Under the excitement of wine, a dispute arose between
-Alexander and Clytus, the brave officer who had saved his life at the
-battle of the Granicus.
-
-Both became greatly excited: taunts and gibes were uttered on either
-side. Alexander, unable longer to keep down his rage, threw an apple
-in the face of Clytus, and then looked about for his sword; but one of
-his friends had prudently taken it away. Clytus was now forced out of
-the room, but he soon came back, and repeated the words of Euripides,
-meaning to apply them to Alexander:
-
-
-    “Are these your customs?—Is it thus that Greece
-     Rewards her combatants? Shall one man claim
-     The trophies won by thousands?”
-
-
-The conqueror was now wholly beside himself. He seized a spear from
-one of the guards, and, at a plunge, ran it through the body of Clytus,
-who fell dead, uttering a dismal groan as he expired.
-
-Alexander’s rage subsided in a moment. Seeing his friends standing
-around in silent astonishment, he hastily drew out the spear, and was
-applying it to his own throat, when his guards seized him, and carried
-him by force to his chamber. Here the pangs of remorse stung him to
-the quick. Tears fell fast for a time, and then succeeded a moody,
-melancholy silence, only broken by groans. His friends attempted in
-vain to console him. It was not till after long and painful suffering,
-that he was restored to his wonted composure.
-
-Alexander now set out for the conquest of India, then a populous
-country, and the seat of immense wealth. After a series of splendid
-achievements, he reached the banks of the Hydaspes, a considerable
-stream that flows into the Indus. Here he was met by Porus, an Indian
-king, with an army, in which were a large number of elephants. A
-bloody battle followed, in which Alexander was victorious and Porus
-made captive. “How do you wish to be treated?” said Alexander to the
-unfortunate monarch. “Like a king,” was the brief, but significant
-reply. Alexander granted his request, restored his dominions and much
-enlarged them, making him, however, one of his tributaries.
-
-The conqueror, not yet satisfied, wished to push on to the Ganges;
-but his army refusing to go farther, he was forced to return. On his
-way back, he paid a visit to the ocean, and, in a battle with some
-savage tribes, being severely wounded, he came near losing his life.
-On the borders of the sea, he and his companions first saw the ebbing
-and flowing of the tide,—a fact of which they were before entirely
-ignorant. In this expedition the army suffered greatly: when it set out
-for India, it consisted of 150.000 men: on its return, it was reduced
-to one fourth of that number.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-Coming to a fertile district, Alexander paused to recruit, and refresh
-his men. He then proceeded, keeping up a kind of bacchanalian fête, in
-which the whole army participated. His own chariot was drawn by eight
-horses: it consisted of a huge platform where he and his friends
-revelled, day and night. This carriage was followed by others, some
-covered with rich purple silk and others with fresh boughs. In these
-were the generals, crowned with flowers, and inebriated with wine. In
-the immense procession there was not a spear, helmet, or buckler, but
-in their places cups, flagons, and goblets. The whole country resounded
-with flutes, clarionets, and joyous songs. The scene was attended with
-the riotous dances and frolics of a multitude of women. This licentious
-march continued for seven days.
-
-When he arrived at Susa, in Persia, he married a great number of his
-friends to Persian ladies. He set the example by taking Statira,
-daughter of Darius, to himself, and gave her sister to Hephæstion,
-his dearest friend. He now made a nuptial feast for the newly-married
-people, and nine thousand persons sat down to the entertainment. Each
-one was honored with a golden cup.
-
-On his return to Babylon, Alexander determined to make that place his
-residence and capital, and set about various plans for carrying this
-into effect. But his mind seemed haunted with superstitious fears.
-Everything that happened was construed into an augury of evil. The
-court swarmed with sacrifices and soothsayers, but still, for a long
-time, peace could not be obtained by the monarch.
-
-At last he seemed to be relieved, and being asked by Medias to a
-carousal, he drank all day and all night, until he found a fever coming
-upon him. He then desisted, but it was too late. The disease increased,
-setting at defiance every attempt at remedy, and in the space of about
-thirty days he died. Such was the miserable end of Alexander the Great.
-His wife, Roxana, with the aid of Perdiccas, murdered Statira and her
-sister, and the empire of the mighty conqueror was divided between four
-of his officers.
-
-The great achievement of Alexander—the grand result of his life—was
-the subjugation of the Persian monarchy, which lay like an incubus upon
-the numerous nations that existed between the Indus and the Euxine
-sea, and at the same time intercepted the communication between Europe
-and Asia. It was an achievement far greater than it would be now to
-overthrow the Ottoman throne, and give independence to the various
-tribes and states that are at present under its dominion. That he
-accomplished this work for any good motive, we cannot maintain, for his
-whole course shows, that, like all other conquerors, his actions began
-and terminated in himself.
-
-The character of Alexander has been delineated in the course of this
-brief sketch. We have not been able to give the details of all his
-battles, marches, and countermarches. His achievements were indeed
-stupendous. He crossed the Propontis in 334, and died in 323. It was in
-the brief space of eleven years, and at the age of thirty-three, that
-he had accomplished the deeds of which we have given a naked outline.
-Nor was he a mere warrior. He displayed great talents as a statesman,
-and many of the traits of a gentleman. His whole life, indeed, was
-founded upon an atrocious wrong—that one man may sacrifice millions
-of lives for his own pleasure—but this was the error of the age. As
-before intimated, considered in the light of Christianity, he was a
-monster; yet, according to the heathen model, he was a hero, and almost
-a god.
-
-In seeking for the motives which impelled Alexander forward in his
-meteor-like career we shall see that it was the love of glory—an
-inspiration like that of the chase, in which the field is an empire,
-and the game a monarch. In this wild ambition, he was stimulated by
-the Iliad of Homer, and it was his darling dream to match the bloody
-deeds of its heroes—Ajax and Achilles. It is impossible to see in his
-conduct, anything which shows a regard to the permanent happiness of
-mankind. He makes war, as if might were the only test of right; and he
-sacrifices nations to his thirst of conquest, with as little question
-of the rectitude of his conduct, as is entertained by the lion when he
-slays the antelope, or the sportsman when he brings down his game.
-
-Although we see many noble traits in Alexander, the real selfishness
-of his character is evinced in his famous letter to Aristotle. The
-latter, having published some of his works, is sharply rebuked by
-the conqueror, who says to him—“Now that you have done this, what
-advantage have I, your pupil, over the rest of mankind, since you have
-put it in the power of others to possess the knowledge which before was
-only imparted to me!” What can be more narrow and selfish than this?
-Even the current standard of morals in Alexander’s time, would condemn
-this as excessive meanness.
-
-We must not omit to record the last days of one that figures in
-Alexander’s annals, and is hardly less famous than the conqueror
-himself—we mean his noble horse, Bucephalus. This animal, more
-renowned than any other of his race, died on the banks of the Hydaspes.
-Craterus was ordered to superintend the building of two cities, one
-on each side of this river. The object was to secure the passage in
-future. That on the left bank was named Nicæa, the other Bucephala,
-in honor of the favorite horse, which had expired in battle without
-a wound, being worn out by age, heat, and over-exertion. He was then
-thirty years old. He was a large, powerful, and spirited horse, and
-would allow no one but Alexander to mount him. From a mark of a bull’s
-head imprinted on him, he derived his name, Bucephalus; though some say
-that he was so called in consequence of having in his forehead a white
-mark resembling a bull’s head.
-
-Once this famous charger, whose duties were restricted to the field
-of battle, was intercepted, and fell into the hands of the Uxians.
-Alexander caused a proclamation to be made, that, if Bucephalus were
-not restored, he would wage a war of extirpation against the whole
-nation. The restoration of the animal instantly followed the receipt of
-this notification; so great was Alexander’s regard for his horse and so
-great the terror of his name among the barbarians. “Thus far,” writes
-Arrian, “let Bucephalus be honored by me, for the sake of his master.”
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                              ARISTOTLE.
-
-
-This great philosopher was born at Stagira, or Stageira, in Macedonia,
-384 B. C. His father, physician to Amyntas II., king of Macedonia,
-commenced the education of his son, intending to prepare him for his
-own profession; and the studies pursued by the latter with this object,
-doubtless laid the foundation for that lore of natural history, which
-he displayed through life, and which he cultivated with such success.
-
-Aristotle lost both his parents while he was still young. After their
-death, he was brought up under Proxenes, a citizen of Mysia, in Asia
-Minor, who had settled in Stagira. Aristotle testified his gratitude to
-Proxenes and his wife, by directing, in his will, that statues of them
-should be executed at his expense and set up as his parents. He also
-educated their son Nicanor, to whom he gave his daughter Pythias in
-marriage.
-
-In his eighteenth year, Aristotle left Stagira and went to Athens,
-the centre of letters and learning in Greece—doubtless attracted
-thither by the fame of the philosopher, Plato. It appears, however,
-that during the three first years of his residence there, Plato was
-absent on a visit to Sicily. There can be no doubt that Aristotle paid
-particular attention to anatomy and medicine, as appears both from his
-circumstances in youth, and what we know of his best writings. It is
-also probable, as is indicated by some statements of ancient writers,
-that for a space he practised, like Locke, the healing art; he must,
-however, from an early age, have devoted his whole time to the study
-of philosophy and the investigation of nature, and have abandoned all
-thoughts of an exclusively professional career.
-
-His eagerness for the acquisition of knowledge, and his extraordinary
-acuteness and sagacity, doubtless attracted Plato’s attention at
-an early period; thus we are told that his master called him “the
-Intellect of the school,” and his house, the “House of the reader;”
-that he said Aristotle required the curb, while Zenocrates, a
-fellow-disciple, required the spur; some of which traditions are
-probably true. We are likewise informed that when reading he used to
-hold a brazen ball in his hand over a basin, in order that, if he
-fell asleep, he might be awaked by the noise which it would make in
-falling. Although Aristotle did not during Plato’s life, set up any
-school in opposition to him, as some writers have stated, he taught
-publicly in the art of rhetoric, and by this means became the rival of
-the celebrated Isocrates, whom he appears, notwithstanding his very
-advanced age, to have attacked with considerable violence, and to have
-treated with much contempt.
-
-Aristotle remained at Athens till Plato’s death, 347 B. C., having at
-that time reached his thirty-seventh year. Many stories are preserved
-by the ancient compilers of anecdotes, respecting the enmity between
-Plato and Aristotle, caused by the ingratitude of the disciple, as well
-as by certain peculiarities of his character which were displeasing to
-the master. But these rumors appear to have no other foundation than
-the known variance between the opinions and the mental habits of the
-two philosophers; and particularly the opposition which Aristotle made
-to Plato’s characteristic doctrine of ideas; whence it was inferred
-that there must have been an interruption of their friendly relations.
-The probability, however, is, that Aristotle, at whatever time he may
-have formed his philosophical opinions, had not published them in an
-authoritative shape, or entered into any public controversy, before
-his master’s death. In his Nicomachean Ethics, moreover, which was
-probably one of his latest works, he says “that it is painful to him to
-refute the doctrine of ideas, as it had been introduced by persons who
-were his friends: nevertheless, that it is his duty to disregard such
-private feelings; for both philosophers and truth being dear to him, it
-is right to give the preference to truth.” He is, likewise, stated to
-have erected an altar to his master inscribing on it that he was a man
-“whom the wicked ought not even to praise.”
-
-After the death of Plato, Aristotle left Athens and went to live at the
-court of Hermeias, prince of Atarneus. He had resided here but three
-years, when Hermeias, falling into the hands of the Persians, was put
-to death. Aristotle took refuge in Mytilene, the chief city of Lesbos.
-Here he married Pythias, sister of Hermeias, and who, being exposed to
-persecution from the Persians, now coming into power there, he saved by
-a rapid flight. For the patriotic and philosophical prince Hermeias,
-Aristotle entertained a fervent and deep affection, and he dedicated
-to his memory a beautiful poem, which is still extant. On account of
-the admiration he expresses of his friend, he was afterwards absurdly
-charged with impiety in deifying a mortal.
-
-In the year 356 B. C., Philip of Macedon wrote a famous letter to
-Aristotle, as follows: “King Philip of Macedon, to Aristotle, greeting.
-Know that a son has been born to me. I thank the gods, not so much that
-they have given him to me, as that they have permitted him to be born
-in the time of Aristotle. I hope that thou wilt form him to be a king
-worthy to succeed me, and to rule the Macedonians.”
-
-In the year 342 B. C., Aristotle was invited by Philip to take charge
-of the education of his son, Alexander, then fourteen years old.
-This charge was accepted, and Alexander was under his care three or
-four years. The particulars of his method of instruction are not
-known to us; but when we see the greatness of mind that Alexander
-displayed in the first years of his reign,—his command of his passions
-till flattery had corrupted him, and his regard for the arts and
-sciences,—we cannot but think that his education was judiciously
-conducted. It may be objected that Aristotle neglected to guard his
-pupil against ambition and the love of conquest; but it must be
-recollected that he was a Greek, and of course a natural enemy to the
-Persian kings; his hatred had been deepened by the fate of his friend
-Hermeias; and, finally, the conquest of Persia had, for a long time,
-been the wish of all Greece. It was, therefore, natural that Aristotle
-should exert all his talents to form his pupil with the disposition and
-qualifications necessary for the accomplishment of this object.
-
-Both father and son sought to show their gratitude for the services of
-such a teacher. Philip rebuilt Stagira, and established a school there
-for Aristotle. The Stagirites, in gratitude for this service, appointed
-a yearly festival, called _Aristotelia_. The philosopher continued at
-Alexander’s court a year after his accession to the throne, and is
-said to have then repaired to Athens. Ammonius, the Eclectic, says
-that he followed his pupil in a part of his campaigns; and this seems
-very probable; for it is hardly possible that so many animals as the
-philosopher describes could have been sent to Athens, or that he could
-have given so accurate a description of them without having personally
-dissected and examined them. We may conjecture that he accompanied
-Alexander as far as Egypt, and returned to Athens about 331 B. C.,
-provided with the materials for his excellent History of Animals.
-
-Aristotle, after parting with Alexander, returned to Athens, where he
-resolved to open a school, and chose a house, which, from its vicinity
-to the temple of Apollo Lyceus, was called the _Lyceum_. Attached to
-this building was a garden, with walks, in Greek _peripatoi_, where
-Aristotle used to deliver his instructions to his disciples; whence his
-school obtained the name of _peripatetic_. It appears that his habit
-was to give one lecture in the early part of the day on the abstruser
-parts of his philosophy, to his more advanced scholars, which was
-called the _morning walk_, and lasted till the hour when people dressed
-and anointed themselves; and another lecture, called the _evening
-walk_, on more popular subjects, to a less select class.
-
-It was probably during the thirteen years of his second residence at
-Athens, that Aristotle composed or completed the greater part of his
-works which have descended to our days. The foundation of most of
-them was, doubtless, laid at an early period of his life; but they
-appear to have been gradually formed, and to have received continual
-additions and corrections. Among the works which especially belong to
-this period of his life, are his treatises on Natural History; which,
-as has been correctly observed by a late writer on this subject, are
-not to be considered as the result of his own observations only, but
-as a collection of all that had been observed by others, as well as by
-himself.
-
-It is stated by Pliny, that “Alexander the Great, being smitten with
-the desire of knowing the natures of animals, ordered several thousand
-persons, over the whole of Asia and Greece, who lived by hunting,
-bird-catching and fishing, or who had the care of parks, herds,
-hives, seines, and aviaries, to furnish Aristotle with materials for
-a work on animals.” We are likewise informed that Aristotle received
-from Alexander the enormous sum of eight hundred talents,—nearly a
-million of dollars, to prosecute his researches in natural history,—a
-circumstance which did not escape the malice of his traducers, who
-censured him for receiving gifts from princes. Seneca, who states that
-Philip furnished Aristotle with large sums of money for his history of
-animals, had, doubtless, confounded the father and son.
-
-Callisthenes, a relation of Aristotle, by his recommendation,
-attended Alexander in his expedition to Asia, and sent from Babylon
-to the philosopher, in compliance with his previous injunctions, the
-astronomical observations which were preserved in that ancient city,
-and which, according to the statement of Porphyrius, reached back as
-far as 1903 years before the time of Alexander the Great; that is, 2234
-years before the Christian era.
-
-Aristotle had, at this time, reached the most prosperous period of his
-life. The founder and leader of the principal school of Greece, and
-the undisputed head of Grecian philosophy, surrounded by his numerous
-disciples and admirers, protected by the conqueror of Asia, and by him
-furnished with the means of following his favorite pursuits, and of
-gratifying his universal spirit of inquiry, he had, probably, little
-to desire in order to fill up the measure of a philosopher’s ambition.
-But he did not continue to enjoy the favor of Alexander till the end.
-Callisthenes, by his free-spoken censures and uncourtly habits, had
-offended his master, and had been executed, on a charge of having
-conspired with some Macedonians to take away his life; and the king’s
-wrath appears to have extended to his kinsman, Aristotle, as being the
-person who had originally recommended him. It is not, however, probable
-that this circumstance caused any active enmity between the royal pupil
-and his master; even if we did not know that Alexander died a natural
-death, there would be no reason for listening to the absurd calumny
-that Aristotle was concerned in poisoning him. Aristotle indeed appears
-to have been considered, to the last, as a partisan of Alexander, and
-an opponent of the democratic interest.
-
-When the anti-Macedonian party obtained the superiority at Athens in
-consequence of Alexander’s death, an accusation against Aristotle was
-immediately prepared, and the pretext selected, was, as in the case of
-Socrates, _impiety_, or _blasphemy_. He was charged by Eurymedon, the
-priest, and a man named Demophilus, probably a leader of the popular
-party, with paying divine honors to Hermeias, and perhaps with teaching
-certain irreligious doctrines. In order to escape this danger, and
-to prevent the Athenians, as he said, in allusion to the death of
-Socrates, from “sinning twice against philosophy,” he quitted Athens
-in the beginning of the year 322 B. C., and took refuge at Chalcis,
-in Euboea, an island then under the Macedonian influence—leaving
-Theophrastus his successor in the Lyceum. There he died, of a
-disease of the stomach, in the autumn of the same year, being in the
-sixty-third year of his age. His frame is said to have been slender and
-weakly, and his health had given way in the latter part of his life,
-having probably been impaired by his unwearied studies and the intense
-application of his mind. The story of his having drowned himself in the
-Euripus of Euboea, is fabulous.
-
-The characteristic of Aristotle’s philosophy, as compared with
-that of Plato, is, that while the latter gave free scope to his
-imagination, and, by his doctrine that we have ideas independent of
-the objects which they represent, opened a wide door to the dreams of
-mysticism—the latter was a close and strict observer of both mental
-and physical phenomena, avoiding all the seductions of the fancy,
-and following a severe, methodical, and strictly scientific course
-of inquiry, founded on data ascertained by experience. The truly
-philosophical character of his mind, and his calm and singularly
-dispassionate manner of writing, are not more remarkable than the
-vast extent both of his reading and of his original researches. His
-writings appear to have embraced nearly the whole circle of the
-theoretical and practical knowledge of his time, comprising treatises
-on logical, metaphysical, rhetorical, poetical, ethical, political,
-economical, physical, mechanical, and medical science. He likewise
-wrote on some parts of the mathematics; and, besides a collection of
-the constitutions of all the states known in his age, both Grecian and
-barbarian he made chronological compilations relating to the political
-and dramatic history of Greece.
-
-His works, however, though embracing so large an extent of subjects,
-were not a mere encyclopædia, or digest of existing knowledge; some
-of the sciences which he treated of were created by himself, and
-the others were enriched by fresh inquiries, and methodized by his
-systematic diligence. To the former belong his works on analytics and
-dialectics, or, as it is now called, logic; to the invention of which
-science he distinctly lays claim, stating that “before his time nothing
-whatever had been done in it.” Nearly the same remark applies to his
-metaphysical treatise. “But of all the sciences,” says Cuvier, “there
-is none which owes more to Aristotle, than the natural history of
-animals. Not only was he acquainted with a great number of species, but
-he has studied and described them on a luminous and comprehensive plan,
-to which, perhaps, none of his successors has approached; classing the
-facts not according to the species, but according to the organs and
-functions, the only method of establishing comparative results. Thus it
-may be said that he is not only the most ancient author of comparative
-anatomy, whose works have come down to us, but that he is one of those
-who have treated this branch of natural history with the most genius,
-and that he best deserves to be taken for a model. The principal
-divisions which naturalists still follow in the animal kingdom,
-are due to Aristotle; and he had already pointed out several which
-have recently been again adopted, after having once been improperly
-abandoned. If the foundations of these great labors are examined,
-it will be seen that they all rest on the same method. Everywhere
-Aristotle observes the facts with attention; he compares them with
-sagacity, and endeavors to rise to the qualities which they have in
-common.”
-
-Among the sciences which he found partly cultivated, but which he
-greatly advanced, the most prominent are those of rhetoric, ethics, and
-politics. Of rhetoric he defined the province, and analyzed all the
-parts with admirable skill and sagacity. His treatise on the passions,
-in this short but comprehensive work, has never been surpassed, if it
-has ever been equalled, by writers on what may be termed descriptive
-moral philosophy. His ethical writings contain an excellent practical
-code of morality, chiefly founded on the maxim that virtues are in
-the middle, between two opposite vices; as courage between cowardice
-and fool-hardiness, liberality between niggardliness and prodigality,
-&c. His remarks on friendship are also deserving of special notice; a
-subject much discussed by the ancients, but which has less occupied the
-attention of philosophers, since love has played a more prominent part,
-in consequence of the influence of the Germans, and the introduction
-of the manners of chivalry in western Europe. His treatise on politics
-is not, like Plato’s Republic, and the works of many later speculators
-on government, a mere inquiry after a perfect state, but contains an
-account of the nature of government, of the various forms of which it
-is susceptible, and the institutions best adapted to the societies in
-which these forms are established; with an essay, though unhappily an
-imperfect one, on education. This treatise is valuable, not only for
-its theoretical results, but also for the large amount of information
-which it contains, on the governments of Greece and other neighboring
-countries. Throughout these last-mentioned works, the knowledge of the
-world and of human nature displayed by Aristotle, is very observable;
-and, although his mind appears to have preferred the investigations
-of physical and metaphysical science, yet he holds a very high place
-in the highest rank of moral and political philosophers. Aristotle,
-it will be remembered, did not lead the life of a recluse; but, as
-the friend of Hermeias, the teacher of Alexander, and the head of a
-philosophical school, he was brought into contact with a great variety
-of persons, and learned by practice to know life under many different
-forms, and in many different relations.
-
-Of all the philosophers of antiquity, Aristotle has produced the most
-lasting and extensive effect on mankind. His philosophical works, many
-centuries after his death, obtained a prodigious influence, not only in
-Europe, but even in Asia; they were translated into Arabic, and from
-thence an abstract of his logical system passed into the language of
-Persia. In Europe they acquired an immense ascendency in the middle
-ages, and were considered as an authority without appeal, and only
-second to that of Scripture; we are even informed that in a part of
-Germany his ethics were read in the churches on Sunday, in the place
-of the Gospels. Parts of his philosophy, which are the most worthless,
-as his Physics, were much cultivated; and his logical writings were,
-in many cases, abused so as to lead to vain subtleties, and captious
-contests about words. The connection between some of his tenets and the
-Roman Catholic theology, tended much to uphold his authority, which
-the Reformation lowered in a corresponding degree. His doctrines were
-in general strongly opposed by the early reformers. In 1518 Luther
-sustained a thesis at Heidelberg, affirming that “he who wishes to
-philosophize in Aristotle, must be first stultified in Christ.” Luther,
-however, gave way afterwards, and did not oppose Aristotle, as to human
-learning. Melanchthon, who was one of the mildest of the reformers, was
-a great supporter of Aristotle. Many of his doctrines were in the same
-century zealously attacked by the French philosopher, Pierre Ramus.
-Bacon, afterwards, with others of his followers, added the weight of
-their arguments and authority against him. Aristotle’s philosophy
-accordingly fell into undeserved neglect during the latter part of the
-seventeenth, and the whole of the eighteenth century. Of late, however,
-the true worth of his writings has been more fully appreciated, and the
-study of his best treatises has much revived.
-
-The most valuable of Aristotle’s lost works, and indeed the most
-valuable of all the lost works of Greek prose, is his collection of One
-Hundred and Fifty-eight Constitutions, both of Grecian and Barbarian
-States, the Democratic, Oligarchical, Aristocratical, and Tyrannical,
-being treated separately, containing an account of the manners,
-customs, and institutions of each country. The loss of his works on
-Colonies, on Nobility, and on Royal Government; of his Chronological
-Collections, and of his Epistles to Philip, Alexander, Antipater, and
-others, is also much to be regretted. He likewise revised a copy of
-the Iliad, which Alexander carried with him during his campaigns, in a
-precious casket; hence this recension, called the _casket copy_, passed
-into the Alexandrine library, and was used by the Alexandrine critics.
-His entire works, according to Diogenes Laertius, occupied in the Greek
-manuscripts 445,270 lines.
-
-[Illustration]
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-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                             DEMOSTHENES.
-
-
-This celebrated Grecian orator was born about 384 or 385 years B.
-C., at a period when Athens had reached the zenith of her literary,
-and had passed that of her political, glory. Juvenal has represented
-him slightingly, as the son of a blacksmith—the fact being that the
-elder Demosthenes was engaged in various branches of trade, and, among
-others, was owner of a sword manufactory. His maternal grandmother was
-a Thracian woman—a circumstance noticeable because it enabled his
-enemies, in the spirit of ill-will, to taunt him as a barbarian and
-hereditary enemy of his country; for the Greeks, in general, regarded
-the admixture of other than Greek blood, with the same sort of contempt
-and dislike that the whites of America do the taint of African descent.
-
-Being left an orphan when seven years old, Demosthenes fell into the
-hands of dishonest guardians, who embezzled a large portion of the
-property which his father had bequeathed to him. His constitution
-appears to have been delicate, and it may have been on this account
-that he did not attend the gymnastic exercises, which formed a large
-portion of the education of the youths in Greece; exercises really
-important where neither birth nor wealth set aside the obligation to
-military service common to all citizens; and where, therefore, skill
-in the use of arms, strength, and the power to endure fatigue and
-hardship, were essential to the rich as well as to the poor. It may
-have been on this account that a nickname expressive of effeminacy
-was bestowed on him, which was afterwards interpreted into a proof of
-unmanly luxury and vicious habits; indeed, the reproach of wanting
-physical strength clung to him through life; and apparently this was
-not undeserved. Another nickname that he obtained was that of “Viper.”
-In short, the anecdotes which have come down to us, tend pretty
-uniformly to show that his private character was harsh and unamiable.
-
-His ambition to excel as an orator is said to have been kindled by
-hearing a masterly and much admired speech of Callistratus. For
-instruction, he resorted to Isæus, and, as some say, to Isocrates, both
-eminent teachers of the art of rhetoric. He had a stimulus to exertion
-in the resolution to prosecute his guardians for abuse of their trust;
-and having gained the cause, B. C. 364, in the conduct of which he
-himself took an active part, recovered, it would seem, a large part of
-his property. The orations against Aphobus and Onetor, which appear
-among his works, profess to have been delivered in the course of the
-suit; but it has been doubted, on internal evidence, whether they were
-really composed by him so early in life.
-
-Be this as it may, his success emboldened him to come forward as a
-speaker in the assemblies of the people; on what occasion, and at what
-time, does not appear. His reception was discouraging. He probably
-had underrated, till taught by experience, the degree of training and
-mechanical preparation requisite at all times to excellence, and most
-essential in addressing an audience so acute, sensitive and fastidious
-as the Athenians. He labored also under physical defects, which almost
-amounted to disqualifications. His voice was weak, his breath short,
-his articulation defective; in addition to all this, his style was
-throughout strained, harsh and involved.
-
-Though somewhat disheartened by his ill success, he felt as Sheridan
-is reported to have expressed himself on a similar occasion, that
-_it was in him, and it should come out_; beside, he was encouraged
-by a few discerning spirits. One aged man, who had heard Pericles,
-cheered him with the assurance that he reminded him of that unequalled
-orator; and the actor Satyrus pointed out the faults of his delivery,
-and instructed him to amend them. He now set himself in earnest to
-realize his notions of excellence; and the singular and irksome methods
-which he adopted, denoting certainly no common energy and strength of
-will, are too celebrated and too remarkable to be omitted, though the
-authority on which they rest is not free from doubt. He built a room
-under ground, where he might practise gesture and delivery without
-molestation, and there he spent two or three months together, shaving
-his head, that the oddity of his appearance might render it impossible
-for him to go abroad, even if his resolution should fail. The defect in
-his articulation he cured by reciting with small pebbles in his mouth.
-His lungs he strengthened by practising running up hill, while reciting
-verses. Nor was he less diligent in cultivating mental than bodily
-requisites, applying himself earnestly to study the theory of the art
-as explained in books, and the examples of the greatest masters of
-eloquence. Thucydides is said to have been his favorite model, insomuch
-that he copied out his history eight times, and had it almost by heart.
-
-Meanwhile, his pen was continually employed in rhetorical exercises;
-every question suggested to him by passing events served him for
-a topic of discussion, which called forth the application of his
-attainments to the real business of life. It was perhaps as much
-for the sake of such practice, as with a view to reputation, or the
-increase of his fortune, that he accepted employment as an advocate,
-which, until he began to take an active part in public affairs, was
-offered to him in abundance.
-
-Such was the process by which he became confessedly the greatest orator
-among the people by whom eloquence was cultivated, as it has never been
-since by any nation upon earth. He brought it to its highest state of
-perfection, as did Sophocles the tragic drama, by the harmonious union
-of excellences which had before only existed apart. The quality in his
-writings, which excited the highest admiration of the most intelligent
-judges among his countrymen in the later critical age, was the Protean
-versatility with which he adapted his style to every theme, so as to
-furnish the most perfect examples of every order and kind of eloquence.
-
-Demosthenes, like Pericles, never willingly appeared before his
-audience with any but the ripest fruits of his private studies, though
-he was quite capable of speaking on the impulse of the moment in a
-manner worthy of his reputation. That he continued to the end of his
-career to cultivate the art with unabated diligence, and that, even
-in the midst of public business, his habits were those of a severe
-student, is well known.
-
-The first manifestation of that just jealousy of Philip, the ambitious
-king of Macedon, which became the leading principle of his life, was
-made 252 B. C., when the orator delivered the first of those celebrated
-speeches called Philippics. This word has been naturalized in Latin
-and most European languages, as a concise term to signify indignant
-invective.
-
-From this time forward, it was the main object of Demosthenes to
-inspire and keep alive in the minds of the Athenians a constant
-jealousy of Philip’s power and intentions, and to unite the other
-states of Greece in confederacy against him. The policy and the
-disinterestedness of his conduct have both been questioned; the former,
-by those who have judged, from the event, that resistance to the power
-of Macedonia was rashly to accelerate a certain and inevitable evil;
-the latter, by those, both of his contemporaries and among posterity,
-who believe that he received bribes from Persia, as the price of
-finding employment in Greece for an enemy, whose ambition threatened
-the monarch of the East. With respect to the former, however, it
-was at least the most generous policy, and like that of the elder
-Athenians in their most illustrious days—not to await the ruin of
-their independence submissively, until every means had been tried for
-averting it; for the latter, such charges are hard either to be proved
-or refuted. The character of Demosthenes certainly does not stand above
-the suspicion of pecuniary corruption, but it has not been shown, nor
-is it necessary or probable to suppose, that his jealousy of Philip
-of Macedon was not, in the first instance, far-sighted and patriotic.
-During fourteen years, from 352 to 338, he exhausted every resource of
-eloquence and diplomatic skill to check the progress of that aspiring
-monarch; and whatever may be thought of his moral worth, none can
-undervalue the genius and energy which have made his name illustrious,
-and raised a memorial of him far more enduring than sepulchral brass.
-
-In 339 B. C., Philip’s appointment to be general of the Amphictyonic
-League gave him a more direct influence than he had yet possessed;
-and in the same year, the decisive victory of Cheronea, won over the
-combined forces of Thebes, Athens, &c., had made him master of Greece.
-Demosthenes served in this engagement, but joined, early in the flight,
-with circumstances, according to report, of marked cowardice and
-disgrace. He retired for a time from Athens, but the cloud upon his
-character was but transient for, shortly after, he was entrusted with
-the charge of putting the city in a state of defence, and was appointed
-to pronounce the funeral oration over those who had been slain. After
-the battle of Cheronea, Philip, contrary to expectation, did not
-prosecute hostilities against Athens; on the contrary, he used his
-best endeavors to conciliate the affections of the people, but without
-success. The party hostile to Macedon soon regained the superiority,
-and Demosthenes was proceeding with his usual vigor in the prosecution
-of his political schemes, when news arrived of the murder of Philip, in
-July, 336.
-
-The daughter of Demosthenes had then lately died; nevertheless, in
-violation of national usage, he put off his mourning, and appeared
-in public, crowned with flowers and with other tokens of festive
-rejoicing. This act, a strong expression of triumph over the fall of
-a most dangerous enemy, has been censured with needless asperity;
-the accusation of having been privy to the plot for Philip’s murder,
-beforehand, founded on his own declaration of the event some time
-before intelligence of it came from any other quarter, and the manifest
-falsehood as to the source of the information, which he professed to
-derive from a divine revelation, involves—if it be judged to be well
-founded—a far blacker imputation.
-
-Whether or not it was of his own procuring, the death of Philip was
-hailed by Demosthenes as an event most fortunate for Athens, and
-favorable to the liberty of Greece. Thinking lightly of the young
-successor to the Macedonian crown, he busied himself the more in
-stirring up opposition to Alexander, and succeeded in urging Thebes
-into that revolt, which ended in the entire destruction of the city,
-B. C., 335. This example struck terror into Athens. Alexander demanded
-that Demosthenes, with nine others, should be given up into his hands,
-as the authors of the battle of Cheronea and of the succeeding troubles
-of Greece; but finally contented himself with requiring the banishment
-of Charidemus alone.
-
-Opposition to Macedon was now effectually put down, and, until the
-death of Alexander, we hear little more of Demosthenes as a public
-man. During this period, however, one of the most memorable incidents
-of his life occurred, in that contest of oratory with Æschines, which
-has been more celebrated than any strife of words since the world
-began. The origin of it was as follows. About the time of the battle
-of Cheronea, one Ctesiphon brought before the people a decree for
-presenting Demosthenes with a crown for his distinguished services;
-a complimentary motion, in its nature and effects very much like a
-vote in the English parliament, declaratory of confidence in the
-administration. Æschines, the leading orator of the opposite party,
-arraigned this motion, as being both untrue in substance and irregular
-in form; he indicted Ctesiphon on these grounds, and laid the penalty
-at fifty talents, equivalent to about $50,000. Why the prosecution
-was so long delayed, does not clearly appear; but it was not brought
-to an issue until the year 330, when Æschines pronounced his great
-oration “against Ctesiphon.” Demosthenes defended him in the still
-more celebrated speech “on the crown.” These, besides being admirable
-specimens of rhetorical art, have the additional value, that the rival
-orators, being much more anxious to uphold the merits of their own
-past policy and conduct, than to convict and defend the nominal object
-of prosecution, have gone largely into matters of self-defence and
-mutual recrimination, from which much of our knowledge of this obscure
-portion of history is derived. Æschines lost the cause, and not having
-the votes of so much as a fifth part of the judges, became liable,
-according to the laws of Athens, to fine and banishment. He withdrew
-to Rhodes, where he established a school of oratory. On one occasion,
-for the gratification of his hearers, he recited first his own, then
-his adversary’s speech. Great admiration having been expressed of the
-latter, “What then,” he said, “if you had heard the brute himself?”
-bearing testimony in these words to the remarkable energy and fire of
-delivery which was one of Demosthenes’ chief excellences as an orator.
-
-A fate similar to that of his rival, overtook Demosthenes himself, a
-few years later, B. C. 324. Harpalus, an officer high in rank and favor
-under Alexander, having been guilty of malversation to such an extent
-that he dared not await discovery, fled to Greece, bringing with him
-considerable treasures and a body of mercenary soldiers. He sought the
-support of the Athenians; and, as it was said, bribed Demosthenes not
-to oppose his wishes. Rumors to that effect got abroad, and though his
-proposals were rejected by the assembly, Demosthenes was called to
-account, and fined fifty talents, nearly $50,000, as having been bribed
-to give false counsel to the people. Being unable to pay the amount
-of the fine, it acted as a sentence of banishment, and he retired into
-Ægina. Like Cicero, when placed in a similar situation, he displayed
-effeminacy of temper, and an unmanly violence of regret, under a
-reverse of fortune.
-
-In the following year, however, the death of Alexander restored him
-to political importance; for when that event opened once more to the
-Athenians the prospect of shaking off the supremacy of Macedonia,
-Demosthenes was recalled, with the most flattering marks of public
-esteem. He guided the state during the short war waged with Antipater,
-the Macedonian viceroy, until the inequality of the contest became
-evident, and the Macedonian party regained its ascendency. Demosthenes
-then retired to the sanctuary of Calauria, an island sacred to Neptune,
-on the coast of Argolis. Sentence of death was passed on him in his
-absence. He was pursued to his place of refuge by the emissaries of
-Antipater, and being satisfied that the sanctity of the place would not
-protect him, he took poison, which, as a last resort, he carried about
-his person, concealed in a quill.
-
-Most of the speeches of Demosthenes are short, at least compared with
-modern oratory. He rarely spoke extempore, and bestowed an unusual
-degree of pains on his composition. That style which is described by
-Hume as “rapid harmony, exactly adapted to the sense; vehement reason,
-without any appearance of art; disdain, anger, boldness, freedom,
-involved in a continued stream of argument”—instead of being, as it
-would seem, the effervescence of a powerful, overflowing mind, was the
-labored produce of much thought, and careful, long-continued polish.
-
-If we compare the two greatest orators of antiquity—Cicero and
-Demosthenes—it may seem difficult to decide between them. By devoting
-his powers almost exclusively to oratory, the latter excelled in
-energy, strength, and accuracy; and as a mere artist, was probably the
-superior. Cicero, by cultivating a more extended field, was doubtless
-far the abler lawyer, statesman and philosopher. Of the value of their
-works to mankind, there is no comparison; for those of Cicero are
-not only more numerous and diversified, but of more depth, wisdom,
-and general application. We must also remark, that while the soul of
-Demosthenes appears to have been selfish and mean, that of Cicero ranks
-him among the noblest specimens of humanity, whether of ancient or
-modern times.
-
-If we compare the speeches of these great men with the efforts of
-modern orators, we shall see that the latter greatly surpass them in
-range of thought, power of diction and splendor of illustration. The
-question then arises, why did the orations of Cicero and Demosthenes
-produce such electrical effects upon their auditors? The reason
-doubtless was, that they paid the greatest attention to action,
-manner and tones of voice—thus operating upon their hearers by
-nearly the same powers as the modern opera. There was stage effect in
-their manner, and music in their tones, combined with most perfect
-elocution—and the application of these arts, carried to the utmost
-perfection, was made to the quick Italians or mercurial Athenians.
-These suggestions may enable us to understand the fact, that speeches,
-which, uttered in the less artful manner of our day, and before our
-colder audiences, would fall flat and dead upon the ear, excited the
-utmost enthusiasm, in more southern climes, two thousand years ago.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                                APELLES
-
-
-Apelles was a celebrated painter of Cos, a little island in the Egean
-Sea. The date of his birth is not known, but he painted many portraits
-of Philip, and was still nourishing in the time of Alexander, who
-honored him so much that he forbade any other artist to draw his
-picture. His chief master was Pamphilius, a famous painter of Macedon.
-He was so attentive to his profession, that he never spent a day
-without employing his pencil,—whence the proverb of _Nulla die sine
-linea_. His most perfect picture was the Venus Anadyomene, which,
-however, was not wholly finished when the painter died.
-
-He executed a painting of Alexander, holding thunder in his hand, so
-much like life, that Pliny, who saw it, says that the hand of the king
-with the thunder seemed to come out of the picture. This was placed in
-Diana’s temple at Ephesus. He made another picture of Alexander; but
-the king, on coming to see it after it was painted, appeared not to
-be satisfied with it. It happened, however, at that moment a horse,
-passing by, neighed at the horse in the picture, supposing it to be
-alive; upon which the painter said, “One would imagine that the horse
-is a better judge of painting, than your majesty.” When Alexander
-ordered him to draw the picture of Campaspe, one of his favorites,
-Apelles became enamored of her, and the king permitted him to marry
-her. He wrote three volumes on painting, which were still extant in the
-age of Pliny,—but they are now lost. It is said that he was accused,
-while in Egypt, of conspiring against the life of Ptolemy, and that he
-would have been put to death, had not the real conspirator discovered
-himself, and thus saved the artist. Apelles put his name to but three
-pictures; a sleeping Venus, Venus Anadyomene, and an Alexander.
-
-Apelles appears to have been not only an excellent artist, but a man
-of admirable traits of character. Being once at Rhodes, he met with
-the productions of Protogenes,[10] which so greatly delighted him
-that he offered to purchase the whole. Before this, Protogenes was
-entirely unappreciated by his countrymen, but the approbation of one so
-distinguished as Apelles, brought him into notice, and his fame soon
-became established.
-
-Another story of Apelles is told as having given rise to the well-known
-maxim, _Ne sutor ultra crepidam_: Let the shoemaker stick to his last.
-Apelles placed a picture, which he had finished, in a public place, and
-concealed himself behind it, in order to hear the criticisms of the
-passers-by. A shoemaker observed a defect in the shoe, and the painter
-forthwith corrected it. The cobbler came the next day, and being
-somewhat encouraged by the success of his first remark, began to extend
-his censure to the leg of the figure, when the angry painter thrust out
-his head from behind the figure, and told him to keep to his trade.
-
-Apelles excelled in grace and beauty. The painter, who labored
-incessantly, as we have seen, to improve his skill in drawing, probably
-trusted as much to that branch of his art, as to his coloring. We are
-told that he only used four colors. He used a varnish which brought
-out the colors, and at the same time preserved them. His favorite
-subject was the representation of Venus, the goddess of love,—the
-female blooming in eternal beauty; and the religious system of the age
-favored the taste of the artist.
-
-Apelles painted many portraits of Alexander the Great, who, we are
-told, often visited his painting room. It is not easy to reconcile
-his rambling life with this account, unless we suppose that Apelles
-followed him into Asia; a conjecture not altogether improbable, if we
-read the account of the revelries at Susa, after Alexander’s return
-from India, and of the number of all kinds of professional artists then
-assembled to add to the splendor of the festival.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Footnote 10: Protogenes, a painter of Rhodes, who flourished about
-328 years B. C. He was originally so poor that he painted ships to
-maintain himself. His countrymen were ignorant of his merits, before
-Apelles came to Rhodes and offered to buy all his pieces, as we have
-related. This opened the eyes of the Rhodians; they became sensible of
-the talents of their countryman, and liberally rewarded him. Protogenes
-was employed seven years in finishing a picture of Jalysus a celebrated
-huntsman, supposed to have been the son of Apollo and the founder of
-Rhodes. During all this time the painter lived only upon lupines and
-water, thinking that such aliment would leave him greater flights of
-fancy; but all this did not seem to make him more successful in the
-perfection of his picture. He was to represent in this piece a dog
-panting, and with froth at his mouth; but this he could never do with
-satisfaction to himself; and when all his labors seemed to be without
-success, he threw his sponge upon the piece in a fit of anger. Chance
-alone brought to perfection what the utmost labors of art could not
-do; the fall of the sponge upon the picture represented the froth
-of the mouth of the dog in the most perfect and natural manner, and
-the piece was universally admired. Protogenes was very exact in his
-representations, and copied nature with the greatest nicety; but this
-was blamed as a fault by his friend Apelles. When Demetrius besieged
-Rhodes, he refused to set fire to a part of the city, which might have
-made him master of the whole, because he knew that Protogenes was then
-working in that quarter. When the town was taken, the painter was
-found closely employed, in a garden, finishing a picture; and when
-the conqueror asked him why he showed not more concern at the general
-calamity, he replied, that Demetrius made war against the Rhodians; and
-not against the fine arts.]
-
-
-
-
-                               DIOGENES.
-
-
-This eccentric individual was a native of Sinope, a city of Pontus,
-and born 419 B. C. Having been banished from his native place, with
-his father, upon the accusation of coining false money, he went to
-Athens, and requested Antisthenes, the Cynic,[11] to admit him among
-his disciples. That philosopher in vain attempted to drive away the
-unfortunate supplicant. He even threatened to strike him; but Diogenes
-told him he could not find a stoic hard enough to repel him, so long
-as he uttered things worthy of being remembered. Antisthenes was
-propitiated by this, and received him among his pupils.
-
-Diogenes devoted himself, with the greatest diligence, to the lessons
-of his master, whose doctrines he afterwards extended and enforced. He
-not only, like Antisthenes, despised all philosophical speculations,
-and opposed the corrupt morals of his time, but also carried the
-application of his principles, in his own person, to the extreme. The
-stern austerity of Antisthenes was repulsive; but Diogenes exposed the
-follies of his cotemporaries with wit and humor, and was, therefore,
-better adapted to be the censor and instructor of the people, though he
-really accomplished little in the way of reforming them. At the same
-time, he applied, in its fullest extent, his principle of divesting
-himself of all superfluities. He taught that a wise man, in order to
-be happy, must endeavor to preserve himself independent of fortune, of
-men, and of himself; and, in order to do this, he must despise riches,
-power, honor, arts and sciences, and all the enjoyments of life.
-
-He endeavored to exhibit, in his own person, a model of Cynic virtue.
-For this purpose, he subjected himself to the severest trials, and
-disregarded all the forms of polite society. He often struggled
-to overcome his appetite, or satisfied it with the coarsest food;
-practised the most rigid temperance, even at feasts, in the midst of
-the greatest abundance, and did not consider it beneath his dignity to
-ask alms.
-
-By day, he walked through the streets of Athens barefoot, with a long
-beard, a stick in his hand, and a bag over his shoulders. He was clad
-in a coarse double robe, which served as a coat by day and a coverlet
-by night; and he carried a wallet to receive alms. His abode was a
-cask in the temple of Cybele. It is said that he sometimes carried a
-tub about on his head which occasionally served as his dwelling. In
-summer he rolled himself in the burning sand, and in winter clung to
-the marble images covered with snow, that he might inure himself to the
-extremes of the climate. He bore the scoffs and insults of the people
-with the greatest equanimity. Seeing a boy draw water with his hand,
-he threw away his wooden goblet, as an unnecessary utensil. He never
-spared the follies of men, but openly and loudly inveighed against vice
-and corruption, attacking them with keen satire, and biting irony.
-The people, and even the higher classes, heard him with pleasure, and
-tried their wit upon him. When he made them feel his superiority, they
-often had recourse to abuse, by which, however, he was little moved.
-He rebuked them for expressions and actions which violated decency and
-modesty, and therefore it is not credible that he was guilty of the
-excesses with which his enemies reproached him. His rudeness offended
-the laws of good breeding, rather than the principles of morality.
-
-On a voyage to the island of Ægina, he fell into the hands of pirates,
-who sold him as a slave to Xeniades, a Corinthian. He, however,
-emancipated him, and entrusted to him the education of his children. He
-attended to the duties of his new employment with the greatest care,
-commonly living in summer at Corinth, and in the winter at Athens. It
-was at the former place that Alexander found him at the road-side,
-basking in the sun; and, astonished at the indifference with which
-the ragged beggar regarded him, entered into conversation with him,
-and finally gave him permission to ask him a boon. “I ask nothing,”
-answered the philosopher, “but that thou wouldst get out of my
-sunshine.” Surprised at this proof of content, the king is said to have
-exclaimed, “Were I not Alexander, I would be Diogenes.” The following
-dialogue, though not given as historical, is designed to represent this
-interview.
-
-
-  _Diogenes._ Who calleth?
-
-  _Alexander._ Alexander. How happeneth it that you would not come out
-  of your tub to my palace?
-
-  _D._ Because it was as far from my tub to your palace, as from your
-  palace to my tub.
-
-  _A._ What! dost thou owe no reverence to kings?
-
-  _D._ No.
-
-  _A._ Why so?
-
-  _D._ Because they are not gods.
-
-  _A._ They are gods of the earth.
-
-  _D._ Yes, gods of the earth!
-
-  _A._ Plato is not of thy mind.
-
-  _D._ I am glad of it.
-
-  _A._ Why?
-
-  _D._ Because I would have none of Diogenes’ mind but Diogenes.
-
-  _A._ If Alexander have anything that can pleasure Diogenes, let me
-  know, and take it.
-
-  _D._ Then take not from me that you cannot give me—the light of the
-  sun!
-
-  _A._ What dost thou want?
-
-  _D._ Nothing that you have.
-
-  _A._ I have the world at command.
-
-  _D._ And I in contempt.
-
-  _A._ Thou shalt live no longer than I will.
-
-  _D._ But I shall die, whether you will or no.
-
-  _A._ How should one learn to be content?
-
-  _D._ Unlearn to covet.
-
-  _A._ (_to Hephæstion._) Hephæstion, were I not Alexander, I would wish
-  to be Diogenes.
-
-  _H._ He is dogged, but shrewd; he has a sharpness, mixed with a kind
-  of sweetness; he is full of wit, yet too wayward.
-
-  _A._ Diogenes, when I come this way again, I will both see thee and
-  confer with thee.
-
-  _D._ Do.
-
-
-We are told that the philosopher was seen one day carrying a lantern
-through the streets of Athens: on being asked what he was looking
-after, he answered, “I am seeking an honest man.” Thinking he had found
-among the Spartans the greatest capacity for becoming such men as he
-wished, he said, “Men, I have found nowhere, but children, at least,
-I have seen in Lacedæmon.” Being asked, “What is the most dangerous
-animal?” his answer was, “Among wild animals, the slanderer; among
-tame, the flatterer.” He expired 323 B. C., at a great age, and, it
-is said, on the same day that Alexander died. When he felt death
-approaching, he seated himself on the road leading to Olympia, where he
-died with philosophical calmness, in the presence of a great number of
-people who were collected around him.
-
-None of the works of Diogenes are extant; in these he maintained the
-doctrines of the Cynics. He believed that exercise was of the greatest
-importance, and capable of effecting everything. He held that there
-were two kinds of exercise,—one of the body, and one of the mind,—and
-that one was of little use without the other. By cultivation of the
-mind, he did not mean the accumulation of knowledge or science, but a
-training which might give it vigor, as exercise endows the body with
-health and strength.
-
-[Footnote 11: The Cynics were a sect of philosophers, founded by
-Antisthenes, at Athens; they took their name from their disposition to
-criticise the lives and actions of others. They were famous for their
-contempt of riches, their neglect of dress, and the length of their
-beards. They usually slept on the ground.]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                                PLATO.
-
-
-It has been remarked by Coleridge, that all men are born disciples
-either of Plato or Aristotle: by which he means that these two great
-men are the leaders in the two kinds of philosophy which govern the
-thinking world,—the one looking into the soul, as the great well of
-truth; the other, studying the outward world, and building up its
-system upon facts collected by observation. The truth is doubtless to
-be found by compounding the two systems.
-
-Plato was born at Athens, in May, 429 B. C. He was the son of Ariston
-and Perectonia. His original name was Aristocles, and it has been
-conjectured that he received that of Plato, from the largeness of
-his shoulders: this, however, is improbable, as Plato was then a
-common name at Athens. Being one of the descendants of Codrus, and
-the offspring of a noble, illustrious, and opulent family, he was
-educated with the utmost care; his body was formed and invigorated with
-gymnastic exercises, and his mind was cultivated and trained by the
-study of poetry and of geometry; from which two sources he doubtless
-derived that acuteness of judgment and warmth of imagination, which
-stamped him as at once the most subtle and flowery writer of antiquity.
-
-He first began his literary career by writing poems and tragedies; but
-he was disgusted with his own productions, when, at the age of twenty,
-he was introduced into the society of Socrates, and was qualified to
-examine, with critical accuracy, the merit of his compositions, and
-compare them with those of his poetical predecessors. He, therefore,
-committed them to the flames. During eight years he continued to be one
-of the pupils of Socrates; and though he was prevented by indisposition
-from attending the philosopher’s last moments, he collected, from the
-conversation of those that were present, and from his own accurate
-observations, very minute and circumstantial accounts, which exhibit
-the concern and sensibility of the pupil, and the firmness, virtue, and
-elevated moral sentiments of the dying philosopher.
-
-After the death of Socrates Plato retired from Athens, and, with a view
-to emerge his stores of knowledge, he began to travel over different
-countries. He visited Megara, Thebes, and Elis, where he met with the
-kindest reception from his fellow-disciples, whom the violent death
-of their master had likewise removed from Attica. He afterwards
-visited Magna Græcia, attracted by the fame of the Pythagorean
-philosophy, and by the learning, abilities, and reputation of its
-professors, Philolaus, Archytas, and Eurytus. He then passed into
-Sicily, and examined the eruptions of Etna. He visited Egypt, where the
-mathematician Theodorus, then flourished, and where he knew that the
-tenets of the Pythagorean philosophy had been fostered.
-
-When he had finished his travels, Plato retired to the groves of
-Academus, in the neighborhood of Athens, and established a school
-there; his lectures were soon attended by a crowd of learned, noble,
-and illustrious pupils; and the philosopher, by refusing to have a
-share in the administration of political affairs, rendered his name
-more famous and his school more frequented. During forty years he
-presided at the head of the academy, and there he devoted his time to
-the instruction of his pupils, and composed those dialogues which have
-been the admiration of every succeeding age. His studies, however,
-were interrupted for a while, as he felt it proper to comply with the
-pressing invitations of Dionysius, of Syracuse, to visit him. The
-philosopher earnestly but vainly endeavored to persuade the tyrant to
-become the father of his people, and the friend of liberty.
-
-In his dress, Plato was not ostentatious; his manners were elegant, but
-modest, simple, and without affectation. The great honors which were
-bestowed upon him, were not paid to his appearance, but to his wisdom
-and virtue. In attending the Olympian games, he once took lodgings
-with a family who were totally strangers to him. He ate and drank
-with them, and partook of their innocent pleasures and amusements;
-but though he told them his name was Plato, he did not speak of the
-employment he pursued at Athens, and never introduced the name of that
-great philosopher, whose doctrines he followed, and whose death and
-virtues were favorite topics of conversation in every part of Greece.
-When he returned to Athens, he was attended by the family which had
-so kindly entertained him; and, being familiar with the city, he was
-desired to show them the celebrated philosopher whose name he bore.
-Their surprise may be imagined, when he told them that he was the Plato
-whom they wished to behold.
-
-In his diet he was moderate; and, indeed, to sobriety and temperance in
-the use of food, and abstinence from those indulgences which enfeeble
-the body and enervate the mind, some have attributed his preservation
-during a terrible pestilence which raged in Athens at the beginning
-of the Peloponnesian war. Plato was never subject to any long or
-lingering indisposition; and, though change of climate had enfeebled a
-constitution naturally strong and healthy, the philosopher lived to an
-advanced age, and was often heard to say, when his physicians advised
-him to leave his residence at Athens, where the air was impregnated by
-the pestilence, that he would not advance one single step to gain the
-top of Mount Athos, were he assured of attaining the longevity which
-the inhabitants of that mountain were said to enjoy. Plato died on his
-birth-day, in the eighty-first year of his age, about the year 348 B.
-C. His last moments were easy, and without pain; and, according to
-some authors, he expired in the midst of an entertainment; but Cicero
-tells us that he died while in the act of writing.
-
-The works of Plato are numerous; with the exception of twelve letters,
-they are all written in the form of dialogue, in which Socrates is the
-principal interlocutor. Thus he always speaks by the mouth of others,
-and the philosopher has nowhere made mention of himself, except once
-in his dialogue entitled Phædon, and another time in his Apology
-for Socrates. His writings were so celebrated, and his opinions so
-respected, that he was called divine; and for the elegance, melody, and
-sweetness of his expressions, he was distinguished by the appellation
-of the Athenian bee. His style, however, though commended and admired
-by the most refined critics among the ancients, has not escaped the
-censure of some of the moderns. It is obvious that the philosopher
-cannot escape ridicule, who supposes that fire is a pyramid tied to
-the earth by numbers; that the world is a figure consisting of twelve
-pentagons; and who, to prove the metempsychosis and the immortality
-of the soul, asserts that the dead are born from the living, and the
-living from the dead. The speculative mind of Plato was employed in
-examining things divine and human; and he attempted to ascertain and
-fix not only the practical doctrines of morals and politics but the
-more subtle and abstruse theory of mystical theogony—the origin of
-the gods, or divine power. His philosophy was universally received and
-adopted in ancient times, and it has not only governed the opinions of
-the speculative part of mankind, but it continues still to influence
-the reasoning, and to divide the sentiments of the moderns.
-
-In his system of philosophy, he followed the physics of Heraclitus,
-the metaphysical opinions of Pythagoras, and the morals of Socrates.
-He maintained the existence of two beings—one self-existent, and the
-other formed by the hand of a pre-existent, creative god and man. The
-world, he maintained, was created by that self-existent cause, from the
-rude, undigested mass of matter which had existed from all eternity,
-and which had ever been animated by an irregular principle of motion.
-The origin of evil could not be traced under the government of a deity,
-without admitting a stubborn intractability and wildness congenial
-to matter; and from these, consequently, could be demonstrated the
-deviations from the laws of nature, and from thence, the extravagant
-passions and appetites of men.
-
-From materials like these were formed the four elements, and the
-beautiful structure of the heavens and the earth; and into the active
-but irrational principle of matter, the divinity infused a rational
-soul. The souls of men were formed from the remainder of the rational
-soul of the world, which had previously given existence to the
-invisible gods and demons. The philosopher, therefore, supported the
-doctrine of ideal forms, and the pre-existence of the human mind,
-which he considered as emanations of the Deity, and which can never
-remain satisfied with objects or things unworthy of their divine
-original. Men could perceive, with their corporeal senses, the types of
-immutable things, and the fluctuating objects of the material world;
-but the sudden changes to which these are continually liable, create
-innumerable disorders, and hence arise deception, and, in short, all
-the errors of human life. Yet, in whatever situation man may be, he is
-still an object of divine concern, and, to recommend himself to the
-favor of the pre-existent cause, he must comply with the purposes of
-his creation, and, by proper care and diligence, he can recover those
-immaculate powers with which he was naturally endowed.
-
-All science the philosopher made to consist in reminiscence—in
-recalling the nature, forms, and proportions, of those perfect and
-immutable essences, with which the human mind had been conversant. From
-observations like these, the summit of felicity might be attained by
-removing from the material, and approaching nearer to the intellectual
-world; by curbing and governing the passions, which were ever agitated
-and inflamed by real or imaginary objects.
-
-The passions were divided into two classes: the first consisted of the
-irascible passions, which originated in pride or resentment, and were
-seated in the breast; the other, founded on the love of pleasure, was
-the concupiscible part of the soul, seated in the inferior parts of the
-body. These different orders induced the philosopher to compare the
-soul to a small republic, of which the reasoning and judging powers
-were stationed in the head, as in a firm citadel, and of which the
-senses were the guards and servants. By the irascible part of the soul,
-men asserted their dignity, repelled injuries, and scorned danger and
-the concupiscible part provided the support and the necessities of
-the body, and, when governed with propriety, gave rise to temperance.
-Justice was produced by the regular dominion of reason, and by the
-submission of the passions; and prudence arose from the strength,
-acuteness, and perfection of the soul, without which other virtues
-could not exist.
-
-But amidst all this, wisdom was not easily attained; at their creation
-all minds were not endowed with the same excellence; the bodies which
-they animated on earth, were not always in harmony with the divine
-emanation; some might be too weak, others too strong. On the first
-years of a man’s life depended his future character; an effeminate and
-licentious education seemed calculated to destroy the purposes of the
-divinity, while the contrary produced different effects, and tended to
-cultivate and improve the reasoning and judging faculty, and to produce
-wisdom and virtue.
-
-Plato was the first who supported the immortality of the soul upon
-arguments solid and permanent, deduced from truth and experience. He
-did not imagine that the diseases and death of the body could injure
-the principle of life, and destroy the soul, which, of itself, was of
-divine origin, and of an incorrupted and immutable essence, which,
-though inherent for a while in matter, could not lose that power which
-was the emanation of God. From doctrines like these, the great founder
-of Platonism concluded that there might exist in the world a community
-of men, whose passions could be governed with moderation, and who, from
-knowing the evils and miseries which arise from ill conduct, might
-aspire to excellence, and attain that perfection which can be derived
-from a proper exercise of the rational and moral powers. To illustrate
-this more fully, the philosopher wrote a book, well known by the name
-of the “Republic of Plato,” in which he explains, with acuteness,
-judgment, and elegance, the rise and revolution of civil society; and
-so respected was his opinion as a legislator, that his scholars were
-employed in regulating the republics of Arcadia.
-
-It was a characteristic of Plato’s mind, that he united a subtle
-intellect to a glowing fancy. As an illustration of his style, we
-may mention the passage in which he shows the operation of the three
-principles in the human being—mind, soul, and body—or the three
-powers of intellect, spirit, and matter. It occurs in the dialogue of
-Phædrus, where he endeavors to illustrate the doctrine that the mind or
-reason should be the governing faculty.
-
-The soul is here compared to a chariot, drawn by a pair of winged
-steeds, one of which is well-bred and well-trained, and the other quite
-the contrary. The quiet horse, the Will, is obedient to the rein, and
-strives to draw its wilder yoke-fellow, the Appetite, along with it,
-and to induce it to listen to the voice of the charioteer, Reason. But
-they have a great deal of trouble with the restive horse, and the whole
-object of the journey seems to be lost, if this is permitted to have
-its way. In this allegory, it is shown that the object of Reason, in
-exacting obedience, is not merely that discipline and subordination
-which constitute the virtues of man, but to keep the mind in a state
-to rise to the contemplation and enjoyment of great and eternal truths.
-In other words, a man must be in a moral state, before he can place
-himself in a religious state, so as to enjoy the _summum bonum_, or
-greatest good. What, then, is this greatest good? or, in the language
-of Plato, its _idea_?—for, with him, _idea_ and _essence_ are
-synonymous. This is God—not his image, but his nature, which is the
-sovereign good. Thus the greatest happiness of man was placed by Plato
-in a mysterious union of the soul with this source of goodness. How
-near an approach to Christian communion with God, is this?
-
-However fantastic many of the details of Plato’s system may seem, and
-however illusory its whole machinery must appear, when viewed in the
-light of modern criticism, one thing is to be observed,—that the
-great results of his philosophy are true. He struggled through the
-thick mists of his age, and discovered the eternal existence of Deity;
-he perceived and established, on grounds not to be controverted, the
-immortality of the soul. He placed true happiness where philosophy and
-religion place it—in the ascendency of the spirit over the body—the
-subjugation of the passions to the dominion of reason and virtue. It
-appears that the germs of these great truths had already manifested
-themselves in the minds of Pythagoras, Socrates, and others; and Plato
-borrowed from them many of his noble ideas. But he systematized what
-they had left in a crude state; he gave a more clear and distinct
-utterance to what his great master, Socrates, had dimly conceived, and
-ineffectually struggled to announce. He reached the highest point, in
-the search after divine knowledge which has ever been attained, without
-the direct aid of inspiration. In the gradual development of God’s will
-to man, he was one of the great instruments. Yet, in reviewing his
-works, we see how imperfect was still his knowledge of things divine,
-and what fearful shadows would rest upon the world, if Plato were our
-only guide. How dark, uncertain, mysterious, would be the ways of
-God—the destinies of man—if left where the philosopher left them!
-
-[Illustration]
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-[Illustration]
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-
-                               SOCRATES.
-
-
-Socrates was born at Athens 468 B. C. His father, Sophroniscus, was
-a sculptor of humble reputation and in moderate circumstances. He
-educated his son to his own profession, in which it appears that the
-latter made considerable proficiency. He did not, however, devote
-himself wholly to this pursuit, but spent a large share of his time
-in reading the works of philosophers. Crito, an intimate friend,
-supplied him with money to pay the masters who taught him various
-accomplishments, and he became an auditor of most of the great
-philosophers who visited Athens, during his youth. By these means, he
-received the best education which an Athenian youth could command in
-those days.
-
-In the early part of his life, he wrought at his trade, so far as
-to earn a decent subsistence. Receiving a small property at his
-father’s death, when he was about thirty years of age, he devoted
-himself entirely to philosophical pursuits. His habits were simple and
-economical; his dress was coarse, and he seldom wore shoes. By his
-frugality, he was thus able to live without labor, and yet without
-being dependent upon others.
-
-With regard to his public life, it appears that he served his country
-faithfully as a soldier, according to the duty of every Athenian
-citizen. He took part in three campaigns, displaying the greatest
-hardihood and valor. He endured, without repining, hunger and thirst,
-heat and cold. In a skirmish with the enemy, his pupil, Alcibiades,
-fell wounded in the midst of the enemy. Socrates rescued him and
-carried him off, for which the civic crown was awarded as the prize of
-valor. This reward, however, he transferred to Alcibiades. In another
-campaign he saved the life of his pupil, Xenophon, whom he carried from
-the field on his shoulders, fighting his way as he went.
-
-At the age of sixty-five, he became a member of the council of Five
-Hundred, at Athens. He rose also to the dignity of president of that
-body; by virtue of which office, he for one day managed the popular
-assemblies and kept the key of the citadel and treasury. Ten naval
-officers had been accused of misconduct, because, after the battle
-of Arginusæ, they had omitted the sacred duty of burying the slain,
-in consequence of a violent storm. Their enemies, finding the people
-disposed to acquit them procured by intrigue, the prorogation of
-several assemblies. A new assembly was held on the day when Socrates
-was president; and the citizens, instigated by bad men, violently
-demanded that sentence of death should be pronounced on all the accused
-at once, contrary to law. But the menaces of violence were unable to
-bend the inflexible justice of Socrates, and he was able afterwards to
-declare, on his own trial, that ten innocent men had been saved by his
-influence.
-
-When Socrates formed the resolution of devoting himself to the pursuit
-of divine and human knowledge, the sophists, a set of arrogant
-philosophers, were perverting the heads and corrupting the hearts of
-the Grecian youth. He therefore put himself in opposition to these
-false guides, and went about endeavoring to instruct everybody in a
-wiser and better philosophy than that which prevailed. He was, in fact,
-an instructor of the people; and, believing himself an ambassador of
-God, he was occupied from the dawn of day in seeking persons whom he
-might teach either what is important to mankind in general, or the
-private circumstances of individuals. He went to the public assemblies
-and the most crowded streets, or entered the workshops of mechanics
-and artists, and conversed with the people on religious duties, on
-their social and political relations; on all subjects, indeed, relating
-to morals, and even on agriculture, war, and the arts. He endeavored
-to remove prevailing prejudices and errors, and to substitute right
-principles; to awaken their better genius in the minds of his hearers;
-to encourage and console them; to enlighten and improve mankind, and
-make them really happy.
-
-It is manifest that such a course must have been attended with great
-difficulties. But the serenity of Socrates was undisturbed; he was
-always perfectly cheerful in appearance and conversation. In the
-market-place and at home, among people and in the society of those
-whom love of truth and virtue connected more closely with him, he
-was always the same. It cannot be doubted that a happy physical and
-mental temperament contributed to produce this equanimity. But it was,
-likewise, a fruit of self-discipline and the philosophy he taught. He
-treated his body as a servant, and inured it to every privation, so
-that moderation was to him an easy virtue; and he retained in old age
-his youthful vigor, physical and mental. He was kind as a husband and
-a father. Though his wife, Xantippe, was a noted shrew, he viewed her
-as an excellent instrument of discipline, and treated her with patience
-and forbearance.
-
-Although the Greeks at this time were zealously devoted to their
-heathen mythology, Socrates was a sincere worshipper of the Supreme
-Being; yet, from his care not to offend his weaker brethren, he
-observed, with punctilious exactness, the religious uses which
-antiquity and custom had consecrated. He was constantly attended by a
-circle of disciples, who caught from him the spirit of free inquiry,
-and were inspired with his zeal for the highest good, for religion,
-truth and virtue. The succeeding schools of philosophy in Greece
-are therefore justly traced back to him; and he is to be regarded
-as the master who gave philosophical investigation among the Greeks
-its highest direction. Among his most distinguished disciples were
-Alcibiades, Crito, Xenophon, Antisthenes, Aristippus, Phædon, Æschines,
-Cebes, Euclid, and Plato. From the detached accounts given us by
-Xenophon and Plato, it appears that he instructed them in politics,
-rhetoric, logic, ethics, arithmetic, and geometry, though not in a
-systematic manner. He read with them the principal poets, and pointed
-out their beauties; he labored to enlighten and correct their opinions
-on all practical subjects, and to excite them to the study of whatever
-is most important to men.
-
-To make his instructions attractive, they were delivered, not in long
-lectures, but in free conversations, rendered interesting by question
-and answer. He did not reason _before_, but _with_ his disciples, and
-thus exercised an irresistible power over their minds. He obliged
-them to think for themselves, and if there was any capacity in a man,
-it could not fail to be excited by his conversation. This method of
-question and answer is called the _Socratic method_. The fragments of
-his conversations, preserved by Xenophon, often leave us unsatisfied;
-Plato alone has transmitted to us the genuine spirit of this method;
-and he was therefore viewed by the ancients as the only fountain of the
-Socratic philosophy,—a fact which has been too much disregarded by
-modern writers.
-
-Socrates fell a victim to the spirit of bigotry, which has sacrificed
-so many persons, who were in advance of the age. The document
-containing the accusation against him was lodged in the Temple of
-Cybele, as late as the second century of the Christian era. The
-following is a translation:—“Melitus, son of Melitus, accuses
-Socrates, son of Sophroniscus, of being guilty of denying the existence
-of the gods of the republic, making innovations in the religion of the
-Greeks, and of corrupting the Athenian youth. Penalty,—death.”
-
-Melitus, who was a tragic writer of a low order, was engaged as an
-accuser in this affair, by the wealthy and more powerful enemies of
-Socrates. Amongst them were Anytus and Lycon, the former a rich artisan
-and zealous democrat, who had rendered very important services to
-the republic, by aiding Thrasybulus in the expulsion of the thirty
-tyrants, and in establishing the liberty of his country. The latter was
-an orator, and therefore a political magistrate, to which office the
-Athenian orators were entitled, by virtue of the laws of Solon.
-
-Socrates was seventy years of age when summoned to appear at the
-Areopagus. The news of this event did not excite much surprise, as the
-people had long expected it. Aristophanes, the celebrated comic poet of
-Athens, had previously undertaken, at the instigation of Melitus, to
-ridicule the venerable character of the philosopher; and when once he
-was calumniated and defamed, the fickle populace ceased to revere the
-man whom they had before looked upon as a being of a superior order.
-
-The enemies of Socrates were of two classes,—the one consisted of
-citizens who could not help admiring his genius and virtue, but who
-regarded him as a dangerous innovator and subverter of public order.
-They were ready, with him, to acknowledge that some reformation might
-be made in the tenets of Paganism; that the gods and goddesses were
-not patterns of virtue; and that the conduct of the sovereign of the
-skies, himself, was far from exemplary; but, said they, the thunders
-of Jupiter exercise a salutary influence over the minds of some, and
-the pains of Tartarus still operate as a bridle upon the passions of
-others. To bring in question the ancient faith, was at once to attack
-the institutions of the republic at their base, and excite revolution.
-The philosophy of Socrates, even though true, must be suppressed; for
-the life of one man is not to be put in the balance with the repose
-of a whole people,—with the safety of the country. It is better that
-Socrates should die, than Athens perish. Such was the reasoning of one
-portion.
-
-The other class was composed of the superstitious and bigoted,—of
-the vicious and imbecile,—who were daily exposed to the censures
-and sarcasms of the philosopher; in fine, of that set of narrow,
-jealous-minded men, who looked upon the welfare and fame of their
-neighbors with envy and with malice. The race that had exiled
-Aristides, because he was great, was ready to condemn Socrates, because
-he was wise. The friends and disciples of the great philosopher saw
-the danger that menaced him, and with anxiety and fear they crowded
-around their master, supplicating him to fly, or to adopt some means of
-defence; but he would do neither. Lysias, one of the most celebrated
-orators of the day, composed a pathetic oration, which he wished his
-friend to pronounce, as his defence, in the presence of his judges.
-Socrates read it, praised its animated and eloquent style, but rejected
-it, as being neither manly nor expressive of fortitude. The anxiety
-and trouble of avoiding condemnation appeared to him of little moment,
-when compared to the performance of his duty in upholding to the last
-moment, the truth of his principles and the dignity of his character.
-
-Socrates, though both eloquent and persuasive in conversation, was not
-capable of addressing a large assembly; therefore, on the day of his
-trial, he asked permission of his judges to use the means of defence to
-which he had been accustomed; namely, to speak familiarly with, and ask
-questions of, his adversaries.
-
-“Athenians,” he said, in commencing, “I hope I shall succeed in my
-defence, if, by succeeding, good may result from it; but I look upon my
-success as very doubtful, and, therefore, do not deceive myself in that
-respect. But let the will of the gods be obeyed.”
-
-The two chief accusations against Socrates, were firstly, that he
-did not believe in the religion of the state; secondly, that he was
-guilty of corrupting the minds of young men, and of disseminating the
-disbelief of the established religion.
-
-Socrates did not reply, in a direct manner, to either of these charges.
-Instead of declaring that he believed in the religion of his country,
-he proved that he was not an atheist; instead of refuting the charge of
-instructing youth to doubt the sacred tenets of the law, he declared
-and demonstrated that it was morality which he taught; and instead of
-appealing to the compassion of his judges, he did not disguise the
-contempt in which he held the means practised by parties accused, who,
-in order to excite sympathy and compassion, brought their children and
-relations to supplicate, with tears in their eyes, the mercy of the
-judges. “I, also, have friends and relations!” he said, “and, as to
-children, I have three,—one a stripling, the other two in childhood;
-yet I will not allow them to come here to excite your sympathy.
-Why will I not do so? It is not caused by stubbornness, nor by any
-disdain I have for you. For my honor, for your honor, for that of the
-republic, it is not meet that, with the reputation, whether true or
-false that I have acquired, I should make use of such means to procure
-your acquittal. Indeed, I should be ashamed if those that distinguish
-themselves for wisdom, courage, or any other virtue, should, like many
-people that I have seen, although they have passed for great men,
-commit actions the most grovelling—as if death were the greatest
-misfortune that could befall them, and that,—if their lives were
-spared,—they would become immortal!”
-
-When Socrates had ceased speaking, the judges of the Areopagus found
-him guilty, by a majority of three. On being demanded, according to
-the spirit of the Athenian laws, to pass sentence on himself, and
-to mention the death he preferred, Socrates, conscious of his own
-innocence, replied,—“Far from deeming myself guilty, I believe that
-I have rendered my country important services, and, therefore, think
-that I ought to be maintained in the Prytaneum at the public expense,
-during the remainder of my life,—an honor, O Athenians, that I merit
-more than the victors of the Olympic games. They make you happy in
-appearance; I have made you so in reality.”
-
-This reply in the highest degree exasperated his judges, who condemned
-him to die by poison. When the sentence was passed, Socrates remained,
-for a few minutes, calm and undisturbed, and then asked permission to
-speak a few words.
-
-“Athenians,” he said, “your want of patience will be used as a pretext
-by those who desire to defame the republic. They will tell you that
-you have put to death the wise Socrates; yes, they will call me wise,
-to add, to your shame—though I am not so. If you had but waited a
-short time, death would have come of itself, and thus saved you from
-disgracing yourselves. You see I am already advanced in years and must
-shortly die. All know that in times of war, nothing is more easy than
-saving our lives by throwing down our weapons, and demanding quarter of
-the enemy. It is the same in all dangers; a thousand pretexts can be
-found by those who are not scrupulous about what they say and do. It is
-difficult, O Athenians, to avoid death; but it is much more so to avoid
-crime, which is swifter than death. It is for this reason that, old and
-feeble as I am, I await the latter, whilst my accusers, who are more
-vigorous and volatile, embrace the former. I am now about to suffer the
-punishment to which you have sentenced me; my accusers, the odium and
-infamy to which virtue condemns them.”
-
-“What is going to happen to me,” he added, “will be rather an advantage
-than an evil; for it is apparent, that to die at present, and to be
-delivered of the cares of this life, is what will best suit me. I have
-no resentment towards my accusers, neither have I any ill-will against
-those who condemn me, although their intention was to injure me, to do
-all in their power to do me harm. I will make but one request; when
-my children are grown up, if they are seen to covet riches, or prefer
-wealth to virtue, punish and torment them as I have tormented you; and
-if they look upon themselves as beings of importance, make them blush
-for their presumption. This is what I have done to you. If you do that,
-you will secure the gratitude of a father, and my children will ever
-praise you. But it is time that we should separate; I go to die, and
-you to live. Which of us has the best portion? No one knows except God.”
-
-When he had finished, he was taken to prison and loaded with chains.
-His execution was to have taken place in twenty-four hours, but it
-was postponed for thirty days, on account of the celebration of the
-Delian festivals. Socrates, with his usual cheerfulness and serenity,
-passed this time in conversing with his friends upon some of the most
-important subjects that could engage the mind of man. Plato relates,
-in the dialogue entitled The Phedon, the conversation which took place
-on the day preceding his death. That dialogue, without exception, is
-the most beautiful that the Greeks have left us. We can give only those
-passages which are more immediately connected with his death.
-
-“After the condemnation of Socrates,” says Phedon, “we did not allow a
-day to escape without seeing him, and on the day previous to his death,
-we assembled earlier than usual. When we arrived at the prison door,
-the jailor told us to wait a little, as the Eleven were then giving
-orders for the death of Socrates.”
-
-Speaking of the fear of death, Socrates said, “Assuredly, my dear
-friends, if I did not think I was going to find, in the other world,
-gods good and wise, and even infinitely better than we are, it would be
-wrong in me not to be troubled at death; but you must know that I hope
-soon to be introduced to virtuous men,—soon to arrive at the assembly
-of the just. Therefore it is that I fear not death, hoping, as I do,
-according to the ancient faith of the human race, that something better
-is in store for the just, than what there is for the wicked.”
-
-The slave who was to give Socrates the poison, warned him to speak as
-little as possible, because sometimes it was necessary to administer
-the drug three or four times to those who allowed themselves to be
-overheated by conversation.
-
-“Let the poison be prepared,” said Socrates, “as if it were necessary
-to give it two or three times;” then continued to discourse upon the
-immortality of the soul, mixing in his arguments the inspiration of
-sentiment and of poetry.
-
-“Let that man,” said he, “have confidence in his destiny, who, during
-lifetime, has renounced the pleasures of the body as productive of
-evil. He who has sought the pleasures of science, who has beautified
-his soul, not with useless ornaments, but with what is suitable to his
-nature, such as temperance, justice, fortitude, liberty, and truth,
-ought to wait peaceably the hour of his departure, and to be always
-ready for the voyage, whenever fate calls him.”
-
-“Alas! my dear friend,” said Crito; “have you any orders for me, or for
-those present, with regard to your children or your affairs?” “What I
-have always recommended to you, Crito,”—replied Socrates, “to take
-care of yourselves,—nothing more. By doing so, you will render me a
-service, my family, and all who know you.”
-
-After Socrates had bathed, his children and his female relations were
-brought into his presence. He spoke to them for some time, gave them
-his orders, then caused them to retire. After he returned, he sat down
-upon his bed, and had scarcely spoken, when the officer of the Eleven
-came in and said, “Socrates, I hope I shall not have the same occasion
-to reproach you as I have had in respect to others. As soon as I come
-to acquaint them that they must drink the poison, they are incensed
-against me; but you have, ever since you came here, been patient, calm,
-and even-tempered, and I am confident that you are not angry with
-me. Now, you know what I have told you. Farewell! Try to bear with
-resignation what cannot be avoided.” Saying these words, he turned
-away, while the tears were streaming from his eyes.
-
-“I will follow your counsel,” said Socrates. Then turning to his
-disciples, he continued, “Observe the honesty of that poor man.
-During my imprisonment, he has visited me daily, and now, see with
-what sincerity he weeps for me!” When the slave brought the poison to
-Socrates, the latter looked at him, and said, “Very well, my friend,
-what must I do? for you know best, and it is your business to direct
-me.”
-
-“Nothing else but drink the poison; then walk, and when you find
-your limbs grow stiff, lie down upon your bed.” At the same time, he
-handed the cup to Socrates, who took it without emotion or change of
-countenance; then looking at the man with a steady eye, he said,—“Tell
-me, is it allowable to make a drink-offering of this mixture?”
-“Socrates,” the man replied, “we never prepare more than what is
-sufficient for one dose.”
-
-“I understand you,” said Socrates; “but nevertheless, it is lawful for
-me to pray to God that he may bless my voyage, and render it a happy
-one.” Having said so, he raised the cup to his lips, and drank the
-poison with astonishing tranquillity and meekness. When Socrates looked
-around and saw his friends vainly endeavoring to stifle their tears,
-he said, “What are you doing, my companions? Was it not to avoid this,
-that I sent away the women? and you have fallen into their weakness. Be
-quiet, I pray you, and show more fortitude.”
-
-In the mean time, he continued to walk, and when he felt his legs grow
-stiff, he lay down upon his back, as had been recommended. The person
-who gave Socrates the poison, then came forward, and, after examining
-his legs and feet, he bound them, and asked if he felt the cord. The
-dying philosopher answered, “No;” and feeling himself with his hand,
-he told his disciples, that “when the cold reached his heart, he should
-leave them.”
-
-A few minutes afterwards, he exclaimed, “Crito, we owe a cock to
-Esculapius; do not forget to pay the debt.” These were the last words
-of Socrates. Such was the end of the great philosopher; and it may be
-truly said that he was one of the wisest, best, and most upright of all
-the Athenians.
-
-In personal appearance Socrates was disagreeable: he had a sunken
-nose, and his eyes protruded so as to give him a strange appearance.
-It is supposed that he knew the shrewish temper of Xantippe, before he
-married her, and sought the alliance that she might give exercise to
-his patience. She tried every means to irritate him, and finding it
-impossible to rouse his anger, she poured some dirty water upon him
-from a window. “After thunder, we generally have rain,” was the only
-remark the philosopher deigned to make. Many other anecdotes are handed
-down, which show the wonderful command Socrates had acquired over
-himself.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                              ALCIBIADES.
-
-
-This eminent Athenian general and statesman, was born about 450 B.
-C. Descended on both sides from the most illustrious families of his
-country,—born to the inheritance of great wealth,—endued with great
-personal beauty and the most brilliant mental qualities,—it seemed
-evident, from his early youth, that he would exert no slight influence
-over the counsels and fortunes of Athens. His father, Cleinias, was
-killed at the battle of Cheronæa, and being thus an orphan, he was
-placed under the wardship of his uncle, Pericles. The latter was too
-much engaged in affairs of state to bestow that care upon Alcibiades,
-which the impetuosity of his disposition required. In his childhood
-he showed the germ of his future character. One day, when he was
-playing at dice with some companions in the street, a wagon came up;
-he requested the driver to stop, and, the latter refusing, Alcibiades
-threw himself before the wheel, exclaiming, “Drive on, if thou darest!”
-
-He excelled alike in mental and bodily exercises. His beauty and birth,
-and the high station of Pericles, procured him a multitude of friends
-and admirers, and his reputation was soon injured by the dissipation in
-which he became involved. He was fortunate in acquiring the friendship
-of Socrates, who endeavored to lead him to virtue, and undoubtedly
-obtained a great ascendency over him, so that Alcibiades often quitted
-his gay associates for the company of the philosopher.
-
-He bore arms, for the first time, in the expedition against Potidæa and
-was wounded. Socrates, who fought at his side, defended him, and led
-him out of danger. In the battle of Delium, he was among the cavalry
-who were victorious, but, the infantry being beaten, he was obliged to
-flee, as well as the rest. He overtook Socrates, who was retreating on
-foot. Alcibiades accompanied him, and protected him.
-
-[Illustration: _Socrates saving Alcibiades._]
-
-For a considerable time he took no part in public affairs, but on the
-death of Cleon, 422 B. C., Nicias succeeded in making a peace for fifty
-years, between the Athenians and Lacedæmonians. Alcibiades, jealous of
-the influence of Nicias, and offended because the Lacedæmonians, with
-whom he was connected by the ties of hospitality, had not applied to
-him, sought to bring about some disagreement between the two nations.
-The Lacedæmonians sent ambassadors to Athens. Alcibiades received them
-with apparent good-will, and advised them to conceal their credentials,
-lest the Athenians should prescribe conditions to them. They suffered
-themselves to be duped, and, when called into the assembly, declared
-that they were without credentials. Alcibiades rose immediately, stated
-that they had credentials, accused them of ill-faith, and induced the
-Athenians to form an alliance with the Argives. A breach with the
-Lacedæmonians was the immediate consequence. Alcibiades commanded
-the Athenian fleet several times during the war, and devastated the
-Peloponnesus.
-
-He did not, however, refrain from luxury and dissipation, to which he
-abandoned himself after his return from the wars. On one occasion,
-after having a nocturnal revel, in the company of some friends, he laid
-a wager that he would give Hipponicus a box on the ear; which he did.
-This act made a great noise in the city, but Alcibiades went to the
-injured party, threw off his garments, and called upon him to revenge
-himself by whipping him with rods. This open repentance reconciled
-Hipponicus, who not only pardoned him, but gave him afterwards his
-daughter, Hipparete, in marriage, with a portion of ten talents—about
-ten thousand dollars. Alcibiades, however, still continued his levity
-and prodigality. His extravagance was conspicuous at the Olympic
-games, where he entered the stadium, not like other rich men, with one
-chariot, but with seven at a time—and gained the three first prizes.
-He seems also to have been victor in the Pythian and Nemæan games. By
-these courses he drew upon himself the hatred of his fellow citizens,
-and he would have fallen a sacrifice to the ostracism, if he had
-not, in connection with Nicias and Phæax, who feared a similar fate,
-artfully contrived to procure the banishment of his most formidable
-enemy.
-
-Soon afterwards, the Athenians, at the instance of Alcibiades, resolved
-on an expedition against Sicily, and elected him commander-in-chief,
-together with Nicias and Lamachus. But, during the preparations, it
-happened one night that all the statues of Mercury were broken. The
-enemies of Alcibiades charged him with the act, but postponed a public
-accusation till he had set sail, when they stirred up the people
-against him to such a degree, that he was recalled in order to be
-tried. Alcibiades had been very successful in Sicily, when he received
-the order to return. He prepared to obey, and embarked, but on reaching
-Thurium, he landed, and, instead of proceeding to Athens, concealed
-himself. Some one asking him, “How is this, Alcibiades? Have you no
-confidence in your country?”—he replied, “I would not trust my mother
-when my life is concerned, for she might, by mistake, take a black
-stone instead of a white one.” He was condemned to death in Athens.
-When the news reached him, he remarked—“I shall show the Athenians
-that I am yet alive.”
-
-He now went to Argos; thence to Sparta, where he made himself a
-favorite by conforming closely to the prevailing strictness of manners.
-Here he succeeded in inducing the Lacedæmonians to form an alliance
-with the Persian king, and, after the unfortunate issue of the Athenian
-expedition against Sicily, he prevailed on the Spartans to assist
-the inhabitants of Chios in throwing off the yoke of Athens. He went
-himself thither, and on his arrival in Asia Minor, roused the whole of
-Ionia to insurrection against the Athenians, and did them considerable
-injury. But Agis and the principal leaders of the Spartans became
-jealous of him, on account of his success, and ordered their commanders
-in Asia to cause him to be assassinated.
-
-Alcibiades suspected their plan, and went to Tissaphernes, a Persian
-satrap, who was ordered to act in concert with the Lacedæmonians. Here
-he changed his manners once more, adopted the luxurious habits of
-Asia, and soon contrived to make himself indispensable to the satrap.
-As he could no longer trust the Lacedæmonians, he undertook to serve
-his country, and showed Tissaphernes that it was against the interest
-of the Persian king to weaken the Athenians; on the contrary, Sparta
-and Athens ought to be preserved for their mutual injury. Tissaphernes
-followed this advice, and afforded the Athenians some relief. The
-latter had, at that time, considerable forces at Samos. Alcibiades sent
-word to their commanders, that, if the licentiousness of the people
-was suppressed and the government put into the hands of the nobles, he
-would procure for them the friendship of Tissaphernes, and prevent the
-junction of the Phoenician and Lacedæmonian fleets.
-
-This demand was acceded to, and Pisander was sent to Athens; by whose
-means the government of the city was put into the hands of a council,
-consisting of four hundred persons. As, however, the council showed no
-intention of recalling Alcibiades, the army of Samos chose him their
-commander, and exhorted him to go directly to Athens and overthrow the
-power of the tyrants. He wished, however, not to return to his country
-before he had rendered it some services; and therefore attacked and
-totally defeated the Lacedæmonians. When he returned to Tissaphernes,
-the latter, in order not to appear a participator in the act, caused
-him to be arrested in Sardis. But Alcibiades found means to escape;
-placed himself at the head of the Athenian army; conquered the
-Lacedæmonians and Persians, at Cyzicus, by sea and land; took Cyzicus,
-Chalcedon, and Byzantium; restored the sovereignty of the sea to the
-Athenians, and returned to his country, whither he had been recalled,
-on the motion of Critias.
-
-He was received with general enthusiasm; for the Athenians considered
-his exile as the cause of all their misfortunes. But this triumph was
-of short duration. He was sent with one hundred ships to Asia; and, not
-being supplied with money to pay his soldiers, he saw himself under
-the necessity of seeking help in Caria, and committed the command
-to Antiochus, who was drawn into a snare by Lysander, and lost his
-life and a part of his ships. The enemies of Alcibiades improved this
-opportunity to accuse him, and procure his removal from office.
-
-Alcibiades now went to Pactyæ in Thrace, collected troops, and waged
-war against the Thracians. He obtained considerable booty, and secured
-the quiet of the neighboring Greek cities. The Athenian fleet was,
-at that time, lying at Ægos Potamos. He pointed out to the generals
-the danger which threatened them, advised them to go to Sestos, and
-offered his assistance to force the Lacedæmonian general, Lysander,
-either to fight, or to make peace. But they did not listen to him, and
-soon after were totally defeated. Alcibiades, fearing the power of
-the Lacedæmonians, betook himself to Bithynia, and was about to go to
-Artaxerxes, to procure his assistance for his country. In the meantime,
-the thirty tyrants, whom Lysander after the capture of Athens, had set
-up there, requested the latter to cause Alcibiades to be assassinated.
-But Lysander declined, until he received an order to the same effect
-from his own government. He then charged Pharnabazes with the execution
-of it. Alcibiades was at the time with Timandra, his mistress, in a
-castle in Phrygia. The assistants of Pharnabazes, afraid to encounter
-Alcibiades, set fire to his house, and when he had already escaped the
-conflagration, they despatched him with their arrows. Timandra buried
-the body with due honor.
-
-Thus Alcibiades ended his life, 404 B. C., being about forty-five years
-old. He was endowed by nature with distinguished qualities, a rare
-talent to captivate and rule mankind, and uncommon eloquence, although
-he could not pronounce the letter _r_, and had an impediment in his
-speech. He had, however, no fixed principles, and was governed only by
-external circumstances. He was without that elevation of soul which
-steadily pursues the path of virtue. On the other hand, he possessed
-that boldness which arises from consciousness of superiority, and which
-shrinks from no difficulty, because confident of success. He was a
-singular instance of intellectual eminence and moral depravity. His
-faculty for adapting himself to circumstances enabled him to equal
-the Spartans in austerity of manners, and to surpass the pomp of the
-Persians. Plutarch says, that “no man was of so sullen a nature but he
-would make him merry; nor so churlish but he could make him gentle.”
-
-
-
-
-                              DEMOCRITUS.
-
-
-Democritus, one of the most remarkable of the philosophers of
-antiquity, was born at Abdera, a maritime city of Thrace, 460 B. C. He
-travelled over the greatest part of Europe, Asia and Africa, in quest
-of knowledge. Though his father was so rich as to entertain Xerxes
-and his whole army, while marching against Greece, and left his son a
-large fortune, yet the latter returned from his travels in a state of
-poverty. It was a law of the country, that a man should be deprived
-of the honor of a funeral, who had reduced himself to indigence.
-Democritus was of course exposed to this ignominy; but having read
-before his countrymen his chief work, it was received with the greatest
-applause, and he was presented with five hundred talents,—a sum nearly
-equal to half a million of dollars. Statues were also erected to his
-honor; and a decree was passed that the expenses of his funeral should
-be paid from the public treasury.
-
-These circumstances display alike the great eminence of the
-philosopher, and an appreciation of genius and learning on the part
-of the people, beyond what could now be found in the most civilized
-communities of the world. Where is the popular assembly of the present
-day, that would bestow such a reward, on such an occasion?
-
-After his return from his travels, Democritus retired to a garden
-near the city, where he dedicated his time to study and solitude;
-and, according to some authors, put out his eyes, to apply himself
-more closely to philosophical inquiries. This, however, is unworthy
-of credit. He was accused of insanity, and Hippocrates, a celebrated
-physician, was ordered to inquire into the nature of his disorder.
-After a conference with the philosopher, he declared that not the
-latter, but his enemies were insane. Democritus was so accustomed to
-laugh at the follies and vanities of mankind, who distract themselves
-with care, and are at once the prey to hope and anxiety, that he
-acquired the title of the “laughing philosopher,” in contrast to
-Heraclitus,[12] who has been called the “weeping philosopher.” He told
-Darius, the king, who was inconsolable for the loss of his wife, that
-he would raise her from the dead if he could find three persons who had
-gone through life without adversity, and whose names he might engrave
-on the queen’s monument. The king’s inquiries after such, proved
-unavailing, and the philosopher discovered the means of soothing the
-sorrows of the sovereign.
-
-He was a disbeliever in the existence of ghosts; and some youths, to
-try his fortitude, dressed themselves in hideous and deformed habits,
-and approached his cave in the dead of night, expecting to excite his
-terror and astonishment. The philosopher received them unmoved, and,
-without hardly deigning to bestow upon them a look, desired them to
-cease making themselves such objects of ridicule and folly. He died in
-the one hundred and fourth year of his age, B. C. 357.
-
-All the works of Democritus, which were numerous, are lost. He was
-the first to teach that the milky way was occasioned by a confused
-light from a multitude of stars. He may be considered as the parent of
-experimental philosophy; in the prosecution of which he was so ardent,
-that he declared he would prefer the discovery of one of the causes of
-the works of nature, to the diadem of Persia. He is said to have made
-artificial emeralds by chemical means, and to have tinged them with
-various colors; he likewise found the art of dissolving stones and
-softening ivory.
-
-He was the author of the atomic theory; he viewed all matter, in which
-he included mind, as reducible to atoms; he considered the universe to
-consist only of matter and empty space. The mind he regarded as round
-atoms of fire. He argued that nothing could arise out of nothing; and
-also that nothing could utterly perish and become nothing. Hence he
-inferred the eternity of the universe, and dispensed with the existence
-of a Creator.
-
-He explained the difference in substances by a difference in their
-component atoms; and all material phenomena, by different motions,
-backward or forward, taking place of necessity. He did not seem to
-perceive that under this word, _necessity_, he concealed a deity. He
-explained sensation by supposing sensible images to issue from bodies.
-In moral philosophy, he only taught that a cheerful state of mind was
-the greatest attainable good.
-
-The theories of Democritus appear absurd enough in our time; but
-philosophy was then in its infancy. His struggles after light and truth
-display the darkness of the age, and the ingenuity of the philosopher.
-They may also teach us by what a process of mental toil, for centuries
-piled upon centuries, the knowledge we possess has been attained. The
-school he established, was supplanted, about a century after, by that
-of Epicurus.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Footnote 12: Heraclitus flourished about 500 years B. C. He was a
-native of Ephesus; and being of a melancholy disposition, he spent
-his time in mourning and weeping over the frailties of human nature,
-and the miseries of human life. He employed himself for a time, in
-writing different treatises, in which he maintained that all things
-are governed by a fatal necessity. His opinions, in some things, were
-adopted by the Stoics. He became at last a man-hater, and retired to
-the mountains, so as to be entirely separated from his fellow-men. Here
-he fed on grass, which brought on a dropsical complaint: to get cured
-of this, he returned to the town. He established his residence on a
-dunghill, hoping that the warmth might dissipate his disease; but this
-proved ineffectual, and he died in his sixtieth year.]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                               PERICLES.
-
-
-This celebrated man, born about 498 B. C., was an Athenian of noble
-birth, son of Xantippus and Agariste. He was endowed by nature with
-great powers, which he improved by attending the lectures of Damon,
-Zeno, and Anaxagoras. Under these celebrated masters, he became a
-commander, a statesman, and an orator, and gained the affections
-of the people by his great address, and well-directed liberality.
-When he took a share in the administration of public affairs, he
-rendered himself popular by opposing Cimon, who was the favorite of
-the nobility; and, to remove every obstacle which stood in the way of
-his ambition, he lessened the dignity and the power of the court of
-Areopagus, whom the people had been taught for ages to respect and
-venerate.
-
-He continued his attacks upon Cimon, and finally caused him to be
-banished by the ostracism. Thucydides also, who had succeeded Cimon
-on his banishment, shared the same fate, and Pericles remained, for
-fifteen years, the sole minister, and, as it may be said, the absolute
-sovereign of a republic which always showed itself so jealous of her
-liberties, and which distrusted so much the honesty of her magistrates.
-In his ministerial capacity, Pericles did not enrich himself, but the
-prosperity of Athens was the object of his administration. He made war
-against the Lacedæmonians, and restored the temple of Delphi to the
-care of the Phocians, who had been illegally deprived of that honorable
-trust.
-
-He obtained a victory over the Sicyonians near Nemæa, and waged a
-successful war against the inhabitants of Samos. The Peloponnesian war
-was fomented by his ambitious views, and when he had warmly represented
-the flourishing state, the opulence and actual power of his country,
-the Athenians did not hesitate to undertake a war against the most
-powerful republics of Greece—a war which continued for twenty-seven
-years, and was concluded by the destruction of their empire and the
-demolition of their walls. The arms of the Athenians were, for some
-time, crowned with success; but an unfortunate expedition raised
-clamors against Pericles, and the enraged populace attributed all their
-losses to him. To make atonement for their ill-success, they condemned
-him to pay fifty talents.
-
-The loss of popular favor did not so much affect Pericles, as the death
-of all his children. When the tide of disaffection had passed away, he
-condescended to come into the public assembly, and viewed with secret
-pride the contrition of his fellow-citizens, who universally begged his
-forgiveness for the violence which they had offered to his ministerial
-character. He was again restored to all his honors, and, if possible,
-invested with more power and more authority than before; but the
-dreadful pestilence which had diminished the number of his family, and
-swept away many of his best friends, proved fatal to himself, and about
-429 years B. C., in his seventieth year, he fell a sacrifice to that
-terrible malady which robbed Athens of so many of her citizens.
-
-Pericles was forty years at the head of the administration; twenty-five
-years with others, and fifteen alone. The flourishing state of the
-country under his government, gave occasion to the Athenians publicly
-to lament his loss and venerate his memory. As he was expiring
-and apparently senseless, his friends, that stood around his bed,
-expatiated with warmth on the most glorious actions of his life, and
-the victories which he had won—when he suddenly interrupted their
-tears and conversation, by saying, that in mentioning the exploits he
-had achieved, and which were common to him with all generals, they had
-forgotten to mention a circumstance, which reflected far greater glory
-on him as a minister, a general, and above all, as a man: “It is,” said
-he, “that not a citizen in Athens has been obliged to put on mourning
-on my account.”
-
-The Athenians were so affected by his eloquence that they compared it
-to thunder and lightning, and, as if he were another father of the
-gods, they gave him the title of Olympian. The poets said that the
-goddess of persuasion, with all her charms and attractions, dwelt
-upon his tongue. When he marched at the head of the Athenian armies,
-he observed that he had the command of a free nation, who were Greeks
-and citizens of Athens. He also declared that not only the hand of
-a magistrate, but also his eyes and his tongue, should be pure and
-undefiled. There can be no doubt that Pericles was one of the most
-eloquent orators and sagacious statesmen of Greece.
-
-Yet, great and venerable as his character may appear, we must not
-forget his follies. His vicious partiality for the celebrated
-courtesan, Aspasia, justly subjected him to the ridicule and censure
-of his fellow-citizens. The greatness of his talents and his services,
-enabled him to triumph over satire and reproach for the time, but the
-Athenians had occasion to execrate the memory of a man, who, by his
-example, corrupted the purity and innocence of their morals, and who,
-associating licentiousness with talents and public virtue, rendered it
-almost respectable.
-
-Pericles lost all his legitimate children by the pestilence already
-mentioned; and to call a natural son by his own name, he was obliged to
-repeal a law which he had made against spurious children, and which
-he had enforced with great severity. This son, named Pericles, became
-one of the ten generals who succeeded Alcibiades in the administration
-of affairs, and, like his colleagues, he was condemned to death by the
-Athenians, after the unfortunate battle of Arginusæ.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                              ARISTIDES.
-
-
-This great Athenian general and statesman, who took so conspicuous
-a part in the deliverance of Greece from the Persians, and who has
-come down to us with the enviable surname of THE JUST, was the son of
-Lysimachus and born about the year 550 B. C. We know little of the
-steps by which he rose to eminence. He was one of the ten generals of
-the Athenian forces, when they fought with the Persians at Marathon.
-According to the custom, each general held command of the army for
-one day, in rotation. Aristides, perceiving the disadvantages of
-this system, prevailed on his colleagues to give up their command
-to Miltiades. To this, in a great measure, must be attributed the
-memorable victory of the Greeks upon that occasion.
-
-The year after this, Aristides was archon; and the ambitious
-Themistocles, desiring to get rid of him privately circulated a charge
-that Aristides was aiming at sovereign power. He succeeded finally in
-causing him to be exiled by the ostracism—a vote of banishment, in
-which the Athenians used shells for ballots. While the voting, upon
-this occasion, was going on, Aristides was among the people; a rustic
-citizen, who did not know him, came up and asked him to write the name
-of Aristides upon the shell with which he intended to vote. “Has he
-ever injured you?” said Aristides. “No,” said the voter, “but I am
-tired of hearing him called the ‘_Just!_’”
-
-Aristides left Athens, with prayers for its welfare. He was recalled
-at the end of three years, and, forgetting his injury, devoted himself
-with ardor and success to the good of his country. In the famous battle
-of Platea, he commanded the Athenians, and is entitled to a great share
-of the merit of the splendid victory gained by the Greeks. He died at
-an advanced age, about 467 B. C. He was so poor that the expenses of
-his funeral were defrayed at the public charge, and his two daughters,
-on account of their father’s virtues, received a dowry from the public
-treasury, when they came to marriageable years.
-
-The effect of so rare an example as that of Aristides, was visible even
-during his lifetime. The Athenians became more virtuous, in imitating
-their great leader. Such was their sense of his good qualities, that,
-at the representation of one of the tragedies of Æschylus, when the
-actor pronounced a sentence concerning moral goodness, the eyes of the
-audience were all at once turned from the players to Aristides. When
-he sat as judge, it is said that the plaintiff in his accusation—in
-order to prejudice him against the defendant—mentioned the injuries
-he had done to Aristides. “Mention the wrong _you_ have received,”
-said the equitable Athenian. “I sit here as judge; the lawsuit is
-yours, not mine.” On one occasion, Themistocles announced to the
-people of Athens that he had a scheme of the greatest advantage to the
-state; but it could not be mentioned in a public assembly. Aristides
-was appointed to confer with him. The design was to set fire to the
-combined fleet of the Greeks, then lying in a neighboring port, by
-which means the Athenians would acquire the sovereignty of the seas.
-Aristides returned to the people, and told them that nothing could be
-more advantageous—yet nothing more unjust. The project was of course
-abandoned.
-
-The character of Aristides is one of the finest that is handed down by
-antiquity. To him belongs the rarest of all praises, that of observing
-justice, not only between man and man, but between nation and nation.
-He was truly a patriot, for he preferred the good of his country to his
-own ambition. A candid enemy, an impartial friend, a just administrator
-of other men’s money—an observer of national faith—he is well
-entitled to the imperishable monument which is erected in that simple
-title, THE JUST!
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                                 ÆSOP.
-
-
-This celebrated inventor of fables was a native of Phrygia, in Asia
-Minor, and flourished in the time of Solon, about 560 B. C. A life of
-him was written by a Greek monk, named Planudes, about the middle of
-the fourteenth century, which passed into circulation as a genuine
-work, but which is proved to have been a mere fiction. In that work,
-Æsop is represented as being hunch-backed, and an object of disgust
-from his deformity. There appears to be no foundation whatever for this
-story. This invention of the monk, no doubt, had for its object, to
-give eclat to the beauties of Æsop’s mind, by the contrast of bodily
-deformity.
-
-Throwing aside the work of Planudes, we are left to grope in obscurity
-for the real history of the great fabulist. After the most diligent
-researches, we can do little more than trace the leading incidents of
-his life. The place of his birth, like that of Homer, is matter of
-question; Samos, Sardis, Cotiæum in Phrygia, and Mesembria in Thrace,
-laying claim alike to that honor. The early part of his life was spent
-in slavery, and the names of three of his masters have been preserved:
-Dinarchus, an Athenian, in whose service he is said to have acquired
-a correct and pure knowledge of Greek; Xanthus, a Samian, who figures
-in Planudes as a philosopher, in order that the capacity of the slave
-may be set off by the incapacity of the master; and Iadmon or Idmon,
-another Samian, by whom he was enfranchised.
-
-He acquired a high reputation in Greece for that species of
-composition, which, after him, was called Æsopian, and, in consequence,
-was solicited by Croesus to take up his abode at the Lydian court. Here
-he is said to have met Solon, and to have rebuked the sage for his
-uncourtly way of inculcating moral lessons. He is said to have visited
-Athens during the usurpation of Pisistratus, and to have then composed
-the fable of Jupiter and the Frogs[13] for the instruction of the
-citizens.
-
-Being charged by Croesus with an embassy to Delphi, in the course of
-which he was to distribute a sum of money to every Delphian, a quarrel
-arose between him and the citizens, in consequence of which he returned
-the money to his patron, alleging that those for whom it was meant
-were unworthy of it. The disappointed party, in return, got up the
-charge of sacrilege, upon which they put him to death. A pestilence
-which ensued was attributed to this crime, and in consequence they made
-proclamation, at all the public assemblies of the Grecian nation, of
-their willingness to make compensation for Æsop’s death to any one who
-should appear to claim it. A grandson of his master, Iadmon, at length
-claimed and received it, no person more closely connected with the
-sufferer having appeared.
-
-It is a question of some doubt, whether Æsop was the inventor of that
-species of fable which endows the inferior animals, and even inanimate
-objects, with speech and reason, and thus, under the cover of humorous
-conceit, conveys lessons of wisdom; and which, from their pleasant
-guise, are often well received where the plain truth would be rejected.
-The probability is, that, if not the originator of such fables,
-Æsop was the first who composed them of such point as to bring them
-into use as a powerful vehicle for the inculcation of truth. At all
-events, there is abundant proof that fables, passing under his name,
-were current and popular in Athens, during the most brilliant period
-of its literary history, and not much more than a century after the
-death of the supposed author. The drolleries of Æsop are mentioned by
-Aristophanes in terms which lead us to suppose that they were commonly
-repeated at convivial parties. Socrates, in prison, turned into verse
-‘those that he knew;’ and Plato, who banishes the fictions of Homer
-from his ideal republic, speaks with high praise of the tendency of
-those of Æsop.
-
-Many of the fables in circulation among us, under the name of Æsop, are
-not his;—indeed, it is probable that but a small portion of them can
-trace their origin back to the Phrygian. A good fable, as well as a
-good story, however it may originate, is apt to be attributed to one
-whose character it may suit—and thus it happens that the same smart
-sayings are credited, in different countries, to different individuals;
-and thus, also, we see that many of the fables which we assign to Æsop,
-are credited, by the Mohammedans, to their fabulist, Lokman.
-
-The value of fables, as instruments of instruction, is attested by
-Addison, in the following words. “They were,” says he, “the first
-pieces of wit that made their appearance in the world; and have been
-still highly valued, not only in times of the greatest simplicity, but
-among the most polite ages of mankind. Jotham’s fable of the Trees is
-the oldest that is extant, and as beautiful as any which have been
-made since that time. Nathan’s fable of the Poor Man and his Lamb is
-likewise more ancient than any that is extant, excepting the above
-mentioned, and had so good an effect as to convey instruction to the
-ear of a king, without offending it, and to bring the ‘man after God’s
-own heart’ to a right sense of his guilt and his duty. We find Æsop
-in the most distant ages of Greece. And, if we look into the very
-beginning of the commonwealth of Rome, we see a mutiny among the common
-people appeased by the fable of the Belly and the Members; which was
-indeed very proper to gain the attention of an incensed rabble, at
-a time when perhaps they would have torn to pieces any man who had
-preached the same doctrine to them in an open and direct manner. As
-fables took their birth in the very infancy of learning, they never
-flourished more than when learning was at its greatest height. To
-justify this assertion, I shall put my reader in mind of Horace, the
-greatest wit and critic in the Augustan age; and of Boileau, the most
-correct poet among the moderns; not to mention La Fontaine, who, by
-this way of writing, is come more into vogue than any other author of
-our times.”
-
-“Reading is to the mind,” continues the writer, “what exercise is
-to the body: as, by the one, health is preserved, strengthened, and
-invigorated, by the other, virtue, (which is the health of the mind,)
-is kept alive, cherished and confirmed. But, as exercise becomes
-tedious and painful when we make use of it only as the means of health,
-so reading is too apt to grow uneasy and burdensome, when we apply
-ourselves to it only for our improvement in virtue. For this reason,
-the virtue which we gather from a fable or an allegory, is like the
-health we get by hunting, as we are engaged in an agreeable pursuit
-that draws us on with pleasure, and makes us insensible of the fatigues
-that accompany it.”
-
-In modern times, La Fontaine has given us an admirable collection of
-fables, and the artist Grandville has added a new charm to them, by a
-very happy conceit. With infinite wit, he has dressed up the wolves,
-foxes, and other animals which figure in the fables, in human attire,
-yet so skilfully as to seem natural—thus aiding the imagination, in
-conceiving of the actors and speakers in the fables, as performing
-their several parts. By the aid of his magical pencil, even trees,
-kettles and kegs assume an appearance of life, and seem to justify the
-wit and wisdom which they are imagined to utter. The humor of these
-designs is inimitable; and thus not only is greater effect given to
-the particular fables illustrated, but greater scope, to the fable
-generally. We are indebted, in this country, for a most excellent
-translation of La Fontaine, with many of Grandville’s designs, to
-Professor Wright.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Footnote 13: “The frogs, living an easy, free life everywhere among
-the lakes and ponds, assembled together one day, in a very tumultuous
-manner, and petitioned Jupiter to let them have a king, who might
-inspect their morals, and make them live a little honester. Jupiter,
-being at that time in pretty good humor, was pleased to laugh heartily
-at their ridiculous request; and, throwing a little log down into
-the pool, cried, ‘There is a king for you,’ The sudden splash which
-this made, by its fall into the water, at first terrified them so
-exceedingly, that they were afraid to come near it. But, in a little
-time, seeing it remain without moving, they ventured, by degrees, to
-approach it; and, at last, finding there was no danger, they leaped
-upon it, and, in short, treated it as familiarly as they pleased.
-
-“But not contented with so insipid a king as this was, they sent their
-deputies to petition again for another sort of one; for this they
-neither did nor could like. Upon that Jupiter sent them a stork, who,
-without any ceremony, fell to devouring and eating them up, one after
-another, as fast as he could. Then they applied themselves privately to
-Mercury, and got him to speak to Jupiter in their behalf, that he would
-be so good as to bless them again with another king, or to restore them
-to their former state. ‘No,’ says Jove, ‘since it was their own choice,
-let the obstinate wretches suffer the punishment due to their folly.’”]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                                SOLON.
-
-
-Solon, one of the seven wise men of Greece, was born at Salamis, 637
-B. C. and educated at Athens. His father was one of the descendants of
-king Codrus, and, by his mother’s side, he reckoned among his relations
-the celebrated Pisistratus. After he had devoted part of his time to
-philosophical and political studies, Solon travelled over the greatest
-part of Greece; but at his return home he was distressed at beholding
-the dissensions among his countrymen.
-
-All now fixed their eyes upon him as a deliverer, and he was
-unanimously elected archon. He might have become absolute, but he
-refused the dangerous office of king of Athens, and, in the capacity
-of lawgiver, he began to make a reform in every department of the
-government. The complaints of the poorer citizens found redress; all
-debts were remitted, and no one was permitted to seize the person of
-his debtor, if he was unable to make payment. After he had established
-the most salutary regulations in the state, and bound the Athenians
-by a solemn oath that they would faithfully observe his laws for the
-space of one hundred years, Solon resigned the office of legislator,
-and removed himself from Athens. He visited Egypt, and the court of
-Croesus,[14] king of Lydia—celebrated for his wealth, and the vanity
-of desiring to be esteemed the happiest of mankind. He here declared
-to the monarch that an Athenian, who had always seen his country
-flourish—who had virtuous children, and who fell in defence of his
-native land, had a happier career than the proudest emperor on the
-globe.
-
-After ten years’ absence, Solon returned to Athens; but he had the
-mortification to find the greatest part of his regulations disregarded,
-through the factious spirit of his countrymen and the usurpation of
-Pisistratus. Not to be longer a spectator of the divisions that reigned
-in his country, he retired to Cyprus, where he died at the court of
-king Philocyprus, in the eightieth year of his age. The laws of Solon
-became established in Athens, and their salutary consequences can be
-discovered in the length of time they were in force in the republic.
-For above four hundred years they flourished in full vigor, and Cicero,
-who was himself a witness of their benign influence, passes the highest
-encomiums upon the legislator, whose superior wisdom framed such a code
-of regulations.
-
-It was the intention of Solon to protect the poorer citizens; and by
-dividing the whole body of the Athenians into four classes, three of
-which were permitted to discharge the most important offices and
-magistracies of the state, and the last to give their opinion in the
-assemblies, but not have a share in the distinctions and honors of
-their superiors; the legislator gave the populace a privilege, which,
-though at first small and inconsiderable, soon rendered them masters
-of the republic, and of all the affairs of government. He made a
-reformation in the Areopagus, increased the authority of the members,
-and permitted them yearly to inquire how every citizen maintained
-himself, and to punish such as lived in idleness, and were not employed
-in some honorable and lucrative profession. He also regulated the
-Prytaneum, and fixed the number of its judges to four hundred.
-
-The sanguinary laws of Draco were all cancelled except that against
-murder; and the punishment denounced against every offender was
-proportioned to his crime; but Solon made no law against parricide
-or sacrilege. The former of these crimes, he said, was too horrible
-to human nature for a man to be guilty of it, and the latter could
-never be committed, because the history of Athens had never furnished
-a single instance. Such as had died in the service of their country,
-were buried with great pomp, and their families were maintained at
-the public expense; but such as had squandered away their estates,
-such as refused to bear arms in defence of their country, or paid no
-attention to the infirmity and distress of their parents, were branded
-with infamy. The laws of marriage were newly regulated; it became an
-union of affection and tenderness, and no longer a mercenary contract.
-To speak with ill language against the dead, as well as against
-the living, was made a crime; for the legislator wished that the
-character of his fellow-citizens should be freed from the aspersions of
-malevolence and envy. A person that had no children was permitted to
-dispose of his estates as he pleased; females were not allowed to be
-extravagant in their dress or expenses; licentiousness was punished;
-and those accustomed to abandoned society, were deprived of the
-privilege of addressing the public assemblies. These celebrated laws
-were engraved on several tables; and that they might be better known
-and more familiar to the Athenians, they were written in verse.
-
-If we consider the time in which Solon lived, we shall see occasion to
-regard him as a man of extraordinary wisdom and virtue. Nearly all the
-systems of government around him were despotic. That government should
-be instituted and conducted for the benefit of the governed; and that
-the people are the proper depositories of power—principles recognised
-in his institutions—were truths so deeply hidden from mankind, as to
-demand an intellect of the highest order for their discovery.
-
-Nor are his virtues and humanity less conspicuous than his sagacity.
-While repealing the bloody code of Draco, he substituted mild and
-equitable laws; he shunned the harsh and savage system of Lycurgus,
-which sacrificed all the best feelings of the heart, and the most
-refined pleasures of life, in order to sustain the martial character
-of the state; and while he sought to soften the manners, he strove
-to exalt the standard of public and private virtue, not only by his
-laws, but by his conversation and example. He was thus, not only
-the benefactor of Athens and of Greece, but—as one of the great
-instruments of civilization throughout the world, and especially as
-one of the leaders in the establishment of free government—mankind at
-large owe him a lasting debt of gratitude.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-[Footnote 14: Croesus was the fifth and last of the Mermadæ, who
-reigned in Lydia, and during his time he passed for the richest of
-mankind. He was the first who made the Greeks of Asia tributary to
-the Lydians. His court was the asylum of learning; and Æsop, the
-famous fable-writer, among others, lived under his patronage. In a
-conversation with Solon, Croesus wished to be thought the happiest of
-mankind; but the philosopher apprized him of his mistake, and gave the
-preference to poverty and domestic virtue. Croesus undertook a war
-against Cyrus, the king of Persia, and marched to meet him with an army
-of 420,000 men, and 60,000 horse. After a reign of fourteen years he
-was defeated, B. C. 548; his capital was besieged, and he fell into
-the conqueror’s hands, who ordered him to be burnt alive. The pile
-was already on fire, when Cyrus heard the conquered monarch exclaim,
-“Solon! Solon! Solon!” with lamentable energy. He asked him the reason
-of his exclamation, and Croesus repeated the conversation he once had
-with Solon, on human happiness. Cyrus was moved at the recital; and,
-at the recollection of the inconstancy of human affairs, he ordered
-Croesus to be taken from the burning pile, and he was afterwards one
-of his most intimate friends. The kingdom of Lydia became extinct in
-his person, and the power was transferred to Persia. Croesus survived
-Cyrus. The manner of his death is unknown. He is celebrated for the
-immensely rich presents which he made to the temple of Delphi, from
-which he received an obscure and ambiguous oracle, which he interpreted
-in his favor, but which was fulfilled in the destruction of his
-empire.]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                               LYCURGUS.
-
-
-This Spartan lawgiver is supposed to have been born about 900 B. C. He
-was the youngest son of king Eunomus, and was entitled to the throne
-upon the death of his brother, Polydectes; but he relinquished it in
-behalf of his unborn son, and administered the government in his name.
-By the wisdom of his measures, he won general esteem; and his noble
-disinterestedness raised his glory to a height which awoke envy against
-him in the minds of some of the most distinguished Spartans, who now
-conspired against him. Partly to escape the danger which threatened
-him, and partly to gratify the desire of seeing foreign nations, and
-learning their manners, he left Sparta, and travelled in various
-countries.
-
-After visiting Crete, and admiring the wise laws of Minos, he went to
-Iona. The effeminate and luxurious life of the inhabitants, and the
-feebleness of their laws, which formed a striking contrast with the
-simplicity and vigor of those of Crete, made a deep impression upon
-him. Here, however, he is said to have become acquainted with the poems
-of Homer, which he collected and carried to Greece. From hence he is
-said to have travelled into Egypt, India, and Spain; but this seems
-improbable.
-
-In the meanwhile, the two kings who succeeded him at Sparta, Archelaus
-and Charilaus, were esteemed neither by the people nor by the
-nobility; and, as there were no laws sufficient to maintain the public
-tranquillity, the confusion passed all bounds. In this dangerous
-situation, Lycurgus was the only man from whom help and deliverance
-could be expected. The people hoped from him protection against
-the nobles, and the kings believed that he would put an end to the
-disobedience of the people. More than once, ambassadors were sent to
-entreat him to come to the assistance of the state.
-
-He long resisted, but at last yielded to the urgent wishes of his
-fellow-citizens. At his arrival in Sparta, he found that not only
-particular abuses were to be suppressed, but that it would be necessary
-to form an entirely new constitution. The confidence which his
-personal character, his judgment, and the dangerous situation of the
-state, gave him among his fellow-citizens, encouraged him to encounter
-all obstacles. The first step which he took, was to add to the kings a
-senate of twenty-eight persons, venerable for their age, without whose
-consent the former were to undertake nothing. He thus established a
-useful balance between the power of the kings and the licentiousness
-of the people. The latter at the same time obtained the privilege of
-giving their voice in public affairs. They had not, however, properly
-speaking, deliberative privileges, but only the limited right of
-accepting or rejecting what was proposed by the kings or the senate.
-
-The Spartans conformed in general to the institutions of Lycurgus; but
-the equal division of property which he effected, excited among the
-rich such violent commotions, that the lawgiver fled to the temple, to
-save his life. On the way, he received a blow, which struck out one of
-his eyes. He merely turned round, and showed to his pursuers his face
-streaming with blood. This sight filled all with shame and repentance;
-they implored his pardon, and led him respectfully home. The person who
-had done the deed, a young man of rank, and of a fiery character, was
-given up to him. Lycurgus pardoned him, and dismissed him, covered with
-shame.
-
-After having thus formed a constitution for Sparta, Lycurgus endeavored
-to provide for its continuance. He made all the citizens take a
-solemn oath that they would change nothing in the laws which he had
-introduced, before his return. He then went to Delphi, and asked the
-gods whether the new laws were sufficient for the happiness of Sparta.
-The answer was, “Sparta will remain the most prosperous of all states
-as long as it observes these laws.” He sent this answer to Lacedæmon,
-and left his country forever. He died of voluntary starvation, and
-ordered his body to be burned, and the ashes scattered in the sea, lest
-they should be carried to Sparta, and his countrymen be released from
-their oath.
-
-Though the patriotism of Lycurgus appears to have been of the most
-exalted nature, his institutions were exceedingly barbarous, in many
-respects. He cherished no such thing as family ties, but required
-everything to yield to the good of the state. The children did not
-belong to the parents; feeble children were destroyed; meals were all
-taken in common; unmarried men were punished. Thus the private liberty
-of the people was taken away, and they were made slaves, in their daily
-habits, thoughts and feelings, to that power which was called the
-state. The design of the lawgiver seemed to be to rear up a nation of
-soldiers—not for conquest, but for defence. He would not permit Sparta
-to be encircled with walls, preferring that its defence should depend
-on the arms of the citizens. The men were wholly trained for martial
-life. Sensibility to suffering, and the fear of death, were treated
-with contempt. Victory or death, in battle, was their highest glory;
-cowardice was attended with the most deadly shame.
-
-The difference between the institutions of Lycurgus and those of Solon,
-may be seen in their results. The Spartans became a stern and haughty
-nation of soldiers; but they have left nothing behind but their story,
-to instruct mankind; while the Athenians, exalted by the genial breath
-of liberty, continue to this very hour to be the admiration of the
-world, for their literature, their arts, and their institutions.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                                HOMER.
-
-
-The Iliad is often spoken of as the greatest production of the human
-mind; yet it has been seriously questioned whether such a person
-as Homer ever lived! This paradox is to be explained by admitting,
-that, although the Iliad is a wonderful performance for the time and
-circumstances of its composition, still, it is by no means entitled to
-the supremacy which scholastic fondness assigns to it; and that the
-doubts thrown upon its authorship are but the mists engendered in the
-arena of hypercriticism.
-
-By Homer, we mean the author of the Iliad, whatever may have been his
-true name. The period at which he flourished is matter of doubt, but
-it is fixed by the Arundelian Marbles,[15] at 907 B. C., which is
-probably not far from the true date. A great many tales are handed
-down to us, in relation to him, which are mere fictions. The only well
-established facts, in his life, are that he was a native of Asiatic
-Greece, and a wandering poet, or rhapsodist, who went about the country
-reciting his compositions, according to the custom of those times. The
-story of his being blind is without authority.
-
-Such are the meagre facts which can be gathered amid the obscurity of
-that remote age in which Homer lived. There is something painful in
-this barrenness,—and we almost feel that the critics, in exploding the
-fond fictions which antiquity has woven around the name of the great
-poet, have performed an ungracious office. They have indeed dissipated
-fables, but they have left us little but darkness or vacuity in their
-place. Such is the yearning of the mind, in respect to those who have
-excited its emotions, and created an interest in the bosom, that it
-will cherish even the admitted portraitures of fiction and fancy,
-rather than content itself with the blank canvass of nothingness. The
-heart, as well as nature, abhors a vacuum.
-
-The fictitious history of Homer—which, however, is of some antiquity,
-and has passed current for centuries—is briefly as follows. His mother
-was named Critheis: she was married to Mæon, king of Smyrna, and gave
-birth to a child, on or near the banks of the river Meles, from which
-circumstance he was called Meles genes. The mother soon died, and he
-was brought up and educated under the care of Mæon. The name of Homer
-was afterwards given to him, on account of his becoming blind.
-
-The legends proceed in general to state that Homer himself became a
-schoolmaster and poet of great celebrity, at Smyrna, and remained
-there till Mentes, a foreign merchant, induced him to travel. That the
-author of the Iliad and Odyssey must have travelled pretty extensively
-for those times, is unquestionable; for besides the accurate knowledge
-of Greece which these works display, it is clear that the poet had a
-familiar acquaintance with the islands both in the Ægean and the Ionian
-seas, the coasts of Asia Minor, Crete, Cyprus, and Egypt—which still
-bear the names he gave them—and possessed also distinct information
-with respect to Lybia, Æthiopia, Phoenicia, Caria and Phrygia.
-
-In his travels, as the legends say, Homer visited Ithaca, and there
-became subject to a disease in his eyes, which afterwards terminated in
-total blindness. From this island he is said to have gone to Italy, and
-even to Spain; but there is no sign, in either of the two poems, of his
-possessing any definite knowledge westward of the Ionian sea. Wherever
-he went, Homer recited his verses, which were universally admired,
-except at Smyrna, where he was a prophet in his own country. At Phocæa,
-a schoolmaster, of the name of Thestorides, obtained from Homer a copy
-of his poetry, and then sailed to Chios, and there recited these verses
-as his own. Homer went soon after to the same place, and was rescued
-by Glaucus, a goatherd, from the attack of his dogs, and brought by
-him to Bolissus, a town in Chios, where he resided a long time, in the
-possession of wealth and a splendid reputation.
-
-According to Herodotus, Homer died at Io, on his way to Athens, and
-was buried near the sea-shore. Proclus says he died in consequence of
-falling over a stone. Plutarch tells a different story. He preserves
-two responses of an oracle to the poet, in both of which he was
-cautioned to beware of the young men’s riddle; and relates that the
-poet, being on a voyage to Thebes, to attend a musical or poetical
-contest at the feast of Saturn, in that city, landed in the island
-of Io, and, whilst sitting on a rock by the sea-shore, observed some
-young fishermen in a boat. Homer asked them if they had anything, and
-the young wags, who, having had no sport, had been diligently catching
-and killing as many as they could, of certain personal companions of a
-race not even yet extinct, answered,—“As many as we caught, we left;
-as many as we could not catch, we carry with us.” The catastrophe of
-this absurd story is, that Homer, being utterly unable to guess the
-riddle, broke his heart, out of pure vexation; and the inhabitants of
-the island buried him with great magnificence, and placed the following
-inscription on his tomb:—
-
-
-    Here Homer, the divine in earthly bed,
-    Poet of Heroes, rests his sacred head.
-
-
-The general theory in regard to the poems of Homer, is that they were
-composed and recited by him, to the people living upon the islands and
-the main land along the coasts of Asia Minor. At that time books were
-unknown, and it is a question whether even the art of writing was then
-practised. Homer, therefore, published his poems in the only way he
-could do it—by oral delivery. Whether his verses were sung, or only
-recited, we cannot determine; but there is no doubt that he obtained
-both fame and maintenance by his performances.
-
-So deep was the impression made by the poet, that his verses were
-learned by heart, and preserved in the memories of succeeding
-rhapsodists and minstrels. His reputation was diffused over all Greece;
-and Lycurgus, who had heard of his compositions, is supposed to have
-taken pains, during his travels, to have them written down, and to have
-brought them in a collected form to Greece. They were, however, still
-in fragments, and the task of arranging and uniting them was performed
-by Pisistratus, with the help of the poets of his time. In this way,
-they received nearly the form they now possess; the division of each of
-the two epics into twenty-four books, corresponding with the letters
-of the Greek alphabet, being the work of the Alexandrian critics,
-some centuries after. It must be remembered, however, that although
-the poems of Homer were thus committed to writing in the time of
-Pisistratus, they continued to be recited by the rhapsodists, who were
-much favored in Greece, and in this way alone, for several centuries,
-were popularly known. It is probable that in these recitations, there
-was a good deal of dramatic action, and that they possessed something
-of the interest which belongs to theatrical representation.
-
-The vicissitudes to which Homer’s reputation and influence have been
-subject, deserve notice. From the arrangement of the Iliad and Odyssey,
-in the time of the Pisistratidæ, to the promulgation of Christianity,
-the love and reverence with which the name of Homer was regarded, went
-on constantly increasing, till at last public games were instituted in
-his honor, statues dedicated, temples erected, and sacrifices offered
-to him, as a divinity. There were such temples at Smyrna, Chios, and
-Alexandria; and, according to Ælian, the Argives sacrificed to, and
-invoked the names and presence of, Apollo and Homer together.
-
-But about the beginning of the second century of the Christian era,
-when the struggle between the old and the new religions was warm
-and active, the tide turned. Heathenism, says Pope, was then to be
-destroyed, and Homer appeared to be the father of those fictions which
-were at once the belief of the Pagan religion, and the objections of
-Christianity against it. He became, therefore, deeply involved in the
-question, not with that honor which had hitherto attended him, but as
-a criminal, who had drawn the world into folly. These times, however,
-are past, and Homer stands on the summit of the ancient Parnassus, the
-boast and glory of Greece, and the wonder and admiration of mankind.
-
-The Iliad, with the exception of the Pentateuch and some others of the
-books of the Old Testament, is the most ancient composition known. It
-is interesting not only as a splendid poem, but also on account of the
-light it throws upon the history and manners of the remote ages in
-which it was written. We are struck with the similarity of the customs
-of the Asiatic Greeks to those of the Hebrews, as set forth in the
-Bible; and also with the fact that the Jupiter of Homer rises to that
-unchecked omnipotence assigned to Jehovah.
-
-The design of the Iliad seems to be to set forth the revenge which
-Achilles took on Agamemnon, for depriving him of his mistress, Briseis,
-while engaged in the siege of Troy—with the long train of evils which
-followed. The admirers of Homer have pretended to discover in the work
-the most profound art in the construction of the poem, and have hence
-deduced rules for the formation of the epic poem; but nothing is more
-clear than that, in the simple lines of Homer, the poet had no other
-guide than a profound knowledge of human nature and human sympathies;
-and that he only sought to operate on these by telling a plain story,
-in the most simple, yet effective manner. The absence of all art is
-one of the chief characteristics of the Iliad;—its naturalness is the
-great secret of its power.
-
-That this poem is the greatest of human productions—a point often
-assumed—is by no means to be received as true. It strikes us with
-wonder, when we consider the age in which it was composed, and we
-feel that Homer was indeed one of the great lights of the world. The
-following passage, one of the finest in the Iliad, is full of truth,
-nature and pathos—and it shows that the heroes of Troy, nearly three
-thousand years ago, had the same feelings and sympathies as those which
-beat in the bosoms of our time; yet we can point to a great number of
-passages in modern poems, far, very far superior to this. The scene
-represents Priam—who has come to the Greek camp for the purpose of
-redeeming the body of his son Hector—as addressing the chieftain,
-Achilles:
-
-
-    “Think, O Achilles, semblance of the gods!
-    On thy own father, full of days like me,
-    And trembling on the gloomy verge of life:
-    Some neighbor chief, it may be, even now,
-    Oppresses him, and there is none at hand,
-    No friend to succor him in his distress;
-    Yet doubtless, hearing that Achilles lives,
-    He still rejoices, hoping day by day,
-    That one day he shall see the face again
-    Of his own son from distant Troy returned.
-    But me no comfort cheers, whose bravest sons,
-    So late the flower of Ilium, all are slain.
-    When Greece came hither, I had fifty sons;
-    Nineteen were children of one bed; the rest
-    Born of my concubines. A numerous house!
-    But fiery Mars hath thinned it. One I had,
-    One, more than all my sons, the strength of Troy,
-    Whom standing for his country thou hast slain,—
-    Hector. His body to redeem I come;
-    Into Achia’s fleet bringing myself
-    Ransom inestimable to thy tent.
-    Rev’rence the gods, Achilles! recollect
-    Thy father; for his sake compassion show
-    To me, more pitiable still, who draw
-    Home to my lips (humiliation yet
-    Unseen on earth) his hand who slew my son!
-
-    “So saying, he awakened in his soul regret
-    Of his own sire; softly he placed his hand
-    On Priam’s hand, and pushed him gently away.
-    Remembrance melted both. Rolling before
-    Achilles feet, Priam his son deplored,
-    Wide slaughtering Hector, and Achilles wept
-    By turns his father, and by turns his friend
-    Patroclus: sounds of sorrow filled the tent.”
-
-
-Beside the Iliad, another epic, divided into twenty-four books, and
-entitled the Odyssey, with a number of smaller pieces, are attributed
-to Homer, and doubtless upon good and substantial grounds. The Odyssey
-is a tale of adventures, like Robinson Crusoe, and Sinbad the Sailor,
-heightened by an object, and dignified by a moral far above these
-works. It tells us what befel Ulysses, in returning from the siege of
-Troy to his home in Greece; and is wrought up with wonderful powers
-of invention and fancy. It is esteemed inferior, on the whole, to the
-Iliad, and an eminent critic has said, that, in the former, Homer
-appears like the rising, and in the latter, like the setting sun.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-[Footnote 15: These Marbles consist of a large collection of busts,
-statues, altars, inscriptions, mutilated figures, &c., formed by Thomas
-Howard, Earl of Arundel, in the early part of the seventeenth century,
-and presented to the University of Oxford, by Henry Howard, the earl’s
-grandson. They were obtained in various parts of Greece; many are of
-great antiquity and of great value, as well for the light they shed
-upon history as upon the arts, customs, and manners of past ages.]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                              CONFUCIUS.
-
-
-This greatest of Chinese philosophers was born in the petty kingdom
-of Lú, now the province of Shántung, in the year 549 B. C.—the same
-year that Cyrus became king of the Medes and Persians. The Chinese,
-in their embellishments of his history, tell us that his birth was
-attended with heavenly music, filling the air; that two dragons were
-seen winding over the roof; that five old men appeared at the door,
-and after consulting together, suddenly vanished; and that a unicorn
-brought to his mother a tablet in his mouth. It is also related that
-when he was born, five characters were seen on his breast, declaring
-him to be “the maker of a rule for settling the world.” These and other
-marvels are a part of the established biography of the philosopher, as
-received by the Chinese.
-
-The father of Confucius, who was a magistrate of the district where he
-lived, died when the son was but three years old. The latter was poor
-and unknown during his youth—though his gravity and attention to study
-attracted the attention of his townsmen. When he approached manhood, he
-was esteemed remarkable for his wisdom, and equal to the learned men of
-the country in his knowledge of antiquity.
-
-At the age of seventeen he received an appointment as clerk in the
-grain department of the government; and so attentive was he in his
-trust, as, two years after, to be advanced to the general supervision
-of the fields and parks, and the breeding of cattle. About this time
-he was married, and two years after, his only son was born. Upon this
-occasion, Lord Cháu the governor of Lú, sent him two carp as a present,
-and accordingly Confucius named his son Lí or Carp. His humor went even
-farther, and he gave the boy the additional title of Piyü, or Uncle
-Fish.
-
-At the age of twenty-four, Confucius lost his mother, whom he buried in
-the same grave with his father, who had been dead some time. He then
-resigned his office, that he might mourn three years for his mother,
-according to the ancient custom of the country. This practice had
-fallen into neglect, and, consequently, the example of Confucius, in
-following the holy custom of the fathers of the country, gained him
-great renown for his piety. His reputation was thus extended, and his
-example began to be followed.
-
-The three years of his mourning were not lost—for he then devoted
-himself to study. He diligently examined the books of the old authors,
-seeking to discover the means by which the ancient kings and sages
-sought to attain the perfection of morals. The result was, a conviction
-that the social virtues were best cultivated by an observance of the
-ancient usages of the country; and accordingly he resolved to devote
-his life to them, and to their permanent establishment in China. This
-great work he accomplished; and if we consider the effect he has
-produced on the most populous nation of the globe, and during a space
-of nearly two thousand years, we shall perceive the mighty consequence
-of his labors. The actual amount of influence he has exercised, perhaps
-exceeds that of any other human being, save Aristotle alone.
-
-Appearing to have a clear view of his great work, Confucius entered
-upon it with systematic diligence. He resolved to establish schools
-where his philosophy should be taught to pupils who would go forth and
-spread his doctrines through the empire. He also proposed to write a
-series of books, setting forth his views. All these things he lived to
-accomplish.
-
-The greater part of the life of Confucius was passed in travelling,
-visiting the courts of the petty princes, whose states then constituted
-the empire under the sovereign of the Chán dynasty. This course was,
-as might be expected, fruitless in reforming these states, but it
-diffused a general knowledge of himself and his doctrines, and procured
-him scholars. The prince of Tsí was the first who invited him to his
-court, and received him with distinction. This potentate heard him with
-pleasure, and applauded his maxims; but, to the chagrin of Confucius,
-he continued to live in luxury, and to allow his ministers to oppress
-his subjects and abuse their power. He, however, offered him for his
-maintenance the revenue of a considerable city, which the philosopher
-thought proper to decline, alleging that he had done nothing to merit
-such a recompense. After sojourning a year in Tsí, and seeing that his
-discourse produced no effect to reform the abuses and evils of the
-country, he left it, and visited some of the principal cities of China.
-
-On the road between Tsí and Chin, he fell into a difficulty. The prince
-of Wú having attacked Chin, the lord of Tsú came to his relief, and
-sent an invitation to Confucius to join him; but the other party,
-fearing that he would do them a disservice, sent people to intercept
-him. They surrounded him in the wilderness, and would have starved him
-to death, had not a friend come to his relief, after a detention of
-seven days. After this narrow escape, he returned home and the prince
-of Lú gave him a carriage, two horses and a servant, with which he set
-off for King-yang, the capital of the empire. Here he passed his time
-in observing the forms of government, the condition of the people and
-their manners, and how the rites and ceremonies of the ancient kings
-were regarded. He held several interviews with the ministers of the
-court, was permitted to visit the emperor’s ancestral hall, and other
-sacred places, and had access to the archives of the kingdom, from
-which he was allowed to take extracts.
-
-One object in the visit of Confucius to the capital, was to see
-Láutsz’, the founder of the Táu sect, or Rationalists, who lived in
-a retired place, some distance from court. This old philosopher,
-accustomed to visits from men of all ranks, received Confucius and his
-disciples with indifference. He was reclining on an elevated platform,
-and hearing that his visitor had come to hear from his own mouth an
-exposition of his tenets, and to ask him about _propriety_, he roused
-himself to receive him. “I have heard speak of you,” says he, “and I
-know your reputation. I am told that you talk only of the ancients,
-and discourse only upon what they taught. Now, of what use is it to
-endeavor to revive the memory of men of whom no trace remains on the
-earth? The sage ought to interest himself with the times in which he
-lives, and regard present circumstances; if they are favorable, he
-will improve them; but if, on the contrary, they are unfavorable, he
-will retire and wait tranquilly, without grieving at what others do.
-He who possesses a treasure, will try to have everybody know it; he
-will preserve it against the day of need; this you will do if you are a
-sage. It seems, judging by your conduct, that you have some ostentation
-in your plans of instruction and that you are proud. Correct these
-faults, and purify your heart from all love of pleasure; you will, in
-this way, be much more useful than seeking to know what the ancients
-said.”
-
-Láutsz’ also observed, “A discreet merchant keeps his affairs to
-himself as if he knew nothing; an excellent man, although highly
-intelligent, demeans himself like an ignorant man.” Confucius remarked
-to his disciples, “I have seen Láutsz’; have I not seen something
-like a dragon?” On leaving him, Láutsz’ said, “I have heard that
-the rich dismiss their friends with a present, and the benevolent
-send away people with a word of advice; whoever is talented, and
-prying into everything, will run himself into danger, because he
-loves to satirize and slander men; and he who wishes to thoroughly
-understand recondite things will jeopard his safety, because he loves
-to publish the failings of men.” Confucius replied, “I respectfully
-receive your instructions,” and thus left him. Láutsz’ advice seemed
-directed against a too inquisitive philosophy, and meddling too much
-in the affairs of the world; he was rather of the Budhistic school of
-quietists, while Confucius wished men to endeavor to make each other
-better.
-
-Confucius, like Aristotle and other masters, used to teach his
-disciples while walking with them, deriving instruction from what they
-saw. Once, while walking with them by the bank of a stream, he stopped
-from time to time to look very intently at the water, until their
-attention was excited, and they were induced to ask him the reason of
-his conduct. He replied, “The running of water in its bed is a very
-simple thing, the reason of which everybody knows. I was, however,
-rather making a comparison in my own mind between the running of water
-and doctrine. The water, I reflected, runs unceasingly, by day and by
-night, until it is lost in the bosom of the mighty deep. Since the days
-of Yáu and Shun, the pure doctrine has uninterruptedly descended to us:
-let us in our turn transmit it to those who come after us, that they,
-from our example, may give it to their descendants to the end of time.
-Do not imitate those isolated men, (referring to Láutsz’,) who are
-wise only for themselves. To communicate the knowledge and virtue we
-possess, to others, will never impoverish ourselves. This is one of the
-reflections I would make upon the running of water.”
-
-This peripatetic habit, and the aptitude for drawing instruction from
-whatever would furnish instruction, was usual with the philosopher,
-and he seldom omitted to improve an occasion. Once, when walking in
-the fields, he perceived a fowler, who, having drawn in his nets,
-distributed the birds he had taken into different cages. On coming up
-to him to ascertain what he had caught, Confucius attentively remarked
-the vain efforts of the captive birds to regain their liberty, until
-his disciples gathered round him, when he addressed the fowler,—“I do
-not see any old birds here; where have you put them?” “The old birds,”
-said he, “are too wary to be caught; they are on the look-out, and if
-they see a net or a cage, far from falling into the snare, they escape,
-and never return. Those young ones which are in company with them,
-likewise escape, but such only as separate into a flock by themselves,
-and rashly approach, are the birds I catch. If perchance I catch an old
-bird, it is because he follows the young ones.”
-
-“You have heard him,” said Confucius, turning to his disciples; “the
-words of this fowler afford us matter for instruction. The young
-birds escape the snare only when they keep with the old ones; the old
-ones are taken when they follow the young. It is thus with mankind.
-Presumption, hardihood, want of forethought, and inattention are the
-principal reasons why young people are led astray. Inflated with their
-small attainments, they have scarcely made a commencement in learning,
-before they think they know everything; they have scarcely performed
-a few virtuous acts, and straight they fancy themselves at the height
-of wisdom. Under this false impression they doubt nothing; they rashly
-undertake acts without consulting the aged and experienced, and thus,
-securely following their own notions, they are misled, and fall into
-the first snare laid for them. If you see an old man of sober years so
-badly advised as to be taken with the giddiness of a youth, attached
-to him, and thinking and acting with him, he is led astray by him, and
-soon taken in the same snare. Do not forget the answer of the fowler,
-but reflect on it occasionally.”
-
-Having completed his observations at the capital, Confucius returned,
-by the way of Tsí, to his native state of Lú, where he remained ten
-years. His house now became a sort of lyceum, open to every one who
-wished to receive instruction. His manner of teaching was to allow
-his disciples or others to come and go when they pleased, asking
-his opinion on such points, either in morals, politics, history, or
-literature, as they wished to have explained. He gave them the liberty
-of choosing their subject, and then he discoursed upon it. From these
-conversations and detached expressions of the philosopher, treasured
-up by his disciples, they afterwards composed Lun Yü, now one of the
-Four Books. Confucius, it is said, numbered upwards of three thousand
-disciples, or perhaps we ought to call them advocates or hearers
-of his doctrine. They consisted of men of all ranks and ages, who
-attended upon him when their duties or inclinations permitted, and
-who materially assisted in diffusing a knowledge of his tenets over
-the whole country. There were, however, a select few, who attached
-themselves to his person, lived with him, and followed him wherever he
-went; and to whom he entrusted the promulgation of his doctrines.
-
-After several years of retirement, Confucius was called into public
-life. The prince of Lú died, and his son, entertaining a great respect
-for the philosopher, and esteem for his instructions, invited him to
-court, in order to learn his doctrines more fully. After becoming well
-acquainted with him, and reposing confidence in his integrity, the
-young ruler committed the entire management of the state to him; and
-the activity, courage, and disinterested conduct which he exhibited
-in the exercise of his power, soon had the happiest effect upon the
-country. By his wise rules and the authority of his example and his
-maxims he soon reformed many vicious practices, and introduced
-sobriety and order, in the place of waste and injustice. He occupied
-himself with agriculture, and regulated the revenue and the manner of
-receiving it; so that, in consequence of his measures, the productions
-of the state were increased, the happiness of the people was extended,
-and the revenue considerably augmented.
-
-He carried his reforms into every department of justice, in which, soon
-after he entered upon his duties as minister, he had an opportunity of
-exhibiting his inflexibility. One of the most powerful nobles of the
-state had screened himself from the just punishment due to his many
-crimes, under the dread of his power and riches, and the number of his
-retainers. Confucius caused him to be arrested, and gave order for his
-trial; and when the overwhelming proofs brought forward had convinced
-all of his guilt, he condemned him to lose his head, and presided
-himself at the execution. This wholesome severity struck a dread into
-other men of rank, and likewise obtained the plaudits of all men of
-sense, as well as of the people, who saw in the minister a courageous
-protector, ready to defend them against the tyranny of men in power.
-
-These salutary reforms had not been long in operation, before the
-neighboring states took alarm at the rising prosperity of Lú; and the
-prince of Tsí, who had recently usurped the throne by assassinating
-its occupant, resolved to ruin the plans of Confucius. To this end he
-appointed an envoy to the young prince, with whose character he was
-well acquainted, desiring to renew the ancient league of friendship
-between the two countries. This envoy was charged with thirty-five
-horses, beautifully caparisoned, a large number of curious rarities,
-and twenty-four of the most accomplished courtesans he could procure in
-his dominions. The scheme succeeded; before these seductive damsels,
-the austere etiquette of the court of Lú soon gave way, and fetes,
-comedies, dances, and concerts, took the place of propriety and
-decorum. The presence of the sage soon became irksome to his master,
-and he at last forbid him to come into his sight, having become quite
-charmed with the fair enchantresses, and no longer able to endure the
-remonstrances of his minister.
-
-Confucius, thus disgraced in his own country, and now at the age of
-fifty, left it, and retired to the kingdom of Wei, where he remained
-more than ten years, without seeking to exercise any public office,
-but principally occupied with completing his works, and instructing
-his disciples in his doctrines. During his residence in Wei, he
-frequently made excursions into other states, taking with him such of
-his disciples as chose to accompany him. He was at times applauded
-and esteemed, but quite as often was the object of persecution and
-contempt. More than once his life was endangered. He compared himself
-to a dog driven from his home: “I have the fidelity of that animal,
-and I am treated like it. But what matters the ingratitude of men?
-They cannot hinder me from doing all the good that is appointed me. If
-my precepts are disregarded, I have the consolation in my own breast
-of knowing that I have faithfully performed my duty.” He sometimes
-spoke in a manner that showed his own impression to be that Heaven had
-conferred on him a special commission to instruct the world. When an
-attempt was made on his life, he said, “As Heaven has produced such a
-degree of virtue in me, what can Hwántúi do to me?” On another occasion
-of danger, he said, “If Heaven means not to obliterate this doctrine
-from the earth, the men of Kwáng can do nothing to me.”
-
-At the age of sixty-eight, after an absence of eighteen years,
-Confucius returned to his native country, where he lived a life of
-retirement, employed in putting the finishing hand to his works. In his
-sixty-sixth year, his wife died, and his son, Piyü, mourned for her a
-whole year; but one day overhearing his father say, “Ah! it is carried
-too far;” he dried up his tears. Three years after this, this son also
-died, leaving a son, Tsz’sz’, who afterwards emulated his grandfather’s
-fame as a teacher, and became the author of the Chung Yung, or True
-Medium. The next year, Yen Hwui, the favorite disciple of the sage,
-died, whose loss he bitterly mourned, saying, “Heaven has destroyed me!
-heaven has destroyed me!” He had great hopes of this pupil, and had
-depended upon him to perpetuate his doctrines.
-
-An anecdote is related of him about this time of life, which the
-Chinese regard as highly creditable to their sage. Tsz’kung, one of his
-disciples, was much surprised one morning to meet his master at the
-door, dressed with much elegance and nicety. On asking him where he was
-going, Confucius, with a sigh, replied, “I am going to court, and that
-too, without being invited. I have not been able to resist a feeling
-which possesses me to make a last effort to bring a just punishment
-upon Chin Chen, the usurper of the throne of Tsí. I am prepared by
-purification and fasting, for this audience, so that if I fail, I shall
-not have to accuse myself.” On presenting himself, he was received with
-respect, and immediately admitted to an audience; and the prince of Lú
-asked him what important affair had called him from his retirement.
-Confucius, replied: “Sire, that which I have to communicate, alike
-concerns all kings. The perfidious Chin Chen has imbued his hands in
-the blood of his legitimate sovereign, Kien. You are a prince; your
-state borders upon Tsí; Kien was your ally, and originally of the same
-race as yourself. Any one of these reasons is sufficient to authorize
-you to declare war against Chin Chen, and all of them combined make
-it your duty to take up arms. Assemble your forces and march to
-exterminate a monster whom the earth upholds with regret. This crime
-is such that it cannot be pardoned, and, in punishing it, you will at
-once avenge an outrage against heaven, from which every king derives
-his power; against royalty, which has been profaned by this perfidy;
-against a parent, to whom you are allied by ties of blood, alliance and
-friendship.”
-
-The prince, convinced of the criminality of Chin Chen, applauded the
-just indignation which inspired the heart of Confucius, but suggested
-that before he entered upon such an enterprise, it would be best to
-confer with his ministers. “Sire,” said the philosopher, “I have
-acquitted myself of a duty in laying this case before you; but it
-will be useless to insist upon it before your ministers, whom I know
-are disinclined to enter into my views. Reflect, I pray you, as a
-sovereign, upon what I now propose, and consult only with yourself as
-to its execution. Your servants are not sovereigns, and have no other
-than their own ends to gain, to which they sometimes sacrifice the good
-of their master and the glory of the state. I have no other end in view
-than to support the cause of justice; and I conjure you, by the sacred
-names of justice and good order, to go and exterminate this miscreant
-from the earth, and, by restoring the throne of Tsí to its rightful
-owner, to exhibit to the world your justice, and strike a salutary
-terror into the hearts of all who may wish to imitate this successful
-villany.” On leaving, the prince said to Confucius, “I will think
-seriously on what you have said, and, if it be possible, will carry it
-into execution.”
-
-Towards the end of his days, when he had completed his revision of the
-Five Classes, he, with great solemnity, dedicated them to Heaven. He
-assembled all his disciples and led them out of the town to one of the
-hills where sacrifices had been usually offered for many years. He here
-erected a table, or altar, upon which he placed the books; and then,
-turning his face to the north, adored Heaven, and returned thanks upon
-his knees, in a humble manner, for having had life and strength granted
-him to enable him to accomplish this laborious undertaking; he implored
-heaven to grant that the benefit to his countrymen from so arduous a
-labor might not be small. He had prepared himself for this ceremony by
-privacy, fasting and prayer. Chinese pictures of this scene represent
-the sage in the attitude of supplication, and a pencil of light, or
-a rainbow, descending from the sky upon the books, while his scholars
-stand around in admiring wonder.
-
-In his seventy-third year, a few days before his death, leaning upon
-his staff, Confucius tottered about the house, singing out,—
-
-
-    “The great mountain is broken!
-     The strong beam is thrown down!
-     The wise man is decayed!”
-
-
-He then related a dream he had had the night before, to his pupil,
-Tsz’kung, which he regarded as a presage of his own death; and, after
-keeping his bed seven days, he died on the 18th day of the second
-month, and was buried in the same grave with his wife. Tsz’kung mourned
-for him six years in a shed erected by the side of his grave, and then
-returned home. His death occurred 479 B. C., the year of the battle of
-Platæa, in Greece, and about seven years before the birth of Socrates.
-Many events of great importance happened during his life, in western
-countries, of which the return of the Jews, and building of the second
-temple, Xerxes’ invasion of Greece, the expulsion of the kings from
-Rome, the conquest of Egypt, and establishment of the Persian monarchy
-in its fullest extent, were the most important.
-
-Posthumous honors in great variety have been conferred upon Confucius.
-Soon after his death, the prince of Lú entitled him _Ní fú_, or father
-Ní; which under the reign of Lintí, of the Hán dynasty, 197 B. C., was
-changed to _Ní kung_, or duke _Ní_, and his portrait was ordered to be
-hung up in the public school. By the emperors of the Tang dynasty it
-was made _sien shing_, the ancient sage. He was next styled the royal
-preacher, and his effigy clad in king’s robes, and a crown put on
-its head. The Ming dynasty called him the most holy ancient teacher,
-Kungtsz’, which title is now continued to him. His descendants have
-continued to dwell in Shántung province, and the heads of the family
-have enjoyed the rank of nobility, being almost the only hereditary
-noblemen in the empire out of the imperial kingdom. They are called
-Yenshing kung. In the reign of Kánghí, one hundred and twenty years
-ago, the descendants of the sage numbered eleven thousand males; the
-present is said to be the seventy-fourth generation. The chief of the
-family is commonly called the “holy duke,” and enjoys all the honors
-of a prince. Whenever he visits the court, the emperor receives him
-with almost the same respect and ceremony as he does ambassadors from
-foreign countries. P. Amiot relates that he was honored with a call
-from him, upon one of his visits to court. “He was a pleasant and
-modest man, whom knowledge had not filled with conceit. He received,
-when he came to our house, some religious books, which we offered
-him in exchange for some Chinese books he gave us. His name was Kung
-Chauhán, and he was of the seventy-first generation in direct descent
-from the sage,—in all probability the oldest family in the world, of
-which the regular descent can be traced.” In the Life of Confucius,
-written by Amiot, which forms one of the volumes of the _Mémoires sur
-les Chinoises_, there is a brief account of each of these heads of
-this family, with notices of other distinguished persons belonging to
-the house.
-
-In every district in the empire there is a temple dedicated to
-Confucius, and his name is usually suspended in every school-room in
-the land, and incense is burned before it morning and evening by the
-scholars. Adoration is paid to him by all ranks. In 1457, Jentsung,
-of the Ning dynasty, set up a copper statue of the sage in one of the
-halls of the palace, and ordered his officers, whenever they came to
-the palace, to go to this room, and respectfully salute Confucius
-before speaking of the affairs of state, even if the monarch were
-present. But this custom was represented to another emperor as tending
-to the worship of images, like the Budhists; and on that account the
-memorialist represented that simple tablets, inscribed with the name of
-him who was worshipped, were much better. This advice was followed; the
-statues of Confucius and his disciples were suppressed, by order of the
-emperor Chítsung, in 1530, and simple tablets have since been set up in
-the temples erected to his name.
-
-The writings of Confucius, as might be expected are held in great
-veneration, and regarded as the best books in the language. He revised
-all the ancient books, containing the precepts of the kings and
-emperors of former times, and left them pretty much as they are at the
-present day. He explained the Yi King, or Book of Changes, commented
-upon the Lí Kí, or Book of Rites, and compiled the Shí King, or Book
-of Odes. He composed the Shú King, or Book of Records, and the Chun
-Tsaú, or Spring and Autumn Annals,—so called, it is said, because the
-commendations contained therein are life-giving, like spring, and the
-reproofs are life-withering, like autumn. The books are collectively
-called the Wú King, or Five Classics. The Hiáu King, or Memoir on
-Filial Duty; the Chung yung, or True Medium; the Tái Hióh, or Superior
-Lessons, and the Lun Yü, or Conversations of Confucius, are all
-considered, by the Chinese, as containing the doctrines of the sage;
-the first one is sometimes ascribed to his own pen. The last three,
-with the work of Mencius, constitute the Sz Shü, or Four Books, and
-were arranged in their present form by Ching fútsz, about eight hundred
-years ago.
-
-The leading features of the morality of Confucius are, subordination
-to superiors, and kind, upright dealing with our fellow-men. From the
-duty, honor, and obedience owed by a child to his parents, he proceeds
-to inculcate the obligations of wives to their husbands, of subjects
-to their prince, and of ministers to their king, while he makes him
-amenable to Heaven. These principles are perpetually inculcated in
-the Confucian writings, and are imbodied in solemn ceremonials, and
-apparently trivial forms of mere etiquette. And, probably, it is this
-feature of his ethics which has made him such a favorite with all the
-governments of China for many centuries past, and at this day. These
-principles, and these forms, are early instilled into young minds,
-and form their conscience; the elucidation and enforcement of these
-principles and forms is the business of students who aspire to be
-magistrates or statesmen; and it is no doubt owing in great part, to
-the force of these principles on the national mind and habits, that
-China holds steadfastly together—the largest associated population
-in the world. Every one is interested in upholding doctrines which
-give him power over those under him; and as the instruction of his
-own youthful days has given him the habit of obedience and respect
-to all his superiors, so now, when he is a superior, he exacts the
-same obedience from his juniors, and public opinion accords it to
-him. The observance of such principles has tended to consolidate the
-national mind of China in that peculiar uniformity which has been
-remarked by those who have known this people. It has also tended to
-restrain all independence of thought, and keep even the most powerful
-intellects under an incubus which, while they were prevented by outward
-circumstances from getting at the knowledge of other lands was too
-great for their unassisted energies to throw off. It cannot be doubted
-that there have been many intellects of commanding power among the
-Chinese, but ignorance of the literature and condition of other nations
-has led them to infer that there was nothing worthy of notice out of
-their own borders, and to rest contented with explaining and enforcing
-the maxims of their sage.
-
-Confucius must be regarded as a great man, if superiority to the times
-in which one lives is a criterion of greatness. The immense influence
-he has exercised over the minds of his countrymen cannot, perhaps,
-be regarded as conclusive evidence of his superiority; but no mind
-of weak or ordinary powers could have stamped its own impress upon
-other minds as he has done. He never rose to those sublime heights of
-contemplation which Plato attained, nor does his mind seem to have been
-of a very discursive nature. He was content with telling his disciples
-how to act, and encouraging them to make themselves and others better,
-by following the rules he gave; not leading them into those endless
-disquisitions and speculations, upon which the Greek moralists so
-acutely reasoned, but which exercised no power over the conscience and
-life. The leading features of his doctrines have been acknowledged by
-mankind the world over, and are imbodied in their most common rules
-of life. “Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God,” is a
-direction of inspired Writ; and, so far as he knew these duties, he
-inculcated them. He said little or nothing about spirits or gods, nor
-did he give any directions about worshipping them; but the veneration
-for parents, which he enforced, was, in fact, idolatrous, and has since
-degenerated into the grossest idolatry.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-Transcriber’s Note:
-
-Italics are indicated by _underscores_.
-Small capitals have been rendered in full capitals.
-Footnote is placed to the end of chapter.
-Ligatures [oe] have been converted into oe.
-A number of minor spelling errors have been corrected without note.
-
-
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-<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Famous Men of Ancient Times, by S. G. Goodrich</div>
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
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-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
-at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
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-country where you are located before using this eBook.
-</div>
-<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Famous Men of Ancient Times</div>
-<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: S. G. Goodrich</div>
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 23, 2016 [eBook #52400]<br />
-[Most recently updated: June 27, 2022]</div>
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div>
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-produced from images generously made available by The
-Internet Archive)</div>
-<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAMOUS MEN OF ANCIENT TIMES ***</div>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%" >
-<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Cover" style="width: 70%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-
-
-<h1>FAMOUS MEN<br />
-<small><small>OF</small></small><br />
-<big>ANCIENT TIMES.</big></h1>
-
-<p class="center">BY</p>
-<p class="p02"><big><big>S. G. GOODRICH.</big></big></p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p class="center">BOSTON:</p>
-<p class="center">THOMPSON, BROWN &amp; COMPANY.</p>
-<p class="center"><span class="smcap">23 Hawley Street.</span></p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<h2>PREFACE</h2>
-
-
-<p>The reader of these pages will perhaps remark, that
-the length of the following sketches is hardly proportioned
-to the relative importance of the several subjects, regarded
-in a merely historical point of view. In explanation of this
-fact, the author begs leave to say, that, while he intended to
-present a series of the great beacon lights that shine along
-the shores of the past, and thus throw a continuous gleam
-over the dusky sea of ancient history,&mdash;he had still other
-views. His chief aim is moral culture; and the several
-articles have been abridged or extended, as this controlling
-purpose might be subserved.</p>
-
-<p>It may be proper to make one observation more. If the
-author has been somewhat more chary of his eulogies upon
-the great men that figure in the pages of Grecian and Roman
-story, than is the established custom, he has only to plead in
-his vindication, that he has viewed them in the same light&mdash;weighed
-them in the same balance&mdash;measured them by the
-same standard, as he should have done the more familiar characters
-of our own day, making due allowance for the times
-and circumstances in which they acted. He has stated the
-results of such a mode of appreciation; yet if the master
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span>spirits of antiquity are thus shorn of some portion of their
-glory, the writer still believes that the interest they excite is
-not lessened, and that the instruction they afford is not
-diminished. On the contrary, it seems to him that the
-study of ancient biography, if it be impartial and discriminating,
-is one of the most entertaining and useful to which
-the mind can be applied.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 30%" >
-<img src="images/004.jpg" alt="flower" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
-
-
-<table class="toc" summary="Contents">
-<tr>
-  <th class="toctit"></th>
-  <th class="tocpag">PAGE</th>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_7">Mohammed</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">7</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_25">Belisarius</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">25</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_60">Attila</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">60</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_68">Nero</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">68</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_74">Seneca</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">74</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_83">Virgil</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">83</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_95">Cicero</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">95</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_130">Julius Cæsar</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">130</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_145">Hannibal</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">145</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_157">Alexander</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">157</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_183">Aristotle</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">183</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_197">Demosthenes</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">197</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_209">Apelles</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">209</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_213">Diogenes</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">231</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_218">Plato</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">218</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_229">Socrates</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">229</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_244">Alcibiades</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">244</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_252">Democritus</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">252</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_256">Pericles</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">256</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_261">Aristides</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">261</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_264">Æsop</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">264</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_271">Solon</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">271</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_277">Lycurgus</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">277</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_282">Homer</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">282</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_291">Confucius</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">291</td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 30%" >
-<img src="images/006.jpg" alt="flower" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<p class="p20"><b><big><big><big>FAMOUS MEN OF ANCIENT TIMES</big></big></big></b></p>
-
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%" >
-<img src="images/007.jpg" alt="Mohammed" style="width: 70%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>MOHAMMED.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This individual, who has exercised a greater influence
-upon the opinions of mankind than any other
-human being, save, perhaps, the Chinese philosopher
-Confucius, was born at Mecca, in Arabia, A. D. 570.
-He was the only son of Abdallah, of the noble line
-of Hashem and tribe of Koreish&mdash;descendants of Ishmael
-the reputed progenitor of the Arabian race.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The Koreishites were not only a commercial people,
-and rich by virtue of their operations in trade, but
-they were the hereditary guardians of the Caaba, or
-Kaaba, a heathen temple at Mecca. The custody of
-this sacred place, together with all the priestly offices,
-belonged to the ancestors of Mohammed.</p>
-
-<p>The Mohammedan authors have embellished the
-birth of the prophet with a great variety of wonderful
-events, which are said to have attended his introduction
-into the world. One of these is, that the Persian
-sacred fire, kept in their temples, was at once extinguished
-over all Arabia, accompanied by the diffusion
-of an unwonted and beautiful light. But this and
-other marvels, we leave to the credulity of the prophet’s
-followers.</p>
-
-<p>Mohammed’s father died early, and his son came
-under the guardianship of his uncle, Abu Taleb. He
-was a rich merchant, who was accustomed to visit
-the fairs of Damascus, Bagdad, and Bassora&mdash;three
-great and splendid cities, and Mohammed often accompanied
-him to these places. In his twelfth year,
-Mohammed took part in an expedition against the
-wandering tribes that molested the trading caravans.
-Thus, by travelling from place to place, he acquired
-extensive knowledge, and, by being engaged in warlike
-enterprise, his imagination became inflamed with
-a love of adventure and military achievements. If
-we add to this, that he had naturally a love of solitude,
-with a constitutional tendency to religious abstraction;
-and if, moreover, we consider that in his
-childhood he had been accustomed to behold the wild
-exercises, the dark ceremonies, and hideous rites of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>the temple of Caaba&mdash;we shall at once see the elements
-of character, and the educational circumstances, which
-shaped out the extraordinary career of the founder of
-Islamism.</p>
-
-<p>It appears that Mohammed was remarkable for
-mental endowments, even in his youth, for, in a religious
-conversation with a Nestorian monk, at Basra,
-he showed such knowledge and talent, that the monk
-remarked to his uncle, that great things might be
-expected of him. He was, however, attentive to business,
-and so completely obtained the confidence of his
-uncle, as a merchant, that he was recommended as a
-prudent and faithful young man, to Khadijah, a rich
-widow, who stood in need of an agent to transact her
-business and manage her affairs. In this capacity
-he was received, and so well did he discharge his
-duties, that he not only won the confidence of the
-widow, but finally obtained her hand in marriage.
-This event took place when he was about twenty-five
-years old, Khadijah being almost forty.</p>
-
-<p>Mohammed was now rich, and, though he continued
-to carry on mercantile business, he often retired
-to a cave, called Heva, near Mecca, where he resided.
-He also performed several journeys to different parts
-of Arabia and Syria, taking particular pains to gather
-religious information, especially of learned Jews and
-Christians.</p>
-
-<p>For some time, Mohammed, who lived happily
-with his wife, confided to her his visits to the cave
-Heva, professing to enjoy interviews with Heaven
-there, by means of dreams and trances, in which he
-met and conversed with the angel Gabriel. There is
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>little doubt that his habits of religious retirement and
-gloomy reflection had unsettled his judgment, and that
-he now gave himself up to the guidance of an overwrought
-fancy. It is probable, therefore, that he
-believed these visions to be of divine inspiration;
-else, why should he first communicate them, as realities,
-to his wife?</p>
-
-<p>Soon after this, he informed other members of his
-family of his visions, and, being now about forty years
-old, assumed with them, the character and profession
-of a prophet. Several of his friends, particularly his
-wife, and his cousin Ali, a young man of great energy
-of character, yielded to the evidence he gave of his
-divine mission. Having been silently occupied about
-three years in converting his nearest friends, he invited
-some of the most illustrious men of the family of
-Hashem to his house, and, after conjuring them to
-abandon their idolatry, for the worship of <span class="smcap">One God</span>,
-he openly proclaimed his calling, and set forth, that,
-by the commands of Heaven, revealed through the
-angel Gabriel, he was prepared to impart to his countrymen
-the most precious gift&mdash;the only means of
-future salvation.</p>
-
-<p>Far from being convinced, the assembly was struck
-silent with mingled surprise and contempt. The
-young and enthusiastic Ali, alone, yielded to his pretences,
-and, falling at his feet, offered to attend him,
-in good or evil, for life or for death. Several of the
-more sober part of the assembly sought to dissuade
-Mohammed from his enterprise; but he replied with
-a lofty fervor, that if the sun were placed in his right
-hand, and the moon in his left, with power over the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>
-kingdoms they enlighten, he would not, should not,
-could not hesitate or waver in his course.</p>
-
-<p>Inflamed by the opposition he met with among
-this assembly, Mohammed now went forth, and, wherever
-he could find crowds of people, there he announced
-his mission. In the temples, in the public
-squares, streets, and market-places, he addressed the
-people, laying claim to the prophetic character, and
-setting forth the duty of rejecting idolatry, for the
-worship of one God. The people were struck with
-his eloquence, his majesty of person, the beautiful
-imagery he presented to their minds, and the sublime
-sentiments he promulgated. Even the poet Lebid is
-said to have been converted by the wonderful beauty
-and elevation of the thoughts poured forth by the professed
-prophet. The people listened, and, though
-they felt the fire of his eloquence, still they were so
-wedded to their idolatries, that few were yet disposed
-to join him.</p>
-
-<p>To aid in understanding the revolution wrought by
-Mohammed, it may be well to sketch the condition
-of the Arabians at that period. The original inhabitants
-of Arabia, though all of one stock, and occupying
-a peninsula 1200 miles in length by 700 in width,
-had been, from time immemorial, divided into a variety
-of distinct tribes. These constituted petty communities
-or states, which, often changing, still left the
-people essentially the same. In the more elevated
-table lands, intersected by mountain ridges, with
-dreary wastes consisting of sandy plains, the people
-continued to pursue a roving life, living partly upon
-their flocks of camels, horses, and horned cattle, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>
-partly upon the robbery of trading caravans of other
-tribes. The people of the plains, being near the water,
-settled in towns, cultivated the soil, and pursued
-commerce.</p>
-
-<p>The various tribes were each governed by the oldest
-or most worthy sheik or nobleman. Their bards
-met once a year, at Okhad, holding a fair of thirty
-days, for the recitation of their productions. That
-which was declared to be the finest, was written in
-gold and suspended in the great temple of Mecca.
-This was almost the only common tie between the
-several states or tribes, for, although they nominally
-acknowledged an emir, or national chief, they had
-never been brought to act in one body.</p>
-
-<p>The adoration of the Arabians consisted chiefly in
-the worship of the heavenly luminaries; but they had
-a great variety of deities, these being personifications
-of certain powers in nature, or passions in mankind.
-They were represented by idols of every variety of
-shape, which were gathered around the ancient temple
-of Caaba, at Mecca, a large square edifice, considered
-as the central point of religion, and the favorite
-seat of divinity. Their worship was attended with
-the most horrid rites and shocking ceremonies: even
-children were sacrificed to the idols, and one of the
-tribes was accustomed to bury their daughters alive.
-Except that they fancied the souls of the departed to
-be transformed into owls, hovering in gloom around
-the grave, it does not appear that they had the least
-idea of a future state of existence.</p>
-
-<p>Such was the state of religion among the native
-Arabians. Among the foreign settlers in the towns<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>
-there were a few followers of the Greek and Roman
-philosophy; the Christians were never numerous.
-These latter were divided into a variety of sects, and
-those belonging to the Greek church, advocated monasteries,
-and were addicted to the worship of images,
-martyrs and relics. Some of these, even elevated the
-Virgin Mary into a deity, and addressed her as the
-third person in the Trinity.</p>
-
-<p>Mohammed, while he no doubt looked with horror
-upon this state of things, having studied the Bible,
-and clearly comprehended its sublime revelation of
-one God, conceived the idea of uniting the people of
-his native land under a religion of which this fundamental
-principle should constitute the basis. His
-purpose was to crush idolatry, and restore the lost
-worship of the true God. How far he was sincere,
-and how far he was an impostor, we cannot venture
-to affirm. It is probable that he was a religious enthusiast,
-deceived by his own fancies, and, perhaps,
-really believing his own visions. At the outset of
-his career, it is likely that he acted in good faith,
-while he was himself deluded. When he had advanced
-so far as to see power and dominion offered to
-his grasp, it is probable that his integrity gave way,
-and that thenceforward we are to consider him as
-under the alternate guidance of craft and fanaticism.</p>
-
-<p>Several of the nobles citizens of Mecca were finally
-converted by Mohammed. Khadijah was now dead,
-and the prophet had married Ayesha, the daughter
-of Abubeker, a man of great influence, and who exercised
-it in favor of his son-in-law. Yet the new faith
-made little progress, and a persecution of its votaries<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>
-arose, which drove them to Abyssinia, and caused
-Mohammed himself to fly for safety to Medina. This
-flight is called the Hegira, and, taking place in the
-year 622, is the epoch from which Mohammedan
-chronology is computed, as is ours from the birth of
-Christ.</p>
-
-<p>At Medina, whither his tenets had been carried by
-pilgrims, Mohammed was received with open arms.
-He was met by an imposing procession, and invested
-at once with the regal and sacerdotal office. The
-people also offered him assistance in propagating his
-faith, even by force, if it should be required. From
-this moment, a vast field seems to have been opened
-to the mind of Mohammed. Hitherto, he may have
-been but a self-deceived enthusiast; but now, ambition
-appears to have taken at least partial possession
-of his bosom. His revelations at once assumed a
-higher tone. Hitherto he had chiefly inculcated the
-doctrine of one God, eternal, omnipotent, most powerful
-and most merciful, together with the practical
-duties of piety, prayer, charity, and pilgrimages. He
-now revealed, as a part of his new faith, the duty of
-making war, even with the sword, to propagate Islamism,
-and promised a sensual paradise to those who
-should fall in doing battle in its behalf. At the same
-time he announced that a settled fate or destiny hung
-over every individual, which he could not by possibility
-alter, evade, or avert.</p>
-
-<p>He now raised men, and proceeded, sword in hand,
-to force the acknowledgment of his pretensions. With
-alternate victory and defeat, he continued to prosecute
-his schemes, and at last fell upon the towns and cas<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>tles
-of the peaceful and unwarlike Jews. These
-were soon taken and plundered. But the prophet
-paid dearly for his triumph. A Jewish female, at the
-town of Chaibar, gave him poison in some drink, and,
-though he survived, he never fully recovered from
-the effects of the dose.</p>
-
-<p>Thus advancing with the tribes settled in his own
-country, the power of the ambitious apostle increased
-like the avalanche in its overwhelming descent.
-Mecca was conquered, and yielded as well to his faith
-as to his arms. He now made expeditions to Palestine
-and Syria, while his officers were making conquests
-in all directions. His power was soon so
-great, that he sent messages to the kings of Egypt,
-Persia, and Ethiopia, and the emperor of Constantinople,
-commanding them to acknowledge the divine
-law revealed through him.</p>
-
-<p>At last, in the tenth year of the Hegira, he proceeded
-on a farewell pilgrimage to Mecca. The
-scene was imposing beyond description. He was
-attended by more than a hundred thousand of his
-followers, who paid him the greatest reverence.
-Everything in dress, equipage and imposing ceremony
-that could enhance the splendor of the pageant,
-and give it sanctity in the eyes of the people, was
-adopted. This was the last great event of his life.</p>
-
-<p>Mohammed had now become too powerful to be
-resisted by force, but not too exalted to be troubled
-by competition. His own example in assuming the
-sacred character of an apostle and prophet, and the
-brilliant success which had attended him, gave a hint
-to others of the probable means of advancing them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>selves
-to a similar pitch of dignity and dominion.
-The spirit of emulation, therefore, raised up a fellow-prophet
-in the person of Moseilama, called to this day
-by the followers of Islam “the lying Moseilama,” a
-descendant of the tribe of Honeifa, and a principal
-person in the province of Yemen.</p>
-
-<p>This man headed an embassy sent by his tribe to
-Mohammed, in the ninth year of the Hegira, and then
-professed himself a Moslem; but on his return home,
-pondering on the nature of the new religion and the
-character and fortunes of its founder, the sacrilegious
-suggestion occurred to him, that by skilful management
-he might share with his countryman in the glory
-of a divine mission; and, accordingly, in the ensuing
-year he began to put his project in execution. He
-gave out that he, also, was a prophet sent of Heaven,
-having a joint commission with Mohammed to recall
-mankind from idolatry to the worship of the true God.
-He, moreover, aped his model so closely as to publish
-written revelations resembling the Koran, pretended
-to have been derived from the same source.</p>
-
-<p>Having succeeded in gaining a considerable party,
-from the tribe of Honeifa, he at length began to put
-himself still more nearly upon a level with the prophet
-of Medina, and even went so far as to propose to Mohammed
-a partnership in his spiritual supremacy.
-His letter commenced thus: “From Moseilama, the
-apostle of God, to Mohammed, the apostle of God.
-Now let the earth be half mine and half thine.” But
-the latter, feeling himself too firmly established to
-stand in need of an associate, deigned to return him
-only the following reply: “From Mohammed, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>
-apostle of God, to Moseilama, the liar. The earth is
-God’s: he giveth the same for inheritance unto such
-of his servants as he pleaseth; and the happy issue
-shall attend those who fear him.”</p>
-
-<p>During the few months that Mohammed lived after
-this, Moseilama continued, on the whole, to gain
-ground, and became at length so formidable, as to
-occasion extreme anxiety to the prophet, now rapidly
-sinking under the effects of disease. An expedition,
-under the command of Caled, the “Sword of God,”
-was ordered out to suppress the rival sect headed by
-the spurious apostle, and the bewildered imagination
-of Mohammed, in the moments of delirium, which
-now afflicted him, was frequently picturing to itself
-the results of the engagement between his faithful
-Moslems and these daring apostates.</p>
-
-<p>The army of Caled returned victorious. Moseilama
-himself, and ten thousand of his followers, were
-left dead on the field; while the rest, convinced by
-the shining evidence of truth that gleamed from the
-swords of the conquerors, renounced their errors, and
-fell quietly back into the bosom of the Mohammedan
-church. Several other insurgents of similar pretences,
-but of minor consequence, were crushed in like
-manner in the early stages of their defection.</p>
-
-<p>We have now reached the period at which the
-religion of Mohammed may be considered as having
-become permanently established. The conquest of
-Mecca and of the Koreishites had been, in fact, the
-signal for the submission of the rest of Arabia; and
-though several of the petty tribes offered, for a time,
-the show of resistance to the prophet’s arms, they
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>were all eventually subdued. Between the taking of
-Mecca and the period of Mohammed’s death, somewhat
-more than three years elapsed. In that short
-period he had destroyed the idols of Arabia; had
-extended his conquests to the borders of the Greek
-and Persian empires; had rendered his name formidable
-to those once mighty kingdoms; had tried his
-arms against the disciplined troops of the former, and
-defeated them in a desperate encounter at Muta.</p>
-
-<p>His throne was now firmly established; and an
-impulse given to the Arabian nation, which induced
-them to invade, and enabled them to conquer, a large
-portion of the globe. India, Persia, the Greek empire,
-the whole of Asia Minor, Egypt, Barbary, and
-Spain, were eventually reduced by their victorious
-arms. Mohammed himself did not indeed live to see
-such mighty conquests achieved, but he commenced
-the train which resulted in this wide-spread dominion,
-and, before his death, had established over the
-whole of Arabia, and some parts of Asia, the religion
-which he had devised.</p>
-
-<p>And now, having arrived at the sixty-third year of
-his age, and the tenth of the Hegira, A. D. 632, the
-fatal effects of the poison, which had been so long
-rankling in his veins, began to discover themselves
-more and more sensibly, and to operate with alarming
-virulence. Day by day, he visibly declined, and it
-was evident that his life was hastening to a close.
-For some time previous to the event, he was conscious
-of its approach, and is said to have viewed and awaited
-it with characteristic firmness. The third day before
-his dissolution, he ordered himself to be carried to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>
-the mosque, that he might, for the last time, address
-his followers, and bestow upon them his parting
-prayers and benedictions. Being assisted to mount
-the pulpit, he edified his brethren by the pious tenor
-of his dying counsels, and in his own example taught
-a lesson of humility and penitence, such as we shall
-scarcely find inculcated in the precepts of the Koran.</p>
-
-<p>“If there be any man,” said the prophet, “whom
-I have unjustly scourged, I submit my own back to
-the lash of retaliation. Have I aspersed the reputation
-of any Mussulman? let him proclaim my fault
-in the face of the congregation. Has any one been
-despoiled of his goods? the little that I possess shall
-compensate the principal and the interest of the debt.”
-“Yes,” replied a voice from the crowd, “thou owest
-me three drachms of silver!” Mohammed heard the
-complaint, satisfied the demand, and thanked his
-creditor that he had accused him in this world, rather
-than at the day of judgment. He then set his slaves
-at liberty, seventeen men and eleven women; directed
-the order of his funeral; strove to allay the
-lamentations of his weeping friends, and waited the
-approach of death. He did not expressly nominate
-a successor, a step which would have prevented the
-altercations that afterwards came so near to crushing
-in its infancy the religion and the empire of the Saracens;
-but his appointment of Abubeker to supply
-his place in the function of public prayer, and the
-other services of the mosque, seemed to intimate indirectly
-the choice of the prophet. This ancient and
-faithful friend, accordingly, after much contention,
-became the first Caliph of the Saracens, though his
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>reign was closed by his death at the end of two
-years.</p>
-
-<p>The death of Mohammed was hastened by the
-force of a burning fever, which deprived him at times
-of the use of reason. In one of these paroxysms of
-delirium, he demanded pen and paper, that he might
-compose or dictate a divine book. Omar, who was
-watching at his side, refused his request, lest the
-expiring prophet might dictate something which
-should supersede the Koran. Others, however, expressed
-a great desire that the book might be written;
-and so warm a dispute arose in the chamber of the
-apostle that he was forced to reprove their unbecoming
-vehemence. The writing was not performed,
-and many of his followers have mourned the loss of
-the sublime revelations which his dying visions might
-have bequeathed to them.</p>
-
-<p>The favorite wife of the prophet, Ayesha, hung
-over her husband in his last moments, sustaining his
-drooping head upon her knee, as he lay stretched
-upon the carpet; watching with trembling anxiety
-his changing countenance, and listening to the last
-broken sounds of his voice. His disease, as it drew
-towards its termination, was attended at intervals
-with most excruciating pains, which he constantly
-ascribed to the fatal morsel taken at Chaibar; and as
-the mother of Bashar, his companion who had died
-upon the spot from the same cause, stood by his side,
-he exclaimed, “O mother of Bashar, the cords of my
-heart are now breaking of the food which I ate with
-your son at Chaibar.” In his conversation with those
-around him, he mentioned it as a special prerogative<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>
-granted to him, that the angel of death was not allowed
-to take his soul till he had respectfully asked permission
-of him, and this permission he condescendingly
-granted. Recovering from a swoon into which
-the violence of his pains had thrown him, he raised
-his eyes towards the roof of the house, and with faltering
-accents exclaimed, “O God! pardon my sins.
-Yes, I come among my fellow-laborers on high!”
-His face was then sprinkled with water, by his own
-feeble hand, and shortly after he expired.</p>
-
-<p>The city, and more especially the house of the
-prophet, became at once a scene of sorrowful but
-confused lamentation. Some of his followers could
-not believe that he was dead. “How can he be dead,
-our witness, our intercessor, our mediator with God?
-He is not dead. Like Moses and Jesus, he is wrapped
-in a holy trance, and speedily will he return to his
-faithful people.” The evidence of sense was disregarded,
-and Omar, brandishing his scimitar, threatened
-to strike off the heads of the infidels who should
-affirm that the prophet was no more. The tumult
-was at length appeased, by the moderation of Abubeker.
-“Is it Mohammed,” said he, “or the God of
-Mohammed, whom ye worship? The God of Mohammed
-liveth forever, but the apostle was a mortal
-like ourselves, and, according to his own prediction,
-he hath experienced the common fate of mortality.”</p>
-
-<p>The prophet’s remains were deposited at Medina,
-in the very room where he breathed his last, the floor
-being removed to make way for his sepulchre, and a
-simple and unadorned monument was, some time after,
-erected over them. The house itself has long since<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>
-mouldered, or been demolished, but the place of the
-prophet’s interment is still made conspicuous to the
-superstitious reverence of his disciples. The story
-of his relics being suspended in the air, by the power
-of loadstone in an iron coffin, and that too at Mecca,
-instead of Medina, is a mere idle fabrication. His
-tomb at the latter place has been visited by millions
-of pilgrims, and, from the authentic accounts of travellers
-who have visited both these holy cities in disguise,
-we learn that it is constructed of plain mason
-work, fixed without elevation upon the surface of the
-ground. The urn which encloses his body is protected
-by a trellis of iron, which no one is permitted
-to pass.</p>
-
-<p>The Koran or Alkoran, meaning <i>the Book</i>, is a collection
-of all the various fragments which the prophet
-uttered during the period in which he professed to
-exercise the apostolic office. They were originally
-written on scattered leaves, but they were collected
-by Abubeker, two years after Mohammed’s death.
-They are in the purest and most refined dialect of
-Arabia, and are distinguished by extraordinary graces
-of style.</p>
-
-<p>The Koran furnishes not only the divinity, but the
-civil law of the Mohammedans. It professes to contain
-the revelation of God’s will by Gabriel to Mohammed,
-and through him to mankind. One of the
-books gives an account of the translation of the
-prophet by night to the third heaven, upon a winged
-animal, named Alborak, and resembling an ass, where
-he saw unutterable things. The great doctrines of the
-Koran, as before stated, are the existence of one supreme<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>
-God, to whom alone adoration and obedience are due.
-It declares that the divine law was faithfully delivered
-by Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Christ. It
-declares the immortality of the soul of man, and the
-final judgment, and sets forth that the good are to
-dwell in everlasting bliss, amid shady and delicious
-groves, and attended by heavenly virgins. The hope
-of salvation is not confined to the Moslem, but is extended
-to all who believe in God and do good works.
-Sinners, particularly unbelievers, are to be driven
-about in a dark burning hell, forever.</p>
-
-<p>The practical duties enjoined by the Koran, are the
-propagation of Islamism, and prayers directed to the
-temple of Mecca, at five different periods of the day,
-together with fasting, alms, religious ablutions, pilgrimages
-to Mecca, &amp;c. It allows a man but four
-wives, though the prophet had seventeen, and it is
-curious to add that all were widows, save one. It
-strongly prohibits usury, gaming, wine and pork.</p>
-
-<p>We cannot deny to Mohammed the possession of
-extraordinary genius. He was a man of great eloquence,
-and the master of a beautiful style of composition;
-and he possessed that majesty of person,
-which, united to his mental qualities, gave him great
-ascendancy over those who came into his presence.
-He lived in a dark age, amid a benighted people; yet,
-without the aids of education, he mastered the religious
-systems of the day, and took a broad and sagacious
-view of the moral and political condition of
-the people of Asia. He conceived the sublime idea
-of uniting, by one mighty truth, the broken fragments
-of his own nation, and the destruction of idolatry by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>
-the substitution of the worship of one God. It is true,
-that he sought to accomplish these ends by unlawful
-means&mdash;by imposture, and the bloody use of the
-sword; we must admit, also, that he was licentious
-and although we cannot fail to condemn his character,
-we must acknowledge the splendor of his abilities and
-allow that while he imposed on his followers, he
-established a faith infinitely above Paganism, and
-sprinkled with many rays of light from the fountain
-of Divine Truth.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/024.jpg" alt="tent" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/025.jpg" alt="Belisarius" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>BELISARIUS.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This celebrated general, to whom the emperor Justinian
-is chiefly indebted for the glory of his reign,
-was a native of Germania, on the confines of Thrace,
-and was born about the year 505. It is probable that
-he was of noble descent, liberally educated, and a
-professor of the Christian faith. The first step in his
-military career was an appointment in the personal
-guard of Justinian, while that prince was yet heir
-apparent to the throne.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The Roman or Byzantine empire, at this period,
-embraced almost exactly the present territory of the
-Turkish dominions in Europe and Asia Minor, with
-the addition of Greece&mdash;Constantinople being its capital.
-Italy was held by the Goths; Corsica, Sardinia
-and Barbary in Africa, by the Vandals.</p>
-
-<p>Justin I., an Illyrian peasant, having distinguished
-himself as a soldier, had become emperor. His education
-was of course neglected, and such was his
-ignorance, that his signature could only be obtained
-by means of a wooden case, which directed his pen
-through the four first letters of his name. From his
-accession, the chief administration of affairs devolved
-on Justinian, his nephew and intended heir, whom
-he was reluctantly compelled to raise from office to
-office, and at length to acknowledge as his partner on
-the throne. His death, after a languid reign of nine
-years and a life of nearly fourscore, left Justinian
-sole sovereign in name, as well as in fact.</p>
-
-<p>In order to appreciate the life and actions of Belisarius,
-it is necessary to understand the character of
-the new emperor, during whose long reign his great
-exploits were performed. The first act of Justinian
-on ascending the throne, was to marry a dissolute
-actress, named Theodora, who, though licentious,
-avaricious, cruel and vindictive, soon acquired an
-almost complete control over him. His mind was
-essentially feeble and inconstant, and, though his
-Christian faith was doubtless sincere, it was less fruitful
-of virtues than of rites and forms. At his accession
-his treasury was full; but it was soon exhausted
-by his profuseness, and heavy taxes were imposed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>
-offices put to sale, charities suppressed, private fortunes
-seized, and, in short, every act of rapacity, injustice
-and oppression, practised by his ministers, to
-support the wasteful magnificence of the court.</p>
-
-<p>The troops of the empire at this period were by no
-means what they had been in the time of Scipio and
-Cæsar. They consisted, to a great extent, of foreign
-mercenaries, and were divided into squadrons according
-to their country; thus destroying all unity of feeling,
-and annihilating that national spirit which once
-made the Roman arms the terror of the world. These
-hired troops, which greatly outnumbered the native
-soldiers, marched under their own national banner,
-were commanded by their own officers, and usually
-followed their own military regulations. The inefficiency
-of such mingled and discordant forces, is obvious;
-yet it was under such a system that Belisarius
-entered upon his military career.</p>
-
-<p>With a feeble and corrupt government, an ill-appointed
-and trustless army, the Roman empire was
-still surrounded with powerful enemies. It is scarcely
-possible to conceive of a great nation in a condition
-of more complete debility and helplessness, than was
-the kingdom of the Cæsars, at the period in which
-Belisarius appears upon the active stage of life.</p>
-
-<p>Kobad, king of Persia, after a long cessation of hostilities,
-renewed the war toward the close of Justin’s
-reign, by the invasion of Iberia, which claimed the
-protection of the emperor. At this period, Belisarius,
-being about twenty years of age, had the command
-of a squadron of horse, and was engaged in some of
-the conflicts with the Persian forces, on the borders<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>
-of Armenia. In conjunction with an officer named
-Sittas, he ravaged a large extent of territory, and
-brought back a considerable number of prisoners.</p>
-
-<p>On a second incursion, however, they were less
-fortunate; for, being suddenly attacked by the Persian
-forces, they were entirely defeated. It appears
-that Belisarius incurred no blame, for he was soon
-after promoted to the post of governor of Dara, and
-the command of the forces stationed there. It was at
-this place that he chose Procopius, the historian, as
-his secretary, and who afterwards repaid his kindness
-by a vain attempt to brand his name with enduring
-infamy.</p>
-
-<p>Soon after Belisarius obtained the command of
-Dara, Justinian came to the throne, and enjoined it
-upon his generals to strengthen the defences of the
-empire in that quarter. This was attempted, but the
-Persians baffled the effort. Belisarius was now appointed
-general of the East, being commander-in-chief
-of the whole line of the Asiatic frontier. Foreseeing
-that a formidable struggle was soon to ensue, he
-applied himself to the raising and disciplining an
-army. He traversed the neighboring provinces in
-person, and at last succeeded in mustering five and
-twenty thousand men. These, however, were without
-discipline, and their spirit was depressed by the
-ill success that had long attended the Roman arms.</p>
-
-<p>In this state of things, the news suddenly came,
-that 40,000 men, the flower of the Persian army,
-commanded by Firouz, was marching upon Dara.
-Confident of victory, the Persian general announced
-his approach, by the haughty message that a bath
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>should be ready for him at Dara the next evening.
-Belisarius made no other reply than preparations for
-battle. Fortifying himself in the best manner he was
-able, he awaited the onset; exhorting his men, however,
-by every stimulating motive he could suggest,
-to do honor to the name and fame of Rome.</p>
-
-<p>The battle began by a mutual discharge of arrows,
-so numerous as to darken the air. When the quivers
-were exhausted, they came to closer combat. The
-struggle was obstinate and bloody; and the Persians
-were already about to win the victory, when a body
-of horse, judiciously stationed behind a hill by Belisarius,
-rushed forward, and turned the tide of success.
-The Persians fled, and the triumph of Belisarius was
-complete. They left their royal standard upon the
-field of battle, with 8000 slain. This victory had a
-powerful effect, and decided the fate of the campaign.</p>
-
-<p>The aged Kobad, who had conceived a profound
-contempt for the Romans, was greatly irritated by the
-defeat of his troops. He determined upon a still
-more powerful effort, and the next season sent a formidable
-army to invade Syria. Belisarius, with a
-promptitude that astounded he enemy, proceeded to
-the defence of this province, and, with an inferior
-force, compelled the Persian army to retreat. Obliged
-at length, by his soldiers, against his own judgment,
-to give battle to the enemy, he suffered severely, and
-only avoided total defeat by the greatest coolness and
-address. Even the partial victory of the enemy was
-without advantage to them, for they were obliged to
-retreat, and abandon their enterprise. Soon after this
-event, Kobad died, in his eighty-third year, and his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>
-successor, Nushirvan, concluded a treaty of peace
-with Justinian.</p>
-
-<p>The war being thus terminated, Belisarius took up
-his residence at Constantinople, and here became the
-second husband of Antonina, who, though the child
-of an actress, had contracted an exalted marriage on
-account of her beauty, and having filled a high office,
-enjoyed the rank and honors of a patrician. While
-thus raised above the dangerous profession of her
-mother, she still adhered to the morals of the stage.
-Though openly licentious, she obtained through her
-bold, decided, and intriguing character, aided by remarkable
-powers of fascination, a complete ascendancy
-over Belisarius. It is seldom that a man is great in
-all respects, and the weakness of the general whose
-history we are delineating, was exhibited in a blind
-and submissive attachment to this profligate woman.</p>
-
-<p>A singular outbreak of popular violence occurred
-about this period, which stained the streets of Constantinople
-with blood, and threatened for a time to
-hurl Justinian from his throne. The fondness of the
-Romans for the amusements of the circus, had in no
-degree abated. Indeed, as the gladiatorial combats
-had been suppressed, these games were frequented
-with redoubled ardor. The charioteers were distinguished
-by the various colors of red, white, blue, and
-green, intending to represent the four seasons. Those
-of each color, especially the blue and green, possessed
-numerous and devoted partisans, which became at
-last connected with civil and religious prejudices.</p>
-
-<p>Justinian favored the Blues, who became for that
-reason the emblem of royalty; on the other hand, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>
-Greens became the type of disaffection. Though
-these dangerous factions were denounced by the statutes,
-still, at the period of which we speak, each party
-were ready to lavish their fortunes, risk their lives,
-and brave the severest sentence of the laws, in support
-of their darling color. At the commencement of
-the year 532, by one of those sudden caprices which
-are often displayed by the populace, the two factions
-united, and turned their vengeance against Justinian.
-The prisons were forced, and the guards massacred.
-The city was then fired in various parts, the cathedral
-of St. Sophia, a part of the imperial palace, and
-a great number of public and private buildings, were
-wrapped in conflagration. The cry of “<i>Nika! Nika!</i>”
-Vanquish! Vanquish! ran through every part of the
-capital.</p>
-
-<p>The principal citizens hurried to the opposite shore
-of the Bosphorus, and the emperor entrenched himself
-within his palace. In the mean time, Hypatius,
-nephew of the emperor Anastatius, was declared emperor
-by the rioters, and so formidable had the insurrection
-now become, that Justinian was ready to
-abdicate his crown. For the first and last time, Theodora
-seemed worthy of the throne, for she withstood
-the pusillanimity of her husband, and, through her
-animated exhortations, it was determined to take the
-chance of victory or death.</p>
-
-<p>Justinian’s chief hope now rested on Belisarius.
-Assisted by Mundus, the governor of Illyria, who
-chanced to be in the capital, he now called upon the
-guards to rally in defence of the emperor; but these
-refused to obey him. Meanwhile, by another caprice
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>the party of the Blues, becoming ashamed of their
-conduct, shrunk one by one away, and left Hypatius
-to be sustained by the Greens alone.</p>
-
-<p>These were dismayed at seeing Belisarius, issuing
-with a few troops which he had collected, from
-the smoking ruins of the palace. Drawing his sword,
-and commanding his veterans to follow, he fell upon
-them like a thunderbolt. Mundus, with another division
-of soldiers, rushed upon them from the opposite
-direction. The insurgents were panic-struck, and
-dispersed in every quarter. Hypatius was dragged
-from the throne which he had ascended a few hours
-before, and was soon after executed in prison. The
-Blues now emerged from their concealment, and,
-falling upon their antagonists, glutted their merciless
-and ungovernable vengeance. No less than thirty
-thousand persons were slain in this fearful convulsion.</p>
-
-<p>We must now turn our attention to Africa, in which
-the next exploits of Belisarius were performed. The
-northern portion of this part of the world, known to
-us by the merited by-word of Barbary, hardly retains
-a trace of the most formidable rival and opulent province
-of Rome. After the fall of Jugurtha, at the
-commencement of the second century, it had enjoyed
-a long period of prosperity and peace&mdash;having escaped
-the sufferings which had fallen upon every
-other portion of the empire. The Africans in the fifth
-century were abounding in wealth, population, and
-resources. During the minority of Valentinian, Boniface
-was appointed governor of Africa. Deceived by
-Ætius into a belief of ingratitude on the part of the
-government at home, he determined upon resistance,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>and with this view, concluded a treaty with the Vandals
-in the southern portion of Spain.</p>
-
-<p>These, embarking from Andalusia, whose name
-still denotes their former residence, landed at the
-opposite cape of Ceuta, A. D. 429. Their leader was
-the far-famed Genseric, one of the most able, but most
-lawless and bloody monarchs recorded in history.
-Of a middle stature, and lamed by a fall from his
-horse, his demeanor was thoughtful and silent; he
-was contemptuous of luxury, sudden in anger, and
-boundless in ambition. Yet his impetuosity was
-always guided and restrained by cunning. He well
-knew how to tempt the allegiance of a foreign nation,
-to cast the seeds of future discord, or to rear them to
-maturity.</p>
-
-<p>The barbarians on their passage to Africa consisted
-of 50,000 fighting men, with a great crowd of women
-and children. Their progress through the African
-province was rapid and unopposed, till Boniface, discovering
-the artifices of Ætius, and the favorable disposition
-of the government of Rome, bitterly repented
-the effects of his hasty resentment. He now endeavored
-to withdraw his Vandal allies; but he found it
-less easy to allay, than it had been to raise, the storm.
-His proposals were haughtily rejected, and both parties
-had recourse to arms. Boniface was defeated, and
-in the event, Genseric obtained entire possession of
-the Roman provinces in Africa.</p>
-
-<p>Carthage, which had risen from its ruins at the
-command of Julius Cæsar and been embellished by
-Diocletian, had regained a large share of its former
-opulence and pride, and might be considered, at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>
-time of which we speak, the second city in the western
-empire. Making this his capital, Genseric proceeded
-to adopt various measures to increase his
-power, and, among others, determined upon the creation
-of a naval force. With him, project and performance
-were never far asunder. His ships soon rode
-in the Mediterranean, and carried terror and destruction
-in their train. He annexed to his kingdom the
-Balearic islands, Corsica and Sardinia; the last of
-which was afterwards allotted by the Vandals as a
-place of exile or imprisonment for captive Moors;
-and during many years, the ports of Africa were what
-they became in more recent days, the abode of fierce
-and unpunished pirates.</p>
-
-<p>With every returning spring, the fleet of Genseric
-ravaged the coasts of Italy and Sicily, and even of
-Greece and Illyria, sometimes bearing off the inhabitants
-to slavery, and sometimes levelling their cities
-to the ground. Emboldened by long impunity, he
-attacked every government alike. On one occasion,
-when sailing from Carthage, he was asked by the
-pilot of his vessel to what coast he desired to steer&mdash;“Leave
-the guidance to God,” exclaimed the stern
-barbarian; “God will doubtless lead us against the
-guilty objects of his anger!”</p>
-
-<p>The most memorable achievement of Genseric, the
-sack of Rome in 455, is an event too much out of the
-track of our narrative to be detailed here. We can
-only pause to state, that, after spending a fortnight in
-that great metropolis, and loading his fleets with its
-spoils, he returned to Africa, bearing the Empress
-Eudocia thither, as his captive. She was, at length,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>
-released, but one of her daughters was compelled by
-Genseric to accept his son in marriage.</p>
-
-<p>The repeated outrages of the Vandal king at length
-aroused the tardy resentment of the court of Constantinople,
-and Leo I., then emperor, despatched an army
-against him, consisting of nearly one hundred thousand
-men, attended by the most formidable fleet that
-had ever been launched by the Romans. The commander
-was a weak man, and being cheated into a
-truce of five days by Genseric, the latter took advantage
-of a moment of security, and, in the middle of
-the night, caused a number of small vessels, filled with
-combustibles, to be introduced among the Roman
-ships. A conflagration speedily ensued; and the
-Romans, starting from their slumbers, found themselves
-encompassed by fire and the Vandals. The
-wild shrieks of the perishing multitude mingled with
-the crackling of the flames and the roaring of the
-winds; and the enemy proved as unrelenting as the
-elements. The greater part of the fleet was destroyed,
-and only a few shattered ships, and a small number
-of survivors, found their way back to Constantinople.</p>
-
-<p>A peace soon followed this event, which continued
-uninterrupted till the time of Justinian. Genseric
-died in 477, leaving his kingdom to his son Hunneric.
-About the year 530, Gelimer being upon the Vandal
-throne, Justinian began to meditate an expedition
-against him. His generals, with the exception of
-Belisarius, were averse to the undertaking. The same
-feeling was shared by many of the leading men about
-the court, and in an assembly, in which the subject
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>was under discussion, Justinian was about to yield to
-the opposition, when a bishop from the east earnestly
-begged admission to his presence.</p>
-
-<p>On entering the council chamber he exhorted the
-emperor to stand forth as the champion of the church,
-and, in order to confirm him in the enterprise, he
-declared that the Lord had appeared to him in a
-vision, saying, “I will march before him in his battles,
-and make him sovereign of Africa.” Men seldom
-reject a tale, however fantastic, which coincides with
-their wishes or their prepossessions. All the doubts
-of Justinian were at once removed; he commanded a
-fleet and army to be forthwith equipped for this sacred
-enterprise, and endeavored still further to insure its
-success by his austerity in fasts and vigils. Belisarius
-was named supreme commander, still retaining
-his title as General of the East.</p>
-
-<p>In the month of June, A. D. 533, the Roman armament,
-consisting of five hundred transports, with twenty
-thousand sailors, and nearly the same number of soldiers,
-became ready for departure. The general
-embarked, attended on this occasion by Antonina and
-his secretary, the historian Procopius, who, at first,
-had shared in the popular fear and distaste of the
-enterprise, but had afterwards been induced to join it
-by a hopeful dream. The galley of Belisarius was
-moored near the shore, in front of the imperial palace,
-where it received a last visit from Justinian, and a
-solemn blessing from the patriarch of the city. A
-soldier recently baptized was placed on board, to secure
-its prosperous voyage; its sails were then unfurled,
-and, with the other ships in its train, it glided<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>
-down the straits of the Bosphorus, and gradually
-disappeared from the lingering gaze of the assembled
-multitude.</p>
-
-<p>With a force scarcely one fourth as strong as that
-which was annihilated by Genseric, about seventy
-years before, Belisarius proceeded upon his expedition.
-Having touched at Sicily and Malta, he proceeded to
-the coast of Africa, where he landed in September,
-about one hundred and fifty miles from Carthage, and
-began his march upon that city. He took several
-towns, but enforcing the most rigid discipline upon
-his troops, and treating the inhabitants with moderation
-and courtesy, he entirely gained their confidence
-and good will. They brought ample provisions to
-his camp, and gave him such a reception as might be
-expected rather by a native than a hostile army.</p>
-
-<p>When the intelligence of the landing and progress
-of the Romans reached Gelimer, who was then at
-Hermione, he was roused to revenge, and took his
-measures with promptitude and skill. He had an
-army of eighty thousand men, the greater part of
-whom were soon assembled, and posted in a defile
-about ten miles from Carthage, directly in the route
-by which Belisarius was approaching. Several severe
-skirmishes soon followed, in which the Vandals
-were defeated.</p>
-
-<p>The main army now advanced, and a general engagement
-immediately ensued. In the outset, the
-Vandals prevailed, and the Romans were on the eve
-of flying, defeated, from the field. A pause on the
-part of Gelimer was, however, seized upon by Belisarius
-to collect and rally his forces, and with a united<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>
-effort he now charged the Vandal army. The conflict
-was fierce, but brief: Gelimer was totally defeated,
-and, with a few faithful adherents, he sought safety
-in flight. Knowing that the ruinous walls of Carthage
-could not sustain a siege, he took his way to
-the deserts of Numidia.</p>
-
-<p>All idea of resistance was abandoned; the gates
-of Carthage were thrown open, and the chains across
-the entrance of the port were removed. The Roman
-fleet soon after arrived, and was safely anchored in
-the harbor. On the 16th September, Belisarius made
-a solemn entry into the capital. Having taken every
-precaution against violence and rapacity, not a single
-instance of tumult or outrage occurred, save that a
-captain of one of the vessels plundered some of the
-inhabitants, but was obliged to restore the spoil he
-had taken. The soldiers marched peaceably to their
-quarters; the inhabitants continued to pursue their
-avocations; the shops remained open, and, in spite of
-the change of sovereigns, public business was not for
-a moment interrupted! Belisarius took up his quarters
-in the palace of Gelimer, and in the evening held
-a sumptuous banquet there, being attended by the
-same servants who had so lately been employed by
-the Vandal king.</p>
-
-<p>With his usual activity, Belisarius immediately
-applied himself to the restoration of the ruinous ramparts
-of the city. The ditch was deepened, the
-breaches filled, the walls strengthened, and the whole
-was completed in so short a space as to strike the
-Vandals with amazement. Meanwhile, Gelimer was
-collecting a powerful army at Bulla, on the borders
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>of Numidia at the distance of four days’ journey
-from Carthage.</p>
-
-<p>Having placed the capital in a proper state for defence,
-at the end of three months from its capture,
-Belisarius led forth his army, leaving only five hundred
-troops to guard the city. Gelimer was now
-within twenty miles of the capital, having raised an
-army of one hundred thousand men. No sooner had
-the Romans taken up their march toward his camp,
-than they prepared for battle. The armies soon met,
-and Belisarius, having determined to direct all his
-endeavors against the centre of the Vandal force,
-caused a charge to be made by some squadrons of the
-horse guards. These were repulsed, and a second
-onset, also, proved unsuccessful.</p>
-
-<p>But a third prevailed, after an obstinate resistance.
-The ranks of the enemy were broken; Zazo, the
-king’s brother, was slain, and consternation now completed
-the rout of the Vandals. Gelimer, under the
-influence of panic, betook himself to flight; his absence
-was perceived, and his conduct imitated. The
-soldiers dispersed in all directions, leaving their camp,
-their goods, their families, all in the hands of the
-Romans. Belisarius seized upon the royal treasure
-in behalf of his sovereign, and in spite of his commands,
-the licentious soldiers spent the night in debauchery,
-violence and plunder.</p>
-
-<p>Gelimer fled to the mountains of Papua, inhabited
-by a savage but friendly tribe of Moors. He sought
-refuge in the small town of Medenus, which presented
-a craggy precipice on all sides. Belisarius returned
-to Carthage, and sent out various detachments,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>which rapidly subdued the most remote portions of
-the Vandal kingdom.</p>
-
-<p>Immediately after the capture of Carthage, he had
-despatched one of his principal officers to Justinian,
-announcing these prosperous events. The intelligence
-arrived about the time that the emperor had completed
-his <i>pandects</i>.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> The exultation of the monarch is
-evinced by the swelling titles he assumes in the preamble
-of these laws. All mention of the general by
-whom his conquests had been achieved, is carefully
-avoided; while the emperor is spoken of as the
-“pious,” “happy,” “victorious,” and “triumphant!”
-He even boasts, in his Institutes, of the warlike fatigues
-he had borne, though he had never quitted the luxurious
-palace of Constantinople, except for recreation
-in some of his neighboring villas.</p>
-
-<p>While the Roman general was actively employed
-at Carthage, Pharus was proceeding in the siege of
-Medenus, which had been begun immediately after the
-flight of Gelimer. Pent up in this narrow retreat,
-the sufferings of the Vandal monarch were great, from
-the want of supplies and the savage habits of the
-Moors. His lot was likewise embittered by the recollection
-of the soft and luxurious life to which he had
-lately been accustomed.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p>
-<p>During their dominion in Africa, the Vandals had
-declined from their former hardihood, and yielded to
-the enervating influence of climate, security and success.
-Their arms were laid aside; gold embroidery
-shone upon their silken robes, and every dainty from
-the sea and land were combined in their rich repasts.
-Reclining in the shade of delicious gardens, their
-careless hours were amused by dancers and musicians,
-and no exertion beyond the chase, interrupted
-their voluptuous repose. The Moors of Papua, on
-the contrary, dwelt in narrow huts, sultry in summer,
-and pervious to the snows of winter. They most
-frequently slept upon the bare ground, and a sheepskin
-for a couch was a rare refinement. The same
-dress, a cloak and a tunic, clothed them at every
-season, and they were strangers to the use of both
-bread and wine. Their grain was devoured in its
-crude state, or at best was coarsely pounded and
-baked, with little skill, into an unleavened paste.</p>
-
-<p>Compelled to share this savage mode of life, Gelimer
-and his attendants began to consider captivity, or
-even death, as better than the daily hardships they
-endured. To avail himself of this favorable disposition,
-Pharus, in a friendly letter, proposed a capitulation,
-and assured Gelimer of generous treatment
-from Belisarius and Justinian. The spirit of the
-Vandal prince, however, was still not wholly broken,
-and he refused the offers, while acknowledging the
-kindness of his enemy. In his answer he entreated
-the gifts of a lyre, a loaf of bread, and a sponge, and
-his messenger explained the grounds of this singular
-petition. At Medenus, he had never tasted the food of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>civilized nations, he wished to sing to music an ode
-on his misfortunes written by himself, and a swelling
-on his eyes needed a sponge for its cure. The brave
-Roman, touched with pity that such wants should be
-felt by the grandson and successor of Genseric, forthwith
-sent these presents up the mountain, but by no
-means abated the watchfulness of his blockade.</p>
-
-<p>The siege had already continued for upwards of
-three months, and several Vandals had sunk beneath
-its hardships, but Gelimer still displayed the stubborn
-inflexibility usual to despotic rulers, when the sight
-of a domestic affliction suddenly induced him to yield.
-In the hovel where he sat gloomily brooding over his
-hopeless fortunes, a Moorish woman was preparing, at
-the fire, some coarse dough. Two children, her son
-and the nephew of Gelimer, were watching her progress
-with the eager anxiety of famine. The young
-Vandal was the first to seize the precious morsel, still
-glowing with heat, and blackened with ashes, when
-the Moor, by blows and violence, forced it from his
-mouth. So fierce a struggle for food, at such an age,
-overcame the sternness of Gelimer. He agreed to
-surrender on the same terms lately held out to him,
-and the promises of Pharus were confirmed by the
-Roman general, who sent Cyprian as his envoy to
-Papua. The late sovereign of Africa reentered his
-capital as a suppliant and a prisoner, and at the suburb
-of Aclas, beheld his conqueror for the first time.</p>
-
-<p>With the capitulation of Gelimer, the Vandal was
-at an end. There now remained to Belisarius
-but the important task of making the conquered countries
-permanently useful to the Romans. But, while
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>occupied in this design, his glory having provoked
-envy, he was accused to Justinian of the intention of
-making himself king over the territories he had conquered.
-With the weakness of a little mind, the
-emperor so far yielded to the base accusation as to
-send a message to Belisarius, indicating his suspicions.
-The latter immediately departed from Carthage,
-and, taking with him his spoils and captives,
-proceeded to Constantinople.</p>
-
-<p>This ready obedience dissipated the suspicions of
-the emperor, and he made ample and prompt reparation
-for his unfounded jealousy. Medals were struck
-by his orders, bearing on one side the effigy of the
-emperor, and on the other that of the victorious general,
-encircled by the inscription, <i>Belisarius, the glory
-of the Romans</i>. Beside this, the honors of a triumph
-were decreed him, the first ever witnessed in the Eastern
-capital.</p>
-
-<p>The ceremony was in the highest degree imposing.
-The triumphal procession marched from the house
-of Belisarius to the hippodrome,<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> filled with exulting
-thousands, where Justinian and Theodora sat
-enthroned. Among the Vandal captives, Gelimer was
-distinguished by the purple of a sovereign. He shed
-no tears, but frequently repeated the words of Solomon,
-“Vanity of vanities: all is vanity.” When he
-reached the imperial throne, and was commanded
-to cast aside the ensigns of royalty, Belisarius hastened
-to do the same, to show him that he was to
-undergo no insult as a prisoner, but only to yield the
-customary homage of a subject. We may pause for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>
-a moment to reflect upon the caprices of fortune,
-which had raised a comedian, in the person of Theodora,
-to see the successor of Genseric and Scipio
-prostrate as slaves before her footstool.</p>
-
-<p>Both the conqueror and captive experienced the
-effects of imperial generosity. The former received
-a large share of the spoil as his reward, and was
-named consul for the ensuing year. To the Vandal
-monarch, an extensive estate in Galatia was assigned,
-to which he retired, and, in peaceful obscurity, spent
-the remainder of his days.</p>
-
-<p>We must now turn our attention to Italy. Theodoric
-the Great, the natural son of Theodomir, king
-of the Ostrogoths, became the master of Italy toward
-the close of the fifth century. The Gothic dominion
-was thus established in the ancient seat of the Roman
-empire, and the king of the Goths was seated
-upon the throne of the Cæsars.</p>
-
-<p>Theodoric has furnished one of the few instances
-in which a successful soldier has abandoned warlike
-pursuits for the duties of civil administration, and,
-instead of seeking power by his arms, has devoted himself
-to the improvement of his kingdom by a peaceful
-policy. Upright and active in his conduct, he enforced
-discipline among his soldiers, and so tempered
-his general kindness by acts of salutary rigor, that he
-was loved as if indulgent, yet obeyed as if severe.
-He applied himself to the revival of trade, the support
-of manufactures, and the encouragement of agriculture.</p>
-
-<p>At the death of this great monarch, in 526, his
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>grandson, Athalaric, then only ten years of age, became
-king. After a nominal reign of eight years he
-died in consequence of his dissipations, and was succeeded
-by Theodatus, the nephew of Theodoric.
-This prince having attained the throne by the murder
-of Amalasontha, the widow of Theodoric, Justinian
-regarded him as an usurper stained with an atrocious
-crime, and therefore determined to drive him from
-his throne.</p>
-
-<p>Accordingly, a force of twelve thousand men was
-despatched to Italy under Belisarius. Landing at
-Catania, in Sicily, they surprised the Goths, and had
-little difficulty in reducing the island. Fixing his
-head quarters at Syracuse, he was making preparations
-to enter the heart of Italy, when a messenger
-came to inform him that a serious insurrection had
-broken out at Carthage. He immediately set out for
-that place. On his arrival the insurgents fled, but
-Belisarius pursued them, overtook them, and, though
-their force was four times as great as his own, they
-were completely defeated in a pitched battle. Returning
-to Carthage, the Roman general was informed by
-a messenger from Sicily that a formidable mutiny
-had broken out in his army there. He immediately
-embarked, and soon restored his troops to order and
-discipline.</p>
-
-<p>The rapid conquest of Sicily by Belisarius struck
-terror into the heart of king Theodatus, who was weak
-by nature, and depressed by age. He was therefore
-induced to subscribe an ignominious treaty with Justinian,
-some of the conditions of which forcibly display
-the pusillanimity of one emperor, and the vanity
-of the other. Theodatus promised that no statue
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>should be raised to his honor, without another of Justinian
-at his right hand, and that the imperial name
-should always precede his own in the acclamations
-of the people, at public games and festivals: as if the
-shouts of the rabble were matter for a treaty!</p>
-
-<p>But even this humiliating compact was not sufficient
-for the grasping avarice of Justinian. He required
-of Theodatus the surrender of his throne,
-which the latter promised; but before the compact
-could be carried into effect, he was driven from his
-throne, and Vittiges, a soldier of humble birth, but
-great energy and experience, was declared his successor.
-Establishing his head quarters at Ravenna,
-the Gothic king was making preparations to sustain
-his cause, when Belisarius, who had taken Naples,
-was invited to Rome by Pope Sylverius. Taking
-advantage of this opportunity, he immediately advanced,
-and triumphantly entered the “eternal city.”</p>
-
-<p>Rome had now been under the dominion of its
-Gothic conquerors for sixty years, during which it
-had enjoyed the advantages of peace and prosperity.
-It had been the object of peculiar care, attention, and
-munificence, and had received the respect due to the
-ancient mistress of the world. Still, the people at
-large looked upon their rulers as foreigners and barbarians,
-and desired the return of the imperial sway,
-seeming to forget that they were preferring a foreign
-to a native government.</p>
-
-<p>Belisarius lost no time in repairing the fortifications
-of Rome, while he actively extended his conquests in
-the southern parts of Italy. His military fame was
-now a host, and most of the towns submitted, either<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>
-from a preference of the Byzantine government, or
-respect for the military prowess of the Roman general.</p>
-
-<p>The great achievements of Belisarius strike us with
-wonder, when we consider the feeble means with
-which they were accomplished. His force at the outset
-of his invasion of Italy did not exceed 12,000
-men. These were now much reduced by the bloody
-siege of Naples, and by his subsequent successes,
-which made it necessary to supply garrisons for the
-captured towns.</p>
-
-<p>Vittiges, in his Adriatic capital, had spent the winter
-in preparations, and when the spring arrived, he
-set forth with a powerful army. Knowing the small
-force of Belisarius, he hurried forward towards Rome,
-fearing only that his enemy should escape by flight.
-The genius of Belisarius never shone with greater
-lustre than at this moment. By numerous devices
-he contrived to harass the Gothic army in their march,
-but owing to the flight of a detachment of his troops
-whom he had stationed at one of the towers, to delay
-their progress, they at last came upon him by surprise.</p>
-
-<p>He was at the moment without the city, attended
-by only a thousand of his guards, when suddenly he
-found himself surrounded by the van of the Gothic
-cavalry. He now displayed not only the skill of a
-general, but the personal courage and prowess of a
-soldier. Distinguished by the charger whom he had
-often rode in battle&mdash;a bay with a white face&mdash;he
-was seen in the foremost ranks, animating his men to
-the conflict. “That is Belisarius,” exclaimed some
-Italian deserters, who knew him. “Aim at the bay!”
-was forthwith the cry through the Gothic squadrons
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>and a cloud of arrows was soon aimed at the conspicuous
-mark. It seemed as if the fate of Italy was felt
-to be suspended upon a single life&mdash;so fierce was the
-struggle to kill or capture the Roman leader.</p>
-
-<p>Amid the deadly strife, however, Belisarius remained
-unhurt; and it is said that more of the army
-fell that day by his single arm, than by that of any
-other Roman. His guards displayed the utmost courage
-and devotion to his person, rallying around him,
-and raising their bucklers on every side, to ward off
-the showers of missiles that flew with deadly aim at
-his breast. Not less than a thousand of the enemy
-fell in the conflict&mdash;a number equal to the whole Roman
-troop engaged in the battle. The Goths at
-length gave way, and Belisarius, with his guards, reentered
-the city.</p>
-
-<p>On the morrow, March 12th, A. D. 537, the memorable
-siege of Rome began. Finding it impossible,
-even with their vast army, to encircle the entire walls
-of the city, which were twelve miles in length, the
-Goths selected five of the fourteen gates, and invested
-them. They now cut through the aqueducts, in
-order to stop the supply of water, and several of them,
-having never been repaired, remain to this day, extending
-into the country, and seeming like the “outstretched
-and broken limbs of an expiring giant.”</p>
-
-<p>Though the baths of the city were stopped, the
-Tiber supplied the people with water for all needful
-purposes. The resources and activity of Belisarius
-knew no bounds: yet he had abundant occasion for
-all the advantages these could supply. The relative
-smallness of his force, the feebleness of the defences<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>
-the fickleness and final disaffection of the people, the
-intrigues of Vittiges, and his vastly superior army
-constituted a web of difficulties which would have
-overwhelmed any other than a man whose genius
-could extort good from evil, and convert weakness into
-strength.</p>
-
-<p>For a whole year, the encircling walls of Rome
-were the scenes of almost incessant attack and defence.
-The fertile genius of Vittiges suggested a
-thousand expedients, and the number as well as courage
-of his troops enabled him to plan and execute a
-variety of daring schemes. Yet he was always baffled
-by his vigilant rival, and his most elaborate
-devices were rendered fruitless by the superior genius
-of the Roman general. At last, on the 21st of March,
-A. D. 538, foreseeing that Belisarius was about to
-receive reinforcements, and despairing of success in
-the siege, Vittiges withdrew his army, suffering in
-his retreat a fearful massacre, from a sally of the
-Roman troops.</p>
-
-<p>Vittiges retired to Ravenna, and Belisarius soon
-invested it. While he was pressing the siege, Justinian,
-probably alarmed by the threats of the Persian
-king, entered into a treaty with the ambassadors of
-Vittiges, by which he agreed to a partition of Italy,
-taking one half himself, and allowing the Gothic king
-to retain the other portion. Belisarius refused to ratify
-this treaty, and soon after, was pressed by the
-Goths to become their king. Vittiges even joined in
-this request, and Belisarius had now the easy opportunity
-of making himself the emperor of the West,
-without the remotest fear of failure. But he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>
-too deeply impressed with his oath of allegiance, to
-allow him to entertain a treacherous design toward
-his sovereign, and he rejected the tempting offer.
-The merit of his fidelity under these circumstances,
-is heightened by the consideration that he had refused
-the ratification of the treaty, and was well aware that
-reproach, or even hostility, might await him at Constantinople.</p>
-
-<p>Soon after these events, Ravenna capitulated, and
-Belisarius became its master. His fame was now at
-its height; but this only served to inflame the envy
-of his rivals at Constantinople. These, insidiously
-working upon the suspicious temper of Justinian, induced
-him to command the return of Belisarius to
-Constantinople. With prompt obedience, he embarked
-at Ravenna, carrying with him his Gothic captives
-and treasure. After five years of warfare, from the
-foot of Etna to the banks of the Po, during which he
-had subdued nearly the same extent of country which
-had been acquired by the Romans in the first five
-centuries from the building of that city, he arrived at
-Constantinople.</p>
-
-<p>The voice of envy was silenced for a time, and
-Belisarius was appointed to the command of the army
-now about to proceed against the Persians. The captive
-monarch of the Goths was received with generous
-courtesy by the emperor, and an ample estate was
-allotted to him in Asia. Justinian gazed with admiration
-on the strength and beauty of the Gothic captives&mdash;their
-fair complexions, auburn locks, and lofty
-stature. A great number of these, attracted by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>
-fame and character of Belisarius, enlisted in his
-guards.</p>
-
-<p>In the spring of the year 540, Chosroes or Nushirvan,
-the Persian king, invaded the Roman provinces
-in the east. The next year Belisarius proceeded
-against him, and took his station at Dara. Here,
-instead of a well-appointed army, he found only a
-confused and discordant mass of undisciplined men.
-After various operations, being baffled by the treachery
-or incapacity of his subalterns, he was obliged to
-retreat, and closed a fruitless campaign, by placing
-his men in winter quarters.</p>
-
-<p>Being recalled to Constantinople, he went thither,
-but took the field early in the spring, with the most
-powerful army he had ever commanded. Nushirvan
-advanced into Syria, but, thwarted by the masterly
-man&oelig;uvres of Belisarius, he was at last obliged to
-retreat. Soon after, the Roman general being again
-recalled by Justinian, the most fatal disasters befel
-the Roman army.</p>
-
-<p>During these Persian campaigns, the political security,
-as well as the domestic happiness of Belisarius,
-were shaken by the misconduct of his wife. She
-had long been engaged in an intrigue with Theodosius,
-the young soldier newly baptized as an auspicious
-omen in the galley of the general, upon his departure
-for Africa. Though told of this, Belisarius had been
-pacified by the protestations and artifices of Antonina;
-but while he was absent in Asia Minor, she, being
-left in Constantinople, pursued her licentious career
-with little scruple.</p>
-
-<p>Her son Photius, a gallant young soldier, being a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>
-check upon her conduct, became the object of her
-hatred. While at the distance of a thousand miles,
-during the Persian campaign, he still experienced the
-malignant influence of her intrigues, and urged by a
-sense of duty to his step-father, made him acquainted
-with his mother’s depravity. When she afterwards
-joined her husband on the frontier, he caused her to
-be imprisoned, and sent Photius towards Ephesus to
-inflict summary punishment upon Theodosius. The
-latter was taken captive by Photius, and borne to
-Cilicia.</p>
-
-<p>Antonina, by her convenient intrigues in behalf of
-Theodora, had laid her under great obligations, and
-obtained the greatest influence over her. The empress,
-therefore, now interfered to save her friend.
-Positive injunctions were sent to Cilicia, and both
-Photius and Theodosius were brought to Constantinople.
-The former was cast into a dungeon and tortured
-at the rack; the latter was received with distinction;
-but he soon expired from illness. Photius,
-after a third escape from prison, proceeded to Jerusalem,
-where he took the habit of a monk, and finally
-attained the rank of abbot.</p>
-
-<p>Belisarius and Antonina were summoned to Constantinople,
-and the empress commanded the injured
-husband to abstain from the punishment of his wife.
-He obeyed this order of his sovereign. She next required
-a reconciliation at his hands; but he refused to
-comply with a demand which no sovereign had a
-right to make. He, therefore, remained at Constantinople,
-under the secret displeasure of Theodora and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>
-Justinian, who only wanted some plausible pretext to
-accomplish his ruin.</p>
-
-<p>The invasion of Nushirvan, in the ensuing spring
-impelled the terrified emperor to lay aside his animosity,
-and restore the hero to the direction of the
-eastern armies; but in this campaign, his former
-offence was aggravated, and the glory of saving the
-East was outweighed by the guilt of frankness. Justinian
-was recovering from a dangerous illness; a
-rumor of his death had reached the Roman camp,
-and Belisarius gave an opinion in favor of the emperor’s
-nearest kinsman as his successor, instead of
-acknowledging the pretensions of Theodora to the
-throne. This declaration inflamed with equal anger
-the aspiring wife and the uxorious husband.</p>
-
-<p>Buzes, the second in command, who had concurred
-in these views, was confined in a subterranean dungeon,
-so dark that the difference of day and night was
-never apparent to its inmate. Belisarius himself was
-recalled, with flattering professions of confidence and
-friendship, lest resentment should urge him to rebellion;
-but on his arrival at Constantinople, the mask
-was thrown aside; he was degraded from the rank
-of general of the East; a commission was despatched
-into Asia to seize his treasures; and his personal
-guards, who had followed his standard through so
-many battles, were removed from his command.</p>
-
-<p>It was with mingled feelings of compassion and
-surprise, that the people beheld the forlorn appearance
-of the general as he entered Constantinople, and rode
-along the streets, with a small and squalid train.
-Proceeding to the gates of the palace, he was exposed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>
-during the whole day to the scoffs and insults of the
-rabble. He was received by the emperor and Theodora
-with angry disdain, and when he withdrew, in
-the evening, to his lonely palace, he frequently turned
-round, expecting to see the appointed assassins advancing
-upon him.</p>
-
-<p>In the evening, after sunset, a letter was brought
-him from Theodora, declaring that his life was granted
-and a portion of his fortune spared at the intercession
-of his wife, and she trusted that his future
-conduct would manifest his gratitude to his deliverer.
-The favorable moments of surprise and gratitude were
-improved by Antonina with her usual skill. Thus,
-by the artifices of two designing women, the conqueror
-of armies was subdued, and Belisarius once more
-became the duped and submissive husband.</p>
-
-<p>A fine of three hundred pounds weight of gold was
-levied upon the property of Belisarius, and he was suffered
-for many months to languish in obscurity. In
-544, however, he was appointed to the command of the
-war in Italy, whither he soon proceeded. Here, in
-his operations against far superior forces, he displayed
-the same genius as before, and in February, 547, he
-again entered Rome. He pursued the war with various
-fortune; but at last, finding his means entirely
-inadequate to the necessities of the contest, he begged
-of the emperor either reinforcements or recall. Engrossed
-by religious quarrels, Justinian took the easier
-course, and adopted the latter. Thus, after having
-desolated Italy with all the horrors of war for several
-years, he now abandoned it, from mere weakness and
-caprice.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Belisarius returned to Constantinople, and for several
-years his life affords no remarkable occurrence.
-He continued in the tranquil enjoyment of opulence
-and dignities; but, in the year 559, various warlike
-tribes beyond the Danube, known under the general
-name of Bulgarians, marched southward, and desolated
-several provinces by sword, fire, and plunder.
-Zabergan, their enterprising leader, having passed the
-frozen Danube in the winter, detached one portion
-of his army for the pillage of Greece, and the other
-against the capital.</p>
-
-<p>So sudden and bold an aggression filled Constantinople
-with helpless and despairing terror. The
-people and the senators were agitated with fear, and
-the emperor sat trembling in his palace. In this
-general confusion and affright, all eyes were turned
-with hope to the conqueror of Africa and Italy.
-Though his constitution was broken by his military
-labors, his heart was alive to the call of his country,
-and Belisarius prepared to crown his glorious life by
-a last and decisive battle. He resumed his rusty armor,
-collected a handful of his scattered veterans, and
-in the return of martial spirit he seemed to shake off
-the weakness of decrepitude.</p>
-
-<p>Sallying from the city with three hundred mounted
-men, he met Zabergan at the head of two thousand
-cavalry. Selecting a favorable position, he withstood
-the onset, and, seeming to recover the powers of his
-youth, he astonished all around him by his intrepidity
-and skill. After a severe and bloody struggle, the
-Bulgarians were driven back in the utmost disorder;
-four hundred fell on the field, and Zabergan himself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>
-escaped with difficulty. The whole army of barbarians,
-amounting to many thousands, were seized with
-contagious fear, raised their camp, and retreated to the
-north.</p>
-
-<p>Belisarius was preparing for a close pursuit, when
-again his enemies awaked the suspicions of Justinian
-by suggesting that he was aiming at popular favor
-with disloyal views. The enthusiastic praises of his
-heroic conduct, by the people, turned even the emperor’s
-heart to jealousy, and he chose rather to purchase
-the departure of the barbarians by tribute, than
-to permit Belisarius to obtain new laurels by chastising
-their audacity.</p>
-
-<p>From this period, Belisarius continued under the
-displeasure of Justinian, whose suspicious temper
-seemed to grow more virulent as his faculties sunk in
-the dotage of years. In 563, several conspiracies
-against the life of Justinian were detected, and under
-torture, some of the domestics of Belisarius accused
-their master of participation. This testimony, disproved
-by the long life and the habitually submissive
-loyalty of Belisarius, was sufficient for his conviction.
-He was stripped of his fortune, deprived of his guards,
-and detained as a close prisoner in his palace.</p>
-
-<p>The other conspirators were condemned and executed;
-but, in consideration of the past services of
-Belisarius, the decree of death was changed for that
-of blindness, and his eyes were accordingly put out.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>
-He was now restored to liberty, but, deprived of all
-means of subsistence, he was compelled to beg his
-bread before the gates of the convent of Laurus.
-There he stood with a wooden platter which he held
-out for charity, exclaiming to the passers-by, “Give a
-penny to Belisarius the general!”</p>
-
-<p>The affecting scene was long impressed upon the
-recollection of the people; and it would seem that this
-spectacle of persecuted merit aroused some dangerous
-feelings of indignation and pity, and he was, therefore,
-removed from public view. Belisarius was brought
-back to his former palace, and a portion of his treasures
-was allotted for his use. His death, which was
-doubtless hastened by the grief and hardships of his
-lot, occurred in 565; and Antonina, who survived
-him, devoted the remains of her life and fortune to
-the cloister.</p>
-
-<p>In person, Belisarius was tall and commanding;
-his features regular and noble. When he appeared
-in the streets of Constantinople, he never failed to
-attract the admiration of the people. As a military
-leader, he was enterprising, firm, and fearless. His
-conception was clear, and his judgment rapid and
-decisive. His conquests were achieved with smaller
-means than any other of like extent recorded in history.
-He experienced reverses in the field; but never<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>
-did he fail without strong and sufficient reason. His
-superior tactics covered his defeats, retrieved his losses,
-and prevented his enemies from reaping the fruits of
-victory. Never, even in the most desperate emergencies,
-was he known to lose his courage or presence
-of mind.</p>
-
-<p>Though living in a barbarous and dissolute age,
-Belisarius possessed many shining virtues. In the
-march of his armies, he would avoid the trampling
-of the corn-fields, nor would he allow his soldiers
-even to gather apples from the trees without making
-payment to the villagers. After a victory, it was his
-first care to extend mercy and protection to the vanquished.
-The gift of a golden bracelet or collar
-rewarded any valorous achievement among his troops;
-the loss of a horse or weapon was immediately supplied
-from his private funds; the wounded ever found
-in him a father and a friend. To all, he was open
-and easy of access, and by his courteous demeanor
-often comforted, where he could not relieve. From
-his generosity, one would have deemed him rich;
-from his manners, poor. His private virtues promoted
-and confirmed the discipline of his soldiers. None
-ever saw him flushed with wine, nor could the charms
-of his fairest captives overcome his conjugal fidelity.</p>
-
-<p>But the most remarkable feature in the character
-of Belisarius is his steadfast loyalty, and the noble
-magnanimity with which he overlooked the suspicious
-meanness and ingratitude of his sovereign. It is
-impossible to find in history another instance of an
-individual so strongly induced to rebellion by treacherous
-treatment on the part of his country, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>
-opportunity of placing a crown upon his head without
-the risk of effectual opposition, who refused, from
-patriotic motives, the double temptation.</p>
-
-<p>That Belisarius had faults, is not to be denied. His
-blind submission to his wife displayed great weakness,
-and led him into most of the errors which are charged
-upon his public career. In his last campaign in Italy,
-his wealth having been exhausted by an enormous
-fine, he endeavored to repair his losses by imitating
-the rapacity universally practised by other commanders
-of that period. He thus inflicted upon his memory
-a serious stain, and showed that, however he was
-exalted above the age, he was still a man. His whole
-career affords a striking moral, coinciding with the
-emphatic language of Scripture, “Put not thy trust
-in princes.”</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/059.jpg" alt="ship" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> These were a digest of the civil law of Rome, made by the
-order of Justinian, and have been preserved to our time.
-They contained five hundred and thirty-four decisions or judgments
-of lawyers, to which the emperor gave the force of law.
-The compilation consists of fifty books, and has contributed to
-save Justinian’s name from the contempt and reproach which
-had otherwise been heaped upon it.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> A space where the chariot races were exhibited.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> This portion of the story of Belisarius has been the subject
-of controversy. It has been doubted by Gibbon and other
-historians, whether the infliction of blindness upon Belisarius
-and his beggary, were not mere traditionary fables. But Lord
-Mahon, in his excellent life of the great Roman general from
-which we have drawn the preceding account, appears to have
-established their authenticity. The beautiful tale of Belisarius
-by Marmontel, is fictitious in many of its details.</p>
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span></p></div>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%" >
-<img src="images/060.jpg" alt="Attila" style="width: 70%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>ATTILA, KING OF THE HUNS</h2>
-
-
-<p>This renowned barbarian was the son of Mandras,
-and of a royal line. He served in the army of his uncle,
-Roas, who was king of the Huns. At his death,
-in 433, he succeeded him, sharing the throne with
-his brother Bleda. The Huns at this period were
-very numerous and warlike. They extended over the
-southern part of Russia, and a considerable portion
-of the present empire of Austria. Attila’s kingdom
-lay between the Carpathian mountains and the Danube,
-and was called Pannonia.</p>
-
-<p>At this period, the Roman empire had been for
-more than a century divided into the Eastern and
-Western empire. Theodosius II. was now emperor
-of the former, and Constantinople its capital, while
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>Valentinian III. was emperor of the latter, and Rome,
-or Ravenna, the seat of his government.</p>
-
-<p>Both branches of the Roman empire were now
-sunk in the lap of luxury. They were spread over
-with splendid cities, and enriched with all the refinements
-of art, and all the spoils gathered from every
-quarter of the world. These offered a tempting inducement
-to the fierce and hungry barbarians of the
-north. Alaric<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> had shown the way to Rome a few
-years before, and taught the weakness of the queen of
-the world. Constantinople was not likely to be an
-inferior or more inaccessible prize. Attila’s dominions
-bordered upon those of the two empires, and the
-distance to either capital was not more than five or
-six hundred miles.</p>
-
-<p>Among the first achievements of the two brothers,
-they threatened the Eastern empire with their armies,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>and twice compelled the weak Theodosius to purchase
-peace on humiliating terms. They then extended
-their dominions both east and west, until they
-reigned over the whole country from the Baltic to
-the Caspian Sea.</p>
-
-<p>Attila was regarded by the Huns as their bravest
-warrior, and most skilful general. He performed
-such feats of valor, and success so uniformly attended
-his career, that the ignorant and superstitious people
-were inclined to think him more than mortal. He
-took advantage of this feeling, and pretended that he
-had found the sword of their tutelar god, and that
-with this he intended to conquer the whole earth.
-Being unwilling to hold a divided sceptre, he caused
-his brother Bleda to be murdered, and when he gave
-out that it was done by the command of God, the
-event was celebrated with the greatest demonstrations
-of joy.</p>
-
-<p>Being now sole master of a warlike people, his
-ambition made him the terror of all the surrounding
-nations. It was a saying of his own, that no grass
-grew where his horse had set his foot, and the title
-of the “Scourge of God” was assigned to him, as
-characterizing his career. He extended his dominions
-over the whole of Germany and Scythia. The
-Vandals, the Ostrogoths, and a part of the Franks,
-acknowledged his sway, and both the Eastern and
-Western empires paid him tribute. Historians tell
-us that his army amounted to 700,000 men.</p>
-
-<p>Having heard of the riches of Persia, he directed
-his march against it. Being defeated on the plains
-of Armenia, he turned back, to satisfy his desire of
-plunder in the dominions of the emperor of the East.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>
-Regardless of existing treaties, he laid waste the
-whole country from the Black Sea to the Adriatic.
-In three bloody engagements, he defeated the troops
-sent against him by Theodosius. Thrace, Macedonia,
-and Greece, were overrun by the savage robber,
-and seventy flourishing cities were utterly destroyed.</p>
-
-<p>Theodosius was now at the mercy of the victor
-and was obliged to sue for peace. One of the servants
-of Attila, named Edekon, was tempted by an
-agent of the emperor to undertake the assassination
-of his master, on his return to Pannonia; but, at the
-moment he was about to accomplish his object, his
-courage failed him, he fell on his knees before Attila,
-confessed his criminal design, and disclosed the plot.
-Constantinople trembled at the idea of Attila’s revenge;
-but he was contented with upbraiding Theodosius,
-and the execution of Crisapheus, who had
-drawn his servant into the scheme.</p>
-
-<p>Priscus, a Roman historian, who was an ambassador
-to Attila in the year 448, gives an interesting
-account of the king and his people. He found the
-palace in the midst of a large village. The royal
-edifice was entirely of wood: the houses of the Huns
-were also of wood, sometimes mixed with mortar
-made of earth. The only stone building was a set
-of baths. The wooden pillars of the palace were
-carved and polished, and the ambassador could discover
-some evidence of taste in the workmanship, as
-well as barbarous magnificence in the display of rich
-spoils taken from more civilized nations.</p>
-
-<p>They were soon invited to a sumptuous entertainment,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>in which the guests were all served upon utensils
-of silver and gold; but a dish of plain meat was
-set before the king on a wooden trencher, of which
-he partook very sparingly. His beverage was equally
-simple and frugal. The rest of the company were
-excited into loud and frequent laughter by the fantastic
-extravagances of two buffoons; but Attila preserved
-his usually inflexible gravity. A secret agent
-in the embassy was charged with the disgraceful
-task of procuring the assassination of this formidable
-enemy. Attila was acquainted with this, which was
-the real object of the mission, but he dismissed the
-culprit, as well as his innocent companions, uninjured.
-The emperor Theodosius was compelled, however,
-to atone for his base attempt, by a second embassy,
-loaded with magnificent presents, which the king of
-the Huns was prevailed upon to accept. Theodosius
-died not long after, and was succeeded by the more
-virtuous and able Marcian.</p>
-
-<p>Attila was at this time collecting an enormous
-army, and threatened both divisions of the Roman
-world at once. To each emperor he sent the haughty
-message, “Attila, my lord and thy lord, commands
-thee immediately to prepare a palace for his reception!”
-To this insult, he added a demand upon the
-emperor for the remainder of the tribute due from
-Theodosius. Marcian’s reply was in the same laconic
-style: “I have gold for my friends, and steel for my
-enemies!”</p>
-
-<p>Attila determined to make war first on Valentinian.
-Honoria, the emperor’s sister, who had been guilty
-of some youthful error, and was consequently confined
-in a convent, had sent Attila a ring, offering to become
-his wife. It was to claim her and half the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>empire as her dower, that Attila professed to be making
-these formidable preparations. At last, he appeared
-to accept the excuse of Theodosius for not
-allowing his sister to become his wife, and speedily
-marched with a prodigious force to the westward.
-He set out in midwinter, and did not pause till he
-reached the Rhine. Having defeated the Franks, he
-cut down whole forests to make rafts for his army to
-cross the river, and now, throwing off the mask, entered
-Gaul, a dependency of Rome.</p>
-
-<p>The horrors of his march it is scarcely possible to
-describe. Everything was destroyed that came in
-his way. Before him were terror and despair; behind,
-a broad track marked with desolation, ruin and death.
-He proceeded in his victorious career, till he reached
-the ancient town of Orleans. Here an obstinate
-defence was offered. The combined armies of Rome,
-under the celebrated Ætius, and the Goths under Theodoric,
-attacked him here, and compelled him to raise
-the siege. He retreated to Champaign, and waited
-for them in the plain of Chalons. The two armies
-soon approached each other.</p>
-
-<p>Anxious to know the event of the coming battle,
-Attila consulted the sorcerers, who foretold his defeat.
-Though greatly alarmed, he concealed his feelings,
-and rode among his warriors, animating them for the
-impending struggle. Inflamed by his ardor, the Huns
-were eager for the contest. Both armies fought
-bravely. At length the ranks of the Romans and
-Gauls were broken, and Attila felt assured of victory,
-when, suddenly, Thorismond, son of Theodoric, swept
-down like an avalanche from the neighboring heights<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>
-upon the Huns. He threw them into disorder, spread
-death through their ranks, and Attila, pressed on all
-sides, escaped to his camp with the utmost difficulty.</p>
-
-<p>This was the bloodiest battle ever fought in Europe,
-for 106,000 men lay dead on the field. Theodoric
-was slain, and Attila, who had gathered his treasures
-into a heap, in order to burn himself with them in
-case he was reduced to extremities, was left unexpectedly
-to make his retreat.</p>
-
-<p>Having returned to Hungary and reinforced his
-army, he proceeded to repeat his demand for the hand
-of Honoria. He mastered the unguarded passes of
-the Alps, and, in 452, carried devastation into the
-north of Italy. At last he approached the city of
-Rome, when a supplicatory embassy met him, Pope
-Leo I. being at its head. The eloquence of the pontiff,
-united to prudential considerations, prevailed, and
-the city was saved; Attila returning to his home
-beyond the Danube. The Romans looked upon this
-preservation as a miracle, and they have preserved a
-legend that St. Peter and St. Paul appeared to the
-barbarian, and threatened him with instant death, if
-he did not accept the proffered terms.</p>
-
-<p>Attila now soothed himself by adding the beautiful
-Ildico to his numerous wives, whom he wedded with
-all due ceremony. On this occasion he gave himself
-up to licentiousness, but in the morning after his marriage,
-he was found dead in his tent, and covered with
-blood, Ildico sitting veiled by his side. The story
-went abroad that he had burst a blood-vessel, and died
-in consequence, but a common suspicion is entertained
-that he was stabbed by his bride.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The news of Attila’s death spread terror and sorrow
-among his army. His body was enclosed in
-three coffins,&mdash;the first of gold, the second of silver,
-and the third of iron. The captives who dug his
-grave were strangled, so that the place of his burial
-might not be known.</p>
-
-<p>In person, Attila was marked with the Tartar
-characteristics, from which he, as well as the people
-of his kingdom, were descended. He was low in
-stature, broad-chested, and of a powerful frame. He
-was dark complexioned, with a few straggling hairs
-for beard, a flat nose, large head, and small eyes. No
-one could look upon him, and not feel that he had
-come into the world to disturb it. The number of
-persons slain in his battles amounted to hundreds of
-thousands, yet to so little purpose, that his empire
-was immediately dismembered upon his death.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/067.jpg" alt="Attila" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Alaric was one of the most eminent of those northern
-chiefs who successively overran Italy, during the decline of the
-Western empire, and the first who gained possession of imperial
-Rome. He learned the art of war under the celebrated
-emperor of the East, Theodosius, who curbed the depredations
-of the Goths. At his death, Alaric became their leader, and
-overran Greece, A. D. 396. In the year 403, he entered Italy
-with a powerful army, but was defeated, and retired to his
-own country. In 410, he again entered Italy, besieged and took
-Rome, which he entered at midnight, and gave it up to plunder
-and pillage for six days. He now led his troops into the southern
-provinces of Italy, but died suddenly while he was besieging
-Cozenza. He was buried in the channel of the river Bucente,
-in Naples, that his remains might not be found by the Romans.
-To perform the burial, the water of the river was turned out
-of its course.</p></div>
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%" >
-<img src="images/068.jpg" alt="Nero" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-
-<h2>NERO.</h2>
-
-
-<p>Claudius Cæsar Nero was son of Caius Domitius
-Ænobarbus and Agrippina, the daughter of Germanicus
-and wife of the Emperor Claudius, after the
-death of her first husband. He was adopted by the
-Emperor Claudius, A.D. 50, and when he was murdered
-by his wife, four years after, Nero succeeded
-him on the throne. He possessed excellent talents,
-and was carefully educated by Seneca and Burrhus.
-The beginning of his reign was marked by acts of the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>greatest kindness and condescension, by affability,
-complaisance and popularity. The object of his administration
-seemed to be the good of his people;
-and when he was desired to sign his name for the
-execution of a malefactor, he exclaimed, “I wish to
-heaven I could not write!” He appeared to be an
-enemy to flattery, and when the senate had liberally
-commended the wisdom of his government, Nero
-desired them to keep their praises till he deserved
-them.</p>
-
-<p>But these promising virtues were soon discovered
-to be artificial, and Nero displayed the real propensities
-of his nature. He delivered himself from the
-sway of his mother, and at last ordered her to be
-assassinated. This unnatural act of barbarity shocked
-some of the Romans; but Nero had his devoted
-adherents; and when he declared that he had taken
-away his mother’s life to save himself from ruin, the
-senate applauded his measures, and the people signified
-their approbation. Even Burrhus and Seneca,
-Nero’s advisers, either counselled or justified his conduct.
-Many of his courtiers shared the unhappy
-fate of Agrippina, and Nero sacrificed to his fury or
-caprice all such as obstructed his pleasures, or stood
-in the way of his inclinations.</p>
-
-<p>In the night he generally sallied out from his
-palace, to visit the meanest taverns and the scenes of
-debauchery in which Rome abounded. In his nocturnal
-riots he was fond of insulting the people in
-the streets, and on one occasion, an attempt to offer
-violence to the wife of a Roman senator nearly cost
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>him his life. He also turned actor, and publicly appeared
-on the Roman stage, in the meanest characters.
-He had an absurd passion to excel in music, and to
-conquer the disadvantages of a hoarse, rough voice,
-he moderated his meals, and often passed the day
-without eating.</p>
-
-<p>The celebrity of the Olympic games having attracted
-his notice, he passed into Greece, and presented
-himself as a candidate for the public honors. He
-was defeated in wrestling, but the flattery of the
-spectators adjudged him the victory, and Nero returned
-to Rome with all the pomp and splendor of an
-eastern conqueror, drawn in the chariot of Augustus,
-and attended by a band of musicians, actors, and stage
-dancers from every part of the empire.</p>
-
-<p>These private and public amusements of the emperor
-were comparatively innocent; his character was
-injured, but not the lives of the people. His conduct,
-however, soon became more censurable; he was
-guilty of various acts which cannot be even named
-with decency. The cruelty of his nature was displayed
-in the sacrifice of his wives Octavia and Poppæa;
-and the celebrated writers, Seneca, Lucan, Petronius,
-&amp;c., became the victims of his wantonness.
-The Christians did not escape his barbarity. He had
-heard of the burning of Troy, and as he wished to
-renew that dismal scene, he caused Rome to be set on
-fire in different places. The conflagration became
-soon universal, and during nine successive days the
-fire was unextinguished. All was desolation; nothing
-was heard but the lamentations of mothers whose
-children had perished in the flames, the groans of
-the dying, and the continual fall of palaces and buildings.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Nero was the only one who enjoyed the general
-consternation. He placed himself on a high tower
-and he sang on his lyre the destruction of Troy; a
-dreadful scene which his barbarity had realized before
-his eyes. He attempted to avert the public odium
-from his head, by a feigned commiseration of the sufferings
-of his subjects, and by charging the fire upon
-the Christians. He caused great numbers of them
-to be seized and put to death. Some were covered
-with the skins of wild beasts, and killed by dogs set
-upon them; others were crucified; others were
-smeared with pitch and burned, at night, in the imperial
-gardens, for the amusement of the people!</p>
-
-<p>Nero began to repair the streets and the public
-buildings at his own expense. He built himself a
-celebrated palace, which he called his golden house.
-It was profusely adorned with gold and precious
-stones, and with whatever was rare and exquisite.
-It contained spacious fields, artificial lakes, woods, gardens,
-orchards, and every device that could exhibit
-beauty and grandeur. The entrance to this edifice
-would admit a colossal image of the emperor, one hundred
-and twenty feet high; the galleries were each a
-mile long, and the whole was covered with gold. The
-roofs of the dining halls represented the firmament, in
-motion as well as in figure, and continually turned
-round, night and day, showering all sorts of perfumes
-and sweet waters. When this grand edifice, which,
-according to Pliny, extended all round the city, was
-finished, Nero said that he could now lodge like a
-man!</p>
-
-<p>His profusion was not less remarkable in all his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>
-other actions. When he went fishing, his nets were
-made with gold and silk. He never appeared twice
-in the same garment, and when he undertook a voyage,
-there were thousands of servants to take care of
-his wardrobe. His continued debauchery, cruelty, and
-extravagance at last roused the resentment of the people.
-Many conspiracies were formed against him,
-but they were generally discovered, and such as were
-accessory, suffered the greatest punishments. One
-of the most dangerous plots against Nero’s life was
-that of Piso, from which he was delivered by the
-confession of a slave. The conspiracy of Galba
-proved more successful; for the conspirator, when
-he was informed that his design was known to Nero,
-declared himself emperor. The unpopularity of Nero
-favored his cause; he was acknowledged by the whole
-Roman empire, and the senate condemned the tyrant,
-that sat on the throne, to be dragged, naked, through
-the streets of Rome, whipped to death, and afterwards
-to be thrown from the Tarpeian rock, like the meanest
-malefactor. This, however, was not done, for Nero,
-by a voluntary death, prevented the execution of the
-sentence. He killed himself, A. D. 68, in the thirty-second
-year of his age, after a reign of thirteen years
-and eight months.</p>
-
-<p>Rome was filled with acclamations at the intelligence
-of this event, and the citizens, more strongly to
-indicate their joy, wore caps such as were generally
-used by slaves who had received their freedom. Their
-vengeance was not only exercised against the statues
-of the deceased tyrant, but his friends were the objects
-of the public resentment, and many were crushed to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>
-pieces in such a violent manner, that one of the senators,
-amid the universal joy, said that he was afraid
-they should soon have cause to wish for Nero. The
-tyrant, as he expired, begged that his head might not
-be cut off from his body and exposed to the insolence
-of an enraged populace, but that the whole might be
-burned on a funeral pile. His request was granted,
-and his obsequies were performed with the usual
-ceremonies.</p>
-
-<p>Though his death seemed to be the source of universal
-gladness, yet many of his favorites lamented
-his fall, and were grieved to see that their pleasures
-and amusements were terminated by the death of the
-patron of debauchery and extravagance. Even the
-king of Parthia sent ambassadors to Rome to condole
-with the Romans, and to beg that they would honor
-and revere the memory of Nero. His statues were
-also crowned with garlands of flowers, and many
-believed that he was not dead, but that he would soon
-make his appearance and take a due vengeance upon
-his enemies. It will be sufficient to observe, in finishing
-the character of this tyrannical emperor and
-detestable man, that the name of <i>Nero</i> is, even now,
-the common designation of a barbarous and unfeeling
-oppressor.</p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 30%" >
-<img src="images/073.jpg" alt="water" style="width: 30%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<h2>LUCIUS ANNÆUS SENECA.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This individual, whose “Morals” are so familiar to
-us, was born at Corduba, in Spain, six years before
-Christ. His father was a rhetorician of some celebrity,
-and a portion of his works has come down to
-our time. While Lucius was yet a child, he removed
-from Corduba to Rome, which henceforward became
-his residence. The son, possessing very promising
-talents, received the greatest care and attention in
-respect to his education. He was taught eloquence
-by his father, and took lessons in philosophy from the
-most celebrated masters. According to the custom
-of those who sought to excel in wisdom and knowledge,
-he travelled in Greece and Egypt, after completing
-his studies, and his work entitled <i>Quæstiones
-Naturales</i> showed that he made good use of his opportunities
-during this excursion; it also proves that
-he was master of the science of his time.</p>
-
-<p>Young Seneca was fascinated with the philosophical
-speculations of the Stoics,<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> to which sect he became
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>devoted. He even adopted the austere modes of life
-they inculcated, and refused to eat the flesh of animals;
-but when the emperor, Tiberius,<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> threatened
-to punish some Jews and Egyptians for abstaining
-from certain meats, at the suggestion of his father, he
-departed from this singularity. In compliance with
-his father’s advice, who urged upon him the necessity
-of devoting himself to some kind of business, he
-adopted the profession of an advocate.</p>
-
-<p>As a pleader, Seneca appeared to great advantage,
-and consequently excited the envy of Caligula, who
-aspired to the reputation of an orator. Apprehensive
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>of the consequences, he changed his views, and became
-a candidate for the honors and offices of the
-state. He was made prætor, under Claudius, but,
-being charged with a shameful intrigue with a lady
-of rank, he was banished to Corsica. Though his
-guilt was not satisfactorily proved, he continued for
-five years in exile; during which period he wrote a
-treatise on Consolation. In this, he seems to draw
-contentment and peace from philosophical views, and
-one would fancy that he was elevated by these, above
-the evils of his condition. Yet, unhappily for his
-reputation in respect to consistency and sincerity, history
-tells us that, at this period, he was suing to the
-emperor in the most abject terms for restitution.</p>
-
-<p>Claudius<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> at length married Agrippina, and Seneca,
-being recalled, was made preceptor of Nero, the
-son of Agrippina, who was destined to become emperor.
-From the favorable traits of character displayed
-by the pupil of the philosopher in the early
-part of his career, it might seem that Seneca’s instructions
-had exerted a good influence over him.
-But an impartial scrutiny of the events of that period
-has led to the probable conclusion that he was a pander
-to the worst of Nero’s vices. It is certain that
-he acquired immense wealth in a short period of time,
-and it appears that this was obtained through the
-munificence of his royal patron. The latter was
-avaricious and mercenary, and was likely to part with
-his money only for such things as ministered to his
-voluptuous passions.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span></p>
-<p>The possessions of Seneca were enormous. He
-had several gardens and villas in the country, and a
-magnificent palace in Rome. This was sumptuously
-furnished, and contained five hundred tables of cedar,
-with feet of ivory, and all of exquisite workmanship.
-His ready cash amounted to about twelve millions of
-dollars. It appears certain that such riches could not
-have been acquired by means of Seneca’s precepts;
-and the inference of many of his contemporaries, as
-well as of posterity, has been, that the virtue which
-appears so lovely in his pages was but the decorous
-veil of avarice, vice, and crime.</p>
-
-<p>For a period after his accession to the throne,
-Nero’s conduct was deserving of praise; but he soon
-threw off all regard even to decency, and launched
-forth upon that career which has made his name a
-by-word and reproach for all after time. Seneca,
-being accused of having amassed immense wealth by
-improper means, became greatly alarmed; for he
-knew the tyrant so well as to foresee that, under color
-of this charge, he was very likely to sacrifice him, in
-order to obtain his property. Pretending, therefore,
-to be indifferent to riches, he begged the emperor to
-accept of his entire fortune, and permit him to spend
-the remainder of his days in the quiet pursuits of philosophy.
-The emperor, with deep dissimulation, refused
-this offer&mdash;no doubt intending in some other
-way to compass the ruin of Seneca.</p>
-
-<p>Aware of his danger, the philosopher now kept
-himself at home for a long period, as if laboring under
-disease. Some time after, a conspiracy for the murder
-of Nero, headed by Piso, was detected. Several<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>
-of the most noble of the Roman senators were concerned,
-and Seneca’s name was mentioned as an
-accessory. Nero, doubtless glad of an opportunity to
-sacrifice him, now sent a command that he should
-destroy himself.</p>
-
-<p>It has been a question whether Seneca was really
-concerned in the conspiracy of Piso. The proof
-brought against him was not indeed conclusive, but
-it is obvious that his position might lead him to desire
-the death of the tyrant, as the only means of safety
-to himself; and Seneca’s character, unfortunately, is
-not such as to shield his memory against strong suspicion
-of participation in the alleged crime.</p>
-
-<p>Seneca was at table, with his wife, Paulina, and
-two of his friends, when the messenger of Nero arrived.
-He heard the words which commanded him
-to take his own life, with philosophic firmness, and
-even with apparent joy. He observed that such a
-mandate might long have been expected from a man
-who had murdered his own mother and assassinated
-his best friends. He wished to dispose of his possessions
-as he pleased, but his request was refused.
-When he heard this, he turned to those around who
-were weeping at his fate, and told them, that, since he
-could not leave them what he believed his own, he
-would leave them at least his own life for an example&mdash;an
-innocent conduct, which they might imitate, and
-by which they might acquire immortal fame.</p>
-
-<p>Against their tears and wailings, he exclaimed with
-firmness, and asked them whether they had not
-learned better to withstand the attacks of fortune and
-the violence of tyranny. As for his wife, he attempted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>
-to calm her emotions, and when she seemed resolved
-to die with him, he said he was glad to have his
-example followed with so much constancy. Their
-veins were opened at the same moment; but Nero,
-who was partial to Paulina, ordered the blood to be
-stopped, and her life was thus preserved.</p>
-
-<p>Seneca’s veins bled but slowly, and the conversation
-of his dying moments was collected by his friends,
-and preserved among his works. To hasten his
-death, he drank a dose of poison, but it had no effect,
-and therefore he ordered himself to be carried to a
-hot bath, to accelerate the operation of the draught,
-and to make the blood flow more freely. This was
-attended with no better success, and, as the soldiers
-were clamorous, he was carried into a stove, and suffocated
-by the steam. Thus he died, in the 66th year
-of the Christian era.</p>
-
-<p>The death of Seneca has been loudly applauded, and
-has sometimes been pronounced sublime; but this is
-owing to an ignorance of the time, and inattention to
-Seneca’s own doctrines. With the Stoics, death was
-nothing; “It is not an evil, but the absence of all
-evil.” This was their creed. With such principles,
-there could be no fear of death, and consequently, we
-find that courage to die&mdash;if it be courage to encounter
-that which is not an evil&mdash;was common in Seneca’s
-time. “At that period of languor and luxury,” says
-M. Nisard, “of monstrous effeminacies, of appetites
-for which the world could hardly suffice&mdash;of perfumed
-baths, of easy and disorderly intrigues, there were
-daily men of all ranks, of all fortunes, of all ages,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>
-who released themselves from their evils by death.
-How was it possible for them to avoid suicide, with
-no other consolation than the philosophy of Seneca,
-and his theories on the delights of poverty?</p>
-
-<p>“Marcellinus<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> is attacked with a painful but curable
-malady. He is young, rich, has slaves, friends,
-everything to make life pleasant: no matter, he conceives
-the fancy of the pleasure of dying. He assembles
-his friends; he consults them as if he were going
-to marry. He discusses with them his project of suicide,
-and puts it to the vote. Some advise him to do
-as he pleases; but a Stoic, a friend of Seneca’s, then
-present, exhorts him bravely to die. His principal
-reason is that he is <i>ennuyé</i>. No one contradicts the
-Stoic. Marcellinus thanks his friends, and distributes
-money to his slaves. He abstains for three days
-from all food, and is then carried into a warm bath,
-where he quickly expires, having muttered some
-words on the pleasure he felt in dying.</p>
-
-<p>“This pleasure was so little of an affectation, so
-much had it become the fashion, that some of the
-austere Stoics thought themselves bound to place certain
-restrictions upon it. They committed suicide
-from <i>ennui</i>, from idleness, from want of patience to
-cure themselves of their ills,&mdash;for distraction&mdash;much
-in the same way that they killed each other in duels,
-under Cardinal Richelieu.”</p>
-
-<p>Viewed in this light, Seneca’s death had nothing
-in it of the sublime: he yielded but to a fashion; he
-only practised what was common. If he sincerely
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span>believed his professed creed&mdash;that death is the absence
-of all evil&mdash;he neither evinced courage nor dignity;
-if he did not believe, then his conduct displayed but
-the skilful acting of a part, and under circumstances
-which mark him with the deepest hypocrisy.</p>
-
-<p>It is impossible to deny that Seneca’s works are
-full of wisdom, though they fall far short of the Christian’s
-philosophy. In his treatise upon benefits, for
-example, we have the following passage:&mdash;</p>
-
-<p>“The good will of the benefactor is the fountain
-of all benefits; nay, it is the benefit itself, or, at least,
-the stamp that makes it valuable and current. Some
-there are, I know, that take the matter for the benefit,
-and tax the obligation by weight and measure. When
-anything is given them, they presently cast it up&mdash;‘What
-may such a house be worth? such an office?
-such an estate?’ as if that were the benefit which is
-only the sign and mark of it, for the obligation rests
-in the mind, not in the matter; and all those advantages
-which we see, handle, or hold in actual possession,
-by the courtesy of another, are but several modes
-or ways of explaining and putting the good will in
-execution. There needs no subtlety to prove that
-both benefits and injuries receive their value from the
-intention, when even brutes themselves are able to
-decide this question. Tread upon a dog by chance,
-or put him in pain upon the dressing of a wound,
-the one he passes by as an accident, and the other,
-in his fashion, he acknowledges as a kindness. But
-offer to strike at him&mdash;though you do him no hurt at
-all&mdash;he flies in the face of you, even for the mischief
-that you barely meant him.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>This is all just and true: it makes the heart the
-seat of moral action, and thus far coincides with the
-Christian’s philosophy. But if there be nothing after
-death, what sanction has virtue? It may be more
-beautiful than vice, and consequently preferable, just
-as a sweet perfume is more desirable than an offensive
-odor. It is good taste, therefore, to be virtuous.
-Still, each individual may choose for himself,
-and without future responsibility, for all alike must
-share the oblivion of the tomb. The insufficiency of
-this philosophy to ensure virtue, is attested by the life
-of Seneca, as well as that of most of his sect. It resulted
-in the grossest hypocrisy; an ostentation of
-virtue, covering up the practice of vice.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/082.jpg" alt="Gods" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> The Stoics were the followers of Zeno, a Greek philosopher
-of Citium. They professed to prefer virtue to everything
-else, and to regard vice as the greatest of evils. They required
-an absolute command over the passions, and maintained the
-ability of man to attain perfection and felicity in this life. They
-encouraged suicide, and held that the doctrine of rewards and
-punishments was unnecessary to enforce virtue upon mankind.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Tiberius succeeded Augustus Cæsar, as emperor; at his
-succession he gave promise of a happy reign, but he soon disgraced
-himself by debauchery, cruelty, and the most flagitious
-excesses. It was wittily said of him by Seneca that he was
-never intoxicated but once, for when he became drunk, his
-whole life was a continued state of inebriety. He died A. D.
-37, after a reign of twenty-two years, and was succeeded by
-Caligula.
-</p>
-<p>
-For a brief period, Rome now enjoyed prosperity and peace;
-but the young emperor soon became proud, cruel and corrupt.
-He caused a temple to be erected to himself, and had his own
-image set in the place of Jupiter and the other deities. He
-often amused himself by putting innocent people to death; he
-attempted to famish Rome, and even wished that the Romans
-had one head, that he might strike it off at a blow! At last,
-weary of his cruelties, several persons formed a conspiracy
-and murdered him, A. D. 41. History does not furnish another
-instance of so great a monster as Caligula.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Claudius succeeded Caligula in 41, and, after a reign of
-thirteen years, he was poisoned by his wife, Agrippina.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Seneca, Ess. lxxvii.</p></div>
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<h2>VIRGIL.</h2>
-
-
-<p>Mantua, the capital of New Etruria itself built
-three centuries before Rome, had the honor of giving
-birth to Publius Virgilius Maro. This event happened
-on or near the fifteenth of October, seventy
-years B. C, or during the first consulship of Pompey
-the Great and Licinius Crassus. Who his father
-was, and even to what country he belonged, has been
-the subject of much dispute. Some assert that he
-was a potter of Andes; but the most probable account
-is, that he was either a wandering astrologer, who
-practised physic, or a servant to one of this learned
-fraternity. It is observed by Juvenal, that <i>medicus,
-magus</i> usually went together, and that this course of
-life was principally followed by the Greeks and Syrians;
-to one of these nations, therefore, it is presumed,
-Virgil owes his birth. His mother, Maia, was of
-good extraction, being nearly related to Quintilius
-Varus, of whom honorable mention is made in the
-history of the second Carthaginian war.</p>
-
-<p>It appears that all due attention was paid to young
-Virgil’s education. He passed through his initiatory
-exercises at Mantua; thence he removed to Cremona,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>
-and afterwards to Milan. In all these places he prosecuted
-his studies with the most diligent application,
-associating with the eminent professors of every
-department of science, and devoting whole nights to
-the best Latin and Greek authors. In the latter he
-was greatly assisted by his proximity to Marseilles,
-the only Greek colony that maintained its refinement
-and purity of language, amidst the overwhelming influence
-of all the barbarous nations that surrounded
-it. At first, he devoted himself to the Epicurean
-philosophy, but receiving no satisfactory reason for
-its tenets from his master, the celebrated Syro, he
-passed over to the academic school, where physics
-and mathematics became his favorite sciences; and
-these he continued to cultivate, at leisure moments,
-during his whole life.</p>
-
-<p>At Milan, he composed a great number of verses
-on various subjects, and, in the warmth of early youth,
-framed a noble design of writing an heroic poem, on
-the Wars of Rome; but, after some attempts, he was
-discouraged from proceeding, by the abruptness and
-asperity of the old Roman names.</p>
-
-<p>It is said that he here formed the plan and collected
-the materials for his principal poems. Some
-of these he had even begun; but a too intense application
-to his studies, together with abstinence and
-night-watching, had so impaired his health, that an
-immediate removal to a more southern part of Italy
-was deemed absolutely necessary for the preservation
-of his existence. He fixed upon Naples, and visiting
-Rome in his way, had the honor, through the interest
-of his kinsman and fellow-student, Varus, of being
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>introduced to the emperor, Octavius, who received
-him with the greatest marks of esteem, and earnestly
-recommended his affairs to the protection of Pollio,
-then lieutenant of Cisalpine Gaul, where Virgil’s patrimony
-lay, and who generously undertook to settle
-his domestic concerns. Having this assurance, he
-pursued his journey to Naples. The charming situation
-of this place, the salubrity of the air, and the constant
-society of the greatest and most learned men of
-the time, who resorted to it, not only re-established his
-health, but contributed to the formation of that style
-and happy turn of verse in which he surpassed all his
-cotemporaries.</p>
-
-<p>To rank among the poets of their country, was, at
-this time, the ambition of the greatest heroes, statesmen,
-and orators of Rome. Cicero, Octavius, Pollio,
-Julius Cæsar, and even the stoical Brutus, had been
-carried away by the impetuosity of the stream; but
-that genius which had never deserted them in the
-forum, or on the day of battle, shrunk dismayed at a
-comparison with the lofty muse of Virgil; and, although
-they endeavored, by placing their poems in
-the celebrated libraries, to hand them down to posterity,
-scarcely a single verse of these illustrious authors
-survived the age in which they lived. This preponderence
-of fashion, however, was favorable to Virgil;
-he had for some time devoted himself to the study
-of the law, and even pleaded one cause with indifferent
-success; but yielding now to the impulse of the
-age and his own genius, he abandoned the profession
-and resumed with increased ardor the cultivation of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>that talent for which he afterwards became so distinguished.</p>
-
-<p>Captivated at an early age by the pastorals of Theocritus,
-Virgil was ambitious of being the primitive
-introducer of that species of poetry among the Romans.
-His first performance in this way, entitled
-Alexis, is supposed to have appeared when the poet
-was in his twenty-fifth year. Palæmon, which is a
-close imitation of the fourth and fifth Idyls of Theocritus,
-was probably his second; but as this period of
-the life of Virgil is enveloped in a considerable degree
-of obscurity,&mdash;few writers on the subject having
-condescended to notice such particulars as chronological
-arrangement,&mdash;little more than surmise can be
-offered to satisfy the researches of the curious. The
-fifth eclogue was composed in allusion to the death
-and deification of Cæsar, and is supposed to have
-been written subsequently to Silenus, his sixth
-eclogue. This is said to have been publicly recited
-on the stage, by the comedian Cytheris, and to have
-procured its author that celebrity and applause to which
-the peculiar beauty and sweetness of the poem so
-justly entitled him.</p>
-
-<p>The fatal battle of Philippi, in which Augustus and
-Antony were victorious, at once annihilated every
-shadow of liberty in the commonwealth. Those
-veteran legions, who had conquered the world, fought
-no more for the dearest rights of their country. Having
-been once its protectors, they now became its
-ravagers. As the <i>amor patria</i> no longer inspired them,
-the treasury of the Roman empire proved inadequate
-to allay their boundless thirst for wealth. Augustus,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>
-therefore, to silence their clamors, distributed among
-them the flourishing colony of Cremona, and, to make
-up the deficiency, added part of the state of Mantua.
-In vain did the miserable mothers, with famishing
-infants at their breasts, fill the forum with their numbers,
-and the air with their lamentations; in vain did
-the inhabitants complain of being driven, like vanquished
-enemies, from their native homes. Such
-scenes are familiar to the conquerors in a civil war;
-and those legions, which had sacrificed their own and
-their country’s liberty, must be recompensed at the
-expense of justice and the happiness of thousands.
-Virgil, involved in the common calamity, had recourse
-to his old patrons, Pollio and Mecænas;<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> and, supported
-by them, petitioned Augustus not only for the
-possession of his own property, but for the reinstatement
-of his countrymen in theirs also; which, after
-some hesitation, was denied, accompanied by a grant
-for the restitution of his individual estate.</p>
-
-<p>Full of gratitude for such favor, Virgil composed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>
-his Tityrus, in which he has introduced one shepherd
-complaining of the destruction of his farm, the anarchy
-and confusion of the times; and another rejoicing
-that he can again tune his reed to love amidst his
-flocks; promising to honor, as a superior being, the
-restorer of his happiness.</p>
-
-<p>Unfortunately for Virgil, his joy was not of long
-continuance, for, on arriving at Mantua, and producing
-his warrant to Arrius, a captain of foot, whom he
-found in possession of his house, the old soldier was
-so enraged at what he termed the presumption of a
-poet, that he wounded him dangerously with his
-sword, and would have killed him had he not escaped
-by swimming hastily over the Mincius. Virgil was,
-therefore, compelled to return half the length of Italy,
-with a body reduced by sickness, and a mind depressed
-by disappointment, again to petition Augustus for
-the restoration of his estate. During this journey,
-which, from the nature of his wound, was extremely
-slow, he is supposed to have written his Moeris, or
-ninth eclogue; and this conjecture is rendered more
-probable by the want of connexion, perceivable through
-the whole composition&mdash;displaying, evidently, the disorder
-at that time predominant in the poet’s mind.
-However, on his arrival at Rome, he had the satisfaction
-to find that effectual orders had been given in
-his behalf, and the farm was resigned into the hands
-of his procurator or bailiff, to whom the above pastoral
-is addressed.</p>
-
-<p>The Sibylline Oracles, having received information
-from the Jews that a child was to be born, who should
-be the Saviour of the world, and to whom nations<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>
-and empires should bow with submission, pretended
-to foretell that this event would occur in the year of
-Rome, 714, after the peace concluded between Augustus
-and Antony. Virgil, viewing this prophecy
-with the vivid imagination of a poet, and willing to
-flatter the ambition of his patron, composed his celebrated
-eclogue, entitled Pollio, in which he supposes
-the child, who was thus to unite mankind and restore
-the golden age, to be the offspring of Octavia, wife of
-Antony, and half sister to Augustus. In this production,
-the consul Pollio, Octavia, and even the unborn
-infant, are flattered with his usual delicacy; and the
-rival triumviri, though a short time before in open
-hostility, have the honor of equally sharing the poet’s
-applause.</p>
-
-<p>While Pollio, who seems to have been the most
-accomplished man of his age, and is celebrated as a
-poet, soldier, orator and historian, was engaged in an
-expedition against the Parthini, whom he subdued,
-Virgil addressed to him his Pharmaceutria, one of
-the most beautiful of all his eclogues, and in imitation
-of a poem of the same name, by his favorite
-author, Theocritus. This production is the more
-valuable, as it has handed down to posterity some
-of the superstitious rites of the Romans and the
-heathen notions of enchantment. Virgil himself
-seems to have been conscious of the beauty of his
-subject, and the dignity of the person whom he was
-addressing; and, accordingly, has given us, by the
-fertility of his genius and the brilliancy of his imagination,
-some of the most sublime images that are to
-be found in any of the writings of antiquity.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>By the advice, and indeed at the earnest entreaty of
-Augustus, Virgil, in his thirty-fourth year, retired to
-Naples, and formed the plan of his Georgics: a design
-as new in Latin verse, as pastorals, before his,
-were in Italy. These he undertook for the interest,
-and to promote the welfare, of his country. As the
-continual civil wars had entirely depopulated and laid
-waste the land usually appropriated for cultivation,
-the peasants had turned soldiers, and their farms
-became scenes of desolation. Famine and insurrection
-were the inevitable consequences that followed such
-overwhelming calamities. Augustus, therefore, resolved
-to revive the decayed spirit of husbandry, and
-began by employing Virgil to recommend it with all
-the insinuating charms of poetry. This work took
-up seven of the most vigorous years of his life, and
-fully answered the expectations of his patron.</p>
-
-<p>Augustus, having conquered his rival, Antony, gave
-the last wound to expiring liberty, by usurping the
-exclusive government of the Roman empire. To
-reconcile a nation, naturally jealous of its freedom, to
-this, seems to have been the grand object of Virgil,
-in his Æneid. This poem was begun in the forty-fifth
-year of the author’s life, and not only displays admirable
-poetical genius, but great political address. Not
-an incident that could in any way tend to flatter the
-Roman people into a submission to the existing government,
-has escaped his penetrating judgment. He
-traces their origin to the Trojans, and makes Augustus
-a lineal descendant of Æneas. At the command
-of the gods they obey him, and in return are promised
-the empire of the world.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>So anxious was Augustus as to the result of this
-poem, that he insisted upon having part of it read
-before the whole was completed. Gratitude, after
-threats and entreaties had been used in vain, at length
-induced its author to comply; and, knowing that Octavia,
-who had just lost her son, Marcellus, would be
-present, Virgil fixed upon the sixth book, perhaps the
-finest part of the whole Æneid. His illustrious auditors
-listened with all the attention which such interesting
-narrative and eloquent recital demanded, till
-he came to that beautiful lamentation for the death of
-young Marcellus, and where, after exhausting panegyric,
-he has artfully suppressed the name of its object,
-till the concluding verse:</p>
-
-
-<div class="poem">
-  <div class="stanza">
-    <span class="i0">“Tu Marcellus eris.”<br /></span>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-
-<p>At these words, Octavia, overcome with surprise and
-sorrow, fainted away; but, on recovering, was so
-highly gratified at having her son thus immortalized,
-that she presented the poet with ten <i>sesterces</i> for each
-line; amounting, in the whole, to about ten thousand
-dollars.</p>
-
-<p>Having at length brought his Æneid to a conclusion,
-Virgil proposed travelling into Greece, and devoting
-three years to the correction and improvement
-of his favorite work. Having arrived at Athens, he
-met with Augustus, who was returning from a victorious
-expedition to the East, and who requested the
-company of the poet back to Italy. The latter deemed
-it his duty to comply; but, being desirous to see as
-many of the Grecian antiquities as the time would
-allow, went for that purpose to Megara. Here he
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>was seized with a dangerous illness, which, from neglect,
-and the agitation of the vessel in returning to
-Italy, proved mortal, at Brundusium. Thus the great
-poet died on the twenty-second of September, nineteen
-years B. C, and at a period when he had nearly completed
-his fifty-second year. He expired with the
-greatest tranquillity; and his remains, being carried
-to Naples, were interred in a monument, erected at a
-small distance from the city; where it is still shown,
-with the following inscription, said to have been dictated
-by him on his death-bed:</p>
-
-
-<div class="poem">
-  <div class="stanza">
-    <span class="i0">Mantua me genuit; Calabri rapuere, tenet nunc<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Parthenope; cecini pascua, rura, duces.<br /></span>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-
-<p>In his will he had ordered that the Æneid should
-be burnt, not having finished it to his mind; but Augustus
-wisely forbade the destruction of a performance
-which will perpetuate his name, as one of the greatest
-of poets. It was, therefore, delivered to Varius and
-Tucca, Virgil’s intimate friends, with the strictest
-charge to make no additions, but merely to publish it
-correctly, in the state it then was.</p>
-
-<p>In person, Virgil was tall, and wide-shouldered, of
-a dark swarthy complexion, which probably proceeded
-from the southern extraction of his father; his constitution
-was delicate, and the most trifling fatigue,
-either from exercise or study, produced violent headache
-and spitting of blood. In temper he was melancholy
-and thoughtful, loving retirement and contemplation.
-Though one of the greatest geniuses of
-his age, and the admiration of the Romans, he always
-preserved a singular modesty, and lived chastely when
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>the manners of the people were extremely corrupt.
-His character was so benevolent and inoffensive, that
-most of his cotemporary poets, though they envied
-each other, agreed in loving and esteeming him. He
-was bashful to a degree of timidity; his aspect and
-behavior was rustic and ungraceful; yet he was so
-honored by his countrymen, that once, coming into the
-theatre, the whole audience rose out of respect to him.
-His fortune was large, supposed to be about seventy
-thousand pounds sterling, besides which he possessed
-a noble mansion, and well-furnished library on the
-Esquiline Mount, at Rome, and an elegant villa in
-Sicily. Both these last, he left to Mecænas, at his
-death, together with a considerable proportion of his
-personal property; the remainder he divided between
-his relations and Augustus,&mdash;the latter having introduced
-a politic fashion of being in everybody’s will,
-which alone produced a sufficient revenue for a
-prince.</p>
-
-<p>The works of Virgil are not only valuable for their
-poetic beauties, but for their historical allusions and
-illustrations. We here find a more perfect and satisfactory
-account of the religious customs and ceremonies
-of the Romans, than in any other of the
-Latin poets, Ovid excepted. Everything he mentions
-is founded upon historical truth. He was
-uncommonly severe in revising his poetry&mdash;and often
-compared himself to a bear that licks her cubs into
-shape.</p>
-
-<p>In his intercourse with society, Virgil was remarkable;
-his friends enjoyed his unbounded confidence,
-and his library and possessions in Rome were so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>
-liberally offered for the use of those who needed
-them, as to seem to belong to the public. Amiable
-and exemplary, however, as he was, he had bitter
-enemies; but their revilings only served to add lustre
-to his name and fame.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/094.jpg" alt="ox" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Mecænas, a celebrated Roman, who distinguished himself
-by his liberal patronage of learned men and letters. His fondness
-for pleasure removed him from the reach of ambition,
-and he preferred to live and die a knight, to all the honors and
-dignities that the Emperor Augustus could heap upon him.
-The emperor received the private admonitions of Mecænas in
-the same friendly way in which they were given. Virgil and
-Horace both enjoyed his friendship. He was fond of literature,
-and from the patronage which the heroic and lyric poets of the
-age received from him, patrons of literature have ever since
-been called by his name. Virgil dedicated to him his Georgics
-and Horace his Odes. He died eight years B. C.</p></div>
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/095.jpg" alt="Cicero" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>CICERO.</h2>
-
-
-<p>Marcus Tullius Cicero was born on the 3d of
-January, 107, B. C. His mother, whose name was
-Helvia, was of an honorable and wealthy family; his
-father, named Marcus, was a wise and learned man
-of fortune, who lived at Apulia. This city was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>
-anciently of the Samnites, now part of the kingdom
-of Naples. Here Cicero was born, at his father’s
-country seat, which it seems was a most charming
-residence.</p>
-
-<p>The care which the ancient Romans bestowed upon
-the education of their children was worthy of all
-praise. Their attention to this, began from the moment
-of their birth. They were, in the first place,
-committed to the care of some prudent matron, of
-good character and condition, whose business it was
-to form their first habits of acting and speaking; to
-watch their growing passions, and direct them to their
-proper objects; to superintend their sports, and suffer
-nothing immodest or indecent to enter into them, that
-the mind, preserved in all its innocence, and undepraved
-by the taste of false pleasures, might be at
-liberty to pursue whatever was laudable, and apply
-its whole strength to that profession in which it should
-desire to excel.</p>
-
-<p>Though it was a common opinion among the
-Romans that children should not be instructed in letters
-till they were seven years old, yet careful attention
-was paid to their training, even from the age of
-three years. It was reckoned a matter of great importance
-what kind of language they were first accustomed
-to hear at home, and in what manner their
-nurses, and even their fathers and mothers spoke,
-since their first habits were then formed, either of a
-pure or corrupt elocution. The two Gracchi were
-thought to owe that elegance of speaking for which
-they were distinguished, to their mother, Cornelia,
-who was a very accomplished woman and remarkable
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>for the purity of her diction, as well in speaking as
-writing.</p>
-
-<p>Young Cicero experienced the full advantage of
-these enlightened views, in his childhood. When he
-was of sufficient age to enter upon a regular course
-of study, his father removed to Rome, and placed him
-in a public school, under an eminent Greek master.
-Here he gave indications of those shining abilities,
-which rendered him afterwards so illustrious. His
-school-fellows carried home such stories of his extraordinary powers, that their parents were often induced
-to visit the school, for the sake of seeing a youth of
-such endowments.</p>
-
-<p>Encouraged by the promising genius of his son
-Cicero’s father spared no cost or pains to improve it
-by the help of the ablest professors. Among other
-eminent instructors, he enjoyed the teaching of the
-poet Archias. Under this master, he applied himself
-chiefly to poetry, to which he was naturally addicted
-and made such proficiency in it, that, while he was
-still a boy, he composed and published a poem, called
-Glaucus Pontius.</p>
-
-<p>After finishing the course of juvenile studies, it
-was the custom to change the dress of the boy for that
-of the man, and take what they called the <i>manly
-gown</i>, or the ordinary robe of the citizen. This was
-an occasion of rejoicing, for the youth thus passed
-from the power of his tutor into a state of greater liberty.
-He was at the same time introduced into the
-forum, or great square of the city, where the assemblies
-of the people were held. Here also, they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>
-addressed by the magistrates, and here all the public
-pleadings and judicial transactions took place.</p>
-
-<p>When Cicero was sixteen years old, he was introduced
-to this place, with all customary solemnity.
-He was attended by the friends and dependants of
-the family, and after divine rites were performed in
-the capital, he was committed to the special protection
-of Q. Mucius Scævola, the principal lawyer as
-well as statesman of that age.</p>
-
-<p>Young Cicero made good use of the advantages he
-enjoyed. He spent almost his whole time in the
-society of his patron, carefully treasuring up in his
-memory the wisdom that fell from his lips. After
-his death, he came under the instruction of another
-of the same family&mdash;Scævola, the high priest, a person
-remarkable for his probity and skill in the law.</p>
-
-<p>The legal profession, as well as that of arms and
-eloquence, was a sure recommendation to the first
-honors of the republic; for it appears to have been
-the practice of many of the most eminent lawyers to
-give their advice gratis to all that asked it. It was
-the custom of the old senators, eminent for their wisdom
-and experience, to walk up and down the forum
-in the morning, freely offering their assistance to all
-who had occasion to consult them, not only in cases
-of law, but in relation to their private affairs. At a
-later period, they used to sit at home, with their doors
-open, upon a kind of throne, or raised seat, giving
-access and audience to all who might come.</p>
-
-<p>It is not surprising that a profession thus practised
-should be honored among the Roman people, nor is
-it wonderful that Cicero’s ambitious mind should have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>
-been attracted by so obvious a road to honor and preferment.
-But his views were not satisfied with being
-a mere lawyer. He desired especially to be an orator;
-and, conceiving that all kinds of knowledge
-would be useful in such a profession, he sought every
-opportunity to increase his stores of information. He
-also attended constantly at the forum, to hear the
-speeches and pleadings; he perused the best authors
-with care, so as to form an elegant style; and cultivated
-poetry, for the purpose of adding elegance and grace
-to his mind. While he was thus engaged, he also
-studied philosophy, and, for a time, was greatly pleased
-with Phædrus, the Epicurean, who then gave lessons
-at Rome. Though he retained his affection for the
-amiable philosopher, Cicero soon rejected his system
-as fallacious.</p>
-
-<p>It was always a part of the education of the young
-gentlemen of Rome, to learn the art of war by personal
-service, under some general of name and experience.
-Cicero accordingly took the opportunity to
-make a campaign with Strabo, the father of Pompey
-the Great. During this expedition, he manifested
-the same diligence in the army that he had done in
-the forum, to observe everything that passed. He
-sought to be always near the person of the general,
-that nothing of importance might escape his notice.</p>
-
-<p>Returning to Rome, Cicero pursued his studies as
-before, and about this time, Molo, the Rhodian, one
-of the most celebrated teachers of eloquence of that
-age, coming to the city to deliver lectures upon oratory,
-he immediately took the benefit of his instructions,
-and pursued his studies with ceaseless ardor.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>
-His ambition received an impulse at this time, from
-witnessing the fame of Hortensius, who made the
-first figure at the bar, and whose praises fired him
-with such emulation, that, for a time, he scarcely
-allowed himself rest from his studies, either day or
-night.</p>
-
-<p>He had in his own house a Greek preceptor, who
-instructed him in various kinds of learning, but more
-particularly in logic, to which he paid strict attention.
-He, however, never suffered a day to pass, without
-some exercise in oratory, particularly that of declaiming,
-which he generally performed with some of his
-fellow-students. He sometimes spoke in Latin, but
-more frequently in Greek, because the latter furnished
-a greater variety of elegant expressions, and because
-the Greek masters were far the best, and could not
-correct and improve their pupils, unless they declaimed
-in that language.</p>
-
-<p>Cicero had now passed through that course of discipline,
-which, in his treatise upon the subject, he
-lays down as necessary for the formation of an accomplished
-orator. He declares that no man should pretend
-to this, without being acquainted with everything
-worth being known, in art and nature; that this is
-implied in the very name of an orator, whose profession
-is to speak upon every subject proposed to him,
-and whose eloquence, without knowledge, would be
-little better than the prattle and impertinence of children.</p>
-
-<p>He had learnt grammar and the languages from
-the ablest teachers, passed through the studies of
-humanity and the polite letters with the poet Archias
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>been instructed in philosophy by the principal philosophers
-of each sect&mdash;Phædrus the epicurean, Philo
-the academic, Diodorus the Stoic&mdash;and acquired a
-thorough knowledge of the law from the greatest
-jurists and statesmen of Rome&mdash;the two Scævolas.</p>
-
-<p>These accomplishments he regarded but as subservient
-to the object on which his ambition was placed,&mdash;the
-reputation of an orator. To qualify himself,
-therefore, particularly for this, he had attended the
-pleadings of the greatest speakers of his time, heard
-the daily lectures of the most eminent orators of
-Greece, constantly written compositions at home, and
-declaimed them under the correction of these masters.</p>
-
-<p>That he might lose nothing which would in any
-degree improve and polish his style, he spent the
-intervals of his leisure in the company of ladies, especially
-those who were remarkable for elegant conversation,
-and whose fathers had been distinguished
-for their eloquence. While he studied the law, therefore,
-under Scævola, the augur, he frequently conversed
-with his wife, Lælia, whose discourse he says
-was tinctured with all the eloquence of her father,
-Lælius, the most polished orator of his time. He
-also frequented the society of her daughter, Mucia,
-as well as that of two of her granddaughters, who all
-excelled in elegance of diction, and the most exact
-and delicate use of language.</p>
-
-<p>It is impossible not to admire the noble views which
-Cicero had formed of the profession to which he was
-to devote his life. Nor can we withhold praise for
-the diligence, energy and judgment with which he
-trained himself for entering upon the theatre of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>
-ambition. If in all respects he is not to be regarded
-as a model for imitation, still, his example is thus far
-worthy of emulation to all those who seek to enjoy a
-virtuous and lasting fame.</p>
-
-<p>Thus adorned and accomplished, Cicero, at the age
-of twenty-six years, presented himself at the bar, and
-was soon employed in several private causes. His
-first case of importance was the defence of S. Roscius,
-of Ameria, which he undertook in his twenty-seventh
-year; the same age at which Demosthenes distinguished
-himself at Athens.</p>
-
-<p>The case of Roscius was this. His father was
-killed in the recent proscription of Sylla, and his
-estate, worth about £60,000 sterling, was sold, among
-the confiscated estates of the proscribed, for a trifling
-sum, to L. Cornelius Chrysogonus, a young favorite
-slave, whom Sylla had made free, and who, to secure
-possession of it, accused the son of the murder of his
-father, and had prepared evidence to convict him; so
-that the young man was likely to be deprived, not
-only of his fortunes, but, by a more villanous cruelty,
-of his honor also, and his life.</p>
-
-<p>The tyrant Sylla was at this time at the height of
-his power. Fearing his resentment, therefore, as
-well as the influence of the prosecutor, the older advocates
-of Rome refused to undertake the defence of
-Roscius, particularly as it would lead them into an
-exposure of the corruptions of the age, and the misdemeanors
-of those high in rank and office.</p>
-
-<p>But Cicero readily undertook it, as a glorious opportunity
-of enlisting in the service of his country, and
-giving a public testimony of his principles, and his zeal
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>for that liberty to the support of which he was willing
-to devote the labors of his life. In the management
-of the cause, he displayed great skill and admirable
-eloquence. Roscius was acquitted, and Cicero
-was applauded by the whole city for his courage and
-address. From this period he was ranked as one of
-the ablest advocates of Rome.</p>
-
-<p>Having occasion in the course of his pleading to
-mention that remarkable punishment which their ancestors
-had contrived for the murder of a parent&mdash;that
-of sewing the criminal alive into a sack, and throwing
-him into a river&mdash;he says, “that the meaning of it
-was, to strike him at once, as it were, out of the system
-of nature, by taking him from the air, the sun,
-the water, and the earth; that he who had destroyed
-the author of his being, should lose the benefit of
-those elements whence all things derive their being.
-They would not throw him to the beasts, lest the contagion
-of such wickedness should make the beasts
-themselves more furious; they would not commit
-him naked to the stream, lest he should pollute the
-very sea, which was the purifier of all other pollutions;
-they left him no share of anything natural,
-how vile or common soever; for what is so common
-as breath to the living, earth to the dead, the sea to
-those who float, the shore to those who are cast up?
-Yet these wretches live so, as long as they can, as
-not to draw breath from the air; die so, as not to
-touch the ground; are so tossed by the waves, as not
-to be washed by them; so cast out upon the shore,
-as to find no rest, even on the rocks.”</p>
-
-<p>This passage was received with acclamations of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>applause; yet, speaking of it afterwards himself,
-Cicero calls it “the redundancy of a juvenile fancy,
-which wanted the correction of his sounder judgment;
-and, like all the compositions of young men, was not
-applauded so much for its own sake, as for the hopes
-which it gave of his more improved and ripened talents.”</p>
-
-<p>The popularity of his cause, and the favor of the
-audience, induced Cicero, in the course of his plea, to
-expose the insolence and villany of the favorite,
-Chrysogonus, with great freedom. He even ventured
-some bold strokes at Sylla himself. He took care,
-however, to palliate these, by observing, that through
-the multiplicity of Sylla’s affairs, who reigned as
-absolute on earth as Jupiter in heaven, it was not
-possible for him to know everything that was done by
-his agents, and that he was perhaps forced to connive
-at some of the corrupt practices of his favorites.</p>
-
-<p>Soon after this trial, Cicero set out for the purpose
-of visiting Greece and Asia, the fashionable tour of
-that day with those who travelled for pleasure or improvement.
-At Athens he spent six months, renewing
-the studies of his youth, under celebrated masters. He
-was here initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries, the
-end and aim of which appear to have been to inculcate
-the unity of God and the immortality of the soul.</p>
-
-<p>From Athens, he passed into Asia, where he was
-visited by the principal orators of the country. These
-kept him company through the remainder of his tour,
-frequently exercising themselves together in oratorical
-exhibitions. They came at last to Rhodes, where
-Cicero applied to Molo, and again became his pupil<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>
-On a public occasion he made an address at the end
-of which, the company were lavish of their praises.
-Molo alone was silent, till, observing that Cicero was
-somewhat disturbed, he said, “As for you, Cicero, I
-praise and admire you, but pity the fortune of Greece,
-to see arts and eloquence, the only ornaments which
-were left to her, transplanted by you to Rome.”</p>
-
-<p>Soon after Cicero’s return from his travels, he
-pleaded the cause of the famous comedian, Roscius,
-whom a singular merit in his art had recommended
-to the familiarity and friendship of the greatest men
-of Rome. The case was this. One Fannius had
-made over to Roscius, a young slave, to be trained
-for the stage, on condition of a partnership in the
-profits which the slave should acquire by acting. The
-slave was afterwards killed, and Roscius prosecuted
-the murderer for damages, and obtained, by composition,
-a little farm, worth about 800 pounds, for his
-particular share. Fannius also sued separately, and
-was supposed to have gained as much, but, pretending
-to have recovered nothing, sued Roscius for the
-moiety of what he had received.</p>
-
-<p>One cannot but observe, from Cicero’s pleading,
-the wonderful esteem and reputation which Roscius
-enjoyed&mdash;of whom he draws a very amiable picture.
-“Has Roscius, then,” said he, “defrauded his
-partner? Can such a stain adhere to such a man,
-who&mdash;I speak it with confidence&mdash;has more integrity
-than skill, more veracity than experience; whom the
-people of Rome know to be a better man than he is
-an actor, and, while he makes the first figure on the
-stage in his art, is worthy of the senate for his virtues?”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>His daily pay for acting is said to have been about
-thirty pounds sterling. Pliny computes his yearly
-profit at 4000 pounds; but Cicero seems to rate it at
-5000 pounds. He was generous, benevolent, and a
-contemner of money; after he had raised an ample
-fortune from the stage, he devoted his talents to the
-public, for many years, without pay; whence Cicero
-urges it as incredible that he, who in ten years past
-might honestly have gained fifty thousand pounds,
-which he refused, should be tempted to commit a
-fraud for the paltry sum of four hundred. We need
-but add that the defence was effectual.</p>
-
-<p>Soon after Cicero’s return to Rome, he, being about
-thirty years of age, was married to Terentia, a lady
-of good station in life, and of large fortune. Shortly
-after, he was a candidate for the office of quæstor, in
-which he succeeded by the unanimous suffrage of the
-tribes.</p>
-
-<p>The provinces of the quæstors being distributed by
-lot, the island of Sicily fell to Cicero’s share. This
-was called the granary of the republic, and this year,
-there being great scarcity at Rome, the people were
-clamorous for a supply. As it was a part of the duty
-of the quæstors to supply the city with corn, a difficult
-duty devolved upon Cicero; for, while he was to see
-that Rome was adequately furnished, it was necessary
-to avoid impoverishing the island. He, however,
-acquitted himself with the greatest prudence and
-address, displaying courtesy to the dealers, justice to
-the merchants, generosity to the inhabitants, and, in
-short, doing all manner of good offices to everybody.
-He thus obtained the love and admiration of the Sicil<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>ians,
-and, at his departure, they paid him greater
-honors than had ever been bestowed, even upon their
-own governors.</p>
-
-<p>In his hours of leisure, Cicero pursued his rhetorical
-studies, making it a rule never to let a day pass
-without some exercise of this kind. At the expiration
-of his year, he left the island, and, on his return
-to Rome, he stopped at Baiae, the chief seat of pleasure
-at that time in Italy, and where there was a perpetual
-resort of the rich and great, as well on account
-of its delightful situation, as for the use of its luxurious
-baths and tepid waters.</p>
-
-<p>Pleased with the success of his administration, and
-flattering himself that all Rome was celebrating his
-praises, he reached this place, and mingled amongst
-the crowd. What was his disappointment and mortification,
-to be asked by the first friend he met, “How
-long since you left Rome, and what is the news
-there?” “I came from the provinces,” was the reply.
-“From Africa, I suppose,” said one of the
-bystanders. “No, I came from Sicily,” said Cicero,
-a little vexed. “How, did you not know that Cicero
-was quæstor of Syracuse?” said another person present;
-thus showing his ignorance, while he pretended
-to be wiser than the rest. This incident humbled
-Cicero for the time, and made him feel that he had
-not yet made himself so conspicuous as to live perpetually
-in the eye of so mighty a city as Rome.</p>
-
-<p>Having now devoted himself to a life of business
-and ambition, he omitted none of the usual arts of
-recommending himself to popular favor, and facilitating
-his advancement to the highest honors. “He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>
-thought it absurd,” says Plutarch, “that, when every
-little artificer knew the name and use of all his tools,
-a statesman should neglect the knowledge of men,
-who were the proper instruments with which he was
-to work; he made it his business, therefore, to learn
-the name, the place, and the condition of every eminent
-citizen; what estate, what friends, what neighbors
-he had; and could readily point out their several
-houses, as he travelled through Italy.”</p>
-
-<p>This knowledge was deemed so necessary at Rome,
-where the people expected to be courted by their public
-men, that every individual who aspired to official
-dignities, kept a slave or two in his family, whose
-sole business it was to know the name and person of
-every citizen at sight, so that he might whisper them
-to his master as he passed through the streets, and
-enable him to salute them familiarly, as particular
-acquaintances. Such artifices, which appear degrading
-in our day, were by no means beneath the practice
-of one so elevated in his sense of propriety as
-Cicero.</p>
-
-<p>Having reached his thirty-seventh year, and being
-therefore eligible to the office of edile, he offered himself
-as a candidate, and was elected by the people.
-Before he entered upon its duties, however, he undertook
-the prosecution of C. Verres, the late prætor of
-Sicily, charged with many flagrant acts of injustice,
-rapine and cruelty, during his triennial government
-of that island. This was one of the most memorable
-transactions of Cicero’s life, and has given him greater
-fame than any other.</p>
-
-<p>In order to obtain the evidence, he proceeded to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>
-Sicily, where he was received with the greatest kindness
-and favor, though every art was resorted to, by
-the agents of Verres, to obstruct his inquiries. On
-his return, he found the most formidable preparations
-to resist him. Hortensius was engaged for Verres
-and several of the leading families had taken his part.
-Cicero, however, produced his witnesses, whose depositions
-overwhelmed the criminal with such proofs
-of guilt, that Hortensius had nothing to say for his
-client, who submitted without defence to a voluntary
-exile.</p>
-
-<p>From this account, it appears, that, of the seven
-orations on the subject of this trial, which now remain
-among the works of Cicero, two only were spoken,
-and these contain little more than a statement of the
-whole case. The five others were published afterwards,
-as they were prepared, and intended to be
-spoken, if Verres had made a regular defence.</p>
-
-<p>From the evidence produced, it appears that every
-species of rapine was practised without scruple by
-Verres, during his prætorship. Cicero estimated
-the amount of his plunder at 800,000 pounds sterling,
-or nearly four millions of dollars. It is shocking to
-read the black catalogue of this man’s crimes; yet,
-such was the corruption of society, especially among
-the higher classes, that Cicero, instead of gaining
-favor by his exposure of these abuses, brought upon
-himself the hatred and ill-will of the largest portion
-of the nobility. They doubtless looked upon the public
-offices as their inheritance, and did not like to see
-the accustomed privileges of the provincial governors
-abridged. We may add here that Verres continued
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>long in a miserable exile, deserted and forgotten by
-his former friends, and was actually relieved in his
-necessities by the generosity of Cicero. He was
-afterwards proscribed and murdered by Mark Antony,
-in order to obtain some fine statues, which he had
-obtained by robbery, during his government in Sicily,
-and which he had refused to part with, even in the
-extremity of his poverty.</p>
-
-<p>From the impeachment of Verres, Cicero entered
-upon the office of edile, and in one of his speeches
-gives a short account of its duties. “I am now chosen
-edile,” says he, “and am sensible of what is committed
-to me by the Roman people. I am to exhibit
-with the greatest solemnity the most sacred sports to
-Ceres, Liber, and Libera; am to appease and conciliate
-the mother Flora to the people and city of Rome,
-by the celebration of the public games; am to furnish
-out those ancient shows, the first which were
-called Roman, with all possible dignity and religion,
-in honor of Jupiter, Juno, Minerva; am to take care
-also of all the sacred edifices, and, indeed, of the whole
-city.”</p>
-
-<p>The people of Rome were passionately fond of
-the public games and diversions, and the allowance for
-them being small, the ediles were obliged to supply
-the rest. Many of them, in their ambition to flatter
-the people and obtain their favor, incurred such expense
-in these entertainments, as to involve themselves
-in ruin. Every part of the empire was ransacked
-for whatever was rare and curious to increase the
-splendor of these shows; the forum, in which they
-were exhibited, was usually beautified with porticoes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>
-for the purpose, and these were decorated with the
-choicest pictures and statues, which Rome, and indeed,
-all Italy could furnish. Several of the great men of
-Cicero’s time had distinguished their magistracy by
-their magnificence, some of them having entertained
-the city with stage plays, in which the scenes were
-entirely covered with silver. Cæsar, in the sports
-exhibited upon the occasion of his father’s funeral,
-caused the entire furniture of the theatre to be made
-of solid silver, so that the wild beasts trod upon that
-metal.</p>
-
-<p>Unseduced by these examples, Cicero took the
-middle course, which was suited to his circumstances.
-In compliance with the custom, he gave three entertainments,
-which were conducted with taste, and to
-the satisfaction of the people. The Sicilians gave
-him effectual proofs of their gratitude by supplying
-him largely with provisions for the use of his table and
-the public feasts he was obliged to provide. Cicero,
-however, took no private advantage of these gifts, for
-he distributed the whole to the poor.</p>
-
-<p>Soon after leaving the office of edile, Cicero was
-chosen prætor; a magistrate next in dignity to a consul.
-The business of the prætors was to preside and
-judge in all causes, especially of a public or criminal
-kind. There were eight of them, and their several
-jurisdictions were assigned by lot. It fell to Cicero
-to hear charges of extortion and rapine, brought
-against magistrates and governors of provinces. In
-this office, he acquired great reputation for integrity
-and impartiality&mdash;qualities, in the corrupted state of
-Rome, scarcely to be found, either in public or private<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>
-life, among men of high stations. While he seemed
-full of employment as prætor, and attentive to his
-duties in the senate, Cicero still had a large practice
-as advocate. It is evident that nothing but ceaseless
-industry and wonderful facility in the despatch of
-business, could have enabled him to discharge his
-multifarious duties, and with such surpassing ability.</p>
-
-<p>His office of prætor having expired, Cicero now
-fixed his hopes upon the consulship. While he was
-aiming at this, and resorting to all the ordinary means
-of attaining his object, by flattering the people, allaying
-the hostility of the nobles, and strengthening his
-interest on every hand, he was expending large sums
-of money in decorating his several villas, especially
-that of Tusculum, in which he took the greatest
-pleasure. This was situated in the neighborhood of
-Rome, and furnished him an easy retreat from the
-hurry and fatigue of the city. Here he built several
-rooms and galleries, in imitation of the schools and
-porticoes of Athens, in which he was accustomed to
-hold philosophical conversations with his learned
-friends. He had given Atticus, a lover of the arts,
-who resided at Athens, a general commission to purchase
-for him pictures, statues and other curiosities;
-and Atticus, having a rare taste in these matters, thus
-assisted him to embellish and enrich his residence
-with a choice collection of works of art and literary
-treasures, of various kinds.</p>
-
-<p>Cicero, being now in his forty-third year, became
-eligible as consul, and offered himself as a candidate
-for that high office. As the election approached, his
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>interest appeared to take the lead; for the nobles, envious
-and jealous of him as they were, were alarmed
-by the threatening aspect of the times, and saw the
-necessity of entrusting the consular power to strong
-and faithful hands. The intrigues of Cæsar, the plots
-of Cataline, the ambition of Pompey, seemed to heave
-and convulse the elements of society to its foundation,
-and portend a storm which threatened the very existence
-of the state. Thus, by the voices of the people
-as well as the favor of the patricians, Cicero was proclaimed
-First Consul, and Antonius was chosen his
-colleague.</p>
-
-<p>This year, Cicero’s father died in a good old age,
-and he gave his daughter Tullia, in marriage, at the
-age of thirteen, to C. Piso Frugi, a young nobleman
-of great hopes and of one of the best families in Rome.
-He was also much gratified by the birth of a son and
-heir to his family.</p>
-
-<p>Cicero had now passed through the usual gradations
-to the highest honors which the people could
-bestow, or a citizen desire. He entered upon his
-trust with a patriotic determination to discharge its
-duties, not so much according to the fleeting humor, as
-the lasting interests of the people. The most remarkable
-event of his consulship was the conspiracy of
-Cataline, which he detected by his sagacity, and defeated
-by his courage and address.</p>
-
-<p>Cataline was adapted by art and nature, to be the
-leader of desperate enterprises. He was of an illustrious
-family, of ruined fortunes, profligate heart,
-undaunted courage and unwearied industry. He had
-a capacity equal to the hardiest attempt, a tongue that
-could seduce, an eloquence to persuade, a hand to
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>execute. His character, compounded of contradictory
-qualities&mdash;of great virtues, mastered by still greater
-vices&mdash;is forcibly drawn by Cicero himself.</p>
-
-<p>“Who,” said he, “was more agreeable at one time
-to the best citizens? Who more intimate at another
-with the worst? Who a man of better principles?
-Who a fouler enemy to this city? Who more intemperate
-in pleasure? Who more patient in labor?
-Who more rapacious in plundering, who more profuse
-in squandering? He had a wonderful faculty
-of engaging men to his friendship and obliging them
-by his observance; sharing with them in common
-whatever he was master of; serving them with his
-money, his interest, his pains, and, when there was
-occasion, by the most daring acts of villany, moulding
-his nature to his purposes, and bending it every way
-to his will. With the morose, he could live severely;
-with the free, gayly; with the old, gravely; with the
-young, cheerfully; with the enterprising, audaciously;
-with the vicious, luxuriously. By a temper so various
-and pliable, he gathered about him the profligate
-and the rash from all countries; yet held attached to
-him, at the same time, many brave and worthy men,
-by the specious show of a pretended virtue.”</p>
-
-<p>Associated in the plot with Cataline, were about
-thirty-five individuals as leaders, some of them senators,
-and all of them men of rank and consideration.
-Several were from the colonies and the larger towns
-of Italy. Among the most important of these persons
-were Lentulus and Cethegus, both patricians,
-possessing powerful family influence; the two Syllas
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>nephews of the dictator; Cassius, who was a competitor
-with Cicero for the consulship, and Autronius,
-who had obtained an election to that office, but was
-not permitted to hold it, on account of his gross briberies.
-Julius Cæsar was suspected of being also
-engaged in the scheme, but it is probable that while
-he was willing to see it attempted, hoping to be benefited
-by the convulsion that might follow, he was
-too wary to commit himself by any overt act of
-treason.</p>
-
-<p>A meeting of the conspirators was finally held, in
-which it was resolved that a general insurrection
-should be raised throughout Italy, the different parts
-of which were assigned to different leaders. Cataline
-was to put himself at the head of the troops in Etruria;
-Rome was to be set on fire in different places at
-once, under the direction of Cassius, and a general
-massacre of the senate, with all the enemies of the
-conspirators, was to be affected under the management
-of Cithegus. The vigilance of Cicero being
-the chief occasion of their apprehensions, two knights
-of the company undertook to gain access to his house
-early the next morning, upon pretence of business,
-and, rushing into his chamber, to kill him in his bed.</p>
-
-<p>But no sooner was the meeting over, than Curius,
-one of the assembly, and in the interest of Cicero,
-sent him a particular account of all that had transpired.
-He immediately imparted the intelligence to
-some of the chiefs of the city, who assembled at his
-house that night, and made preparations for the emergency.
-The two knights came before break of day
-to Cicero’s house, but had the mortification to find it
-carefully guarded. Cataline had set out in the hope
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>of surprising the town of Preneste, one of the strongest
-fortresses of Italy, and within twenty five miles of
-Rome; but Cicero’s messenger anticipated him,
-and when the attack was made the next night, he
-found the place so well guarded, as to forbid an assault.</p>
-
-<p>Cicero now assembled the senate at the temple of
-Jupiter, in the capital, where they were accustomed
-to meet only in times of public alarm, and laid before
-them the facts which we have narrated. Cataline had
-returned to Rome, and being a member of the senate,
-met the charge with profound dissimulation and the
-most subtle cunning. Cicero, however, poured forth
-upon him such a torrent of invective, and placed his
-guilt in so strong a light, that the conspirator became
-desperate, made a threatening speech to the senate,
-and left the hall. That night, he departed and repaired
-with expedition to head the forces at Etruria.
-The result of the whole enterprise was, that several
-of the accomplices were executed, and Cataline himself
-fell bravely fighting at the head of those troops
-he had induced to join his cause. Cicero received
-the thanks of the senate, and the most unbounded
-applause at the hands of the people.</p>
-
-<p>Cicero’s administration being now at an end, nothing
-remained but to resign the consulship, according
-to custom, in an assembly of the people, and declare
-upon oath that he had administered the office with
-fidelity. It was usual for the consul, under such circumstances,
-to address the people, and on the present
-occasion an immense concourse of people met to hear
-the farewell speech of Cicero. But Metellus, one of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span>
-the new tribunes, ambitious to signalize himself by
-some display of that remarkable veto power committed
-to the tribunes, determined to disappoint the orator
-and the audience.</p>
-
-<p>Accordingly, when Cicero had mounted the rostrum,
-and was about to address the people, Metellus
-interfered, remarking that he who had put citizens
-to death unheard, ought not to be permitted to speak
-for himself. This was a reflection upon Cicero,
-because the associates of Cataline had been executed
-by a vote of the senate, without the ordinary trial.
-Cicero, however, was never at a loss, and, instead
-of pronouncing the usual form of the oath, exalted
-his voice so that all the people might hear him, saying,
-“I have saved the republic and the city from
-ruin!” The vast multitude caught the sounds, and,
-with one acclamation, declared, “You have sworn the
-truth!” Thus, the intended affront of Metellus was
-turned to the advantage of Cicero, and he was conducted
-from the forum to his house with every demonstration
-of respect by the whole city.</p>
-
-<p>It was about this period that Cicero is supposed to
-have pronounced his oration, still extant, in defence
-of his old preceptor, Archias. He, doubtless, expected
-from his muse an immortality of fame; for Archias
-had sung in Greek verse the triumphs of Marius over
-the Cimbri, and of Lucullus over Mithridates. He
-appears, however, to have died without celebrating
-the consulship of Cicero; and Archias, instead of
-adding to the fame of the orator, would have been
-buried in complete oblivion, had not his memory been
-perpetuated in the immortal pages of his pupil.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Pompey the Great now returned to Rome, in the
-height of his fame and fortunes, from the Mithridatic
-war. It had been apprehended that he was coming
-back to Rome, at the head of his army, to seize upon
-the government. It is certain that he had this in his
-power, and Cæsar, with the tribune Metellus, was
-inviting him to it. But he seemed content, for the
-time, with the glory he had achieved. By his victories
-he had extended the boundaries of the empire
-into Asia, having reduced three powerful kingdoms
-there, Pontus, Syria and Bithynia, to the condition of
-Roman provinces, taken the city of Jerusalem, and
-left the other nations of the east, as far as the Tigris,
-tributary to the republic.</p>
-
-<p>For these great services, a triumph was decreed
-him, which lasted two days, and was the most splendid
-that had ever been seen in Rome. Of the spoils,
-he erected a temple to Minerva, with an inscription
-giving a summary of his victories:&mdash;“that he had
-finished a war of thirty years; had vanquished, slain,
-and taken two millions one hundred and eighty-three
-thousand men; sunk or taken eight hundred and forty-six
-ships; reduced to the power of the empire a
-thousand five hundred and thirty-eight towns and fortresses,
-and subdued all the countries between the
-lake M&oelig;ris and the Red Sea.”</p>
-
-<p>The spectacle which Rome, at this period, presents
-is full of warning to mankind. In the very height
-of her pride and her power, holding the whole civilized
-world in her grasp, she was still torn with
-dissensions, and corrupted through every vein and
-artery of society. With political institutions favorable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>
-to liberty, and calculated to promote public and private
-virtue; yet vice and crime stained the character of
-public men, while profligacy, in every form, characterized
-the people at large.</p>
-
-<p>Nor could anything better be expected; for the
-general policy of the nation was alike wicked and
-unwise. Instead of seeking prosperity by the peaceful
-arts of life, they sought to enrich themselves by
-robbing other nations. War was the great trade of
-the state; the soldier was a hero; a successful general,
-the idol of the nation. The greatest plunderer
-received the greatest honors, and glory was proportioned
-to the blood spilled and the spoils obtained. A
-system so immoral could not fail to debauch the nation,
-nor was it difficult to see that, from robbing other
-countries, the victorious general, having attached the
-soldiery to himself by leading them on to booty, would
-soon learn to turn his arms against the country.
-Such had now become the experience of Rome; and
-the natural course of ambition seemed to be to obtain
-the command of an army in some of the provinces,
-gorge the soldiers with plunder, and, having become
-the idol of the troops, to march upon Rome and seize,
-by intimidation or force, the sceptre of power. Such
-a course had been expected of Pompey, and was soon
-after adopted by Cæsar.</p>
-
-<p>The triumvirate, consisting of Cæsar, Pompey and
-Crassus, was now formed, and Cicero yielded, for a
-time, to their power. His patriotism and integrity
-were obstacles, however, to the success of their
-schemes, and he became the object of their hatred
-and persecution. Perceiving the storm that was ready<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>
-to burst over him, he threw himself at the feet of
-Pompey and begged his protection. This, however,
-was refused; and seeing no alternative but to defend
-himself by force, or retreat till the storm had blown
-over, he adopted the latter course by the advice of
-Cato and Hortensius. He left the city, and attended
-by a numerous train of friends, pursued his way to
-Sicily.</p>
-
-<p>After his departure, the dissolute Clodius, who had
-become tribune, caused a law to be passed, denouncing
-Cicero in violent terms, and forbidding all persons,
-on pain of death, to harbor or receive him. Immediately
-after, his houses, both in the city and country,
-were given up to plunder; the marble columns of his
-dwelling on the Palatine hill were carried away by
-one of the consuls, and the rich furniture of his Tusculum
-villa, by another. Even the ornamental trees of
-his plantations were taken up and transplanted to one
-of his neighbor’s grounds. To make the loss of his
-house in Rome irretrievable, Clodius caused the space
-to be consecrated to the service of religion, and a
-temple to be built upon it, dedicated to the goddess
-of liberty!</p>
-
-<p>Nor did the vengeance of Cicero’s enemies stop here.
-Clodius pursued his wife and children with the same
-fury, and made several attempts to gain access to his
-son, then six years old, with the intention of putting
-him to death. But the child was carefully guarded,
-and finally removed from the reach of his malice.
-Terentia took sanctuary in the temple of Vesta, but
-she was dragged forcibly out, and insolently examined
-as to the concealment of her husband’s property.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>Being a woman of singular spirit, however, she bore
-these indignities with masculine courage.</p>
-
-<p>The desolation of Cicero’s fortunes at home, and
-the misery which he suffered abroad, in being deprived
-of everything that was dear to him, soon made
-him repent his flight. His suffering was increased
-on reaching Sicily, for there he found his former
-friends afraid to receive him, in consequence of the
-decree of banishment which had been passed at
-Rome, and which forbade him to remain within four
-hundred miles of the city. He therefore found it
-necessary to leave Sicily, and after various changes
-of opinion, he resolved to proceed to Thessalonica, in
-Macedonia. Here he took up his residence with his
-friend Plaucius, who treated him with the utmost
-kindness.</p>
-
-<p>Cicero was so dejected by his misfortunes, that he
-shut himself up in his apartments, and refused to see
-all company. When his brother, Quintus, was on his
-way from Asia to Rome, Cicero felt incapable of supporting
-an interview, and did not see him, so deeply
-were his feelings affected. At the same time, his
-letters to his friends were full of regret, complaint
-and despondency. It is obvious that, in this period
-of trial, he displayed great weakness of character,
-though it is probable that his affectionate disposition&mdash;his
-fondness for his children, and love of his friends&mdash;rendered
-separation from them an evil almost worse
-than death. It would seem, also, that he had so long
-enjoyed the homage paid to his talents, had so long
-lived in the blaze of popular favor, that his present
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>exile seemed like being deprived of the very light of
-heaven.</p>
-
-<p>But the period of his return to Rome was now approaching.
-Clodius, by a series of the most flagrant
-outrages, made himself hated at Rome, and finally
-put himself in opposition to Pompey himself. The
-people at large were favorable to Cicero, and it was
-not long before the senate, with great unanimity,
-passed a resolution favorable to his recall. Pompey
-urged the measure with ardor, and declared that
-Cicero ought to be received with such honors, as
-might atone for the sorrows of his exile.</p>
-
-<p>Preparations were made to obtain the passage of a
-law coinciding with the resolve of the senate; but
-Clodius, with his slaves and a multitude of hired
-gladiators, resisted the tribunes who sought to gain
-possession of the market-place, for that purpose. Several
-bloody encounters followed, and for a time the
-streets of Rome were deluged with blood. The dead
-bodies were thrown into the Tiber, which were so
-numerous as almost to obstruct its channel. Nothing
-can better show the greatness of Cicero’s reputation,
-than the facts now transpiring in Rome. For several
-months the attention of the people of that city, and of
-Italy, was wholly occupied with the question of his
-recall. The ambassadors of kings, the messengers of
-princes,&mdash;affairs which involved the fate of nations&mdash;were
-all laid aside, till this absorbing subject could be
-disposed of.</p>
-
-<p>The senate, after long deliberation, and in a full
-assembly, at last passed a decree for his restoration;
-Clodius, among four hundred and fifty, giving the only
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>vote against it. When the news reached a neighboring
-theatre, the air was rent with acclamation.
-Æsopus, the actor, was performing, at the time, the
-part of Timolean, banished from the country, in one
-of the plays of Accius. By a happy change of
-a few words, and giving the utmost effect to his
-voice, he directed the thoughts of the audience to
-Cicero, while he uttered these sentences, “What, he
-who always stood up for the republic! who, in doubtful
-times, spared neither life nor fortunes&mdash;the greatest
-friend in the greatest dangers&mdash;of such parts and
-talents! O Father&mdash;I saw his house and rich furniture
-all in flames! O, ungrateful Greeks, inconstant
-people; forgetful of services,&mdash;to see such a man
-banished, driven from his country, and suffer him to
-continue in this condition!” It is not possible to describe
-the thrilling effect of these words, or the enthusiasm
-of the people. When Lentulus, the consul,
-who had taken an active part in Cicero’s favor, entered
-the place, they all rose up, stretched out their
-hands, and, with tears of joy and loud acclamations,
-testified their thanks. Several of the senators coming
-into the theatre, were received with the most deafening
-applause. Clodius also making his appearance
-was assailed by reproaches, threats and curses.</p>
-
-<p>Though a decree was now regularly obtained for
-Cicero’s return, Clodius had still the courage and address
-to hinder its sanction by the popular assemblies.
-There were several meetings of the senate, and the
-whole city was shaken to its foundation with the
-question now at issue. All Italy and indeed many
-of the remote provinces were thrown into a state of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>ferment by the struggle, and the mighty interests of
-the empire were postponed till this important question
-could be settled. Ptolemy, the king of Egypt, driven
-from his kingdom, and seeking protection at the
-hands of Rome, even though a lodger in Pompey’s
-house, could not obtain an audience, till Cicero’s
-cause was decided.</p>
-
-<p>The greatest preparations were now made for submitting
-the question to the popular assemblies.
-Never had there been known so numerous and solemn
-a gathering of the Roman people as on this
-occasion. The whole country seemed to be drawn together.
-It was reckoned a sin to be absent. Neither
-age nor infirmity was thought a sufficient excuse for
-failing to lend a helping hand to the restoration of
-Cicero. The meeting was held in the field of Mars,
-for the more convenient reception of so vast a multitude.
-It was an august scene. The senators presided
-at the polls, to see the ballots fairly taken. The
-result was that Cicero was recalled from exile by the
-unanimous suffrage of all the hundreds, and to the
-infinite joy of the whole city!</p>
-
-<p>Cicero, having been advised of the course of events,
-had returned as far as Brundusium, where he was
-met by his daughter Tullia. In a few days he received
-the welcome intelligence of his recall. Setting
-out immediately for Rome, he everywhere
-received the most lively demonstrations of joy from
-the people. Multitudes were drawn together to congratulate
-him on his return. The whole road, from
-Brundusium to Rome, being crowded with men,
-women, and children, seemed like one continued<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>
-street. Every prefecture, town and colony throughout
-Italy decreed him statues, or public honors, and sent
-deputations to him, with tenders of congratulation.
-Cicero himself remarks, that Italy brought him back
-on its shoulders, and that the day of his return was
-worth an immortality.</p>
-
-<p>Cicero was now restored to his dignity, but not to
-his fortunes. Restitution had been decreed, and the
-sum of £22,000 was finally paid him. This he accepted,
-though it was scarcely more than half what
-he had actually lost. He now attached himself to the
-cause of Pompey, but spent several years with little
-public employment, being chiefly occupied with his
-rhetorical studies and the business of an advocate.
-The turbulent Clodius was at last slain by Milo, and
-Cicero was thus delivered from his most troublesome
-enemy.</p>
-
-<p>The senate now conferred upon him the office of
-pro-consul, or governor, of Cilicia, in Asia Minor,
-whither he immediately proceeded. He discharged
-the duties of this office with ability, and, on his return,
-was decreed a triumph. But he was prevented from
-enjoying it by the factious opposition of his enemies.
-On his return, he found Rome agitated with serious
-disturbances. The rupture between Cæsar and Pompey
-had taken place, and the horrors of a civil war
-seemed to be impending over the republic. In vain
-did he attempt to reconcile the fierce and haughty
-rivals.</p>
-
-<p>Cæsar advanced upon Rome, and Pompey was
-forced to fly with the consuls and the senate. Cæsar
-had met Cicero at Formiae, and sought to gain him
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>over to his cause, but though convinced that he would
-prevail in the coming struggle, he felt himself
-prompted, by a sense of honor to return to Pompey,
-who had served him so effectually during his exile.
-After the fatal battle of Pharsalia and the flight of
-Pompey, he returned to Rome, where he was graciously
-received by Cæsar.</p>
-
-<p>He now devoted himself to literary and philosophical
-pursuits, and, soon after, divorced his wife Terentia,
-an act which has justly subjected him to much reproach.
-It is true that she was a woman of an imperious
-and turbulent spirit, expensive and negligent in
-her private affairs, busy and intriguing in public matters.
-But these qualities were in some degree compensated
-by her devotion to Cicero, and especially by
-the energy with which she had sought to effect his
-return during his exile. His letters to her at this
-period recognise her efforts in his behalf, and are full
-of the most tender expressions of affection and esteem.</p>
-
-<p>It must be remarked that the nuptial bond was
-lightly regarded at this period in Rome, and divorces
-were so common as to be little thought of. Terentia
-was soon after married to Sallust, the historian, by
-which it would seem that her separation from Cicero
-inflicted upon her no disgrace. Cicero would perhaps
-have been little blamed, were it not that he
-was soon after married to a young lady named Publilia,
-of whom he was guardian, and who had been
-committed to his care by her father’s will. She had
-a large estate, and this was doubtless Cicero’s inducement
-to the match, if not to the divorce of Terentia.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>It is the suspicion of such motives, in these transactions,
-that has sullied the fame of Cicero. We may
-add here, in respect to Terentia, that she was once or
-twice married after the death of Sallust, and lived to
-the age of one hundred and three years.</p>
-
-<p>Cæsar, having established himself as dictator, Cicero
-was induced to assent to his government. Accordingly,
-he pronounced a famous oration, in which he
-mingled as much counsel as panegyric for the despot.
-He was rapidly regaining his former consideration,
-when the conspiracy of Brutus and his associates terminated
-the career of the ambitious usurper. Antony
-now took Cæsar’s place, and while he was prosecuting
-his designs, Cicero returned to his literary occupations.
-He went to Greece for a time, but soon returned,
-and pronounced those famous orations against
-Antony, which are called Philippics.</p>
-
-<p>Octavius, known as Augustus Cæsar, and the
-nephew of Julius Cæsar, united his interests with
-those of Antony, and having obtained the consulate,
-soon gained an ascendency over the senate. Cicero,
-in his retirement at Tusculum, saw that the power
-having passed into the hands of desperate men, the
-liberty of Rome was no more. He soon heard that
-his own name was included among those of the proscribed.
-He fled immediately to Astura, on the sea
-coast, where he found a vessel waiting for him.</p>
-
-<p>He here embarked, but contrary winds drove him
-back to the shore. At the earnest entreaty of his
-slaves, he embarked a second time, but returned to
-await his fate at his country seat near Formiae, declaring,
-“I will die in my country, which I have
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>more than once saved.” His slaves, seeing the neighborhood
-already disturbed by the soldiers of Antony,
-endeavored to convey him away in a litter, but soon
-discovered the assassins, who had been sent to take
-his life, at their heels. They prepared for resistance,
-but Cicero, who felt that death was unavoidable,
-bowed his head before Pompilius, the commander of
-the murderers, who had once been saved by his eloquence,
-and suffered death more courageously than
-he had borne misfortune.</p>
-
-<p>Thus died Cicero, and with him the liberties of
-Rome. The dynasty of the emperors was built upon
-the ruins of the republic, and, continuing for five centuries,
-was finally extinguished in the gloom of the
-dark ages. Cicero was killed on the 7th December,
-43 B. C., at the age of sixty-three. His head and
-hands were severed from the body, by his murderers,
-and carried to Antony, who caused the former to be
-placed upon the rostra in the forum, between the two
-hands. The odium of these barbarities fell chiefly
-upon Antony, yet they left a stain of perfidy and
-ingratitude upon Augustus, which can never be wiped
-away.</p>
-
-<p>In his person, Cicero was tall and slender, yet his
-features were regular and manly. He mingled great
-dignity with an air of cheerfulness and serenity, that
-inspired both affection and respect. His constitution
-was naturally weak, but his prudent habits enabled
-him to support all the fatigues of an active and studious
-life, with health and vigor. In dress, he avoided
-singularity, and was only remarkable for personal
-neatness and appropriateness of attire. In domestic
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>and social life, his demeanor was exceedingly amiable.
-He was an affectionate parent, a zealous friend,
-a generous master. Yet he was not more generous
-to his friends than placable to his enemies. It was
-one of his sayings, delivered in a public assembly,
-that “his enmities were mortal, his friendships
-immortal.”</p>
-
-<p>The moral character of Cicero was not blemished
-by the stain of any habitual vice. He was, indeed, the
-shining pattern of virtue in an age, of all others, the
-most licentious and profligate. His great soul was
-superior to the sordid passions which engross little
-minds&mdash;avarice, envy and malice. His familiar letters,
-in which he pours out his whole heart, are free
-from anything base, immodest or vengeful. A uniform
-principle of benevolence, justice, love of his
-friends and his country, is seen to flow through the
-whole, inspiring all his thoughts and words and actions.</p>
-
-<p>The failings of Cicero consisted chiefly in his
-vanity and that despondency under adverse circumstances,
-which seemed unworthy of his character.
-With these abatements, we must pronounce him a
-truly great and good man&mdash;the glory of Rome, an
-honor to human nature. His works, a large portion
-of which are extant, are among the richest treasures
-bequeathed to us by antiquity, and there are few
-minds so exalted, even with the advantages of our
-own time, as not to find instruction in his pages.</p>
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%" >
-<img src="images/130.jpg" alt="Julius Caesar" style="width: 70%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>CAIUS JULIUS CÆSAR.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This celebrated Roman, famous for his intrigues,
-his generalship, his eloquence and his talents, was
-born in the year 100 B. C. He was of a good family,
-and his aunt Julia was wife of Caius Marius, who
-had been consul. We know little of him in his youth,
-though it would seem that he early attracted attention
-by his abilities and ambition. At the age of fifteen,
-he left his father, and was made a priest in the temple
-of Jupiter, the year after. At the age of seventeen,
-he married Cornelia, a daughter of Cinna. By this
-marriage, and through his aunt Julia, he was allied
-both to Marius and Cinna, the two principal opposers
-of Sylla, who had acquired an ascendency in Rome,
-and exercised his power with fearful and bloody<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>
-tyranny. Soon after his marriage, Cæsar became an
-object of suspicion to the despot; he was stripped of
-his office as priest of Jupiter, his wife’s dower was
-confiscated, and he, being threatened with death,
-deemed it prudent to seek safety in flight.</p>
-
-<p>He wandered up and down the country, concealing
-himself for a time among the Sabines; but at last he
-escaped by sea, and went to Bithynia in Asia Minor,
-and sought protection of king Nicomedes. His stay
-at this place was, however, short. He re-embarked,
-and was taken, near the isle of Pharmacusa, by pirates,
-who were masters of that sea, and blocked up all the
-passages with a number of galleys and other vessels.
-They asked him only twenty talents for his ransom.
-He laughed at their demand, as the consequence of
-not knowing him, and promised them fifty talents.</p>
-
-<p>To raise the money he despatched his attendants
-to different cities, and in the meantime remained, with
-only one friend and two servants, among these people,
-who considered murder a trifle. Cæsar, however,
-held them in great contempt, and used, whenever he
-went to sleep, to send them an order to keep silence.
-Thus he lived among them thirty-eight days, as if
-they had been his guards rather than his keepers.</p>
-
-<p>Perfectly fearless and self-possessed, he joined in
-their diversions, and took his exercises among them.
-He wrote poems and orations, and rehearsed them to
-these pirates; and when they expressed no admiration,
-he called them dunces and barbarians&mdash;nay,
-he often threatened to crucify them. They were
-delighted with these freedoms, which they imputed
-to his frank and facetious vein. But as soon as the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>
-money was brought for his ransom, and he had recovered
-his liberty, he manned some vessels in the
-port of Miletus, in order to attack these corsairs. He
-found them still lying at anchor by the island, took
-most of them, together with the money he had paid
-them, and caused them to be imprisoned at Pergamus.</p>
-
-<p>After this adventure, Cæsar took lessons of Appolonius
-Molo, of Rhodes, a celebrated teacher of rhetoric,
-who had been the instructor of Cicero. He here displayed
-great talents, especially in an aptitude for eloquence,
-in which he afterwards excelled. After this,
-he served under different generals in Asia, and upon
-the death of Sylla, returned to Rome, where he soon
-became conspicuous among the aspiring politicians
-of the day.</p>
-
-<p>Rome was at this time a republic, in which there
-was a constant struggle for ascendency between the
-aristocracy and the democracy&mdash;between the privileged
-few and the people. Sylla had placed the
-former on a firm footing; for a time, therefore, Cæsar,
-who courted the people, took no open part, but looked
-calmly on, waiting and watching for his opportunity.
-He, however, seized every occasion to please and
-flatter the people; he gave expensive entertainments
-to which they were invited; he attached to his person
-the talented and enterprising young men; he distributed
-presents, paid compliments, and said a thousand
-pleasant things, calculated to flatter those whose
-favor he desired. He also made public speeches on
-various occasions, in all of which he avowed sentiments
-which gratified the plebeians. Thus beginning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>
-afar off and steadily approaching his object he was
-ere long in a situation to realize it. Cato, who had
-watched him carefully, discovered his dangerous ambition,
-but he could not prevent the success of his
-schemes.</p>
-
-<p>At the age of thirty-one, he was chosen by the people,
-as one of the military tribunes, an office which
-gave him the command of a legion, or division in the
-army. The year following, he was quæstor, or
-receiver of public moneys in Spain; and in the year
-68, having returned to Rome, he was chosen edile&mdash;an
-office which gave him charge of the public buildings.</p>
-
-<p>In this situation, he had an opportunity to indulge
-his taste for magnificence and display; at the same
-time, he gratified the people. He beautified the city
-with public edifices and gave splendid exhibitions of
-wild beasts and gladiators.</p>
-
-<p>He was now thirty-five years old, and being desirous
-of military glory, he sought a command in
-Egypt. He offered himself as a candidate&mdash;but failed.
-The next year he took his measures more carefully.
-The corruption of the voters of Rome, at that time,
-was such as to excite our disgust. On the day of
-election, there were stalls, openly kept, where the
-votes of the freemen were bought, with as little shame,
-as if they had been common merchandise. We hardly
-know which most to despise, the crafty leaders, who
-thus corrupted the people, or the venal voters, who
-abused and degraded the dearest of privileges.</p>
-
-<p>Though Cæsar was from the beginning a professed
-champion of the democracy, yet the manner in which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>
-he treated those whose support he sought, showed
-that his designs were selfish; that he wished to make
-the people instruments of his ambition. A man who
-will flatter the mass; use false, yet captivating arguments
-with them; appeal to their prejudices; fall in
-with their currents of feeling and opinion, even
-though they may be wrong, may profess democracy
-but he is at heart an aristocrat: he has no true love
-for the people; no confidence in them; he really despises
-them, and looks upon them but as the despicable
-tools of his ambition. Such was Cæsar, and such is
-always the popular demagogue. While nothing is
-more noble than a true democrat&mdash;a true well-wisher
-of the people&mdash;and one who honestly seeks to vindicate
-their rights, enlighten their minds, and elevate
-them in the scale of society; so nothing is more
-base than a selfish desire to govern them, hidden beneath
-the cloak of pretended democracy.</p>
-
-<p>The measures of Cæsar were now so open, and his
-real character so obvious, that we should wonder at
-his success with the people, did we not know the
-power which flattery exerts over all mankind, and
-that when a man of rank and talents becomes a demagogue,
-he is usually more successful than other men.
-It was so, at least, with Cæsar. He courted the
-populace on all occasions; he distributed money with
-a lavish hand, particularly among the poorer voters.</p>
-
-<p>After many intrigues, he obtained the office of
-prætor, at the end of a sharply contested election.
-This office was one of high dignity and trust. The
-prætor administered justice, protected the rights of
-widows and orphans&mdash;presided at public festivals<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>
-was president of the senate, in the absence of the
-consul, and assembled or prorogued the senate at his
-pleasure. He also exhibited shows to the people, and
-in the festivals of Bona Dea, where none but women
-were admitted, his wife presided.</p>
-
-<p>In obtaining this office, Cæsar achieved a great triumph.
-He also increased his power, and reached a
-situation which enabled him still more to flatter the
-people. An event, however, occurred about this
-time, which gave him great annoyance. During the
-ceremonies in honor of the Bona Dea, at his house, a
-profligate person, named Clodius, disguised as a woman,
-gained access to the festivities. This caused a
-great deal of scandal, and Cæsar divorced his wife,
-Pompeia, whom he had married after the death of
-Cornelia.</p>
-
-<p>In the year 63 B. C., a conspiracy, which had for
-its object the subversion of the Roman government,
-was detected by Cicero, the orator, then consul. It
-was headed by Cataline, a Roman nobleman of dissolute
-habits, whose life had been stained with many
-crimes. His accomplices were men of similar character,
-who took an oath of fidelity to the cause, which
-they sealed by drinking human blood. After the
-disclosure of the plot, Cataline braved the senate for
-a time, but five of his associates being seized, he fled
-to Gaul, where, having raised some troops, he was
-attacked, and fell, bravely fighting to the last.</p>
-
-<p>When the trial of the five accomplices came on in
-the Roman senate, there was but a single person who
-dared to oppose their execution, and this was Cæsar.
-His courage, moral or physical, never failed him.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>In policy and war, he often undertook what might
-seem the most desperate schemes, yet the event usually
-bore out his judgment, or his skill and energy
-generally ensured success. In the present case, he
-failed; though his speech in the senate had a wonderful
-effect. Even Cicero wavered. As that speech
-is handed down by Sallust, it is a masterly performance.
-It gave Cæsar a high place as an orator, he
-being now regarded as second to Cicero alone.
-Though he did not obtain his direct object respecting
-the conspirators, and was driven from his office by the
-aristocratic faction, he gained more than he lost, by
-increased popularity with the plebeians.</p>
-
-<p>In the year 60 B. C., when the time was approaching
-for the choice of consuls, Cæsar being a candidate,
-the aristocratic faction saw that they could not defeat
-his election; they therefore thought to check him, by
-associating with him Bibulus, one of their own party.
-When the election took place, Cæsar and Bibulus
-were chosen. The latter was rather a weak man,
-and offered no effectual obstacle to Cæsar’s schemes.
-On one occasion, he determined to check his colleague,
-and for this purpose, resorted to the use of an extreme
-power, vested, however, in his hands. It was the
-custom, before any public business, to consult the
-augurs. These were officers of state, who were supposed
-to foretell future events.</p>
-
-<p>The augur sat upon a high tower, where he studied
-the heavens, and particularly noticed comets,
-thunder and lightning, rain and tempest. The chirping
-or flying of birds&mdash;the sudden crossing of the
-path by quadrupeds&mdash;accidents, such as spilling salt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>
-hearing strange noises, sneezing, stumbling, &amp;c.&mdash;were
-all esteemed ominous, and were the means by which
-the soothsayers pretended to unravel the fate of men
-and of nations. When these gave an unfavorable
-report, a consul could stop public business, and even
-break up the sittings of the senate. Bibulus resorted
-to the use of this power, and not only declared that
-the augurs were unfavorable, but that they would be
-so all the year! This extravagant stretch of authority
-was turned to ridicule by Cæsar and his friends,
-and the baffled consul, in disgust and shame, shut
-himself up in his own house. Cæsar was now, in
-fact, the sole consul of Rome.</p>
-
-<p>Pompey the Great was at this period in the full
-flush of his fame. His military achievements had
-been of the most splendid character. He was, therefore,
-a man of the highest consideration, and even
-superior to Cæsar in standing. The latter, by a series
-of intrigues, gained his favor, and these two, rivals at
-heart, both yearning for supreme authority in Rome,
-entered into a political alliance, which they cemented
-by the marriage of Julia, Cæsar’s daughter, to Pompey.
-It mattered not, among these unscrupulous politicians,
-that Julia had long been betrothed to Marcus
-Brutus. Cæsar, at this time, also took a wife, named
-Calpurnia, daughter of Piso&mdash;a political match, which
-greatly enlarged his power. Three great men were
-now at the head of affairs in Rome&mdash;Cæsar, Pompey,
-and Crassus&mdash;and this union is called in history the
-First Triumvirate.</p>
-
-<p>Cæsar was, however, the master as well of the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>senate as of the people. By his influence, an agrarian
-law was passed, for the division of some public
-lands in Campania, among the poorer citizens, which
-he carried by intimidation. Everything gave way
-before him; even Cicero, who was in his way, was
-banished. Cæsar’s desire was now to have an army
-at his command: this he obtained, being appointed to
-the charge of the provinces of Gaul, on both sides of
-the Alps, for five years.</p>
-
-<p>From this time, the history of Rome presents a
-striking parallel to that of the republic of France
-during Bonaparte’s first campaigns in Italy. In both
-cases we see a weak republic, torn by contending factions,
-and rather feeding discontent than seeking
-tranquillity. In both cases we see vast provinces of
-the distracted republic occupied by a general of unlimited
-powers&mdash;a man of superior genius, desperate
-resolves, and fearful cruelty&mdash;a man, who, under the
-show of democratic principles and a love of the people,
-gains a complete ascendency over the soldiers,
-that he may lead them on to victory, bloodshed, plunder,
-and despotism!</p>
-
-<p>We shall not follow Cæsar in the details of his
-victorious career. It is sufficient to say, that, in nine
-campaigns, he waged war against the numerous tribes
-which occupied the present territory of France, Britain,
-Switzerland, and Germany. Some of these were
-warlike and populous nations, and frequently brought
-into the field immense armies of fierce and formidable
-soldiery. Though often pushed to extremity, by a
-series of splendid achievements, Cæsar reduced them
-all to subjection at last. During this period, it is said
-that he fought nearly a thousand battles, captured<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>
-eight hundred towns, slew a million of men, and
-reduced to captivity as many more! If the warrior’s
-glory is estimated by the blood he sheds, the life he
-extinguishes, the liberty he destroys&mdash;Cæsar’s crown
-must be one of surpassing splendor.</p>
-
-<p>Though Cæsar did not visit Rome during this long
-period, he was by no means ignorant of what was
-transpiring there. It was his custom to spend his
-winters in Cisalpine Gaul, that is, on the southern side
-of the Alps, about two hundred and fifty miles from
-Rome. Here he was able to keep up a correspondence
-with his friends, and to mingle in all the intrigues
-that agitated the mighty city&mdash;the heart of the empire.</p>
-
-<p>Pompey had at length broken through the alliance
-with Cæsar, and set up for supreme authority. It
-was now understood that Cæsar had similar views,
-and Rome began to look with fear and trembling upon
-the issue that was approaching between these powerful
-rivals. Pompey succeeded in getting certain acts
-passed by the senate, requiring Cæsar to quit his
-army, and come to Rome. The latter saw danger
-in this, and while he determined to visit Rome, he
-resolved that his army should accompany him. The
-southern boundary of his provinces was a small
-stream, called the Rubicon. When Cæsar came to
-this, he hesitated. To cross it with his troops, was a
-declaration of war. Staggered with the greatness of
-the attempt, he stopped to weigh with himself its evils
-and advantages; and, as he stood revolving in his own
-mind the arguments on both sides, he seemed to waver
-in his opinion. In a state of doubt, he conferred
-with such of his friends as were by, enumerating the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>
-calamities which the passage of that river would bring
-upon the world, and the reflections that might be
-made upon it by posterity. At last, upon some sudden
-impulse, bidding adieu to his reasonings, and
-plunging into the abyss of futurity&mdash;in the words of
-those who embark in doubtful and arduous enterprises&mdash;he
-cried out, “The die is cast;” and immediately
-passed the river.</p>
-
-<p>He now travelled with the utmost rapidity, having
-but about three hundred horse and five thousand foot.
-The consternation of the whole country was evinced
-by the movements visible on all hands&mdash;not individuals,
-only, were seen wandering about, but whole cities
-were broken up, the inhabitants seeking safety in
-flight. Pompey himself, with his friends, fled from
-Rome, and Cæsar entered the city, and took possession
-of the government without opposition.</p>
-
-<p>A senate was hastily assembled, and the forms of
-law observed, though in obedience to Cæsar’s will.
-He was declared dictator, and then marched to Brundusium,
-whither Pompey had fled. After many skirmishes,
-the two armies met on the plains of Pharsalia,
-a town of Thessaly, in Greece, and a decisive and
-bloody engagement took place. Pompey was defeated,
-and, wandering like a distracted man, came at last
-to Egypt, where he was treacherously murdered.
-Cæsar followed, as the remorseless eagle pursues its
-prey, but finding his rival slain, he repaired in triumph
-to Rome. These events occurred in the year
-48 B. C.</p>
-
-<p>After various proceedings, Cæsar was elected consul
-for ten years, and declared dictator for life. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>
-mask was now thrown off&mdash;the despot stood disclosed.
-Forty senators, incensed at his subversion of the constitution
-of Rome, entered into a conspiracy to take
-his life, and, on the 18th of March, B. C. 44, they
-stabbed him, as he was entering the senate chamber.
-Proud even in death, Cæsar muffled his face in his
-cloak as he fell, that his expiring agonies might not
-be witnessed.</p>
-
-<p>Thus lived and thus died, Julius Cæsar. His talents
-were only equalled by his ambition. If he sought
-glory, it was often by worthy means&mdash;by valuable
-improvements, and real benefits. Yet he hesitated
-not to trample upon life, principles, bonds, rights&mdash;upon
-liberty&mdash;his country&mdash;everything that stood in
-the way of his towering wishes.</p>
-
-<p>He left behind him an account of his battles, written
-from day to day, as events occurred. These are
-called Commentaries, and furnish a fund of authentic
-narrative for history, beside being admired for their
-elegance of style. It was after a victory over Pharnaces,
-king of Pontus, in Asia Minor, that he used
-the remarkable words, <i>veni, vidi, vinci</i>&mdash;“I came, I
-saw, I conquered.” They well express the celerity
-and decision of his movements. In private affairs he
-was extravagant of money; his debts at one time
-amounted to eight hundred talents&mdash;almost a million of
-dollars. These were paid by his friends. In public
-concerns he did not appear greedy of wealth. As an
-evidence of the activity and energy of his faculties,
-it was said that at the same time he could employ
-his ear to listen, his eye to read, his hand to write,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>and his mind to dictate. His disposition led him irresistibly
-to seek dominion; in battle, he must be a conqueror;
-in a republic, he must be the master. This
-leading feature in his character is well illustrated, in
-his saying to the inhabitants of a village, “I would
-rather be first here, than second in Rome.” His character
-is delineated by an eminent writer, in the following
-terms:&mdash;</p>
-
-<p>“Such was the affection of his soldiers, and their
-attachment to his person, that they, who, under other
-commanders, were nothing above the common rate of
-men, became invincible when Cæsar’s glory was concerned,
-and met the most dreadful dangers with a
-courage which nothing could resist.</p>
-
-<p>“This courage, and this great ambition, were cultivated
-and cherished, in the first place, by the generous
-manner in which Cæsar rewarded his troops,
-and the honors which he paid them. His whole conduct
-showed that he did not accumulate riches to
-minister to luxury, or to serve any pleasures of his
-own, but that he laid them up in a common stock, as
-prizes to be obtained by distinguished valor; and that
-he considered himself no farther rich, than as he was
-in a condition to do justice to the merit of his soldiers.
-Another thing that contributed to make them invincible,
-was their seeing Cæsar always take his share in
-the danger, and never desire any exemption from
-labor and fatigue.</p>
-
-<p>“As for his exposing his person to danger, they
-were not surprised at it, because they knew his passion
-for glory; but they were astonished at his patience
-under toil, so far, in all appearance, above his
-bodily powers; for he was of a slender make, fair,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>of a delicate constitution, and subject to violent headaches,
-and epileptic fits. He had the first attack of
-the falling sickness at Corduba. He did not, however,
-make these disorders a pretence for indulging himself.
-On the contrary, he sought in war a remedy for his
-infirmities, endeavoring to strengthen his constitution
-by long marches, by simple diet, by seldom coming
-under cover. Thus he contended against his distemper,
-and fortified himself against its attacks.</p>
-
-<p>“When he slept, it was commonly upon a march,
-either in a chariot or a litter, that rest might be no
-hindrance to business. In the daytime he visited the
-castles, cities, and fortified camps, with a servant at his
-side, and with a soldier behind, who carried his sword.</p>
-
-<p>“As a warrior and a general, we behold him not
-in the least inferior to the greatest and most admired
-commander the world ever produced; for, whether
-we compare him with the Fabii, the Scipios, the Metelli&mdash;with
-the generals of his own time, or those who
-flourished a little before him&mdash;with Sylla, Marius, the
-two Luculli, or with Pompey himself, whose fame in
-every military excellence, reached the skies, Cæsar’s
-achievements bear away the palm. One he surpassed
-in the difficulty of the scene of action; another in the
-extent of the countries he subdued; this, in the number
-and strength of the enemies he overcame; that,
-in the savage manners and treacherous dispositions
-of the people he humanized; one, in mildness and
-clemency to his prisoners; another, in bounty and
-munificence to his troops; and all, in the number of
-battles that he won, and enemies that he killed.
-In less than ten years’ war in Gaul, he took eight<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span>
-hundred cities by assault, conquered three hundred
-nations, and fought pitched battles, at different times,
-with three millions of men, one million of which he
-cut in pieces, and made another million prisoners.”</p>
-
-<p>Such was Cæsar, one of the greatest, yet worst of
-men. It appears that after his death he was enrolled
-among the gods. It is evident that a people who
-looked upon such a being as divine, must have worshipped
-power, and not virtue; and that what we
-call vice and crime, were, in their view, compatible
-with divinity.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/144.jpg" alt="legio" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%" >
-<img src="images/145.jpg" alt="Hannibal" style="width: 70%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>HANNIBAL.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This great man, a native of Carthage, and son of
-Hamilcar Barcas, was born 247 B. C. At this
-period, Rome and Carthage were rival powers
-and both seated upon the borders of the Mediterranean
-Sea. Rome had been in existence about five
-hundred years, and had already extended her conquests
-over Italy and a portion of Spain. She had
-not yet crossed the Alps, to conquer the more northern
-Gauls or Goths, but she was rapidly advancing in
-power; and, about a century after, Greece and Asia
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>Minor fell before her. Already her proud eagle began
-to spread his wing, and whet his beak for conquest
-and slaughter.</p>
-
-<p>Rome was a nation of soldiers; and, paying little
-respect to commerce, manufactures and productive
-industry, she sought to enrich herself by robbing
-other countries&mdash;thus building herself up by the very
-means which the Goths and Vandals employed, seven
-hundred years after, for her destruction. Carthage
-was, in most respects, the opposite of Rome; her citizens
-were chiefly devoted to commerce and manufactures.
-The Mediterranean was dotted over with
-her vessels, and she had numerous colonies in Spain
-and along the coasts of Africa.</p>
-
-<p>The city of Rome was the centre of the republic
-and the seat of government. Here all the laws were
-enacted; here all the military movements and other
-affairs of state were decided upon. The city was at
-this time nearly twenty miles in circuit, and defended
-by a triple range of walls. The number of its inhabitants
-was several millions.</p>
-
-<p>Carthage was also a vast city, situated in Africa,
-about four hundred miles south-west of Rome, the
-Mediterranean Sea lying between them. It originated
-with a small colony of people from Tyre, a maritime
-city in Syria, about a hundred years before Rome was
-founded by Romulus. It increased rapidly, and became
-a flourishing place. The city exercised dominion
-over the whole country around. Its government was
-a mixture of aristocracy and democracy; the chief
-men ruling on all ordinary occasions, but sometimes
-consulting the people.</p>
-
-<p>The Carthaginians were an industrious nation and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>
-appear to have had no taste or leisure for the gladiator
-fights, the shows of wild beasts, the theatrical exhibitions
-and other amusements, that excited such deep
-interest among the idle and dissipated Romans. They
-were, in many respects, exemplary in their morals&mdash;even
-abstinence from wine being required of the
-magistrates while in office. Their religion, however,
-was a gloomy superstition, and their punishments
-were cruel. They even sacrificed children to their
-gods, in the earlier periods of their history.</p>
-
-<p>Though chiefly addicted to commerce, the Carthaginians
-paid great attention to agriculture. The rich
-men laid out their surplus money in cultivating the
-lands; and in the time of Hannibal, the whole extent
-of country around Carthage, which was the territory
-now called Tunis, was covered with vast herds of the
-finest cattle, fields waving with corn, vineyards and
-olive grounds. There were a multitude of small villages
-scattered over the country; near to the great
-city, the whole landscape was studded with the splendid
-villas of the rich citizens. To such a pitch was
-the art of agriculture carried, that one Mago wrote
-twenty-eight books upon the subject. These were
-carried to Rome, after the conquest of Carthage, and
-greatly increased the knowledge and skill of the Romans,
-in the science of husbandry.</p>
-
-<p>It was at a period when these two great powers
-had already extended themselves so far as to come in
-frequent collision, that Hannibal was born. His father
-was a general, who had served in Spain and fought
-against the Romans in the first Punic war. His mind
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span>was filled with hatred of that nation; and while Hannibal
-was yet a boy of nine years old, and about to
-accompany his father in his Spanish campaigns, he
-caused him to kneel before the altar, and swear eternal
-hatred to the Romans.</p>
-
-<p>Asdrubal, the brother of Hamilcar, succeeded, at
-the death of the latter, to the command of the Carthaginian
-army in Spain; at his death, Hannibal, now
-twenty-one years old, was made general of the whole
-army, as well by the acclamations of the soldiers, as
-the decree of the Carthaginian senate. He immediately
-marched against various barbarous tribes in
-Spain, yet unsubdued, and quickly reduced them to
-submission.</p>
-
-<p>During the first Punic war, Carthage had lost her
-finest colonies&mdash;the island of Sicily, as well as the
-Lipari isles&mdash;all of which had fallen into the hands
-of Rome. She had now recovered from the losses
-of that war, and Hannibal determined to revenge the
-injuries Rome had inflicted upon his country. Accordingly,
-he laid siege to Saguntum, in Spain, a
-large city subject to Rome, and situated on the Mediterranean,
-near the present town of Valencia. Faithful
-to their alliance, and expecting succors from Rome,
-the people made the most determined resistance for
-eight months. They were at last reduced to such
-fearful extremity for food, that they killed their infant
-children and fed upon their blood and flesh. Filled
-with a horrid despair, they finally erected an immense
-pile of wood, and setting it on fire, the men first hurled
-their women, slaves and treasures into the blaze, and
-then plunged into it themselves. Hannibal now entered
-the city, but, instead of finding rich spoils, he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>
-only witnessed a heap of ashes. The solitude of that
-scene might have touched even a warrior’s heart.
-The present town of Murviedo, the site of the ancient
-Saguntum and the witness of these horrid
-scenes, still abounds in remains of Roman architecture.</p>
-
-<p>The second Punic war was begun by these proceedings
-against Saguntum. Hannibal, who had
-determined upon the invasion of Italy, spent the winter
-in making his preparations. Leaving a large
-force in Africa, and also in Spain, to defend these
-points, he set out, in the spring of the year 218, with
-eighty thousand foot and twelve thousand horse, to
-fulfil his project.</p>
-
-<p>His course lay along the Mediterranean; the whole
-distance to Rome being about one thousand miles by
-the land route which he contemplated. When he had
-traversed Spain, he came to the Pyrenees, a range
-of mountains separating that country from Gaul, now
-France. Here he was attacked by wild tribes of
-brave barbarians, but he easily drove them back. He
-crossed the Pyrenees, traversed Gaul, and came at
-last to the Alps, which threw up their frowning battlements,
-interposing a formidable obstacle between him
-and the object of his expedition. No warrior had
-then crossed these snowy peaks with such an army;
-and none but a man of that degree of resolution and
-self-relience which will not be baffled, would have
-hazarded the fearful enterprise. Napoleon accomplished
-the task, two thousand years afterwards, but
-with infinitely greater facilities.</p>
-
-<p>Hannibal, after a march of five months, descended
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>the southern slopes of the Alps, and poured down
-upon the soft and smiling plains of Italy. The northern
-portion, called Cisalpine Gaul, was peopled with
-Gothic tribes, long settled in the country. They were
-desirous, however, of throwing off the Roman yoke,
-and therefore favored the Carthaginian cause. Hannibal,
-whose army had been greatly reduced in his
-march, especially in crossing the Alps, remained
-among some of these people for a time, to recruit,
-and then proceeded southward toward Rome.</p>
-
-<p>On the banks of the river Tessino he was met by
-a Roman army despatched against him; but, after a
-bloody conflict, he was victorious. In a few weeks
-he again encountered the Romans, and again he triumphed.
-Thus, the whole of Cisalpine Gaul fell
-into his hands, and these people, relieved from the
-presence of the Roman army, aided him freely with
-every kind of supplies.</p>
-
-<p>Rome now presented a scene of the greatest activity.
-She was not yet softened by luxuries, or corrupted
-by indulgence; she did not, therefore, yield to
-fear, as in after days, when the wild leaders of the
-north poured down from the Alps, like an avalanche.
-She was alarmed, but yet she met the emergency
-with courage and resolution. Every artisan in the
-city was busy in preparation; the senate were revolving
-deep schemes; generals held councils of war;
-soldiers were recruited and trained; the people ran
-to and fro in the streets, telling the last news, and
-recounting some marvellous legend of the Carthaginians
-and their dreaded leader. All was bustle and
-preparation.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span></p>
-<p>When the spring of the year 217 B. C. arrived,
-two Roman armies took the field; one under the consul
-Flaminius, and the other under the consul Servilius.
-Hannibal first marched against Flaminius,
-but in passing the swamps of the river Arno, his army
-suffered greatly, and he himself lost one of his eyes.
-Soon after this, Flaminius, who was a rash and
-headstrong man, came up with him on the banks of
-the lake Trasimenus, and gave the Carthaginians battle.
-Here, again, the genius of Hannibal triumphed.
-The conflict was dreadful, and the water of the lake
-where the armies met, was red with blood. But the
-Romans were totally defeated.</p>
-
-<p>After this event, a famous general, Quintus Fabius
-Maximus, was appointed dictator of Rome, and, under
-his direction, a new policy was adopted. Instead of
-sending armies to act offensively against Hannibal at
-a distance, the defensive system of warfare was rigidly
-observed. This prudent course, adopted by Fabius,
-has given a signification to his name; the <i>Fabian</i>
-policy being a term which is used as synonymous
-with <i>prudent</i> policy. It is thought that Washington,
-in our revolutionary war, imitated this great Roman
-general.</p>
-
-<p>But the successes of Hannibal and the disasters of
-Rome, had not yet ended. In the year 216, another
-battle was determined upon, and Hannibal met the
-enemy at Cannæ, near the present city of Naples.
-Here, again, the Romans were defeated with dreadful
-slaughter. Not less than forty thousand of their soldiers
-were slain. To this day, the relics of the fight
-are ploughed up from the ground, and the spot where
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>the battle took place, is called the “field of blood.”
-If the red stain has long since vanished from the soil,
-time cannot wash out the bloody record from the
-memory of man.</p>
-
-<p>Beside this fearful carnage, ten thousand Roman
-soldiers were taken prisoners. The Carthaginian
-loss was small. We can only account for such events
-as these, by the supposition that Hannibal, whose
-army was scarcely half as large as that of the Romans,
-was a man greatly superior in capacity even
-to the able and practised generals of Rome, who were
-sent against him. Nothing in modern times has been
-witnessed, to compare with his achievements, except
-those of Napoleon, operating in the same countries,
-and also contending against disciplined troops and
-generals long practised in the military art.</p>
-
-<p>The whole of lower Italy was now in the possession
-of Hannibal. He had entered the country by
-the north, and, having passed Rome, was in the southern
-portion of the peninsula. It would seem that he
-was now near the consummation of his wishes, and
-that the imperial city must fall before him; but such
-was not the event. A defensive system was still observed,
-and the city being too formidable for attack,
-Hannibal was obliged to look around for aid. He
-applied to Philip of Macedon and the Syracusans,
-but the Romans contrived to keep both occupied at
-home.</p>
-
-<p>Hasdrubal, the brother of Hannibal, had charge of
-the Carthaginian forces in Spain, where he conducted
-the war with ability. In a great battle, he defeated
-the Romans; and two generals, by the name of Scipio,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>fell. Another Scipio was sent thither, and he
-soon recovered in Spain what the Romans had lost
-there. Hasdrubal now left that country to join his
-brother, and, crossing the Alps without opposition,
-reached Italy. Before he could effect the junction
-he desired, he was met by the Roman forces, his
-army cut to pieces and he himself slain. Hannibal
-was now obliged to act on the defensive. Yet he
-continued to sustain himself here for a series of years
-without calling upon Carthage for supplies.</p>
-
-<p>Scipio, having finished the war in Spain, now
-transported his army across the Mediterranean: thus
-<i>carrying the war into Africa</i>, and giving rise to an
-expression still in vogue, and significant of effective
-retaliation. By the aid of Massinissa, a powerful
-prince of Numidia, now Morocco, he gained two victories
-over the Carthaginians, who were obliged
-hastily to recall their great commander from Italy.
-He landed at Leptis, and advanced near Zama, five
-days’ journey to the west of Carthage. Here he met
-the Roman forces, and here, for the first time, he suffered
-a total defeat. The loss of the Carthaginians
-was immense, and they were obliged to sue for
-peace. This was granted on humiliating terms by
-Scipio, called Africanus, after this victory. Hannibal
-would still have resisted, but he was compelled by
-his countrymen to submit. Thus ended the second
-Punic war, 200 B. C, having continued about eighteen
-years.</p>
-
-<p>Hannibal now applied himself to the reform of
-abuses in the government of Carthage. In this he
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>was supported by the people, but he incurred the dislike
-of certain leading men among his countrymen.
-These, insensible to his great services, and only guided
-by their jealousy, sent to the Roman authorities certain
-representations, calculated to excite their suspicion
-and arouse their anger against him. Ambassadors
-were accordingly sent to Carthage, to demand
-his punishment; but Hannibal, foreseeing the storm,
-fled to Tyre. From this place he went to Ephesus,
-and induced Antiochus to declare war against Rome,
-B. C. 196. He had himself but a subordinate command,
-and when the war, which proved unfortunate,
-was over, he was compelled to depart, and seek a
-refuge with Prusias, prince of Bithynia, in Asia Minor.
-The Romans, being uneasy so long as their formidable
-enemy was alive, sent to Prusias to demand that he
-should be given up. Hannibal, now driven to extremity,
-and sick of life, destroyed himself by poison, B. C.
-183, in the sixty-fifth year of his age.</p>
-
-<p>We have no accounts of this wonderful man except
-from his enemies, the Romans, and nothing from
-them but his public career. Prejudiced as are these
-sources of evidence, they still exhibit him as one of
-the most extraordinary men that has ever lived.
-Many of the events of his life remind us of the career
-of Napoleon. Like him, he crossed the Alps with a
-great army; like him, he was repeatedly victorious
-over disciplined and powerful forces in Italy; like him,
-he was finally overwhelmed in a great battle; like
-him, he was a statesman as well as a general; like him,
-he was the idol of the army; like him, he was finally
-driven from his country and died in exile. No one
-achievement of Bonaparte’s life was equal to that of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>Hannibal in crossing the Alps, if we consider the difficulties
-he had to encounter; nor has anything in
-generalship surpassed the ability he displayed in sustaining
-himself and his army, for sixteen years, in
-Italy, in the face of Rome, and without asking for
-assistance from his own country.</p>
-
-<p>During this whole period he never once dismissed
-his forces, and though they were composed of Africans,
-Spaniards, Gauls, Carthaginians and Greeks&mdash;persons
-of different laws, languages and habits&mdash;never
-was anything like mutiny displayed among them.
-How wonderful was the genius that held such a vast
-number of persons&mdash;the fiery spirits of so many different
-nations&mdash;subject to one will, and obedient to one
-authority! Where can we look for evidence of talent
-superior to this? We cannot doubt that Hannibal, in
-addition to his great mind, possessed those personal
-qualifications, which enabled him to exercise powers
-of fascination over all those persons who came into
-his presence; and that, in this respect too, he bore a
-resemblance to Napoleon.</p>
-
-<p>We may not approve, yet we can hardly fail to
-admire, the unflinching hostility of Hannibal to Rome.
-He had been taught this in his childhood; it came
-with the first lessons of life, and from the lips of a
-father; he had sworn it at the altar. Rome was the
-great enemy of his country; and as he loved the last,
-he must hate the first. His duty, his destiny, might
-serve to impel him to wage uncompromising war
-against Rome; for this he lived&mdash;for this, at last, he
-died.</p>
-
-<p>Nor can we believe that this sentiment, which
-formed the chief spring of his actions, was unmixed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>
-with patriotism. Indeed, this was doubtless at its
-very root. It was for the eclipse that she cast over
-Carthage, that he would annihilate Rome. It was
-from a conviction that one of these great powers must
-give way to the other&mdash;that the existence of Rome
-boded destruction to Carthage&mdash;that he waged uncompromising
-and deadly war upon the former.</p>
-
-<p>That Hannibal was patriotic, is evinced also by the
-reforms which he sought to effect in the government
-of his country. These had for their object the benefit
-of the people at large. For this, he obtained the
-confidence of the mass, while he incurred the hostility
-of the few. It is no evidence against him
-that he fell a victim to the jealousy thus excited, for
-such has too often been the fate of the lover of his
-country.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/156.jpg" alt="Death of Hannibal" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%" >
-<img src="images/157.jpg" alt="Alexander the Great" style="width: 70%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>ALEXANDER, KING OF MACEDON.</h2>
-
-
-<p>It is now somewhat more than two thousand years
-since this warrior flourished; yet his image continues
-to stand out from the page of history in bold relief,
-seeming not only to claim our attention, but to challenge
-our admiration. A brief outline of his history
-may enable us to judge upon what basis this undying
-fame is founded.</p>
-
-<p>Alexander was born 354 B. C., on the same day
-that Erostratus destroyed the famous temple of Diana
-at Ephesus, by fire. A wit of the time remarked
-that “it was no wonder that the temple of Diana
-should be burnt at Ephesus, while the goddess was at
-Macedon, attending the birth of Alexander.” Plutarch
-observes that this witticism was frigid enough<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>
-to have extinguished the flames. Philip, Alexander’s
-father, being absent at the time of his birth, received
-three messages in one day: the first informed him
-that his general, Parmenio, had won a great battle;
-the second, that his horse had gained the prize at the
-Olympic games; the third, that his wife had borne
-him a son.</p>
-
-<p>At the time of Alexander’s birth, Macedonia, which
-lay north of Greece, and now constitutes that part of
-Turkey called Romelia, had become a warlike and
-powerful kingdom. Philip was not only an able
-warrior, but an ambitious and sagacious statesman.
-He greatly civilized his own people, trained them to
-arms, and added to his kingdom several adjacent
-states. By a series of victories and crafty negotiations
-he had also become the nominal protector, but real
-master of Greece. It was against the insidious policy
-of Philip that Demosthenes pronounced his caustic
-speeches, which gave rise to the term “Philippics.”</p>
-
-<p>Although Philip was ruthless in war and unscrupulous
-in policy, still he was a very enlightened
-prince. He understood many of the arts, customs
-and feelings which belong to civilization; nor was he
-destitute of noble traits of character. We are told
-that a Grecian, named Arcadius, was constantly railing
-against him. Venturing once into the dominions
-of Philip, the courtiers suggested to their prince that
-he had now an opportunity to punish Arcadius for
-his past insults, and to put it out of his power to repeat
-them. The king took their advice, but in a different
-way. Instead of seizing the hostile stranger
-and putting him to death, he sent for him, and then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>
-caused him to be dismissed, loaded with courtesies
-and kindness.</p>
-
-<p>Some time after Arcadius’ departure from Macedon,
-word was brought that the king’s old enemy had
-become one of his warmest friends, and did nothing
-but diffuse his praises wherever he went. On hearing
-this, Philip turned to his courtiers, and said with
-a smile, “Am not I a better physician than you are?”
-We are also told of numerous instances in which
-Philip treated his prisoners of war with a kindness
-quite unusual in the barbarous age in which he lived.
-Though dissolute in private life, as a prince he was
-far in advance of his nation in all that belongs to
-civilization.</p>
-
-<p>No better evidence of his enlightened views can be
-required than is afforded by the pains he bestowed
-upon the education of Alexander, his eldest son, and
-heir to his throne. He obtained for him the best
-masters, and finally placed him under the care of
-Aristotle, then the most learned and famous philosopher
-of Greece, and one of the most extraordinary
-men that ever lived. It cannot but be interesting
-and instructive to trace the history of the greatest
-warrior, who was, at the same time, the pupil of the
-greatest philosopher, of antiquity.</p>
-
-<p>Alexander was an apt and attentive student, and
-easily mastered the studies to which he applied. He
-was somewhat headstrong if treated with harshness,
-and he resisted, if an attempt was made to drive him.
-He, however, was docile and obedient when treated
-gently. It would seem, that, in this at least, he was
-very much like the clever boys of our own day. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>
-mastered not only matters of science, but polite literature
-also. He was greatly delighted with Homer’s
-Iliad, and, it is thought, modelled himself upon the
-warlike heroes of that poem. In after days, even in
-his campaigns, he took a copy of this work with him,
-and in the camp, read it at moments of leisure, and
-slept with it at night beneath his pillow.</p>
-
-<p>Alexander was greatly attached to Aristotle during
-his pupilage, though he changed both in feeling and
-conduct towards him afterwards. Philip seems to
-have formed a high estimate of the services rendered
-by Aristotle. The latter being born at Stagira&mdash;and
-hence called the Stagirite&mdash;which had been dismantled,
-Philip ordered it, in compliment to the philosopher,
-to be rebuilt, and re-established there the inhabitants
-which had either fled or been reduced to
-slavery. He also ordered a beautiful promenade,
-called Mirza, to be prepared on the borders of the
-river, for the studies and literary conversation of the
-people. Here were shown, even in the time of Plutarch,
-Aristotle’s stone seats and shady walks.</p>
-
-<p>It is interesting to remark here, that both Philip
-and Alexander, powerful sovereigns and men of great
-minds, were yet inferior, in what constitutes greatness,
-to Aristotle. They treated him, indeed, as their inferior&mdash;an
-object of their patronage; and it is also true,
-that both Philip and Alexander are remembered at
-the present day; but the consequences of their actions
-ceased ages ago. Not so with Aristotle: his
-books being preserved, have come down to our times,
-and for two thousand years have been constantly exercising
-a powerful influence over mankind. There<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>
-can be no doubt, therefore, that the schoolmaster is
-infinitely above the prince; the one lives for a generation,
-the other for all time; the one deals with external
-things which perish; the other with knowledge,
-science&mdash;principles&mdash;which never die. The one is a
-being of action, the other of mind; the one may
-be great for a brief space in the eye of vulgar observation,
-but he is soon quenched in utter oblivion; the
-other, though his body be dead, still lives by the
-power of the spirit. It is desirable to impress this
-truth on our hearts, for it shows that true glory lies
-in cultivating and exercising the mind; while, in
-comparison, it is a poor and mean ambition, which
-incites us to seek only worldly power or wealth or
-station.</p>
-
-<p>At an early period, Alexander displayed noble
-qualities, amid some vices. He was exceedingly ambitious,
-and when news came that his father had
-taken some strong town, or won some great battle,
-“My father will conquer,” he exclaimed impatiently
-“the whole world, and will leave nothing for me to
-conquer.” Though in the light of our Christian philosophy,
-nothing more wicked than the feelings here
-displayed could exist, still it accorded with the education
-he had received, and was an earnest of that
-love of war and conquest which signalized his after
-career. It may be stated, also, that Alexander did
-not value riches or pleasure, in his youth, but seemed
-to be always excited by a love of glory; he did not
-desire a kingdom that should afford him opulence
-and the means of luxury, but one that would bring
-wars and conflicts, and the full exercise of ambition.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>A sad portrait this, viewed in the light of our day&mdash;yet
-the very description of a hero, and almost of a
-god, in the age and country in which he lived.</p>
-
-<p>When Alexander was about twelve years old, a
-horse was brought for sale from Thessaly called Bucephalus.
-The price required was about £2,500 sterling,
-or $12,000. Yet when any one attempted to mount
-him, he became restive and unmanageable. Philip was
-incensed that such a price should be asked for so
-vicious a beast, but Alexander had observed him carefully,
-and saw that he was indeed a noble creature.
-He therefore wished to try him. His father rebuked
-him sharply, but the prince persevered, and desired
-to mount the horse. “If you are not able to ride him
-upon trial,” said Philip, “what forfeit will you pay?”
-“The price of the horse,” said Alexander. This produced
-a laugh rather at Alexander’s expense&mdash;but the
-forfeit was agreed upon, and he ran to the horse.
-He had observed that he was startled at his shadow,
-the sun shining very brightly; so he turned his head
-to the sun, leaped lightly upon his back, obtained a
-firm seat, and gave the animal the rein. The noble
-beast felt, with that quick intelligence of which his
-race is capable, that one worthy to be his master was
-on his back, and set forward. Finding him inclined
-to run, Alexander, nothing daunted, but with a spirit
-as wild and fearless as his own, and no doubt with a
-bounding and joyous sympathy, gave him the spur,
-and made him fly over the plain.</p>
-
-<p>Philip and all his courtiers around him were
-greatly frightened at first, but soon Alexander wheeled
-Bucephalus about, and rode him back to the place<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>
-from which he started. The animal was completely
-subdued; yet there was something in his proud look,
-as he now stood still before the admiring throng,
-which seemed to say, “I yielded, but only to one
-worthy of being a conqueror.” Alexander was received
-by a shout of acclamation&mdash;but Philip was
-overcome by the noble chivalry of his boy, and wept
-in very joy. “Seek another kingdom, my son!”
-said he, in the fulness of his heart, “for Macedon is
-too small for thee!” Such was the value in those
-days set upon personal gallantry and courage; and we
-know that these qualities are of the utmost importance,
-when hard blows usually decide the fate of empires.</p>
-
-<p>Everything seemed to show that Alexander had
-very early acted under the idea of being a king, and
-of pursuing, in that character, a career of conquest.
-No doubt all around him, the courtiers, his father and
-mother, and his teachers had thus trained him, and
-no doubt all this coincided with his natural turn of
-mind. He not only showed personal courage, but a
-precocious desire of practical knowledge. When less
-than twelve years of age, ambassadors came to visit
-the court of Macedon from Persia. Philip was absent,
-and Alexander therefore received them with
-great politeness, and a sobriety quite astonishing.
-He asked no trifling or childish questions; but made
-a great many inquiries about the roads to Persia;
-the distance from place to place; the situation of
-certain provinces; the character of their king; how
-he treated his enemies; in what the power of Persia
-lay, &amp;c. All this astonished the ambassadors,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>who, in their excitement, exclaimed, “The boasted
-sagacity of Philip is nothing to the lofty and enterprising
-genius of his son!” Such, indeed, were the
-striking qualities of young Alexander, that the people
-of Macedon, in their admiration, called the youth
-king, and his father only general!</p>
-
-<p>Philip was pleased with all this, but as Alexander
-grew older, troubles sprung up between them. Olympias,
-the mother of Alexander, was a woman of fierce
-and restive temper, and she was justly incensed by
-a foolish marriage which Philip made with a young
-lady, named Cleopatra. At the celebration of this union
-there was great festivity, and the king got drunk.
-Alexander’s mind, having been poisoned by his
-mother, was in such a state of irritation, that he
-spoke rudely at the feast. Philip drew his sword,
-but his passion and the wine he had drunk, caused
-him to stumble, and he fell upon the floor. “See,”
-said Alexander, insolently&mdash;“men of Macedon, see
-there the man who was preparing to pass from Europe
-into Asia! He is not able to pass from one
-table to another!” After this insult, he left the table,
-and taking his mother, they repaired to Epirus.</p>
-
-<p>Here they spent some time, but Philip at last induced
-them to come back. Other troubles, however,
-arose, and finally king Philip was slain by Pausanius,
-whom he had injured. Olympias was thought to
-have incited the young man to this desperate act, and
-suspicion of participation fell upon Alexander.</p>
-
-<p>The latter, now twenty years of age, succeeded to
-his father’s throne. His dominion extended over
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span>Macedon and the adjacent tribes to the north, including
-nearly the whole of that territory which now
-forms a part of Turkey, and lies between Greece, and
-the Argentaro mountains. Macedonia itself, was far
-less civilized than the southern parts of Greece: the
-people were, indeed, men of a different race, being
-esteemed barbarous, though the kings claimed to
-have been of Hellenic origin, and even to trace their
-lineage to Achilles and Hercules. The nation was
-much softened in its manners by the wise administration
-of Philip, while, at the same time, they were
-carefully trained in the art of war. The surrounding
-tribes, still more savage than his own people, and
-often giving exercise to his arms, still served to fill
-his ranks with the most daring and powerful soldiery.</p>
-
-<p>Greece, too, constituted a part of the kingdom now
-left to the youthful Alexander. But his father had
-only conquered, not consolidated into one empire, his
-vast dominions. Upon his death, the barbarians on
-the north, and the states of Greece at the south, feeling
-themselves liberated from a tyrant, and little
-fearing a youth of twenty, either revolted or showed
-a disposition to revolt. Alexander’s advisers recommended
-him to give up Greece, and seek only to subdue
-the barbarous tribes around him, and to do this
-by mild measures.</p>
-
-<p>Such a course did not suit the young king. He
-took the opposite course; marched north as far as the
-Danube, defeating his principal enemy, and thus
-securing submission to his authority in that quarter.
-He then pushed southward, and fell upon the restive
-Thebans, destroying their city, and reducing the place
-to a mere heap of ghastly ruins! No less than six<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>
-thousand of the inhabitants were slain in battle, and
-three thousand were sold as slaves!</p>
-
-<p>In the midst of the horrors which took place
-immediately after Thebes was taken&mdash;fire and the
-sword, slaughter, rapine, violence, raging on all
-sides&mdash;a party of savage Thracians, belonging to Alexander’s
-army, demolished the house of Timoclea, a
-woman of high standing and quality. Having carried
-off the booty found in her house, and shamefully
-abused the lady, the captain asked her if she had not
-some gold and silver concealed. She replied that she
-had&mdash;and taking him alone into the garden, showed
-him a well, in which she said she had thrown everything
-of value when the city was taken. The officer
-stooped to look into the well, when the lady pushed
-him down, and rolling stones down upon him, soon
-despatched him. The Thracians, coming up, found
-what she had done, and, binding her hands, took her
-to Alexander. When he asked her who she was&mdash;“A
-sister of Theagenes,” said she, proudly and fearlessly,&mdash;“a
-Theban general, who fought for the
-liberty of Greece, against the usurpation of Philip&mdash;and
-fell gloriously at the battle of Cheronæa!” Alexander
-was so much struck by her noble mien and
-patriotic sentiments, that he caused her and her children
-to be set at liberty. Such are the few rays of
-light, that flash across the dark path of the conqueror!</p>
-
-<p>Greece was soon brought to a state of submission
-and, as Alexander now contemplated an expedition
-against Darius, king of Persia, the several states,
-having held an assembly at Corinth, concluded to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>
-furnish their quota of supplies. Many statesmen and
-philosophers came to Corinth, where Alexander was
-to congratulate him upon this result; but the king
-was disappointed to find that Diogenes, the cynic philosopher,
-was not among the number. As he desired
-greatly to see him, he went to his residence in the
-suburbs of the city, to pay him a visit. He found
-the philosopher, basking in the sun; at the approach
-of so many people, he carelessly roused himself a little,
-and happened to fix his eyes on Alexander&mdash;“Is
-there anything,” said the king, condescendingly&mdash;“in
-which I can serve you?”&mdash;“Only stand a little out of
-my sunshine,” said Diogenes. This answer produced
-a laugh among the crowd, who thought it mere vulgarity;
-but Alexander saw deeper, and, reflecting upon
-that superiority, which could regard even his presence
-without surprise, and look with disdain upon his gifts,
-remarked, “that if he were not Alexander, he would
-wish to be Diogenes.”</p>
-
-<p>Alexander set out, in the spring of the year 334 B. C.,
-upon his expedition against Persia&mdash;from which, however,
-he never returned. He had thirty thousand
-foot, and five thousand horse, and a supply of money.
-His troops were well armed, the infantry bearing
-shields, spears, and battle-axes of iron; the horse were
-equipped with similar weapons, but defended with helmets
-and breastplates. The officers all bore swords.
-The arms of the Persians were similar, though many
-of their troops used the bow: the forces of Alexander
-were, however, better provided, better trained,
-and far more athletic than their Asiatic enemies.</p>
-
-<p>We must pause a moment to look at that mighty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span>
-power which had now swallowed up Assyria, Babylon,
-and the countries from the Grecian Archipelago on the
-west, to India on the east; an extent of territory nearly
-three thousand miles in length, and comprehending
-at once the most fertile and populous region on the
-face of the globe. Such were the power and resources
-of the Persian empire, that, about one hundred
-and fifty years prior to the date of which we are
-speaking, it had sent an army, with its attendants, of
-five millions of persons, to conquer that very Greece,
-which was now preparing to roll back the tide of war,
-and put a final period to its proud existence.</p>
-
-<p>The reigning king of Persia was Darius III., a weak
-but conceited monarch, who held his court at the
-splendid city of Persepolis, which had long been the
-capital of the empire. His situation was very similar
-to that of the sultan of Turkey at the present day.
-The Persians, though their king ruled over almost
-countless nations, were comparatively few in number.
-His revenue was derived from the tribute of dependent
-princes, and the extortions made by his own
-satraps or governors. His empire, consisting of so
-many nations, required constant watchfulness, to keep
-all parts in subjection; and as the Asiatic troops were
-inferior, he kept in his pay, at all times, a considerable
-number of renegade Greeks, as soldiers.</p>
-
-<p>Being made aware of the design of Alexander,
-Darius sent a vast army westward, and marching into
-Syria himself, determined there to await his enemy.
-Alexander crossed the Propontis, now Sea of Marmora,
-which immediately brought him into Asia Minor, and
-the dominions of Persia. As soon as he landed, he
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>went to Ilium, the scene of the Trojan war, and the
-ten years’ siege of Troy, celebrated in the Iliad. He
-anointed the pillar upon Achilles’ tomb with oil&mdash;and
-he and his friends ran naked around it, according
-to the custom which then prevailed. He also adorned
-it with a wreath, in the form of a crown. These ceremonies
-are supposed to have been intended to enforce
-the belief that he was descended from Achilles&mdash;a
-claim which he always maintained.</p>
-
-<p>Meantime, the Persian generals had pushed forward
-and posted themselves upon the banks of the Granicus,
-a small river now called Ousvola, which empties
-into the sea of Marmora. Alexander led the attack
-upon them by plunging into the river with his horse.
-He advanced, with thirteen of his troop, in the face
-of a cloud of arrows; and though swept down by the
-rapidity of the current, and opposed by steep banks
-lined with cavalry, he forced his way, by irresistible
-strength and impetuosity, across the stream. Standing
-upon the muddy slope, his troops were now obliged
-to sustain a furious attack, hand to hand, and eye to
-eye. The Persian troops, cheered by their vantage
-ground, pushed on with terrific shouts, and hurled
-their javelins, like snow-flakes, upon the Macedonians.
-Alexander, being himself distinguished by his buckler
-and crest, decorated with white plumes, was the
-special object of attack. His cuirass was pierced by
-a javelin, at the joint; but thus far he was unhurt.
-Now he was assailed by two chiefs of great distinction.
-Evading one, he engaged the other; after a
-desperate struggle, in which his crest was shorn
-away, and his helmet cleft to his hair, he slew one of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>the chiefs, and was saved, at the moment of deadly
-peril, by the hand of his friend Clytus, who despatched
-the other.</p>
-
-<p>While Alexander’s cavalry were fighting with the
-utmost fury, the Macedonian phalanx and the infantry
-crossed the river, and now engaged the enemy.
-The effect of a leader’s example was never more displayed.
-Alexander’s exhibition of courage and prowess,
-made every soldier a hero. They fought, indeed,
-like persons who knew nothing, and cared for nothing,
-but to destroy the enemy. Some of the Persians gave
-way and fled. Their hireling Greeks, however, maintained
-the fight, and Alexander’s horse was killed under
-him&mdash;but not Bucephalus. “When Greek meets
-Greek, then comes the tug of war.” The fight was,
-indeed, severe, but at last Alexander triumphed. The
-victory was complete. The loss of the Persians was
-twenty-five thousand slain; that of the Macedonians
-less than fifty.</p>
-
-<p>Alexander had now passed the gates of Asia, and
-had obtained entrance into the dominions of the enemy.
-He paused for a time to pay the last honors to
-the dead. To each, he erected a statue of brass, executed
-by Lysippus. Upon the arms which were taken
-and distributed among the troops, he caused this inscription
-to be made:&mdash;“Won by Alexander, of the
-barbarians in Asia!”</p>
-
-<p>We may pause here to note that Bonaparte seems
-to have imitated the Macedonian conqueror in this
-kind of boasting. As he was on his march to Russia,
-he caused to be graven on a stone fountain at Coblentz
-upon the Rhine, as follows:</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>“Year MDCCCXII. <i>Memorable for the campaign
-against Russia.</i> 1812.”</p>
-
-<p>The Russian commander, when Napoleon had been
-dethroned, passing through Coblentz with his troops,
-caused to be carved, immediately beneath as follows:</p>
-
-<p>“<i>Seen and approved by the Russian commander of
-the town of Coblentz, January 1, 1814.</i>”</p>
-
-<p>It is true that no such speedy retort awaited the
-Macedonian conqueror, yet he was bound upon an
-errand which was ere long to put a period to his proud
-career.</p>
-
-<p>Alexander soon pushed on to the East, and, meeting
-Darius near the Gulf of Issus, now Aias, and
-forming the north-eastern point of the Mediterranean,
-a tremendous engagement took place. Darius was
-defeated, and more than one hundred thousand of his
-soldiers lay dead on the field. Darius escaped with
-difficulty, leaving his tent, and even his wife and
-daughter, in the hands of the enemy. When the
-fighting was over, Alexander went to see the tent of
-Darius. It was, indeed, a curiosity to one like the
-Macedonian king, little acquainted with eastern refinements.
-He gazed for a time at the luxurious baths of
-Darius; his vases, boxes, vials and basins, all of
-wrought gold; he inhaled the luscious perfumes, and
-surveyed the rich silk drapery and gorgeous furniture
-of the tent&mdash;and then exclaimed, contemptuously&mdash;“This,
-then, it seems, is to be a king,”&mdash;intimating
-that if these were the only distinctions of a king, the
-title deserved contempt.</p>
-
-<p>While Alexander was thus occupied, he was told
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span>that the wife and daughter of Darius were his captives.
-The queen was one of the loveliest women
-that was ever known, and his daughter was also exceedingly
-beautiful. Though Alexander was told all
-this, he sent word to the afflicted ladies that they need
-have no fear; and he caused them to be treated with
-the utmost delicacy and attention. He refrained from
-using his power in any way to their annoyance; and
-thus displayed one of the noblest graces of a gentleman
-and a man&mdash;a nice regard for the feelings of the
-gentler sex. This anecdote of the conqueror has
-shed more honor upon his name for two thousand
-years, than the victory of the Issus; nor will it cease
-to be cited in his praise, as long as history records his
-name.</p>
-
-<p>The historians represent Alexander as simple in
-his tastes and habits at this period. He was temperate
-in eating, drank wine with great moderation,
-and if he sat long at table, it was for the purpose of
-conversation, in which he excelled, though given to
-boasting of his military exploits. When business
-called, nothing could detain him; but in times of leisure,
-his first business in the morning was to sacrifice
-to the gods. He then took his dinner, sitting. The
-rest of the day he spent in hunting, or deciding differences
-among his troops, or in reading and writing.
-Sometimes he would exercise himself in shooting or
-darting the javelin, or in mounting and alighting from
-a chariot in full career. Sometimes, also, he diverted
-himself with fowling and fox-hunting. His chief
-meal was supper, which he took at evening, and in a
-recumbent posture, with his friends around him.
-He was not fond of delicacies and though they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>
-always found at his table, he usually sent them to
-others. Such was Alexander during the early periods
-of his campaigns in Asia.</p>
-
-<p>After various operations, Alexander marched against
-Ph&oelig;nicia and Sidon, which submitted at once. Tyre
-resisted, but, after a siege of seven months, was
-taken by storm. Eight thousand Tyrians fell in the
-onslaught, and thirty thousand captives were sold into
-slavery. Gaza was now taken, after a siege of two
-months. Alexander then marched to Jerusalem, to
-punish the inhabitants for refusing to supply him
-with men and money. The high priest, Jaddus,
-went forth to meet the conqueror, attended by the
-priests and the people, with all the imposing emblems
-and signs of the Jewish religion. Alexander was so
-struck with the spectacle, that he pardoned the people,
-adored the name of the Most High, and performed
-sacrifices in the temple, according to the instructions
-of Jaddus. The book of the prophet Daniel was
-shown to him, and the passage pointed out in which
-it was foretold that the king of Grecia would overcome
-the king of Persia, with which he was well
-pleased.</p>
-
-<p>The conqueror now turned his arms against Egypt,
-which yielded without striking a blow. Having
-established the government on a liberal footing, he
-set out, A. D. 331, to attack the Persian king, who
-had gathered an army of a million of men, and was
-now in Persia. About this time, he received a letter
-from Darius, in which that prince proposed, on condition
-of a pacification and future friendship, to pay him
-ten thousand talents in ransom of his prisoners, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span>
-cede him all the countries on this side the Euphrates,
-and to give him his daughter in marriage. Upon
-his communicating these proposals to his friends, Parmenio
-said, “If I were Alexander, I would accept
-them.” “So would I,” said Alexander, “if I were
-Parmenio.” The answer he gave Darius, was, “that
-if he would come to him, he should find the best of
-treatment; if not, he must go and seek him.”</p>
-
-<p>In consequence of this declaration, he began his
-march; but he repented that he had set out so soon,
-when he received information that the wife of Darius
-was dead. That princess died in childbed; and the
-concern of Alexander was great, because he lost an
-opportunity of exercising his clemency. All he could
-do was to return, and bury her with the utmost magnificence.</p>
-
-<p>Alexander, having subdued various places that held
-out against him, now proceeded in his march against
-Darius. He found him with his immense army encamped
-on the banks of the Bumadus, a small river in
-what is now called Kourdistan. Alexander immediately
-approached, and prepared for battle. Being
-near the enemy at night, the murmur of the immense
-multitude, seeming like the roaring of the sea, startled
-one of Alexander’s friends, who advised him to attack
-them in the night. The reply was, “I will not steal
-a victory!”</p>
-
-<p>During that night, though it was foreseen that a
-dreadful and doubtful battle was to be fought the next
-day, Alexander, having made his preparations, slept
-soundly. In the morning, on the field, he wore a
-short coat, girt close about him; over that, a breast
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>plate of linen strongly quilted, which he had taken
-in the battle of the Issus. His helmet was of polished
-iron, and shone like silver. To this was fixed a gorget,
-set with precious stones. His sword was light,
-and of the finest temper. The belt he wore was superb
-and was given him by the Rhodians, as a mark
-of respect. In reviewing and exercising, he spared
-Bucephalus, but he rode him in battle, and when he
-mounted his back it was always a signal for the onset.</p>
-
-<p>Aristander, the soothsayer, rode by the side of
-Alexander, in a white robe, and with a golden crown
-upon his head. He looked up, and lo, an eagle was
-sailing over the army! His course was towards the
-enemy. The army caught sight of the noble bird,
-and, taking it for a good omen, they now charged the
-enemy like a torrent. They were bravely resisted,
-but Alexander and his troops burst down upon them
-like an overwhelming avalanche, cutting their way
-towards the tent of Darius. The path was impeded
-by the slaughtered heaps that gathered before them,
-and their horses were embarrassed by the mangled and
-dying soldiers, who clung to the legs of the animals,
-seeking in their last agonies to resist them. Darius,
-now in the utmost peril, turned to fly, but his chariot
-became entangled in the slain. Seeing this, he
-mounted a swift horse, and fled to Bactriana, where
-he was treacherously murdered by Bessus.</p>
-
-<p>Alexander was now declared king of all Asia, and,
-though this might seem the summit of his glory, it
-was the point at which his character begins to decline.
-He now affected the pomp of an eastern prince, and
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>addicted himself to dissipation. He, however, continued
-his conquests. He marched to Babylon, which
-opened its gates for his reception. He proceeded to
-Persepolis, which he took by surprise. Here, in a
-drunken frolic, and instigated by an abandoned woman,
-named Thais, he set fire to the palace, which was
-burnt to the ground.</p>
-
-<p>He now marched into Parthia, and, meeting with a
-beautiful princess, named Roxana, daughter of a Bactrian
-king, he fell in love with her, and married her.
-Some time after this, upon some suspicion of the
-fidelity of Philotas, the son of Parmenio, he caused
-him to be put to the torture till he died. He then
-sent orders to have his father, an old and faithful soldier,
-who had fought under Philip, and who was now
-in Media, to be put to death, which were but too
-faithfully executed. This horrid transaction was soon
-followed by another, still more dreadful. Under the
-excitement of wine, a dispute arose between Alexander
-and Clytus, the brave officer who had saved his
-life at the battle of the Granicus.</p>
-
-<p>Both became greatly excited: taunts and gibes
-were uttered on either side. Alexander, unable longer
-to keep down his rage, threw an apple in the face of
-Clytus, and then looked about for his sword; but one
-of his friends had prudently taken it away. Clytus
-was now forced out of the room, but he soon came
-back, and repeated the words of Euripides, meaning
-to apply them to Alexander:</p>
-
-
-
-<div class="poem">
-  <div class="stanza">
-    <span class="i0">“Are these your customs?&mdash;Is it thus that Greece<br /></span>
-    <span class="i1"> Rewards her combatants? Shall one man claim<br /></span>
-    <span class="i1"> The trophies won by thousands?”<br /></span>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-
-
-<p>The conqueror was now wholly beside himself.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>He seized a spear from one of the guards, and, at a
-plunge, ran it through the body of Clytus, who fell
-dead, uttering a dismal groan as he expired.</p>
-
-<p>Alexander’s rage subsided in a moment. Seeing
-his friends standing around in silent astonishment, he
-hastily drew out the spear, and was applying it to
-his own throat, when his guards seized him, and carried
-him by force to his chamber. Here the pangs
-of remorse stung him to the quick. Tears fell fast
-for a time, and then succeeded a moody, melancholy
-silence, only broken by groans. His friends attempted
-in vain to console him. It was not till after long and
-painful suffering, that he was restored to his wonted
-composure.</p>
-
-<p>Alexander now set out for the conquest of India,
-then a populous country, and the seat of immense
-wealth. After a series of splendid achievements, he
-reached the banks of the Hydaspes, a considerable
-stream that flows into the Indus. Here he was met by
-Porus, an Indian king, with an army, in which were
-a large number of elephants. A bloody battle followed,
-in which Alexander was victorious and Porus
-made captive. “How do you wish to be treated?” said
-Alexander to the unfortunate monarch. “Like a
-king,” was the brief, but significant reply. Alexander
-granted his request, restored his dominions and much
-enlarged them, making him, however, one of his tributaries.</p>
-
-<p>The conqueror, not yet satisfied, wished to push
-on to the Ganges; but his army refusing to go farther,
-he was forced to return. On his way back, he
-paid a visit to the ocean, and, in a battle with some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>
-savage tribes, being severely wounded, he came near
-losing his life. On the borders of the sea, he and his
-companions first saw the ebbing and flowing of the
-tide,&mdash;a fact of which they were before entirely ignorant.
-In this expedition the army suffered greatly:
-when it set out for India, it consisted of 150.000 men:
-on its return, it was reduced to one fourth of that
-number.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%" >
-<img src="images/178.jpg" alt="Alexander the Great" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<p>Coming to a fertile district, Alexander paused to
-recruit, and refresh his men. He then proceeded,
-keeping up a kind of bacchanalian fête, in which the
-whole army participated. His own chariot was drawn
-by eight horses: it consisted of a huge platform
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span>where he and his friends revelled, day and night.
-This carriage was followed by others, some covered
-with rich purple silk and others with fresh boughs.
-In these were the generals, crowned with flowers, and
-inebriated with wine. In the immense procession
-there was not a spear, helmet, or buckler, but in their
-places cups, flagons, and goblets. The whole country
-resounded with flutes, clarionets, and joyous songs.
-The scene was attended with the riotous dances and
-frolics of a multitude of women. This licentious
-march continued for seven days.</p>
-
-<p>When he arrived at Susa, in Persia, he married a
-great number of his friends to Persian ladies. He
-set the example by taking Statira, daughter of Darius,
-to himself, and gave her sister to Hephæstion, his
-dearest friend. He now made a nuptial feast for the
-newly-married people, and nine thousand persons sat
-down to the entertainment. Each one was honored
-with a golden cup.</p>
-
-<p>On his return to Babylon, Alexander determined
-to make that place his residence and capital, and set
-about various plans for carrying this into effect. But
-his mind seemed haunted with superstitious fears.
-Everything that happened was construed into an
-augury of evil. The court swarmed with sacrifices
-and soothsayers, but still, for a long time, peace could
-not be obtained by the monarch.</p>
-
-<p>At last he seemed to be relieved, and being asked
-by Medias to a carousal, he drank all day and all
-night, until he found a fever coming upon him. He
-then desisted, but it was too late. The disease increased,
-setting at defiance every attempt at remedy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>
-and in the space of about thirty days he died. Such
-was the miserable end of Alexander the Great. His
-wife, Roxana, with the aid of Perdiccas, murdered
-Statira and her sister, and the empire of the mighty
-conqueror was divided between four of his officers.</p>
-
-<p>The great achievement of Alexander&mdash;the grand
-result of his life&mdash;was the subjugation of the Persian
-monarchy, which lay like an incubus upon the numerous
-nations that existed between the Indus and
-the Euxine sea, and at the same time intercepted the
-communication between Europe and Asia. It was
-an achievement far greater than it would be now to
-overthrow the Ottoman throne, and give independence
-to the various tribes and states that are at present
-under its dominion. That he accomplished this
-work for any good motive, we cannot maintain, for
-his whole course shows, that, like all other conquerors,
-his actions began and terminated in himself.</p>
-
-<p>The character of Alexander has been delineated in
-the course of this brief sketch. We have not been
-able to give the details of all his battles, marches, and
-countermarches. His achievements were indeed stupendous.
-He crossed the Propontis in 334, and died
-in 323. It was in the brief space of eleven years,
-and at the age of thirty-three, that he had accomplished
-the deeds of which we have given a naked
-outline. Nor was he a mere warrior. He displayed
-great talents as a statesman, and many of the traits
-of a gentleman. His whole life, indeed, was founded
-upon an atrocious wrong&mdash;that one man may sacrifice
-millions of lives for his own pleasure&mdash;but this was
-the error of the age. As before intimated, considered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>
-in the light of Christianity, he was a monster; yet,
-according to the heathen model, he was a hero, and
-almost a god.</p>
-
-<p>In seeking for the motives which impelled Alexander
-forward in his meteor-like career we shall see
-that it was the love of glory&mdash;an inspiration like that
-of the chase, in which the field is an empire, and the
-game a monarch. In this wild ambition, he was
-stimulated by the Iliad of Homer, and it was his darling
-dream to match the bloody deeds of its heroes&mdash;Ajax
-and Achilles. It is impossible to see in his
-conduct, anything which shows a regard to the permanent
-happiness of mankind. He makes war, as if
-might were the only test of right; and he sacrifices
-nations to his thirst of conquest, with as little question
-of the rectitude of his conduct, as is entertained
-by the lion when he slays the antelope, or the sportsman
-when he brings down his game.</p>
-
-<p>Although we see many noble traits in Alexander,
-the real selfishness of his character is evinced in his
-famous letter to Aristotle. The latter, having published
-some of his works, is sharply rebuked by the
-conqueror, who says to him&mdash;“Now that you have
-done this, what advantage have I, your pupil, over
-the rest of mankind, since you have put it in the
-power of others to possess the knowledge which
-before was only imparted to me!” What can be
-more narrow and selfish than this? Even the current
-standard of morals in Alexander’s time, would
-condemn this as excessive meanness.</p>
-
-<p>We must not omit to record the last days of one
-that figures in Alexander’s annals, and is hardly less<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>
-famous than the conqueror himself&mdash;we mean his
-noble horse, Bucephalus. This animal, more renowned
-than any other of his race, died on the banks
-of the Hydaspes. Craterus was ordered to superintend
-the building of two cities, one on each side of
-this river. The object was to secure the passage in
-future. That on the left bank was named Nicæa, the
-other Bucephala, in honor of the favorite horse, which
-had expired in battle without a wound, being worn
-out by age, heat, and over-exertion. He was then
-thirty years old. He was a large, powerful, and spirited
-horse, and would allow no one but Alexander to
-mount him. From a mark of a bull’s head imprinted
-on him, he derived his name, Bucephalus; though
-some say that he was so called in consequence of
-having in his forehead a white mark resembling a
-bull’s head.</p>
-
-<p>Once this famous charger, whose duties were restricted
-to the field of battle, was intercepted, and fell
-into the hands of the Uxians. Alexander caused a
-proclamation to be made, that, if Bucephalus were
-not restored, he would wage a war of extirpation
-against the whole nation. The restoration of the
-animal instantly followed the receipt of this notification;
-so great was Alexander’s regard for his horse
-and so great the terror of his name among the barbarians.
-“Thus far,” writes Arrian, “let Bucephalus
-be honored by me, for the sake of his master.”</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/183.jpg" alt="Aristotle" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>ARISTOTLE.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This great philosopher was born at Stagira, or
-Stageira, in Macedonia, 384 B. C. His father, physician
-to Amyntas II., king of Macedonia, commenced
-the education of his son, intending to prepare him
-for his own profession; and the studies pursued by
-the latter with this object, doubtless laid the foundation
-for that lore of natural history, which he displayed
-through life, and which he cultivated with
-such success.</p>
-
-<p>Aristotle lost both his parents while he was still
-young. After their death, he was brought up under
-Proxenes, a citizen of Mysia, in Asia Minor, who had
-settled in Stagira. Aristotle testified his gratitude to
-Proxenes and his wife, by directing, in his will, that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>
-statues of them should be executed at his expense
-and set up as his parents. He also educated their
-son Nicanor, to whom he gave his daughter Pythias
-in marriage.</p>
-
-<p>In his eighteenth year, Aristotle left Stagira and
-went to Athens, the centre of letters and learning in
-Greece&mdash;doubtless attracted thither by the fame of
-the philosopher, Plato. It appears, however, that
-during the three first years of his residence there,
-Plato was absent on a visit to Sicily. There can be
-no doubt that Aristotle paid particular attention to
-anatomy and medicine, as appears both from his circumstances
-in youth, and what we know of his best
-writings. It is also probable, as is indicated by some
-statements of ancient writers, that for a space he practised,
-like Locke, the healing art; he must, however,
-from an early age, have devoted his whole time to the
-study of philosophy and the investigation of nature,
-and have abandoned all thoughts of an exclusively
-professional career.</p>
-
-<p>His eagerness for the acquisition of knowledge, and
-his extraordinary acuteness and sagacity, doubtless
-attracted Plato’s attention at an early period; thus we
-are told that his master called him “the Intellect of
-the school,” and his house, the “House of the reader;”
-that he said Aristotle required the curb, while Zenocrates,
-a fellow-disciple, required the spur; some of
-which traditions are probably true. We are likewise
-informed that when reading he used to hold a brazen
-ball in his hand over a basin, in order that, if he fell
-asleep, he might be awaked by the noise which it
-would make in falling. Although Aristotle did not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>
-during Plato’s life, set up any school in opposition to
-him, as some writers have stated, he taught publicly
-in the art of rhetoric, and by this means became the
-rival of the celebrated Isocrates, whom he appears,
-notwithstanding his very advanced age, to have attacked
-with considerable violence, and to have treated
-with much contempt.</p>
-
-<p>Aristotle remained at Athens till Plato’s death, 347
-B. C., having at that time reached his thirty-seventh
-year. Many stories are preserved by the ancient
-compilers of anecdotes, respecting the enmity between
-Plato and Aristotle, caused by the ingratitude of the
-disciple, as well as by certain peculiarities of his character
-which were displeasing to the master. But
-these rumors appear to have no other foundation than
-the known variance between the opinions and the
-mental habits of the two philosophers; and particularly
-the opposition which Aristotle made to Plato’s
-characteristic doctrine of ideas; whence it was inferred
-that there must have been an interruption of their
-friendly relations. The probability, however, is, that
-Aristotle, at whatever time he may have formed his
-philosophical opinions, had not published them in an
-authoritative shape, or entered into any public controversy,
-before his master’s death. In his Nicomachean
-Ethics, moreover, which was probably one of his
-latest works, he says “that it is painful to him to
-refute the doctrine of ideas, as it had been introduced
-by persons who were his friends: nevertheless, that
-it is his duty to disregard such private feelings; for
-both philosophers and truth being dear to him, it is
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>right to give the preference to truth.” He is, likewise,
-stated to have erected an altar to his master
-inscribing on it that he was a man “whom the wicked
-ought not even to praise.”</p>
-
-<p>After the death of Plato, Aristotle left Athens and
-went to live at the court of Hermeias, prince of Atarneus.
-He had resided here but three years, when
-Hermeias, falling into the hands of the Persians, was
-put to death. Aristotle took refuge in Mytilene, the
-chief city of Lesbos. Here he married Pythias, sister
-of Hermeias, and who, being exposed to persecution
-from the Persians, now coming into power there, he
-saved by a rapid flight. For the patriotic and philosophical
-prince Hermeias, Aristotle entertained a
-fervent and deep affection, and he dedicated to his
-memory a beautiful poem, which is still extant. On
-account of the admiration he expresses of his friend,
-he was afterwards absurdly charged with impiety in
-deifying a mortal.</p>
-
-<p>In the year 356 B. C., Philip of Macedon wrote a
-famous letter to Aristotle, as follows: “King Philip
-of Macedon, to Aristotle, greeting. Know that a
-son has been born to me. I thank the gods, not so
-much that they have given him to me, as that they
-have permitted him to be born in the time of Aristotle.
-I hope that thou wilt form him to be a king worthy
-to succeed me, and to rule the Macedonians.”</p>
-
-<p>In the year 342 B. C., Aristotle was invited by
-Philip to take charge of the education of his son,
-Alexander, then fourteen years old. This charge was
-accepted, and Alexander was under his care three or
-four years. The particulars of his method of instruction
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span>are not known to us; but when we see the greatness
-of mind that Alexander displayed in the first
-years of his reign,&mdash;his command of his passions till
-flattery had corrupted him, and his regard for the arts
-and sciences,&mdash;we cannot but think that his education
-was judiciously conducted. It may be objected that
-Aristotle neglected to guard his pupil against ambition
-and the love of conquest; but it must be recollected
-that he was a Greek, and of course a natural enemy
-to the Persian kings; his hatred had been deepened
-by the fate of his friend Hermeias; and, finally, the
-conquest of Persia had, for a long time, been the wish
-of all Greece. It was, therefore, natural that Aristotle
-should exert all his talents to form his pupil with
-the disposition and qualifications necessary for the
-accomplishment of this object.</p>
-
-<p>Both father and son sought to show their gratitude
-for the services of such a teacher. Philip rebuilt
-Stagira, and established a school there for Aristotle.
-The Stagirites, in gratitude for this service, appointed
-a yearly festival, called <i>Aristotelia</i>. The philosopher
-continued at Alexander’s court a year after his accession
-to the throne, and is said to have then repaired
-to Athens. Ammonius, the Eclectic, says that he
-followed his pupil in a part of his campaigns; and
-this seems very probable; for it is hardly possible that
-so many animals as the philosopher describes could
-have been sent to Athens, or that he could have given
-so accurate a description of them without having personally
-dissected and examined them. We may conjecture
-that he accompanied Alexander as far as
-Egypt, and returned to Athens about 331 B. C., pro<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>vided
-with the materials for his excellent History of
-Animals.</p>
-
-<p>Aristotle, after parting with Alexander, returned to
-Athens, where he resolved to open a school, and
-chose a house, which, from its vicinity to the temple
-of Apollo Lyceus, was called the <i>Lyceum</i>. Attached
-to this building was a garden, with walks, in Greek
-<i>peripatoi</i>, where Aristotle used to deliver his instructions
-to his disciples; whence his school obtained the
-name of <i>peripatetic</i>. It appears that his habit was
-to give one lecture in the early part of the day on
-the abstruser parts of his philosophy, to his more advanced
-scholars, which was called the <i>morning walk</i>,
-and lasted till the hour when people dressed and
-anointed themselves; and another lecture, called the
-<i>evening walk</i>, on more popular subjects, to a less select
-class.</p>
-
-<p>It was probably during the thirteen years of his
-second residence at Athens, that Aristotle composed
-or completed the greater part of his works which
-have descended to our days. The foundation of most
-of them was, doubtless, laid at an early period of his
-life; but they appear to have been gradually formed,
-and to have received continual additions and corrections.
-Among the works which especially belong to
-this period of his life, are his treatises on Natural
-History; which, as has been correctly observed by a
-late writer on this subject, are not to be considered as
-the result of his own observations only, but as a collection
-of all that had been observed by others, as well
-as by himself.</p>
-
-<p>It is stated by Pliny, that “Alexander the Great,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>
-being smitten with the desire of knowing the natures
-of animals, ordered several thousand persons, over the
-whole of Asia and Greece, who lived by hunting, bird-catching
-and fishing, or who had the care of parks,
-herds, hives, seines, and aviaries, to furnish Aristotle
-with materials for a work on animals.” We are
-likewise informed that Aristotle received from Alexander
-the enormous sum of eight hundred talents,&mdash;nearly
-a million of dollars, to prosecute his researches
-in natural history,&mdash;a circumstance which did not
-escape the malice of his traducers, who censured him
-for receiving gifts from princes. Seneca, who states
-that Philip furnished Aristotle with large sums of
-money for his history of animals, had, doubtless, confounded
-the father and son.</p>
-
-<p>Callisthenes, a relation of Aristotle, by his recommendation,
-attended Alexander in his expedition to
-Asia, and sent from Babylon to the philosopher, in
-compliance with his previous injunctions, the astronomical
-observations which were preserved in that
-ancient city, and which, according to the statement
-of Porphyrius, reached back as far as 1903 years
-before the time of Alexander the Great; that is, 2234
-years before the Christian era.</p>
-
-<p>Aristotle had, at this time, reached the most prosperous
-period of his life. The founder and leader of
-the principal school of Greece, and the undisputed
-head of Grecian philosophy, surrounded by his numerous
-disciples and admirers, protected by the conqueror
-of Asia, and by him furnished with the means
-of following his favorite pursuits, and of gratifying
-his universal spirit of inquiry, he had, probably, little
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span>to desire in order to fill up the measure of a philosopher’s
-ambition. But he did not continue to enjoy
-the favor of Alexander till the end. Callisthenes, by
-his free-spoken censures and uncourtly habits, had
-offended his master, and had been executed, on a
-charge of having conspired with some Macedonians
-to take away his life; and the king’s wrath appears
-to have extended to his kinsman, Aristotle, as being
-the person who had originally recommended him. It
-is not, however, probable that this circumstance
-caused any active enmity between the royal pupil and
-his master; even if we did not know that Alexander
-died a natural death, there would be no reason for
-listening to the absurd calumny that Aristotle was
-concerned in poisoning him. Aristotle indeed appears
-to have been considered, to the last, as a partisan of
-Alexander, and an opponent of the democratic interest.</p>
-
-<p>When the anti-Macedonian party obtained the superiority
-at Athens in consequence of Alexander’s
-death, an accusation against Aristotle was immediately
-prepared, and the pretext selected, was, as in
-the case of Socrates, <i>impiety</i>, or <i>blasphemy</i>. He was
-charged by Eurymedon, the priest, and a man named
-Demophilus, probably a leader of the popular party,
-with paying divine honors to Hermeias, and perhaps
-with teaching certain irreligious doctrines. In order
-to escape this danger, and to prevent the Athenians,
-as he said, in allusion to the death of Socrates, from
-“sinning twice against philosophy,” he quitted Athens
-in the beginning of the year 322 B. C., and took
-refuge at Chalcis, in Eub&oelig;a, an island then under the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span>
-Macedonian influence&mdash;leaving Theophrastus his successor
-in the Lyceum. There he died, of a disease
-of the stomach, in the autumn of the same year, being
-in the sixty-third year of his age. His frame is said
-to have been slender and weakly, and his health had
-given way in the latter part of his life, having probably
-been impaired by his unwearied studies and the
-intense application of his mind. The story of his
-having drowned himself in the Euripus of Eub&oelig;a, is
-fabulous.</p>
-
-<p>The characteristic of Aristotle’s philosophy, as
-compared with that of Plato, is, that while the latter
-gave free scope to his imagination, and, by his doctrine
-that we have ideas independent of the objects
-which they represent, opened a wide door to the
-dreams of mysticism&mdash;the latter was a close and strict
-observer of both mental and physical phenomena,
-avoiding all the seductions of the fancy, and following
-a severe, methodical, and strictly scientific course of
-inquiry, founded on data ascertained by experience.
-The truly philosophical character of his mind, and
-his calm and singularly dispassionate manner of writing,
-are not more remarkable than the vast extent
-both of his reading and of his original researches.
-His writings appear to have embraced nearly the
-whole circle of the theoretical and practical knowledge
-of his time, comprising treatises on logical, metaphysical,
-rhetorical, poetical, ethical, political, economical,
-physical, mechanical, and medical science. He likewise
-wrote on some parts of the mathematics; and,
-besides a collection of the constitutions of all the
-states known in his age, both Grecian and barbarian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span>
-he made chronological compilations relating to the
-political and dramatic history of Greece.</p>
-
-<p>His works, however, though embracing so large an
-extent of subjects, were not a mere encyclopædia, or
-digest of existing knowledge; some of the sciences
-which he treated of were created by himself, and the
-others were enriched by fresh inquiries, and methodized
-by his systematic diligence. To the former
-belong his works on analytics and dialectics, or, as it
-is now called, logic; to the invention of which science
-he distinctly lays claim, stating that “before
-his time nothing whatever had been done in it.”
-Nearly the same remark applies to his metaphysical
-treatise. “But of all the sciences,” says Cuvier,
-“there is none which owes more to Aristotle, than
-the natural history of animals. Not only was he
-acquainted with a great number of species, but he has
-studied and described them on a luminous and comprehensive
-plan, to which, perhaps, none of his successors
-has approached; classing the facts not according
-to the species, but according to the organs and
-functions, the only method of establishing comparative
-results. Thus it may be said that he is not only the
-most ancient author of comparative anatomy, whose
-works have come down to us, but that he is one of
-those who have treated this branch of natural history
-with the most genius, and that he best deserves to be
-taken for a model. The principal divisions which
-naturalists still follow in the animal kingdom, are due
-to Aristotle; and he had already pointed out several
-which have recently been again adopted, after having
-once been improperly abandoned. If the foundations<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>
-of these great labors are examined, it will be seen
-that they all rest on the same method. Everywhere
-Aristotle observes the facts with attention; he compares
-them with sagacity, and endeavors to rise to
-the qualities which they have in common.”</p>
-
-<p>Among the sciences which he found partly cultivated,
-but which he greatly advanced, the most prominent
-are those of rhetoric, ethics, and politics. Of
-rhetoric he defined the province, and analyzed all the
-parts with admirable skill and sagacity. His treatise
-on the passions, in this short but comprehensive work,
-has never been surpassed, if it has ever been equalled,
-by writers on what may be termed descriptive moral
-philosophy. His ethical writings contain an excellent
-practical code of morality, chiefly founded on the
-maxim that virtues are in the middle, between two
-opposite vices; as courage between cowardice and
-fool-hardiness, liberality between niggardliness and
-prodigality, &amp;c. His remarks on friendship are also
-deserving of special notice; a subject much discussed
-by the ancients, but which has less occupied the attention
-of philosophers, since love has played a more
-prominent part, in consequence of the influence of the
-Germans, and the introduction of the manners of chivalry
-in western Europe. His treatise on politics is
-not, like Plato’s Republic, and the works of many
-later speculators on government, a mere inquiry after
-a perfect state, but contains an account of the nature
-of government, of the various forms of which it is
-susceptible, and the institutions best adapted to the
-societies in which these forms are established; with
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>an essay, though unhappily an imperfect one, on education.
-This treatise is valuable, not only for its theoretical
-results, but also for the large amount of
-information which it contains, on the governments of
-Greece and other neighboring countries. Throughout
-these last-mentioned works, the knowledge of the
-world and of human nature displayed by Aristotle, is
-very observable; and, although his mind appears to
-have preferred the investigations of physical and metaphysical
-science, yet he holds a very high place in
-the highest rank of moral and political philosophers.
-Aristotle, it will be remembered, did not lead the life
-of a recluse; but, as the friend of Hermeias, the teacher
-of Alexander, and the head of a philosophical school,
-he was brought into contact with a great variety of
-persons, and learned by practice to know life under
-many different forms, and in many different relations.</p>
-
-<p>Of all the philosophers of antiquity, Aristotle has
-produced the most lasting and extensive effect on
-mankind. His philosophical works, many centuries
-after his death, obtained a prodigious influence, not
-only in Europe, but even in Asia; they were translated
-into Arabic, and from thence an abstract of his
-logical system passed into the language of Persia.
-In Europe they acquired an immense ascendency in
-the middle ages, and were considered as an authority
-without appeal, and only second to that of Scripture;
-we are even informed that in a part of Germany his
-ethics were read in the churches on Sunday, in the
-place of the Gospels. Parts of his philosophy, which
-are the most worthless, as his Physics, were much
-cultivated; and his logical writings were, in many
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>cases, abused so as to lead to vain subtleties, and captious
-contests about words. The connection between
-some of his tenets and the Roman Catholic theology,
-tended much to uphold his authority, which the
-Reformation lowered in a corresponding degree. His
-doctrines were in general strongly opposed by the
-early reformers. In 1518 Luther sustained a thesis at
-Heidelberg, affirming that “he who wishes to philosophize
-in Aristotle, must be first stultified in Christ.”
-Luther, however, gave way afterwards, and did not
-oppose Aristotle, as to human learning. Melanchthon,
-who was one of the mildest of the reformers, was a
-great supporter of Aristotle. Many of his doctrines
-were in the same century zealously attacked by the
-French philosopher, Pierre Ramus. Bacon, afterwards,
-with others of his followers, added the weight
-of their arguments and authority against him. Aristotle’s
-philosophy accordingly fell into undeserved
-neglect during the latter part of the seventeenth, and
-the whole of the eighteenth century. Of late, however,
-the true worth of his writings has been more fully
-appreciated, and the study of his best treatises has
-much revived.</p>
-
-<p>The most valuable of Aristotle’s lost works, and indeed
-the most valuable of all the lost works of Greek
-prose, is his collection of One Hundred and Fifty-eight
-Constitutions, both of Grecian and Barbarian
-States, the Democratic, Oligarchical, Aristocratical,
-and Tyrannical, being treated separately, containing
-an account of the manners, customs, and institutions
-of each country. The loss of his works on Colonies,
-on Nobility, and on Royal Government; of his Chronological
-Collections, and of his Epistles to Philip,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>
-Alexander, Antipater, and others, is also much to be
-regretted. He likewise revised a copy of the Iliad,
-which Alexander carried with him during his campaigns,
-in a precious casket; hence this recension,
-called the <i>casket copy</i>, passed into the Alexandrine
-library, and was used by the Alexandrine critics.
-His entire works, according to Diogenes Laertius,
-occupied in the Greek manuscripts 445,270 lines.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 40%" >
-<img src="images/196.jpg" alt="man" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/197.jpg" alt="Demosthenes" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>DEMOSTHENES.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This celebrated Grecian orator was born about 384 or
-385 years B. C., at a period when Athens had reached
-the zenith of her literary, and had passed that of her
-political, glory. Juvenal has represented him slightingly,
-as the son of a blacksmith&mdash;the fact being
-that the elder Demosthenes was engaged in various
-branches of trade, and, among others, was owner of a
-sword manufactory. His maternal grandmother was
-a Thracian woman&mdash;a circumstance noticeable because
-it enabled his enemies, in the spirit of ill-will, to taunt
-him as a barbarian and hereditary enemy of his
-country; for the Greeks, in general, regarded the
-admixture of other than Greek blood, with the same
-sort of contempt and dislike that the whites of America
-do the taint of African descent.</p>
-
-<p>Being left an orphan when seven years old, Demosthenes
-fell into the hands of dishonest guardians<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span>,
-who embezzled a large portion of the property which
-his father had bequeathed to him. His constitution
-appears to have been delicate, and it may have been
-on this account that he did not attend the gymnastic
-exercises, which formed a large portion of the education
-of the youths in Greece; exercises really important
-where neither birth nor wealth set aside the obligation
-to military service common to all citizens; and
-where, therefore, skill in the use of arms, strength,
-and the power to endure fatigue and hardship, were
-essential to the rich as well as to the poor. It may
-have been on this account that a nickname expressive
-of effeminacy was bestowed on him, which was afterwards
-interpreted into a proof of unmanly luxury and
-vicious habits; indeed, the reproach of wanting physical
-strength clung to him through life; and apparently
-this was not undeserved. Another nickname that he
-obtained was that of “Viper.” In short, the anecdotes
-which have come down to us, tend pretty uniformly
-to show that his private character was harsh and unamiable.</p>
-
-<p>His ambition to excel as an orator is said to have
-been kindled by hearing a masterly and much admired
-speech of Callistratus. For instruction, he
-resorted to Isæus, and, as some say, to Isocrates, both
-eminent teachers of the art of rhetoric. He had a
-stimulus to exertion in the resolution to prosecute his
-guardians for abuse of their trust; and having gained
-the cause, B. C. 364, in the conduct of which he
-himself took an active part, recovered, it would seem,
-a large part of his property. The orations against
-Aphobus and Onetor, which appear among his works,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span>
-profess to have been delivered in the course of the
-suit; but it has been doubted, on internal evidence,
-whether they were really composed by him so early
-in life.</p>
-
-<p>Be this as it may, his success emboldened him to
-come forward as a speaker in the assemblies of the
-people; on what occasion, and at what time, does not
-appear. His reception was discouraging. He probably
-had underrated, till taught by experience, the
-degree of training and mechanical preparation requisite
-at all times to excellence, and most essential in
-addressing an audience so acute, sensitive and fastidious
-as the Athenians. He labored also under physical
-defects, which almost amounted to disqualifications.
-His voice was weak, his breath short, his articulation
-defective; in addition to all this, his style was throughout
-strained, harsh and involved.</p>
-
-<p>Though somewhat disheartened by his ill success,
-he felt as Sheridan is reported to have expressed himself
-on a similar occasion, that <i>it was in him, and it
-should come out</i>; beside, he was encouraged by a
-few discerning spirits. One aged man, who had
-heard Pericles, cheered him with the assurance that
-he reminded him of that unequalled orator; and the
-actor Satyrus pointed out the faults of his delivery,
-and instructed him to amend them. He now set himself
-in earnest to realize his notions of excellence;
-and the singular and irksome methods which he
-adopted, denoting certainly no common energy and
-strength of will, are too celebrated and too remarkable
-to be omitted, though the authority on which they
-rest is not free from doubt. He built a room under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span>
-ground, where he might practise gesture and delivery
-without molestation, and there he spent two or three
-months together, shaving his head, that the oddity of
-his appearance might render it impossible for him to
-go abroad, even if his resolution should fail. The
-defect in his articulation he cured by reciting with
-small pebbles in his mouth. His lungs he strengthened
-by practising running up hill, while reciting
-verses. Nor was he less diligent in cultivating
-mental than bodily requisites, applying himself earnestly
-to study the theory of the art as explained
-in books, and the examples of the greatest masters of
-eloquence. Thucydides is said to have been his favorite
-model, insomuch that he copied out his history
-eight times, and had it almost by heart.</p>
-
-<p>Meanwhile, his pen was continually employed in
-rhetorical exercises; every question suggested to him
-by passing events served him for a topic of discussion,
-which called forth the application of his attainments to
-the real business of life. It was perhaps as much for
-the sake of such practice, as with a view to reputation,
-or the increase of his fortune, that he accepted employment
-as an advocate, which, until he began to
-take an active part in public affairs, was offered to
-him in abundance.</p>
-
-<p>Such was the process by which he became confessedly
-the greatest orator among the people by whom
-eloquence was cultivated, as it has never been since by
-any nation upon earth. He brought it to its highest
-state of perfection, as did Sophocles the tragic drama,
-by the harmonious union of excellences which had
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span>before only existed apart. The quality in his writings,
-which excited the highest admiration of the
-most intelligent judges among his countrymen in the
-later critical age, was the Protean versatility with
-which he adapted his style to every theme, so as to
-furnish the most perfect examples of every order and
-kind of eloquence.</p>
-
-<p>Demosthenes, like Pericles, never willingly appeared
-before his audience with any but the ripest
-fruits of his private studies, though he was quite capable
-of speaking on the impulse of the moment in a
-manner worthy of his reputation. That he continued
-to the end of his career to cultivate the art with unabated
-diligence, and that, even in the midst of public
-business, his habits were those of a severe student, is
-well known.</p>
-
-<p>The first manifestation of that just jealousy of
-Philip, the ambitious king of Macedon, which became
-the leading principle of his life, was made 252 B. C.,
-when the orator delivered the first of those celebrated
-speeches called Philippics. This word has been naturalized
-in Latin and most European languages, as a
-concise term to signify indignant invective.</p>
-
-<p>From this time forward, it was the main object of
-Demosthenes to inspire and keep alive in the minds
-of the Athenians a constant jealousy of Philip’s power
-and intentions, and to unite the other states of Greece
-in confederacy against him. The policy and the disinterestedness
-of his conduct have both been questioned;
-the former, by those who have judged, from
-the event, that resistance to the power of Macedonia
-was rashly to accelerate a certain and inevitable evil;
-the latter, by those, both of his contemporaries and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span>
-among posterity, who believe that he received bribes
-from Persia, as the price of finding employment in
-Greece for an enemy, whose ambition threatened the
-monarch of the East. With respect to the former,
-however, it was at least the most generous policy, and
-like that of the elder Athenians in their most illustrious
-days&mdash;not to await the ruin of their independence
-submissively, until every means had been tried for
-averting it; for the latter, such charges are hard
-either to be proved or refuted. The character of Demosthenes
-certainly does not stand above the suspicion
-of pecuniary corruption, but it has not been
-shown, nor is it necessary or probable to suppose,
-that his jealousy of Philip of Macedon was not, in the
-first instance, far-sighted and patriotic. During fourteen
-years, from 352 to 338, he exhausted every resource
-of eloquence and diplomatic skill to check the
-progress of that aspiring monarch; and whatever
-may be thought of his moral worth, none can undervalue
-the genius and energy which have made his
-name illustrious, and raised a memorial of him far
-more enduring than sepulchral brass.</p>
-
-<p>In 339 B. C., Philip’s appointment to be general
-of the Amphictyonic League gave him a more direct
-influence than he had yet possessed; and in the same
-year, the decisive victory of Cheronea, won over the
-combined forces of Thebes, Athens, &amp;c., had made
-him master of Greece. Demosthenes served in this
-engagement, but joined, early in the flight, with circumstances,
-according to report, of marked cowardice
-and disgrace. He retired for a time from Athens,
-but the cloud upon his character was but transient<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>
-for, shortly after, he was entrusted with the charge of
-putting the city in a state of defence, and was appointed
-to pronounce the funeral oration over those
-who had been slain. After the battle of Cheronea,
-Philip, contrary to expectation, did not prosecute hostilities
-against Athens; on the contrary, he used his
-best endeavors to conciliate the affections of the people,
-but without success. The party hostile to Macedon
-soon regained the superiority, and Demosthenes
-was proceeding with his usual vigor in the prosecution
-of his political schemes, when news arrived of
-the murder of Philip, in July, 336.</p>
-
-<p>The daughter of Demosthenes had then lately
-died; nevertheless, in violation of national usage, he
-put off his mourning, and appeared in public, crowned
-with flowers and with other tokens of festive rejoicing.
-This act, a strong expression of triumph over
-the fall of a most dangerous enemy, has been censured
-with needless asperity; the accusation of having
-been privy to the plot for Philip’s murder, beforehand,
-founded on his own declaration of the event
-some time before intelligence of it came from any
-other quarter, and the manifest falsehood as to the
-source of the information, which he professed to derive
-from a divine revelation, involves&mdash;if it be judged
-to be well founded&mdash;a far blacker imputation.</p>
-
-<p>Whether or not it was of his own procuring, the
-death of Philip was hailed by Demosthenes as an
-event most fortunate for Athens, and favorable to the
-liberty of Greece. Thinking lightly of the young
-successor to the Macedonian crown, he busied himself
-the more in stirring up opposition to Alexander,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>and succeeded in urging Thebes into that revolt,
-which ended in the entire destruction of the city, B.
-C., 335. This example struck terror into Athens.
-Alexander demanded that Demosthenes, with nine
-others, should be given up into his hands, as the authors
-of the battle of Cheronea and of the succeeding
-troubles of Greece; but finally contented himself with
-requiring the banishment of Charidemus alone.</p>
-
-<p>Opposition to Macedon was now effectually put
-down, and, until the death of Alexander, we hear little
-more of Demosthenes as a public man. During this
-period, however, one of the most memorable incidents
-of his life occurred, in that contest of oratory with
-Æschines, which has been more celebrated than any
-strife of words since the world began. The origin of
-it was as follows. About the time of the battle of
-Cheronea, one Ctesiphon brought before the people a
-decree for presenting Demosthenes with a crown for
-his distinguished services; a complimentary motion,
-in its nature and effects very much like a vote in the
-English parliament, declaratory of confidence in the
-administration. Æschines, the leading orator of the
-opposite party, arraigned this motion, as being both
-untrue in substance and irregular in form; he indicted
-Ctesiphon on these grounds, and laid the penalty
-at fifty talents, equivalent to about $50,000.
-Why the prosecution was so long delayed, does not
-clearly appear; but it was not brought to an issue
-until the year 330, when Æschines pronounced his
-great oration “against Ctesiphon.” Demosthenes defended
-him in the still more celebrated speech “on
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span>the crown.” These, besides being admirable specimens
-of rhetorical art, have the additional value, that
-the rival orators, being much more anxious to uphold
-the merits of their own past policy and conduct, than
-to convict and defend the nominal object of prosecution,
-have gone largely into matters of self-defence
-and mutual recrimination, from which much of our
-knowledge of this obscure portion of history is derived.
-Æschines lost the cause, and not having the
-votes of so much as a fifth part of the judges, became
-liable, according to the laws of Athens, to fine and
-banishment. He withdrew to Rhodes, where he established
-a school of oratory. On one occasion, for
-the gratification of his hearers, he recited first his
-own, then his adversary’s speech. Great admiration
-having been expressed of the latter, “What then,” he
-said, “if you had heard the brute himself?” bearing
-testimony in these words to the remarkable energy
-and fire of delivery which was one of Demosthenes’
-chief excellences as an orator.</p>
-
-<p>A fate similar to that of his rival, overtook Demosthenes
-himself, a few years later, B. C. 324. Harpalus,
-an officer high in rank and favor under Alexander,
-having been guilty of malversation to such
-an extent that he dared not await discovery, fled to
-Greece, bringing with him considerable treasures and
-a body of mercenary soldiers. He sought the support
-of the Athenians; and, as it was said, bribed
-Demosthenes not to oppose his wishes. Rumors to
-that effect got abroad, and though his proposals were
-rejected by the assembly, Demosthenes was called
-to account, and fined fifty talents, nearly $50,000,
-as having been bribed to give false counsel to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>
-people. Being unable to pay the amount of the fine,
-it acted as a sentence of banishment, and he retired
-into Ægina. Like Cicero, when placed in a similar
-situation, he displayed effeminacy of temper, and an
-unmanly violence of regret, under a reverse of fortune.</p>
-
-<p>In the following year, however, the death of Alexander
-restored him to political importance; for when
-that event opened once more to the Athenians the
-prospect of shaking off the supremacy of Macedonia,
-Demosthenes was recalled, with the most flattering
-marks of public esteem. He guided the state during
-the short war waged with Antipater, the Macedonian
-viceroy, until the inequality of the contest became
-evident, and the Macedonian party regained its
-ascendency. Demosthenes then retired to the sanctuary
-of Calauria, an island sacred to Neptune, on
-the coast of Argolis. Sentence of death was passed
-on him in his absence. He was pursued to his
-place of refuge by the emissaries of Antipater, and
-being satisfied that the sanctity of the place would
-not protect him, he took poison, which, as a last
-resort, he carried about his person, concealed in a
-quill.</p>
-
-<p>Most of the speeches of Demosthenes are short, at
-least compared with modern oratory. He rarely
-spoke extempore, and bestowed an unusual degree of
-pains on his composition. That style which is described
-by Hume as “rapid harmony, exactly adapted
-to the sense; vehement reason, without any appearance
-of art; disdain, anger, boldness, freedom, involved
-in a continued stream of argument”&mdash;instead
-of being, as it would seem, the effervescence of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span>
-powerful, overflowing mind, was the labored produce
-of much thought, and careful, long-continued
-polish.</p>
-
-<p>If we compare the two greatest orators of antiquity&mdash;Cicero
-and Demosthenes&mdash;it may seem difficult to
-decide between them. By devoting his powers almost
-exclusively to oratory, the latter excelled in energy,
-strength, and accuracy; and as a mere artist, was
-probably the superior. Cicero, by cultivating a more
-extended field, was doubtless far the abler lawyer,
-statesman and philosopher. Of the value of their
-works to mankind, there is no comparison; for
-those of Cicero are not only more numerous and diversified,
-but of more depth, wisdom, and general
-application. We must also remark, that while the
-soul of Demosthenes appears to have been selfish and
-mean, that of Cicero ranks him among the noblest
-specimens of humanity, whether of ancient or modern
-times.</p>
-
-<p>If we compare the speeches of these great men
-with the efforts of modern orators, we shall see that
-the latter greatly surpass them in range of thought,
-power of diction and splendor of illustration. The
-question then arises, why did the orations of Cicero
-and Demosthenes produce such electrical effects upon
-their auditors? The reason doubtless was, that they
-paid the greatest attention to action, manner and
-tones of voice&mdash;thus operating upon their hearers by
-nearly the same powers as the modern opera. There
-was stage effect in their manner, and music in their
-tones, combined with most perfect elocution&mdash;and the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span>application of these arts, carried to the utmost perfection,
-was made to the quick Italians or mercurial
-Athenians. These suggestions may enable us to
-understand the fact, that speeches, which, uttered in
-the less artful manner of our day, and before our
-colder audiences, would fall flat and dead upon the
-ear, excited the utmost enthusiasm, in more southern
-climes, two thousand years ago.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 40%" >
-<img src="images/208.jpg" alt="man" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>APELLES.</h2>
-
-
-<p>Apelles was a celebrated painter of Cos, a little
-island in the Egean Sea. The date of his birth is not
-known, but he painted many portraits of Philip, and was
-still nourishing in the time of Alexander, who honored
-him so much that he forbade any other artist to draw
-his picture. His chief master was Pamphilius, a
-famous painter of Macedon. He was so attentive to
-his profession, that he never spent a day without employing
-his pencil,&mdash;whence the proverb of <i>Nulla die
-sine linea</i>. His most perfect picture was the Venus
-Anadyomene, which, however, was not wholly finished
-when the painter died.</p>
-
-<p>He executed a painting of Alexander, holding thunder
-in his hand, so much like life, that Pliny, who
-saw it, says that the hand of the king with the thunder
-seemed to come out of the picture. This was placed
-in Diana’s temple at Ephesus. He made another
-picture of Alexander; but the king, on coming to see
-it after it was painted, appeared not to be satisfied
-with it. It happened, however, at that moment a
-horse, passing by, neighed at the horse in the picture,
-supposing it to be alive; upon which the painter said,
-“One would imagine that the horse is a better judge
-of painting, than your majesty.” When Alexander
-ordered him to draw the picture of Campaspe, one of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span>
-his favorites, Apelles became enamored of her, and
-the king permitted him to marry her. He wrote
-three volumes on painting, which were still extant in
-the age of Pliny,&mdash;but they are now lost. It is said that
-he was accused, while in Egypt, of conspiring against
-the life of Ptolemy, and that he would have been put
-to death, had not the real conspirator discovered himself,
-and thus saved the artist. Apelles put his name
-to but three pictures; a sleeping Venus, Venus Anadyomene,
-and an Alexander.</p>
-
-<p>Apelles appears to have been not only an excellent
-artist, but a man of admirable traits of character.
-Being once at Rhodes, he met with the productions
-of Protogenes,<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> which so greatly delighted him that
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>he offered to purchase the whole. Before this, Protogenes
-was entirely unappreciated by his countrymen,
-but the approbation of one so distinguished as Apelles,
-brought him into notice, and his fame soon became
-established.</p>
-
-<p>Another story of Apelles is told as having given
-rise to the well-known maxim, <i>Ne sutor ultra crepidam</i>:
-Let the shoemaker stick to his last. Apelles placed
-a picture, which he had finished, in a public place, and
-concealed himself behind it, in order to hear the criticisms
-of the passers-by. A shoemaker observed a
-defect in the shoe, and the painter forthwith corrected
-it. The cobbler came the next day, and being somewhat
-encouraged by the success of his first remark,
-began to extend his censure to the leg of the figure,
-when the angry painter thrust out his head from
-behind the figure, and told him to keep to his trade.</p>
-
-<p>Apelles excelled in grace and beauty. The painter,
-who labored incessantly, as we have seen, to improve
-his skill in drawing, probably trusted as much to that
-branch of his art, as to his coloring. We are told that
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>he only used four colors. He used a varnish which
-brought out the colors, and at the same time preserved
-them. His favorite subject was the representation
-of Venus, the goddess of love,&mdash;the female blooming
-in eternal beauty; and the religious system of the age
-favored the taste of the artist.</p>
-
-<p>Apelles painted many portraits of Alexander the
-Great, who, we are told, often visited his painting
-room. It is not easy to reconcile his rambling life
-with this account, unless we suppose that Apelles
-followed him into Asia; a conjecture not altogether
-improbable, if we read the account of the revelries at
-Susa, after Alexander’s return from India, and of the
-number of all kinds of professional artists then assembled
-to add to the splendor of the festival.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 68%" >
-<img src="images/212.jpg" alt="chariot" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Protogenes, a painter of Rhodes, who flourished about 328
-years B. C. He was originally so poor that he painted ships
-to maintain himself. His countrymen were ignorant of his
-merits, before Apelles came to Rhodes and offered to buy all
-his pieces, as we have related. This opened the eyes of the
-Rhodians; they became sensible of the talents of their countryman,
-and liberally rewarded him. Protogenes was employed
-seven years in finishing a picture of Jalysus a celebrated
-huntsman, supposed to have been the son of Apollo and the
-founder of Rhodes. During all this time the painter lived
-only upon lupines and water, thinking that such aliment would
-leave him greater flights of fancy; but all this did not seem
-to make him more successful in the perfection of his picture.
-He was to represent in this piece a dog panting, and with
-froth at his mouth; but this he could never do with satisfaction
-to himself; and when all his labors seemed to be without success,
-he threw his sponge upon the piece in a fit of anger.
-Chance alone brought to perfection what the utmost labors of
-art could not do; the fall of the sponge upon the picture represented
-the froth of the mouth of the dog in the most perfect
-and natural manner, and the piece was universally admired.
-Protogenes was very exact in his representations, and copied
-nature with the greatest nicety; but this was blamed as a fault
-by his friend Apelles. When Demetrius besieged Rhodes, he
-refused to set fire to a part of the city, which might have made
-him master of the whole, because he knew that Protogenes
-was then working in that quarter. When the town was taken,
-the painter was found closely employed, in a garden, finishing
-a picture; and when the conqueror asked him why he
-showed not more concern at the general calamity, he replied,
-that Demetrius made war against the Rhodians; and not against
-the fine arts.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span></p></div>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>DIOGENES.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This eccentric individual was a native of Sinope, a
-city of Pontus, and born 419 B. C. Having been
-banished from his native place, with his father, upon
-the accusation of coining false money, he went to
-Athens, and requested Antisthenes, the Cynic,<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> to
-admit him among his disciples. That philosopher in
-vain attempted to drive away the unfortunate supplicant.
-He even threatened to strike him; but Diogenes
-told him he could not find a stoic hard enough to
-repel him, so long as he uttered things worthy of
-being remembered. Antisthenes was propitiated by
-this, and received him among his pupils.</p>
-
-<p>Diogenes devoted himself, with the greatest diligence,
-to the lessons of his master, whose doctrines
-he afterwards extended and enforced. He not only,
-like Antisthenes, despised all philosophical speculations,
-and opposed the corrupt morals of his time, but
-also carried the application of his principles, in his
-own person, to the extreme. The stern austerity of
-Antisthenes was repulsive; but Diogenes exposed the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>follies of his cotemporaries with wit and humor, and
-was, therefore, better adapted to be the censor and
-instructor of the people, though he really accomplished
-little in the way of reforming them. At the
-same time, he applied, in its fullest extent, his principle
-of divesting himself of all superfluities. He taught
-that a wise man, in order to be happy, must endeavor
-to preserve himself independent of fortune, of men,
-and of himself; and, in order to do this, he must despise
-riches, power, honor, arts and sciences, and all the
-enjoyments of life.</p>
-
-<p>He endeavored to exhibit, in his own person, a
-model of Cynic virtue. For this purpose, he subjected
-himself to the severest trials, and disregarded all the
-forms of polite society. He often struggled to overcome
-his appetite, or satisfied it with the coarsest
-food; practised the most rigid temperance, even at
-feasts, in the midst of the greatest abundance, and did
-not consider it beneath his dignity to ask alms.</p>
-
-<p>By day, he walked through the streets of Athens
-barefoot, with a long beard, a stick in his hand, and a
-bag over his shoulders. He was clad in a coarse
-double robe, which served as a coat by day and a
-coverlet by night; and he carried a wallet to receive
-alms. His abode was a cask in the temple of Cybele.
-It is said that he sometimes carried a tub about on
-his head which occasionally served as his dwelling.
-In summer he rolled himself in the burning sand, and
-in winter clung to the marble images covered with
-snow, that he might inure himself to the extremes of
-the climate. He bore the scoffs and insults of the
-people with the greatest equanimity. Seeing a boy
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>draw water with his hand, he threw away his wooden
-goblet, as an unnecessary utensil. He never spared
-the follies of men, but openly and loudly inveighed
-against vice and corruption, attacking them with keen
-satire, and biting irony. The people, and even the
-higher classes, heard him with pleasure, and tried
-their wit upon him. When he made them feel his
-superiority, they often had recourse to abuse, by
-which, however, he was little moved. He rebuked
-them for expressions and actions which violated decency
-and modesty, and therefore it is not credible
-that he was guilty of the excesses with which his
-enemies reproached him. His rudeness offended the
-laws of good breeding, rather than the principles of
-morality.</p>
-
-<p>On a voyage to the island of Ægina, he fell into
-the hands of pirates, who sold him as a slave to Xeniades,
-a Corinthian. He, however, emancipated him,
-and entrusted to him the education of his children.
-He attended to the duties of his new employment
-with the greatest care, commonly living in summer
-at Corinth, and in the winter at Athens. It was at
-the former place that Alexander found him at the
-road-side, basking in the sun; and, astonished at the
-indifference with which the ragged beggar regarded
-him, entered into conversation with him, and finally
-gave him permission to ask him a boon. “I ask
-nothing,” answered the philosopher, “but that thou
-wouldst get out of my sunshine.” Surprised at this
-proof of content, the king is said to have exclaimed,
-“Were I not Alexander, I would be Diogenes.” The
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>following dialogue, though not given as historical, is
-designed to represent this interview.</p>
-
-<p><i>Diogenes.</i> Who calleth?</p>
-
-<p><i>Alexander.</i> Alexander. How happeneth it that you would not come out of your tub to my palace?</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> Because it was as far from my tub to your palace, as from your palace to my tub.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> What! dost thou owe no reverence to kings?</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> No.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> Why so?</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> Because they are not gods.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> They are gods of the earth.</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> Yes, gods of the earth!</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> Plato is not of thy mind.</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> I am glad of it.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> Why?</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> Because I would have none of Diogenes’ mind but Diogenes.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> If Alexander have anything that can pleasure Diogenes, let me know, and take it.</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> Then take not from me that you cannot give me&mdash;the light of the sun!</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> What dost thou want?</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> Nothing that you have.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> I have the world at command.</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> And I in contempt.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> Thou shalt live no longer than I will.</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> But I shall die, whether you will or no.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> How should one learn to be content?</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> Unlearn to covet.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> (<i>to Hephæstion.</i>) Hephæstion, were I not Alexander,
-I would wish to be Diogenes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span></p>
-<p><i>H.</i> He is dogged, but shrewd; he has a sharpness,
-mixed with a kind of sweetness; he is full of wit,
-yet too wayward.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> Diogenes, when I come this way again, I will
-both see thee and confer with thee.</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> Do.</p>
-
-<p>We are told that the philosopher was seen one day
-carrying a lantern through the streets of Athens: on
-being asked what he was looking after, he answered,
-“I am seeking an honest man.” Thinking he had
-found among the Spartans the greatest capacity for
-becoming such men as he wished, he said, “Men, I
-have found nowhere, but children, at least, I have
-seen in Lacedæmon.” Being asked, “What is the
-most dangerous animal?” his answer was, “Among
-wild animals, the slanderer; among tame, the flatterer.”
-He expired 323 B. C., at a great age, and, it is
-said, on the same day that Alexander died. When he
-felt death approaching, he seated himself on the road
-leading to Olympia, where he died with philosophical
-calmness, in the presence of a great number of people
-who were collected around him.</p>
-
-<p>None of the works of Diogenes are extant; in these
-he maintained the doctrines of the Cynics. He
-believed that exercise was of the greatest importance,
-and capable of effecting everything. He held that
-there were two kinds of exercise,&mdash;one of the body,
-and one of the mind,&mdash;and that one was of little use
-without the other. By cultivation of the mind, he
-did not mean the accumulation of knowledge or science,
-but a training which might give it vigor, as
-exercise endows the body with health and strength.</p>
-
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> The Cynics were a sect of philosophers, founded by Antisthenes,
-at Athens; they took their name from their disposition
-to criticise the lives and actions of others. They were famous
-for their contempt of riches, their neglect of dress, and the
-length of their beards. They usually slept on the ground.</p></div>
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/218.jpg" alt="Plato" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>PLATO.</h2>
-
-
-<p>It has been remarked by Coleridge, that all men
-are born disciples either of Plato or Aristotle: by
-which he means that these two great men are the
-leaders in the two kinds of philosophy which govern
-the thinking world,&mdash;the one looking into the soul, as
-the great well of truth; the other, studying the outward
-world, and building up its system upon facts
-collected by observation. The truth is doubtless to
-be found by compounding the two systems.</p>
-
-<p>Plato was born at Athens, in May, 429 B. C. He
-was the son of Ariston and Perectonia. His original
-name was Aristocles, and it has been conjectured that
-he received that of Plato, from the largeness of
-his shoulders: this, however, is improbable, as Plato<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span>
-was then a common name at Athens. Being one of
-the descendants of Codrus, and the offspring of a
-noble, illustrious, and opulent family, he was educated
-with the utmost care; his body was formed and invigorated
-with gymnastic exercises, and his mind was
-cultivated and trained by the study of poetry and of
-geometry; from which two sources he doubtless derived
-that acuteness of judgment and warmth of
-imagination, which stamped him as at once the most
-subtle and flowery writer of antiquity.</p>
-
-<p>He first began his literary career by writing poems
-and tragedies; but he was disgusted with his own
-productions, when, at the age of twenty, he was introduced
-into the society of Socrates, and was qualified
-to examine, with critical accuracy, the merit of his
-compositions, and compare them with those of his
-poetical predecessors. He, therefore, committed them
-to the flames. During eight years he continued to
-be one of the pupils of Socrates; and though he was
-prevented by indisposition from attending the philosopher’s
-last moments, he collected, from the conversation
-of those that were present, and from his own
-accurate observations, very minute and circumstantial
-accounts, which exhibit the concern and sensibility
-of the pupil, and the firmness, virtue, and elevated
-moral sentiments of the dying philosopher.</p>
-
-<p>After the death of Socrates Plato retired from
-Athens, and, with a view to emerge his stores of
-knowledge, he began to travel over different countries.
-He visited Megara, Thebes, and Elis, where he met
-with the kindest reception from his fellow-disciples,
-whom the violent death of their master had likewise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span>
-removed from Attica. He afterwards visited Magna
-Græcia, attracted by the fame of the Pythagorean
-philosophy, and by the learning, abilities, and reputation
-of its professors, Philolaus, Archytas, and Eurytus.
-He then passed into Sicily, and examined the
-eruptions of Etna. He visited Egypt, where the
-mathematician Theodorus, then flourished, and where
-he knew that the tenets of the Pythagorean philosophy
-had been fostered.</p>
-
-<p>When he had finished his travels, Plato retired to
-the groves of Academus, in the neighborhood of
-Athens, and established a school there; his lectures
-were soon attended by a crowd of learned, noble, and
-illustrious pupils; and the philosopher, by refusing to
-have a share in the administration of political affairs,
-rendered his name more famous and his school more
-frequented. During forty years he presided at the
-head of the academy, and there he devoted his time
-to the instruction of his pupils, and composed those
-dialogues which have been the admiration of every
-succeeding age. His studies, however, were interrupted
-for a while, as he felt it proper to comply with
-the pressing invitations of Dionysius, of Syracuse,
-to visit him. The philosopher earnestly but vainly
-endeavored to persuade the tyrant to become the father
-of his people, and the friend of liberty.</p>
-
-<p>In his dress, Plato was not ostentatious; his manners
-were elegant, but modest, simple, and without
-affectation. The great honors which were bestowed
-upon him, were not paid to his appearance, but to his
-wisdom and virtue. In attending the Olympian
-games, he once took lodgings with a family who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span>
-were totally strangers to him. He ate and drank
-with them, and partook of their innocent pleasures
-and amusements; but though he told them his name
-was Plato, he did not speak of the employment he
-pursued at Athens, and never introduced the name
-of that great philosopher, whose doctrines he followed,
-and whose death and virtues were favorite topics of
-conversation in every part of Greece. When he
-returned to Athens, he was attended by the family
-which had so kindly entertained him; and, being
-familiar with the city, he was desired to show them
-the celebrated philosopher whose name he bore.
-Their surprise may be imagined, when he told them
-that he was the Plato whom they wished to behold.</p>
-
-<p>In his diet he was moderate; and, indeed, to sobriety
-and temperance in the use of food, and abstinence
-from those indulgences which enfeeble the body and
-enervate the mind, some have attributed his preservation
-during a terrible pestilence which raged in Athens
-at the beginning of the Peloponnesian war. Plato
-was never subject to any long or lingering indisposition;
-and, though change of climate had enfeebled a
-constitution naturally strong and healthy, the philosopher
-lived to an advanced age, and was often heard
-to say, when his physicians advised him to leave his
-residence at Athens, where the air was impregnated
-by the pestilence, that he would not advance one single
-step to gain the top of Mount Athos, were he
-assured of attaining the longevity which the inhabitants
-of that mountain were said to enjoy. Plato
-died on his birth-day, in the eighty-first year of his
-age, about the year 348 B. C. His last moments
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span>were easy, and without pain; and, according to some
-authors, he expired in the midst of an entertainment;
-but Cicero tells us that he died while in the act of
-writing.</p>
-
-<p>The works of Plato are numerous; with the exception
-of twelve letters, they are all written in the form
-of dialogue, in which Socrates is the principal interlocutor.
-Thus he always speaks by the mouth of
-others, and the philosopher has nowhere made mention
-of himself, except once in his dialogue entitled
-Phædon, and another time in his Apology for Socrates.
-His writings were so celebrated, and his opinions
-so respected, that he was called divine; and for
-the elegance, melody, and sweetness of his expressions,
-he was distinguished by the appellation of the
-Athenian bee. His style, however, though commended
-and admired by the most refined critics among
-the ancients, has not escaped the censure of some of
-the moderns. It is obvious that the philosopher cannot
-escape ridicule, who supposes that fire is a pyramid
-tied to the earth by numbers; that the world is a
-figure consisting of twelve pentagons; and who, to
-prove the metempsychosis and the immortality of the
-soul, asserts that the dead are born from the living,
-and the living from the dead. The speculative mind
-of Plato was employed in examining things divine
-and human; and he attempted to ascertain and fix
-not only the practical doctrines of morals and politics
-but the more subtle and abstruse theory of mystical
-theogony&mdash;the origin of the gods, or divine power.
-His philosophy was universally received and adopted
-in ancient times, and it has not only governed the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>opinions of the speculative part of mankind, but it
-continues still to influence the reasoning, and to divide
-the sentiments of the moderns.</p>
-
-<p>In his system of philosophy, he followed the physics
-of Heraclitus, the metaphysical opinions of Pythagoras,
-and the morals of Socrates. He maintained the
-existence of two beings&mdash;one self-existent, and the
-other formed by the hand of a pre-existent, creative
-god and man. The world, he maintained, was created
-by that self-existent cause, from the rude, undigested
-mass of matter which had existed from all
-eternity, and which had ever been animated by an
-irregular principle of motion. The origin of evil
-could not be traced under the government of a deity,
-without admitting a stubborn intractability and wildness
-congenial to matter; and from these, consequently,
-could be demonstrated the deviations from
-the laws of nature, and from thence, the extravagant
-passions and appetites of men.</p>
-
-<p>From materials like these were formed the four
-elements, and the beautiful structure of the heavens
-and the earth; and into the active but irrational principle
-of matter, the divinity infused a rational soul.
-The souls of men were formed from the remainder
-of the rational soul of the world, which had previously
-given existence to the invisible gods and demons.
-The philosopher, therefore, supported the doctrine of
-ideal forms, and the pre-existence of the human mind,
-which he considered as emanations of the Deity, and
-which can never remain satisfied with objects or
-things unworthy of their divine original. Men could
-perceive, with their corporeal senses, the types of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span>immutable things, and the fluctuating objects of the
-material world; but the sudden changes to which
-these are continually liable, create innumerable disorders,
-and hence arise deception, and, in short, all
-the errors of human life. Yet, in whatever situation
-man may be, he is still an object of divine concern,
-and, to recommend himself to the favor of the pre-existent
-cause, he must comply with the purposes of
-his creation, and, by proper care and diligence, he can
-recover those immaculate powers with which he was
-naturally endowed.</p>
-
-<p>All science the philosopher made to consist in
-reminiscence&mdash;in recalling the nature, forms, and proportions,
-of those perfect and immutable essences,
-with which the human mind had been conversant.
-From observations like these, the summit of felicity
-might be attained by removing from the material, and
-approaching nearer to the intellectual world; by curbing
-and governing the passions, which were ever
-agitated and inflamed by real or imaginary objects.</p>
-
-<p>The passions were divided into two classes: the
-first consisted of the irascible passions, which originated
-in pride or resentment, and were seated in the
-breast; the other, founded on the love of pleasure,
-was the concupiscible part of the soul, seated in the
-inferior parts of the body. These different orders
-induced the philosopher to compare the soul to a
-small republic, of which the reasoning and judging
-powers were stationed in the head, as in a firm citadel,
-and of which the senses were the guards and servants.
-By the irascible part of the soul, men asserted
-their dignity, repelled injuries, and scorned danger
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>and the concupiscible part provided the support and
-the necessities of the body, and, when governed with
-propriety, gave rise to temperance. Justice was produced
-by the regular dominion of reason, and by the
-submission of the passions; and prudence arose from
-the strength, acuteness, and perfection of the soul,
-without which other virtues could not exist.</p>
-
-<p>But amidst all this, wisdom was not easily attained;
-at their creation all minds were not endowed with
-the same excellence; the bodies which they animated
-on earth, were not always in harmony with the divine
-emanation; some might be too weak, others too
-strong. On the first years of a man’s life depended
-his future character; an effeminate and licentious
-education seemed calculated to destroy the purposes
-of the divinity, while the contrary produced different
-effects, and tended to cultivate and improve the reasoning
-and judging faculty, and to produce wisdom
-and virtue.</p>
-
-<p>Plato was the first who supported the immortality
-of the soul upon arguments solid and permanent,
-deduced from truth and experience. He did not
-imagine that the diseases and death of the body could
-injure the principle of life, and destroy the soul,
-which, of itself, was of divine origin, and of an incorrupted
-and immutable essence, which, though inherent
-for a while in matter, could not lose that power
-which was the emanation of God. From doctrines
-like these, the great founder of Platonism concluded
-that there might exist in the world a community of
-men, whose passions could be governed with moderation,
-and who, from knowing the evils and miseries
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>which arise from ill conduct, might aspire to excellence,
-and attain that perfection which can be derived
-from a proper exercise of the rational and moral powers.
-To illustrate this more fully, the philosopher
-wrote a book, well known by the name of the “Republic
-of Plato,” in which he explains, with acuteness,
-judgment, and elegance, the rise and revolution of
-civil society; and so respected was his opinion as a
-legislator, that his scholars were employed in regulating
-the republics of Arcadia.</p>
-
-<p>It was a characteristic of Plato’s mind, that he
-united a subtle intellect to a glowing fancy. As an
-illustration of his style, we may mention the passage
-in which he shows the operation of the three principles
-in the human being&mdash;mind, soul, and body&mdash;or
-the three powers of intellect, spirit, and matter. It
-occurs in the dialogue of Phædrus, where he endeavors
-to illustrate the doctrine that the mind or reason
-should be the governing faculty.</p>
-
-<p>The soul is here compared to a chariot, drawn by
-a pair of winged steeds, one of which is well-bred
-and well-trained, and the other quite the contrary.
-The quiet horse, the Will, is obedient to the rein,
-and strives to draw its wilder yoke-fellow, the Appetite,
-along with it, and to induce it to listen to the
-voice of the charioteer, Reason. But they have a
-great deal of trouble with the restive horse, and the
-whole object of the journey seems to be lost, if this
-is permitted to have its way. In this allegory, it is
-shown that the object of Reason, in exacting obedience,
-is not merely that discipline and subordination which
-constitute the virtues of man, but to keep the mind
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>in a state to rise to the contemplation and enjoyment
-of great and eternal truths. In other words, a man
-must be in a moral state, before he can place himself
-in a religious state, so as to enjoy the <i>summum bonum</i>,
-or greatest good. What, then, is this greatest good?
-or, in the language of Plato, its <i>idea</i>?&mdash;for, with him,
-<i>idea</i> and <i>essence</i> are synonymous. This is God&mdash;not
-his image, but his nature, which is the sovereign
-good. Thus the greatest happiness of man was
-placed by Plato in a mysterious union of the soul
-with this source of goodness. How near an approach
-to Christian communion with God, is this?</p>
-
-<p>However fantastic many of the details of Plato’s
-system may seem, and however illusory its whole
-machinery must appear, when viewed in the light of
-modern criticism, one thing is to be observed,&mdash;that
-the great results of his philosophy are true. He
-struggled through the thick mists of his age, and discovered
-the eternal existence of Deity; he perceived
-and established, on grounds not to be controverted,
-the immortality of the soul. He placed true happiness
-where philosophy and religion place it&mdash;in the
-ascendency of the spirit over the body&mdash;the subjugation
-of the passions to the dominion of reason
-and virtue. It appears that the germs of these great
-truths had already manifested themselves in the minds
-of Pythagoras, Socrates, and others; and Plato borrowed
-from them many of his noble ideas. But he
-systematized what they had left in a crude state; he
-gave a more clear and distinct utterance to what his
-great master, Socrates, had dimly conceived, and
-ineffectually struggled to announce. He reached the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span>
-highest point, in the search after divine knowledge
-which has ever been attained, without the direct aid
-of inspiration. In the gradual development of God’s
-will to man, he was one of the great instruments.
-Yet, in reviewing his works, we see how imperfect
-was still his knowledge of things divine, and what
-fearful shadows would rest upon the world, if Plato
-were our only guide. How dark, uncertain, mysterious,
-would be the ways of God&mdash;the destinies of
-man&mdash;if left where the philosopher left them!</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 50%" >
-<img src="images/228.jpg" alt="Feather" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/229.jpg" alt="Socrates" style="width: 70%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>SOCRATES.</h2>
-
-
-<p>Socrates was born at Athens 468 B. C. His
-father, Sophroniscus, was a sculptor of humble reputation
-and in moderate circumstances. He educated
-his son to his own profession, in which it appears that
-the latter made considerable proficiency. He did not,
-however, devote himself wholly to this pursuit, but
-spent a large share of his time in reading the works
-of philosophers. Crito, an intimate friend, supplied
-him with money to pay the masters who taught him
-various accomplishments, and he became an auditor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span>
-of most of the great philosophers who visited Athens,
-during his youth. By these means, he received the
-best education which an Athenian youth could command
-in those days.</p>
-
-<p>In the early part of his life, he wrought at his trade,
-so far as to earn a decent subsistence. Receiving a
-small property at his father’s death, when he was
-about thirty years of age, he devoted himself entirely
-to philosophical pursuits. His habits were simple
-and economical; his dress was coarse, and he seldom
-wore shoes. By his frugality, he was thus able to
-live without labor, and yet without being dependent
-upon others.</p>
-
-<p>With regard to his public life, it appears that he
-served his country faithfully as a soldier, according to
-the duty of every Athenian citizen. He took part in
-three campaigns, displaying the greatest hardihood
-and valor. He endured, without repining, hunger
-and thirst, heat and cold. In a skirmish with the
-enemy, his pupil, Alcibiades, fell wounded in the midst
-of the enemy. Socrates rescued him and carried him
-off, for which the civic crown was awarded as the
-prize of valor. This reward, however, he transferred
-to Alcibiades. In another campaign he saved the life
-of his pupil, Xenophon, whom he carried from the
-field on his shoulders, fighting his way as he went.</p>
-
-<p>At the age of sixty-five, he became a member of
-the council of Five Hundred, at Athens. He rose
-also to the dignity of president of that body; by virtue
-of which office, he for one day managed the popular
-assemblies and kept the key of the citadel and
-treasury. Ten naval officers had been accused of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span>
-misconduct, because, after the battle of Arginusæ,
-they had omitted the sacred duty of burying the slain,
-in consequence of a violent storm. Their enemies,
-finding the people disposed to acquit them procured
-by intrigue, the prorogation of several assemblies. A
-new assembly was held on the day when Socrates
-was president; and the citizens, instigated by bad
-men, violently demanded that sentence of death should
-be pronounced on all the accused at once, contrary to
-law. But the menaces of violence were unable to
-bend the inflexible justice of Socrates, and he was
-able afterwards to declare, on his own trial, that ten
-innocent men had been saved by his influence.</p>
-
-<p>When Socrates formed the resolution of devoting
-himself to the pursuit of divine and human knowledge,
-the sophists, a set of arrogant philosophers, were perverting
-the heads and corrupting the hearts of the
-Grecian youth. He therefore put himself in opposition
-to these false guides, and went about endeavoring
-to instruct everybody in a wiser and better philosophy
-than that which prevailed. He was, in fact, an
-instructor of the people; and, believing himself an
-ambassador of God, he was occupied from the dawn
-of day in seeking persons whom he might teach
-either what is important to mankind in general, or
-the private circumstances of individuals. He went
-to the public assemblies and the most crowded streets,
-or entered the workshops of mechanics and artists,
-and conversed with the people on religious duties,
-on their social and political relations; on all subjects,
-indeed, relating to morals, and even on agriculture,
-war, and the arts. He endeavored to remove prevail<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>ing
-prejudices and errors, and to substitute right principles;
-to awaken their better genius in the minds of
-his hearers; to encourage and console them; to enlighten
-and improve mankind, and make them really
-happy.</p>
-
-<p>It is manifest that such a course must have been
-attended with great difficulties. But the serenity of
-Socrates was undisturbed; he was always perfectly
-cheerful in appearance and conversation. In the
-market-place and at home, among people and in the
-society of those whom love of truth and virtue connected
-more closely with him, he was always the
-same. It cannot be doubted that a happy physical
-and mental temperament contributed to produce this
-equanimity. But it was, likewise, a fruit of self-discipline
-and the philosophy he taught. He treated his
-body as a servant, and inured it to every privation, so
-that moderation was to him an easy virtue; and he
-retained in old age his youthful vigor, physical and
-mental. He was kind as a husband and a father.
-Though his wife, Xantippe, was a noted shrew, he
-viewed her as an excellent instrument of discipline,
-and treated her with patience and forbearance.</p>
-
-<p>Although the Greeks at this time were zealously
-devoted to their heathen mythology, Socrates was a
-sincere worshipper of the Supreme Being; yet, from
-his care not to offend his weaker brethren, he observed,
-with punctilious exactness, the religious uses
-which antiquity and custom had consecrated. He
-was constantly attended by a circle of disciples, who
-caught from him the spirit of free inquiry, and were
-inspired with his zeal for the highest good, for reli<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span>gion,
-truth and virtue. The succeeding schools of
-philosophy in Greece are therefore justly traced back
-to him; and he is to be regarded as the master who
-gave philosophical investigation among the Greeks its
-highest direction. Among his most distinguished disciples
-were Alcibiades, Crito, Xenophon, Antisthenes,
-Aristippus, Phædon, Æschines, Cebes, Euclid, and
-Plato. From the detached accounts given us by
-Xenophon and Plato, it appears that he instructed
-them in politics, rhetoric, logic, ethics, arithmetic, and
-geometry, though not in a systematic manner. He
-read with them the principal poets, and pointed out
-their beauties; he labored to enlighten and correct
-their opinions on all practical subjects, and to excite
-them to the study of whatever is most important to
-men.</p>
-
-<p>To make his instructions attractive, they were delivered,
-not in long lectures, but in free conversations,
-rendered interesting by question and answer. He did
-not reason <i>before</i>, but <i>with</i> his disciples, and thus exercised
-an irresistible power over their minds. He
-obliged them to think for themselves, and if there was
-any capacity in a man, it could not fail to be excited
-by his conversation. This method of question and
-answer is called the <i>Socratic method</i>. The fragments
-of his conversations, preserved by Xenophon, often
-leave us unsatisfied; Plato alone has transmitted to
-us the genuine spirit of this method; and he was
-therefore viewed by the ancients as the only fountain
-of the Socratic philosophy,&mdash;a fact which has been
-too much disregarded by modern writers.</p>
-
-<p>Socrates fell a victim to the spirit of bigotry, which
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span>has sacrificed so many persons, who were in advance
-of the age. The document containing the accusation
-against him was lodged in the Temple of Cybele, as
-late as the second century of the Christian era. The
-following is a translation:&mdash;“Melitus, son of Melitus,
-accuses Socrates, son of Sophroniscus, of being guilty
-of denying the existence of the gods of the republic,
-making innovations in the religion of the Greeks,
-and of corrupting the Athenian youth. Penalty,&mdash;death.”</p>
-
-<p>Melitus, who was a tragic writer of a low order,
-was engaged as an accuser in this affair, by the
-wealthy and more powerful enemies of Socrates.
-Amongst them were Anytus and Lycon, the former a
-rich artisan and zealous democrat, who had rendered
-very important services to the republic, by aiding
-Thrasybulus in the expulsion of the thirty tyrants,
-and in establishing the liberty of his country. The
-latter was an orator, and therefore a political magistrate,
-to which office the Athenian orators were entitled,
-by virtue of the laws of Solon.</p>
-
-<p>Socrates was seventy years of age when summoned
-to appear at the Areopagus. The news of this event
-did not excite much surprise, as the people had long
-expected it. Aristophanes, the celebrated comic poet
-of Athens, had previously undertaken, at the instigation
-of Melitus, to ridicule the venerable character of
-the philosopher; and when once he was calumniated
-and defamed, the fickle populace ceased to revere the
-man whom they had before looked upon as a being
-of a superior order.</p>
-
-<p>The enemies of Socrates were of two classes,&mdash;the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span>one consisted of citizens who could not help admiring
-his genius and virtue, but who regarded him as a
-dangerous innovator and subverter of public order.
-They were ready, with him, to acknowledge that some
-reformation might be made in the tenets of Paganism;
-that the gods and goddesses were not patterns of
-virtue; and that the conduct of the sovereign of the
-skies, himself, was far from exemplary; but, said
-they, the thunders of Jupiter exercise a salutary influence
-over the minds of some, and the pains of Tartarus
-still operate as a bridle upon the passions of others.
-To bring in question the ancient faith, was at once to
-attack the institutions of the republic at their base,
-and excite revolution. The philosophy of Socrates,
-even though true, must be suppressed; for the life of
-one man is not to be put in the balance with the
-repose of a whole people,&mdash;with the safety of the
-country. It is better that Socrates should die, than
-Athens perish. Such was the reasoning of one portion.</p>
-
-<p>The other class was composed of the superstitious
-and bigoted,&mdash;of the vicious and imbecile,&mdash;who were
-daily exposed to the censures and sarcasms of the
-philosopher; in fine, of that set of narrow, jealous-minded
-men, who looked upon the welfare and fame
-of their neighbors with envy and with malice. The
-race that had exiled Aristides, because he was great,
-was ready to condemn Socrates, because he was wise.
-The friends and disciples of the great philosopher
-saw the danger that menaced him, and with anxiety
-and fear they crowded around their master, supplicating
-him to fly, or to adopt some means of defence;
-but he would do neither. Lysias, one of the most
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span>celebrated orators of the day, composed a pathetic
-oration, which he wished his friend to pronounce, as
-his defence, in the presence of his judges. Socrates
-read it, praised its animated and eloquent style, but
-rejected it, as being neither manly nor expressive of
-fortitude. The anxiety and trouble of avoiding condemnation
-appeared to him of little moment, when
-compared to the performance of his duty in upholding
-to the last moment, the truth of his principles and the
-dignity of his character.</p>
-
-<p>Socrates, though both eloquent and persuasive in
-conversation, was not capable of addressing a large
-assembly; therefore, on the day of his trial, he asked
-permission of his judges to use the means of defence
-to which he had been accustomed; namely, to speak
-familiarly with, and ask questions of, his adversaries.</p>
-
-<p>“Athenians,” he said, in commencing, “I hope I
-shall succeed in my defence, if, by succeeding, good
-may result from it; but I look upon my success as
-very doubtful, and, therefore, do not deceive myself
-in that respect. But let the will of the gods be
-obeyed.”</p>
-
-<p>The two chief accusations against Socrates, were
-firstly, that he did not believe in the religion of the
-state; secondly, that he was guilty of corrupting the
-minds of young men, and of disseminating the disbelief
-of the established religion.</p>
-
-<p>Socrates did not reply, in a direct manner, to either
-of these charges. Instead of declaring that he believed
-in the religion of his country, he proved that
-he was not an atheist; instead of refuting the charge
-of instructing youth to doubt the sacred tenets of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>
-law, he declared and demonstrated that it was morality
-which he taught; and instead of appealing to the
-compassion of his judges, he did not disguise the contempt
-in which he held the means practised by parties
-accused, who, in order to excite sympathy and compassion,
-brought their children and relations to supplicate,
-with tears in their eyes, the mercy of the
-judges. “I, also, have friends and relations!” he
-said, “and, as to children, I have three,&mdash;one a stripling,
-the other two in childhood; yet I will not
-allow them to come here to excite your sympathy.
-Why will I not do so? It is not caused by stubbornness,
-nor by any disdain I have for you. For my
-honor, for your honor, for that of the republic, it is not
-meet that, with the reputation, whether true or false
-that I have acquired, I should make use of such
-means to procure your acquittal. Indeed, I should be
-ashamed if those that distinguish themselves for wisdom,
-courage, or any other virtue, should, like many
-people that I have seen, although they have passed
-for great men, commit actions the most grovelling&mdash;as
-if death were the greatest misfortune that could befall
-them, and that,&mdash;if their lives were spared,&mdash;they
-would become immortal!”</p>
-
-<p>When Socrates had ceased speaking, the judges
-of the Areopagus found him guilty, by a majority of
-three. On being demanded, according to the spirit
-of the Athenian laws, to pass sentence on himself,
-and to mention the death he preferred, Socrates, conscious
-of his own innocence, replied,&mdash;“Far from
-deeming myself guilty, I believe that I have rendered
-my country important services, and, therefore, think<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span>
-that I ought to be maintained in the Prytaneum at the
-public expense, during the remainder of my life,&mdash;an
-honor, O Athenians, that I merit more than the victors
-of the Olympic games. They make you happy
-in appearance; I have made you so in reality.”</p>
-
-<p>This reply in the highest degree exasperated his
-judges, who condemned him to die by poison. When
-the sentence was passed, Socrates remained, for a
-few minutes, calm and undisturbed, and then asked
-permission to speak a few words.</p>
-
-<p>“Athenians,” he said, “your want of patience will
-be used as a pretext by those who desire to defame
-the republic. They will tell you that you have put
-to death the wise Socrates; yes, they will call me
-wise, to add, to your shame&mdash;though I am not so. If
-you had but waited a short time, death would have
-come of itself, and thus saved you from disgracing
-yourselves. You see I am already advanced in years
-and must shortly die. All know that in times of
-war, nothing is more easy than saving our lives by
-throwing down our weapons, and demanding quarter
-of the enemy. It is the same in all dangers; a thousand
-pretexts can be found by those who are not
-scrupulous about what they say and do. It is difficult,
-O Athenians, to avoid death; but it is much
-more so to avoid crime, which is swifter than death.
-It is for this reason that, old and feeble as I am, I
-await the latter, whilst my accusers, who are more
-vigorous and volatile, embrace the former. I am
-now about to suffer the punishment to which you
-have sentenced me; my accusers, the odium and infamy
-to which virtue condemns them.”</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span></p>
-<p>“What is going to happen to me,” he added, “will
-be rather an advantage than an evil; for it is apparent,
-that to die at present, and to be delivered of the
-cares of this life, is what will best suit me. I have
-no resentment towards my accusers, neither have I
-any ill-will against those who condemn me, although
-their intention was to injure me, to do all in their
-power to do me harm. I will make but one request;
-when my children are grown up, if they are seen to
-covet riches, or prefer wealth to virtue, punish and
-torment them as I have tormented you; and if they
-look upon themselves as beings of importance, make
-them blush for their presumption. This is what I
-have done to you. If you do that, you will secure
-the gratitude of a father, and my children will ever
-praise you. But it is time that we should separate;
-I go to die, and you to live. Which of us has the
-best portion? No one knows except God.”</p>
-
-<p>When he had finished, he was taken to prison and
-loaded with chains. His execution was to have taken
-place in twenty-four hours, but it was postponed for
-thirty days, on account of the celebration of the Delian
-festivals. Socrates, with his usual cheerfulness
-and serenity, passed this time in conversing with
-his friends upon some of the most important subjects
-that could engage the mind of man. Plato relates,
-in the dialogue entitled The Phedon, the conversation
-which took place on the day preceding his death.
-That dialogue, without exception, is the most beautiful
-that the Greeks have left us. We can give only
-those passages which are more immediately connected
-with his death.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>“After the condemnation of Socrates,” says Phedon,
-“we did not allow a day to escape without seeing
-him, and on the day previous to his death, we assembled
-earlier than usual. When we arrived at the
-prison door, the jailor told us to wait a little, as the
-Eleven were then giving orders for the death of Socrates.”</p>
-
-<p>Speaking of the fear of death, Socrates said, “Assuredly,
-my dear friends, if I did not think I was
-going to find, in the other world, gods good and wise,
-and even infinitely better than we are, it would be
-wrong in me not to be troubled at death; but you
-must know that I hope soon to be introduced to virtuous
-men,&mdash;soon to arrive at the assembly of the just.
-Therefore it is that I fear not death, hoping, as I do,
-according to the ancient faith of the human race, that
-something better is in store for the just, than what
-there is for the wicked.”</p>
-
-<p>The slave who was to give Socrates the poison,
-warned him to speak as little as possible, because
-sometimes it was necessary to administer the drug
-three or four times to those who allowed themselves
-to be overheated by conversation.</p>
-
-<p>“Let the poison be prepared,” said Socrates, “as
-if it were necessary to give it two or three times;”
-then continued to discourse upon the immortality of
-the soul, mixing in his arguments the inspiration of
-sentiment and of poetry.</p>
-
-<p>“Let that man,” said he, “have confidence in his
-destiny, who, during lifetime, has renounced the
-pleasures of the body as productive of evil. He who
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span>has sought the pleasures of science, who has beautified
-his soul, not with useless ornaments, but with
-what is suitable to his nature, such as temperance,
-justice, fortitude, liberty, and truth, ought to wait
-peaceably the hour of his departure, and to be always
-ready for the voyage, whenever fate calls him.”</p>
-
-<p>“Alas! my dear friend,” said Crito; “have you
-any orders for me, or for those present, with regard
-to your children or your affairs?” “What I have
-always recommended to you, Crito,”&mdash;replied Socrates,
-“to take care of yourselves,&mdash;nothing more. By
-doing so, you will render me a service, my family,
-and all who know you.”</p>
-
-<p>After Socrates had bathed, his children and his female
-relations were brought into his presence. He
-spoke to them for some time, gave them his orders,
-then caused them to retire. After he returned, he
-sat down upon his bed, and had scarcely spoken,
-when the officer of the Eleven came in and said,
-“Socrates, I hope I shall not have the same occasion to
-reproach you as I have had in respect to others. As
-soon as I come to acquaint them that they must drink
-the poison, they are incensed against me; but you have,
-ever since you came here, been patient, calm, and
-even-tempered, and I am confident that you are not
-angry with me. Now, you know what I have told
-you. Farewell! Try to bear with resignation what
-cannot be avoided.” Saying these words, he turned
-away, while the tears were streaming from his eyes.</p>
-
-<p>“I will follow your counsel,” said Socrates. Then
-turning to his disciples, he continued, “Observe the
-honesty of that poor man. During my imprisonment,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>he has visited me daily, and now, see with what sincerity
-he weeps for me!” When the slave brought
-the poison to Socrates, the latter looked at him, and
-said, “Very well, my friend, what must I do? for
-you know best, and it is your business to direct me.”</p>
-
-<p>“Nothing else but drink the poison; then walk,
-and when you find your limbs grow stiff, lie down
-upon your bed.” At the same time, he handed the
-cup to Socrates, who took it without emotion or
-change of countenance; then looking at the man
-with a steady eye, he said,&mdash;“Tell me, is it allowable
-to make a drink-offering of this mixture?” “Socrates,”
-the man replied, “we never prepare more than
-what is sufficient for one dose.”</p>
-
-<p>“I understand you,” said Socrates; “but nevertheless,
-it is lawful for me to pray to God that he may
-bless my voyage, and render it a happy one.” Having
-said so, he raised the cup to his lips, and drank
-the poison with astonishing tranquillity and meekness.
-When Socrates looked around and saw his friends
-vainly endeavoring to stifle their tears, he said,
-“What are you doing, my companions? Was it not
-to avoid this, that I sent away the women? and you
-have fallen into their weakness. Be quiet, I pray
-you, and show more fortitude.”</p>
-
-<p>In the mean time, he continued to walk, and when
-he felt his legs grow stiff, he lay down upon his back,
-as had been recommended. The person who gave
-Socrates the poison, then came forward, and, after
-examining his legs and feet, he bound them, and
-asked if he felt the cord. The dying philosopher answered,
-“No;” and feeling himself with his hand,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span>
-he told his disciples, that “when the cold reached his
-heart, he should leave them.”</p>
-
-<p>A few minutes afterwards, he exclaimed, “Crito,
-we owe a cock to Esculapius; do not forget to pay
-the debt.” These were the last words of Socrates.
-Such was the end of the great philosopher; and it
-may be truly said that he was one of the wisest, best,
-and most upright of all the Athenians.</p>
-
-<p>In personal appearance Socrates was disagreeable:
-he had a sunken nose, and his eyes protruded so as
-to give him a strange appearance. It is supposed
-that he knew the shrewish temper of Xantippe, before
-he married her, and sought the alliance that she
-might give exercise to his patience. She tried
-every means to irritate him, and finding it impossible
-to rouse his anger, she poured some dirty water upon
-him from a window. “After thunder, we generally
-have rain,” was the only remark the philosopher
-deigned to make. Many other anecdotes are handed
-down, which show the wonderful command Socrates
-had acquired over himself.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 50%" >
-<img src="images/243.jpg" alt="men" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/244.jpg" alt="Alcibiades" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>ALCIBIADES.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This eminent Athenian general and statesman, was
-born about 450 B. C. Descended on both sides from
-the most illustrious families of his country,&mdash;born to
-the inheritance of great wealth,&mdash;endued with great
-personal beauty and the most brilliant mental qualities,&mdash;it
-seemed evident, from his early youth, that he
-would exert no slight influence over the counsels and
-fortunes of Athens. His father, Cleinias, was killed
-at the battle of Cheronæa, and being thus an orphan,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>he was placed under the wardship of his uncle, Pericles.
-The latter was too much engaged in affairs
-of state to bestow that care upon Alcibiades, which
-the impetuosity of his disposition required. In his
-childhood he showed the germ of his future character.
-One day, when he was playing at dice with some
-companions in the street, a wagon came up; he requested
-the driver to stop, and, the latter refusing,
-Alcibiades threw himself before the wheel, exclaiming,
-“Drive on, if thou darest!”</p>
-
-<p>He excelled alike in mental and bodily exercises.
-His beauty and birth, and the high station of Pericles,
-procured him a multitude of friends and admirers,
-and his reputation was soon injured by the dissipation
-in which he became involved. He was fortunate in
-acquiring the friendship of Socrates, who endeavored
-to lead him to virtue, and undoubtedly obtained a
-great ascendency over him, so that Alcibiades often
-quitted his gay associates for the company of the
-philosopher.</p>
-
-<p>He bore arms, for the first time, in the expedition
-against Potidæa and was wounded. Socrates, who
-fought at his side, defended him, and led him out of
-danger. In the battle of Delium, he was among the
-cavalry who were victorious, but, the infantry being
-beaten, he was obliged to flee, as well as the rest.
-He overtook Socrates, who was retreating on foot.
-Alcibiades accompanied him, and protected him.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%" >
-<img src="images/246.jpg" alt="Alcibiades" style="width: 70%" />
-  <div class="caption">
-    <p class="center"><i>Socrates saving Alcibiades.</i></p>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-
-
-<p>For a considerable time he took no part in public
-affairs, but on the death of Cleon, 422 B. C., Nicias
-succeeded in making a peace for fifty years, between
-the Athenians and Lacedæmonians. Alcibiades, jealous
-of the influence of Nicias, and offended because
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span>the Lacedæmonians, with whom he was connected by
-the ties of hospitality, had not applied to him, sought
-to bring about some disagreement between the two
-nations. The Lacedæmonians sent ambassadors to
-Athens. Alcibiades received them with apparent
-good-will, and advised them to conceal their credentials,
-lest the Athenians should prescribe conditions
-to them. They suffered themselves to be duped, and,
-when called into the assembly, declared that they
-were without credentials. Alcibiades rose immediately,
-stated that they had credentials, accused them
-of ill-faith, and induced the Athenians to form an
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span>alliance with the Argives. A breach with the Lacedæmonians
-was the immediate consequence. Alcibiades
-commanded the Athenian fleet several times
-during the war, and devastated the Peloponnesus.</p>
-
-<p>He did not, however, refrain from luxury and dissipation,
-to which he abandoned himself after his
-return from the wars. On one occasion, after having
-a nocturnal revel, in the company of some friends, he
-laid a wager that he would give Hipponicus a box on
-the ear; which he did. This act made a great noise
-in the city, but Alcibiades went to the injured party,
-threw off his garments, and called upon him to revenge
-himself by whipping him with rods. This
-open repentance reconciled Hipponicus, who not only
-pardoned him, but gave him afterwards his daughter,
-Hipparete, in marriage, with a portion of ten talents&mdash;about
-ten thousand dollars. Alcibiades, however, still
-continued his levity and prodigality. His extravagance
-was conspicuous at the Olympic games, where
-he entered the stadium, not like other rich men, with
-one chariot, but with seven at a time&mdash;and gained the
-three first prizes. He seems also to have been victor
-in the Pythian and Nemæan games. By these
-courses he drew upon himself the hatred of his fellow
-citizens, and he would have fallen a sacrifice to the
-ostracism, if he had not, in connection with Nicias and
-Phæax, who feared a similar fate, artfully contrived to
-procure the banishment of his most formidable enemy.</p>
-
-<p>Soon afterwards, the Athenians, at the instance of
-Alcibiades, resolved on an expedition against Sicily,
-and elected him commander-in-chief, together with
-Nicias and Lamachus. But, during the preparations,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span>
-it happened one night that all the statues of Mercury
-were broken. The enemies of Alcibiades charged
-him with the act, but postponed a public accusation
-till he had set sail, when they stirred up the people
-against him to such a degree, that he was recalled in
-order to be tried. Alcibiades had been very successful
-in Sicily, when he received the order to return.
-He prepared to obey, and embarked, but on reaching
-Thurium, he landed, and, instead of proceeding to
-Athens, concealed himself. Some one asking him,
-“How is this, Alcibiades? Have you no confidence
-in your country?”&mdash;he replied, “I would not trust
-my mother when my life is concerned, for she might,
-by mistake, take a black stone instead of a white one.”
-He was condemned to death in Athens. When the
-news reached him, he remarked&mdash;“I shall show the
-Athenians that I am yet alive.”</p>
-
-<p>He now went to Argos; thence to Sparta, where he
-made himself a favorite by conforming closely to the
-prevailing strictness of manners. Here he succeeded
-in inducing the Lacedæmonians to form an alliance
-with the Persian king, and, after the unfortunate issue
-of the Athenian expedition against Sicily, he prevailed
-on the Spartans to assist the inhabitants of Chios in
-throwing off the yoke of Athens. He went himself
-thither, and on his arrival in Asia Minor, roused the
-whole of Ionia to insurrection against the Athenians,
-and did them considerable injury. But Agis and the
-principal leaders of the Spartans became jealous of
-him, on account of his success, and ordered their
-commanders in Asia to cause him to be assassinated.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Alcibiades suspected their plan, and went to Tissaphernes,
-a Persian satrap, who was ordered to act in
-concert with the Lacedæmonians. Here he changed
-his manners once more, adopted the luxurious habits
-of Asia, and soon contrived to make himself indispensable
-to the satrap. As he could no longer trust the
-Lacedæmonians, he undertook to serve his country,
-and showed Tissaphernes that it was against the interest
-of the Persian king to weaken the Athenians;
-on the contrary, Sparta and Athens ought to be preserved
-for their mutual injury. Tissaphernes followed
-this advice, and afforded the Athenians some relief.
-The latter had, at that time, considerable forces at
-Samos. Alcibiades sent word to their commanders,
-that, if the licentiousness of the people was suppressed
-and the government put into the hands of the nobles,
-he would procure for them the friendship of Tissaphernes,
-and prevent the junction of the Ph&oelig;nician
-and Lacedæmonian fleets.</p>
-
-<p>This demand was acceded to, and Pisander was sent
-to Athens; by whose means the government of the city
-was put into the hands of a council, consisting of four
-hundred persons. As, however, the council showed
-no intention of recalling Alcibiades, the army of Samos
-chose him their commander, and exhorted him
-to go directly to Athens and overthrow the power of
-the tyrants. He wished, however, not to return to his
-country before he had rendered it some services; and
-therefore attacked and totally defeated the Lacedæmonians.
-When he returned to Tissaphernes, the
-latter, in order not to appear a participator in the act,
-caused him to be arrested in Sardis. But Alcibiades
-found means to escape; placed himself at the head
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span>of the Athenian army; conquered the Lacedæmonians
-and Persians, at Cyzicus, by sea and land; took
-Cyzicus, Chalcedon, and Byzantium; restored the
-sovereignty of the sea to the Athenians, and returned
-to his country, whither he had been recalled, on the
-motion of Critias.</p>
-
-<p>He was received with general enthusiasm; for the
-Athenians considered his exile as the cause of all
-their misfortunes. But this triumph was of short
-duration. He was sent with one hundred ships to
-Asia; and, not being supplied with money to pay his
-soldiers, he saw himself under the necessity of seeking
-help in Caria, and committed the command to
-Antiochus, who was drawn into a snare by Lysander,
-and lost his life and a part of his ships. The enemies
-of Alcibiades improved this opportunity to accuse
-him, and procure his removal from office.</p>
-
-<p>Alcibiades now went to Pactyæ in Thrace, collected
-troops, and waged war against the Thracians. He
-obtained considerable booty, and secured the quiet of
-the neighboring Greek cities. The Athenian fleet
-was, at that time, lying at Ægos Potamos. He pointed
-out to the generals the danger which threatened
-them, advised them to go to Sestos, and offered his
-assistance to force the Lacedæmonian general, Lysander,
-either to fight, or to make peace. But they did
-not listen to him, and soon after were totally defeated.
-Alcibiades, fearing the power of the Lacedæmonians,
-betook himself to Bithynia, and was about to go to
-Artaxerxes, to procure his assistance for his country.
-In the meantime, the thirty tyrants, whom Lysander
-after the capture of Athens, had set up there, requested<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span>
-the latter to cause Alcibiades to be assassinated.
-But Lysander declined, until he received an order to
-the same effect from his own government. He then
-charged Pharnabazes with the execution of it. Alcibiades
-was at the time with Timandra, his mistress,
-in a castle in Phrygia. The assistants of Pharnabazes,
-afraid to encounter Alcibiades, set fire to his
-house, and when he had already escaped the conflagration,
-they despatched him with their arrows. Timandra
-buried the body with due honor.</p>
-
-<p>Thus Alcibiades ended his life, 404 B. C., being
-about forty-five years old. He was endowed by nature
-with distinguished qualities, a rare talent to captivate
-and rule mankind, and uncommon eloquence, although
-he could not pronounce the letter <i>r</i>, and had an impediment
-in his speech. He had, however, no fixed
-principles, and was governed only by external circumstances.
-He was without that elevation of soul which
-steadily pursues the path of virtue. On the other
-hand, he possessed that boldness which arises from
-consciousness of superiority, and which shrinks from
-no difficulty, because confident of success. He was
-a singular instance of intellectual eminence and moral
-depravity. His faculty for adapting himself to circumstances
-enabled him to equal the Spartans in
-austerity of manners, and to surpass the pomp of the
-Persians. Plutarch says, that “no man was of so
-sullen a nature but he would make him merry; nor
-so churlish but he could make him gentle.”</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>DEMOCRITUS.</h2>
-
-
-<p>Democritus, one of the most remarkable of the
-philosophers of antiquity, was born at Abdera, a maritime
-city of Thrace, 460 B. C. He travelled over
-the greatest part of Europe, Asia and Africa, in quest
-of knowledge. Though his father was so rich as to
-entertain Xerxes and his whole army, while marching
-against Greece, and left his son a large fortune, yet
-the latter returned from his travels in a state of poverty.
-It was a law of the country, that a man should
-be deprived of the honor of a funeral, who had reduced
-himself to indigence. Democritus was of
-course exposed to this ignominy; but having read
-before his countrymen his chief work, it was received
-with the greatest applause, and he was presented with
-five hundred talents,&mdash;a sum nearly equal to half a
-million of dollars. Statues were also erected to his
-honor; and a decree was passed that the expenses of
-his funeral should be paid from the public treasury.</p>
-
-<p>These circumstances display alike the great eminence
-of the philosopher, and an appreciation of genius
-and learning on the part of the people, beyond what
-could now be found in the most civilized communities
-of the world. Where is the popular assembly of the
-present day, that would bestow such a reward, on
-such an occasion?</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>After his return from his travels, Democritus retired
-to a garden near the city, where he dedicated
-his time to study and solitude; and, according to some
-authors, put out his eyes, to apply himself more closely
-to philosophical inquiries. This, however, is unworthy
-of credit. He was accused of insanity, and Hippocrates,
-a celebrated physician, was ordered to
-inquire into the nature of his disorder. After a conference
-with the philosopher, he declared that not
-the latter, but his enemies were insane. Democritus
-was so accustomed to laugh at the follies and vanities
-of mankind, who distract themselves with care, and
-are at once the prey to hope and anxiety, that he
-acquired the title of the “laughing philosopher,” in
-contrast to Heraclitus,<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> who has been called the “weeping
-philosopher.” He told Darius, the king, who
-was inconsolable for the loss of his wife, that he would
-raise her from the dead if he could find three persons
-who had gone through life without adversity, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>
-whose names he might engrave on the queen’s monument.
-The king’s inquiries after such, proved unavailing,
-and the philosopher discovered the means of
-soothing the sorrows of the sovereign.</p>
-
-<p>He was a disbeliever in the existence of ghosts;
-and some youths, to try his fortitude, dressed themselves
-in hideous and deformed habits, and approached
-his cave in the dead of night, expecting to excite his
-terror and astonishment. The philosopher received
-them unmoved, and, without hardly deigning to bestow
-upon them a look, desired them to cease making
-themselves such objects of ridicule and folly. He
-died in the one hundred and fourth year of his age,
-B. C. 357.</p>
-
-<p>All the works of Democritus, which were numerous,
-are lost. He was the first to teach that the milky
-way was occasioned by a confused light from a multitude
-of stars. He may be considered as the parent
-of experimental philosophy; in the prosecution of
-which he was so ardent, that he declared he would
-prefer the discovery of one of the causes of the works
-of nature, to the diadem of Persia. He is said to
-have made artificial emeralds by chemical means,
-and to have tinged them with various colors; he likewise
-found the art of dissolving stones and softening
-ivory.</p>
-
-<p>He was the author of the atomic theory; he viewed
-all matter, in which he included mind, as reducible
-to atoms; he considered the universe to consist only
-of matter and empty space. The mind he regarded
-as round atoms of fire. He argued that nothing could
-arise out of nothing; and also that nothing could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span>
-utterly perish and become nothing. Hence he inferred
-the eternity of the universe, and dispensed with
-the existence of a Creator.</p>
-
-<p>He explained the difference in substances by a
-difference in their component atoms; and all material
-phenomena, by different motions, backward or forward,
-taking place of necessity. He did not seem to
-perceive that under this word, <i>necessity</i>, he concealed
-a deity. He explained sensation by supposing sensible
-images to issue from bodies. In moral philosophy,
-he only taught that a cheerful state of mind was the
-greatest attainable good.</p>
-
-<p>The theories of Democritus appear absurd enough
-in our time; but philosophy was then in its infancy.
-His struggles after light and truth display the darkness
-of the age, and the ingenuity of the philosopher.
-They may also teach us by what a process of mental
-toil, for centuries piled upon centuries, the knowledge
-we possess has been attained. The school he established,
-was supplanted, about a century after, by that
-of Epicurus.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/255.jpg" alt="tomb" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Heraclitus flourished about 500 years B. C. He was a
-native of Ephesus; and being of a melancholy disposition, he
-spent his time in mourning and weeping over the frailties of
-human nature, and the miseries of human life. He employed
-himself for a time, in writing different treatises, in which he
-maintained that all things are governed by a fatal necessity.
-His opinions, in some things, were adopted by the Stoics. He
-became at last a man-hater, and retired to the mountains, so
-as to be entirely separated from his fellow-men. Here he fed
-on grass, which brought on a dropsical complaint: to get cured
-of this, he returned to the town. He established his residence
-on a dunghill, hoping that the warmth might dissipate his
-disease; but this proved ineffectual, and he died in his sixtieth
-year.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span></p></div>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/256.jpg" alt="Pericles" style="width: 55%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>PERICLES.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This celebrated man, born about 498 B. C., was an
-Athenian of noble birth, son of Xantippus and Agariste.
-He was endowed by nature with great powers,
-which he improved by attending the lectures of Damon,
-Zeno, and Anaxagoras. Under these celebrated
-masters, he became a commander, a statesman, and an
-orator, and gained the affections of the people by his
-great address, and well-directed liberality. When he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span>
-took a share in the administration of public affairs, he
-rendered himself popular by opposing Cimon, who
-was the favorite of the nobility; and, to remove every
-obstacle which stood in the way of his ambition, he
-lessened the dignity and the power of the court of
-Areopagus, whom the people had been taught for ages
-to respect and venerate.</p>
-
-<p>He continued his attacks upon Cimon, and finally
-caused him to be banished by the ostracism. Thucydides
-also, who had succeeded Cimon on his banishment,
-shared the same fate, and Pericles remained,
-for fifteen years, the sole minister, and, as it may be
-said, the absolute sovereign of a republic which always
-showed itself so jealous of her liberties, and which
-distrusted so much the honesty of her magistrates.
-In his ministerial capacity, Pericles did not enrich
-himself, but the prosperity of Athens was the object
-of his administration. He made war against the
-Lacedæmonians, and restored the temple of Delphi to
-the care of the Phocians, who had been illegally deprived
-of that honorable trust.</p>
-
-<p>He obtained a victory over the Sicyonians near
-Nemæa, and waged a successful war against the inhabitants
-of Samos. The Peloponnesian war was
-fomented by his ambitious views, and when he had
-warmly represented the flourishing state, the opulence
-and actual power of his country, the Athenians did
-not hesitate to undertake a war against the most powerful
-republics of Greece&mdash;a war which continued for
-twenty-seven years, and was concluded by the destruction
-of their empire and the demolition of their
-walls. The arms of the Athenians were, for some
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>time, crowned with success; but an unfortunate expedition
-raised clamors against Pericles, and the
-enraged populace attributed all their losses to him.
-To make atonement for their ill-success, they condemned
-him to pay fifty talents.</p>
-
-<p>The loss of popular favor did not so much affect
-Pericles, as the death of all his children. When the
-tide of disaffection had passed away, he condescended
-to come into the public assembly, and viewed with
-secret pride the contrition of his fellow-citizens, who
-universally begged his forgiveness for the violence
-which they had offered to his ministerial character.
-He was again restored to all his honors, and, if possible,
-invested with more power and more authority
-than before; but the dreadful pestilence which had
-diminished the number of his family, and swept away
-many of his best friends, proved fatal to himself, and
-about 429 years B. C., in his seventieth year, he fell
-a sacrifice to that terrible malady which robbed Athens
-of so many of her citizens.</p>
-
-<p>Pericles was forty years at the head of the administration;
-twenty-five years with others, and fifteen
-alone. The flourishing state of the country under
-his government, gave occasion to the Athenians publicly
-to lament his loss and venerate his memory.
-As he was expiring and apparently senseless, his
-friends, that stood around his bed, expatiated with
-warmth on the most glorious actions of his life, and
-the victories which he had won&mdash;when he suddenly
-interrupted their tears and conversation, by saying,
-that in mentioning the exploits he had achieved,
-and which were common to him with all generals,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span>
-they had forgotten to mention a circumstance, which
-reflected far greater glory on him as a minister, a
-general, and above all, as a man: “It is,” said he,
-“that not a citizen in Athens has been obliged to put
-on mourning on my account.”</p>
-
-<p>The Athenians were so affected by his eloquence
-that they compared it to thunder and lightning, and,
-as if he were another father of the gods, they gave
-him the title of Olympian. The poets said that the
-goddess of persuasion, with all her charms and attractions,
-dwelt upon his tongue. When he marched
-at the head of the Athenian armies, he observed that
-he had the command of a free nation, who were Greeks
-and citizens of Athens. He also declared that not
-only the hand of a magistrate, but also his eyes and
-his tongue, should be pure and undefiled. There can
-be no doubt that Pericles was one of the most eloquent
-orators and sagacious statesmen of Greece.</p>
-
-<p>Yet, great and venerable as his character may appear,
-we must not forget his follies. His vicious partiality
-for the celebrated courtesan, Aspasia, justly
-subjected him to the ridicule and censure of his fellow-citizens.
-The greatness of his talents and his
-services, enabled him to triumph over satire and reproach
-for the time, but the Athenians had occasion
-to execrate the memory of a man, who, by his example,
-corrupted the purity and innocence of their morals,
-and who, associating licentiousness with talents
-and public virtue, rendered it almost respectable.</p>
-
-<p>Pericles lost all his legitimate children by the pestilence
-already mentioned; and to call a natural son
-by his own name, he was obliged to repeal a law<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span>
-which he had made against spurious children, and
-which he had enforced with great severity. This
-son, named Pericles, became one of the ten generals
-who succeeded Alcibiades in the administration of
-affairs, and, like his colleagues, he was condemned
-to death by the Athenians, after the unfortunate battle
-of Arginusæ.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 50%" >
-<img src="images/260.jpg" alt="soldat" style="width: 40%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/261.jpg" alt="Aristides" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>ARISTIDES.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This great Athenian general and statesman, who
-took so conspicuous a part in the deliverance of Greece
-from the Persians, and who has come down to us with
-the enviable surname of <span class="smcap">The Just</span>, was the son of
-Lysimachus and born about the year 550 B. C. We
-know little of the steps by which he rose to eminence.
-He was one of the ten generals of the Athenian forces,
-when they fought with the Persians at Marathon. According
-to the custom, each general held command of
-the army for one day, in rotation. Aristides, perceiving
-the disadvantages of this system, prevailed on his
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span>colleagues to give up their command to Miltiades.
-To this, in a great measure, must be attributed the
-memorable victory of the Greeks upon that occasion.</p>
-
-<p>The year after this, Aristides was archon; and the
-ambitious Themistocles, desiring to get rid of him
-privately circulated a charge that Aristides was aiming
-at sovereign power. He succeeded finally in
-causing him to be exiled by the ostracism&mdash;a vote of
-banishment, in which the Athenians used shells for ballots.
-While the voting, upon this occasion, was going
-on, Aristides was among the people; a rustic citizen,
-who did not know him, came up and asked him to
-write the name of Aristides upon the shell with which
-he intended to vote. “Has he ever injured you?”
-said Aristides. “No,” said the voter, “but I am tired
-of hearing him called the ‘<i>Just!</i>’”</p>
-
-<p>Aristides left Athens, with prayers for its welfare.
-He was recalled at the end of three years, and, forgetting
-his injury, devoted himself with ardor and
-success to the good of his country. In the famous
-battle of Platea, he commanded the Athenians, and
-is entitled to a great share of the merit of the splendid
-victory gained by the Greeks. He died at an advanced
-age, about 467 B. C. He was so poor that
-the expenses of his funeral were defrayed at the public
-charge, and his two daughters, on account of their
-father’s virtues, received a dowry from the public
-treasury, when they came to marriageable years.</p>
-
-<p>The effect of so rare an example as that of Aristides,
-was visible even during his lifetime. The
-Athenians became more virtuous, in imitating their
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span>great leader. Such was their sense of his good qualities,
-that, at the representation of one of the tragedies
-of Æschylus, when the actor pronounced a sentence
-concerning moral goodness, the eyes of the audience
-were all at once turned from the players to Aristides.
-When he sat as judge, it is said that the plaintiff in
-his accusation&mdash;in order to prejudice him against the
-defendant&mdash;mentioned the injuries he had done to
-Aristides. “Mention the wrong <i>you</i> have received,”
-said the equitable Athenian. “I sit here as judge;
-the lawsuit is yours, not mine.” On one occasion,
-Themistocles announced to the people of Athens that
-he had a scheme of the greatest advantage to the state;
-but it could not be mentioned in a public assembly.
-Aristides was appointed to confer with him. The
-design was to set fire to the combined fleet of the
-Greeks, then lying in a neighboring port, by which
-means the Athenians would acquire the sovereignty
-of the seas. Aristides returned to the people, and
-told them that nothing could be more advantageous&mdash;yet
-nothing more unjust. The project was of course
-abandoned.</p>
-
-<p>The character of Aristides is one of the finest that
-is handed down by antiquity. To him belongs the
-rarest of all praises, that of observing justice, not only
-between man and man, but between nation and nation.
-He was truly a patriot, for he preferred the
-good of his country to his own ambition. A candid
-enemy, an impartial friend, a just administrator of
-other men’s money&mdash;an observer of national faith&mdash;he
-is well entitled to the imperishable monument which is
-erected in that simple title, <span class="smcap">The Just</span>!</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/264.jpg" alt="Aesop" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>ÆSOP.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This celebrated inventor of fables was a native of
-Phrygia, in Asia Minor, and flourished in the time of
-Solon, about 560 B. C. A life of him was written
-by a Greek monk, named Planudes, about the middle
-of the fourteenth century, which passed into circulation
-as a genuine work, but which is proved to have
-been a mere fiction. In that work, Æsop is represented
-as being hunch-backed, and an object of disgust
-from his deformity. There appears to be no
-foundation whatever for this story. This invention
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span>of the monk, no doubt, had for its object, to give eclat
-to the beauties of Æsop’s mind, by the contrast of
-bodily deformity.</p>
-
-<p>Throwing aside the work of Planudes, we are left
-to grope in obscurity for the real history of the great
-fabulist. After the most diligent researches, we can
-do little more than trace the leading incidents of his
-life. The place of his birth, like that of Homer, is
-matter of question; Samos, Sardis, Cotiæum in Phrygia,
-and Mesembria in Thrace, laying claim alike to
-that honor. The early part of his life was spent in
-slavery, and the names of three of his masters have
-been preserved: Dinarchus, an Athenian, in whose
-service he is said to have acquired a correct and pure
-knowledge of Greek; Xanthus, a Samian, who figures
-in Planudes as a philosopher, in order that the
-capacity of the slave may be set off by the incapacity
-of the master; and Iadmon or Idmon, another Samian,
-by whom he was enfranchised.</p>
-
-<p>He acquired a high reputation in Greece for that
-species of composition, which, after him, was called
-Æsopian, and, in consequence, was solicited by Cr&oelig;sus
-to take up his abode at the Lydian court. Here
-he is said to have met Solon, and to have rebuked the
-sage for his uncourtly way of inculcating moral lessons.
-He is said to have visited Athens during the
-usurpation of Pisistratus, and to have then composed
-the fable of Jupiter and the Frogs<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> for the instruction
-of the citizens.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Being charged by Cr&oelig;sus with an embassy to
-Delphi, in the course of which he was to distribute a
-sum of money to every Delphian, a quarrel arose between
-him and the citizens, in consequence of which
-he returned the money to his patron, alleging that
-those for whom it was meant were unworthy of it.
-The disappointed party, in return, got up the charge
-of sacrilege, upon which they put him to death. A
-pestilence which ensued was attributed to this crime,
-and in consequence they made proclamation, at all
-the public assemblies of the Grecian nation, of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span>
-willingness to make compensation for Æsop’s death
-to any one who should appear to claim it. A grandson
-of his master, Iadmon, at length claimed and received
-it, no person more closely connected with the
-sufferer having appeared.</p>
-
-<p>It is a question of some doubt, whether Æsop was
-the inventor of that species of fable which endows the
-inferior animals, and even inanimate objects, with
-speech and reason, and thus, under the cover of humorous
-conceit, conveys lessons of wisdom; and
-which, from their pleasant guise, are often well received
-where the plain truth would be rejected. The
-probability is, that, if not the originator of such
-fables, Æsop was the first who composed them of
-such point as to bring them into use as a powerful
-vehicle for the inculcation of truth. At all
-events, there is abundant proof that fables, passing
-under his name, were current and popular in Athens,
-during the most brilliant period of its literary history,
-and not much more than a century after the death of
-the supposed author. The drolleries of Æsop are
-mentioned by Aristophanes in terms which lead us to
-suppose that they were commonly repeated at convivial
-parties. Socrates, in prison, turned into verse
-‘those that he knew;’ and Plato, who banishes the
-fictions of Homer from his ideal republic, speaks
-with high praise of the tendency of those of Æsop.</p>
-
-<p>Many of the fables in circulation among us, under
-the name of Æsop, are not his;&mdash;indeed, it is probable
-that but a small portion of them can trace their
-origin back to the Phrygian. A good fable, as
-well as a good story, however it may originate, is apt
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span>to be attributed to one whose character it may suit&mdash;and
-thus it happens that the same smart sayings are
-credited, in different countries, to different individuals;
-and thus, also, we see that many of the fables
-which we assign to Æsop, are credited, by the Mohammedans,
-to their fabulist, Lokman.</p>
-
-<p>The value of fables, as instruments of instruction,
-is attested by Addison, in the following words. “They
-were,” says he, “the first pieces of wit that made
-their appearance in the world; and have been still
-highly valued, not only in times of the greatest simplicity,
-but among the most polite ages of mankind.
-Jotham’s fable of the Trees is the oldest that is extant,
-and as beautiful as any which have been made
-since that time. Nathan’s fable of the Poor Man and
-his Lamb is likewise more ancient than any that is
-extant, excepting the above mentioned, and had so good
-an effect as to convey instruction to the ear of a king,
-without offending it, and to bring the ‘man after God’s
-own heart’ to a right sense of his guilt and his duty.
-We find Æsop in the most distant ages of Greece.
-And, if we look into the very beginning of the commonwealth
-of Rome, we see a mutiny among the
-common people appeased by the fable of the Belly
-and the Members; which was indeed very proper to
-gain the attention of an incensed rabble, at a time
-when perhaps they would have torn to pieces any
-man who had preached the same doctrine to them
-in an open and direct manner. As fables took their
-birth in the very infancy of learning, they never flourished
-more than when learning was at its greatest
-height. To justify this assertion, I shall put my
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span>reader in mind of Horace, the greatest wit and critic
-in the Augustan age; and of Boileau, the most correct
-poet among the moderns; not to mention La
-Fontaine, who, by this way of writing, is come more
-into vogue than any other author of our times.”</p>
-
-<p>“Reading is to the mind,” continues the writer,
-“what exercise is to the body: as, by the one, health
-is preserved, strengthened, and invigorated, by the
-other, virtue, (which is the health of the mind,) is kept
-alive, cherished and confirmed. But, as exercise becomes
-tedious and painful when we make use of it only
-as the means of health, so reading is too apt to grow
-uneasy and burdensome, when we apply ourselves to
-it only for our improvement in virtue. For this reason,
-the virtue which we gather from a fable or an
-allegory, is like the health we get by hunting, as we
-are engaged in an agreeable pursuit that draws us on
-with pleasure, and makes us insensible of the fatigues
-that accompany it.”</p>
-
-<p>In modern times, La Fontaine has given us an admirable
-collection of fables, and the artist Grandville
-has added a new charm to them, by a very happy
-conceit. With infinite wit, he has dressed up the
-wolves, foxes, and other animals which figure in the
-fables, in human attire, yet so skilfully as to seem natural&mdash;thus
-aiding the imagination, in conceiving of the
-actors and speakers in the fables, as performing their
-several parts. By the aid of his magical pencil, even
-trees, kettles and kegs assume an appearance of life,
-and seem to justify the wit and wisdom which they
-are imagined to utter. The humor of these designs is
-inimitable; and thus not only is greater effect given to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span>
-the particular fables illustrated, but greater scope,
-to the fable generally. We are indebted, in this
-country, for a most excellent translation of La Fontaine,
-with many of Grandville’s designs, to Professor
-Wright.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 50%" >
-<img src="images/270.jpg" alt="banch" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> “The frogs, living an easy, free life everywhere among
-the lakes and ponds, assembled together one day, in a very
-tumultuous manner, and petitioned Jupiter to let them have a
-king, who might inspect their morals, and make them live a
-little honester. Jupiter, being at that time in pretty good humor,
-was pleased to laugh heartily at their ridiculous request;
-and, throwing a little log down into the pool, cried, ‘There is
-a king for you,’ The sudden splash which this made, by its
-fall into the water, at first terrified them so exceedingly, that
-they were afraid to come near it. But, in a little time, seeing
-it remain without moving, they ventured, by degrees, to approach
-it; and, at last, finding there was no danger, they
-leaped upon it, and, in short, treated it as familiarly as they
-pleased.
-</p>
-<p>
-“But not contented with so insipid a king as this was, they
-sent their deputies to petition again for another sort of one;
-for this they neither did nor could like. Upon that Jupiter sent
-them a stork, who, without any ceremony, fell to devouring
-and eating them up, one after another, as fast as he could.
-Then they applied themselves privately to Mercury, and got
-him to speak to Jupiter in their behalf, that he would be so
-good as to bless them again with another king, or to restore
-them to their former state. ‘No,’ says Jove, ‘since it was their
-own choice, let the obstinate wretches suffer the punishment
-due to their folly.’”</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span></p></div>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/271.jpg" alt="Solon" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>SOLON.</h2>
-
-
-<p>Solon, one of the seven wise men of Greece, was
-born at Salamis, 637 B. C. and educated at Athens.
-His father was one of the descendants of king Codrus,
-and, by his mother’s side, he reckoned among his relations
-the celebrated Pisistratus. After he had devoted
-part of his time to philosophical and political
-studies, Solon travelled over the greatest part of
-Greece; but at his return home he was distressed at
-beholding the dissensions among his countrymen.</p>
-
-<p>All now fixed their eyes upon him as a deliverer,
-and he was unanimously elected archon. He might
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span>have become absolute, but he refused the dangerous
-office of king of Athens, and, in the capacity of lawgiver,
-he began to make a reform in every department
-of the government. The complaints of the poorer
-citizens found redress; all debts were remitted, and
-no one was permitted to seize the person of his debtor,
-if he was unable to make payment. After he had
-established the most salutary regulations in the state,
-and bound the Athenians by a solemn oath that they
-would faithfully observe his laws for the space of one
-hundred years, Solon resigned the office of legislator,
-and removed himself from Athens. He visited Egypt,
-and the court of Cr&oelig;sus,<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> king of Lydia&mdash;celebrated
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span>for his wealth, and the vanity of desiring to be esteemed
-the happiest of mankind. He here declared to the
-monarch that an Athenian, who had always seen his
-country flourish&mdash;who had virtuous children, and
-who fell in defence of his native land, had a happier
-career than the proudest emperor on the globe.</p>
-
-<p>After ten years’ absence, Solon returned to Athens;
-but he had the mortification to find the greatest part
-of his regulations disregarded, through the factious
-spirit of his countrymen and the usurpation of Pisistratus.
-Not to be longer a spectator of the divisions
-that reigned in his country, he retired to Cyprus,
-where he died at the court of king Philocyprus, in the
-eightieth year of his age. The laws of Solon became
-established in Athens, and their salutary consequences
-can be discovered in the length of time they were in
-force in the republic. For above four hundred years
-they flourished in full vigor, and Cicero, who was
-himself a witness of their benign influence, passes the
-highest encomiums upon the legislator, whose superior
-wisdom framed such a code of regulations.</p>
-
-<p>It was the intention of Solon to protect the poorer
-citizens; and by dividing the whole body of the Athenians
-into four classes, three of which were permitted
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span>to discharge the most important offices and magistracies
-of the state, and the last to give their opinion in
-the assemblies, but not have a share in the distinctions
-and honors of their superiors; the legislator
-gave the populace a privilege, which, though at first
-small and inconsiderable, soon rendered them masters
-of the republic, and of all the affairs of government.
-He made a reformation in the Areopagus, increased
-the authority of the members, and permitted them
-yearly to inquire how every citizen maintained himself,
-and to punish such as lived in idleness, and
-were not employed in some honorable and lucrative
-profession. He also regulated the Prytaneum, and
-fixed the number of its judges to four hundred.</p>
-
-<p>The sanguinary laws of Draco were all cancelled
-except that against murder; and the punishment denounced
-against every offender was proportioned to
-his crime; but Solon made no law against parricide
-or sacrilege. The former of these crimes, he said,
-was too horrible to human nature for a man to be
-guilty of it, and the latter could never be committed,
-because the history of Athens had never furnished a
-single instance. Such as had died in the service of
-their country, were buried with great pomp, and their
-families were maintained at the public expense; but
-such as had squandered away their estates, such as
-refused to bear arms in defence of their country, or
-paid no attention to the infirmity and distress of their
-parents, were branded with infamy. The laws of
-marriage were newly regulated; it became an union
-of affection and tenderness, and no longer a mercenary
-contract. To speak with ill language against<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span>
-the dead, as well as against the living, was made a
-crime; for the legislator wished that the character of
-his fellow-citizens should be freed from the aspersions
-of malevolence and envy. A person that had no
-children was permitted to dispose of his estates as he
-pleased; females were not allowed to be extravagant
-in their dress or expenses; licentiousness was punished;
-and those accustomed to abandoned society,
-were deprived of the privilege of addressing the public
-assemblies. These celebrated laws were engraved
-on several tables; and that they might be better
-known and more familiar to the Athenians, they
-were written in verse.</p>
-
-<p>If we consider the time in which Solon lived, we
-shall see occasion to regard him as a man of extraordinary
-wisdom and virtue. Nearly all the systems
-of government around him were despotic. That government
-should be instituted and conducted for the
-benefit of the governed; and that the people are the
-proper depositories of power&mdash;principles recognised
-in his institutions&mdash;were truths so deeply hidden from
-mankind, as to demand an intellect of the highest
-order for their discovery.</p>
-
-<p>Nor are his virtues and humanity less conspicuous
-than his sagacity. While repealing the bloody code
-of Draco, he substituted mild and equitable laws; he
-shunned the harsh and savage system of Lycurgus,
-which sacrificed all the best feelings of the heart, and
-the most refined pleasures of life, in order to sustain
-the martial character of the state; and while he
-sought to soften the manners, he strove to exalt
-the standard of public and private virtue, not only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span>
-by his laws, but by his conversation and example.
-He was thus, not only the benefactor of Athens and
-of Greece, but&mdash;as one of the great instruments of
-civilization throughout the world, and especially as
-one of the leaders in the establishment of free government&mdash;mankind
-at large owe him a lasting debt of
-gratitude.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 45%" >
-<img src="images/276.jpg" alt="pharao" style="width: 45%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Cr&oelig;sus was the fifth and last of the Mermadæ, who
-reigned in Lydia, and during his time he passed for the richest
-of mankind. He was the first who made the Greeks of Asia
-tributary to the Lydians. His court was the asylum of learning;
-and Æsop, the famous fable-writer, among others, lived
-under his patronage. In a conversation with Solon, Cr&oelig;sus
-wished to be thought the happiest of mankind; but the philosopher
-apprized him of his mistake, and gave the preference
-to poverty and domestic virtue. Cr&oelig;sus undertook a war
-against Cyrus, the king of Persia, and marched to meet him
-with an army of 420,000 men, and 60,000 horse. After a
-reign of fourteen years he was defeated, B. C. 548; his capital
-was besieged, and he fell into the conqueror’s hands, who ordered
-him to be burnt alive. The pile was already on fire,
-when Cyrus heard the conquered monarch exclaim, “Solon!
-Solon! Solon!” with lamentable energy. He asked him the
-reason of his exclamation, and Cr&oelig;sus repeated the conversation
-he once had with Solon, on human happiness. Cyrus was
-moved at the recital; and, at the recollection of the inconstancy
-of human affairs, he ordered Cr&oelig;sus to be taken from the
-burning pile, and he was afterwards one of his most intimate
-friends. The kingdom of Lydia became extinct in his person,
-and the power was transferred to Persia. Cr&oelig;sus survived
-Cyrus. The manner of his death is unknown. He is celebrated
-for the immensely rich presents which he made to the
-temple of Delphi, from which he received an obscure and ambiguous
-oracle, which he interpreted in his favor, but which
-was fulfilled in the destruction of his empire.</p></div>
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/277.jpg" alt="Lycurgus" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>LYCURGUS.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This Spartan lawgiver is supposed to have been
-born about 900 B. C. He was the youngest son of
-king Eunomus, and was entitled to the throne upon
-the death of his brother, Polydectes; but he relinquished
-it in behalf of his unborn son, and administered
-the government in his name. By the wisdom
-of his measures, he won general esteem; and his
-noble disinterestedness raised his glory to a height
-which awoke envy against him in the minds of some
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span>of the most distinguished Spartans, who now conspired
-against him. Partly to escape the danger
-which threatened him, and partly to gratify the desire
-of seeing foreign nations, and learning their manners,
-he left Sparta, and travelled in various countries.</p>
-
-<p>After visiting Crete, and admiring the wise laws
-of Minos, he went to Iona. The effeminate and luxurious
-life of the inhabitants, and the feebleness of
-their laws, which formed a striking contrast with the
-simplicity and vigor of those of Crete, made a deep
-impression upon him. Here, however, he is said to
-have become acquainted with the poems of Homer,
-which he collected and carried to Greece. From
-hence he is said to have travelled into Egypt, India,
-and Spain; but this seems improbable.</p>
-
-<p>In the meanwhile, the two kings who succeeded
-him at Sparta, Archelaus and Charilaus, were esteemed
-neither by the people nor by the nobility;
-and, as there were no laws sufficient to maintain the
-public tranquillity, the confusion passed all bounds.
-In this dangerous situation, Lycurgus was the only
-man from whom help and deliverance could be expected.
-The people hoped from him protection against
-the nobles, and the kings believed that he would put
-an end to the disobedience of the people. More than
-once, ambassadors were sent to entreat him to come
-to the assistance of the state.</p>
-
-<p>He long resisted, but at last yielded to the urgent
-wishes of his fellow-citizens. At his arrival in Sparta,
-he found that not only particular abuses were to be
-suppressed, but that it would be necessary to form an
-entirely new constitution. The confidence which his
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span>personal character, his judgment, and the dangerous
-situation of the state, gave him among his fellow-citizens,
-encouraged him to encounter all obstacles.
-The first step which he took, was to add to the kings
-a senate of twenty-eight persons, venerable for their
-age, without whose consent the former were to undertake
-nothing. He thus established a useful balance
-between the power of the kings and the licentiousness
-of the people. The latter at the same time obtained
-the privilege of giving their voice in public affairs.
-They had not, however, properly speaking, deliberative
-privileges, but only the limited right of accepting
-or rejecting what was proposed by the kings or the
-senate.</p>
-
-<p>The Spartans conformed in general to the institutions
-of Lycurgus; but the equal division of property
-which he effected, excited among the rich such violent
-commotions, that the lawgiver fled to the temple, to
-save his life. On the way, he received a blow, which
-struck out one of his eyes. He merely turned round,
-and showed to his pursuers his face streaming with
-blood. This sight filled all with shame and repentance;
-they implored his pardon, and led him respectfully
-home. The person who had done the deed, a
-young man of rank, and of a fiery character, was
-given up to him. Lycurgus pardoned him, and dismissed
-him, covered with shame.</p>
-
-<p>After having thus formed a constitution for Sparta,
-Lycurgus endeavored to provide for its continuance.
-He made all the citizens take a solemn oath that they
-would change nothing in the laws which he had
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span>introduced, before his return. He then went to Delphi,
-and asked the gods whether the new laws were
-sufficient for the happiness of Sparta. The answer
-was, “Sparta will remain the most prosperous of all
-states as long as it observes these laws.” He sent
-this answer to Lacedæmon, and left his country forever.
-He died of voluntary starvation, and ordered
-his body to be burned, and the ashes scattered in the
-sea, lest they should be carried to Sparta, and his
-countrymen be released from their oath.</p>
-
-<p>Though the patriotism of Lycurgus appears to
-have been of the most exalted nature, his institutions
-were exceedingly barbarous, in many respects. He
-cherished no such thing as family ties, but required
-everything to yield to the good of the state. The
-children did not belong to the parents; feeble children
-were destroyed; meals were all taken in common;
-unmarried men were punished. Thus the private
-liberty of the people was taken away, and they were
-made slaves, in their daily habits, thoughts and feelings,
-to that power which was called the state. The
-design of the lawgiver seemed to be to rear up a
-nation of soldiers&mdash;not for conquest, but for defence.
-He would not permit Sparta to be encircled with
-walls, preferring that its defence should depend on
-the arms of the citizens. The men were wholly
-trained for martial life. Sensibility to suffering, and
-the fear of death, were treated with contempt. Victory
-or death, in battle, was their highest glory; cowardice
-was attended with the most deadly shame.</p>
-
-<p>The difference between the institutions of Lycurgus
-and those of Solon, may be seen in their results.
-The Spartans became a stern and haughty nation of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span>
-soldiers; but they have left nothing behind but their
-story, to instruct mankind; while the Athenians, exalted
-by the genial breath of liberty, continue to this
-very hour to be the admiration of the world, for their
-literature, their arts, and their institutions.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 40%" >
-<img src="images/281.jpg" alt="man" style="width: 45%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/282.jpg" alt="Homer" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>HOMER.</h2>
-
-
-<p>The Iliad is often spoken of as the greatest production
-of the human mind; yet it has been seriously
-questioned whether such a person as Homer ever
-lived! This paradox is to be explained by admitting,
-that, although the Iliad is a wonderful performance for
-the time and circumstances of its composition, still, it is
-by no means entitled to the supremacy which scholastic
-fondness assigns to it; and that the doubts thrown
-upon its authorship are but the mists engendered in
-the arena of hypercriticism.</p>
-
-<p>By Homer, we mean the author of the Iliad, whatever
-may have been his true name. The period at
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span>which he flourished is matter of doubt, but it is fixed
-by the Arundelian Marbles,<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> at 907 B. C., which is
-probably not far from the true date. A great many
-tales are handed down to us, in relation to him, which
-are mere fictions. The only well established facts,
-in his life, are that he was a native of Asiatic Greece,
-and a wandering poet, or rhapsodist, who went about
-the country reciting his compositions, according to
-the custom of those times. The story of his being
-blind is without authority.</p>
-
-<p>Such are the meagre facts which can be gathered
-amid the obscurity of that remote age in which Homer
-lived. There is something painful in this barrenness,&mdash;and
-we almost feel that the critics, in exploding
-the fond fictions which antiquity has woven around
-the name of the great poet, have performed an ungracious
-office. They have indeed dissipated fables, but
-they have left us little but darkness or vacuity in
-their place. Such is the yearning of the mind, in
-respect to those who have excited its emotions, and
-created an interest in the bosom, that it will cherish
-even the admitted portraitures of fiction and fancy,
-rather than content itself with the blank canvass of
-nothingness. The heart, as well as nature, abhors a
-vacuum.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span></p>
-<p>The fictitious history of Homer&mdash;which, however,
-is of some antiquity, and has passed current for centuries&mdash;is
-briefly as follows. His mother was named
-Critheis: she was married to Mæon, king of Smyrna,
-and gave birth to a child, on or near the banks of the
-river Meles, from which circumstance he was called
-Meles genes. The mother soon died, and he was
-brought up and educated under the care of Mæon.
-The name of Homer was afterwards given to him,
-on account of his becoming blind.</p>
-
-<p>The legends proceed in general to state that Homer
-himself became a schoolmaster and poet of great
-celebrity, at Smyrna, and remained there till Mentes,
-a foreign merchant, induced him to travel. That the
-author of the Iliad and Odyssey must have travelled
-pretty extensively for those times, is unquestionable;
-for besides the accurate knowledge of Greece which
-these works display, it is clear that the poet had a
-familiar acquaintance with the islands both in the
-Ægean and the Ionian seas, the coasts of Asia Minor,
-Crete, Cyprus, and Egypt&mdash;which still bear the names
-he gave them&mdash;and possessed also distinct information
-with respect to Lybia, Æthiopia, Ph&oelig;nicia, Caria
-and Phrygia.</p>
-
-<p>In his travels, as the legends say, Homer visited
-Ithaca, and there became subject to a disease in his
-eyes, which afterwards terminated in total blindness.
-From this island he is said to have gone to Italy, and
-even to Spain; but there is no sign, in either of the
-two poems, of his possessing any definite knowledge
-westward of the Ionian sea. Wherever he went,
-Homer recited his verses, which were universally<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span>
-admired, except at Smyrna, where he was a prophet
-in his own country. At Phocæa, a schoolmaster, of
-the name of Thestorides, obtained from Homer a copy
-of his poetry, and then sailed to Chios, and there
-recited these verses as his own. Homer went soon
-after to the same place, and was rescued by Glaucus,
-a goatherd, from the attack of his dogs, and brought
-by him to Bolissus, a town in Chios, where he resided
-a long time, in the possession of wealth and a splendid
-reputation.</p>
-
-<p>According to Herodotus, Homer died at Io, on his
-way to Athens, and was buried near the sea-shore.
-Proclus says he died in consequence of falling over a
-stone. Plutarch tells a different story. He preserves
-two responses of an oracle to the poet, in both of
-which he was cautioned to beware of the young men’s
-riddle; and relates that the poet, being on a voyage
-to Thebes, to attend a musical or poetical contest at
-the feast of Saturn, in that city, landed in the island
-of Io, and, whilst sitting on a rock by the sea-shore,
-observed some young fishermen in a boat. Homer
-asked them if they had anything, and the young
-wags, who, having had no sport, had been diligently
-catching and killing as many as they could, of certain
-personal companions of a race not even yet extinct,
-answered,&mdash;“As many as we caught, we left; as
-many as we could not catch, we carry with us.” The
-catastrophe of this absurd story is, that Homer, being
-utterly unable to guess the riddle, broke his heart, out
-of pure vexation; and the inhabitants of the island
-buried him with great magnificence, and placed the
-following inscription on his tomb:&mdash;</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<div class="poem">
-  <div class="stanza">
-    <span class="i0">Here Homer, the divine in earthly bed,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Poet of Heroes, rests his sacred head.<br /></span>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p>The general theory in regard to the poems of
-Homer, is that they were composed and recited by
-him, to the people living upon the islands and the
-main land along the coasts of Asia Minor. At that
-time books were unknown, and it is a question
-whether even the art of writing was then practised.
-Homer, therefore, published his poems in the only
-way he could do it&mdash;by oral delivery. Whether his
-verses were sung, or only recited, we cannot determine;
-but there is no doubt that he obtained both fame
-and maintenance by his performances.</p>
-
-<p>So deep was the impression made by the poet, that
-his verses were learned by heart, and preserved in
-the memories of succeeding rhapsodists and minstrels.
-His reputation was diffused over all Greece; and Lycurgus,
-who had heard of his compositions, is supposed
-to have taken pains, during his travels, to have
-them written down, and to have brought them in a
-collected form to Greece. They were, however, still
-in fragments, and the task of arranging and uniting
-them was performed by Pisistratus, with the help of
-the poets of his time. In this way, they received
-nearly the form they now possess; the division of
-each of the two epics into twenty-four books, corresponding
-with the letters of the Greek alphabet, being
-the work of the Alexandrian critics, some centuries
-after. It must be remembered, however, that although
-the poems of Homer were thus committed to writing
-in the time of Pisistratus, they continued to be recited
-by the rhapsodists, who were much favored in Greece,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span>and in this way alone, for several centuries, were
-popularly known. It is probable that in these recitations,
-there was a good deal of dramatic action, and
-that they possessed something of the interest which
-belongs to theatrical representation.</p>
-
-<p>The vicissitudes to which Homer’s reputation and
-influence have been subject, deserve notice. From
-the arrangement of the Iliad and Odyssey, in the
-time of the Pisistratidæ, to the promulgation of Christianity,
-the love and reverence with which the name
-of Homer was regarded, went on constantly increasing,
-till at last public games were instituted in his
-honor, statues dedicated, temples erected, and sacrifices
-offered to him, as a divinity. There were such
-temples at Smyrna, Chios, and Alexandria; and, according
-to Ælian, the Argives sacrificed to, and invoked
-the names and presence of, Apollo and Homer
-together.</p>
-
-<p>But about the beginning of the second century of the
-Christian era, when the struggle between the old and
-the new religions was warm and active, the tide turned.
-Heathenism, says Pope, was then to be destroyed,
-and Homer appeared to be the father of those fictions
-which were at once the belief of the Pagan religion,
-and the objections of Christianity against it. He
-became, therefore, deeply involved in the question, not
-with that honor which had hitherto attended him, but
-as a criminal, who had drawn the world into folly.
-These times, however, are past, and Homer stands on
-the summit of the ancient Parnassus, the boast and
-glory of Greece, and the wonder and admiration of
-mankind.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span></p>
-<p>The Iliad, with the exception of the Pentateuch and
-some others of the books of the Old Testament, is the
-most ancient composition known. It is interesting
-not only as a splendid poem, but also on account of
-the light it throws upon the history and manners of
-the remote ages in which it was written. We are
-struck with the similarity of the customs of the Asiatic
-Greeks to those of the Hebrews, as set forth in the
-Bible; and also with the fact that the Jupiter of
-Homer rises to that unchecked omnipotence assigned
-to Jehovah.</p>
-
-<p>The design of the Iliad seems to be to set forth the
-revenge which Achilles took on Agamemnon, for depriving
-him of his mistress, Briseis, while engaged in
-the siege of Troy&mdash;with the long train of evils which
-followed. The admirers of Homer have pretended
-to discover in the work the most profound art in the
-construction of the poem, and have hence deduced
-rules for the formation of the epic poem; but nothing
-is more clear than that, in the simple lines of Homer,
-the poet had no other guide than a profound knowledge
-of human nature and human sympathies; and
-that he only sought to operate on these by telling a
-plain story, in the most simple, yet effective manner.
-The absence of all art is one of the chief characteristics
-of the Iliad;&mdash;its naturalness is the great secret
-of its power.</p>
-
-<p>That this poem is the greatest of human productions&mdash;a
-point often assumed&mdash;is by no means
-to be received as true. It strikes us with wonder,
-when we consider the age in which it was composed,
-and we feel that Homer was indeed one of the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span>great lights of the world. The following passage,
-one of the finest in the Iliad, is full of truth, nature
-and pathos&mdash;and it shows that the heroes of Troy,
-nearly three thousand years ago, had the same feelings
-and sympathies as those which beat in the
-bosoms of our time; yet we can point to a great
-number of passages in modern poems, far, very far
-superior to this. The scene represents Priam&mdash;who
-has come to the Greek camp for the purpose of redeeming
-the body of his son Hector&mdash;as addressing
-the chieftain, Achilles:</p>
-
-
-<div class="poem">
-  <div class="stanza">
-    <span class="i0">“Think, O Achilles, semblance of the gods!<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">On thy own father, full of days like me,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">And trembling on the gloomy verge of life:<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Some neighbor chief, it may be, even now,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Oppresses him, and there is none at hand,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">No friend to succor him in his distress;<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Yet doubtless, hearing that Achilles lives,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">He still rejoices, hoping day by day,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">That one day he shall see the face again<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Of his own son from distant Troy returned.<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">But me no comfort cheers, whose bravest sons,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">So late the flower of Ilium, all are slain.<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">When Greece came hither, I had fifty sons;<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Nineteen were children of one bed; the rest<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Born of my concubines. A numerous house!<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">But fiery Mars hath thinned it. One I had,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">One, more than all my sons, the strength of Troy,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Whom standing for his country thou hast slain,&mdash;<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Hector. His body to redeem I come;<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Into Achia’s fleet bringing myself<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Ransom inestimable to thy tent.<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Rev’rence the gods, Achilles! recollect<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Thy father; for his sake compassion show<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">To me, more pitiable still, who draw<br /></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span>
-    <span class="i0">Home to my lips (humiliation yet<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Unseen on earth) his hand who slew my son!<br /></span>
-  </div>
-
-  <div class="stanza">
-    <span class="i0">“So saying, he awakened in his soul regret<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Of his own sire; softly he placed his hand<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">On Priam’s hand, and pushed him gently away.<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Remembrance melted both. Rolling before<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Achilles feet, Priam his son deplored,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Wide slaughtering Hector, and Achilles wept<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">By turns his father, and by turns his friend<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Patroclus: sounds of sorrow filled the tent.”<br /></span>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-
-<p>Beside the Iliad, another epic, divided into twenty-four
-books, and entitled the Odyssey, with a number
-of smaller pieces, are attributed to Homer, and doubtless
-upon good and substantial grounds. The Odyssey is
-a tale of adventures, like Robinson Crusoe, and Sinbad
-the Sailor, heightened by an object, and dignified
-by a moral far above these works. It tells us what
-befel Ulysses, in returning from the siege of Troy to
-his home in Greece; and is wrought up with wonderful
-powers of invention and fancy. It is esteemed
-inferior, on the whole, to the Iliad, and an eminent
-critic has said, that, in the former, Homer appears like
-the rising, and in the latter, like the setting sun.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/290.jpg" alt="Ilias" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> These Marbles consist of a large collection of busts, statues,
-altars, inscriptions, mutilated figures, &amp;c., formed by
-Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, in the early part of the
-seventeenth century, and presented to the University of Oxford,
-by Henry Howard, the earl’s grandson. They were obtained
-in various parts of Greece; many are of great antiquity and
-of great value, as well for the light they shed upon history as
-upon the arts, customs, and manners of past ages.</p></div>
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 50%" >
-<img src="images/291.jpg" alt="Confucius" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>CONFUCIUS.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This greatest of Chinese philosophers was born in
-the petty kingdom of Lú, now the province of Shántung,
-in the year 549 B. C.&mdash;the same year that Cyrus
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span>became king of the Medes and Persians. The Chinese,
-in their embellishments of his history, tell us
-that his birth was attended with heavenly music,
-filling the air; that two dragons were seen winding
-over the roof; that five old men appeared at the door,
-and after consulting together, suddenly vanished; and
-that a unicorn brought to his mother a tablet in his
-mouth. It is also related that when he was born, five
-characters were seen on his breast, declaring him to be
-“the maker of a rule for settling the world.” These
-and other marvels are a part of the established biography
-of the philosopher, as received by the Chinese.</p>
-
-<p>The father of Confucius, who was a magistrate of
-the district where he lived, died when the son was
-but three years old. The latter was poor and unknown
-during his youth&mdash;though his gravity and
-attention to study attracted the attention of his townsmen.
-When he approached manhood, he was
-esteemed remarkable for his wisdom, and equal to the
-learned men of the country in his knowledge of antiquity.</p>
-
-<p>At the age of seventeen he received an appointment
-as clerk in the grain department of the government;
-and so attentive was he in his trust, as, two years
-after, to be advanced to the general supervision of the
-fields and parks, and the breeding of cattle. About
-this time he was married, and two years after, his
-only son was born. Upon this occasion, Lord Cháu
-the governor of Lú, sent him two carp as a present,
-and accordingly Confucius named his son Lí or Carp.
-His humor went even farther, and he gave the boy the
-additional title of Piyü, or Uncle Fish.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span></p>
-<p>At the age of twenty-four, Confucius lost his mother,
-whom he buried in the same grave with his father,
-who had been dead some time. He then resigned his
-office, that he might mourn three years for his mother,
-according to the ancient custom of the country. This
-practice had fallen into neglect, and, consequently, the
-example of Confucius, in following the holy custom
-of the fathers of the country, gained him great renown
-for his piety. His reputation was thus extended,
-and his example began to be followed.</p>
-
-<p>The three years of his mourning were not lost&mdash;for
-he then devoted himself to study. He diligently
-examined the books of the old authors, seeking to discover
-the means by which the ancient kings and sages
-sought to attain the perfection of morals. The result
-was, a conviction that the social virtues were best
-cultivated by an observance of the ancient usages of
-the country; and accordingly he resolved to devote
-his life to them, and to their permanent establishment
-in China. This great work he accomplished; and if
-we consider the effect he has produced on the most populous
-nation of the globe, and during a space of nearly
-two thousand years, we shall perceive the mighty
-consequence of his labors. The actual amount of
-influence he has exercised, perhaps exceeds that of
-any other human being, save Aristotle alone.</p>
-
-<p>Appearing to have a clear view of his great work,
-Confucius entered upon it with systematic diligence.
-He resolved to establish schools where his philosophy
-should be taught to pupils who would go forth and
-spread his doctrines through the empire. He also
-proposed to write a series of books, setting forth his
-views. All these things he lived to accomplish.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The greater part of the life of Confucius was passed
-in travelling, visiting the courts of the petty princes,
-whose states then constituted the empire under the
-sovereign of the Chán dynasty. This course was, as
-might be expected, fruitless in reforming these states,
-but it diffused a general knowledge of himself and his
-doctrines, and procured him scholars. The prince of
-Tsí was the first who invited him to his court, and
-received him with distinction. This potentate heard
-him with pleasure, and applauded his maxims; but, to
-the chagrin of Confucius, he continued to live in luxury,
-and to allow his ministers to oppress his subjects
-and abuse their power. He, however, offered him for
-his maintenance the revenue of a considerable city,
-which the philosopher thought proper to decline, alleging
-that he had done nothing to merit such a recompense.
-After sojourning a year in Tsí, and seeing
-that his discourse produced no effect to reform the
-abuses and evils of the country, he left it, and visited
-some of the principal cities of China.</p>
-
-<p>On the road between Tsí and Chin, he fell into a
-difficulty. The prince of Wú having attacked Chin,
-the lord of Tsú came to his relief, and sent an invitation
-to Confucius to join him; but the other party,
-fearing that he would do them a disservice, sent people
-to intercept him. They surrounded him in the
-wilderness, and would have starved him to death, had
-not a friend come to his relief, after a detention of
-seven days. After this narrow escape, he returned
-home and the prince of Lú gave him a carriage, two
-horses and a servant, with which he set off for King-yang,
-the capital of the empire. Here he passed his
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span>time in observing the forms of government, the condition
-of the people and their manners, and how the
-rites and ceremonies of the ancient kings were regarded.
-He held several interviews with the ministers
-of the court, was permitted to visit the emperor’s ancestral
-hall, and other sacred places, and had access
-to the archives of the kingdom, from which he was
-allowed to take extracts.</p>
-
-<p>One object in the visit of Confucius to the capital,
-was to see Láutsz’, the founder of the Táu sect, or
-Rationalists, who lived in a retired place, some distance
-from court. This old philosopher, accustomed
-to visits from men of all ranks, received Confucius
-and his disciples with indifference. He was reclining
-on an elevated platform, and hearing that his visitor
-had come to hear from his own mouth an exposition
-of his tenets, and to ask him about <i>propriety</i>, he
-roused himself to receive him. “I have heard speak
-of you,” says he, “and I know your reputation. I am
-told that you talk only of the ancients, and discourse
-only upon what they taught. Now, of what use is it
-to endeavor to revive the memory of men of whom
-no trace remains on the earth? The sage ought to
-interest himself with the times in which he lives, and
-regard present circumstances; if they are favorable,
-he will improve them; but if, on the contrary, they
-are unfavorable, he will retire and wait tranquilly,
-without grieving at what others do. He who possesses
-a treasure, will try to have everybody know
-it; he will preserve it against the day of need; this
-you will do if you are a sage. It seems, judging by
-your conduct, that you have some ostentation in your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span>
-plans of instruction and that you are proud. Correct
-these faults, and purify your heart from all love of
-pleasure; you will, in this way, be much more useful
-than seeking to know what the ancients said.”</p>
-
-<p>Láutsz’ also observed, “A discreet merchant keeps
-his affairs to himself as if he knew nothing; an excellent
-man, although highly intelligent, demeans
-himself like an ignorant man.” Confucius remarked
-to his disciples, “I have seen Láutsz’; have I not
-seen something like a dragon?” On leaving him,
-Láutsz’ said, “I have heard that the rich dismiss
-their friends with a present, and the benevolent
-send away people with a word of advice; whoever
-is talented, and prying into everything, will run
-himself into danger, because he loves to satirize and
-slander men; and he who wishes to thoroughly understand
-recondite things will jeopard his safety,
-because he loves to publish the failings of men.”
-Confucius replied, “I respectfully receive your instructions,”
-and thus left him. Láutsz’ advice seemed
-directed against a too inquisitive philosophy, and
-meddling too much in the affairs of the world; he
-was rather of the Budhistic school of quietists, while
-Confucius wished men to endeavor to make each other
-better.</p>
-
-<p>Confucius, like Aristotle and other masters, used
-to teach his disciples while walking with them, deriving
-instruction from what they saw. Once, while
-walking with them by the bank of a stream, he
-stopped from time to time to look very intently at
-the water, until their attention was excited, and they
-were induced to ask him the reason of his conduct.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span>He replied, “The running of water in its bed is a very
-simple thing, the reason of which everybody knows.
-I was, however, rather making a comparison in my
-own mind between the running of water and doctrine.
-The water, I reflected, runs unceasingly, by day and
-by night, until it is lost in the bosom of the mighty
-deep. Since the days of Yáu and Shun, the pure
-doctrine has uninterruptedly descended to us: let us
-in our turn transmit it to those who come after us,
-that they, from our example, may give it to their
-descendants to the end of time. Do not imitate those
-isolated men, (referring to Láutsz’,) who are wise only
-for themselves. To communicate the knowledge and
-virtue we possess, to others, will never impoverish
-ourselves. This is one of the reflections I would
-make upon the running of water.”</p>
-
-<p>This peripatetic habit, and the aptitude for drawing
-instruction from whatever would furnish instruction,
-was usual with the philosopher, and he seldom omitted
-to improve an occasion. Once, when walking in
-the fields, he perceived a fowler, who, having drawn
-in his nets, distributed the birds he had taken into
-different cages. On coming up to him to ascertain
-what he had caught, Confucius attentively remarked
-the vain efforts of the captive birds to regain
-their liberty, until his disciples gathered round him,
-when he addressed the fowler,&mdash;“I do not see any old
-birds here; where have you put them?” “The old
-birds,” said he, “are too wary to be caught; they are
-on the look-out, and if they see a net or a cage, far
-from falling into the snare, they escape, and never
-return. Those young ones which are in company
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span>with them, likewise escape, but such only as separate
-into a flock by themselves, and rashly approach, are
-the birds I catch. If perchance I catch an old bird,
-it is because he follows the young ones.”</p>
-
-<p>“You have heard him,” said Confucius, turning to
-his disciples; “the words of this fowler afford us
-matter for instruction. The young birds escape the
-snare only when they keep with the old ones; the old
-ones are taken when they follow the young. It is
-thus with mankind. Presumption, hardihood, want
-of forethought, and inattention are the principal reasons
-why young people are led astray. Inflated with
-their small attainments, they have scarcely made a
-commencement in learning, before they think they
-know everything; they have scarcely performed a
-few virtuous acts, and straight they fancy themselves
-at the height of wisdom. Under this false impression
-they doubt nothing; they rashly undertake acts without
-consulting the aged and experienced, and thus,
-securely following their own notions, they are misled,
-and fall into the first snare laid for them. If you see
-an old man of sober years so badly advised as to be
-taken with the giddiness of a youth, attached to him,
-and thinking and acting with him, he is led astray
-by him, and soon taken in the same snare. Do not
-forget the answer of the fowler, but reflect on it occasionally.”</p>
-
-<p>Having completed his observations at the capital,
-Confucius returned, by the way of Tsí, to his native
-state of Lú, where he remained ten years. His house
-now became a sort of lyceum, open to every one who
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span>wished to receive instruction. His manner of teaching
-was to allow his disciples or others to come and
-go when they pleased, asking his opinion on such
-points, either in morals, politics, history, or literature,
-as they wished to have explained. He gave them
-the liberty of choosing their subject, and then he discoursed
-upon it. From these conversations and
-detached expressions of the philosopher, treasured up
-by his disciples, they afterwards composed Lun Yü,
-now one of the Four Books. Confucius, it is said,
-numbered upwards of three thousand disciples, or
-perhaps we ought to call them advocates or hearers
-of his doctrine. They consisted of men of all ranks
-and ages, who attended upon him when their duties
-or inclinations permitted, and who materially assisted
-in diffusing a knowledge of his tenets over the whole
-country. There were, however, a select few, who
-attached themselves to his person, lived with him, and
-followed him wherever he went; and to whom he
-entrusted the promulgation of his doctrines.</p>
-
-<p>After several years of retirement, Confucius was
-called into public life. The prince of Lú died, and
-his son, entertaining a great respect for the philosopher,
-and esteem for his instructions, invited him to court,
-in order to learn his doctrines more fully. After
-becoming well acquainted with him, and reposing
-confidence in his integrity, the young ruler committed
-the entire management of the state to him; and the
-activity, courage, and disinterested conduct which he
-exhibited in the exercise of his power, soon had the
-happiest effect upon the country. By his wise rules
-and the authority of his example and his maxims
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span>he soon reformed many vicious practices, and introduced
-sobriety and order, in the place of waste and
-injustice. He occupied himself with agriculture, and
-regulated the revenue and the manner of receiving it;
-so that, in consequence of his measures, the productions
-of the state were increased, the happiness of the
-people was extended, and the revenue considerably
-augmented.</p>
-
-<p>He carried his reforms into every department of
-justice, in which, soon after he entered upon his duties
-as minister, he had an opportunity of exhibiting
-his inflexibility. One of the most powerful nobles of
-the state had screened himself from the just punishment
-due to his many crimes, under the dread of his
-power and riches, and the number of his retainers.
-Confucius caused him to be arrested, and gave order
-for his trial; and when the overwhelming proofs
-brought forward had convinced all of his guilt, he
-condemned him to lose his head, and presided himself
-at the execution. This wholesome severity struck
-a dread into other men of rank, and likewise obtained
-the plaudits of all men of sense, as well as of the
-people, who saw in the minister a courageous protector,
-ready to defend them against the tyranny of men
-in power.</p>
-
-<p>These salutary reforms had not been long in operation,
-before the neighboring states took alarm at the
-rising prosperity of Lú; and the prince of Tsí, who
-had recently usurped the throne by assassinating its
-occupant, resolved to ruin the plans of Confucius.
-To this end he appointed an envoy to the young
-prince, with whose character he was well acquainted,
-desiring to renew the ancient league of friendship<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span>
-between the two countries. This envoy was charged
-with thirty-five horses, beautifully caparisoned, a large
-number of curious rarities, and twenty-four of the
-most accomplished courtesans he could procure in his
-dominions. The scheme succeeded; before these
-seductive damsels, the austere etiquette of the court
-of Lú soon gave way, and fetes, comedies, dances,
-and concerts, took the place of propriety and decorum.
-The presence of the sage soon became irksome to his
-master, and he at last forbid him to come into his
-sight, having become quite charmed with the fair
-enchantresses, and no longer able to endure the remonstrances
-of his minister.</p>
-
-<p>Confucius, thus disgraced in his own country, and
-now at the age of fifty, left it, and retired to the kingdom
-of Wei, where he remained more than ten years,
-without seeking to exercise any public office, but
-principally occupied with completing his works, and
-instructing his disciples in his doctrines. During
-his residence in Wei, he frequently made excursions
-into other states, taking with him such of his disciples
-as chose to accompany him. He was at times applauded
-and esteemed, but quite as often was the
-object of persecution and contempt. More than once
-his life was endangered. He compared himself to a
-dog driven from his home: “I have the fidelity of
-that animal, and I am treated like it. But what matters
-the ingratitude of men? They cannot hinder
-me from doing all the good that is appointed me. If
-my precepts are disregarded, I have the consolation
-in my own breast of knowing that I have faithfully
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span>performed my duty.” He sometimes spoke in a manner
-that showed his own impression to be that Heaven
-had conferred on him a special commission to instruct
-the world. When an attempt was made on his life,
-he said, “As Heaven has produced such a degree of
-virtue in me, what can Hwántúi do to me?” On
-another occasion of danger, he said, “If Heaven means
-not to obliterate this doctrine from the earth, the men
-of Kwáng can do nothing to me.”</p>
-
-<p>At the age of sixty-eight, after an absence of eighteen
-years, Confucius returned to his native country,
-where he lived a life of retirement, employed in putting
-the finishing hand to his works. In his sixty-sixth
-year, his wife died, and his son, Piyü, mourned
-for her a whole year; but one day overhearing his
-father say, “Ah! it is carried too far;” he dried up
-his tears. Three years after this, this son also died,
-leaving a son, Tsz’sz’, who afterwards emulated his
-grandfather’s fame as a teacher, and became the author
-of the Chung Yung, or True Medium. The next
-year, Yen Hwui, the favorite disciple of the sage, died,
-whose loss he bitterly mourned, saying, “Heaven has
-destroyed me! heaven has destroyed me!” He had
-great hopes of this pupil, and had depended upon him
-to perpetuate his doctrines.</p>
-
-<p>An anecdote is related of him about this time of
-life, which the Chinese regard as highly creditable to
-their sage. Tsz’kung, one of his disciples, was much
-surprised one morning to meet his master at the door,
-dressed with much elegance and nicety. On asking
-him where he was going, Confucius, with a sigh,
-replied, “I am going to court, and that too, without
-being invited. I have not been able to resist a feeling
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span>which possesses me to make a last effort to bring a
-just punishment upon Chin Chen, the usurper of the
-throne of Tsí. I am prepared by purification and
-fasting, for this audience, so that if I fail, I shall not
-have to accuse myself.” On presenting himself, he
-was received with respect, and immediately admitted
-to an audience; and the prince of Lú asked him
-what important affair had called him from his retirement.
-Confucius, replied: “Sire, that which I have
-to communicate, alike concerns all kings. The perfidious
-Chin Chen has imbued his hands in the blood
-of his legitimate sovereign, Kien. You are a prince;
-your state borders upon Tsí; Kien was your ally,
-and originally of the same race as yourself. Any
-one of these reasons is sufficient to authorize you to
-declare war against Chin Chen, and all of them combined
-make it your duty to take up arms. Assemble
-your forces and march to exterminate a monster
-whom the earth upholds with regret. This crime is
-such that it cannot be pardoned, and, in punishing it,
-you will at once avenge an outrage against heaven,
-from which every king derives his power; against
-royalty, which has been profaned by this perfidy;
-against a parent, to whom you are allied by ties of
-blood, alliance and friendship.”</p>
-
-<p>The prince, convinced of the criminality of Chin
-Chen, applauded the just indignation which inspired
-the heart of Confucius, but suggested that before he
-entered upon such an enterprise, it would be best to
-confer with his ministers. “Sire,” said the philosopher,
-“I have acquitted myself of a duty in laying
-this case before you; but it will be useless to insist<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span>
-upon it before your ministers, whom I know are disinclined
-to enter into my views. Reflect, I pray you,
-as a sovereign, upon what I now propose, and consult
-only with yourself as to its execution. Your servants
-are not sovereigns, and have no other than their own
-ends to gain, to which they sometimes sacrifice the
-good of their master and the glory of the state. I
-have no other end in view than to support the cause
-of justice; and I conjure you, by the sacred names of
-justice and good order, to go and exterminate this
-miscreant from the earth, and, by restoring the throne
-of Tsí to its rightful owner, to exhibit to the world
-your justice, and strike a salutary terror into the
-hearts of all who may wish to imitate this successful
-villany.” On leaving, the prince said to Confucius,
-“I will think seriously on what you have said, and, if
-it be possible, will carry it into execution.”</p>
-
-<p>Towards the end of his days, when he had completed
-his revision of the Five Classes, he, with great
-solemnity, dedicated them to Heaven. He assembled
-all his disciples and led them out of the town to one
-of the hills where sacrifices had been usually offered
-for many years. He here erected a table, or altar,
-upon which he placed the books; and then, turning
-his face to the north, adored Heaven, and returned
-thanks upon his knees, in a humble manner, for having
-had life and strength granted him to enable him
-to accomplish this laborious undertaking; he implored
-heaven to grant that the benefit to his countrymen
-from so arduous a labor might not be small. He had
-prepared himself for this ceremony by privacy, fasting
-and prayer. Chinese pictures of this scene represent
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span>the sage in the attitude of supplication, and a pencil
-of light, or a rainbow, descending from the sky
-upon the books, while his scholars stand around in admiring
-wonder.</p>
-
-<p>In his seventy-third year, a few days before his
-death, leaning upon his staff, Confucius tottered about
-the house, singing out,&mdash;</p>
-
-
-<div class="poem">
-  <div class="stanza">
-    <span class="i0">“The great mountain is broken!<br /></span>
-    <span class="i1">The strong beam is thrown down!<br /></span>
-    <span class="i1">The wise man is decayed!”<br /></span>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p>He then related a dream he had had the night
-before, to his pupil, Tsz’kung, which he regarded as a
-presage of his own death; and, after keeping his bed
-seven days, he died on the 18th day of the second
-month, and was buried in the same grave with his
-wife. Tsz’kung mourned for him six years in a shed
-erected by the side of his grave, and then returned
-home. His death occurred 479 B. C., the year of the
-battle of Platæa, in Greece, and about seven years before
-the birth of Socrates. Many events of great
-importance happened during his life, in western countries,
-of which the return of the Jews, and building
-of the second temple, Xerxes’ invasion of Greece, the
-expulsion of the kings from Rome, the conquest of
-Egypt, and establishment of the Persian monarchy in
-its fullest extent, were the most important.</p>
-
-<p>Posthumous honors in great variety have been conferred
-upon Confucius. Soon after his death, the
-prince of Lú entitled him <i>Ní fú</i>, or father Ní; which
-under the reign of Lintí, of the Hán dynasty, 197 B.
-C., was changed to <i>Ní kung</i>, or duke <i>Ní</i>, and his
-portrait was ordered to be hung up in the public
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span>school. By the emperors of the Tang dynasty it was
-made <i>sien shing</i>, the ancient sage. He was next
-styled the royal preacher, and his effigy clad in king’s
-robes, and a crown put on its head. The Ming
-dynasty called him the most holy ancient teacher,
-Kungtsz’, which title is now continued to him. His
-descendants have continued to dwell in Shántung
-province, and the heads of the family have enjoyed
-the rank of nobility, being almost the only hereditary
-noblemen in the empire out of the imperial kingdom.
-They are called Yenshing kung. In the reign of
-Kánghí, one hundred and twenty years ago, the descendants
-of the sage numbered eleven thousand
-males; the present is said to be the seventy-fourth
-generation. The chief of the family is commonly
-called the “holy duke,” and enjoys all the honors of
-a prince. Whenever he visits the court, the emperor
-receives him with almost the same respect and ceremony
-as he does ambassadors from foreign countries.
-P. Amiot relates that he was honored with a
-call from him, upon one of his visits to court. “He
-was a pleasant and modest man, whom knowledge
-had not filled with conceit. He received, when he
-came to our house, some religious books, which we
-offered him in exchange for some Chinese books he
-gave us. His name was Kung Chauhán, and he was
-of the seventy-first generation in direct descent from
-the sage,&mdash;in all probability the oldest family in the
-world, of which the regular descent can be traced.”
-In the Life of Confucius, written by Amiot, which
-forms one of the volumes of the <i>Mémoires sur les
-Chinoises</i>, there is a brief account of each of these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span>
-heads of this family, with notices of other distinguished
-persons belonging to the house.</p>
-
-<p>In every district in the empire there is a temple
-dedicated to Confucius, and his name is usually suspended
-in every school-room in the land, and incense
-is burned before it morning and evening by the scholars.
-Adoration is paid to him by all ranks. In 1457,
-Jentsung, of the Ning dynasty, set up a copper statue
-of the sage in one of the halls of the palace, and
-ordered his officers, whenever they came to the palace,
-to go to this room, and respectfully salute Confucius
-before speaking of the affairs of state, even if the
-monarch were present. But this custom was represented
-to another emperor as tending to the worship
-of images, like the Budhists; and on that account the
-memorialist represented that simple tablets, inscribed
-with the name of him who was worshipped, were
-much better. This advice was followed; the statues
-of Confucius and his disciples were suppressed, by
-order of the emperor Chítsung, in 1530, and simple
-tablets have since been set up in the temples erected
-to his name.</p>
-
-<p>The writings of Confucius, as might be expected
-are held in great veneration, and regarded as the best
-books in the language. He revised all the ancient
-books, containing the precepts of the kings and emperors
-of former times, and left them pretty much as
-they are at the present day. He explained the Yi
-King, or Book of Changes, commented upon the Lí
-Kí, or Book of Rites, and compiled the Shí King, or
-Book of Odes. He composed the Shú King, or Book
-of Records, and the Chun Tsaú, or Spring and Autumn
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span>Annals,&mdash;so called, it is said, because the commendations
-contained therein are life-giving, like spring, and
-the reproofs are life-withering, like autumn. The
-books are collectively called the Wú King, or Five
-Classics. The Hiáu King, or Memoir on Filial Duty;
-the Chung yung, or True Medium; the Tái Hióh, or
-Superior Lessons, and the Lun Yü, or Conversations
-of Confucius, are all considered, by the Chinese, as
-containing the doctrines of the sage; the first one is
-sometimes ascribed to his own pen. The last three,
-with the work of Mencius, constitute the Sz Shü, or
-Four Books, and were arranged in their present form
-by Ching fútsz, about eight hundred years ago.</p>
-
-<p>The leading features of the morality of Confucius
-are, subordination to superiors, and kind, upright dealing
-with our fellow-men. From the duty, honor, and
-obedience owed by a child to his parents, he proceeds
-to inculcate the obligations of wives to their husbands,
-of subjects to their prince, and of ministers to their
-king, while he makes him amenable to Heaven.
-These principles are perpetually inculcated in the
-Confucian writings, and are imbodied in solemn ceremonials,
-and apparently trivial forms of mere etiquette.
-And, probably, it is this feature of his ethics which
-has made him such a favorite with all the governments
-of China for many centuries past, and at this day.
-These principles, and these forms, are early instilled
-into young minds, and form their conscience; the
-elucidation and enforcement of these principles and
-forms is the business of students who aspire to be
-magistrates or statesmen; and it is no doubt owing
-in great part, to the force of these principles on the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span>national mind and habits, that China holds steadfastly
-together&mdash;the largest associated population in the
-world. Every one is interested in upholding doctrines
-which give him power over those under him; and as
-the instruction of his own youthful days has given him
-the habit of obedience and respect to all his superiors,
-so now, when he is a superior, he exacts the same
-obedience from his juniors, and public opinion accords
-it to him. The observance of such principles has
-tended to consolidate the national mind of China in
-that peculiar uniformity which has been remarked by
-those who have known this people. It has also tended
-to restrain all independence of thought, and keep
-even the most powerful intellects under an incubus
-which, while they were prevented by outward circumstances
-from getting at the knowledge of other lands
-was too great for their unassisted energies to throw
-off. It cannot be doubted that there have been many
-intellects of commanding power among the Chinese,
-but ignorance of the literature and condition of other
-nations has led them to infer that there was nothing
-worthy of notice out of their own borders, and to rest
-contented with explaining and enforcing the maxims
-of their sage.</p>
-
-<p>Confucius must be regarded as a great man, if
-superiority to the times in which one lives is a criterion
-of greatness. The immense influence he has exercised
-over the minds of his countrymen cannot,
-perhaps, be regarded as conclusive evidence of his superiority;
-but no mind of weak or ordinary powers
-could have stamped its own impress upon other minds
-as he has done. He never rose to those sublime heights
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span>of contemplation which Plato attained, nor does his
-mind seem to have been of a very discursive nature.
-He was content with telling his disciples how to act,
-and encouraging them to make themselves and others
-better, by following the rules he gave; not leading
-them into those endless disquisitions and speculations,
-upon which the Greek moralists so acutely reasoned,
-but which exercised no power over the conscience and
-life. The leading features of his doctrines have been
-acknowledged by mankind the world over, and are
-imbodied in their most common rules of life. “Do
-justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God,”
-is a direction of inspired Writ; and, so far as he knew
-these duties, he inculcated them. He said little or
-nothing about spirits or gods, nor did he give any
-directions about worshipping them; but the veneration
-for parents, which he enforced, was, in fact, idolatrous,
-and has since degenerated into the grossest idolatry.</p>
-
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@@ -1,8210 +0,0 @@
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Famous Men of Ancient Times, by S. G. Goodrich
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-
-
-Title: Famous Men of Ancient Times
-
-Author: S. G. Goodrich
-
-Release Date: June 23, 2016 [EBook #52400]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAMOUS MEN OF ANCIENT TIMES ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Haragos P�l and the Online Distributed
-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
-produced from images generously made available by The
-Internet Archive)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-                              FAMOUS MEN
-                                  OF
-                            ANCIENT TIMES.
-
-                                  BY
-
-                            S. G. GOODRICH.
-
-
-                                BOSTON:
-
-                      THOMPSON, BROWN & COMPANY.
-                           23 HAWLEY STREET.
-
-
-
-
-                                PREFACE
-
-
-The reader of these pages will perhaps remark, that the length of the
-following sketches is hardly proportioned to the relative importance of
-the several subjects, regarded in a merely historical point of view.
-In explanation of this fact, the author begs leave to say, that, while
-he intended to present a series of the great beacon lights that shine
-along the shores of the past, and thus throw a continuous gleam over
-the dusky sea of ancient history,--he had still other views. His chief
-aim is moral culture; and the several articles have been abridged or
-extended, as this controlling purpose might be subserved.
-
-It may be proper to make one observation more. If the author has been
-somewhat more chary of his eulogies upon the great men that figure in
-the pages of Grecian and Roman story, than is the established custom,
-he has only to plead in his vindication, that he has viewed them in the
-same light--weighed them in the same balance--measured them by the same
-standard, as he should have done the more familiar characters of our
-own day, making due allowance for the times and circumstances in which
-they acted. He has stated the results of such a mode of appreciation;
-yet if the master spirits of antiquity are thus shorn of some portion
-of their glory, the writer still believes that the interest they
-excite is not lessened, and that the instruction they afford is not
-diminished. On the contrary, it seems to him that the study of ancient
-biography, if it be impartial and discriminating, is one of the most
-entertaining and useful to which the mind can be applied.
-
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-
-
-
-
-                               CONTENTS.
-
-
-                                                    PAGE
-
-          MOHAMMED,                                    7
-
-          BELISARIUS,                                 25
-
-          ATTILA,                                     60
-
-          NERO,                                       68
-
-          SENECA,                                     74
-
-          VIRGIL,                                     83
-
-          CICERO,                                     95
-
-          JULIUS C�SAR,                              130
-
-          HANNIBAL,                                  145
-
-          ALEXANDER,                                 157
-
-          ARISTOTLE,                                 183
-
-          DEMOSTHENES,                               197
-
-          APELLES,                                   209
-
-          DIOGENES,                                  213
-
-          PLATO,                                     218
-
-          SOCRATES,                                  229
-
-          ALCIBIADES,                                244
-
-          DEMOCRITUS,                                252
-
-          PERICLES,                                  256
-
-          ARISTIDES,                                 261
-
-          �SOP,                                      264
-
-          SOLON,                                     271
-
-          LYCURGUS,                                  277
-
-          HOMER,                                     282
-
-          CONFUCIUS,                                 291
-
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-
-
-
-
-                      FAMOUS MEN OF ANCIENT TIMES
-
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-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                               MOHAMMED.
-
-
-This individual, who has exercised a greater influence upon the
-opinions of mankind than any other human being, save, perhaps, the
-Chinese philosopher Confucius, was born at Mecca, in Arabia, A. D.
-570. He was the only son of Abdallah, of the noble line of Hashem and
-tribe of Koreish--descendants of Ishmael the reputed progenitor of the
-Arabian race.
-
-The Koreishites were not only a commercial people, and rich by virtue
-of their operations in trade, but they were the hereditary guardians
-of the Caaba, or Kaaba, a heathen temple at Mecca. The custody of this
-sacred place, together with all the priestly offices, belonged to the
-ancestors of Mohammed.
-
-The Mohammedan authors have embellished the birth of the prophet with a
-great variety of wonderful events, which are said to have attended his
-introduction into the world. One of these is, that the Persian sacred
-fire, kept in their temples, was at once extinguished over all Arabia,
-accompanied by the diffusion of an unwonted and beautiful light. But
-this and other marvels, we leave to the credulity of the prophet's
-followers.
-
-Mohammed's father died early, and his son came under the guardianship
-of his uncle, Abu Taleb. He was a rich merchant, who was accustomed
-to visit the fairs of Damascus, Bagdad, and Bassora--three great and
-splendid cities, and Mohammed often accompanied him to these places.
-In his twelfth year, Mohammed took part in an expedition against
-the wandering tribes that molested the trading caravans. Thus, by
-travelling from place to place, he acquired extensive knowledge, and,
-by being engaged in warlike enterprise, his imagination became inflamed
-with a love of adventure and military achievements. If we add to
-this, that he had naturally a love of solitude, with a constitutional
-tendency to religious abstraction; and if, moreover, we consider that
-in his childhood he had been accustomed to behold the wild exercises,
-the dark ceremonies, and hideous rites of the temple of Caaba--we
-shall at once see the elements of character, and the educational
-circumstances, which shaped out the extraordinary career of the founder
-of Islamism.
-
-It appears that Mohammed was remarkable for mental endowments, even in
-his youth, for, in a religious conversation with a Nestorian monk, at
-Basra, he showed such knowledge and talent, that the monk remarked to
-his uncle, that great things might be expected of him. He was, however,
-attentive to business, and so completely obtained the confidence of his
-uncle, as a merchant, that he was recommended as a prudent and faithful
-young man, to Khadijah, a rich widow, who stood in need of an agent to
-transact her business and manage her affairs. In this capacity he was
-received, and so well did he discharge his duties, that he not only won
-the confidence of the widow, but finally obtained her hand in marriage.
-This event took place when he was about twenty-five years old, Khadijah
-being almost forty.
-
-Mohammed was now rich, and, though he continued to carry on mercantile
-business, he often retired to a cave, called Heva, near Mecca, where
-he resided. He also performed several journeys to different parts
-of Arabia and Syria, taking particular pains to gather religious
-information, especially of learned Jews and Christians.
-
-For some time, Mohammed, who lived happily with his wife, confided
-to her his visits to the cave Heva, professing to enjoy interviews
-with Heaven there, by means of dreams and trances, in which he met
-and conversed with the angel Gabriel. There is little doubt that his
-habits of religious retirement and gloomy reflection had unsettled
-his judgment, and that he now gave himself up to the guidance of
-an overwrought fancy. It is probable, therefore, that he believed
-these visions to be of divine inspiration; else, why should he first
-communicate them, as realities, to his wife?
-
-Soon after this, he informed other members of his family of his
-visions, and, being now about forty years old, assumed with them,
-the character and profession of a prophet. Several of his friends,
-particularly his wife, and his cousin Ali, a young man of great energy
-of character, yielded to the evidence he gave of his divine mission.
-Having been silently occupied about three years in converting his
-nearest friends, he invited some of the most illustrious men of the
-family of Hashem to his house, and, after conjuring them to abandon
-their idolatry, for the worship of ONE GOD, he openly proclaimed his
-calling, and set forth, that, by the commands of Heaven, revealed
-through the angel Gabriel, he was prepared to impart to his countrymen
-the most precious gift--the only means of future salvation.
-
-Far from being convinced, the assembly was struck silent with mingled
-surprise and contempt. The young and enthusiastic Ali, alone, yielded
-to his pretences, and, falling at his feet, offered to attend him, in
-good or evil, for life or for death. Several of the more sober part of
-the assembly sought to dissuade Mohammed from his enterprise; but he
-replied with a lofty fervor, that if the sun were placed in his right
-hand, and the moon in his left, with power over the kingdoms they
-enlighten, he would not, should not, could not hesitate or waver in his
-course.
-
-Inflamed by the opposition he met with among this assembly, Mohammed
-now went forth, and, wherever he could find crowds of people, there he
-announced his mission. In the temples, in the public squares, streets,
-and market-places, he addressed the people, laying claim to the
-prophetic character, and setting forth the duty of rejecting idolatry,
-for the worship of one God. The people were struck with his eloquence,
-his majesty of person, the beautiful imagery he presented to their
-minds, and the sublime sentiments he promulgated. Even the poet Lebid
-is said to have been converted by the wonderful beauty and elevation
-of the thoughts poured forth by the professed prophet. The people
-listened, and, though they felt the fire of his eloquence, still they
-were so wedded to their idolatries, that few were yet disposed to join
-him.
-
-To aid in understanding the revolution wrought by Mohammed, it may
-be well to sketch the condition of the Arabians at that period. The
-original inhabitants of Arabia, though all of one stock, and occupying
-a peninsula 1200 miles in length by 700 in width, had been, from
-time immemorial, divided into a variety of distinct tribes. These
-constituted petty communities or states, which, often changing, still
-left the people essentially the same. In the more elevated table lands,
-intersected by mountain ridges, with dreary wastes consisting of sandy
-plains, the people continued to pursue a roving life, living partly
-upon their flocks of camels, horses, and horned cattle, and partly
-upon the robbery of trading caravans of other tribes. The people of the
-plains, being near the water, settled in towns, cultivated the soil,
-and pursued commerce.
-
-The various tribes were each governed by the oldest or most worthy
-sheik or nobleman. Their bards met once a year, at Okhad, holding a
-fair of thirty days, for the recitation of their productions. That
-which was declared to be the finest, was written in gold and suspended
-in the great temple of Mecca. This was almost the only common tie
-between the several states or tribes, for, although they nominally
-acknowledged an emir, or national chief, they had never been brought to
-act in one body.
-
-The adoration of the Arabians consisted chiefly in the worship of the
-heavenly luminaries; but they had a great variety of deities, these
-being personifications of certain powers in nature, or passions in
-mankind. They were represented by idols of every variety of shape,
-which were gathered around the ancient temple of Caaba, at Mecca, a
-large square edifice, considered as the central point of religion, and
-the favorite seat of divinity. Their worship was attended with the most
-horrid rites and shocking ceremonies: even children were sacrificed to
-the idols, and one of the tribes was accustomed to bury their daughters
-alive. Except that they fancied the souls of the departed to be
-transformed into owls, hovering in gloom around the grave, it does not
-appear that they had the least idea of a future state of existence.
-
-Such was the state of religion among the native Arabians. Among the
-foreign settlers in the towns there were a few followers of the Greek
-and Roman philosophy; the Christians were never numerous. These latter
-were divided into a variety of sects, and those belonging to the Greek
-church, advocated monasteries, and were addicted to the worship of
-images, martyrs and relics. Some of these, even elevated the Virgin
-Mary into a deity, and addressed her as the third person in the Trinity.
-
-Mohammed, while he no doubt looked with horror upon this state of
-things, having studied the Bible, and clearly comprehended its sublime
-revelation of one God, conceived the idea of uniting the people of
-his native land under a religion of which this fundamental principle
-should constitute the basis. His purpose was to crush idolatry, and
-restore the lost worship of the true God. How far he was sincere, and
-how far he was an impostor, we cannot venture to affirm. It is probable
-that he was a religious enthusiast, deceived by his own fancies, and,
-perhaps, really believing his own visions. At the outset of his career,
-it is likely that he acted in good faith, while he was himself deluded.
-When he had advanced so far as to see power and dominion offered
-to his grasp, it is probable that his integrity gave way, and that
-thenceforward we are to consider him as under the alternate guidance of
-craft and fanaticism.
-
-Several of the nobles citizens of Mecca were finally converted by
-Mohammed. Khadijah was now dead, and the prophet had married Ayesha,
-the daughter of Abubeker, a man of great influence, and who exercised
-it in favor of his son-in-law. Yet the new faith made little progress,
-and a persecution of its votaries arose, which drove them to
-Abyssinia, and caused Mohammed himself to fly for safety to Medina.
-This flight is called the Hegira, and, taking place in the year 622, is
-the epoch from which Mohammedan chronology is computed, as is ours from
-the birth of Christ.
-
-At Medina, whither his tenets had been carried by pilgrims, Mohammed
-was received with open arms. He was met by an imposing procession,
-and invested at once with the regal and sacerdotal office. The people
-also offered him assistance in propagating his faith, even by force,
-if it should be required. From this moment, a vast field seems to have
-been opened to the mind of Mohammed. Hitherto, he may have been but a
-self-deceived enthusiast; but now, ambition appears to have taken at
-least partial possession of his bosom. His revelations at once assumed
-a higher tone. Hitherto he had chiefly inculcated the doctrine of one
-God, eternal, omnipotent, most powerful and most merciful, together
-with the practical duties of piety, prayer, charity, and pilgrimages.
-He now revealed, as a part of his new faith, the duty of making war,
-even with the sword, to propagate Islamism, and promised a sensual
-paradise to those who should fall in doing battle in its behalf. At the
-same time he announced that a settled fate or destiny hung over every
-individual, which he could not by possibility alter, evade, or avert.
-
-He now raised men, and proceeded, sword in hand, to force the
-acknowledgment of his pretensions. With alternate victory and defeat,
-he continued to prosecute his schemes, and at last fell upon the towns
-and castles of the peaceful and unwarlike Jews. These were soon taken
-and plundered. But the prophet paid dearly for his triumph. A Jewish
-female, at the town of Chaibar, gave him poison in some drink, and,
-though he survived, he never fully recovered from the effects of the
-dose.
-
-Thus advancing with the tribes settled in his own country, the power of
-the ambitious apostle increased like the avalanche in its overwhelming
-descent. Mecca was conquered, and yielded as well to his faith as
-to his arms. He now made expeditions to Palestine and Syria, while
-his officers were making conquests in all directions. His power was
-soon so great, that he sent messages to the kings of Egypt, Persia,
-and Ethiopia, and the emperor of Constantinople, commanding them to
-acknowledge the divine law revealed through him.
-
-At last, in the tenth year of the Hegira, he proceeded on a farewell
-pilgrimage to Mecca. The scene was imposing beyond description. He was
-attended by more than a hundred thousand of his followers, who paid
-him the greatest reverence. Everything in dress, equipage and imposing
-ceremony that could enhance the splendor of the pageant, and give it
-sanctity in the eyes of the people, was adopted. This was the last
-great event of his life.
-
-Mohammed had now become too powerful to be resisted by force, but
-not too exalted to be troubled by competition. His own example in
-assuming the sacred character of an apostle and prophet, and the
-brilliant success which had attended him, gave a hint to others of
-the probable means of advancing themselves to a similar pitch of
-dignity and dominion. The spirit of emulation, therefore, raised up a
-fellow-prophet in the person of Moseilama, called to this day by the
-followers of Islam "the lying Moseilama," a descendant of the tribe of
-Honeifa, and a principal person in the province of Yemen.
-
-This man headed an embassy sent by his tribe to Mohammed, in the
-ninth year of the Hegira, and then professed himself a Moslem; but on
-his return home, pondering on the nature of the new religion and the
-character and fortunes of its founder, the sacrilegious suggestion
-occurred to him, that by skilful management he might share with his
-countryman in the glory of a divine mission; and, accordingly, in the
-ensuing year he began to put his project in execution. He gave out that
-he, also, was a prophet sent of Heaven, having a joint commission with
-Mohammed to recall mankind from idolatry to the worship of the true
-God. He, moreover, aped his model so closely as to publish written
-revelations resembling the Koran, pretended to have been derived from
-the same source.
-
-Having succeeded in gaining a considerable party, from the tribe of
-Honeifa, he at length began to put himself still more nearly upon a
-level with the prophet of Medina, and even went so far as to propose
-to Mohammed a partnership in his spiritual supremacy. His letter
-commenced thus: "From Moseilama, the apostle of God, to Mohammed, the
-apostle of God. Now let the earth be half mine and half thine." But
-the latter, feeling himself too firmly established to stand in need of
-an associate, deigned to return him only the following reply: "From
-Mohammed, the apostle of God, to Moseilama, the liar. The earth is
-God's: he giveth the same for inheritance unto such of his servants as
-he pleaseth; and the happy issue shall attend those who fear him."
-
-During the few months that Mohammed lived after this, Moseilama
-continued, on the whole, to gain ground, and became at length so
-formidable, as to occasion extreme anxiety to the prophet, now rapidly
-sinking under the effects of disease. An expedition, under the command
-of Caled, the "Sword of God," was ordered out to suppress the rival
-sect headed by the spurious apostle, and the bewildered imagination
-of Mohammed, in the moments of delirium, which now afflicted him, was
-frequently picturing to itself the results of the engagement between
-his faithful Moslems and these daring apostates.
-
-The army of Caled returned victorious. Moseilama himself, and ten
-thousand of his followers, were left dead on the field; while the rest,
-convinced by the shining evidence of truth that gleamed from the swords
-of the conquerors, renounced their errors, and fell quietly back into
-the bosom of the Mohammedan church. Several other insurgents of similar
-pretences, but of minor consequence, were crushed in like manner in the
-early stages of their defection.
-
-We have now reached the period at which the religion of Mohammed may
-be considered as having become permanently established. The conquest
-of Mecca and of the Koreishites had been, in fact, the signal for the
-submission of the rest of Arabia; and though several of the petty
-tribes offered, for a time, the show of resistance to the prophet's
-arms, they were all eventually subdued. Between the taking of Mecca
-and the period of Mohammed's death, somewhat more than three years
-elapsed. In that short period he had destroyed the idols of Arabia; had
-extended his conquests to the borders of the Greek and Persian empires;
-had rendered his name formidable to those once mighty kingdoms; had
-tried his arms against the disciplined troops of the former, and
-defeated them in a desperate encounter at Muta.
-
-His throne was now firmly established; and an impulse given to the
-Arabian nation, which induced them to invade, and enabled them to
-conquer, a large portion of the globe. India, Persia, the Greek empire,
-the whole of Asia Minor, Egypt, Barbary, and Spain, were eventually
-reduced by their victorious arms. Mohammed himself did not indeed live
-to see such mighty conquests achieved, but he commenced the train
-which resulted in this wide-spread dominion, and, before his death,
-had established over the whole of Arabia, and some parts of Asia, the
-religion which he had devised.
-
-And now, having arrived at the sixty-third year of his age, and the
-tenth of the Hegira, A. D. 632, the fatal effects of the poison, which
-had been so long rankling in his veins, began to discover themselves
-more and more sensibly, and to operate with alarming virulence. Day
-by day, he visibly declined, and it was evident that his life was
-hastening to a close. For some time previous to the event, he was
-conscious of its approach, and is said to have viewed and awaited it
-with characteristic firmness. The third day before his dissolution,
-he ordered himself to be carried to the mosque, that he might, for
-the last time, address his followers, and bestow upon them his parting
-prayers and benedictions. Being assisted to mount the pulpit, he
-edified his brethren by the pious tenor of his dying counsels, and in
-his own example taught a lesson of humility and penitence, such as we
-shall scarcely find inculcated in the precepts of the Koran.
-
-"If there be any man," said the prophet, "whom I have unjustly
-scourged, I submit my own back to the lash of retaliation. Have I
-aspersed the reputation of any Mussulman? let him proclaim my fault
-in the face of the congregation. Has any one been despoiled of his
-goods? the little that I possess shall compensate the principal
-and the interest of the debt." "Yes," replied a voice from the
-crowd, "thou owest me three drachms of silver!" Mohammed heard the
-complaint, satisfied the demand, and thanked his creditor that he
-had accused him in this world, rather than at the day of judgment.
-He then set his slaves at liberty, seventeen men and eleven women;
-directed the order of his funeral; strove to allay the lamentations
-of his weeping friends, and waited the approach of death. He did not
-expressly nominate a successor, a step which would have prevented the
-altercations that afterwards came so near to crushing in its infancy
-the religion and the empire of the Saracens; but his appointment of
-Abubeker to supply his place in the function of public prayer, and the
-other services of the mosque, seemed to intimate indirectly the choice
-of the prophet. This ancient and faithful friend, accordingly, after
-much contention, became the first Caliph of the Saracens, though his
-reign was closed by his death at the end of two years.
-
-The death of Mohammed was hastened by the force of a burning fever,
-which deprived him at times of the use of reason. In one of these
-paroxysms of delirium, he demanded pen and paper, that he might compose
-or dictate a divine book. Omar, who was watching at his side, refused
-his request, lest the expiring prophet might dictate something which
-should supersede the Koran. Others, however, expressed a great desire
-that the book might be written; and so warm a dispute arose in the
-chamber of the apostle that he was forced to reprove their unbecoming
-vehemence. The writing was not performed, and many of his followers
-have mourned the loss of the sublime revelations which his dying
-visions might have bequeathed to them.
-
-The favorite wife of the prophet, Ayesha, hung over her husband in
-his last moments, sustaining his drooping head upon her knee, as he
-lay stretched upon the carpet; watching with trembling anxiety his
-changing countenance, and listening to the last broken sounds of his
-voice. His disease, as it drew towards its termination, was attended at
-intervals with most excruciating pains, which he constantly ascribed
-to the fatal morsel taken at Chaibar; and as the mother of Bashar,
-his companion who had died upon the spot from the same cause, stood
-by his side, be exclaimed, "O mother of Bashar, the cords of my heart
-are now breaking of the food which I ate with your son at Chaibar." In
-his conversation with those around him, he mentioned it as a special
-prerogative granted to him, that the angel of death was not allowed
-to take his soul till he had respectfully asked permission of him, and
-this permission he condescendingly granted. Recovering from a swoon
-into which the violence of his pains had thrown him, he raised his eyes
-towards the roof of the house, and with faltering accents exclaimed, "O
-God! pardon my sins. Yes, I come among my fellow-laborers on high!" His
-face was then sprinkled with water, by his own feeble hand, and shortly
-after he expired.
-
-The city, and more especially the house of the prophet, became at once
-a scene of sorrowful but confused lamentation. Some of his followers
-could not believe that he was dead. "How can he be dead, our witness,
-our intercessor, our mediator with God? He is not dead. Like Moses and
-Jesus, he is wrapped in a holy trance, and speedily will he return to
-his faithful people." The evidence of sense was disregarded, and Omar,
-brandishing his scimitar, threatened to strike off the heads of the
-infidels who should affirm that the prophet was no more. The tumult was
-at length appeased, by the moderation of Abubeker. "Is it Mohammed,"
-said he, "or the God of Mohammed, whom ye worship? The God of Mohammed
-liveth forever, but the apostle was a mortal like ourselves, and,
-according to his own prediction, he hath experienced the common fate of
-mortality."
-
-The prophet's remains were deposited at Medina, in the very room where
-he breathed his last, the floor being removed to make way for his
-sepulchre, and a simple and unadorned monument was, some time after,
-erected over them. The house itself has long since mouldered, or been
-demolished, but the place of the prophet's interment is still made
-conspicuous to the superstitious reverence of his disciples. The story
-of his relics being suspended in the air, by the power of loadstone in
-an iron coffin, and that too at Mecca, instead of Medina, is a mere
-idle fabrication. His tomb at the latter place has been visited by
-millions of pilgrims, and, from the authentic accounts of travellers
-who have visited both these holy cities in disguise, we learn that it
-is constructed of plain mason work, fixed without elevation upon the
-surface of the ground. The urn which encloses his body is protected by
-a trellis of iron, which no one is permitted to pass.
-
-The Koran or Alkoran, meaning _the Book_, is a collection of all the
-various fragments which the prophet uttered during the period in which
-he professed to exercise the apostolic office. They were originally
-written on scattered leaves, but they were collected by Abubeker, two
-years after Mohammed's death. They are in the purest and most refined
-dialect of Arabia, and are distinguished by extraordinary graces of
-style.
-
-The Koran furnishes not only the divinity, but the civil law of the
-Mohammedans. It professes to contain the revelation of God's will by
-Gabriel to Mohammed, and through him to mankind. One of the books gives
-an account of the translation of the prophet by night to the third
-heaven, upon a winged animal, named Alborak, and resembling an ass,
-where he saw unutterable things. The great doctrines of the Koran, as
-before stated, are the existence of one supreme God, to whom alone
-adoration and obedience are due. It declares that the divine law was
-faithfully delivered by Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Christ. It
-declares the immortality of the soul of man, and the final judgment,
-and sets forth that the good are to dwell in everlasting bliss, amid
-shady and delicious groves, and attended by heavenly virgins. The hope
-of salvation is not confined to the Moslem, but is extended to all who
-believe in God and do good works. Sinners, particularly unbelievers,
-are to be driven about in a dark burning hell, forever.
-
-The practical duties enjoined by the Koran, are the propagation
-of Islamism, and prayers directed to the temple of Mecca, at five
-different periods of the day, together with fasting, alms, religious
-ablutions, pilgrimages to Mecca, &c. It allows a man but four wives,
-though the prophet had seventeen, and it is curious to add that all
-were widows, save one. It strongly prohibits usury, gaming, wine and
-pork.
-
-We cannot deny to Mohammed the possession of extraordinary genius. He
-was a man of great eloquence, and the master of a beautiful style of
-composition; and he possessed that majesty of person, which, united to
-his mental qualities, gave him great ascendancy over those who came
-into his presence. He lived in a dark age, amid a benighted people;
-yet, without the aids of education, he mastered the religious systems
-of the day, and took a broad and sagacious view of the moral and
-political condition of the people of Asia. He conceived the sublime
-idea of uniting, by one mighty truth, the broken fragments of his own
-nation, and the destruction of idolatry by the substitution of the
-worship of one God. It is true, that he sought to accomplish these
-ends by unlawful means--by imposture, and the bloody use of the sword;
-we must admit, also, that he was licentious and although we cannot
-fail to condemn his character, we must acknowledge the splendor of
-his abilities and allow that while he imposed on his followers, he
-established a faith infinitely above Paganism, and sprinkled with many
-rays of light from the fountain of Divine Truth.
-
-[Illustration]
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-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                              BELISARIUS.
-
-
-This celebrated general, to whom the emperor Justinian is chiefly
-indebted for the glory of his reign, was a native of Germania, on the
-confines of Thrace, and was born about the year 505. It is probable
-that he was of noble descent, liberally educated, and a professor of
-the Christian faith. The first step in his military career was an
-appointment in the personal guard of Justinian, while that prince was
-yet heir apparent to the throne.
-
-The Roman or Byzantine empire, at this period, embraced almost exactly
-the present territory of the Turkish dominions in Europe and Asia
-Minor, with the addition of Greece--Constantinople being its capital.
-Italy was held by the Goths; Corsica, Sardinia and Barbary in Africa,
-by the Vandals.
-
-Justin I., an Illyrian peasant, having distinguished himself as a
-soldier, had become emperor. His education was of course neglected, and
-such was his ignorance, that his signature could only be obtained by
-means of a wooden case, which directed his pen through the four first
-letters of his name. From his accession, the chief administration of
-affairs devolved on Justinian, his nephew and intended heir, whom he
-was reluctantly compelled to raise from office to office, and at length
-to acknowledge as his partner on the throne. His death, after a languid
-reign of nine years and a life of nearly fourscore, left Justinian sole
-sovereign in name, as well as in fact.
-
-In order to appreciate the life and actions of Belisarius, it is
-necessary to understand the character of the new emperor, during
-whose long reign his great exploits were performed. The first act of
-Justinian on ascending the throne, was to marry a dissolute actress,
-named Theodora, who, though licentious, avaricious, cruel and
-vindictive, soon acquired an almost complete control over him. His mind
-was essentially feeble and inconstant, and, though his Christian faith
-was doubtless sincere, it was less fruitful of virtues than of rites
-and forms. At his accession his treasury was full; but it was soon
-exhausted by his profuseness, and heavy taxes were imposed, offices
-put to sale, charities suppressed, private fortunes seized, and, in
-short, every act of rapacity, injustice and oppression, practised by
-his ministers, to support the wasteful magnificence of the court.
-
-The troops of the empire at this period were by no means what they
-had been in the time of Scipio and C�sar. They consisted, to a great
-extent, of foreign mercenaries, and were divided into squadrons
-according to their country; thus destroying all unity of feeling, and
-annihilating that national spirit which once made the Roman arms the
-terror of the world. These hired troops, which greatly outnumbered
-the native soldiers, marched under their own national banner, were
-commanded by their own officers, and usually followed their own
-military regulations. The inefficiency of such mingled and discordant
-forces, is obvious; yet it was under such a system that Belisarius
-entered upon his military career.
-
-With a feeble and corrupt government, an ill-appointed and trustless
-army, the Roman empire was still surrounded with powerful enemies. It
-is scarcely possible to conceive of a great nation in a condition of
-more complete debility and helplessness, than was the kingdom of the
-C�sars, at the period in which Belisarius appears upon the active stage
-of life.
-
-Kobad, king of Persia, after a long cessation of hostilities, renewed
-the war toward the close of Justin's reign, by the invasion of
-Iberia, which claimed the protection of the emperor. At this period,
-Belisarius, being about twenty years of age, had the command of a
-squadron of horse, and was engaged in some of the conflicts with the
-Persian forces, on the borders of Armenia. In conjunction with an
-officer named Sittas, he ravaged a large extent of territory, and
-brought back a considerable number of prisoners.
-
-On a second incursion, however, they were less fortunate; for, being
-suddenly attacked by the Persian forces, they were entirely defeated.
-It appears that Belisarius incurred no blame, for he was soon after
-promoted to the post of governor of Dara, and the command of the forces
-stationed there. It was at this place that he chose Procopius, the
-historian, as his secretary, and who afterwards repaid his kindness by
-a vain attempt to brand his name with enduring infamy.
-
-Soon after Belisarius obtained the command of Dara, Justinian came
-to the throne, and enjoined it upon his generals to strengthen the
-defences of the empire in that quarter. This was attempted, but the
-Persians baffled the effort. Belisarius was now appointed general of
-the East, being commander-in-chief of the whole line of the Asiatic
-frontier. Foreseeing that a formidable struggle was soon to ensue, he
-applied himself to the raising and disciplining an army. He traversed
-the neighboring provinces in person, and at last succeeded in mustering
-five and twenty thousand men. These, however, were without discipline,
-and their spirit was depressed by the ill success that had long
-attended the Roman arms.
-
-In this state of things, the news suddenly came, that 40,000 men, the
-flower of the Persian army, commanded by Firouz, was marching upon
-Dara. Confident of victory, the Persian general announced his approach,
-by the haughty message that a bath should be ready for him at Dara
-the next evening. Belisarius made no other reply than preparations for
-battle. Fortifying himself in the best manner he was able, he awaited
-the onset; exhorting his men, however, by every stimulating motive he
-could suggest, to do honor to the name and fame of Rome.
-
-The battle began by a mutual discharge of arrows, so numerous as to
-darken the air. When the quivers were exhausted, they came to closer
-combat. The struggle was obstinate and bloody; and the Persians were
-already about to win the victory, when a body of horse, judiciously
-stationed behind a hill by Belisarius, rushed forward, and turned the
-tide of success. The Persians fled, and the triumph of Belisarius was
-complete. They left their royal standard upon the field of battle, with
-8000 slain. This victory had a powerful effect, and decided the fate of
-the campaign.
-
-The aged Kobad, who had conceived a profound contempt for the Romans,
-was greatly irritated by the defeat of his troops. He determined upon
-a still more powerful effort, and the next season sent a formidable
-army to invade Syria. Belisarius, with a promptitude that astounded he
-enemy, proceeded to the defence of this province, and, with an inferior
-force, compelled the Persian army to retreat. Obliged at length, by
-his soldiers, against his own judgment, to give battle to the enemy,
-he suffered severely, and only avoided total defeat by the greatest
-coolness and address. Even the partial victory of the enemy was without
-advantage to them, for they were obliged to retreat, and abandon their
-enterprise. Soon after this event, Kobad died, in his eighty-third
-year, and his successor, Nushirvan, concluded a treaty of peace with
-Justinian.
-
-The war being thus terminated, Belisarius took up his residence at
-Constantinople, and here became the second husband of Antonina, who,
-though the child of an actress, had contracted an exalted marriage on
-account of her beauty, and having filled a high office, enjoyed the
-rank and honors of a patrician. While thus raised above the dangerous
-profession of her mother, she still adhered to the morals of the stage.
-Though openly licentious, she obtained through her bold, decided, and
-intriguing character, aided by remarkable powers of fascination, a
-complete ascendancy over Belisarius. It is seldom that a man is great
-in all respects, and the weakness of the general whose history we are
-delineating, was exhibited in a blind and submissive attachment to this
-profligate woman.
-
-A singular outbreak of popular violence occurred about this period,
-which stained the streets of Constantinople with blood, and threatened
-for a time to hurl Justinian from his throne. The fondness of the
-Romans for the amusements of the circus, had in no degree abated.
-Indeed, as the gladiatorial combats had been suppressed, these
-games were frequented with redoubled ardor. The charioteers were
-distinguished by the various colors of red, white, blue, and green,
-intending to represent the four seasons. Those of each color,
-especially the blue and green, possessed numerous and devoted
-partisans, which became at last connected with civil and religious
-prejudices.
-
-Justinian favored the Blues, who became for that reason the emblem
-of royalty; on the other hand, the Greens became the type of
-disaffection. Though these dangerous factions were denounced by the
-statutes, still, at the period of which we speak, each party were ready
-to lavish their fortunes, risk their lives, and brave the severest
-sentence of the laws, in support of their darling color. At the
-commencement of the year 532, by one of those sudden caprices which
-are often displayed by the populace, the two factions united, and
-turned their vengeance against Justinian. The prisons were forced, and
-the guards massacred. The city was then fired in various parts, the
-cathedral of St. Sophia, a part of the imperial palace, and a great
-number of public and private buildings, were wrapped in conflagration.
-The cry of "_Nika! Nika!_" Vanquish! Vanquish! ran through every part
-of the capital.
-
-The principal citizens hurried to the opposite shore of the Bosphorus,
-and the emperor entrenched himself within his palace. In the mean time,
-Hypatius, nephew of the emperor Anastatius, was declared emperor by
-the rioters, and so formidable had the insurrection now become, that
-Justinian was ready to abdicate his crown. For the first and last
-time, Theodora seemed worthy of the throne, for she withstood the
-pusillanimity of her husband, and, through her animated exhortations,
-it was determined to take the chance of victory or death.
-
-Justinian's chief hope now rested on Belisarius. Assisted by Mundus,
-the governor of Illyria, who chanced to be in the capital, he now
-called upon the guards to rally in defence of the emperor; but these
-refused to obey him. Meanwhile, by another caprice the party of the
-Blues, becoming ashamed of their conduct, shrunk one by one away, and
-left Hypatius to be sustained by the Greens alone.
-
-These were dismayed at seeing Belisarius, issuing with a few troops
-which he had collected, from the smoking ruins of the palace. Drawing
-his sword, and commanding his veterans to follow, he fell upon them
-like a thunderbolt. Mundus, with another division of soldiers,
-rushed upon them from the opposite direction. The insurgents were
-panic-struck, and dispersed in every quarter. Hypatius was dragged
-from the throne which he had ascended a few hours before, and was soon
-after executed in prison. The Blues now emerged from their concealment,
-and, falling upon their antagonists, glutted their merciless and
-ungovernable vengeance. No less than thirty thousand persons were slain
-in this fearful convulsion.
-
-We must now turn our attention to Africa, in which the next exploits
-of Belisarius were performed. The northern portion of this part of the
-world, known to us by the merited by-word of Barbary, hardly retains a
-trace of the most formidable rival and opulent province of Rome. After
-the fall of Jugurtha, at the commencement of the second century, it
-had enjoyed a long period of prosperity and peace--having escaped the
-sufferings which had fallen upon every other portion of the empire. The
-Africans in the fifth century were abounding in wealth, population, and
-resources. During the minority of Valentinian, Boniface was appointed
-governor of Africa. Deceived by �tius into a belief of ingratitude on
-the part of the government at home, he determined upon resistance, and
-with this view, concluded a treaty with the Vandals in the southern
-portion of Spain.
-
-These, embarking from Andalusia, whose name still denotes their former
-residence, landed at the opposite cape of Ceuta, A. D. 429. Their
-leader was the far-famed Genseric, one of the most able, but most
-lawless and bloody monarchs recorded in history. Of a middle stature,
-and lamed by a fall from his horse, his demeanor was thoughtful and
-silent; he was contemptuous of luxury, sudden in anger, and boundless
-in ambition. Yet his impetuosity was always guided and restrained by
-cunning. He well knew how to tempt the allegiance of a foreign nation,
-to cast the seeds of future discord, or to rear them to maturity.
-
-The barbarians on their passage to Africa consisted of 50,000 fighting
-men, with a great crowd of women and children. Their progress
-through the African province was rapid and unopposed, till Boniface,
-discovering the artifices of �tius, and the favorable disposition of
-the government of Rome, bitterly repented the effects of his hasty
-resentment. He now endeavored to withdraw his Vandal allies; but he
-found it less easy to allay, than it had been to raise, the storm. His
-proposals were haughtily rejected, and both parties had recourse to
-arms. Boniface was defeated, and in the event, Genseric obtained entire
-possession of the Roman provinces in Africa.
-
-Carthage, which had risen from its ruins at the command of Julius
-C�sar and been embellished by Diocletian, had regained a large share
-of its former opulence and pride, and might be considered, at the
-time of which we speak, the second city in the western empire. Making
-this his capital, Genseric proceeded to adopt various measures to
-increase his power, and, among others, determined upon the creation
-of a naval force. With him, project and performance were never far
-asunder. His ships soon rode in the Mediterranean, and carried terror
-and destruction in their train. He annexed to his kingdom the Balearic
-islands, Corsica and Sardinia; the last of which was afterwards
-allotted by the Vandals as a place of exile or imprisonment for captive
-Moors; and during many years, the ports of Africa were what they became
-in more recent days, the abode of fierce and unpunished pirates.
-
-With every returning spring, the fleet of Genseric ravaged the coasts
-of Italy and Sicily, and even of Greece and Illyria, sometimes bearing
-off the inhabitants to slavery, and sometimes levelling their cities to
-the ground. Emboldened by long impunity, he attacked every government
-alike. On one occasion, when sailing from Carthage, he was asked by
-the pilot of his vessel to what coast he desired to steer--"Leave the
-guidance to God," exclaimed the stern barbarian; "God will doubtless
-lead us against the guilty objects of his anger!"
-
-The most memorable achievement of Genseric, the sack of Rome in 455,
-is an event too much out of the track of our narrative to be detailed
-here. We can only pause to state, that, after spending a fortnight
-in that great metropolis, and loading his fleets with its spoils,
-he returned to Africa, bearing the Empress Eudocia thither, as his
-captive. She was, at length, released, but one of her daughters was
-compelled by Genseric to accept his son in marriage.
-
-The repeated outrages of the Vandal king at length aroused the tardy
-resentment of the court of Constantinople, and Leo I., then emperor,
-despatched an army against him, consisting of nearly one hundred
-thousand men, attended by the most formidable fleet that had ever been
-launched by the Romans. The commander was a weak man, and being cheated
-into a truce of five days by Genseric, the latter took advantage of a
-moment of security, and, in the middle of the night, caused a number
-of small vessels, filled with combustibles, to be introduced among the
-Roman ships. A conflagration speedily ensued; and the Romans, starting
-from their slumbers, found themselves encompassed by fire and the
-Vandals. The wild shrieks of the perishing multitude mingled with the
-crackling of the flames and the roaring of the winds; and the enemy
-proved as unrelenting as the elements. The greater part of the fleet
-was destroyed, and only a few shattered ships, and a small number of
-survivors, found their way back to Constantinople.
-
-A peace soon followed this event, which continued uninterrupted till
-the time of Justinian. Genseric died in 477, leaving his kingdom to his
-son Hunneric. About the year 530, Gelimer being upon the Vandal throne,
-Justinian began to meditate an expedition against him. His generals,
-with the exception of Belisarius, were averse to the undertaking. The
-same feeling was shared by many of the leading men about the court, and
-in an assembly, in which the subject was under discussion, Justinian
-was about to yield to the opposition, when a bishop from the east
-earnestly begged admission to his presence.
-
-On entering the council chamber he exhorted the emperor to stand forth
-as the champion of the church, and, in order to confirm him in the
-enterprise, he declared that the Lord had appeared to him in a vision,
-saying, "I will march before him in his battles, and make him sovereign
-of Africa." Men seldom reject a tale, however fantastic, which
-coincides with their wishes or their prepossessions. All the doubts of
-Justinian were at once removed; he commanded a fleet and army to be
-forthwith equipped for this sacred enterprise, and endeavored still
-further to insure its success by his austerity in fasts and vigils.
-Belisarius was named supreme commander, still retaining his title as
-General of the East.
-
-In the month of June, A. D. 533, the Roman armament, consisting of five
-hundred transports, with twenty thousand sailors, and nearly the same
-number of soldiers, became ready for departure. The general embarked,
-attended on this occasion by Antonina and his secretary, the historian
-Procopius, who, at first, had shared in the popular fear and distaste
-of the enterprise, but had afterwards been induced to join it by a
-hopeful dream. The galley of Belisarius was moored near the shore,
-in front of the imperial palace, where it received a last visit from
-Justinian, and a solemn blessing from the patriarch of the city. A
-soldier recently baptized was placed on board, to secure its prosperous
-voyage; its sails were then unfurled, and, with the other ships in its
-train, it glided down the straits of the Bosphorus, and gradually
-disappeared from the lingering gaze of the assembled multitude.
-
-With a force scarcely one fourth as strong as that which was
-annihilated by Genseric, about seventy years before, Belisarius
-proceeded upon his expedition. Having touched at Sicily and Malta,
-he proceeded to the coast of Africa, where he landed in September,
-about one hundred and fifty miles from Carthage, and began his
-march upon that city. He took several towns, but enforcing the most
-rigid discipline upon his troops, and treating the inhabitants with
-moderation and courtesy, he entirely gained their confidence and good
-will. They brought ample provisions to his camp, and gave him such a
-reception as might be expected rather by a native than a hostile army.
-
-When the intelligence of the landing and progress of the Romans reached
-Gelimer, who was then at Hermione, he was roused to revenge, and took
-his measures with promptitude and skill. He had an army of eighty
-thousand men, the greater part of whom were soon assembled, and posted
-in a defile about ten miles from Carthage, directly in the route by
-which Belisarius was approaching. Several severe skirmishes soon
-followed, in which the Vandals were defeated.
-
-The main army now advanced, and a general engagement immediately
-ensued. In the outset, the Vandals prevailed, and the Romans were on
-the eve of flying, defeated, from the field. A pause on the part of
-Gelimer was, however, seized upon by Belisarius to collect and rally
-his forces, and with a united effort he now charged the Vandal army.
-The conflict was fierce, but brief: Gelimer was totally defeated, and,
-with a few faithful adherents, he sought safety in flight. Knowing that
-the ruinous walls of Carthage could not sustain a siege, he took his
-way to the deserts of Numidia.
-
-All idea of resistance was abandoned; the gates of Carthage were thrown
-open, and the chains across the entrance of the port were removed. The
-Roman fleet soon after arrived, and was safely anchored in the harbor.
-On the 16th September, Belisarius made a solemn entry into the capital.
-Having taken every precaution against violence and rapacity, not a
-single instance of tumult or outrage occurred, save that a captain of
-one of the vessels plundered some of the inhabitants, but was obliged
-to restore the spoil he had taken. The soldiers marched peaceably to
-their quarters; the inhabitants continued to pursue their avocations;
-the shops remained open, and, in spite of the change of sovereigns,
-public business was not for a moment interrupted! Belisarius took
-up his quarters in the palace of Gelimer, and in the evening held a
-sumptuous banquet there, being attended by the same servants who had so
-lately been employed by the Vandal king.
-
-With his usual activity, Belisarius immediately applied himself to
-the restoration of the ruinous ramparts of the city. The ditch was
-deepened, the breaches filled, the walls strengthened, and the whole
-was completed in so short a space as to strike the Vandals with
-amazement. Meanwhile, Gelimer was collecting a powerful army at Bulla,
-on the borders of Numidia at the distance of four days' journey from
-Carthage.
-
-Having placed the capital in a proper state for defence, at the end
-of three months from its capture, Belisarius led forth his army,
-leaving only five hundred troops to guard the city. Gelimer was now
-within twenty miles of the capital, having raised an army of one
-hundred thousand men. No sooner had the Romans taken up their march
-toward his camp, than they prepared for battle. The armies soon met,
-and Belisarius, having determined to direct all his endeavors against
-the centre of the Vandal force, caused a charge to be made by some
-squadrons of the horse guards. These were repulsed, and a second onset,
-also, proved unsuccessful.
-
-But a third prevailed, after an obstinate resistance. The ranks of
-the enemy were broken; Zazo, the king's brother, was slain, and
-consternation now completed the rout of the Vandals. Gelimer, under
-the influence of panic, betook himself to flight; his absence was
-perceived, and his conduct imitated. The soldiers dispersed in all
-directions, leaving their camp, their goods, their families, all in
-the hands of the Romans. Belisarius seized upon the royal treasure in
-behalf of his sovereign, and in spite of his commands, the licentious
-soldiers spent the night in debauchery, violence and plunder.
-
-Gelimer fled to the mountains of Papua, inhabited by a savage but
-friendly tribe of Moors. He sought refuge in the small town of Medenus,
-which presented a craggy precipice on all sides Belisarius returned to
-Carthage, and sent out various detachments, which rapidly subdued the
-most remote portions of the Vandal kingdom.
-
-Immediately after the capture of Carthage, he had despatched one of his
-principal officers to Justinian, announcing these prosperous events.
-The intelligence arrived about the time that the emperor had completed
-his _pandects_.[1] The exultation of the monarch is evinced by the
-swelling titles he assumes in the preamble of these laws. All mention
-of the general by whom his conquests had been achieved, is carefully
-avoided; while the emperor is spoken of as the "pious," "happy,"
-"victorious," and "triumphant!" He even boasts, in his Institutes, of
-the warlike fatigues he had borne, though he had never quitted the
-luxurious palace of Constantinople, except for recreation in some of
-his neighboring villas.
-
-While the Roman general was actively employed at Carthage, Pharus was
-proceeding in the siege of Medenus, which had been begun immediately
-after the flight of Gelimer. Pent up in this narrow retreat, the
-sufferings of the Vandal monarch were great, from the want of supplies
-and the savage habits of the Moors. His lot was likewise embittered by
-the recollection of the soft and luxurious life to which he had lately
-been accustomed.
-
-During their dominion in Africa, the Vandals had declined from their
-former hardihood, and yielded to the enervating influence of climate,
-security and success. Their arms were laid aside; gold embroidery shone
-upon their silken robes, and every dainty from the sea and land were
-combined in their rich repasts. Reclining in the shade of delicious
-gardens, their careless hours were amused by dancers and musicians,
-and no exertion beyond the chase, interrupted their voluptuous repose.
-The Moors of Papua, on the contrary, dwelt in narrow huts, sultry in
-summer, and pervious to the snows of winter. They most frequently
-slept upon the bare ground, and a sheepskin for a couch was a rare
-refinement. The same dress, a cloak and a tunic, clothed them at every
-season, and they were strangers to the use of both bread and wine.
-Their grain was devoured in its crude state, or at best was coarsely
-pounded and baked, with little skill, into an unleavened paste.
-
-Compelled to share this savage mode of life, Gelimer and his attendants
-began to consider captivity, or even death, as better than the daily
-hardships they endured. To avail himself of this favorable disposition,
-Pharus, in a friendly letter, proposed a capitulation, and assured
-Gelimer of generous treatment from Belisarius and Justinian. The spirit
-of the Vandal prince, however, was still not wholly broken, and he
-refused the offers, while acknowledging the kindness of his enemy.
-In his answer he entreated the gifts of a lyre, a loaf of bread, and
-a sponge, and his messenger explained the grounds of this singular
-petition. At Medenus, he had never tasted the food of civilized
-nations, he wished to sing to music an ode on his misfortunes written
-by himself, and a swelling on his eyes needed a sponge for its cure.
-The brave Roman, touched with pity that such wants should be felt by
-the grandson and successor of Genseric, forthwith sent these presents
-up the mountain, but by no means abated the watchfulness of his
-blockade.
-
-The siege had already continued for upwards of three months, and
-several Vandals had sunk beneath its hardships, but Gelimer still
-displayed the stubborn inflexibility usual to despotic rulers, when
-the sight of a domestic affliction suddenly induced him to yield. In
-the hovel where he sat gloomily brooding over his hopeless fortunes,
-a Moorish woman was preparing, at the fire, some coarse dough. Two
-children, her son and the nephew of Gelimer, were watching her progress
-with the eager anxiety of famine. The young Vandal was the first to
-seize the precious morsel, still glowing with heat, and blackened with
-ashes, when the Moor, by blows and violence, forced it from his mouth.
-So fierce a struggle for food, at such an age, overcame the sternness
-of Gelimer. He agreed to surrender on the same terms lately held out to
-him, and the promises of Pharus were confirmed by the Roman general,
-who sent Cyprian as his envoy to Papua. The late sovereign of Africa
-reentered his capital as a suppliant and a prisoner, and at the suburb
-of Aclas, beheld his conqueror for the first time.
-
-With the capitulation of Gelimer, the Vandal was at an end. There now
-remained to Belisarius but the important task of making the conquered
-countries permanently useful to the Romans. But, while occupied
-in this design, his glory having provoked envy, he was accused to
-Justinian of the intention of making himself king over the territories
-he had conquered. With the weakness of a little mind, the emperor so
-far yielded to the base accusation as to send a message to Belisarius,
-indicating his suspicions. The latter immediately departed from
-Carthage, and, taking with him his spoils and captives, proceeded to
-Constantinople.
-
-This ready obedience dissipated the suspicions of the emperor, and he
-made ample and prompt reparation for his unfounded jealousy. Medals
-were struck by his orders, bearing on one side the effigy of the
-emperor, and on the other that of the victorious general, encircled by
-the inscription, _Belisarius, the glory of the Romans_. Beside this,
-the honors of a triumph were decreed him, the first ever witnessed in
-the Eastern capital.
-
-The ceremony was in the highest degree imposing. The triumphal
-procession marched from the house of Belisarius to the hippodrome,[2]
-filled with exulting thousands, where Justinian and Theodora sat
-enthroned. Among the Vandal captives, Gelimer was distinguished by the
-purple of a sovereign. He shed no tears, but frequently repeated the
-words of Solomon, "Vanity of vanities: all is vanity." When he reached
-the imperial throne, and was commanded to cast aside the ensigns of
-royalty, Belisarius hastened to do the same, to show him that he was to
-undergo no insult as a prisoner, but only to yield the customary homage
-of a subject. We may pause for a moment to reflect upon the caprices
-of fortune, which had raised a comedian, in the person of Theodora, to
-see the successor of Genseric and Scipio prostrate as slaves before her
-footstool.
-
-Both the conqueror and captive experienced the effects of imperial
-generosity. The former received a large share of the spoil as his
-reward, and was named consul for the ensuing year. To the Vandal
-monarch, an extensive estate in Galatia was assigned, to which he
-retired, and, in peaceful obscurity, spent the remainder of his days.
-
-We must now turn our attention to Italy. Theodoric the Great, the
-natural son of Theodomir, king of the Ostrogoths, became the master of
-Italy toward the close of the fifth century. The Gothic dominion was
-thus established in the ancient seat of the Roman empire, and the king
-of the Goths was seated upon the throne of the C�sars.
-
-Theodoric has furnished one of the few instances in which a successful
-soldier has abandoned warlike pursuits for the duties of civil
-administration, and, instead of seeking power by his arms, has devoted
-himself to the improvement of his kingdom by a peaceful policy. Upright
-and active in his conduct, he enforced discipline among his soldiers,
-and so tempered his general kindness by acts of salutary rigor, that
-he was loved as if indulgent, yet obeyed as if severe. He applied
-himself to the revival of trade, the support of manufactures, and the
-encouragement of agriculture.
-
-At the death of this great monarch, in 526, his grandson, Athalaric,
-then only ten years of age, became king. After a nominal reign of eight
-years he died in consequence of his dissipations, and was succeeded by
-Theodatus, the nephew of Theodoric. This prince having attained the
-throne by the murder of Amalasontha, the widow of Theodoric, Justinian
-regarded him as an usurper stained with an atrocious crime, and
-therefore determined to drive him from his throne.
-
-Accordingly, a force of twelve thousand men was despatched to Italy
-under Belisarius. Landing at Catania, in Sicily, they surprised the
-Goths, and had little difficulty in reducing the island. Fixing his
-head quarters at Syracuse, he was making preparations to enter the
-heart of Italy, when a messenger came to inform him that a serious
-insurrection had broken out at Carthage. He immediately set out
-for that place. On his arrival the insurgents fled, but Belisarius
-pursued them, overtook them, and, though their force was four times as
-great as his own, they were completely defeated in a pitched battle.
-Returning to Carthage, the Roman general was informed by a messenger
-from Sicily that a formidable mutiny had broken out in his army there.
-He immediately embarked, and soon restored his troops to order and
-discipline.
-
-The rapid conquest of Sicily by Belisarius struck terror into the heart
-of king Theodatus, who was weak by nature, and depressed by age. He was
-therefore induced to subscribe an ignominious treaty with Justinian,
-some of the conditions of which forcibly display the pusillanimity of
-one emperor, and the vanity of the other. Theodatus promised that no
-statue should be raised to his honor, without another of Justinian at
-his right hand, and that the imperial name should always precede his
-own in the acclamations of the people, at public games and festivals:
-as if the shouts of the rabble were matter for a treaty!
-
-But even this humiliating compact was not sufficient for the grasping
-avarice of Justinian. He required of Theodatus the surrender of his
-throne, which the latter promised; but before the compact could be
-carried into effect, he was driven from his throne, and Vittiges, a
-soldier of humble birth, but great energy and experience, was declared
-his successor. Establishing his head quarters at Ravenna, the Gothic
-king was making preparations to sustain his cause, when Belisarius,
-who had taken Naples, was invited to Rome by Pope Sylverius.
-Taking advantage of this opportunity, he immediately advanced, and
-triumphantly entered the "eternal city."
-
-Rome had now been under the dominion of its Gothic conquerors for
-sixty years, during which it had enjoyed the advantages of peace and
-prosperity. It had been the object of peculiar care, attention, and
-munificence, and had received the respect due to the ancient mistress
-of the world. Still, the people at large looked upon their rulers as
-foreigners and barbarians, and desired the return of the imperial sway,
-seeming to forget that they were preferring a foreign to a native
-government.
-
-Belisarius lost no time in repairing the fortifications of Rome, while
-he actively extended his conquests in the southern parts of Italy. His
-military fame was now a host, and most of the towns submitted, either
-from a preference of the Byzantine government, or respect for the
-military prowess of the Roman general.
-
-The great achievements of Belisarius strike us with wonder, when we
-consider the feeble means with which they were accomplished. His force
-at the outset of his invasion of Italy did not exceed 12,000 men.
-These were now much reduced by the bloody siege of Naples, and by his
-subsequent successes, which made it necessary to supply garrisons for
-the captured towns.
-
-Vittiges, in his Adriatic capital, had spent the winter in
-preparations, and when the spring arrived, he set forth with a powerful
-army. Knowing the small force of Belisarius, he hurried forward towards
-Rome, fearing only that his enemy should escape by flight. The genius
-of Belisarius never shone with greater lustre than at this moment. By
-numerous devices he contrived to harass the Gothic army in their march,
-but owing to the flight of a detachment of his troops whom he had
-stationed at one of the towers, to delay their progress, they at last
-came upon him by surprise.
-
-He was at the moment without the city, attended by only a thousand of
-his guards, when suddenly he found himself surrounded by the van of the
-Gothic cavalry. He now displayed not only the skill of a general, but
-the personal courage and prowess of a soldier. Distinguished by the
-charger whom he had often rode in battle--a bay with a white face--he
-was seen in the foremost ranks, animating his men to the conflict.
-"That is Belisarius," exclaimed some Italian deserters, who knew him.
-"Aim at the bay!" was forthwith the cry through the Gothic squadrons
-and a cloud of arrows was soon aimed at the conspicuous mark. It
-seemed as if the fate of Italy was felt to be suspended upon a single
-life--so fierce was the struggle to kill or capture the Roman leader.
-
-Amid the deadly strife, however, Belisarius remained unhurt; and it is
-said that more of the army fell that day by his single arm, than by
-that of any other Roman. His guards displayed the utmost courage and
-devotion to his person, rallying around him, and raising their bucklers
-on every side, to ward off the showers of missiles that flew with
-deadly aim at his breast. Not less than a thousand of the enemy fell in
-the conflict--a number equal to the whole Roman troop engaged in the
-battle. The Goths at length gave way, and Belisarius, with his guards,
-reentered the city.
-
-On the morrow, March 12th, A. D. 537, the memorable siege of Rome
-began. Finding it impossible, even with their vast army, to encircle
-the entire walls of the city, which were twelve miles in length, the
-Goths selected five of the fourteen gates, and invested them. They
-now cut through the aqueducts, in order to stop the supply of water,
-and several of them, having never been repaired, remain to this day,
-extending into the country, and seeming like the "outstretched and
-broken limbs of an expiring giant."
-
-Though the baths of the city were stopped, the Tiber supplied the
-people with water for all needful purposes. The resources and activity
-of Belisarius knew no bounds: yet he had abundant occasion for all the
-advantages these could supply. The relative smallness of his force,
-the feebleness of the defences the fickleness and final disaffection
-of the people, the intrigues of Vittiges, and his vastly superior army
-constituted a web of difficulties which would have overwhelmed any
-other than a man whose genius could extort good from evil, and convert
-weakness into strength.
-
-For a whole year, the encircling walls of Rome were the scenes of
-almost incessant attack and defence. The fertile genius of Vittiges
-suggested a thousand expedients, and the number as well as courage
-of his troops enabled him to plan and execute a variety of daring
-schemes. Yet he was always baffled by his vigilant rival, and his most
-elaborate devices were rendered fruitless by the superior genius of the
-Roman general. At last, on the 21st of March, A. D. 538, foreseeing
-that Belisarius was about to receive reinforcements, and despairing
-of success in the siege, Vittiges withdrew his army, suffering in his
-retreat a fearful massacre, from a sally of the Roman troops.
-
-Vittiges retired to Ravenna, and Belisarius soon invested it. While
-he was pressing the siege, Justinian, probably alarmed by the threats
-of the Persian king, entered into a treaty with the ambassadors of
-Vittiges, by which he agreed to a partition of Italy, taking one half
-himself, and allowing the Gothic king to retain the other portion.
-Belisarius refused to ratify this treaty, and soon after, was pressed
-by the Goths to become their king. Vittiges even joined in this
-request, and Belisarius had now the easy opportunity of making himself
-the emperor of the West, without the remotest fear of failure. But
-he was too deeply impressed with his oath of allegiance, to allow
-him to entertain a treacherous design toward his sovereign, and he
-rejected the tempting offer. The merit of his fidelity under these
-circumstances, is heightened by the consideration that he had refused
-the ratification of the treaty, and was well aware that reproach, or
-even hostility, might await him at Constantinople.
-
-Soon after these events, Ravenna capitulated, and Belisarius became
-its master. His fame was now at its height; but this only served to
-inflame the envy of his rivals at Constantinople. These, insidiously
-working upon the suspicious temper of Justinian, induced him to command
-the return of Belisarius to Constantinople. With prompt obedience,
-he embarked at Ravenna, carrying with him his Gothic captives and
-treasure. After five years of warfare, from the foot of Etna to the
-banks of the Po, during which he had subdued nearly the same extent
-of country which had been acquired by the Romans in the first five
-centuries from the building of that city, he arrived at Constantinople.
-
-The voice of envy was silenced for a time, and Belisarius was appointed
-to the command of the army now about to proceed against the Persians.
-The captive monarch of the Goths was received with generous courtesy
-by the emperor, and an ample estate was allotted to him in Asia.
-Justinian gazed with admiration on the strength and beauty of the
-Gothic captives--their fair complexions, auburn locks, and lofty
-stature. A great number of these, attracted by the fame and character
-of Belisarius, enlisted in his guards.
-
-In the spring of the year 540, Chosroes or Nushirvan, the Persian king,
-invaded the Roman provinces in the east. The next year Belisarius
-proceeded against him, and took his station at Dara. Here, instead of
-a well-appointed army, he found only a confused and discordant mass
-of undisciplined men. After various operations, being baffled by the
-treachery or incapacity of his subalterns, he was obliged to retreat,
-and closed a fruitless campaign, by placing his men in winter quarters.
-
-Being recalled to Constantinople, he went thither, but took the field
-early in the spring, with the most powerful army he had ever commanded.
-Nushirvan advanced into Syria, but, thwarted by the masterly manoeuvres
-of Belisarius, he was at last obliged to retreat. Soon after, the Roman
-general being again recalled by Justinian, the most fatal disasters
-befel the Roman army.
-
-During these Persian campaigns, the political security, as well as the
-domestic happiness of Belisarius, were shaken by the misconduct of his
-wife. She had long been engaged in an intrigue with Theodosius, the
-young soldier newly baptized as an auspicious omen in the galley of the
-general, upon his departure for Africa. Though told of this, Belisarius
-had been pacified by the protestations and artifices of Antonina; but
-while he was absent in Asia Minor, she, being left in Constantinople,
-pursued her licentious career with little scruple.
-
-Her son Photius, a gallant young soldier, being a check upon her
-conduct, became the object of her hatred. While at the distance of a
-thousand miles, during the Persian campaign, he still experienced the
-malignant influence of her intrigues, and urged by a sense of duty
-to his step-father, made him acquainted with his mother's depravity.
-When she afterwards joined her husband on the frontier, he caused her
-to be imprisoned, and sent Photius towards Ephesus to inflict summary
-punishment upon Theodosius. The latter was taken captive by Photius,
-and borne to Cilicia.
-
-Antonina, by her convenient intrigues in behalf of Theodora, had laid
-her under great obligations, and obtained the greatest influence
-over her. The empress, therefore, now interfered to save her friend.
-Positive injunctions were sent to Cilicia, and both Photius and
-Theodosius were brought to Constantinople. The former was cast into
-a dungeon and tortured at the rack; the latter was received with
-distinction; but he soon expired from illness. Photius, after a third
-escape from prison, proceeded to Jerusalem, where he took the habit of
-a monk, and finally attained the rank of abbot.
-
-Belisarius and Antonina were summoned to Constantinople, and the
-empress commanded the injured husband to abstain from the punishment
-of his wife. He obeyed this order of his sovereign. She next required
-a reconciliation at his hands; but he refused to comply with a demand
-which no sovereign had a right to make. He, therefore, remained
-at Constantinople, under the secret displeasure of Theodora and
-Justinian, who only wanted some plausible pretext to accomplish his
-ruin.
-
-The invasion of Nushirvan, in the ensuing spring impelled the
-terrified emperor to lay aside his animosity, and restore the hero
-to the direction of the eastern armies; but in this campaign, his
-former offence was aggravated, and the glory of saving the East was
-outweighed by the guilt of frankness. Justinian was recovering from a
-dangerous illness; a rumor of his death had reached the Roman camp, and
-Belisarius gave an opinion in favor of the emperor's nearest kinsman
-as his successor, instead of acknowledging the pretensions of Theodora
-to the throne. This declaration inflamed with equal anger the aspiring
-wife and the uxorious husband.
-
-Buzes, the second in command, who had concurred in these views, was
-confined in a subterranean dungeon, so dark that the difference of day
-and night was never apparent to its inmate. Belisarius himself was
-recalled, with flattering professions of confidence and friendship,
-lest resentment should urge him to rebellion; but on his arrival at
-Constantinople, the mask was thrown aside; he was degraded from the
-rank of general of the East; a commission was despatched into Asia to
-seize his treasures; and his personal guards, who had followed his
-standard through so many battles, were removed from his command.
-
-It was with mingled feelings of compassion and surprise, that the
-people beheld the forlorn appearance of the general as he entered
-Constantinople, and rode along the streets, with a small and squalid
-train. Proceeding to the gates of the palace, he was exposed during
-the whole day to the scoffs and insults of the rabble. He was received
-by the emperor and Theodora with angry disdain, and when he withdrew,
-in the evening, to his lonely palace, he frequently turned round,
-expecting to see the appointed assassins advancing upon him.
-
-In the evening, after sunset, a letter was brought him from Theodora,
-declaring that his life was granted and a portion of his fortune spared
-at the intercession of his wife, and she trusted that his future
-conduct would manifest his gratitude to his deliverer. The favorable
-moments of surprise and gratitude were improved by Antonina with
-her usual skill. Thus, by the artifices of two designing women, the
-conqueror of armies was subdued, and Belisarius once more became the
-duped and submissive husband.
-
-A fine of three hundred pounds weight of gold was levied upon the
-property of Belisarius, and he was suffered for many months to languish
-in obscurity. In 544, however, he was appointed to the command of
-the war in Italy, whither he soon proceeded. Here, in his operations
-against far superior forces, he displayed the same genius as before,
-and in February, 547, he again entered Rome. He pursued the war with
-various fortune; but at last, finding his means entirely inadequate
-to the necessities of the contest, he begged of the emperor either
-reinforcements or recall. Engrossed by religious quarrels, Justinian
-took the easier course, and adopted the latter. Thus, after having
-desolated Italy with all the horrors of war for several years, he now
-abandoned it, from mere weakness and caprice.
-
-Belisarius returned to Constantinople, and for several years his
-life affords no remarkable occurrence. He continued in the tranquil
-enjoyment of opulence and dignities; but, in the year 559, various
-warlike tribes beyond the Danube, known under the general name of
-Bulgarians, marched southward, and desolated several provinces by
-sword, fire, and plunder. Zabergan, their enterprising leader, having
-passed the frozen Danube in the winter, detached one portion of his
-army for the pillage of Greece, and the other against the capital.
-
-So sudden and bold an aggression filled Constantinople with helpless
-and despairing terror. The people and the senators were agitated with
-fear, and the emperor sat trembling in his palace. In this general
-confusion and affright, all eyes were turned with hope to the conqueror
-of Africa and Italy. Though his constitution was broken by his military
-labors, his heart was alive to the call of his country, and Belisarius
-prepared to crown his glorious life by a last and decisive battle. He
-resumed his rusty armor, collected a handful of his scattered veterans,
-and in the return of martial spirit he seemed to shake off the weakness
-of decrepitude.
-
-Sallying from the city with three hundred mounted men, he met Zabergan
-at the head of two thousand cavalry. Selecting a favorable position, he
-withstood the onset, and, seeming to recover the powers of his youth,
-he astonished all around him by his intrepidity and skill. After a
-severe and bloody struggle, the Bulgarians were driven back in the
-utmost disorder; four hundred fell on the field, and Zabergan himself
-escaped with difficulty. The whole army of barbarians, amounting to
-many thousands, were seized with contagious fear, raised their camp,
-and retreated to the north.
-
-Belisarius was preparing for a close pursuit, when again his enemies
-awaked the suspicions of Justinian by suggesting that he was aiming
-at popular favor with disloyal views. The enthusiastic praises of
-his heroic conduct, by the people, turned even the emperor's heart
-to jealousy, and he chose rather to purchase the departure of the
-barbarians by tribute, than to permit Belisarius to obtain new laurels
-by chastising their audacity.
-
-From this period, Belisarius continued under the displeasure of
-Justinian, whose suspicious temper seemed to grow more virulent as his
-faculties sunk in the dotage of years. In 563, several conspiracies
-against the life of Justinian were detected, and under torture, some of
-the domestics of Belisarius accused their master of participation. This
-testimony, disproved by the long life and the habitually submissive
-loyalty of Belisarius, was sufficient for his conviction. He was
-stripped of his fortune, deprived of his guards, and detained as a
-close prisoner in his palace.
-
-The other conspirators were condemned and executed; but, in
-consideration of the past services of Belisarius, the decree of death
-was changed for that of blindness, and his eyes were accordingly put
-out.[3] He was now restored to liberty, but, deprived of all means
-of subsistence, he was compelled to beg his bread before the gates of
-the convent of Laurus. There he stood with a wooden platter which he
-held out for charity, exclaiming to the passers-by, "Give a penny to
-Belisarius the general!"
-
-The affecting scene was long impressed upon the recollection of the
-people; and it would seem that this spectacle of persecuted merit
-aroused some dangerous feelings of indignation and pity, and he was,
-therefore, removed from public view. Belisarius was brought back to his
-former palace, and a portion of his treasures was allotted for his use.
-His death, which was doubtless hastened by the grief and hardships of
-his lot, occurred in 565; and Antonina, who survived him, devoted the
-remains of her life and fortune to the cloister.
-
-In person, Belisarius was tall and commanding; his features regular
-and noble. When he appeared in the streets of Constantinople, he never
-failed to attract the admiration of the people. As a military leader,
-he was enterprising, firm, and fearless. His conception was clear,
-and his judgment rapid and decisive. His conquests were achieved with
-smaller means than any other of like extent recorded in history. He
-experienced reverses in the field; but never did he fail without
-strong and sufficient reason. His superior tactics covered his defeats,
-retrieved his losses, and prevented his enemies from reaping the fruits
-of victory. Never, even in the most desperate emergencies, was he known
-to lose his courage or presence of mind.
-
-Though living in a barbarous and dissolute age, Belisarius possessed
-many shining virtues. In the march of his armies, he would avoid the
-trampling of the corn-fields, nor would he allow his soldiers even to
-gather apples from the trees without making payment to the villagers.
-After a victory, it was his first care to extend mercy and protection
-to the vanquished. The gift of a golden bracelet or collar rewarded
-any valorous achievement among his troops; the loss of a horse or
-weapon was immediately supplied from his private funds; the wounded
-ever found in him a father and a friend. To all, he was open and easy
-of access, and by his courteous demeanor often comforted, where he
-could not relieve. From his generosity, one would have deemed him rich;
-from his manners, poor. His private virtues promoted and confirmed the
-discipline of his soldiers. None ever saw him flushed with wine, nor
-could the charms of his fairest captives overcome his conjugal fidelity.
-
-But the most remarkable feature in the character of Belisarius is his
-steadfast loyalty, and the noble magnanimity with which he overlooked
-the suspicious meanness and ingratitude of his sovereign. It is
-impossible to find in history another instance of an individual so
-strongly induced to rebellion by treacherous treatment or the part of
-his country, and the opportunity of placing a crown upon his head
-without the risk of effectual opposition, who refused, from patriotic
-motives, the double temptation.
-
-That Belisarius had faults, is not to be denied. His blind submission
-to his wife displayed great weakness, and led him into most of the
-errors which are charged upon his public career. In his last campaign
-in Italy, his wealth having been exhausted by an enormous fine, he
-endeavored to repair his losses by imitating the rapacity universally
-practised by other commanders of that period. He thus inflicted upon
-his memory a serious stain, and showed that, however he was exalted
-above the age, he was still a man. His whole career affords a striking
-moral, coinciding with the emphatic language of Scripture, "Put not thy
-trust in princes."
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Footnote 1: These were a digest of the civil law of Rome, made by the
-order of Justinian, and have been preserved to our time. They contained
-five hundred and thirty-four decisions or judgments of lawyers, to
-which the emperor gave the force of law. The compilation consists of
-fifty books, and has contributed to save Justinian's name from the
-contempt and reproach which had otherwise been heaped upon it.]
-
-[Footnote 2: A space where the chariot races were exhibited.]
-
-[Footnote 3: This portion of the story of Belisarius has been the
-subject of controversy. It has been doubted by Gibbon and other
-historians, whether the infliction of blindness upon Belisarius and
-his beggary, were not mere traditionary fables. But Lord Mahon, in his
-excellent life of the great Roman general from which we have drawn the
-preceding account, appears to have established their authenticity. The
-beautiful tale of Belisarius by Marmontel, is fictitious in many of its
-details.]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                       ATTILA, KING OF THE HUNS
-
-
-This renowned barbarian was the son of Mandras, and of a royal line. He
-served in the army of his uncle, Roas, who was king of the Huns. At his
-death, in 433, he succeeded him, sharing the throne with his brother
-Bleda. The Huns at this period were very numerous and warlike. They
-extended over the southern part of Russia, and a considerable portion
-of the present empire of Austria. Attila's kingdom lay between the
-Carpathian mountains and the Danube, and was called Pannonia.
-
-At this period, the Roman empire had been for more than a century
-divided into the Eastern and Western empire. Theodosius II. was
-now emperor of the former, and Constantinople its capital, while
-Valentinian III. was emperor of the latter, and Rome, or Ravenna, the
-seat of his government.
-
-Both branches of the Roman empire were now sunk in the lap of luxury.
-They were spread over with splendid cities, and enriched with all the
-refinements of art, and all the spoils gathered from every quarter
-of the world. These offered a tempting inducement to the fierce and
-hungry barbarians of the north. Alaric[4] had shown the way to Rome a
-few years before, and taught the weakness of the queen of the world.
-Constantinople was not likely to be an inferior or more inaccessible
-prize. Attila's dominions bordered upon those of the two empires, and
-the distance to either capital was not more than five or six hundred
-miles.
-
-Among the first achievements of the two brothers, they threatened
-the Eastern empire with their armies, and twice compelled the weak
-Theodosius to purchase peace on humiliating terms. They then extended
-their dominions both east and west, until they reigned over the whole
-country from the Baltic to the Caspian Sea.
-
-Attila was regarded by the Huns as their bravest warrior, and most
-skilful general. He performed such feats of valor, and success so
-uniformly attended his career, that the ignorant and superstitious
-people were inclined to think him more than mortal. He took advantage
-of this feeling, and pretended that he had found the sword of their
-tutelar god, and that with this he intended to conquer the whole earth.
-Being unwilling to hold a divided sceptre, he caused his brother Bleda
-to be murdered, and when he gave out that it was done by the command of
-God, the event was celebrated with the greatest demonstrations of joy.
-
-Being now sole master of a warlike people, his ambition made him the
-terror of all the surrounding nations. It was a saying of his own, that
-no grass grew where his horse had set his foot, and the title of the
-"Scourge of God" was assigned to him, as characterizing his career.
-He extended his dominions over the whole of Germany and Scythia. The
-Vandals, the Ostrogoths, and a part of the Franks, acknowledged his
-sway, and both the Eastern and Western empires paid him tribute.
-Historians tell us that his army amounted to 700,000 men.
-
-Having heard of the riches of Persia, he directed his march against it.
-Being defeated on the plains of Armenia, he turned back, to satisfy
-his desire of plunder in the dominions of the emperor of the East.
-Regardless of existing treaties, he laid waste the whole country from
-the Black Sea to the Adriatic. In three bloody engagements, he defeated
-the troops sent against him by Theodosius. Thrace, Macedonia, and
-Greece, were overrun by the savage robber, and seventy flourishing
-cities were utterly destroyed.
-
-Theodosius was now at the mercy of the victor and was obliged to sue
-for peace. One of the servants of Attila, named Edekon, was tempted
-by an agent of the emperor to undertake the assassination of his
-master, on his return to Pannonia; but, at the moment he was about to
-accomplish his object, his courage failed him, he fell on his knees
-before Attila, confessed his criminal design, and disclosed the plot.
-Constantinople trembled at the idea of Attila's revenge; but he was
-contented with upbraiding Theodosius, and the execution of Crisapheus,
-who had drawn his servant into the scheme.
-
-Priscus, a Roman historian, who was an ambassador to Attila in the
-year 448, gives an interesting account of the king and his people. He
-found the palace in the midst of a large village. The royal edifice was
-entirely of wood: the houses of the Huns were also of wood, sometimes
-mixed with mortar made of earth. The only stone building was a set
-of baths. The wooden pillars of the palace were carved and polished,
-and the ambassador could discover some evidence of taste in the
-workmanship, as well as barbarous magnificence in the display of rich
-spoils taken from more civilized nations.
-
-They were soon invited to a sumptuous entertainment, in which the
-guests were all served upon utensils of silver and gold; but a dish of
-plain meat was set before the king on a wooden trencher, of which he
-partook very sparingly. His beverage was equally simple and frugal. The
-rest of the company were excited into loud and frequent laughter by
-the fantastic extravagances of two buffoons; but Attila preserved his
-usually inflexible gravity. A secret agent in the embassy was charged
-with the disgraceful task of procuring the assassination of this
-formidable enemy. Attila was acquainted with this, which was the real
-object of the mission, but he dismissed the culprit, as well as his
-innocent companions, uninjured. The emperor Theodosius was compelled,
-however, to atone for his base attempt, by a second embassy, loaded
-with magnificent presents, which the king of the Huns was prevailed
-upon to accept. Theodosius died not long after, and was succeeded by
-the more virtuous and able Marcian.
-
-Attila was at this time collecting an enormous army, and threatened
-both divisions of the Roman world at once. To each emperor he sent
-the haughty message, "Attila, my lord and thy lord, commands thee
-immediately to prepare a palace for his reception!" To this insult, he
-added a demand upon the emperor for the remainder of the tribute due
-from Theodosius. Marcian's reply was in the same laconic style: "I have
-gold for my friends, and steel for my enemies!"
-
-Attila determined to make war first on Valentinian. Honoria, the
-emperor's sister, who had been guilty of some youthful error, and was
-consequently confined in a convent, had sent Attila a ring, offering to
-become his wife. It was to claim her and half the empire as her dower,
-that Attila professed to be making these formidable preparations. At
-last, he appeared to accept the excuse of Theodosius for not allowing
-his sister to become his wife, and speedily marched with a prodigious
-force to the westward. He set out in midwinter, and did not pause
-till he reached the Rhine. Having defeated the Franks, he cut down
-whole forests to make rafts for his army to cross the river, and now,
-throwing off the mask, entered Gaul, a dependency of Rome.
-
-The horrors of his march it is scarcely possible to describe.
-Everything was destroyed that came in his way. Before him were terror
-and despair; behind, a broad track marked with desolation, ruin and
-death. He proceeded in his victorious career, till he reached the
-ancient town of Orleans. Here an obstinate defence was offered. The
-combined armies of Rome, under the celebrated �tius, and the Goths
-under Theodoric, attacked him here, and compelled him to raise the
-siege. He retreated to Champaign, and waited for them in the plain of
-Chalons. The two armies soon approached each other.
-
-Anxious to know the event of the coming battle, Attila consulted
-the sorcerers, who foretold his defeat. Though greatly alarmed, he
-concealed his feelings, and rode among his warriors, animating them for
-the impending struggle. Inflamed by his ardor, the Huns were eager for
-the contest. Both armies fought bravely. At length the ranks of the
-Romans and Gauls were broken, and Attila felt assured of victory, when,
-suddenly, Thorismond, son of Theodoric, swept down like an avalanche
-from the neighboring heights upon the Huns. He threw them into
-disorder, spread death through their ranks, and Attila, pressed on all
-sides, escaped to his camp with the utmost difficulty.
-
-This was the bloodiest battle ever fought in Europe, for 106,000
-men lay dead on the field. Theodoric was slain, and Attila, who had
-gathered his treasures into a heap, in order to burn himself with them
-in case he was reduced to extremities, was left unexpectedly to make
-his retreat.
-
-Having returned to Hungary and reinforced his army, he proceeded to
-repeat his demand for the hand of Honoria. He mastered the unguarded
-passes of the Alps, and, in 452, carried devastation into the north
-of Italy. At last he approached the city of Rome, when a supplicatory
-embassy met him, Pope Leo I. being at its head. The eloquence of the
-pontiff, united to prudential considerations, prevailed, and the city
-was saved; Attila returning to his home beyond the Danube. The Romans
-looked upon this preservation as a miracle, and they have preserved
-a legend that St. Peter and St. Paul appeared to the barbarian, and
-threatened him with instant death, if he did not accept the proffered
-terms.
-
-Attila now soothed himself by adding the beautiful Ildico to his
-numerous wives, whom he wedded with all due ceremony. On this occasion
-he gave himself up to licentiousness, but in the morning after his
-marriage, he was found dead in his tent, and covered with blood, Ildico
-sitting veiled by his side. The story went abroad that he had burst
-a blood-vessel, and died in consequence, but a common suspicion is
-entertained that he was stabbed by his bride.
-
-The news of Attila's death spread terror and sorrow among his army.
-His body was enclosed in three coffins,--the first of gold, the second
-of silver, and the third of iron. The captives who dug his grave were
-strangled, so that the place of his burial might not be known.
-
-In person, Attila was marked with the Tartar characteristics, from
-which he, as well as the people of his kingdom, were descended. He was
-low in stature, broad-chested, and of a powerful frame. He was dark
-complexioned, with a few straggling hairs for beard, a flat nose, large
-head, and small eyes. No one could look upon him, and not feel that
-he had come into the world to disturb it. The number of persons slain
-in his battles amounted to hundreds of thousands, yet to so little
-purpose, that his empire was immediately dismembered upon his death.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Footnote 4: Alaric was one of the most eminent of those northern
-chiefs who successively overran Italy, during the decline of the
-Western empire, and the first who gained possession of imperial Rome.
-He learned the art of war under the celebrated emperor of the East,
-Theodosius, who curbed the depredations of the Goths. At his death,
-Alaric became their leader, and overran Greece, A. D. 396. In the year
-403, he entered Italy with a powerful army, but was defeated, and
-retired to his own country. In 410, he again entered Italy, besieged
-and took Rome, which he entered at midnight, and gave it up to plunder
-and pillage for six days. He now led his troops into the southern
-provinces of Italy, but died suddenly while he was besieging Cozenza.
-He was buried in the channel of the river Bucente, in Naples, that his
-remains might not be found by the Romans. To perform the burial, the
-water of the river was turned out of its course.]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                                 NERO.
-
-
-Claudius C�sar Nero was son of Caius Domitius �nobarbus and Agrippina,
-the daughter of Germanicus and wife of the Emperor Claudius, after the
-death of her first husband. He was adopted by the Emperor Claudius,
-A.D. 50, and when he was murdered by his wife, four years after, Nero
-succeeded him on the throne. He possessed excellent talents, and
-was carefully educated by Seneca and Burrhus. The beginning of his
-reign was marked by acts of the greatest kindness and condescension,
-by affability, complaisance and popularity. The object of his
-administration seemed to be the good of his people; and when he
-was desired to sign his name for the execution of a malefactor, he
-exclaimed, "I wish to heaven I could not write!" He appeared to be an
-enemy to flattery, and when the senate had liberally commended the
-wisdom of his government, Nero desired them to keep their praises till
-he deserved them.
-
-But these promising virtues were soon discovered to be artificial,
-and Nero displayed the real propensities of his nature. He delivered
-himself from the sway of his mother, and at last ordered her to be
-assassinated. This unnatural act of barbarity shocked some of the
-Romans; but Nero had his devoted adherents; and when he declared
-that he had taken away his mother's life to save himself from ruin,
-the senate applauded his measures, and the people signified their
-approbation. Even Burrhus and Seneca, Nero's advisers, either
-counselled or justified his conduct. Many of his courtiers shared the
-unhappy fate of Agrippina, and Nero sacrificed to his fury or caprice
-all such as obstructed his pleasures, or stood in the way of his
-inclinations.
-
-In the night he generally sallied out from his palace, to visit the
-meanest taverns and the scenes of debauchery in which Rome abounded.
-In his nocturnal riots he was fond of insulting the people in the
-streets, and on one occasion, an attempt to offer violence to the wife
-of a Roman senator nearly cost him his life. He also turned actor, and
-publicly appeared on the Roman stage, in the meanest characters. He had
-an absurd passion to excel in music, and to conquer the disadvantages
-of a hoarse, rough voice, he moderated his meals, and often passed the
-day without eating.
-
-The celebrity of the Olympic games having attracted his notice, he
-passed into Greece, and presented himself as a candidate for the
-public honors. He was defeated in wrestling, but the flattery of the
-spectators adjudged him the victory, and Nero returned to Rome with all
-the pomp and splendor of an eastern conqueror, drawn in the chariot
-of Augustus, and attended by a band of musicians, actors, and stage
-dancers from every part of the empire.
-
-These private and public amusements of the emperor were comparatively
-innocent; his character was injured, but not the lives of the people.
-His conduct, however, soon became more censurable; he was guilty of
-various acts which cannot be even named with decency. The cruelty of
-his nature was displayed in the sacrifice of his wives Octavia and
-Popp�a; and the celebrated writers, Seneca, Lucan, Petronius, &c.,
-became the victims of his wantonness. The Christians did not escape
-his barbarity. He had heard of the burning of Troy, and as he wished
-to renew that dismal scene, he caused Rome to be set on fire in
-different places. The conflagration became soon universal, and during
-nine successive days the fire was unextinguished. All was desolation;
-nothing was heard but the lamentations of mothers whose children had
-perished in the flames, the groans of the dying, and the continual fall
-of palaces and buildings.
-
-Nero was the only one who enjoyed the general consternation. He placed
-himself on a high tower and he sang on his lyre the destruction
-of Troy; a dreadful scene which his barbarity had realized before
-his eyes. He attempted to avert the public odium from his head, by
-a feigned commiseration of the sufferings of his subjects, and by
-charging the fire upon the Christians. He caused great numbers of them
-to be seized and put to death. Some were covered with the skins of wild
-beasts, and killed by dogs set upon them; others were crucified; others
-were smeared with pitch and burned, at night, in the imperial gardens,
-for the amusement of the people!
-
-Nero began to repair the streets and the public buildings at his own
-expense. He built himself a celebrated palace, which he called his
-golden house. It was profusely adorned with gold and precious stones,
-and with whatever was rare and exquisite. It contained spacious fields,
-artificial lakes, woods, gardens, orchards, and every device that
-could exhibit beauty and grandeur. The entrance to this edifice would
-admit a colossal image of the emperor, one hundred and twenty feet
-high; the galleries were each a mile long, and the whole was covered
-with gold. The roofs of the dining halls represented the firmament, in
-motion as well as in figure, and continually turned round, night and
-day, showering all sorts of perfumes and sweet waters. When this grand
-edifice, which, according to Pliny, extended all round the city, was
-finished, Nero said that he could now lodge like a man!
-
-His profusion was not less remarkable in all his other actions. When
-he went fishing, his nets were made with gold and silk. He never
-appeared twice in the same garment, and when he undertook a voyage,
-there were thousands of servants to take care of his wardrobe. His
-continued debauchery, cruelty, and extravagance at last roused the
-resentment of the people. Many conspiracies were formed against him,
-but they were generally discovered, and such as were accessory,
-suffered the greatest punishments. One of the most dangerous plots
-against Nero's life was that of Piso, from which he was delivered
-by the confession of a slave. The conspiracy of Galba proved more
-successful; for the conspirator, when he was informed that his design
-was known to Nero, declared himself emperor. The unpopularity of Nero
-favored his cause; he was acknowledged by the whole Roman empire, and
-the senate condemned the tyrant, that sat on the throne, to be dragged,
-naked, through the streets of Rome, whipped to death, and afterwards
-to be thrown from the Tarpeian rock, like the meanest malefactor.
-This, however, was not done, for Nero, by a voluntary death, prevented
-the execution of the sentence. He killed himself, A. D. 68, in the
-thirty-second year of his age, after a reign of thirteen years and
-eight months.
-
-Rome was filled with acclamations at the intelligence of this event,
-and the citizens, more strongly to indicate their joy, wore caps such
-as were generally used by slaves who had received their freedom. Their
-vengeance was not only exercised against the statues of the deceased
-tyrant, but his friends were the objects of the public resentment, and
-many were crushed to pieces in such a violent manner, that one of the
-senators, amid the universal joy, said that he was afraid they should
-soon have cause to wish for Nero. The tyrant, as he expired, begged
-that his head might not be cut off from his body and exposed to the
-insolence of an enraged populace, but that the whole might be burned
-on a funeral pile. His request was granted, and his obsequies were
-performed with the usual ceremonies.
-
-Though his death seemed to be the source of universal gladness, yet
-many of his favorites lamented his fall, and were grieved to see
-that their pleasures and amusements were terminated by the death of
-the patron of debauchery and extravagance. Even the king of Parthia
-sent ambassadors to Rome to condole with the Romans, and to beg that
-they would honor and revere the memory of Nero. His statues were
-also crowned with garlands of flowers, and many believed that he was
-not dead, but that he would soon make his appearance and take a due
-vengeance upon his enemies. It will be sufficient to observe, in
-finishing the character of this tyrannical emperor and detestable man,
-that the name of _Nero_ is, even now, the common designation of a
-barbarous and unfeeling oppressor.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                         LUCIUS ANN�US SENECA.
-
-
-This individual, whose "Morals" are so familiar to us, was born
-at Corduba, in Spain, six years before Christ. His father was a
-rhetorician of some celebrity, and a portion of his works has come down
-to our time. While Lucius was yet a child, he removed from Corduba to
-Rome, which henceforward became his residence. The son, possessing
-very promising talents, received the greatest care and attention in
-respect to his education. He was taught eloquence by his father, and
-took lessons in philosophy from the most celebrated masters. According
-to the custom of those who sought to excel in wisdom and knowledge, he
-travelled in Greece and Egypt, after completing his studies, and his
-work entitled _Qu�stiones Naturales_ showed that he made good use of
-his opportunities during this excursion; it also proves that he was
-master of the science of his time.
-
-Young Seneca was fascinated with the philosophical speculations of
-the Stoics,[5] to which sect he became devoted. He even adopted the
-austere modes of life they inculcated, and refused to eat the flesh of
-animals; but when the emperor, Tiberius,[6] threatened to punish some
-Jews and Egyptians for abstaining from certain meats, at the suggestion
-of his father, he departed from this singularity. In compliance with
-his father's advice, who urged upon him the necessity of devoting
-himself to some kind of business, he adopted the profession of an
-advocate.
-
-As a pleader, Seneca appeared to great advantage, and consequently
-excited the envy of Caligula, who aspired to the reputation of an
-orator. Apprehensive of the consequences, he changed his views, and
-became a candidate for the honors and offices of the state. He was made
-pr�tor, under Claudius, but, being charged with a shameful intrigue
-with a lady of rank, he was banished to Corsica. Though his guilt was
-not satisfactorily proved, he continued for five years in exile; during
-which period he wrote a treatise on Consolation. In this, he seems to
-draw contentment and peace from philosophical views, and one would
-fancy that he was elevated by these, above the evils of his condition.
-Yet, unhappily for his reputation in respect to consistency and
-sincerity, history tells us that, at this period, he was suing to the
-emperor in the most abject terms for restitution.
-
-Claudius[7] at length married Agrippina, and Seneca, being recalled,
-was made preceptor of Nero, the son of Agrippina, who was destined to
-become emperor. From the favorable traits of character displayed by
-the pupil of the philosopher in the early part of his career, it might
-seem that Seneca's instructions had exerted a good influence over him.
-But an impartial scrutiny of the events of that period has led to the
-probable conclusion that he was a pander to the worst of Nero's vices.
-It is certain that he acquired immense wealth in a short period of
-time, and it appears that this was obtained through the munificence
-of his royal patron. The latter was avaricious and mercenary, and was
-likely to part with his money only for such things as ministered to his
-voluptuous passions.
-
-The possessions of Seneca were enormous. He had several gardens and
-villas in the country, and a magnificent palace in Rome. This was
-sumptuously furnished, and contained five hundred tables of cedar,
-with feet of ivory, and all of exquisite workmanship. His ready cash
-amounted to about twelve millions of dollars. It appears certain
-that such riches could not have been acquired by means of Seneca's
-precepts; and the inference of many of his contemporaries, as well as
-of posterity, has been, that the virtue which appears so lovely in his
-pages was but the decorous veil of avarice, vice, and crime.
-
-For a period after his accession to the throne, Nero's conduct was
-deserving of praise; but he soon threw off all regard even to decency,
-and launched forth upon that career which has made his name a by-word
-and reproach for all after time. Seneca, being accused of having
-amassed immense wealth by improper means, became greatly alarmed;
-for he knew the tyrant so well as to foresee that, under color of
-this charge, he was very likely to sacrifice him, in order to obtain
-his property. Pretending, therefore, to be indifferent to riches, he
-begged the emperor to accept of his entire fortune, and permit him to
-spend the remainder of his days in the quiet pursuits of philosophy.
-The emperor, with deep dissimulation, refused this offer--no doubt
-intending in some other way to compass the ruin of Seneca.
-
-Aware of his danger, the philosopher now kept himself at home for
-a long period, as if laboring under disease. Some time after, a
-conspiracy for the murder of Nero, headed by Piso, was detected.
-Several of the most noble of the Roman senators were concerned, and
-Seneca's name was mentioned as an accessory. Nero, doubtless glad of an
-opportunity to sacrifice him, now sent a command that he should destroy
-himself.
-
-It has been a question whether Seneca was really concerned in the
-conspiracy of Piso. The proof brought against him was not indeed
-conclusive, but it is obvious that his position might lead him to
-desire the death of the tyrant, as the only means of safety to himself;
-and Seneca's character, unfortunately, is not such as to shield his
-memory against strong suspicion of participation in the alleged crime.
-
-Seneca was at table, with his wife, Paulina, and two of his friends,
-when the messenger of Nero arrived. He heard the words which commanded
-him to take his own life, with philosophic firmness, and even with
-apparent joy. He observed that such a mandate might long have been
-expected from a man who had murdered his own mother and assassinated
-his best friends. He wished to dispose of his possessions as he
-pleased, but his request was refused. When he heard this, he turned to
-those around who were weeping at his fate, and told them, that, since
-he could not leave them what he believed his own, he would leave them
-at least his own life for an example--an innocent conduct, which they
-might imitate, and by which they might acquire immortal fame.
-
-Against their tears and wailings, he exclaimed with firmness, and asked
-them whether they had not learned better to withstand the attacks of
-fortune and the violence of tyranny. As for his wife, he attempted to
-calm her emotions, and when she seemed resolved to die with him, he
-said he was glad to have his example followed with so much constancy.
-Their veins were opened at the same moment; but Nero, who was partial
-to Paulina, ordered the blood to be stopped, and her life was thus
-preserved.
-
-Seneca's veins bled but slowly, and the conversation of his dying
-moments was collected by his friends, and preserved among his works. To
-hasten his death, he drank a dose of poison, but it had no effect, and
-therefore he ordered himself to be carried to a hot bath, to accelerate
-the operation of the draught, and to make the blood flow more freely.
-This was attended with no better success, and, as the soldiers were
-clamorous, he was carried into a stove, and suffocated by the steam.
-Thus he died, in the 66th year of the Christian era.
-
-The death of Seneca has been loudly applauded, and has sometimes been
-pronounced sublime; but this is owing to an ignorance of the time,
-and inattention to Seneca's own doctrines. With the Stoics, death was
-nothing; "It is not an evil, but the absence of all evil." This was
-their creed. With such principles, there could be no fear of death,
-and consequently, we find that courage to die--if it be courage to
-encounter that which is not an evil--was common in Seneca's time. "At
-that period of languor and luxury," says M. Nisard, "of monstrous
-effeminacies, of appetites for which the world could hardly suffice--of
-perfumed baths, of easy and disorderly intrigues, there were daily men
-of all ranks, of all fortunes, of all ages, who released themselves
-from their evils by death. How was it possible for them to avoid
-suicide, with no other consolation than the philosophy of Seneca, and
-his theories on the delights of poverty?
-
-"Marcellinus[8] is attacked with a painful but curable malady. He is
-young, rich, has slaves, friends, everything to make life pleasant: no
-matter, he conceives the fancy of the pleasure of dying. He assembles
-his friends; he consults them as if he were going to marry. He
-discusses with them his project of suicide, and puts it to the vote.
-Some advise him to do as he pleases; but a Stoic, a friend of Seneca's,
-then present, exhorts him bravely to die. His principal reason is that
-he is _ennuy�_. No one contradicts the Stoic. Marcellinus thanks his
-friends, and distributes money to his slaves. He abstains for three
-days from all food, and is then carried into a warm bath, where he
-quickly expires, having muttered some words on the pleasure he felt in
-dying.
-
-"This pleasure was so little of an affectation, so much had it become
-the fashion, that some of the austere Stoics thought themselves bound
-to place certain restrictions upon it. They committed suicide from
-_ennui_, from idleness, from want of patience to cure themselves of
-their ills,--for distraction--much in the same way that they killed
-each other in duels, under Cardinal Richelieu."
-
-Viewed in this light, Seneca's death had nothing in it of the sublime:
-he yielded but to a fashion; he only practised what was common. If he
-sincerely believed his professed creed--that death is the absence
-of all evil--he neither evinced courage nor dignity; if he did not
-believe, then his conduct displayed but the skilful acting of a part,
-and under circumstances which mark him with the deepest hypocrisy.
-
-It is impossible to deny that Seneca's works are full of wisdom, though
-they fall far short of the Christian's philosophy. In his treatise upon
-benefits, for example, we have the following passage:--
-
-"The good will of the benefactor is the fountain of all benefits;
-nay, it is the benefit itself, or, at least, the stamp that makes it
-valuable and current. Some there are, I know, that take the matter
-for the benefit, and tax the obligation by weight and measure. When
-anything is given them, they presently cast it up--'What may such a
-house be worth? such an office? such an estate?' as if that were the
-benefit which is only the sign and mark of it, for the obligation
-rests in the mind, not in the matter; and all those advantages which
-we see, handle, or hold in actual possession, by the courtesy of
-another, are but several modes or ways of explaining and putting the
-good will in execution. There needs no subtlety to prove that both
-benefits and injuries receive their value from the intention, when
-even brutes themselves are able to decide this question. Tread upon a
-dog by chance, or put him in pain upon the dressing of a wound, the
-one he passes by as an accident, and the other, in his fashion, he
-acknowledges as a kindness. But offer to strike at him--though you do
-him no hurt at all--he flies in the face of you, even for the mischief
-that you barely meant him."
-
-This is all just and true: it makes the heart the seat of moral action,
-and thus far coincides with the Christian's philosophy. But if there be
-nothing after death, what sanction has virtue? It may be more beautiful
-than vice, and consequently preferable, just as a sweet perfume is
-more desirable than an offensive odor. It is good taste, therefore,
-to be virtuous. Still, each individual may choose for himself, and
-without future responsibility, for all alike must share the oblivion
-of the tomb. The insufficiency of this philosophy to ensure virtue, is
-attested by the life of Seneca, as well as that of most of his sect. It
-resulted in the grossest hypocrisy; an ostentation of virtue, covering
-up the practice of vice.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Footnote 5: The Stoics were the followers of Zeno, a Greek philosopher
-of Citium. They professed to prefer virtue to everything else, and
-to regard vice as the greatest of evils. They required an absolute
-command over the passions, and maintained the ability of man to attain
-perfection and felicity in this life. They encouraged suicide, and held
-that the doctrine of rewards and punishments was unnecessary to enforce
-virtue upon mankind.]
-
-[Footnote 6: Tiberius succeeded Augustus C�sar, as emperor; at his
-succession he gave promise of a happy reign, but he soon disgraced
-himself by debauchery, cruelty, and the most flagitious excesses. It
-was wittily said of him by Seneca that he was never intoxicated but
-once, for when he became drunk, his whole life was a continued state of
-inebriety. He died A. D. 37, after a reign of twenty-two years, and was
-succeeded by Caligula.
-
-For a brief period, Rome now enjoyed prosperity and peace; but the
-young emperor soon became proud, cruel and corrupt. He caused a temple
-to be erected to himself, and had his own image set in the place of
-Jupiter and the other deities. He often amused himself by putting
-innocent people to death; he attempted to famish Rome, and even wished
-that the Romans had one head, that he might strike it off at a blow! At
-last, weary of his cruelties, several persons formed a conspiracy and
-murdered him, A. D. 41. History does not furnish another instance of so
-great a monster as Caligula.]
-
-[Footnote 7: Claudius succeeded Caligula in 41, and, after a reign of
-thirteen years, he was poisoned by his wife, Agrippina.]
-
-[Footnote 8: Seneca, Ess. lxxvii.]
-
-
-
-
-                                VIRGIL.
-
-
-Mantua, the capital of New Etruria itself built three centuries before
-Rome, had the honor of giving birth to Publius Virgilius Maro. This
-event happened on or near the fifteenth of October, seventy years B.
-C, or during the first consulship of Pompey the Great and Licinius
-Crassus. Who his father was, and even to what country he belonged, has
-been the subject of much dispute. Some assert that he was a potter of
-Andes; but the most probable account is, that he was either a wandering
-astrologer, who practised physic, or a servant to one of this learned
-fraternity. It is observed by Juvenal, that _medicus, magus_ usually
-went together, and that this course of life was principally followed
-by the Greeks and Syrians; to one of these nations, therefore, it
-is presumed, Virgil owes his birth. His mother, Maia, was of good
-extraction, being nearly related to Quintilius Varus, of whom honorable
-mention is made in the history of the second Carthaginian war.
-
-It appears that all due attention was paid to young Virgil's education.
-He passed through his initiatory exercises at Mantua; thence he removed
-to Cremona, and afterwards to Milan. In all these places he prosecuted
-his studies with the most diligent application, associating with the
-eminent professors of every department of science, and devoting whole
-nights to the best Latin and Greek authors. In the latter he was
-greatly assisted by his proximity to Marseilles, the only Greek colony
-that maintained its refinement and purity of language, amidst the
-overwhelming influence of all the barbarous nations that surrounded
-it. At first, he devoted himself to the Epicurean philosophy, but
-receiving no satisfactory reason for its tenets from his master, the
-celebrated Syro, he passed over to the academic school, where physics
-and mathematics became his favorite sciences; and these he continued to
-cultivate, at leisure moments, during his whole life.
-
-At Milan, he composed a great number of verses on various subjects,
-and, in the warmth of early youth, framed a noble design of writing
-an heroic poem, on the Wars of Rome; but, after some attempts, he was
-discouraged from proceeding, by the abruptness and asperity of the old
-Roman names.
-
-It is said that he here formed the plan and collected the materials
-for his principal poems. Some of these he had even begun; but a too
-intense application to his studies, together with abstinence and
-night-watching, had so impaired his health, that an immediate removal
-to a more southern part of Italy was deemed absolutely necessary for
-the preservation of his existence. He fixed upon Naples, and visiting
-Rome in his way, had the honor, through the interest of his kinsman
-and fellow-student, Varus, of being introduced to the emperor,
-Octavius, who received him with the greatest marks of esteem, and
-earnestly recommended his affairs to the protection of Pollio, then
-lieutenant of Cisalpine Gaul, where Virgil's patrimony lay, and who
-generously undertook to settle his domestic concerns. Having this
-assurance, he pursued his journey to Naples. The charming situation
-of this place, the salubrity of the air, and the constant society of
-the greatest and most learned men of the time, who resorted to it,
-not only re-established his health, but contributed to the formation
-of that style and happy turn of verse in which he surpassed all his
-cotemporaries.
-
-To rank among the poets of their country, was, at this time, the
-ambition of the greatest heroes, statesmen, and orators of Rome.
-Cicero, Octavius, Pollio, Julius C�sar, and even the stoical Brutus,
-had been carried away by the impetuosity of the stream; but that genius
-which had never deserted them in the forum, or on the day of battle,
-shrunk dismayed at a comparison with the lofty muse of Virgil; and,
-although they endeavored, by placing their poems in the celebrated
-libraries, to hand them down to posterity, scarcely a single verse of
-these illustrious authors survived the age in which they lived. This
-preponderence of fashion, however, was favorable to Virgil; he had for
-some time devoted himself to the study of the law, and even pleaded one
-cause with indifferent success; but yielding now to the impulse of the
-age and his own genius, he abandoned the profession and resumed with
-increased ardor the cultivation of that talent for which he afterwards
-became so distinguished.
-
-Captivated at an early age by the pastorals of Theocritus, Virgil was
-ambitious of being the primitive introducer of that species of poetry
-among the Romans. His first performance in this way, entitled Alexis,
-is supposed to have appeared when the poet was in his twenty-fifth
-year. Pal�mon, which is a close imitation of the fourth and fifth Idyls
-of Theocritus, was probably his second; but as this period of the life
-of Virgil is enveloped in a considerable degree of obscurity,--few
-writers on the subject having condescended to notice such particulars
-as chronological arrangement,--little more than surmise can be
-offered to satisfy the researches of the curious. The fifth eclogue
-was composed in allusion to the death and deification of C�sar, and
-is supposed to have been written subsequently to Silenus, his sixth
-eclogue. This is said to have been publicly recited on the stage, by
-the comedian Cytheris, and to have procured its author that celebrity
-and applause to which the peculiar beauty and sweetness of the poem so
-justly entitled him.
-
-The fatal battle of Philippi, in which Augustus and Antony were
-victorious, at once annihilated every shadow of liberty in the
-commonwealth. Those veteran legions, who had conquered the world,
-fought no more for the dearest rights of their country. Having been
-once its protectors, they now became its ravagers. As the _amor patria_
-no longer inspired them, the treasury of the Roman empire proved
-inadequate to allay their boundless thirst for wealth. Augustus,
-therefore, to silence their clamors, distributed among them the
-flourishing colony of Cremona, and, to make up the deficiency, added
-part of the state of Mantua. In vain did the miserable mothers, with
-famishing infants at their breasts, fill the forum with their numbers,
-and the air with their lamentations; in vain did the inhabitants
-complain of being driven, like vanquished enemies, from their native
-homes. Such scenes are familiar to the conquerors in a civil war; and
-those legions, which had sacrificed their own and their country's
-liberty, must be recompensed at the expense of justice and the
-happiness of thousands. Virgil, involved in the common calamity, had
-recourse to his old patrons, Pollio and Mec�nas;[9] and, supported
-by them, petitioned Augustus not only for the possession of his own
-property, but for the reinstatement of his countrymen in theirs also;
-which, after some hesitation, was denied, accompanied by a grant for
-the restitution of his individual estate.
-
-Full of gratitude for such favor, Virgil composed his Tityrus, in
-which he has introduced one shepherd complaining of the destruction of
-his farm, the anarchy and confusion of the times; and another rejoicing
-that he can again tune his reed to love amidst his flocks; promising to
-honor, as a superior being, the restorer of his happiness.
-
-Unfortunately for Virgil, his joy was not of long continuance, for, on
-arriving at Mantua, and producing his warrant to Arrius, a captain of
-foot, whom he found in possession of his house, the old soldier was so
-enraged at what he termed the presumption of a poet, that he wounded
-him dangerously with his sword, and would have killed him had he not
-escaped by swimming hastily over the Mincius. Virgil was, therefore,
-compelled to return half the length of Italy, with a body reduced by
-sickness, and a mind depressed by disappointment, again to petition
-Augustus for the restoration of his estate. During this journey, which,
-from the nature of his wound, was extremely slow, he is supposed to
-have written his Moeris, or ninth eclogue; and this conjecture is
-rendered more probable by the want of connexion, perceivable through
-the whole composition--displaying, evidently, the disorder at that time
-predominant in the poet's mind. However, on his arrival at Rome, he had
-the satisfaction to find that effectual orders had been given in his
-behalf, and the farm was resigned into the hands of his procurator or
-bailiff, to whom the above pastoral is addressed.
-
-The Sibylline Oracles, having received information from the Jews that
-a child was to be born, who should be the Saviour of the world, and
-to whom nations and empires should bow with submission, pretended to
-foretell that this event would occur in the year of Rome, 714, after
-the peace concluded between Augustus and Antony. Virgil, viewing this
-prophecy with the vivid imagination of a poet, and willing to flatter
-the ambition of his patron, composed his celebrated eclogue, entitled
-Pollio, in which he supposes the child, who was thus to unite mankind
-and restore the golden age, to be the offspring of Octavia, wife of
-Antony, and half sister to Augustus. In this production, the consul
-Pollio, Octavia, and even the unborn infant, are flattered with his
-usual delicacy; and the rival triumviri, though a short time before in
-open hostility, have the honor of equally sharing the poet's applause.
-
-While Pollio, who seems to have been the most accomplished man of his
-age, and is celebrated as a poet, soldier, orator and historian, was
-engaged in an expedition against the Parthini, whom he subdued, Virgil
-addressed to him his Pharmaceutria, one of the most beautiful of all
-his eclogues, and in imitation of a poem of the same name, by his
-favorite author, Theocritus. This production is the more valuable, as
-it has handed down to posterity some of the superstitious rites of the
-Romans and the heathen notions of enchantment. Virgil himself seems to
-have been conscious of the beauty of his subject, and the dignity of
-the person whom he was addressing; and, accordingly, has given us, by
-the fertility of his genius and the brilliancy of his imagination, some
-of the most sublime images that are to be found in any of the writings
-of antiquity.
-
-By the advice, and indeed at the earnest entreaty of Augustus, Virgil,
-in his thirty-fourth year, retired to Naples, and formed the plan of
-his Georgics: a design as new in Latin verse, as pastorals, before
-his, were in Italy. These he undertook for the interest, and to
-promote the welfare, of his country. As the continual civil wars had
-entirely depopulated and laid waste the land usually appropriated for
-cultivation, the peasants had turned soldiers, and their farms became
-scenes of desolation. Famine and insurrection were the inevitable
-consequences that followed such overwhelming calamities. Augustus,
-therefore, resolved to revive the decayed spirit of husbandry, and
-began by employing Virgil to recommend it with all the insinuating
-charms of poetry. This work took up seven of the most vigorous years of
-his life, and fully answered the expectations of his patron.
-
-Augustus, having conquered his rival, Antony, gave the last wound to
-expiring liberty, by usurping the exclusive government of the Roman
-empire. To reconcile a nation, naturally jealous of its freedom, to
-this, seems to have been the grand object of Virgil, in his �neid. This
-poem was begun in the forty-fifth year of the author's life, and not
-only displays admirable poetical genius, but great political address.
-Not an incident that could in any way tend to flatter the Roman
-people into a submission to the existing government, has escaped his
-penetrating judgment. He traces their origin to the Trojans, and makes
-Augustus a lineal descendant of �neas. At the command of the gods they
-obey him, and in return are promised the empire of the world.
-
-So anxious was Augustus as to the result of this poem, that he insisted
-upon having part of it read before the whole was completed. Gratitude,
-after threats and entreaties had been used in vain, at length induced
-its author to comply; and, knowing that Octavia, who had just lost her
-son, Marcellus, would be present, Virgil fixed upon the sixth book,
-perhaps the finest part of the whole �neid. His illustrious auditors
-listened with all the attention which such interesting narrative and
-eloquent recital demanded, till he came to that beautiful lamentation
-for the death of young Marcellus, and where, after exhausting
-panegyric, he has artfully suppressed the name of its object, till the
-concluding verse:
-
-
-    "Tu Marcellus eris."
-
-
-At these words, Octavia, overcome with surprise and sorrow, fainted
-away; but, on recovering, was so highly gratified at having her son
-thus immortalized, that she presented the poet with ten _sesterces_ for
-each line; amounting, in the whole, to about ten thousand dollars.
-
-Having at length brought his �neid to a conclusion, Virgil proposed
-travelling into Greece, and devoting three years to the correction and
-improvement of his favorite work. Having arrived at Athens, he met with
-Augustus, who was returning from a victorious expedition to the East,
-and who requested the company of the poet back to Italy. The latter
-deemed it his duty to comply; but, being desirous to see as many of
-the Grecian antiquities as the time would allow, went for that purpose
-to Megara. Here he was seized with a dangerous illness, which, from
-neglect, and the agitation of the vessel in returning to Italy, proved
-mortal, at Brundusium. Thus the great poet died on the twenty-second
-of September, nineteen years B. C, and at a period when he had
-nearly completed his fifty-second year. He expired with the greatest
-tranquillity; and his remains, being carried to Naples, were interred
-in a monument, erected at a small distance from the city; where it is
-still shown, with the following inscription, said to have been dictated
-by him on his death-bed:
-
-
-    Mantua me genuit; Calabri rapuere, tenet nunc
-    Parthenope; cecini pascua, rura, duces.
-
-
-In his will he had ordered that the �neid should be burnt, not having
-finished it to his mind; but Augustus wisely forbade the destruction of
-a performance which will perpetuate his name, as one of the greatest
-of poets. It was, therefore, delivered to Varius and Tucca, Virgil's
-intimate friends, with the strictest charge to make no additions, but
-merely to publish it correctly, in the state it then was.
-
-In person, Virgil was tall, and wide-shouldered, of a dark swarthy
-complexion, which probably proceeded from the southern extraction
-of his father; his constitution was delicate, and the most trifling
-fatigue, either from exercise or study, produced violent headache and
-spitting of blood. In temper he was melancholy and thoughtful, loving
-retirement and contemplation. Though one of the greatest geniuses
-of his age, and the admiration of the Romans, he always preserved
-a singular modesty, and lived chastely when the manners of the
-people were extremely corrupt. His character was so benevolent and
-inoffensive, that most of his cotemporary poets, though they envied
-each other, agreed in loving and esteeming him. He was bashful to a
-degree of timidity; his aspect and behavior was rustic and ungraceful;
-yet he was so honored by his countrymen, that once, coming into the
-theatre, the whole audience rose out of respect to him. His fortune was
-large, supposed to be about seventy thousand pounds sterling, besides
-which he possessed a noble mansion, and well-furnished library on the
-Esquiline Mount, at Rome, and an elegant villa in Sicily. Both these
-last, he left to Mec�nas, at his death, together with a considerable
-proportion of his personal property; the remainder he divided between
-his relations and Augustus,--the latter having introduced a politic
-fashion of being in everybody's will, which alone produced a sufficient
-revenue for a prince.
-
-The works of Virgil are not only valuable for their poetic beauties,
-but for their historical allusions and illustrations. We here find a
-more perfect and satisfactory account of the religious customs and
-ceremonies of the Romans, than in any other of the Latin poets, Ovid
-excepted. Everything he mentions is founded upon historical truth.
-He was uncommonly severe in revising his poetry--and often compared
-himself to a bear that licks her cubs into shape.
-
-In his intercourse with society, Virgil was remarkable; his friends
-enjoyed his unbounded confidence, and his library and possessions in
-Rome were so liberally offered for the use of those who needed them,
-as to seem to belong to the public. Amiable and exemplary, however, as
-he was, he had bitter enemies; but their revilings only served to add
-lustre to his name and fame.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Footnote 9: Mec�nas, a celebrated Roman, who distinguished himself
-by his liberal patronage of learned men and letters. His fondness for
-pleasure removed him from the reach of ambition, and he preferred
-to live and die a knight, to all the honors and dignities that the
-Emperor Augustus could heap upon him. The emperor received the private
-admonitions of Mec�nas in the same friendly way in which they were
-given. Virgil and Horace both enjoyed his friendship. He was fond of
-literature, and from the patronage which the heroic and lyric poets of
-the age received from him, patrons of literature have ever since been
-called by his name. Virgil dedicated to him his Georgics and Horace his
-Odes. He died eight years B. C.]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                                CICERO.
-
-
-Marcus Tullius Cicero was born on the 3d of January, 107, B. C. His
-mother, whose name was Helvia, was of an honorable and wealthy family;
-his father, named Marcus, was a wise and learned man of fortune, who
-lived at Apulia. This city was anciently of the Samnites, now part of
-the kingdom of Naples. Here Cicero was born, at his father's country
-seat, which it seems was a most charming residence.
-
-The care which the ancient Romans bestowed upon the education of their
-children was worthy of all praise. Their attention to this, began from
-the moment of their birth. They were, in the first place, committed to
-the care of some prudent matron, of good character and condition, whose
-business it was to form their first habits of acting and speaking; to
-watch their growing passions, and direct them to their proper objects;
-to superintend their sports, and suffer nothing immodest or indecent
-to enter into them, that the mind, preserved in all its innocence,
-and undepraved by the taste of false pleasures, might be at liberty
-to pursue whatever was laudable, and apply its whole strength to that
-profession in which it should desire to excel.
-
-Though it was a common opinion among the Romans that children should
-not be instructed in letters till they were seven years old, yet
-careful attention was paid to their training, even from the age of
-three years. It was reckoned a matter of great importance what kind of
-language they were first accustomed to hear at home, and in what manner
-their nurses, and even their fathers and mothers spoke, since their
-first habits were then formed, either of a pure or corrupt elocution.
-The two Gracchi were thought to owe that elegance of speaking for which
-they were distinguished, to their mother, Cornelia, who was a very
-accomplished woman and remarkable for the purity of her diction, as
-well in speaking as writing.
-
-Young Cicero experienced the full advantage of these enlightened views,
-in his childhood. When he was of sufficient age to enter upon a regular
-course of study, his father removed to Rome, and placed him in a public
-school, under an eminent Greek master. Here he gave indications of
-those shining abilities, which rendered him afterwards so illustrious.
-His school-fellows carried home such stories of his extraordinary
-powers, that their parents were often induced to visit the school, for
-the sake of seeing a youth of such endowments.
-
-Encouraged by the promising genius of his son Cicero's father spared no
-cost or pains to improve it by the help of the ablest professors. Among
-other eminent instructors, he enjoyed the teaching of the poet Archias.
-Under this master, he applied himself chiefly to poetry, to which he
-was naturally addicted and made such proficiency in it, that, while
-he was still a boy, he composed and published a poem, called Glaucus
-Pontius.
-
-After finishing the course of juvenile studies, it was the custom to
-change the dress of the boy for that of the man, and take what they
-called the _manly gown_, or the ordinary robe of the citizen. This was
-an occasion of rejoicing, for the youth thus passed from the power of
-his tutor into a state of greater liberty. He was at the same time
-introduced into the forum, or great square of the city, where the
-assemblies of the people were held. Here also, they were addressed
-by the magistrates, and here all the public pleadings and judicial
-transactions took place.
-
-When Cicero was sixteen years old, he was introduced to this place,
-with all customary solemnity. He was attended by the friends and
-dependants of the family, and after divine rites were performed in
-the capital, he was committed to the special protection of Q. Mucius
-Sc�vola, the principal lawyer as well as statesman of that age.
-
-Young Cicero made good use of the advantages he enjoyed. He spent
-almost his whole time in the society of his patron, carefully
-treasuring up in his memory the wisdom that fell from his lips. After
-his death, he came under the instruction of another of the same
-family--Sc�vola, the high priest, a person remarkable for his probity
-and skill in the law.
-
-The legal profession, as well as that of arms and eloquence, was a sure
-recommendation to the first honors of the republic; for it appears to
-have been the practice of many of the most eminent lawyers to give
-their advice gratis to all that asked it. It was the custom of the old
-senators, eminent for their wisdom and experience, to walk up and down
-the forum in the morning, freely offering their assistance to all who
-had occasion to consult them, not only in cases of law, but in relation
-to their private affairs. At a later period, they used to sit at home,
-with their doors open, upon a kind of throne, or raised seat, giving
-access and audience to all who might come.
-
-It is not surprising that a profession thus practised should be honored
-among the Roman people, nor is it wonderful that Cicero's ambitious
-mind should have been attracted by so obvious a road to honor and
-preferment. But his views were not satisfied with being a mere lawyer.
-He desired especially to be an orator; and, conceiving that all kinds
-of knowledge would be useful in such a profession, he sought every
-opportunity to increase his stores of information. He also attended
-constantly at the forum, to hear the speeches and pleadings; he
-perused the best authors with care, so as to form an elegant style;
-and cultivated poetry, for the purpose of adding elegance and grace to
-his mind. While he was thus engaged, he also studied philosophy, and,
-for a time, was greatly pleased with Ph�drus, the Epicurean, who then
-gave lessons at Rome. Though he retained his affection for the amiable
-philosopher, Cicero soon rejected his system as fallacious.
-
-It was always a part of the education of the young gentlemen of Rome,
-to learn the art of war by personal service, under some general of
-name and experience. Cicero accordingly took the opportunity to make
-a campaign with Strabo, the father of Pompey the Great. During this
-expedition, he manifested the same diligence in the army that he had
-done in the forum, to observe everything that passed. He sought to be
-always near the person of the general, that nothing of importance might
-escape his notice.
-
-Returning to Rome, Cicero pursued his studies as before, and about
-this time, Molo, the Rhodian, one of the most celebrated teachers of
-eloquence of that age, coming to the city to deliver lectures upon
-oratory, he immediately took the benefit of his instructions, and
-pursued his studies with ceaseless ardor. His ambition received an
-impulse at this time, from witnessing the fame of Hortensius, who made
-the first figure at the bar, and whose praises fired him with such
-emulation, that, for a time, he scarcely allowed himself rest from his
-studies, either day or night.
-
-He had in his own house a Greek preceptor, who instructed him in
-various kinds of learning, but more particularly in logic, to which
-he paid strict attention. He, however, never suffered a day to pass,
-without some exercise in oratory, particularly that of declaiming,
-which he generally performed with some of his fellow-students. He
-sometimes spoke in Latin, but more frequently in Greek, because the
-latter furnished a greater variety of elegant expressions, and because
-the Greek masters were far the best, and could not correct and improve
-their pupils, unless they declaimed in that language.
-
-Cicero had now passed through that course of discipline, which, in his
-treatise upon the subject, he lays down as necessary for the formation
-of an accomplished orator. He declares that no man should pretend to
-this, without being acquainted with everything worth being known, in
-art and nature; that this is implied in the very name of an orator,
-whose profession is to speak upon every subject proposed to him, and
-whose eloquence, without knowledge, would be little better than the
-prattle and impertinence of children.
-
-He had learnt grammar and the languages from the ablest teachers,
-passed through the studies of humanity and the polite letters with
-the poet Archias been instructed in philosophy by the principal
-philosophers of each sect--Ph�drus the epicurean, Philo the academic,
-Diodorus the Stoic--and acquired a thorough knowledge of the law from
-the greatest jurists and statesmen of Rome--the two Sc�volas.
-
-These accomplishments he regarded but as subservient to the object
-on which his ambition was placed,--the reputation of an orator. To
-qualify himself, therefore, particularly for this, he had attended
-the pleadings of the greatest speakers of his time, heard the daily
-lectures of the most eminent orators of Greece, constantly written
-compositions at home, and declaimed them under the correction of these
-masters.
-
-That he might lose nothing which would in any degree improve and polish
-his style, he spent the intervals of his leisure in the company of
-ladies, especially those who were remarkable for elegant conversation,
-and whose fathers had been distinguished for their eloquence. While he
-studied the law, therefore, under Sc�vola, the augur, he frequently
-conversed with his wife, L�lia, whose discourse he says was tinctured
-with all the eloquence of her father, L�lius, the most polished orator
-of his time. He also frequented the society of her daughter, Mucia, as
-well as that of two of her granddaughters, who all excelled in elegance
-of diction, and the most exact and delicate use of language.
-
-It is impossible not to admire the noble views which Cicero had formed
-of the profession to which he was to devote his life. Nor can we
-withhold praise for the diligence, energy and judgment with which he
-trained himself for entering upon the theatre of his ambition. If in
-all respects he is not to be regarded as a model for imitation, still,
-his example is thus far worthy of emulation to all those who seek to
-enjoy a virtuous and lasting fame.
-
-Thus adorned and accomplished, Cicero, at the age of twenty-six years,
-presented himself at the bar, and was soon employed in several private
-causes. His first case of importance was the defence of S. Roscius, of
-Ameria, which he undertook in his twenty-seventh year; the same age at
-which Demosthenes distinguished himself at Athens.
-
-The case of Roscius was this. His father was killed in the recent
-proscription of Sylla, and his estate, worth about �60,000 sterling,
-was sold, among the confiscated estates of the proscribed, for a
-trifling sum, to L. Cornelius Chrysogonus, a young favorite slave, whom
-Sylla had made free, and who, to secure possession of it, accused the
-son of the murder of his father, and had prepared evidence to convict
-him; so that the young man was likely to be deprived, not only of his
-fortunes, but, by a more villanous cruelty, of his honor also, and his
-life.
-
-The tyrant Sylla was at this time at the height of his power. Fearing
-his resentment, therefore, as well as the influence of the prosecutor,
-the older advocates of Rome refused to undertake the defence of
-Roscius, particularly as it would lead them into an exposure of the
-corruptions of the age, and the misdemeanors of those high in rank and
-office.
-
-But Cicero readily undertook it, as a glorious opportunity of enlisting
-in the service of his country, and giving a public testimony of his
-principles, and his zeal for that liberty to the support of which he
-was willing to devote the labors of his life. In the management of the
-cause, he displayed great skill and admirable eloquence. Roscius was
-acquitted, and Cicero was applauded by the whole city for his courage
-and address. From this period he was ranked as one of the ablest
-advocates of Rome.
-
-Having occasion in the course of his pleading to mention that
-remarkable punishment which their ancestors had contrived for the
-murder of a parent--that of sewing the criminal alive into a sack, and
-throwing him into a river--he says, "that the meaning of it was, to
-strike him at once, as it were, out of the system of nature, by taking
-him from the air, the sun, the water, and the earth; that he who had
-destroyed the author of his being, should lose the benefit of those
-elements whence all things derive their being. They would not throw him
-to the beasts, lest the contagion of such wickedness should make the
-beasts themselves more furious; they would not commit him naked to the
-stream, lest he should pollute the very sea, which was the purifier of
-all other pollutions; they left him no share of anything natural, how
-vile or common soever; for what is so common as breath to the living,
-earth to the dead, the sea to those who float, the shore to those who
-are cast up? Yet these wretches live so, as long as they can, as not to
-draw breath from the air; die so, as not to touch the ground; are so
-tossed by the waves, as not to be washed by them; so cast out upon the
-shore, as to find no rest, even on the rocks."
-
-This passage was received with acclamations of applause; yet, speaking
-of it afterwards himself, Cicero calls it "the redundancy of a juvenile
-fancy, which wanted the correction of his sounder judgment; and, like
-all the compositions of young men, was not applauded so much for its
-own sake, as for the hopes which it gave of his more improved and
-ripened talents."
-
-The popularity of his cause, and the favor of the audience, induced
-Cicero, in the course of his plea, to expose the insolence and villany
-of the favorite, Chrysogonus, with great freedom. He even ventured
-some bold strokes at Sylla himself. He took care, however, to palliate
-these, by observing, that through the multiplicity of Sylla's affairs,
-who reigned as absolute on earth as Jupiter in heaven, it was not
-possible for him to know everything that was done by his agents, and
-that he was perhaps forced to connive at some of the corrupt practices
-of his favorites.
-
-Soon after this trial, Cicero set out for the purpose of visiting
-Greece and Asia, the fashionable tour of that day with those who
-travelled for pleasure or improvement. At Athens he spent six months,
-renewing the studies of his youth, under celebrated masters. He was
-here initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries, the end and aim of which
-appear to have been to inculcate the unity of God and the immortality
-of the soul.
-
-From Athens, he passed into Asia, where he was visited by the principal
-orators of the country. These kept him company through the remainder
-of his tour, frequently exercising themselves together in oratorical
-exhibitions. They came at last to Rhodes, where Cicero applied to Molo,
-and again became his pupil On a public occasion he made an address
-at the end of which, the company were lavish of their praises. Molo
-alone was silent, till, observing that Cicero was somewhat disturbed,
-he said, "As for you, Cicero, I praise and admire you, but pity the
-fortune of Greece, to see arts and eloquence, the only ornaments which
-were left to her, transplanted by you to Rome."
-
-Soon after Cicero's return from his travels, he pleaded the cause of
-the famous comedian, Roscius, whom a singular merit in his art had
-recommended to the familiarity and friendship of the greatest men of
-Rome. The case was this. One Fannius had made over to Roscius, a young
-slave, to be trained for the stage, on condition of a partnership in
-the profits which the slave should acquire by acting. The slave was
-afterwards killed, and Roscius prosecuted the murderer for damages, and
-obtained, by composition, a little farm, worth about 800 pounds, for
-his particular share. Fannius also sued separately, and was supposed to
-have gained as much, but, pretending to have recovered nothing, sued
-Roscius for the moiety of what he had received.
-
-One cannot but observe, from Cicero's pleading, the wonderful esteem
-and reputation which Roscius enjoyed--of whom he draws a very amiable
-picture. "Has Roscius, then," said he, "defrauded his partner? Can such
-a stain adhere to such a man, who--I speak it with confidence--has more
-integrity than skill, more veracity than experience; whom the people of
-Rome know to be a better man than he is an actor, and, while he makes
-the first figure on the stage in his art, is worthy of the senate for
-his virtues?"
-
-His daily pay for acting is said to have been about thirty pounds
-sterling. Pliny computes his yearly profit at 4000 pounds; but Cicero
-seems to rate it at 5000 pounds. He was generous, benevolent, and a
-contemner of money; after he had raised an ample fortune from the
-stage, he devoted his talents to the public, for many years, without
-pay; whence Cicero urges it as incredible that he, who in ten years
-past might honestly have gained fifty thousand pounds, which he
-refused, should be tempted to commit a fraud for the paltry sum of four
-hundred. We need but add that the defence was effectual.
-
-Soon after Cicero's return to Rome, he, being about thirty years of
-age, was married to Terentia, a lady of good station in life, and of
-large fortune. Shortly after, he was a candidate for the office of
-qu�stor, in which he succeeded by the unanimous suffrage of the tribes.
-
-The provinces of the qu�stors being distributed by lot, the island
-of Sicily fell to Cicero's share. This was called the granary of the
-republic, and this year, there being great scarcity at Rome, the people
-were clamorous for a supply. As it was a part of the duty of the
-qu�stors to supply the city with corn, a difficult duty devolved upon
-Cicero; for, while he was to see that Rome was adequately furnished, it
-was necessary to avoid impoverishing the island. He, however, acquitted
-himself with the greatest prudence and address, displaying courtesy to
-the dealers, justice to the merchants, generosity to the inhabitants,
-and, in short, doing all manner of good offices to everybody. He
-thus obtained the love and admiration of the Sicilians, and, at his
-departure, they paid him greater honors than had ever been bestowed,
-even upon their own governors.
-
-In his hours of leisure, Cicero pursued his rhetorical studies, making
-it a rule never to let a day pass without some exercise of this kind.
-At the expiration of his year, he left the island, and, on his return
-to Rome, he stopped at Baiae, the chief seat of pleasure at that time
-in Italy, and where there was a perpetual resort of the rich and great,
-as well on account of its delightful situation, as for the use of its
-luxurious baths and tepid waters.
-
-Pleased with the success of his administration, and flattering
-himself that all Rome was celebrating his praises, he reached this
-place, and mingled amongst the crowd. What was his disappointment
-and mortification, to be asked by the first friend he met, "How long
-since you left Rome, and what is the news there?" "I came from the
-provinces," was the reply. "From Africa, I suppose," said one of the
-bystanders. "No, I came from Sicily," said Cicero, a little vexed.
-"How, did you not know that Cicero was qu�stor of Syracuse?" said
-another person present; thus showing his ignorance, while he pretended
-to be wiser than the rest. This incident humbled Cicero for the time,
-and made him feel that he had not yet made himself so conspicuous as to
-live perpetually in the eye of so mighty a city as Rome.
-
-Having now devoted himself to a life of business and ambition, he
-omitted none of the usual arts of recommending himself to popular
-favor, and facilitating his advancement to the highest honors. "He
-thought it absurd," says Plutarch, "that, when every little artificer
-knew the name and use of all his tools, a statesman should neglect the
-knowledge of men, who were the proper instruments with which he was to
-work; he made it his business, therefore, to learn the name, the place,
-and the condition of every eminent citizen; what estate, what friends,
-what neighbors he had; and could readily point out their several
-houses, as he travelled through Italy."
-
-This knowledge was deemed so necessary at Rome, where the people
-expected to be courted by their public men, that every individual who
-aspired to official dignities, kept a slave or two in his family, whose
-sole business it was to know the name and person of every citizen at
-sight, so that he might whisper them to his master as he passed through
-the streets, and enable him to salute them familiarly, as particular
-acquaintances. Such artifices, which appear degrading in our day, were
-by no means beneath the practice of one so elevated in his sense of
-propriety as Cicero.
-
-Having reached his thirty-seventh year, and being therefore eligible to
-the office of edile, he offered himself as a candidate, and was elected
-by the people. Before he entered upon its duties, however, he undertook
-the prosecution of C. Verres, the late pr�tor of Sicily, charged
-with many flagrant acts of injustice, rapine and cruelty, during his
-triennial government of that island. This was one of the most memorable
-transactions of Cicero's life, and has given him greater fame than any
-other.
-
-In order to obtain the evidence, he proceeded to Sicily, where he was
-received with the greatest kindness and favor, though every art was
-resorted to, by the agents of Verres, to obstruct his inquiries. On
-his return, he found the most formidable preparations to resist him.
-Hortensius was engaged for Verres and several of the leading families
-had taken his part. Cicero, however, produced his witnesses, whose
-depositions overwhelmed the criminal with such proofs of guilt, that
-Hortensius had nothing to say for his client, who submitted without
-defence to a voluntary exile.
-
-From this account, it appears, that, of the seven orations on the
-subject of this trial, which now remain among the works of Cicero,
-two only were spoken, and these contain little more than a statement
-of the whole case. The five others were published afterwards, as they
-were prepared, and intended to be spoken, if Verres had made a regular
-defence.
-
-From the evidence produced, it appears that every species of rapine
-was practised without scruple by Verres, during his pr�torship. Cicero
-estimated the amount of his plunder at 800,000 pounds sterling, or
-nearly four millions of dollars. It is shocking to read the black
-catalogue of this man's crimes; yet, such was the corruption of
-society, especially among the higher classes, that Cicero, instead of
-gaining favor by his exposure of these abuses, brought upon himself
-the hatred and ill-will of the largest portion of the nobility.
-They doubtless looked upon the public offices as their inheritance,
-and did not like to see the accustomed privileges of the provincial
-governors abridged. We may add here that Verres continued long in a
-miserable exile, deserted and forgotten by his former friends, and
-was actually relieved in his necessities by the generosity of Cicero.
-He was afterwards proscribed and murdered by Mark Antony, in order to
-obtain some fine statues, which he had obtained by robbery, during his
-government in Sicily, and which he had refused to part with, even in
-the extremity of his poverty.
-
-From the impeachment of Verres, Cicero entered upon the office of
-edile, and in one of his speeches gives a short account of its duties.
-"I am now chosen edile," says he, "and am sensible of what is committed
-to me by the Roman people. I am to exhibit with the greatest solemnity
-the most sacred sports to Ceres, Liber, and Libera; am to appease
-and conciliate the mother Flora to the people and city of Rome, by
-the celebration of the public games; am to furnish out those ancient
-shows, the first which were called Roman, with all possible dignity and
-religion, in honor of Jupiter, Juno, Minerva; am to take care also of
-all the sacred edifices, and, indeed, of the whole city."
-
-The people of Rome were passionately fond of the public games and
-diversions, and the allowance for them being small, the ediles were
-obliged to supply the rest. Many of them, in their ambition to flatter
-the people and obtain their favor, incurred such expense in these
-entertainments, as to involve themselves in ruin. Every part of the
-empire was ransacked for whatever was rare and curious to increase the
-splendor of these shows; the forum, in which they were exhibited, was
-usually beautified with porticoes for the purpose, and these were
-decorated with the choicest pictures and statues, which Rome, and
-indeed, all Italy could furnish. Several of the great men of Cicero's
-time had distinguished their magistracy by their magnificence, some of
-them having entertained the city with stage plays, in which the scenes
-were entirely covered with silver. C�sar, in the sports exhibited upon
-the occasion of his father's funeral, caused the entire furniture of
-the theatre to be made of solid silver, so that the wild beasts trod
-upon that metal.
-
-Unseduced by these examples, Cicero took the middle course, which was
-suited to his circumstances. In compliance with the custom, he gave
-three entertainments, which were conducted with taste, and to the
-satisfaction of the people. The Sicilians gave him effectual proofs of
-their gratitude by supplying him largely with provisions for the use
-of his table and the public feasts he was obliged to provide. Cicero,
-however, took no private advantage of these gifts, for he distributed
-the whole to the poor.
-
-Soon after leaving the office of edile, Cicero was chosen pr�tor; a
-magistrate next in dignity to a consul. The business of the pr�tors was
-to preside and judge in all causes, especially of a public or criminal
-kind. There were eight of them, and their several jurisdictions were
-assigned by lot. It fell to Cicero to hear charges of extortion and
-rapine, brought against magistrates and governors of provinces.
-In this office, he acquired great reputation for integrity and
-impartiality--qualities, in the corrupted state of Rome, scarcely to be
-found, either in public or private life, among men of high stations.
-While he seemed full of employment as pr�tor, and attentive to his
-duties in the senate, Cicero still had a large practice as advocate. It
-is evident that nothing but ceaseless industry and wonderful facility
-in the despatch of business, could have enabled him to discharge his
-multifarious duties, and with such surpassing ability.
-
-His office of pr�tor having expired, Cicero now fixed his hopes upon
-the consulship. While he was aiming at this, and resorting to all the
-ordinary means of attaining his object, by flattering the people,
-allaying the hostility of the nobles, and strengthening his interest
-on every hand, he was expending large sums of money in decorating his
-several villas, especially that of Tusculum, in which he took the
-greatest pleasure. This was situated in the neighborhood of Rome,
-and furnished him an easy retreat from the hurry and fatigue of the
-city. Here he built several rooms and galleries, in imitation of
-the schools and porticoes of Athens, in which he was accustomed to
-hold philosophical conversations with his learned friends. He had
-given Atticus, a lover of the arts, who resided at Athens, a general
-commission to purchase for him pictures, statues and other curiosities;
-and Atticus, having a rare taste in these matters, thus assisted him to
-embellish and enrich his residence with a choice collection of works of
-art and literary treasures, of various kinds.
-
-Cicero, being now in his forty-third year, became eligible as consul,
-and offered himself as a candidate for that high office. As the
-election approached, his interest appeared to take the lead; for the
-nobles, envious and jealous of him as they were, were alarmed by the
-threatening aspect of the times, and saw the necessity of entrusting
-the consular power to strong and faithful hands. The intrigues of
-C�sar, the plots of Cataline, the ambition of Pompey, seemed to heave
-and convulse the elements of society to its foundation, and portend a
-storm which threatened the very existence of the state. Thus, by the
-voices of the people as well as the favor of the patricians, Cicero was
-proclaimed First Consul, and Antonius was chosen his colleague.
-
-This year, Cicero's father died in a good old age, and he gave his
-daughter Tullia, in marriage, at the age of thirteen, to C. Piso Frugi,
-a young nobleman of great hopes and of one of the best families in
-Rome. He was also much gratified by the birth of a son and heir to his
-family.
-
-Cicero had now passed through the usual gradations to the highest
-honors which the people could bestow, or a citizen desire. He entered
-upon his trust with a patriotic determination to discharge its duties,
-not so much according to the fleeting humor, as the lasting interests
-of the people. The most remarkable event of his consulship was the
-conspiracy of Cataline, which he detected by his sagacity, and defeated
-by his courage and address.
-
-Cataline was adapted by art and nature, to be the leader of desperate
-enterprises. He was of an illustrious family, of ruined fortunes,
-profligate heart, undaunted courage and unwearied industry. He had a
-capacity equal to the hardiest attempt, a tongue that could seduce, an
-eloquence to persuade, a hand to execute. His character, compounded of
-contradictory qualities--of great virtues, mastered by still greater
-vices--is forcibly drawn by Cicero himself.
-
-"Who," said he, "was more agreeable at one time to the best citizens?
-Who more intimate at another with the worst? Who a man of better
-principles? Who a fouler enemy to this city? Who more intemperate in
-pleasure? Who more patient in labor? Who more rapacious in plundering,
-who more profuse in squandering? He had a wonderful faculty of engaging
-men to his friendship and obliging them by his observance; sharing
-with them in common whatever he was master of; serving them with his
-money, his interest, his pains, and, when there was occasion, by the
-most daring acts of villany, moulding his nature to his purposes,
-and bending it every way to his will. With the morose, he could live
-severely; with the free, gayly; with the old, gravely; with the young,
-cheerfully; with the enterprising, audaciously; with the vicious,
-luxuriously. By a temper so various and pliable, he gathered about him
-the profligate and the rash from all countries; yet held attached to
-him, at the same time, many brave and worthy men, by the specious show
-of a pretended virtue."
-
-Associated in the plot with Cataline, were about thirty-five
-individuals as leaders, some of them senators, and all of them men of
-rank and consideration. Several were from the colonies and the larger
-towns of Italy. Among the most important of these persons were Lentulus
-and Cethegus, both patricians, possessing powerful family influence;
-the two Syllas nephews of the dictator; Cassius, who was a competitor
-with Cicero for the consulship, and Autronius, who had obtained an
-election to that office, but was not permitted to hold it, on account
-of his gross briberies. Julius C�sar was suspected of being also
-engaged in the scheme, but it is probable that while he was willing to
-see it attempted, hoping to be benefited by the convulsion that might
-follow, he was too wary to commit himself by any overt act of treason.
-
-A meeting of the conspirators was finally held, in which it was
-resolved that a general insurrection should be raised throughout Italy,
-the different parts of which were assigned to different leaders.
-Cataline was to put himself at the head of the troops in Etruria; Rome
-was to be set on fire in different places at once, under the direction
-of Cassius, and a general massacre of the senate, with all the enemies
-of the conspirators, was to be affected under the management of
-Cithegus. The vigilance of Cicero being the chief occasion of their
-apprehensions, two knights of the company undertook to gain access
-to his house early the next morning, upon pretence of business, and,
-rushing into his chamber, to kill him in his bed.
-
-But no sooner was the meeting over, than Curius, one of the assembly,
-and in the interest of Cicero, sent him a particular account of all
-that had transpired. He immediately imparted the intelligence to some
-of the chiefs of the city, who assembled at his house that night,
-and made preparations for the emergency. The two knights came before
-break of day to Cicero's house, but had the mortification to find it
-carefully guarded. Cataline had set out in the hope of surprising the
-town of Preneste, one of the strongest fortresses of Italy, and within
-twenty five miles of Rome; but Cicero's messenger anticipated him, and
-when the attack was made the next night, he found the place so well
-guarded, as to forbid an assault.
-
-Cicero now assembled the senate at the temple of Jupiter, in the
-capital, where they were accustomed to meet only in times of public
-alarm, and laid before them the facts which we have narrated. Cataline
-had returned to Rome, and being a member of the senate, met the charge
-with profound dissimulation and the most subtle cunning. Cicero,
-however, poured forth upon him such a torrent of invective, and placed
-his guilt in so strong a light, that the conspirator became desperate,
-made a threatening speech to the senate, and left the hall. That night,
-he departed and repaired with expedition to head the forces at Etruria.
-The result of the whole enterprise was, that several of the accomplices
-were executed, and Cataline himself fell bravely fighting at the head
-of those troops he had induced to join his cause. Cicero received the
-thanks of the senate, and the most unbounded applause at the hands of
-the people.
-
-Cicero's administration being now at an end, nothing remained but to
-resign the consulship, according to custom, in an assembly of the
-people, and declare upon oath that he had administered the office with
-fidelity. It was usual for the consul, under such circumstances, to
-address the people, and on the present occasion an immense concourse
-of people met to hear the farewell speech of Cicero. But Metellus, one
-of the new tribunes, ambitious to signalize himself by some display
-of that remarkable veto power committed to the tribunes, determined to
-disappoint the orator and the audience.
-
-Accordingly, when Cicero had mounted the rostrum, and was about to
-address the people, Metellus interfered, remarking that he who had
-put citizens to death unheard, ought not to be permitted to speak for
-himself. This was a reflection upon Cicero, because the associates
-of Cataline had been executed by a vote of the senate, without the
-ordinary trial. Cicero, however, was never at a loss, and, instead of
-pronouncing the usual form of the oath, exalted his voice so that all
-the people might hear him, saying, "I have saved the republic and the
-city from ruin!" The vast multitude caught the sounds, and, with one
-acclamation, declared, "You have sworn the truth!" Thus, the intended
-affront of Metellus was turned to the advantage of Cicero, and he was
-conducted from the forum to his house with every demonstration of
-respect by the whole city.
-
-It was about this period that Cicero is supposed to have pronounced his
-oration, still extant, in defence of his old preceptor, Archias. He,
-doubtless, expected from his muse an immortality of fame; for Archias
-had sung in Greek verse the triumphs of Marius over the Cimbri, and of
-Lucullus over Mithridates. He appears, however, to have died without
-celebrating the consulship of Cicero; and Archias, instead of adding to
-the fame of the orator, would have been buried in complete oblivion,
-had not his memory been perpetuated in the immortal pages of his pupil.
-
-Pompey the Great now returned to Rome, in the height of his fame and
-fortunes, from the Mithridatic war. It had been apprehended that he
-was coming back to Rome, at the head of his army, to seize upon the
-government. It is certain that he had this in his power, and C�sar,
-with the tribune Metellus, was inviting him to it. But he seemed
-content, for the time, with the glory he had achieved. By his victories
-he had extended the boundaries of the empire into Asia, having reduced
-three powerful kingdoms there, Pontus, Syria and Bithynia, to the
-condition of Roman provinces, taken the city of Jerusalem, and left
-the other nations of the east, as far as the Tigris, tributary to the
-republic.
-
-For these great services, a triumph was decreed him, which lasted two
-days, and was the most splendid that had ever been seen in Rome. Of
-the spoils, he erected a temple to Minerva, with an inscription giving
-a summary of his victories:--"that he had finished a war of thirty
-years; had vanquished, slain, and taken two millions one hundred and
-eighty-three thousand men; sunk or taken eight hundred and forty-six
-ships; reduced to the power of the empire a thousand five hundred
-and thirty-eight towns and fortresses, and subdued all the countries
-between the lake Moeris and the Red Sea."
-
-The spectacle which Rome, at this period, presents is full of warning
-to mankind. In the very height of her pride and her power, holding
-the whole civilized world in her grasp, she was still torn with
-dissensions, and corrupted through every vein and artery of society.
-With political institutions favorable to liberty, and calculated to
-promote public and private virtue; yet vice and crime stained the
-character of public men, while profligacy, in every form, characterized
-the people at large.
-
-Nor could anything better be expected; for the general policy of the
-nation was alike wicked and unwise. Instead of seeking prosperity by
-the peaceful arts of life, they sought to enrich themselves by robbing
-other nations. War was the great trade of the state; the soldier was
-a hero; a successful general, the idol of the nation. The greatest
-plunderer received the greatest honors, and glory was proportioned to
-the blood spilled and the spoils obtained. A system so immoral could
-not fail to debauch the nation, nor was it difficult to see that, from
-robbing other countries, the victorious general, having attached the
-soldiery to himself by leading them on to booty, would soon learn to
-turn his arms against the country. Such had now become the experience
-of Rome; and the natural course of ambition seemed to be to obtain
-the command of an army in some of the provinces, gorge the soldiers
-with plunder, and, having become the idol of the troops, to march upon
-Rome and seize, by intimidation or force, the sceptre of power. Such a
-course had been expected of Pompey, and was soon after adopted by C�sar.
-
-The triumvirate, consisting of C�sar, Pompey and Crassus, was now
-formed, and Cicero yielded, for a time, to their power. His patriotism
-and integrity were obstacles, however, to the success of their schemes,
-and he became the object of their hatred and persecution. Perceiving
-the storm that was ready to burst over him, he threw himself at the
-feet of Pompey and begged his protection. This, however, was refused;
-and seeing no alternative but to defend himself by force, or retreat
-till the storm had blown over, he adopted the latter course by the
-advice of Cato and Hortensius. He left the city, and attended by a
-numerous train of friends, pursued his way to Sicily.
-
-After his departure, the dissolute Clodius, who had become tribune,
-caused a law to be passed, denouncing Cicero in violent terms, and
-forbidding all persons, on pain of death, to harbor or receive him.
-Immediately after, his houses, both in the city and country, were given
-up to plunder; the marble columns of his dwelling on the Palatine
-hill were carried away by one of the consuls, and the rich furniture
-of his Tusculum villa, by another. Even the ornamental trees of his
-plantations were taken up and transplanted to one of his neighbor's
-grounds. To make the loss of his house in Rome irretrievable, Clodius
-caused the space to be consecrated to the service of religion, and a
-temple to be built upon it, dedicated to the goddess of liberty!
-
-Nor did the vengeance of Cicero's enemies stop here. Clodius pursued
-his wife and children with the same fury, and made several attempts
-to gain access to his son, then six years old, with the intention of
-putting him to death. But the child was carefully guarded, and finally
-removed from the reach of his malice. Terentia took sanctuary in the
-temple of Vesta, but she was dragged forcibly out, and insolently
-examined as to the concealment of her husband's property. Being a
-woman of singular spirit, however, she bore these indignities with
-masculine courage.
-
-The desolation of Cicero's fortunes at home, and the misery which he
-suffered abroad, in being deprived of everything that was dear to
-him, soon made him repent his flight. His suffering was increased
-on reaching Sicily, for there he found his former friends afraid to
-receive him, in consequence of the decree of banishment which had
-been passed at Rome, and which forbade him to remain within four
-hundred miles of the city. He therefore found it necessary to leave
-Sicily, and after various changes of opinion, he resolved to proceed
-to Thessalonica, in Macedonia. Here he took up his residence with his
-friend Plaucius, who treated him with the utmost kindness.
-
-Cicero was so dejected by his misfortunes, that he shut himself up
-in his apartments, and refused to see all company. When his brother,
-Quintus, was on his way from Asia to Rome, Cicero felt incapable of
-supporting an interview, and did not see him, so deeply were his
-feelings affected. At the same time, his letters to his friends were
-full of regret, complaint and despondency. It is obvious that, in this
-period of trial, he displayed great weakness of character, though it
-is probable that his affectionate disposition--his fondness for his
-children, and love of his friends--rendered separation from them an
-evil almost worse than death. It would seem, also, that he had so long
-enjoyed the homage paid to his talents, had so long lived in the blaze
-of popular favor, that his present exile seemed like being deprived of
-the very light of heaven.
-
-But the period of his return to Rome was now approaching. Clodius, by
-a series of the most flagrant outrages, made himself hated at Rome,
-and finally put himself in opposition to Pompey himself. The people at
-large were favorable to Cicero, and it was not long before the senate,
-with great unanimity, passed a resolution favorable to his recall.
-Pompey urged the measure with ardor, and declared that Cicero ought to
-be received with such honors, as might atone for the sorrows of his
-exile.
-
-Preparations were made to obtain the passage of a law coinciding
-with the resolve of the senate; but Clodius, with his slaves and a
-multitude of hired gladiators, resisted the tribunes who sought to
-gain possession of the market-place, for that purpose. Several bloody
-encounters followed, and for a time the streets of Rome were deluged
-with blood. The dead bodies were thrown into the Tiber, which were so
-numerous as almost to obstruct its channel. Nothing can better show
-the greatness of Cicero's reputation, than the facts now transpiring
-in Rome. For several months the attention of the people of that city,
-and of Italy, was wholly occupied with the question of his recall.
-The ambassadors of kings, the messengers of princes,--affairs which
-involved the fate of nations--were all laid aside, till this absorbing
-subject could be disposed of.
-
-The senate, after long deliberation, and in a full assembly, at last
-passed a decree for his restoration; Clodius, among four hundred and
-fifty, giving the only vote against it. When the news reached a
-neighboring theatre, the air was rent with acclamation. �sopus, the
-actor, was performing, at the time, the part of Timolean, banished from
-the country, in one of the plays of Accius. By a happy change of a
-few words, and giving the utmost effect to his voice, he directed the
-thoughts of the audience to Cicero, while he uttered these sentences,
-"What, he who always stood up for the republic! who, in doubtful
-times, spared neither life nor fortunes--the greatest friend in the
-greatest dangers--of such parts and talents! O Father--I saw his house
-and rich furniture all in flames! O, ungrateful Greeks, inconstant
-people; forgetful of services,--to see such a man banished, driven
-from his country, and suffer him to continue in this condition!" It
-is not possible to describe the thrilling effect of these words, or
-the enthusiasm of the people. When Lentulus, the consul, who had
-taken an active part in Cicero's favor, entered the place, they all
-rose up, stretched out their hands, and, with tears of joy and loud
-acclamations, testified their thanks. Several of the senators coming
-into the theatre, were received with the most deafening applause.
-Clodius also making his appearance was assailed by reproaches, threats
-and curses.
-
-Though a decree was now regularly obtained for Cicero's return, Clodius
-had still the courage and address to hinder its sanction by the popular
-assemblies. There were several meetings of the senate, and the whole
-city was shaken to its foundation with the question now at issue. All
-Italy and indeed many of the remote provinces were thrown into a state
-of ferment by the struggle, and the mighty interests of the empire
-were postponed till this important question could be settled. Ptolemy,
-the king of Egypt, driven from his kingdom, and seeking protection at
-the hands of Rome, even though a lodger in Pompey's house, could not
-obtain an audience, till Cicero's cause was decided.
-
-The greatest preparations were now made for submitting the question
-to the popular assemblies. Never had there been known so numerous
-and solemn a gathering of the Roman people as on this occasion. The
-whole country seemed to be drawn together. It was reckoned a sin to
-be absent. Neither age nor infirmity was thought a sufficient excuse
-for failing to lend a helping hand to the restoration of Cicero.
-The meeting was held in the field of Mars, for the more convenient
-reception of so vast a multitude. It was an august scene. The senators
-presided at the polls, to see the ballots fairly taken. The result was
-that Cicero was recalled from exile by the unanimous suffrage of all
-the hundreds, and to the infinite joy of the whole city!
-
-Cicero, having been advised of the course of events, had returned
-as far as Brundusium, where he was met by his daughter Tullia. In a
-few days he received the welcome intelligence of his recall. Setting
-out immediately for Rome, he everywhere received the most lively
-demonstrations of joy from the people. Multitudes were drawn together
-to congratulate him on his return. The whole road, from Brundusium to
-Rome, being crowded with men, women, and children, seemed like one
-continued street. Every prefecture, town and colony throughout Italy
-decreed him statues, or public honors, and sent deputations to him,
-with tenders of congratulation. Cicero himself remarks, that Italy
-brought him back on its shoulders, and that the day of his return was
-worth an immortality.
-
-Cicero was now restored to his dignity, but not to his fortunes.
-Restitution had been decreed, and the sum of �22,000 was finally paid
-him. This he accepted, though it was scarcely more than half what he
-had actually lost. He now attached himself to the cause of Pompey,
-but spent several years with little public employment, being chiefly
-occupied with his rhetorical studies and the business of an advocate.
-The turbulent Clodius was at last slain by Milo, and Cicero was thus
-delivered from his most troublesome enemy.
-
-The senate now conferred upon him the office of pro-consul, or
-governor, of Cilicia, in Asia Minor, whither he immediately proceeded.
-He discharged the duties of this office with ability, and, on his
-return, was decreed a triumph. But he was prevented from enjoying it
-by the factious opposition of his enemies. On his return, he found
-Rome agitated with serious disturbances. The rupture between C�sar and
-Pompey had taken place, and the horrors of a civil war seemed to be
-impending over the republic. In vain did he attempt to reconcile the
-fierce and haughty rivals.
-
-C�sar advanced upon Rome, and Pompey was forced to fly with the consuls
-and the senate. C�sar had met Cicero at Formiae, and sought to gain
-him over to his cause, but though convinced that he would prevail in
-the coming struggle, he felt himself prompted, by a sense of honor to
-return to Pompey, who had served him so effectually during his exile.
-After the fatal battle of Pharsalia and the flight of Pompey, he
-returned to Rome, where he was graciously received by C�sar.
-
-He now devoted himself to literary and philosophical pursuits, and,
-soon after, divorced his wife Terentia, an act which has justly
-subjected him to much reproach. It is true that she was a woman of
-an imperious and turbulent spirit, expensive and negligent in her
-private affairs, busy and intriguing in public matters. But these
-qualities were in some degree compensated by her devotion to Cicero,
-and especially by the energy with which she had sought to effect his
-return during his exile. His letters to her at this period recognise
-her efforts in his behalf, and are full of the most tender expressions
-of affection and esteem.
-
-It must be remarked that the nuptial bond was lightly regarded at this
-period in Rome, and divorces were so common as to be little thought
-of. Terentia was soon after married to Sallust, the historian, by
-which it would seem that her separation from Cicero inflicted upon her
-no disgrace. Cicero would perhaps have been little blamed, were it
-not that he was soon after married to a young lady named Publilia, of
-whom he was guardian, and who had been committed to his care by her
-father's will. She had a large estate, and this was doubtless Cicero's
-inducement to the match, if not to the divorce of Terentia. It is the
-suspicion of such motives, in these transactions, that has sullied the
-fame of Cicero. We may add here, in respect to Terentia, that she was
-once or twice married after the death of Sallust, and lived to the age
-of one hundred and three years.
-
-C�sar, having established himself as dictator, Cicero was induced to
-assent to his government. Accordingly, he pronounced a famous oration,
-in which he mingled as much counsel as panegyric for the despot. He
-was rapidly regaining his former consideration, when the conspiracy
-of Brutus and his associates terminated the career of the ambitious
-usurper. Antony now took C�sar's place, and while he was prosecuting
-his designs, Cicero returned to his literary occupations. He went to
-Greece for a time, but soon returned, and pronounced those famous
-orations against Antony, which are called Philippics.
-
-Octavius, known as Augustus C�sar, and the nephew of Julius C�sar,
-united his interests with those of Antony, and having obtained the
-consulate, soon gained an ascendency over the senate. Cicero, in his
-retirement at Tusculum, saw that the power having passed into the
-hands of desperate men, the liberty of Rome was no more. He soon heard
-that his own name was included among those of the proscribed. He fled
-immediately to Astura, on the sea coast, where he found a vessel
-waiting for him.
-
-He here embarked, but contrary winds drove him back to the shore. At
-the earnest entreaty of his slaves, he embarked a second time, but
-returned to await his fate at his country seat near Formiae, declaring,
-"I will die in my country, which I have more than once saved." His
-slaves, seeing the neighborhood already disturbed by the soldiers of
-Antony, endeavored to convey him away in a litter, but soon discovered
-the assassins, who had been sent to take his life, at their heels.
-They prepared for resistance, but Cicero, who felt that death was
-unavoidable, bowed his head before Pompilius, the commander of the
-murderers, who had once been saved by his eloquence, and suffered death
-more courageously than he had borne misfortune.
-
-Thus died Cicero, and with him the liberties of Rome. The dynasty of
-the emperors was built upon the ruins of the republic, and, continuing
-for five centuries, was finally extinguished in the gloom of the dark
-ages. Cicero was killed on the 7th December, 43 B. C., at the age of
-sixty-three. His head and hands were severed from the body, by his
-murderers, and carried to Antony, who caused the former to be placed
-upon the rostra in the forum, between the two hands. The odium of these
-barbarities fell chiefly upon Antony, yet they left a stain of perfidy
-and ingratitude upon Augustus, which can never be wiped away.
-
-In his person, Cicero was tall and slender, yet his features were
-regular and manly. He mingled great dignity with an air of cheerfulness
-and serenity, that inspired both affection and respect. His
-constitution was naturally weak, but his prudent habits enabled him to
-support all the fatigues of an active and studious life, with health
-and vigor. In dress, he avoided singularity, and was only remarkable
-for personal neatness and appropriateness of attire. In domestic
-and social life, his demeanor was exceedingly amiable. He was an
-affectionate parent, a zealous friend, a generous master. Yet he was
-not more generous to his friends than placable to his enemies. It was
-one of his sayings, delivered in a public assembly, that "his enmities
-were mortal, his friendships immortal."
-
-The moral character of Cicero was not blemished by the stain of any
-habitual vice. He was, indeed, the shining pattern of virtue in an age,
-of all others, the most licentious and profligate. His great soul was
-superior to the sordid passions which engross little minds--avarice,
-envy and malice. His familiar letters, in which he pours out his whole
-heart, are free from anything base, immodest or vengeful. A uniform
-principle of benevolence, justice, love of his friends and his country,
-is seen to flow through the whole, inspiring all his thoughts and words
-and actions.
-
-The failings of Cicero consisted chiefly in his vanity and that
-despondency under adverse circumstances, which seemed unworthy of his
-character. With these abatements, we must pronounce him a truly great
-and good man--the glory of Rome, an honor to human nature. His works,
-a large portion of which are extant, are among the richest treasures
-bequeathed to us by antiquity, and there are few minds so exalted, even
-with the advantages of our own time, as not to find instruction in his
-pages.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                          CAIUS JULIUS C�SAR.
-
-
-This celebrated Roman, famous for his intrigues, his generalship, his
-eloquence and his talents, was born in the year 100 B. C. He was of a
-good family, and his aunt Julia was wife of Caius Marius, who had been
-consul. We know little of him in his youth, though it would seem that
-he early attracted attention by his abilities and ambition. At the age
-of fifteen, he left his father, and was made a priest in the temple of
-Jupiter, the year after. At the age of seventeen, he married Cornelia,
-a daughter of Cinna. By this marriage, and through his aunt Julia, he
-was allied both to Marius and Cinna, the two principal opposers of
-Sylla, who had acquired an ascendency in Rome, and exercised his power
-with fearful and bloody tyranny. Soon after his marriage, C�sar became
-an object of suspicion to the despot; he was stripped of his office
-as priest of Jupiter, his wife's dower was confiscated, and he, being
-threatened with death, deemed it prudent to seek safety in flight.
-
-He wandered up and down the country, concealing himself for a time
-among the Sabines; but at last he escaped by sea, and went to Bithynia
-in Asia Minor, and sought protection of king Nicomedes. His stay at
-this place was, however, short. He re-embarked, and was taken, near
-the isle of Pharmacusa, by pirates, who were masters of that sea, and
-blocked up all the passages with a number of galleys and other vessels.
-They asked him only twenty talents for his ransom. He laughed at their
-demand, as the consequence of not knowing him, and promised them fifty
-talents.
-
-To raise the money he despatched his attendants to different cities,
-and in the meantime remained, with only one friend and two servants,
-among these people, who considered murder a trifle. C�sar, however,
-held them in great contempt, and used, whenever he went to sleep,
-to send them an order to keep silence. Thus he lived among them
-thirty-eight days, as if they had been his guards rather than his
-keepers.
-
-Perfectly fearless and self-possessed, he joined in their diversions,
-and took his exercises among them. He wrote poems and orations, and
-rehearsed them to these pirates; and when they expressed no admiration,
-he called them dunces and barbarians--nay, he often threatened to
-crucify them. They were delighted with these freedoms, which they
-imputed to his frank and facetious vein. But as soon as the money was
-brought for his ransom, and he had recovered his liberty, he manned
-some vessels in the port of Miletus, in order to attack these corsairs.
-He found them still lying at anchor by the island, took most of them,
-together with the money he had paid them, and caused them to be
-imprisoned at Pergamus.
-
-After this adventure, C�sar took lessons of Appolonius Molo, of Rhodes,
-a celebrated teacher of rhetoric, who had been the instructor of
-Cicero. He here displayed great talents, especially in an aptitude for
-eloquence, in which he afterwards excelled. After this, he served under
-different generals in Asia, and upon the death of Sylla, returned to
-Rome, where he soon became conspicuous among the aspiring politicians
-of the day.
-
-Rome was at this time a republic, in which there was a constant
-struggle for ascendency between the aristocracy and the
-democracy--between the privileged few and the people. Sylla had placed
-the former on a firm footing; for a time, therefore, C�sar, who
-courted the people, took no open part, but looked calmly on, waiting
-and watching for his opportunity. He, however, seized every occasion
-to please and flatter the people; he gave expensive entertainments to
-which they were invited; he attached to his person the talented and
-enterprising young men; he distributed presents, paid compliments, and
-said a thousand pleasant things, calculated to flatter those whose
-favor he desired. He also made public speeches on various occasions,
-in all of which he avowed sentiments which gratified the plebeians.
-Thus beginning afar off and steadily approaching his object he was ere
-long in a situation to realize it. Cato, who had watched him carefully,
-discovered his dangerous ambition, but he could not prevent the success
-of his schemes.
-
-At the age of thirty-one, he was chosen by the people, as one of the
-military tribunes, an office which gave him the command of a legion, or
-division in the army. The year following, he was qu�stor, or receiver
-of public moneys in Spain; and in the year 68, having returned to Rome,
-he was chosen edile--an office which gave him charge of the public
-buildings.
-
-In this situation, he had an opportunity to indulge his taste for
-magnificence and display; at the same time, he gratified the people. He
-beautified the city with public edifices and gave splendid exhibitions
-of wild beasts and gladiators.
-
-He was now thirty-five years old, and being desirous of military glory,
-he sought a command in Egypt. He offered himself as a candidate--but
-failed. The next year he took his measures more carefully. The
-corruption of the voters of Rome, at that time, was such as to excite
-our disgust. On the day of election, there were stalls, openly kept,
-where the votes of the freemen were bought, with as little shame, as if
-they had been common merchandise. We hardly know which most to despise,
-the crafty leaders, who thus corrupted the people, or the venal voters,
-who abused and degraded the dearest of privileges.
-
-Though C�sar was from the beginning a professed champion of the
-democracy, yet the manner in which he treated those whose support he
-sought, showed that his designs were selfish; that he wished to make
-the people instruments of his ambition. A man who will flatter the
-mass; use false, yet captivating arguments with them; appeal to their
-prejudices; fall in with their currents of feeling and opinion, even
-though they may be wrong, may profess democracy but he is at heart an
-aristocrat: he has no true love for the people; no confidence in them;
-he really despises them, and looks upon them but as the despicable
-tools of his ambition. Such was C�sar, and such is always the popular
-demagogue. While nothing is more noble than a true democrat--a true
-well-wisher of the people--and one who honestly seeks to vindicate
-their rights, enlighten their minds, and elevate them in the scale of
-society; so nothing is more base than a selfish desire to govern them,
-hidden beneath the cloak of pretended democracy.
-
-The measures of C�sar were now so open, and his real character so
-obvious, that we should wonder at his success with the people, did we
-not know the power which flattery exerts over all mankind, and that
-when a man of rank and talents becomes a demagogue, he is usually more
-successful than other men. It was so, at least, with C�sar. He courted
-the populace on all occasions; he distributed money with a lavish hand,
-particularly among the poorer voters.
-
-After many intrigues, he obtained the office of pr�tor, at the end
-of a sharply contested election. This office was one of high dignity
-and trust. The pr�tor administered justice, protected the rights of
-widows and orphans--presided at public festivals was president of the
-senate, in the absence of the consul, and assembled or prorogued the
-senate at his pleasure. He also exhibited shows to the people, and in
-the festivals of Bona Dea, where none but women were admitted, his wife
-presided.
-
-In obtaining this office, C�sar achieved a great triumph. He also
-increased his power, and reached a situation which enabled him still
-more to flatter the people. An event, however, occurred about this
-time, which gave him great annoyance. During the ceremonies in honor
-of the Bona Dea, at his house, a profligate person, named Clodius,
-disguised as a woman, gained access to the festivities. This caused a
-great deal of scandal, and C�sar divorced his wife, Pompeia, whom he
-had married after the death of Cornelia.
-
-In the year 63 B. C., a conspiracy, which had for its object the
-subversion of the Roman government, was detected by Cicero, the orator,
-then consul. It was headed by Cataline, a Roman nobleman of dissolute
-habits, whose life had been stained with many crimes. His accomplices
-were men of similar character, who took an oath of fidelity to the
-cause, which they sealed by drinking human blood. After the disclosure
-of the plot, Cataline braved the senate for a time, but five of his
-associates being seized, he fled to Gaul, where, having raised some
-troops, he was attacked, and fell, bravely fighting to the last.
-
-When the trial of the five accomplices came on in the Roman senate,
-there was but a single person who dared to oppose their execution, and
-this was C�sar. His courage, moral or physical, never failed him. In
-policy and war, he often undertook what might seem the most desperate
-schemes, yet the event usually bore out his judgment, or his skill
-and energy generally ensured success. In the present case, he failed;
-though his speech in the senate had a wonderful effect. Even Cicero
-wavered. As that speech is handed down by Sallust, it is a masterly
-performance. It gave C�sar a high place as an orator, he being now
-regarded as second to Cicero alone. Though he did not obtain his direct
-object respecting the conspirators, and was driven from his office by
-the aristocratic faction, he gained more than he lost, by increased
-popularity with the plebeians.
-
-In the year 60 B. C., when the time was approaching for the choice of
-consuls, C�sar being a candidate, the aristocratic faction saw that
-they could not defeat his election; they therefore thought to check
-him, by associating with him Bibulus, one of their own party. When
-the election took place, C�sar and Bibulus were chosen. The latter
-was rather a weak man, and offered no effectual obstacle to C�sar's
-schemes. On one occasion, he determined to check his colleague, and for
-this purpose, resorted to the use of an extreme power, vested, however,
-in his hands. It was the custom, before any public business, to consult
-the augurs. These were officers of state, who were supposed to foretell
-future events.
-
-The augur sat upon a high tower, where he studied the heavens, and
-particularly noticed comets, thunder and lightning, rain and tempest.
-The chirping or flying of birds--the sudden crossing of the path by
-quadrupeds--accidents, such as spilling salt hearing strange noises,
-sneezing, stumbling, &c.--were all esteemed ominous, and were the means
-by which the soothsayers pretended to unravel the fate of men and of
-nations. When these gave an unfavorable report, a consul could stop
-public business, and even break up the sittings of the senate. Bibulus
-resorted to the use of this power, and not only declared that the
-augurs were unfavorable, but that they would be so all the year! This
-extravagant stretch of authority was turned to ridicule by C�sar and
-his friends, and the baffled consul, in disgust and shame, shut himself
-up in his own house. C�sar was now, in fact, the sole consul of Rome.
-
-Pompey the Great was at this period in the full flush of his fame.
-His military achievements had been of the most splendid character. He
-was, therefore, a man of the highest consideration, and even superior
-to C�sar in standing. The latter, by a series of intrigues, gained
-his favor, and these two, rivals at heart, both yearning for supreme
-authority in Rome, entered into a political alliance, which they
-cemented by the marriage of Julia, C�sar's daughter, to Pompey. It
-mattered not, among these unscrupulous politicians, that Julia had long
-been betrothed to Marcus Brutus. C�sar, at this time, also took a wife,
-named Calpurnia, daughter of Piso--a political match, which greatly
-enlarged his power. Three great men were now at the head of affairs in
-Rome--C�sar, Pompey, and Crassus--and this union is called in history
-the First Triumvirate.
-
-C�sar was, however, the master as well of the senate as of the people.
-By his influence, an agrarian law was passed, for the division of some
-public lands in Campania, among the poorer citizens, which he carried
-by intimidation. Everything gave way before him; even Cicero, who was
-in his way, was banished. C�sar's desire was now to have an army at
-his command: this he obtained, being appointed to the charge of the
-provinces of Gaul, on both sides of the Alps, for five years.
-
-From this time, the history of Rome presents a striking parallel to
-that of the republic of France during Bonaparte's first campaigns
-in Italy. In both cases we see a weak republic, torn by contending
-factions, and rather feeding discontent than seeking tranquillity. In
-both cases we see vast provinces of the distracted republic occupied
-by a general of unlimited powers--a man of superior genius, desperate
-resolves, and fearful cruelty--a man, who, under the show of democratic
-principles and a love of the people, gains a complete ascendency over
-the soldiers, that he may lead them on to victory, bloodshed, plunder,
-and despotism!
-
-We shall not follow C�sar in the details of his victorious career. It
-is sufficient to say, that, in nine campaigns, he waged war against
-the numerous tribes which occupied the present territory of France,
-Britain, Switzerland, and Germany. Some of these were warlike and
-populous nations, and frequently brought into the field immense armies
-of fierce and formidable soldiery. Though often pushed to extremity, by
-a series of splendid achievements, C�sar reduced them all to subjection
-at last. During this period, it is said that he fought nearly a
-thousand battles, captured eight hundred towns, slew a million of
-men, and reduced to captivity as many more! If the warrior's glory is
-estimated by the blood he sheds, the life he extinguishes, the liberty
-he destroys--C�sar's crown must be one of surpassing splendor.
-
-Though C�sar did not visit Rome during this long period, he was by no
-means ignorant of what was transpiring there. It was his custom to
-spend his winters in Cisalpine Gaul, that is, on the southern side of
-the Alps, about two hundred and fifty miles from Rome. Here he was able
-to keep up a correspondence with his friends, and to mingle in all the
-intrigues that agitated the mighty city--the heart of the empire.
-
-Pompey had at length broken through the alliance with C�sar, and set
-up for supreme authority. It was now understood that C�sar had similar
-views, and Rome began to look with fear and trembling upon the issue
-that was approaching between these powerful rivals. Pompey succeeded
-in getting certain acts passed by the senate, requiring C�sar to quit
-his army, and come to Rome. The latter saw danger in this, and while he
-determined to visit Rome, he resolved that his army should accompany
-him. The southern boundary of his provinces was a small stream, called
-the Rubicon. When C�sar came to this, he hesitated. To cross it with
-his troops, was a declaration of war. Staggered with the greatness of
-the attempt, he stopped to weigh with himself its evils and advantages;
-and, as he stood revolving in his own mind the arguments on both sides,
-he seemed to waver in his opinion. In a state of doubt, he conferred
-with such of his friends as were by, enumerating the calamities
-which the passage of that river would bring upon the world, and the
-reflections that might be made upon it by posterity. At last, upon some
-sudden impulse, bidding adieu to his reasonings, and plunging into the
-abyss of futurity--in the words of those who embark in doubtful and
-arduous enterprises--he cried out, "The die is cast;" and immediately
-passed the river.
-
-He now travelled with the utmost rapidity, having but about three
-hundred horse and five thousand foot. The consternation of the whole
-country was evinced by the movements visible on all hands--not
-individuals, only, were seen wandering about, but whole cities were
-broken up, the inhabitants seeking safety in flight. Pompey himself,
-with his friends, fled from Rome, and C�sar entered the city, and took
-possession of the government without opposition.
-
-A senate was hastily assembled, and the forms of law observed, though
-in obedience to C�sar's will. He was declared dictator, and then
-marched to Brundusium, whither Pompey had fled. After many skirmishes,
-the two armies met on the plains of Pharsalia, a town of Thessaly, in
-Greece, and a decisive and bloody engagement took place. Pompey was
-defeated, and, wandering like a distracted man, came at last to Egypt,
-where he was treacherously murdered. C�sar followed, as the remorseless
-eagle pursues its prey, but finding his rival slain, he repaired in
-triumph to Rome. These events occurred in the year 48 B. C.
-
-After various proceedings, C�sar was elected consul for ten years, and
-declared dictator for life. The mask was now thrown off--the despot
-stood disclosed. Forty senators, incensed at his subversion of the
-constitution of Rome, entered into a conspiracy to take his life, and,
-on the 18th of March, B. C. 44, they stabbed him, as he was entering
-the senate chamber. Proud even in death, C�sar muffled his face in his
-cloak as he fell, that his expiring agonies might not be witnessed.
-
-Thus lived and thus died, Julius C�sar. His talents were only equalled
-by his ambition. If he sought glory, it was often by worthy means--by
-valuable improvements, and real benefits. Yet he hesitated not to
-trample upon life, principles, bonds, rights--upon liberty--his
-country--everything that stood in the way of his towering wishes.
-
-He left behind him an account of his battles, written from day to day,
-as events occurred. These are called Commentaries, and furnish a fund
-of authentic narrative for history, beside being admired for their
-elegance of style. It was after a victory over Pharnaces, king of
-Pontus, in Asia Minor, that he used the remarkable words, _veni, vidi,
-vinci_--"I came, I saw, I conquered." They well express the celerity
-and decision of his movements. In private affairs he was extravagant of
-money; his debts at one time amounted to eight hundred talents--almost
-a million of dollars. These were paid by his friends. In public
-concerns he did not appear greedy of wealth. As an evidence of the
-activity and energy of his faculties, it was said that at the same time
-he could employ his ear to listen, his eye to read, his hand to write,
-and his mind to dictate. His disposition led him irresistibly to seek
-dominion; in battle, he must be a conqueror; in a republic, he must be
-the master. This leading feature in his character is well illustrated,
-in his saying to the inhabitants of a village, "I would rather be first
-here, than second in Rome." His character is delineated by an eminent
-writer, in the following terms:--
-
-"Such was the affection of his soldiers, and their attachment to his
-person, that they, who, under other commanders, were nothing above the
-common rate of men, became invincible when C�sar's glory was concerned,
-and met the most dreadful dangers with a courage which nothing could
-resist.
-
-"This courage, and this great ambition, were cultivated and cherished,
-in the first place, by the generous manner in which C�sar rewarded his
-troops, and the honors which he paid them. His whole conduct showed
-that he did not accumulate riches to minister to luxury, or to serve
-any pleasures of his own, but that he laid them up in a common stock,
-as prizes to be obtained by distinguished valor; and that he considered
-himself no farther rich, than as he was in a condition to do justice to
-the merit of his soldiers. Another thing that contributed to make them
-invincible, was their seeing C�sar always take his share in the danger,
-and never desire any exemption from labor and fatigue.
-
-"As for his exposing his person to danger, they were not surprised at
-it, because they knew his passion for glory; but they were astonished
-at his patience under toil, so far, in all appearance, above his
-bodily powers; for he was of a slender make, fair, of a delicate
-constitution, and subject to violent headaches, and epileptic fits. He
-had the first attack of the falling sickness at Corduba. He did not,
-however, make these disorders a pretence for indulging himself. On the
-contrary, he sought in war a remedy for his infirmities, endeavoring
-to strengthen his constitution by long marches, by simple diet, by
-seldom coming under cover. Thus he contended against his distemper, and
-fortified himself against its attacks.
-
-"When he slept, it was commonly upon a march, either in a chariot or a
-litter, that rest might be no hindrance to business. In the daytime he
-visited the castles, cities, and fortified camps, with a servant at his
-side, and with a soldier behind, who carried his sword.
-
-"As a warrior and a general, we behold him not in the least inferior to
-the greatest and most admired commander the world ever produced; for,
-whether we compare him with the Fabii, the Scipios, the Metelli--with
-the generals of his own time, or those who flourished a little before
-him--with Sylla, Marius, the two Luculli, or with Pompey himself,
-whose fame in every military excellence, reached the skies, C�sar's
-achievements bear away the palm. One he surpassed in the difficulty of
-the scene of action; another in the extent of the countries he subdued;
-this, in the number and strength of the enemies he overcame; that,
-in the savage manners and treacherous dispositions of the people he
-humanized; one, in mildness and clemency to his prisoners; another, in
-bounty and munificence to his troops; and all, in the number of battles
-that he won, and enemies that he killed. In less than ten years' war
-in Gaul, he took eight hundred cities by assault, conquered three
-hundred nations, and fought pitched battles, at different times, with
-three millions of men, one million of which he cut in pieces, and made
-another million prisoners."
-
-Such was C�sar, one of the greatest, yet worst of men. It appears that
-after his death he was enrolled among the gods. It is evident that a
-people who looked upon such a being as divine, must have worshipped
-power, and not virtue; and that what we call vice and crime, were, in
-their view, compatible with divinity.
-
-[Illustration]
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-[Illustration]
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-
-
-                               HANNIBAL.
-
-
-This great man, a native of Carthage, and son of Hamilcar Barcas, was
-born 247 B. C. At this period, Rome and Carthage were rival powers and
-both seated upon the borders of the Mediterranean Sea. Rome had been
-in existence about five hundred years, and had already extended her
-conquests over Italy and a portion of Spain. She had not yet crossed
-the Alps, to conquer the more northern Gauls or Goths, but she was
-rapidly advancing in power; and, about a century after, Greece and Asia
-Minor fell before her. Already her proud eagle began to spread his
-wing, and whet his beak for conquest and slaughter.
-
-Rome was a nation of soldiers; and, paying little respect to commerce,
-manufactures and productive industry, she sought to enrich herself by
-robbing other countries--thus building herself up by the very means
-which the Goths and Vandals employed, seven hundred years after, for
-her destruction. Carthage was, in most respects, the opposite of Rome;
-her citizens were chiefly devoted to commerce and manufactures. The
-Mediterranean was dotted over with her vessels, and she had numerous
-colonies in Spain and along the coasts of Africa.
-
-The city of Rome was the centre of the republic and the seat of
-government. Here all the laws were enacted; here all the military
-movements and other affairs of state were decided upon. The city was
-at this time nearly twenty miles in circuit, and defended by a triple
-range of walls. The number of its inhabitants was several millions.
-
-Carthage was also a vast city, situated in Africa, about four hundred
-miles south-west of Rome, the Mediterranean Sea lying between them. It
-originated with a small colony of people from Tyre, a maritime city in
-Syria, about a hundred years before Rome was founded by Romulus. It
-increased rapidly, and became a flourishing place. The city exercised
-dominion over the whole country around. Its government was a mixture
-of aristocracy and democracy; the chief men ruling on all ordinary
-occasions, but sometimes consulting the people.
-
-The Carthaginians were an industrious nation and appear to have had no
-taste or leisure for the gladiator fights, the shows of wild beasts,
-the theatrical exhibitions and other amusements, that excited such
-deep interest among the idle and dissipated Romans. They were, in many
-respects, exemplary in their morals--even abstinence from wine being
-required of the magistrates while in office. Their religion, however,
-was a gloomy superstition, and their punishments were cruel. They even
-sacrificed children to their gods, in the earlier periods of their
-history.
-
-Though chiefly addicted to commerce, the Carthaginians paid great
-attention to agriculture. The rich men laid out their surplus money in
-cultivating the lands; and in the time of Hannibal, the whole extent
-of country around Carthage, which was the territory now called Tunis,
-was covered with vast herds of the finest cattle, fields waving with
-corn, vineyards and olive grounds. There were a multitude of small
-villages scattered over the country; near to the great city, the whole
-landscape was studded with the splendid villas of the rich citizens. To
-such a pitch was the art of agriculture carried, that one Mago wrote
-twenty-eight books upon the subject. These were carried to Rome, after
-the conquest of Carthage, and greatly increased the knowledge and skill
-of the Romans, in the science of husbandry.
-
-It was at a period when these two great powers had already extended
-themselves so far as to come in frequent collision, that Hannibal was
-born. His father was a general, who had served in Spain and fought
-against the Romans in the first Punic war. His mind was filled with
-hatred of that nation; and while Hannibal was yet a boy of nine years
-old, and about to accompany his father in his Spanish campaigns, he
-caused him to kneel before the altar, and swear eternal hatred to the
-Romans.
-
-Asdrubal, the brother of Hamilcar, succeeded, at the death of the
-latter, to the command of the Carthaginian army in Spain; at his death,
-Hannibal, now twenty-one years old, was made general of the whole army,
-as well by the acclamations of the soldiers, as the decree of the
-Carthaginian senate. He immediately marched against various barbarous
-tribes in Spain, yet unsubdued, and quickly reduced them to submission.
-
-During the first Punic war, Carthage had lost her finest colonies--the
-island of Sicily, as well as the Lipari isles--all of which had fallen
-into the hands of Rome. She had now recovered from the losses of that
-war, and Hannibal determined to revenge the injuries Rome had inflicted
-upon his country. Accordingly, he laid siege to Saguntum, in Spain, a
-large city subject to Rome, and situated on the Mediterranean, near the
-present town of Valencia. Faithful to their alliance, and expecting
-succors from Rome, the people made the most determined resistance for
-eight months. They were at last reduced to such fearful extremity
-for food, that they killed their infant children and fed upon their
-blood and flesh. Filled with a horrid despair, they finally erected
-an immense pile of wood, and setting it on fire, the men first hurled
-their women, slaves and treasures into the blaze, and then plunged into
-it themselves. Hannibal now entered the city, but, instead of finding
-rich spoils, he only witnessed a heap of ashes. The solitude of that
-scene might have touched even a warrior's heart. The present town of
-Murviedo, the site of the ancient Saguntum and the witness of these
-horrid scenes, still abounds in remains of Roman architecture.
-
-The second Punic war was begun by these proceedings against Saguntum.
-Hannibal, who had determined upon the invasion of Italy, spent the
-winter in making his preparations. Leaving a large force in Africa, and
-also in Spain, to defend these points, he set out, in the spring of
-the year 218, with eighty thousand foot and twelve thousand horse, to
-fulfil his project.
-
-His course lay along the Mediterranean; the whole distance to Rome
-being about one thousand miles by the land route which he contemplated.
-When he had traversed Spain, he came to the Pyrenees, a range of
-mountains separating that country from Gaul, now France. Here he was
-attacked by wild tribes of brave barbarians, but he easily drove them
-back. He crossed the Pyrenees, traversed Gaul, and came at last to
-the Alps, which threw up their frowning battlements, interposing a
-formidable obstacle between him and the object of his expedition. No
-warrior had then crossed these snowy peaks with such an army; and
-none but a man of that degree of resolution and self-relience which
-will not be baffled, would have hazarded the fearful enterprise.
-Napoleon accomplished the task, two thousand years afterwards, but with
-infinitely greater facilities.
-
-Hannibal, after a march of five months, descended the southern slopes
-of the Alps, and poured down upon the soft and smiling plains of Italy.
-The northern portion, called Cisalpine Gaul, was peopled with Gothic
-tribes, long settled in the country. They were desirous, however, of
-throwing off the Roman yoke, and therefore favored the Carthaginian
-cause. Hannibal, whose army had been greatly reduced in his march,
-especially in crossing the Alps, remained among some of these people
-for a time, to recruit, and then proceeded southward toward Rome.
-
-On the banks of the river Tessino he was met by a Roman army despatched
-against him; but, after a bloody conflict, he was victorious. In a few
-weeks he again encountered the Romans, and again he triumphed. Thus,
-the whole of Cisalpine Gaul fell into his hands, and these people,
-relieved from the presence of the Roman army, aided him freely with
-every kind of supplies.
-
-Rome now presented a scene of the greatest activity. She was not
-yet softened by luxuries, or corrupted by indulgence; she did not,
-therefore, yield to fear, as in after days, when the wild leaders
-of the north poured down from the Alps, like an avalanche. She was
-alarmed, but yet she met the emergency with courage and resolution.
-Every artisan in the city was busy in preparation; the senate were
-revolving deep schemes; generals held councils of war; soldiers were
-recruited and trained; the people ran to and fro in the streets,
-telling the last news, and recounting some marvellous legend of the
-Carthaginians and their dreaded leader. All was bustle and preparation.
-
-When the spring of the year 217 B. C. arrived, two Roman armies took
-the field; one under the consul Flaminius, and the other under the
-consul Servilius. Hannibal first marched against Flaminius, but in
-passing the swamps of the river Arno, his army suffered greatly, and
-he himself lost one of his eyes. Soon after this, Flaminius, who was
-a rash and headstrong man, came up with him on the banks of the lake
-Trasimenus, and gave the Carthaginians battle. Here, again, the genius
-of Hannibal triumphed. The conflict was dreadful, and the water of the
-lake where the armies met, was red with blood. But the Romans were
-totally defeated.
-
-After this event, a famous general, Quintus Fabius Maximus, was
-appointed dictator of Rome, and, under his direction, a new policy was
-adopted. Instead of sending armies to act offensively against Hannibal
-at a distance, the defensive system of warfare was rigidly observed.
-This prudent course, adopted by Fabius, has given a signification
-to his name; the _Fabian_ policy being a term which is used as
-synonymous with _prudent_ policy. It is thought that Washington, in our
-revolutionary war, imitated this great Roman general.
-
-But the successes of Hannibal and the disasters of Rome, had not
-yet ended. In the year 216, another battle was determined upon, and
-Hannibal met the enemy at Cann�, near the present city of Naples. Here,
-again, the Romans were defeated with dreadful slaughter. Not less than
-forty thousand of their soldiers were slain. To this day, the relics
-of the fight are ploughed up from the ground, and the spot where the
-battle took place, is called the "field of blood." If the red stain
-has long since vanished from the soil, time cannot wash out the bloody
-record from the memory of man.
-
-Beside this fearful carnage, ten thousand Roman soldiers were taken
-prisoners. The Carthaginian loss was small. We can only account for
-such events as these, by the supposition that Hannibal, whose army
-was scarcely half as large as that of the Romans, was a man greatly
-superior in capacity even to the able and practised generals of Rome,
-who were sent against him. Nothing in modern times has been witnessed,
-to compare with his achievements, except those of Napoleon, operating
-in the same countries, and also contending against disciplined troops
-and generals long practised in the military art.
-
-The whole of lower Italy was now in the possession of Hannibal. He had
-entered the country by the north, and, having passed Rome, was in the
-southern portion of the peninsula. It would seem that he was now near
-the consummation of his wishes, and that the imperial city must fall
-before him; but such was not the event. A defensive system was still
-observed, and the city being too formidable for attack, Hannibal was
-obliged to look around for aid. He applied to Philip of Macedon and the
-Syracusans, but the Romans contrived to keep both occupied at home.
-
-Hasdrubal, the brother of Hannibal, had charge of the Carthaginian
-forces in Spain, where he conducted the war with ability. In a great
-battle, he defeated the Romans; and two generals, by the name of
-Scipio, fell. Another Scipio was sent thither, and he soon recovered
-in Spain what the Romans had lost there. Hasdrubal now left that
-country to join his brother, and, crossing the Alps without opposition,
-reached Italy. Before he could effect the junction he desired, he was
-met by the Roman forces, his army cut to pieces and he himself slain.
-Hannibal was now obliged to act on the defensive. Yet he continued
-to sustain himself here for a series of years without calling upon
-Carthage for supplies.
-
-Scipio, having finished the war in Spain, now transported his army
-across the Mediterranean: thus _carrying the war into Africa_, and
-giving rise to an expression still in vogue, and significant of
-effective retaliation. By the aid of Massinissa, a powerful prince of
-Numidia, now Morocco, he gained two victories over the Carthaginians,
-who were obliged hastily to recall their great commander from Italy.
-He landed at Leptis, and advanced near Zama, five days' journey to
-the west of Carthage. Here he met the Roman forces, and here, for the
-first time, he suffered a total defeat. The loss of the Carthaginians
-was immense, and they were obliged to sue for peace. This was granted
-on humiliating terms by Scipio, called Africanus, after this victory.
-Hannibal would still have resisted, but he was compelled by his
-countrymen to submit. Thus ended the second Punic war, 200 B. C, having
-continued about eighteen years.
-
-Hannibal now applied himself to the reform of abuses in the government
-of Carthage. In this he was supported by the people, but he incurred
-the dislike of certain leading men among his countrymen. These,
-insensible to his great services, and only guided by their jealousy,
-sent to the Roman authorities certain representations, calculated to
-excite their suspicion and arouse their anger against him. Ambassadors
-were accordingly sent to Carthage, to demand his punishment; but
-Hannibal, foreseeing the storm, fled to Tyre. From this place he went
-to Ephesus, and induced Antiochus to declare war against Rome, B. C.
-196. He had himself but a subordinate command, and when the war, which
-proved unfortunate, was over, he was compelled to depart, and seek a
-refuge with Prusias, prince of Bithynia, in Asia Minor. The Romans,
-being uneasy so long as their formidable enemy was alive, sent to
-Prusias to demand that he should be given up. Hannibal, now driven to
-extremity, and sick of life, destroyed himself by poison, B. C. 183, in
-the sixty-fifth year of his age.
-
-We have no accounts of this wonderful man except from his enemies, the
-Romans, and nothing from them but his public career. Prejudiced as are
-these sources of evidence, they still exhibit him as one of the most
-extraordinary men that has ever lived. Many of the events of his life
-remind us of the career of Napoleon. Like him, he crossed the Alps with
-a great army; like him, he was repeatedly victorious over disciplined
-and powerful forces in Italy; like him, he was finally overwhelmed in a
-great battle; like him, he was a statesman as well as a general; like
-him, he was the idol of the army; like him, he was finally driven from
-his country and died in exile. No one achievement of Bonaparte's life
-was equal to that of Hannibal in crossing the Alps, if we consider
-the difficulties he had to encounter; nor has anything in generalship
-surpassed the ability he displayed in sustaining himself and his army,
-for sixteen years, in Italy, in the face of Rome, and without asking
-for assistance from his own country.
-
-During this whole period he never once dismissed his forces, and
-though they were composed of Africans, Spaniards, Gauls, Carthaginians
-and Greeks--persons of different laws, languages and habits--never
-was anything like mutiny displayed among them. How wonderful was the
-genius that held such a vast number of persons--the fiery spirits of
-so many different nations--subject to one will, and obedient to one
-authority! Where can we look for evidence of talent superior to this?
-We cannot doubt that Hannibal, in addition to his great mind, possessed
-those personal qualifications, which enabled him to exercise powers
-of fascination over all those persons who came into his presence; and
-that, in this respect too, he bore a resemblance to Napoleon.
-
-We may not approve, yet we can hardly fail to admire, the unflinching
-hostility of Hannibal to Rome. He had been taught this in his
-childhood; it came with the first lessons of life, and from the lips
-of a father; he had sworn it at the altar. Rome was the great enemy
-of his country; and as he loved the last, he must hate the first. His
-duty, his destiny, might serve to impel him to wage uncompromising war
-against Rome; for this he lived--for this, at last, he died.
-
-Nor can we believe that this sentiment, which formed the chief spring
-of his actions, was unmixed with patriotism. Indeed, this was
-doubtless at its very root. It was for the eclipse that she cast over
-Carthage, that he would annihilate Rome. It was from a conviction
-that one of these great powers must give way to the other--that
-the existence of Rome boded destruction to Carthage--that he waged
-uncompromising and deadly war upon the former.
-
-That Hannibal was patriotic, is evinced also by the reforms which he
-sought to effect in the government of his country. These had for their
-object the benefit of the people at large. For this, he obtained the
-confidence of the mass, while he incurred the hostility of the few.
-It is no evidence against him that he fell a victim to the jealousy
-thus excited, for such has too often been the fate of the lover of his
-country.
-
-[Illustration]
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-[Illustration]
-
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-
-
-                      ALEXANDER, KING OF MACEDON.
-
-
-It is now somewhat more than two thousand years since this warrior
-flourished; yet his image continues to stand out from the page of
-history in bold relief, seeming not only to claim our attention, but to
-challenge our admiration. A brief outline of his history may enable us
-to judge upon what basis this undying fame is founded.
-
-Alexander was born 354 B. C., on the same day that Erostratus destroyed
-the famous temple of Diana at Ephesus, by fire. A wit of the time
-remarked that "it was no wonder that the temple of Diana should be
-burnt at Ephesus, while the goddess was at Macedon, attending the
-birth of Alexander." Plutarch observes that this witticism was frigid
-enough to have extinguished the flames. Philip, Alexander's father,
-being absent at the time of his birth, received three messages in one
-day: the first informed him that his general, Parmenio, had won a great
-battle; the second, that his horse had gained the prize at the Olympic
-games; the third, that his wife had borne him a son.
-
-At the time of Alexander's birth, Macedonia, which lay north of Greece,
-and now constitutes that part of Turkey called Romelia, had become a
-warlike and powerful kingdom. Philip was not only an able warrior, but
-an ambitious and sagacious statesman. He greatly civilized his own
-people, trained them to arms, and added to his kingdom several adjacent
-states. By a series of victories and crafty negotiations he had also
-become the nominal protector, but real master of Greece. It was against
-the insidious policy of Philip that Demosthenes pronounced his caustic
-speeches, which gave rise to the term "Philippics."
-
-Although Philip was ruthless in war and unscrupulous in policy, still
-he was a very enlightened prince. He understood many of the arts,
-customs and feelings which belong to civilization; nor was he destitute
-of noble traits of character. We are told that a Grecian, named
-Arcadius, was constantly railing against him. Venturing once into the
-dominions of Philip, the courtiers suggested to their prince that he
-had now an opportunity to punish Arcadius for his past insults, and to
-put it out of his power to repeat them. The king took their advice, but
-in a different way. Instead of seizing the hostile stranger and putting
-him to death, he sent for him, and then caused him to be dismissed,
-loaded with courtesies and kindness.
-
-Some time after Arcadius' departure from Macedon, word was brought
-that the king's old enemy had become one of his warmest friends, and
-did nothing but diffuse his praises wherever he went. On hearing this,
-Philip turned to his courtiers, and said with a smile, "Am not I a
-better physician than you are?" We are also told of numerous instances
-in which Philip treated his prisoners of war with a kindness quite
-unusual in the barbarous age in which he lived. Though dissolute in
-private life, as a prince he was far in advance of his nation in all
-that belongs to civilization.
-
-No better evidence of his enlightened views can be required than is
-afforded by the pains he bestowed upon the education of Alexander,
-his eldest son, and heir to his throne. He obtained for him the best
-masters, and finally placed him under the care of Aristotle, then the
-most learned and famous philosopher of Greece, and one of the most
-extraordinary men that ever lived. It cannot but be interesting and
-instructive to trace the history of the greatest warrior, who was, at
-the same time, the pupil of the greatest philosopher, of antiquity.
-
-Alexander was an apt and attentive student, and easily mastered the
-studies to which he applied. He was somewhat headstrong if treated
-with harshness, and he resisted, if an attempt was made to drive him.
-He, however, was docile and obedient when treated gently. It would
-seem, that, in this at least, he was very much like the clever boys
-of our own day. He mastered not only matters of science, but polite
-literature also. He was greatly delighted with Homer's Iliad, and, it
-is thought, modelled himself upon the warlike heroes of that poem. In
-after days, even in his campaigns, he took a copy of this work with
-him, and in the camp, read it at moments of leisure, and slept with it
-at night beneath his pillow.
-
-Alexander was greatly attached to Aristotle during his pupilage,
-though he changed both in feeling and conduct towards him afterwards.
-Philip seems to have formed a high estimate of the services rendered
-by Aristotle. The latter being born at Stagira--and hence called the
-Stagirite--which had been dismantled, Philip ordered it, in compliment
-to the philosopher, to be rebuilt, and re-established there the
-inhabitants which had either fled or been reduced to slavery. He also
-ordered a beautiful promenade, called Mirza, to be prepared on the
-borders of the river, for the studies and literary conversation of the
-people. Here were shown, even in the time of Plutarch, Aristotle's
-stone seats and shady walks.
-
-It is interesting to remark here, that both Philip and Alexander,
-powerful sovereigns and men of great minds, were yet inferior, in what
-constitutes greatness, to Aristotle. They treated him, indeed, as their
-inferior--an object of their patronage; and it is also true, that
-both Philip and Alexander are remembered at the present day; but the
-consequences of their actions ceased ages ago. Not so with Aristotle:
-his books being preserved, have come down to our times, and for two
-thousand years have been constantly exercising a powerful influence
-over mankind. There can be no doubt, therefore, that the schoolmaster
-is infinitely above the prince; the one lives for a generation, the
-other for all time; the one deals with external things which perish;
-the other with knowledge, science--principles--which never die. The one
-is a being of action, the other of mind; the one may be great for a
-brief space in the eye of vulgar observation, but he is soon quenched
-in utter oblivion; the other, though his body be dead, still lives by
-the power of the spirit. It is desirable to impress this truth on our
-hearts, for it shows that true glory lies in cultivating and exercising
-the mind; while, in comparison, it is a poor and mean ambition, which
-incites us to seek only worldly power or wealth or station.
-
-At an early period, Alexander displayed noble qualities, amid some
-vices. He was exceedingly ambitious, and when news came that his father
-had taken some strong town, or won some great battle, "My father will
-conquer," he exclaimed impatiently "the whole world, and will leave
-nothing for me to conquer." Though in the light of our Christian
-philosophy, nothing more wicked than the feelings here displayed could
-exist, still it accorded with the education he had received, and was
-an earnest of that love of war and conquest which signalized his after
-career. It may be stated, also, that Alexander did not value riches
-or pleasure, in his youth, but seemed to be always excited by a love
-of glory; he did not desire a kingdom that should afford him opulence
-and the means of luxury, but one that would bring wars and conflicts,
-and the full exercise of ambition. A sad portrait this, viewed in the
-light of our day--yet the very description of a hero, and almost of a
-god, in the age and country in which he lived.
-
-When Alexander was about twelve years old, a horse was brought for sale
-from Thessaly called Bucephalus. The price required was about �2,500
-sterling, or $12,000. Yet when any one attempted to mount him, he
-became restive and unmanageable. Philip was incensed that such a price
-should be asked for so vicious a beast, but Alexander had observed him
-carefully, and saw that he was indeed a noble creature. He therefore
-wished to try him. His father rebuked him sharply, but the prince
-persevered, and desired to mount the horse. "If you are not able to
-ride him upon trial," said Philip, "what forfeit will you pay?" "The
-price of the horse," said Alexander. This produced a laugh rather at
-Alexander's expense--but the forfeit was agreed upon, and he ran to
-the horse. He had observed that he was startled at his shadow, the
-sun shining very brightly; so he turned his head to the sun, leaped
-lightly upon his back, obtained a firm seat, and gave the animal the
-rein. The noble beast felt, with that quick intelligence of which his
-race is capable, that one worthy to be his master was on his back, and
-set forward. Finding him inclined to run, Alexander, nothing daunted,
-but with a spirit as wild and fearless as his own, and no doubt with a
-bounding and joyous sympathy, gave him the spur, and made him fly over
-the plain.
-
-Philip and all his courtiers around him were greatly frightened at
-first, but soon Alexander wheeled Bucephalus about, and rode him back
-to the place from which he started. The animal was completely subdued;
-yet there was something in his proud look, as he now stood still before
-the admiring throng, which seemed to say, "I yielded, but only to one
-worthy of being a conqueror." Alexander was received by a shout of
-acclamation--but Philip was overcome by the noble chivalry of his boy,
-and wept in very joy. "Seek another kingdom, my son!" said he, in the
-fulness of his heart, "for Macedon is too small for thee!" Such was the
-value in those days set upon personal gallantry and courage; and we
-know that these qualities are of the utmost importance, when hard blows
-usually decide the fate of empires.
-
-Everything seemed to show that Alexander had very early acted under
-the idea of being a king, and of pursuing, in that character, a career
-of conquest. No doubt all around him, the courtiers, his father and
-mother, and his teachers had thus trained him, and no doubt all this
-coincided with his natural turn of mind. He not only showed personal
-courage, but a precocious desire of practical knowledge. When less than
-twelve years of age, ambassadors came to visit the court of Macedon
-from Persia. Philip was absent, and Alexander therefore received them
-with great politeness, and a sobriety quite astonishing. He asked no
-trifling or childish questions; but made a great many inquiries about
-the roads to Persia; the distance from place to place; the situation
-of certain provinces; the character of their king; how he treated his
-enemies; in what the power of Persia lay, &c. All this astonished
-the ambassadors, who, in their excitement, exclaimed, "The boasted
-sagacity of Philip is nothing to the lofty and enterprising genius of
-his son!" Such, indeed, were the striking qualities of young Alexander,
-that the people of Macedon, in their admiration, called the youth king,
-and his father only general!
-
-Philip was pleased with all this, but as Alexander grew older, troubles
-sprung up between them. Olympias, the mother of Alexander, was a woman
-of fierce and restive temper, and she was justly incensed by a foolish
-marriage which Philip made with a young lady, named Cleopatra. At the
-celebration of this union there was great festivity, and the king got
-drunk. Alexander's mind, having been poisoned by his mother, was in
-such a state of irritation, that he spoke rudely at the feast. Philip
-drew his sword, but his passion and the wine he had drunk, caused
-him to stumble, and he fell upon the floor. "See," said Alexander,
-insolently--"men of Macedon, see there the man who was preparing to
-pass from Europe into Asia! He is not able to pass from one table to
-another!" After this insult, he left the table, and taking his mother,
-they repaired to Epirus.
-
-Here they spent some time, but Philip at last induced them to come
-back. Other troubles, however, arose, and finally king Philip was slain
-by Pausanius, whom he had injured. Olympias was thought to have incited
-the young man to this desperate act, and suspicion of participation
-fell upon Alexander.
-
-The latter, now twenty years of age, succeeded to his father's throne.
-His dominion extended over Macedon and the adjacent tribes to the
-north, including nearly the whole of that territory which now forms a
-part of Turkey, and lies between Greece, and the Argentaro mountains.
-Macedonia itself, was far less civilized than the southern parts
-of Greece: the people were, indeed, men of a different race, being
-esteemed barbarous, though the kings claimed to have been of Hellenic
-origin, and even to trace their lineage to Achilles and Hercules. The
-nation was much softened in its manners by the wise administration of
-Philip, while, at the same time, they were carefully trained in the art
-of war. The surrounding tribes, still more savage than his own people,
-and often giving exercise to his arms, still served to fill his ranks
-with the most daring and powerful soldiery.
-
-Greece, too, constituted a part of the kingdom now left to the youthful
-Alexander. But his father had only conquered, not consolidated into
-one empire, his vast dominions. Upon his death, the barbarians on
-the north, and the states of Greece at the south, feeling themselves
-liberated from a tyrant, and little fearing a youth of twenty, either
-revolted or showed a disposition to revolt. Alexander's advisers
-recommended him to give up Greece, and seek only to subdue the
-barbarous tribes around him, and to do this by mild measures.
-
-Such a course did not suit the young king. He took the opposite course;
-marched north as far as the Danube, defeating his principal enemy, and
-thus securing submission to his authority in that quarter. He then
-pushed southward, and fell upon the restive Thebans, destroying their
-city, and reducing the place to a mere heap of ghastly ruins! No less
-than six thousand of the inhabitants were slain in battle, and three
-thousand were sold as slaves!
-
-In the midst of the horrors which took place immediately after Thebes
-was taken--fire and the sword, slaughter, rapine, violence, raging on
-all sides--a party of savage Thracians, belonging to Alexander's army,
-demolished the house of Timoclea, a woman of high standing and quality.
-Having carried off the booty found in her house, and shamefully abused
-the lady, the captain asked her if she had not some gold and silver
-concealed. She replied that she had--and taking him alone into the
-garden, showed him a well, in which she said she had thrown everything
-of value when the city was taken. The officer stooped to look into
-the well, when the lady pushed him down, and rolling stones down
-upon him, soon despatched him. The Thracians, coming up, found what
-she had done, and, binding her hands, took her to Alexander. When he
-asked her who she was--"A sister of Theagenes," said she, proudly and
-fearlessly,--"a Theban general, who fought for the liberty of Greece,
-against the usurpation of Philip--and fell gloriously at the battle of
-Cheron�a!" Alexander was so much struck by her noble mien and patriotic
-sentiments, that he caused her and her children to be set at liberty.
-Such are the few rays of light, that flash across the dark path of the
-conqueror!
-
-Greece was soon brought to a state of submission and, as Alexander now
-contemplated an expedition against Darius, king of Persia, the several
-states, having held an assembly at Corinth, concluded to furnish their
-quota of supplies. Many statesmen and philosophers came to Corinth,
-where Alexander was to congratulate him upon this result; but the king
-was disappointed to find that Diogenes, the cynic philosopher, was not
-among the number. As he desired greatly to see him, he went to his
-residence in the suburbs of the city, to pay him a visit. He found the
-philosopher, basking in the sun; at the approach of so many people, he
-carelessly roused himself a little, and happened to fix his eyes on
-Alexander--"Is there anything," said the king, condescendingly--"in
-which I can serve you?"--"Only stand a little out of my sunshine," said
-Diogenes. This answer produced a laugh among the crowd, who thought it
-mere vulgarity; but Alexander saw deeper, and, reflecting upon that
-superiority, which could regard even his presence without surprise,
-and look with disdain upon his gifts, remarked, "that if he were not
-Alexander, he would wish to be Diogenes."
-
-Alexander set out, in the spring of the year 334 B. C., upon his
-expedition against Persia--from which, however, he never returned.
-He had thirty thousand foot, and five thousand horse, and a supply
-of money. His troops were well armed, the infantry bearing shields,
-spears, and battle-axes of iron; the horse were equipped with similar
-weapons, but defended with helmets and breastplates. The officers
-all bore swords. The arms of the Persians were similar, though many
-of their troops used the bow: the forces of Alexander were, however,
-better provided, better trained, and far more athletic than their
-Asiatic enemies.
-
-We must pause a moment to look at that mighty power which had now
-swallowed up Assyria, Babylon, and the countries from the Grecian
-Archipelago on the west, to India on the east; an extent of territory
-nearly three thousand miles in length, and comprehending at once the
-most fertile and populous region on the face of the globe. Such were
-the power and resources of the Persian empire, that, about one hundred
-and fifty years prior to the date of which we are speaking, it had sent
-an army, with its attendants, of five millions of persons, to conquer
-that very Greece, which was now preparing to roll back the tide of war,
-and put a final period to its proud existence.
-
-The reigning king of Persia was Darius III., a weak but conceited
-monarch, who held his court at the splendid city of Persepolis,
-which had long been the capital of the empire. His situation was
-very similar to that of the sultan of Turkey at the present day. The
-Persians, though their king ruled over almost countless nations, were
-comparatively few in number. His revenue was derived from the tribute
-of dependent princes, and the extortions made by his own satraps or
-governors. His empire, consisting of so many nations, required constant
-watchfulness, to keep all parts in subjection; and as the Asiatic
-troops were inferior, he kept in his pay, at all times, a considerable
-number of renegade Greeks, as soldiers.
-
-Being made aware of the design of Alexander, Darius sent a vast army
-westward, and marching into Syria himself, determined there to await
-his enemy. Alexander crossed the Propontis, now Sea of Marmora, which
-immediately brought him into Asia Minor, and the dominions of Persia.
-As soon as he landed, he went to Ilium, the scene of the Trojan war,
-and the ten years' siege of Troy, celebrated in the Iliad. He anointed
-the pillar upon Achilles' tomb with oil--and he and his friends ran
-naked around it, according to the custom which then prevailed. He also
-adorned it with a wreath, in the form of a crown. These ceremonies
-are supposed to have been intended to enforce the belief that he was
-descended from Achilles--a claim which he always maintained.
-
-Meantime, the Persian generals had pushed forward and posted themselves
-upon the banks of the Granicus, a small river now called Ousvola, which
-empties into the sea of Marmora. Alexander led the attack upon them
-by plunging into the river with his horse. He advanced, with thirteen
-of his troop, in the face of a cloud of arrows; and though swept down
-by the rapidity of the current, and opposed by steep banks lined with
-cavalry, he forced his way, by irresistible strength and impetuosity,
-across the stream. Standing upon the muddy slope, his troops were now
-obliged to sustain a furious attack, hand to hand, and eye to eye.
-The Persian troops, cheered by their vantage ground, pushed on with
-terrific shouts, and hurled their javelins, like snow-flakes, upon the
-Macedonians. Alexander, being himself distinguished by his buckler and
-crest, decorated with white plumes, was the special object of attack.
-His cuirass was pierced by a javelin, at the joint; but thus far he was
-unhurt. Now he was assailed by two chiefs of great distinction. Evading
-one, he engaged the other; after a desperate struggle, in which his
-crest was shorn away, and his helmet cleft to his hair, he slew one of
-the chiefs, and was saved, at the moment of deadly peril, by the hand
-of his friend Clytus, who despatched the other.
-
-While Alexander's cavalry were fighting with the utmost fury, the
-Macedonian phalanx and the infantry crossed the river, and now engaged
-the enemy. The effect of a leader's example was never more displayed.
-Alexander's exhibition of courage and prowess, made every soldier a
-hero. They fought, indeed, like persons who knew nothing, and cared
-for nothing, but to destroy the enemy. Some of the Persians gave way
-and fled. Their hireling Greeks, however, maintained the fight, and
-Alexander's horse was killed under him--but not Bucephalus. "When Greek
-meets Greek, then comes the tug of war." The fight was, indeed, severe,
-but at last Alexander triumphed. The victory was complete. The loss of
-the Persians was twenty-five thousand slain; that of the Macedonians
-less than fifty.
-
-Alexander had now passed the gates of Asia, and had obtained entrance
-into the dominions of the enemy. He paused for a time to pay the last
-honors to the dead. To each, he erected a statue of brass, executed
-by Lysippus. Upon the arms which were taken and distributed among the
-troops, he caused this inscription to be made:--"Won by Alexander, of
-the barbarians in Asia!"
-
-We may pause here to note that Bonaparte seems to have imitated the
-Macedonian conqueror in this kind of boasting. As he was on his march
-to Russia, he caused to be graven on a stone fountain at Coblentz upon
-the Rhine, as follows:
-
-"Year MDCCCXII. _Memorable for the campaign against Russia._ 1812."
-
-The Russian commander, when Napoleon had been dethroned, passing
-through Coblentz with his troops, caused to be carved, immediately
-beneath as follows:
-
-"_Seen and approved by the Russian commander of the town of Coblentz,
-January 1, 1814._"
-
-It is true that no such speedy retort awaited the Macedonian conqueror,
-yet he was bound upon an errand which was ere long to put a period to
-his proud career.
-
-Alexander soon pushed on to the East, and, meeting Darius near the
-Gulf of Issus, now Aias, and forming the north-eastern point of
-the Mediterranean, a tremendous engagement took place. Darius was
-defeated, and more than one hundred thousand of his soldiers lay
-dead on the field. Darius escaped with difficulty, leaving his tent,
-and even his wife and daughter, in the hands of the enemy. When the
-fighting was over, Alexander went to see the tent of Darius. It
-was, indeed, a curiosity to one like the Macedonian king, little
-acquainted with eastern refinements. He gazed for a time at the
-luxurious baths of Darius; his vases, boxes, vials and basins, all of
-wrought gold; he inhaled the luscious perfumes, and surveyed the rich
-silk drapery and gorgeous furniture of the tent--and then exclaimed,
-contemptuously--"This, then, it seems, is to be a king,"--intimating
-that if these were the only distinctions of a king, the title deserved
-contempt.
-
-While Alexander was thus occupied, he was told that the wife and
-daughter of Darius were his captives. The queen was one of the
-loveliest women that was ever known, and his daughter was also
-exceedingly beautiful. Though Alexander was told all this, he sent word
-to the afflicted ladies that they need have no fear; and he caused them
-to be treated with the utmost delicacy and attention. He refrained from
-using his power in any way to their annoyance; and thus displayed one
-of the noblest graces of a gentleman and a man--a nice regard for the
-feelings of the gentler sex. This anecdote of the conqueror has shed
-more honor upon his name for two thousand years, than the victory of
-the Issus; nor will it cease to be cited in his praise, as long as
-history records his name.
-
-The historians represent Alexander as simple in his tastes and habits
-at this period. He was temperate in eating, drank wine with great
-moderation, and if he sat long at table, it was for the purpose of
-conversation, in which he excelled, though given to boasting of his
-military exploits. When business called, nothing could detain him; but
-in times of leisure, his first business in the morning was to sacrifice
-to the gods. He then took his dinner, sitting. The rest of the day
-he spent in hunting, or deciding differences among his troops, or in
-reading and writing. Sometimes he would exercise himself in shooting
-or darting the javelin, or in mounting and alighting from a chariot
-in full career. Sometimes, also, he diverted himself with fowling and
-fox-hunting. His chief meal was supper, which he took at evening, and
-in a recumbent posture, with his friends around him. He was not fond of
-delicacies and though they were always found at his table, he usually
-sent them to others. Such was Alexander during the early periods of his
-campaigns in Asia.
-
-After various operations, Alexander marched against Phoenicia and
-Sidon, which submitted at once. Tyre resisted, but, after a siege of
-seven months, was taken by storm. Eight thousand Tyrians fell in the
-onslaught, and thirty thousand captives were sold into slavery. Gaza
-was now taken, after a siege of two months. Alexander then marched
-to Jerusalem, to punish the inhabitants for refusing to supply him
-with men and money. The high priest, Jaddus, went forth to meet the
-conqueror, attended by the priests and the people, with all the
-imposing emblems and signs of the Jewish religion. Alexander was so
-struck with the spectacle, that he pardoned the people, adored the name
-of the Most High, and performed sacrifices in the temple, according to
-the instructions of Jaddus. The book of the prophet Daniel was shown to
-him, and the passage pointed out in which it was foretold that the king
-of Grecia would overcome the king of Persia, with which he was well
-pleased.
-
-The conqueror now turned his arms against Egypt, which yielded without
-striking a blow. Having established the government on a liberal
-footing, he set out, A. D. 331, to attack the Persian king, who had
-gathered an army of a million of men, and was now in Persia. About
-this time, he received a letter from Darius, in which that prince
-proposed, on condition of a pacification and future friendship, to
-pay him ten thousand talents in ransom of his prisoners, to cede him
-all the countries on this side the Euphrates, and to give him his
-daughter in marriage. Upon his communicating these proposals to his
-friends, Parmenio said, "If I were Alexander, I would accept them."
-"So would I," said Alexander, "if I were Parmenio." The answer he gave
-Darius, was, "that if he would come to him, he should find the best of
-treatment; if not, he must go and seek him."
-
-In consequence of this declaration, he began his march; but he repented
-that he had set out so soon, when he received information that the wife
-of Darius was dead. That princess died in childbed; and the concern of
-Alexander was great, because he lost an opportunity of exercising his
-clemency. All he could do was to return, and bury her with the utmost
-magnificence.
-
-Alexander, having subdued various places that held out against him,
-now proceeded in his march against Darius. He found him with his
-immense army encamped on the banks of the Bumadus, a small river in
-what is now called Kourdistan. Alexander immediately approached, and
-prepared for battle. Being near the enemy at night, the murmur of the
-immense multitude, seeming like the roaring of the sea, startled one of
-Alexander's friends, who advised him to attack them in the night. The
-reply was, "I will not steal a victory!"
-
-During that night, though it was foreseen that a dreadful and doubtful
-battle was to be fought the next day, Alexander, having made his
-preparations, slept soundly. In the morning, on the field, he wore a
-short coat, girt close about him; over that, a breast plate of linen
-strongly quilted, which he had taken in the battle of the Issus. His
-helmet was of polished iron, and shone like silver. To this was fixed
-a gorget, set with precious stones. His sword was light, and of the
-finest temper. The belt he wore was superb and was given him by the
-Rhodians, as a mark of respect. In reviewing and exercising, he spared
-Bucephalus, but he rode him in battle, and when he mounted his back it
-was always a signal for the onset.
-
-Aristander, the soothsayer, rode by the side of Alexander, in a white
-robe, and with a golden crown upon his head. He looked up, and lo, an
-eagle was sailing over the army! His course was towards the enemy. The
-army caught sight of the noble bird, and, taking it for a good omen,
-they now charged the enemy like a torrent. They were bravely resisted,
-but Alexander and his troops burst down upon them like an overwhelming
-avalanche, cutting their way towards the tent of Darius. The path was
-impeded by the slaughtered heaps that gathered before them, and their
-horses were embarrassed by the mangled and dying soldiers, who clung to
-the legs of the animals, seeking in their last agonies to resist them.
-Darius, now in the utmost peril, turned to fly, but his chariot became
-entangled in the slain. Seeing this, he mounted a swift horse, and fled
-to Bactriana, where he was treacherously murdered by Bessus.
-
-Alexander was now declared king of all Asia, and, though this might
-seem the summit of his glory, it was the point at which his character
-begins to decline. He now affected the pomp of an eastern prince, and
-addicted himself to dissipation. He, however, continued his conquests.
-He marched to Babylon, which opened its gates for his reception. He
-proceeded to Persepolis, which he took by surprise. Here, in a drunken
-frolic, and instigated by an abandoned woman, named Thais, he set fire
-to the palace, which was burnt to the ground.
-
-He now marched into Parthia, and, meeting with a beautiful princess,
-named Roxana, daughter of a Bactrian king, he fell in love with her,
-and married her. Some time after this, upon some suspicion of the
-fidelity of Philotas, the son of Parmenio, he caused him to be put
-to the torture till he died. He then sent orders to have his father,
-an old and faithful soldier, who had fought under Philip, and who
-was now in Media, to be put to death, which were but too faithfully
-executed. This horrid transaction was soon followed by another, still
-more dreadful. Under the excitement of wine, a dispute arose between
-Alexander and Clytus, the brave officer who had saved his life at the
-battle of the Granicus.
-
-Both became greatly excited: taunts and gibes were uttered on either
-side. Alexander, unable longer to keep down his rage, threw an apple
-in the face of Clytus, and then looked about for his sword; but one of
-his friends had prudently taken it away. Clytus was now forced out of
-the room, but he soon came back, and repeated the words of Euripides,
-meaning to apply them to Alexander:
-
-
-    "Are these your customs?--Is it thus that Greece
-     Rewards her combatants? Shall one man claim
-     The trophies won by thousands?"
-
-
-The conqueror was now wholly beside himself. He seized a spear from
-one of the guards, and, at a plunge, ran it through the body of Clytus,
-who fell dead, uttering a dismal groan as he expired.
-
-Alexander's rage subsided in a moment. Seeing his friends standing
-around in silent astonishment, he hastily drew out the spear, and was
-applying it to his own throat, when his guards seized him, and carried
-him by force to his chamber. Here the pangs of remorse stung him to
-the quick. Tears fell fast for a time, and then succeeded a moody,
-melancholy silence, only broken by groans. His friends attempted in
-vain to console him. It was not till after long and painful suffering,
-that he was restored to his wonted composure.
-
-Alexander now set out for the conquest of India, then a populous
-country, and the seat of immense wealth. After a series of splendid
-achievements, he reached the banks of the Hydaspes, a considerable
-stream that flows into the Indus. Here he was met by Porus, an Indian
-king, with an army, in which were a large number of elephants. A
-bloody battle followed, in which Alexander was victorious and Porus
-made captive. "How do you wish to be treated?" said Alexander to the
-unfortunate monarch. "Like a king," was the brief, but significant
-reply. Alexander granted his request, restored his dominions and much
-enlarged them, making him, however, one of his tributaries.
-
-The conqueror, not yet satisfied, wished to push on to the Ganges;
-but his army refusing to go farther, he was forced to return. On his
-way back, he paid a visit to the ocean, and, in a battle with some
-savage tribes, being severely wounded, he came near losing his life.
-On the borders of the sea, he and his companions first saw the ebbing
-and flowing of the tide,--a fact of which they were before entirely
-ignorant. In this expedition the army suffered greatly: when it set out
-for India, it consisted of 150.000 men: on its return, it was reduced
-to one fourth of that number.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-Coming to a fertile district, Alexander paused to recruit, and refresh
-his men. He then proceeded, keeping up a kind of bacchanalian f�te, in
-which the whole army participated. His own chariot was drawn by eight
-horses: it consisted of a huge platform where he and his friends
-revelled, day and night. This carriage was followed by others, some
-covered with rich purple silk and others with fresh boughs. In these
-were the generals, crowned with flowers, and inebriated with wine. In
-the immense procession there was not a spear, helmet, or buckler, but
-in their places cups, flagons, and goblets. The whole country resounded
-with flutes, clarionets, and joyous songs. The scene was attended with
-the riotous dances and frolics of a multitude of women. This licentious
-march continued for seven days.
-
-When he arrived at Susa, in Persia, he married a great number of his
-friends to Persian ladies. He set the example by taking Statira,
-daughter of Darius, to himself, and gave her sister to Heph�stion,
-his dearest friend. He now made a nuptial feast for the newly-married
-people, and nine thousand persons sat down to the entertainment. Each
-one was honored with a golden cup.
-
-On his return to Babylon, Alexander determined to make that place his
-residence and capital, and set about various plans for carrying this
-into effect. But his mind seemed haunted with superstitious fears.
-Everything that happened was construed into an augury of evil. The
-court swarmed with sacrifices and soothsayers, but still, for a long
-time, peace could not be obtained by the monarch.
-
-At last he seemed to be relieved, and being asked by Medias to a
-carousal, he drank all day and all night, until he found a fever coming
-upon him. He then desisted, but it was too late. The disease increased,
-setting at defiance every attempt at remedy, and in the space of about
-thirty days he died. Such was the miserable end of Alexander the Great.
-His wife, Roxana, with the aid of Perdiccas, murdered Statira and her
-sister, and the empire of the mighty conqueror was divided between four
-of his officers.
-
-The great achievement of Alexander--the grand result of his life--was
-the subjugation of the Persian monarchy, which lay like an incubus upon
-the numerous nations that existed between the Indus and the Euxine
-sea, and at the same time intercepted the communication between Europe
-and Asia. It was an achievement far greater than it would be now to
-overthrow the Ottoman throne, and give independence to the various
-tribes and states that are at present under its dominion. That he
-accomplished this work for any good motive, we cannot maintain, for his
-whole course shows, that, like all other conquerors, his actions began
-and terminated in himself.
-
-The character of Alexander has been delineated in the course of this
-brief sketch. We have not been able to give the details of all his
-battles, marches, and countermarches. His achievements were indeed
-stupendous. He crossed the Propontis in 334, and died in 323. It was in
-the brief space of eleven years, and at the age of thirty-three, that
-he had accomplished the deeds of which we have given a naked outline.
-Nor was he a mere warrior. He displayed great talents as a statesman,
-and many of the traits of a gentleman. His whole life, indeed, was
-founded upon an atrocious wrong--that one man may sacrifice millions
-of lives for his own pleasure--but this was the error of the age. As
-before intimated, considered in the light of Christianity, he was a
-monster; yet, according to the heathen model, he was a hero, and almost
-a god.
-
-In seeking for the motives which impelled Alexander forward in his
-meteor-like career we shall see that it was the love of glory--an
-inspiration like that of the chase, in which the field is an empire,
-and the game a monarch. In this wild ambition, he was stimulated by
-the Iliad of Homer, and it was his darling dream to match the bloody
-deeds of its heroes--Ajax and Achilles. It is impossible to see in his
-conduct, anything which shows a regard to the permanent happiness of
-mankind. He makes war, as if might were the only test of right; and he
-sacrifices nations to his thirst of conquest, with as little question
-of the rectitude of his conduct, as is entertained by the lion when he
-slays the antelope, or the sportsman when he brings down his game.
-
-Although we see many noble traits in Alexander, the real selfishness
-of his character is evinced in his famous letter to Aristotle. The
-latter, having published some of his works, is sharply rebuked by
-the conqueror, who says to him--"Now that you have done this, what
-advantage have I, your pupil, over the rest of mankind, since you have
-put it in the power of others to possess the knowledge which before was
-only imparted to me!" What can be more narrow and selfish than this?
-Even the current standard of morals in Alexander's time, would condemn
-this as excessive meanness.
-
-We must not omit to record the last days of one that figures in
-Alexander's annals, and is hardly less famous than the conqueror
-himself--we mean his noble horse, Bucephalus. This animal, more
-renowned than any other of his race, died on the banks of the Hydaspes.
-Craterus was ordered to superintend the building of two cities, one
-on each side of this river. The object was to secure the passage in
-future. That on the left bank was named Nic�a, the other Bucephala,
-in honor of the favorite horse, which had expired in battle without
-a wound, being worn out by age, heat, and over-exertion. He was then
-thirty years old. He was a large, powerful, and spirited horse, and
-would allow no one but Alexander to mount him. From a mark of a bull's
-head imprinted on him, he derived his name, Bucephalus; though some say
-that he was so called in consequence of having in his forehead a white
-mark resembling a bull's head.
-
-Once this famous charger, whose duties were restricted to the field
-of battle, was intercepted, and fell into the hands of the Uxians.
-Alexander caused a proclamation to be made, that, if Bucephalus were
-not restored, he would wage a war of extirpation against the whole
-nation. The restoration of the animal instantly followed the receipt of
-this notification; so great was Alexander's regard for his horse and so
-great the terror of his name among the barbarians. "Thus far," writes
-Arrian, "let Bucephalus be honored by me, for the sake of his master."
-
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-[Illustration]
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-
-                              ARISTOTLE.
-
-
-This great philosopher was born at Stagira, or Stageira, in Macedonia,
-384 B. C. His father, physician to Amyntas II., king of Macedonia,
-commenced the education of his son, intending to prepare him for his
-own profession; and the studies pursued by the latter with this object,
-doubtless laid the foundation for that lore of natural history, which
-he displayed through life, and which he cultivated with such success.
-
-Aristotle lost both his parents while he was still young. After their
-death, he was brought up under Proxenes, a citizen of Mysia, in Asia
-Minor, who had settled in Stagira. Aristotle testified his gratitude to
-Proxenes and his wife, by directing, in his will, that statues of them
-should be executed at his expense and set up as his parents. He also
-educated their son Nicanor, to whom he gave his daughter Pythias in
-marriage.
-
-In his eighteenth year, Aristotle left Stagira and went to Athens,
-the centre of letters and learning in Greece--doubtless attracted
-thither by the fame of the philosopher, Plato. It appears, however,
-that during the three first years of his residence there, Plato was
-absent on a visit to Sicily. There can be no doubt that Aristotle paid
-particular attention to anatomy and medicine, as appears both from his
-circumstances in youth, and what we know of his best writings. It is
-also probable, as is indicated by some statements of ancient writers,
-that for a space he practised, like Locke, the healing art; he must,
-however, from an early age, have devoted his whole time to the study
-of philosophy and the investigation of nature, and have abandoned all
-thoughts of an exclusively professional career.
-
-His eagerness for the acquisition of knowledge, and his extraordinary
-acuteness and sagacity, doubtless attracted Plato's attention at
-an early period; thus we are told that his master called him "the
-Intellect of the school," and his house, the "House of the reader;"
-that he said Aristotle required the curb, while Zenocrates, a
-fellow-disciple, required the spur; some of which traditions are
-probably true. We are likewise informed that when reading he used to
-hold a brazen ball in his hand over a basin, in order that, if he
-fell asleep, he might be awaked by the noise which it would make in
-falling. Although Aristotle did not during Plato's life, set up any
-school in opposition to him, as some writers have stated, he taught
-publicly in the art of rhetoric, and by this means became the rival of
-the celebrated Isocrates, whom he appears, notwithstanding his very
-advanced age, to have attacked with considerable violence, and to have
-treated with much contempt.
-
-Aristotle remained at Athens till Plato's death, 347 B. C., having at
-that time reached his thirty-seventh year. Many stories are preserved
-by the ancient compilers of anecdotes, respecting the enmity between
-Plato and Aristotle, caused by the ingratitude of the disciple, as well
-as by certain peculiarities of his character which were displeasing to
-the master. But these rumors appear to have no other foundation than
-the known variance between the opinions and the mental habits of the
-two philosophers; and particularly the opposition which Aristotle made
-to Plato's characteristic doctrine of ideas; whence it was inferred
-that there must have been an interruption of their friendly relations.
-The probability, however, is, that Aristotle, at whatever time he may
-have formed his philosophical opinions, had not published them in an
-authoritative shape, or entered into any public controversy, before
-his master's death. In his Nicomachean Ethics, moreover, which was
-probably one of his latest works, he says "that it is painful to him to
-refute the doctrine of ideas, as it had been introduced by persons who
-were his friends: nevertheless, that it is his duty to disregard such
-private feelings; for both philosophers and truth being dear to him, it
-is right to give the preference to truth." He is, likewise, stated to
-have erected an altar to his master inscribing on it that he was a man
-"whom the wicked ought not even to praise."
-
-After the death of Plato, Aristotle left Athens and went to live at the
-court of Hermeias, prince of Atarneus. He had resided here but three
-years, when Hermeias, falling into the hands of the Persians, was put
-to death. Aristotle took refuge in Mytilene, the chief city of Lesbos.
-Here he married Pythias, sister of Hermeias, and who, being exposed to
-persecution from the Persians, now coming into power there, he saved by
-a rapid flight. For the patriotic and philosophical prince Hermeias,
-Aristotle entertained a fervent and deep affection, and he dedicated
-to his memory a beautiful poem, which is still extant. On account of
-the admiration he expresses of his friend, he was afterwards absurdly
-charged with impiety in deifying a mortal.
-
-In the year 356 B. C., Philip of Macedon wrote a famous letter to
-Aristotle, as follows: "King Philip of Macedon, to Aristotle, greeting.
-Know that a son has been born to me. I thank the gods, not so much that
-they have given him to me, as that they have permitted him to be born
-in the time of Aristotle. I hope that thou wilt form him to be a king
-worthy to succeed me, and to rule the Macedonians."
-
-In the year 342 B. C., Aristotle was invited by Philip to take charge
-of the education of his son, Alexander, then fourteen years old.
-This charge was accepted, and Alexander was under his care three or
-four years. The particulars of his method of instruction are not
-known to us; but when we see the greatness of mind that Alexander
-displayed in the first years of his reign,--his command of his passions
-till flattery had corrupted him, and his regard for the arts and
-sciences,--we cannot but think that his education was judiciously
-conducted. It may be objected that Aristotle neglected to guard his
-pupil against ambition and the love of conquest; but it must be
-recollected that he was a Greek, and of course a natural enemy to the
-Persian kings; his hatred had been deepened by the fate of his friend
-Hermeias; and, finally, the conquest of Persia had, for a long time,
-been the wish of all Greece. It was, therefore, natural that Aristotle
-should exert all his talents to form his pupil with the disposition and
-qualifications necessary for the accomplishment of this object.
-
-Both father and son sought to show their gratitude for the services of
-such a teacher. Philip rebuilt Stagira, and established a school there
-for Aristotle. The Stagirites, in gratitude for this service, appointed
-a yearly festival, called _Aristotelia_. The philosopher continued at
-Alexander's court a year after his accession to the throne, and is
-said to have then repaired to Athens. Ammonius, the Eclectic, says
-that he followed his pupil in a part of his campaigns; and this seems
-very probable; for it is hardly possible that so many animals as the
-philosopher describes could have been sent to Athens, or that he could
-have given so accurate a description of them without having personally
-dissected and examined them. We may conjecture that he accompanied
-Alexander as far as Egypt, and returned to Athens about 331 B. C.,
-provided with the materials for his excellent History of Animals.
-
-Aristotle, after parting with Alexander, returned to Athens, where he
-resolved to open a school, and chose a house, which, from its vicinity
-to the temple of Apollo Lyceus, was called the _Lyceum_. Attached to
-this building was a garden, with walks, in Greek _peripatoi_, where
-Aristotle used to deliver his instructions to his disciples; whence his
-school obtained the name of _peripatetic_. It appears that his habit
-was to give one lecture in the early part of the day on the abstruser
-parts of his philosophy, to his more advanced scholars, which was
-called the _morning walk_, and lasted till the hour when people dressed
-and anointed themselves; and another lecture, called the _evening
-walk_, on more popular subjects, to a less select class.
-
-It was probably during the thirteen years of his second residence at
-Athens, that Aristotle composed or completed the greater part of his
-works which have descended to our days. The foundation of most of
-them was, doubtless, laid at an early period of his life; but they
-appear to have been gradually formed, and to have received continual
-additions and corrections. Among the works which especially belong to
-this period of his life, are his treatises on Natural History; which,
-as has been correctly observed by a late writer on this subject, are
-not to be considered as the result of his own observations only, but
-as a collection of all that had been observed by others, as well as by
-himself.
-
-It is stated by Pliny, that "Alexander the Great, being smitten with
-the desire of knowing the natures of animals, ordered several thousand
-persons, over the whole of Asia and Greece, who lived by hunting,
-bird-catching and fishing, or who had the care of parks, herds,
-hives, seines, and aviaries, to furnish Aristotle with materials for
-a work on animals." We are likewise informed that Aristotle received
-from Alexander the enormous sum of eight hundred talents,--nearly a
-million of dollars, to prosecute his researches in natural history,--a
-circumstance which did not escape the malice of his traducers, who
-censured him for receiving gifts from princes. Seneca, who states that
-Philip furnished Aristotle with large sums of money for his history of
-animals, had, doubtless, confounded the father and son.
-
-Callisthenes, a relation of Aristotle, by his recommendation,
-attended Alexander in his expedition to Asia, and sent from Babylon
-to the philosopher, in compliance with his previous injunctions, the
-astronomical observations which were preserved in that ancient city,
-and which, according to the statement of Porphyrius, reached back as
-far as 1903 years before the time of Alexander the Great; that is, 2234
-years before the Christian era.
-
-Aristotle had, at this time, reached the most prosperous period of his
-life. The founder and leader of the principal school of Greece, and
-the undisputed head of Grecian philosophy, surrounded by his numerous
-disciples and admirers, protected by the conqueror of Asia, and by him
-furnished with the means of following his favorite pursuits, and of
-gratifying his universal spirit of inquiry, he had, probably, little
-to desire in order to fill up the measure of a philosopher's ambition.
-But he did not continue to enjoy the favor of Alexander till the end.
-Callisthenes, by his free-spoken censures and uncourtly habits, had
-offended his master, and had been executed, on a charge of having
-conspired with some Macedonians to take away his life; and the king's
-wrath appears to have extended to his kinsman, Aristotle, as being the
-person who had originally recommended him. It is not, however, probable
-that this circumstance caused any active enmity between the royal pupil
-and his master; even if we did not know that Alexander died a natural
-death, there would be no reason for listening to the absurd calumny
-that Aristotle was concerned in poisoning him. Aristotle indeed appears
-to have been considered, to the last, as a partisan of Alexander, and
-an opponent of the democratic interest.
-
-When the anti-Macedonian party obtained the superiority at Athens in
-consequence of Alexander's death, an accusation against Aristotle was
-immediately prepared, and the pretext selected, was, as in the case of
-Socrates, _impiety_, or _blasphemy_. He was charged by Eurymedon, the
-priest, and a man named Demophilus, probably a leader of the popular
-party, with paying divine honors to Hermeias, and perhaps with teaching
-certain irreligious doctrines. In order to escape this danger, and
-to prevent the Athenians, as he said, in allusion to the death of
-Socrates, from "sinning twice against philosophy," he quitted Athens
-in the beginning of the year 322 B. C., and took refuge at Chalcis,
-in Euboea, an island then under the Macedonian influence--leaving
-Theophrastus his successor in the Lyceum. There he died, of a
-disease of the stomach, in the autumn of the same year, being in the
-sixty-third year of his age. His frame is said to have been slender and
-weakly, and his health had given way in the latter part of his life,
-having probably been impaired by his unwearied studies and the intense
-application of his mind. The story of his having drowned himself in the
-Euripus of Euboea, is fabulous.
-
-The characteristic of Aristotle's philosophy, as compared with
-that of Plato, is, that while the latter gave free scope to his
-imagination, and, by his doctrine that we have ideas independent of
-the objects which they represent, opened a wide door to the dreams of
-mysticism--the latter was a close and strict observer of both mental
-and physical phenomena, avoiding all the seductions of the fancy,
-and following a severe, methodical, and strictly scientific course
-of inquiry, founded on data ascertained by experience. The truly
-philosophical character of his mind, and his calm and singularly
-dispassionate manner of writing, are not more remarkable than the
-vast extent both of his reading and of his original researches. His
-writings appear to have embraced nearly the whole circle of the
-theoretical and practical knowledge of his time, comprising treatises
-on logical, metaphysical, rhetorical, poetical, ethical, political,
-economical, physical, mechanical, and medical science. He likewise
-wrote on some parts of the mathematics; and, besides a collection of
-the constitutions of all the states known in his age, both Grecian and
-barbarian he made chronological compilations relating to the political
-and dramatic history of Greece.
-
-His works, however, though embracing so large an extent of subjects,
-were not a mere encyclop�dia, or digest of existing knowledge; some
-of the sciences which he treated of were created by himself, and
-the others were enriched by fresh inquiries, and methodized by his
-systematic diligence. To the former belong his works on analytics and
-dialectics, or, as it is now called, logic; to the invention of which
-science he distinctly lays claim, stating that "before his time nothing
-whatever had been done in it." Nearly the same remark applies to his
-metaphysical treatise. "But of all the sciences," says Cuvier, "there
-is none which owes more to Aristotle, than the natural history of
-animals. Not only was he acquainted with a great number of species, but
-he has studied and described them on a luminous and comprehensive plan,
-to which, perhaps, none of his successors has approached; classing the
-facts not according to the species, but according to the organs and
-functions, the only method of establishing comparative results. Thus it
-may be said that he is not only the most ancient author of comparative
-anatomy, whose works have come down to us, but that he is one of those
-who have treated this branch of natural history with the most genius,
-and that he best deserves to be taken for a model. The principal
-divisions which naturalists still follow in the animal kingdom,
-are due to Aristotle; and he had already pointed out several which
-have recently been again adopted, after having once been improperly
-abandoned. If the foundations of these great labors are examined,
-it will be seen that they all rest on the same method. Everywhere
-Aristotle observes the facts with attention; he compares them with
-sagacity, and endeavors to rise to the qualities which they have in
-common."
-
-Among the sciences which he found partly cultivated, but which he
-greatly advanced, the most prominent are those of rhetoric, ethics, and
-politics. Of rhetoric he defined the province, and analyzed all the
-parts with admirable skill and sagacity. His treatise on the passions,
-in this short but comprehensive work, has never been surpassed, if it
-has ever been equalled, by writers on what may be termed descriptive
-moral philosophy. His ethical writings contain an excellent practical
-code of morality, chiefly founded on the maxim that virtues are in
-the middle, between two opposite vices; as courage between cowardice
-and fool-hardiness, liberality between niggardliness and prodigality,
-&c. His remarks on friendship are also deserving of special notice; a
-subject much discussed by the ancients, but which has less occupied the
-attention of philosophers, since love has played a more prominent part,
-in consequence of the influence of the Germans, and the introduction
-of the manners of chivalry in western Europe. His treatise on politics
-is not, like Plato's Republic, and the works of many later speculators
-on government, a mere inquiry after a perfect state, but contains an
-account of the nature of government, of the various forms of which it
-is susceptible, and the institutions best adapted to the societies in
-which these forms are established; with an essay, though unhappily an
-imperfect one, on education. This treatise is valuable, not only for
-its theoretical results, but also for the large amount of information
-which it contains, on the governments of Greece and other neighboring
-countries. Throughout these last-mentioned works, the knowledge of the
-world and of human nature displayed by Aristotle, is very observable;
-and, although his mind appears to have preferred the investigations
-of physical and metaphysical science, yet he holds a very high place
-in the highest rank of moral and political philosophers. Aristotle,
-it will be remembered, did not lead the life of a recluse; but, as
-the friend of Hermeias, the teacher of Alexander, and the head of a
-philosophical school, he was brought into contact with a great variety
-of persons, and learned by practice to know life under many different
-forms, and in many different relations.
-
-Of all the philosophers of antiquity, Aristotle has produced the most
-lasting and extensive effect on mankind. His philosophical works, many
-centuries after his death, obtained a prodigious influence, not only in
-Europe, but even in Asia; they were translated into Arabic, and from
-thence an abstract of his logical system passed into the language of
-Persia. In Europe they acquired an immense ascendency in the middle
-ages, and were considered as an authority without appeal, and only
-second to that of Scripture; we are even informed that in a part of
-Germany his ethics were read in the churches on Sunday, in the place
-of the Gospels. Parts of his philosophy, which are the most worthless,
-as his Physics, were much cultivated; and his logical writings were,
-in many cases, abused so as to lead to vain subtleties, and captious
-contests about words. The connection between some of his tenets and the
-Roman Catholic theology, tended much to uphold his authority, which
-the Reformation lowered in a corresponding degree. His doctrines were
-in general strongly opposed by the early reformers. In 1518 Luther
-sustained a thesis at Heidelberg, affirming that "he who wishes to
-philosophize in Aristotle, must be first stultified in Christ." Luther,
-however, gave way afterwards, and did not oppose Aristotle, as to human
-learning. Melanchthon, who was one of the mildest of the reformers, was
-a great supporter of Aristotle. Many of his doctrines were in the same
-century zealously attacked by the French philosopher, Pierre Ramus.
-Bacon, afterwards, with others of his followers, added the weight of
-their arguments and authority against him. Aristotle's philosophy
-accordingly fell into undeserved neglect during the latter part of the
-seventeenth, and the whole of the eighteenth century. Of late, however,
-the true worth of his writings has been more fully appreciated, and the
-study of his best treatises has much revived.
-
-The most valuable of Aristotle's lost works, and indeed the most
-valuable of all the lost works of Greek prose, is his collection of One
-Hundred and Fifty-eight Constitutions, both of Grecian and Barbarian
-States, the Democratic, Oligarchical, Aristocratical, and Tyrannical,
-being treated separately, containing an account of the manners,
-customs, and institutions of each country. The loss of his works on
-Colonies, on Nobility, and on Royal Government; of his Chronological
-Collections, and of his Epistles to Philip, Alexander, Antipater, and
-others, is also much to be regretted. He likewise revised a copy of
-the Iliad, which Alexander carried with him during his campaigns, in a
-precious casket; hence this recension, called the _casket copy_, passed
-into the Alexandrine library, and was used by the Alexandrine critics.
-His entire works, according to Diogenes Laertius, occupied in the Greek
-manuscripts 445,270 lines.
-
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-
-                             DEMOSTHENES.
-
-
-This celebrated Grecian orator was born about 384 or 385 years B.
-C., at a period when Athens had reached the zenith of her literary,
-and had passed that of her political, glory. Juvenal has represented
-him slightingly, as the son of a blacksmith--the fact being that the
-elder Demosthenes was engaged in various branches of trade, and, among
-others, was owner of a sword manufactory. His maternal grandmother was
-a Thracian woman--a circumstance noticeable because it enabled his
-enemies, in the spirit of ill-will, to taunt him as a barbarian and
-hereditary enemy of his country; for the Greeks, in general, regarded
-the admixture of other than Greek blood, with the same sort of contempt
-and dislike that the whites of America do the taint of African descent.
-
-Being left an orphan when seven years old, Demosthenes fell into the
-hands of dishonest guardians, who embezzled a large portion of the
-property which his father had bequeathed to him. His constitution
-appears to have been delicate, and it may have been on this account
-that he did not attend the gymnastic exercises, which formed a large
-portion of the education of the youths in Greece; exercises really
-important where neither birth nor wealth set aside the obligation to
-military service common to all citizens; and where, therefore, skill
-in the use of arms, strength, and the power to endure fatigue and
-hardship, were essential to the rich as well as to the poor. It may
-have been on this account that a nickname expressive of effeminacy
-was bestowed on him, which was afterwards interpreted into a proof of
-unmanly luxury and vicious habits; indeed, the reproach of wanting
-physical strength clung to him through life; and apparently this was
-not undeserved. Another nickname that he obtained was that of "Viper."
-In short, the anecdotes which have come down to us, tend pretty
-uniformly to show that his private character was harsh and unamiable.
-
-His ambition to excel as an orator is said to have been kindled by
-hearing a masterly and much admired speech of Callistratus. For
-instruction, he resorted to Is�us, and, as some say, to Isocrates, both
-eminent teachers of the art of rhetoric. He had a stimulus to exertion
-in the resolution to prosecute his guardians for abuse of their trust;
-and having gained the cause, B. C. 364, in the conduct of which he
-himself took an active part, recovered, it would seem, a large part of
-his property. The orations against Aphobus and Onetor, which appear
-among his works, profess to have been delivered in the course of the
-suit; but it has been doubted, on internal evidence, whether they were
-really composed by him so early in life.
-
-Be this as it may, his success emboldened him to come forward as a
-speaker in the assemblies of the people; on what occasion, and at what
-time, does not appear. His reception was discouraging. He probably
-had underrated, till taught by experience, the degree of training and
-mechanical preparation requisite at all times to excellence, and most
-essential in addressing an audience so acute, sensitive and fastidious
-as the Athenians. He labored also under physical defects, which almost
-amounted to disqualifications. His voice was weak, his breath short,
-his articulation defective; in addition to all this, his style was
-throughout strained, harsh and involved.
-
-Though somewhat disheartened by his ill success, he felt as Sheridan
-is reported to have expressed himself on a similar occasion, that
-_it was in him, and it should come out_; beside, he was encouraged
-by a few discerning spirits. One aged man, who had heard Pericles,
-cheered him with the assurance that he reminded him of that unequalled
-orator; and the actor Satyrus pointed out the faults of his delivery,
-and instructed him to amend them. He now set himself in earnest to
-realize his notions of excellence; and the singular and irksome methods
-which he adopted, denoting certainly no common energy and strength of
-will, are too celebrated and too remarkable to be omitted, though the
-authority on which they rest is not free from doubt. He built a room
-under ground, where he might practise gesture and delivery without
-molestation, and there he spent two or three months together, shaving
-his head, that the oddity of his appearance might render it impossible
-for him to go abroad, even if his resolution should fail. The defect in
-his articulation he cured by reciting with small pebbles in his mouth.
-His lungs he strengthened by practising running up hill, while reciting
-verses. Nor was he less diligent in cultivating mental than bodily
-requisites, applying himself earnestly to study the theory of the art
-as explained in books, and the examples of the greatest masters of
-eloquence. Thucydides is said to have been his favorite model, insomuch
-that he copied out his history eight times, and had it almost by heart.
-
-Meanwhile, his pen was continually employed in rhetorical exercises;
-every question suggested to him by passing events served him for
-a topic of discussion, which called forth the application of his
-attainments to the real business of life. It was perhaps as much
-for the sake of such practice, as with a view to reputation, or the
-increase of his fortune, that he accepted employment as an advocate,
-which, until he began to take an active part in public affairs, was
-offered to him in abundance.
-
-Such was the process by which he became confessedly the greatest orator
-among the people by whom eloquence was cultivated, as it has never been
-since by any nation upon earth. He brought it to its highest state of
-perfection, as did Sophocles the tragic drama, by the harmonious union
-of excellences which had before only existed apart. The quality in his
-writings, which excited the highest admiration of the most intelligent
-judges among his countrymen in the later critical age, was the Protean
-versatility with which he adapted his style to every theme, so as to
-furnish the most perfect examples of every order and kind of eloquence.
-
-Demosthenes, like Pericles, never willingly appeared before his
-audience with any but the ripest fruits of his private studies, though
-he was quite capable of speaking on the impulse of the moment in a
-manner worthy of his reputation. That he continued to the end of his
-career to cultivate the art with unabated diligence, and that, even
-in the midst of public business, his habits were those of a severe
-student, is well known.
-
-The first manifestation of that just jealousy of Philip, the ambitious
-king of Macedon, which became the leading principle of his life, was
-made 252 B. C., when the orator delivered the first of those celebrated
-speeches called Philippics. This word has been naturalized in Latin
-and most European languages, as a concise term to signify indignant
-invective.
-
-From this time forward, it was the main object of Demosthenes to
-inspire and keep alive in the minds of the Athenians a constant
-jealousy of Philip's power and intentions, and to unite the other
-states of Greece in confederacy against him. The policy and the
-disinterestedness of his conduct have both been questioned; the former,
-by those who have judged, from the event, that resistance to the power
-of Macedonia was rashly to accelerate a certain and inevitable evil;
-the latter, by those, both of his contemporaries and among posterity,
-who believe that he received bribes from Persia, as the price of
-finding employment in Greece for an enemy, whose ambition threatened
-the monarch of the East. With respect to the former, however, it
-was at least the most generous policy, and like that of the elder
-Athenians in their most illustrious days--not to await the ruin of
-their independence submissively, until every means had been tried for
-averting it; for the latter, such charges are hard either to be proved
-or refuted. The character of Demosthenes certainly does not stand above
-the suspicion of pecuniary corruption, but it has not been shown, nor
-is it necessary or probable to suppose, that his jealousy of Philip
-of Macedon was not, in the first instance, far-sighted and patriotic.
-During fourteen years, from 352 to 338, he exhausted every resource of
-eloquence and diplomatic skill to check the progress of that aspiring
-monarch; and whatever may be thought of his moral worth, none can
-undervalue the genius and energy which have made his name illustrious,
-and raised a memorial of him far more enduring than sepulchral brass.
-
-In 339 B. C., Philip's appointment to be general of the Amphictyonic
-League gave him a more direct influence than he had yet possessed;
-and in the same year, the decisive victory of Cheronea, won over the
-combined forces of Thebes, Athens, &c., had made him master of Greece.
-Demosthenes served in this engagement, but joined, early in the flight,
-with circumstances, according to report, of marked cowardice and
-disgrace. He retired for a time from Athens, but the cloud upon his
-character was but transient for, shortly after, he was entrusted with
-the charge of putting the city in a state of defence, and was appointed
-to pronounce the funeral oration over those who had been slain. After
-the battle of Cheronea, Philip, contrary to expectation, did not
-prosecute hostilities against Athens; on the contrary, he used his
-best endeavors to conciliate the affections of the people, but without
-success. The party hostile to Macedon soon regained the superiority,
-and Demosthenes was proceeding with his usual vigor in the prosecution
-of his political schemes, when news arrived of the murder of Philip, in
-July, 336.
-
-The daughter of Demosthenes had then lately died; nevertheless, in
-violation of national usage, he put off his mourning, and appeared
-in public, crowned with flowers and with other tokens of festive
-rejoicing. This act, a strong expression of triumph over the fall of
-a most dangerous enemy, has been censured with needless asperity;
-the accusation of having been privy to the plot for Philip's murder,
-beforehand, founded on his own declaration of the event some time
-before intelligence of it came from any other quarter, and the manifest
-falsehood as to the source of the information, which he professed to
-derive from a divine revelation, involves--if it be judged to be well
-founded--a far blacker imputation.
-
-Whether or not it was of his own procuring, the death of Philip was
-hailed by Demosthenes as an event most fortunate for Athens, and
-favorable to the liberty of Greece. Thinking lightly of the young
-successor to the Macedonian crown, he busied himself the more in
-stirring up opposition to Alexander, and succeeded in urging Thebes
-into that revolt, which ended in the entire destruction of the city,
-B. C., 335. This example struck terror into Athens. Alexander demanded
-that Demosthenes, with nine others, should be given up into his hands,
-as the authors of the battle of Cheronea and of the succeeding troubles
-of Greece; but finally contented himself with requiring the banishment
-of Charidemus alone.
-
-Opposition to Macedon was now effectually put down, and, until the
-death of Alexander, we hear little more of Demosthenes as a public
-man. During this period, however, one of the most memorable incidents
-of his life occurred, in that contest of oratory with �schines, which
-has been more celebrated than any strife of words since the world
-began. The origin of it was as follows. About the time of the battle
-of Cheronea, one Ctesiphon brought before the people a decree for
-presenting Demosthenes with a crown for his distinguished services;
-a complimentary motion, in its nature and effects very much like a
-vote in the English parliament, declaratory of confidence in the
-administration. �schines, the leading orator of the opposite party,
-arraigned this motion, as being both untrue in substance and irregular
-in form; he indicted Ctesiphon on these grounds, and laid the penalty
-at fifty talents, equivalent to about $50,000. Why the prosecution
-was so long delayed, does not clearly appear; but it was not brought
-to an issue until the year 330, when �schines pronounced his great
-oration "against Ctesiphon." Demosthenes defended him in the still
-more celebrated speech "on the crown." These, besides being admirable
-specimens of rhetorical art, have the additional value, that the rival
-orators, being much more anxious to uphold the merits of their own
-past policy and conduct, than to convict and defend the nominal object
-of prosecution, have gone largely into matters of self-defence and
-mutual recrimination, from which much of our knowledge of this obscure
-portion of history is derived. �schines lost the cause, and not having
-the votes of so much as a fifth part of the judges, became liable,
-according to the laws of Athens, to fine and banishment. He withdrew
-to Rhodes, where he established a school of oratory. On one occasion,
-for the gratification of his hearers, he recited first his own, then
-his adversary's speech. Great admiration having been expressed of the
-latter, "What then," he said, "if you had heard the brute himself?"
-bearing testimony in these words to the remarkable energy and fire of
-delivery which was one of Demosthenes' chief excellences as an orator.
-
-A fate similar to that of his rival, overtook Demosthenes himself, a
-few years later, B. C. 324. Harpalus, an officer high in rank and favor
-under Alexander, having been guilty of malversation to such an extent
-that he dared not await discovery, fled to Greece, bringing with him
-considerable treasures and a body of mercenary soldiers. He sought the
-support of the Athenians; and, as it was said, bribed Demosthenes not
-to oppose his wishes. Rumors to that effect got abroad, and though his
-proposals were rejected by the assembly, Demosthenes was called to
-account, and fined fifty talents, nearly $50,000, as having been bribed
-to give false counsel to the people. Being unable to pay the amount
-of the fine, it acted as a sentence of banishment, and he retired into
-�gina. Like Cicero, when placed in a similar situation, he displayed
-effeminacy of temper, and an unmanly violence of regret, under a
-reverse of fortune.
-
-In the following year, however, the death of Alexander restored him
-to political importance; for when that event opened once more to the
-Athenians the prospect of shaking off the supremacy of Macedonia,
-Demosthenes was recalled, with the most flattering marks of public
-esteem. He guided the state during the short war waged with Antipater,
-the Macedonian viceroy, until the inequality of the contest became
-evident, and the Macedonian party regained its ascendency. Demosthenes
-then retired to the sanctuary of Calauria, an island sacred to Neptune,
-on the coast of Argolis. Sentence of death was passed on him in his
-absence. He was pursued to his place of refuge by the emissaries of
-Antipater, and being satisfied that the sanctity of the place would not
-protect him, he took poison, which, as a last resort, he carried about
-his person, concealed in a quill.
-
-Most of the speeches of Demosthenes are short, at least compared with
-modern oratory. He rarely spoke extempore, and bestowed an unusual
-degree of pains on his composition. That style which is described by
-Hume as "rapid harmony, exactly adapted to the sense; vehement reason,
-without any appearance of art; disdain, anger, boldness, freedom,
-involved in a continued stream of argument"--instead of being, as it
-would seem, the effervescence of a powerful, overflowing mind, was the
-labored produce of much thought, and careful, long-continued polish.
-
-If we compare the two greatest orators of antiquity--Cicero and
-Demosthenes--it may seem difficult to decide between them. By devoting
-his powers almost exclusively to oratory, the latter excelled in
-energy, strength, and accuracy; and as a mere artist, was probably the
-superior. Cicero, by cultivating a more extended field, was doubtless
-far the abler lawyer, statesman and philosopher. Of the value of their
-works to mankind, there is no comparison; for those of Cicero are
-not only more numerous and diversified, but of more depth, wisdom,
-and general application. We must also remark, that while the soul of
-Demosthenes appears to have been selfish and mean, that of Cicero ranks
-him among the noblest specimens of humanity, whether of ancient or
-modern times.
-
-If we compare the speeches of these great men with the efforts of
-modern orators, we shall see that the latter greatly surpass them in
-range of thought, power of diction and splendor of illustration. The
-question then arises, why did the orations of Cicero and Demosthenes
-produce such electrical effects upon their auditors? The reason
-doubtless was, that they paid the greatest attention to action,
-manner and tones of voice--thus operating upon their hearers by
-nearly the same powers as the modern opera. There was stage effect in
-their manner, and music in their tones, combined with most perfect
-elocution--and the application of these arts, carried to the utmost
-perfection, was made to the quick Italians or mercurial Athenians.
-These suggestions may enable us to understand the fact, that speeches,
-which, uttered in the less artful manner of our day, and before our
-colder audiences, would fall flat and dead upon the ear, excited the
-utmost enthusiasm, in more southern climes, two thousand years ago.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                                APELLES
-
-
-Apelles was a celebrated painter of Cos, a little island in the Egean
-Sea. The date of his birth is not known, but he painted many portraits
-of Philip, and was still nourishing in the time of Alexander, who
-honored him so much that he forbade any other artist to draw his
-picture. His chief master was Pamphilius, a famous painter of Macedon.
-He was so attentive to his profession, that he never spent a day
-without employing his pencil,--whence the proverb of _Nulla die sine
-linea_. His most perfect picture was the Venus Anadyomene, which,
-however, was not wholly finished when the painter died.
-
-He executed a painting of Alexander, holding thunder in his hand, so
-much like life, that Pliny, who saw it, says that the hand of the king
-with the thunder seemed to come out of the picture. This was placed in
-Diana's temple at Ephesus. He made another picture of Alexander; but
-the king, on coming to see it after it was painted, appeared not to
-be satisfied with it. It happened, however, at that moment a horse,
-passing by, neighed at the horse in the picture, supposing it to be
-alive; upon which the painter said, "One would imagine that the horse
-is a better judge of painting, than your majesty." When Alexander
-ordered him to draw the picture of Campaspe, one of his favorites,
-Apelles became enamored of her, and the king permitted him to marry
-her. He wrote three volumes on painting, which were still extant in the
-age of Pliny,--but they are now lost. It is said that he was accused,
-while in Egypt, of conspiring against the life of Ptolemy, and that he
-would have been put to death, had not the real conspirator discovered
-himself, and thus saved the artist. Apelles put his name to but three
-pictures; a sleeping Venus, Venus Anadyomene, and an Alexander.
-
-Apelles appears to have been not only an excellent artist, but a man
-of admirable traits of character. Being once at Rhodes, he met with
-the productions of Protogenes,[10] which so greatly delighted him
-that he offered to purchase the whole. Before this, Protogenes was
-entirely unappreciated by his countrymen, but the approbation of one so
-distinguished as Apelles, brought him into notice, and his fame soon
-became established.
-
-Another story of Apelles is told as having given rise to the well-known
-maxim, _Ne sutor ultra crepidam_: Let the shoemaker stick to his last.
-Apelles placed a picture, which he had finished, in a public place, and
-concealed himself behind it, in order to hear the criticisms of the
-passers-by. A shoemaker observed a defect in the shoe, and the painter
-forthwith corrected it. The cobbler came the next day, and being
-somewhat encouraged by the success of his first remark, began to extend
-his censure to the leg of the figure, when the angry painter thrust out
-his head from behind the figure, and told him to keep to his trade.
-
-Apelles excelled in grace and beauty. The painter, who labored
-incessantly, as we have seen, to improve his skill in drawing, probably
-trusted as much to that branch of his art, as to his coloring. We are
-told that he only used four colors. He used a varnish which brought
-out the colors, and at the same time preserved them. His favorite
-subject was the representation of Venus, the goddess of love,--the
-female blooming in eternal beauty; and the religious system of the age
-favored the taste of the artist.
-
-Apelles painted many portraits of Alexander the Great, who, we are
-told, often visited his painting room. It is not easy to reconcile
-his rambling life with this account, unless we suppose that Apelles
-followed him into Asia; a conjecture not altogether improbable, if we
-read the account of the revelries at Susa, after Alexander's return
-from India, and of the number of all kinds of professional artists then
-assembled to add to the splendor of the festival.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Footnote 10: Protogenes, a painter of Rhodes, who flourished about
-328 years B. C. He was originally so poor that he painted ships to
-maintain himself. His countrymen were ignorant of his merits, before
-Apelles came to Rhodes and offered to buy all his pieces, as we have
-related. This opened the eyes of the Rhodians; they became sensible of
-the talents of their countryman, and liberally rewarded him. Protogenes
-was employed seven years in finishing a picture of Jalysus a celebrated
-huntsman, supposed to have been the son of Apollo and the founder of
-Rhodes. During all this time the painter lived only upon lupines and
-water, thinking that such aliment would leave him greater flights of
-fancy; but all this did not seem to make him more successful in the
-perfection of his picture. He was to represent in this piece a dog
-panting, and with froth at his mouth; but this he could never do with
-satisfaction to himself; and when all his labors seemed to be without
-success, he threw his sponge upon the piece in a fit of anger. Chance
-alone brought to perfection what the utmost labors of art could not
-do; the fall of the sponge upon the picture represented the froth
-of the mouth of the dog in the most perfect and natural manner, and
-the piece was universally admired. Protogenes was very exact in his
-representations, and copied nature with the greatest nicety; but this
-was blamed as a fault by his friend Apelles. When Demetrius besieged
-Rhodes, he refused to set fire to a part of the city, which might have
-made him master of the whole, because he knew that Protogenes was then
-working in that quarter. When the town was taken, the painter was
-found closely employed, in a garden, finishing a picture; and when
-the conqueror asked him why he showed not more concern at the general
-calamity, he replied, that Demetrius made war against the Rhodians; and
-not against the fine arts.]
-
-
-
-
-                               DIOGENES.
-
-
-This eccentric individual was a native of Sinope, a city of Pontus,
-and born 419 B. C. Having been banished from his native place, with
-his father, upon the accusation of coining false money, he went to
-Athens, and requested Antisthenes, the Cynic,[11] to admit him among
-his disciples. That philosopher in vain attempted to drive away the
-unfortunate supplicant. He even threatened to strike him; but Diogenes
-told him he could not find a stoic hard enough to repel him, so long
-as he uttered things worthy of being remembered. Antisthenes was
-propitiated by this, and received him among his pupils.
-
-Diogenes devoted himself, with the greatest diligence, to the lessons
-of his master, whose doctrines he afterwards extended and enforced. He
-not only, like Antisthenes, despised all philosophical speculations,
-and opposed the corrupt morals of his time, but also carried the
-application of his principles, in his own person, to the extreme. The
-stern austerity of Antisthenes was repulsive; but Diogenes exposed the
-follies of his cotemporaries with wit and humor, and was, therefore,
-better adapted to be the censor and instructor of the people, though he
-really accomplished little in the way of reforming them. At the same
-time, he applied, in its fullest extent, his principle of divesting
-himself of all superfluities. He taught that a wise man, in order to
-be happy, must endeavor to preserve himself independent of fortune, of
-men, and of himself; and, in order to do this, he must despise riches,
-power, honor, arts and sciences, and all the enjoyments of life.
-
-He endeavored to exhibit, in his own person, a model of Cynic virtue.
-For this purpose, he subjected himself to the severest trials, and
-disregarded all the forms of polite society. He often struggled
-to overcome his appetite, or satisfied it with the coarsest food;
-practised the most rigid temperance, even at feasts, in the midst of
-the greatest abundance, and did not consider it beneath his dignity to
-ask alms.
-
-By day, he walked through the streets of Athens barefoot, with a long
-beard, a stick in his hand, and a bag over his shoulders. He was clad
-in a coarse double robe, which served as a coat by day and a coverlet
-by night; and he carried a wallet to receive alms. His abode was a
-cask in the temple of Cybele. It is said that he sometimes carried a
-tub about on his head which occasionally served as his dwelling. In
-summer he rolled himself in the burning sand, and in winter clung to
-the marble images covered with snow, that he might inure himself to the
-extremes of the climate. He bore the scoffs and insults of the people
-with the greatest equanimity. Seeing a boy draw water with his hand,
-he threw away his wooden goblet, as an unnecessary utensil. He never
-spared the follies of men, but openly and loudly inveighed against vice
-and corruption, attacking them with keen satire, and biting irony.
-The people, and even the higher classes, heard him with pleasure, and
-tried their wit upon him. When he made them feel his superiority, they
-often had recourse to abuse, by which, however, he was little moved.
-He rebuked them for expressions and actions which violated decency and
-modesty, and therefore it is not credible that he was guilty of the
-excesses with which his enemies reproached him. His rudeness offended
-the laws of good breeding, rather than the principles of morality.
-
-On a voyage to the island of �gina, he fell into the hands of pirates,
-who sold him as a slave to Xeniades, a Corinthian. He, however,
-emancipated him, and entrusted to him the education of his children. He
-attended to the duties of his new employment with the greatest care,
-commonly living in summer at Corinth, and in the winter at Athens. It
-was at the former place that Alexander found him at the road-side,
-basking in the sun; and, astonished at the indifference with which
-the ragged beggar regarded him, entered into conversation with him,
-and finally gave him permission to ask him a boon. "I ask nothing,"
-answered the philosopher, "but that thou wouldst get out of my
-sunshine." Surprised at this proof of content, the king is said to have
-exclaimed, "Were I not Alexander, I would be Diogenes." The following
-dialogue, though not given as historical, is designed to represent this
-interview.
-
-
-  _Diogenes._ Who calleth?
-
-  _Alexander._ Alexander. How happeneth it that you would not come out
-  of your tub to my palace?
-
-  _D._ Because it was as far from my tub to your palace, as from your
-  palace to my tub.
-
-  _A._ What! dost thou owe no reverence to kings?
-
-  _D._ No.
-
-  _A._ Why so?
-
-  _D._ Because they are not gods.
-
-  _A._ They are gods of the earth.
-
-  _D._ Yes, gods of the earth!
-
-  _A._ Plato is not of thy mind.
-
-  _D._ I am glad of it.
-
-  _A._ Why?
-
-  _D._ Because I would have none of Diogenes' mind but Diogenes.
-
-  _A._ If Alexander have anything that can pleasure Diogenes, let me
-  know, and take it.
-
-  _D._ Then take not from me that you cannot give me--the light of the sun!
-
-  _A._ What dost thou want?
-
-  _D._ Nothing that you have.
-
-  _A._ I have the world at command.
-
-  _D._ And I in contempt.
-
-  _A._ Thou shalt live no longer than I will.
-
-  _D._ But I shall die, whether you will or no.
-
-  _A._ How should one learn to be content?
-
-  _D._ Unlearn to covet.
-
-  _A._ (_to Heph�stion._) Heph�stion, were I not Alexander, I would wish
-  to be Diogenes.
-
-  _H._ He is dogged, but shrewd; he has a sharpness, mixed with a kind
-  of sweetness; he is full of wit, yet too wayward.
-
-  _A._ Diogenes, when I come this way again, I will both see thee and
-  confer with thee.
-
-  _D._ Do.
-
-
-We are told that the philosopher was seen one day carrying a lantern
-through the streets of Athens: on being asked what he was looking
-after, he answered, "I am seeking an honest man." Thinking he had found
-among the Spartans the greatest capacity for becoming such men as he
-wished, he said, "Men, I have found nowhere, but children, at least,
-I have seen in Laced�mon." Being asked, "What is the most dangerous
-animal?" his answer was, "Among wild animals, the slanderer; among
-tame, the flatterer." He expired 323 B. C., at a great age, and, it
-is said, on the same day that Alexander died. When he felt death
-approaching, he seated himself on the road leading to Olympia, where he
-died with philosophical calmness, in the presence of a great number of
-people who were collected around him.
-
-None of the works of Diogenes are extant; in these he maintained the
-doctrines of the Cynics. He believed that exercise was of the greatest
-importance, and capable of effecting everything. He held that there
-were two kinds of exercise,--one of the body, and one of the mind,--and
-that one was of little use without the other. By cultivation of the
-mind, he did not mean the accumulation of knowledge or science, but a
-training which might give it vigor, as exercise endows the body with
-health and strength.
-
-[Footnote 11: The Cynics were a sect of philosophers, founded by
-Antisthenes, at Athens; they took their name from their disposition to
-criticise the lives and actions of others. They were famous for their
-contempt of riches, their neglect of dress, and the length of their
-beards. They usually slept on the ground.]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                                PLATO.
-
-
-It has been remarked by Coleridge, that all men are born disciples
-either of Plato or Aristotle: by which he means that these two great
-men are the leaders in the two kinds of philosophy which govern the
-thinking world,--the one looking into the soul, as the great well of
-truth; the other, studying the outward world, and building up its
-system upon facts collected by observation. The truth is doubtless to
-be found by compounding the two systems.
-
-Plato was born at Athens, in May, 429 B. C. He was the son of Ariston
-and Perectonia. His original name was Aristocles, and it has been
-conjectured that he received that of Plato, from the largeness of
-his shoulders: this, however, is improbable, as Plato was then a
-common name at Athens. Being one of the descendants of Codrus, and
-the offspring of a noble, illustrious, and opulent family, he was
-educated with the utmost care; his body was formed and invigorated with
-gymnastic exercises, and his mind was cultivated and trained by the
-study of poetry and of geometry; from which two sources he doubtless
-derived that acuteness of judgment and warmth of imagination, which
-stamped him as at once the most subtle and flowery writer of antiquity.
-
-He first began his literary career by writing poems and tragedies; but
-he was disgusted with his own productions, when, at the age of twenty,
-he was introduced into the society of Socrates, and was qualified to
-examine, with critical accuracy, the merit of his compositions, and
-compare them with those of his poetical predecessors. He, therefore,
-committed them to the flames. During eight years he continued to be one
-of the pupils of Socrates; and though he was prevented by indisposition
-from attending the philosopher's last moments, he collected, from the
-conversation of those that were present, and from his own accurate
-observations, very minute and circumstantial accounts, which exhibit
-the concern and sensibility of the pupil, and the firmness, virtue, and
-elevated moral sentiments of the dying philosopher.
-
-After the death of Socrates Plato retired from Athens, and, with a view
-to emerge his stores of knowledge, he began to travel over different
-countries. He visited Megara, Thebes, and Elis, where he met with the
-kindest reception from his fellow-disciples, whom the violent death
-of their master had likewise removed from Attica. He afterwards
-visited Magna Gr�cia, attracted by the fame of the Pythagorean
-philosophy, and by the learning, abilities, and reputation of its
-professors, Philolaus, Archytas, and Eurytus. He then passed into
-Sicily, and examined the eruptions of Etna. He visited Egypt, where the
-mathematician Theodorus, then flourished, and where he knew that the
-tenets of the Pythagorean philosophy had been fostered.
-
-When he had finished his travels, Plato retired to the groves of
-Academus, in the neighborhood of Athens, and established a school
-there; his lectures were soon attended by a crowd of learned, noble,
-and illustrious pupils; and the philosopher, by refusing to have a
-share in the administration of political affairs, rendered his name
-more famous and his school more frequented. During forty years he
-presided at the head of the academy, and there he devoted his time to
-the instruction of his pupils, and composed those dialogues which have
-been the admiration of every succeeding age. His studies, however,
-were interrupted for a while, as he felt it proper to comply with the
-pressing invitations of Dionysius, of Syracuse, to visit him. The
-philosopher earnestly but vainly endeavored to persuade the tyrant to
-become the father of his people, and the friend of liberty.
-
-In his dress, Plato was not ostentatious; his manners were elegant, but
-modest, simple, and without affectation. The great honors which were
-bestowed upon him, were not paid to his appearance, but to his wisdom
-and virtue. In attending the Olympian games, he once took lodgings
-with a family who were totally strangers to him. He ate and drank
-with them, and partook of their innocent pleasures and amusements;
-but though he told them his name was Plato, he did not speak of the
-employment he pursued at Athens, and never introduced the name of that
-great philosopher, whose doctrines he followed, and whose death and
-virtues were favorite topics of conversation in every part of Greece.
-When he returned to Athens, he was attended by the family which had
-so kindly entertained him; and, being familiar with the city, he was
-desired to show them the celebrated philosopher whose name he bore.
-Their surprise may be imagined, when he told them that he was the Plato
-whom they wished to behold.
-
-In his diet he was moderate; and, indeed, to sobriety and temperance in
-the use of food, and abstinence from those indulgences which enfeeble
-the body and enervate the mind, some have attributed his preservation
-during a terrible pestilence which raged in Athens at the beginning
-of the Peloponnesian war. Plato was never subject to any long or
-lingering indisposition; and, though change of climate had enfeebled a
-constitution naturally strong and healthy, the philosopher lived to an
-advanced age, and was often heard to say, when his physicians advised
-him to leave his residence at Athens, where the air was impregnated by
-the pestilence, that he would not advance one single step to gain the
-top of Mount Athos, were he assured of attaining the longevity which
-the inhabitants of that mountain were said to enjoy. Plato died on his
-birth-day, in the eighty-first year of his age, about the year 348 B.
-C. His last moments were easy, and without pain; and, according to
-some authors, he expired in the midst of an entertainment; but Cicero
-tells us that he died while in the act of writing.
-
-The works of Plato are numerous; with the exception of twelve letters,
-they are all written in the form of dialogue, in which Socrates is the
-principal interlocutor. Thus he always speaks by the mouth of others,
-and the philosopher has nowhere made mention of himself, except once
-in his dialogue entitled Ph�don, and another time in his Apology
-for Socrates. His writings were so celebrated, and his opinions so
-respected, that he was called divine; and for the elegance, melody, and
-sweetness of his expressions, he was distinguished by the appellation
-of the Athenian bee. His style, however, though commended and admired
-by the most refined critics among the ancients, has not escaped the
-censure of some of the moderns. It is obvious that the philosopher
-cannot escape ridicule, who supposes that fire is a pyramid tied to
-the earth by numbers; that the world is a figure consisting of twelve
-pentagons; and who, to prove the metempsychosis and the immortality
-of the soul, asserts that the dead are born from the living, and the
-living from the dead. The speculative mind of Plato was employed in
-examining things divine and human; and he attempted to ascertain and
-fix not only the practical doctrines of morals and politics but the
-more subtle and abstruse theory of mystical theogony--the origin of
-the gods, or divine power. His philosophy was universally received and
-adopted in ancient times, and it has not only governed the opinions of
-the speculative part of mankind, but it continues still to influence
-the reasoning, and to divide the sentiments of the moderns.
-
-In his system of philosophy, he followed the physics of Heraclitus,
-the metaphysical opinions of Pythagoras, and the morals of Socrates.
-He maintained the existence of two beings--one self-existent, and the
-other formed by the hand of a pre-existent, creative god and man. The
-world, he maintained, was created by that self-existent cause, from the
-rude, undigested mass of matter which had existed from all eternity,
-and which had ever been animated by an irregular principle of motion.
-The origin of evil could not be traced under the government of a deity,
-without admitting a stubborn intractability and wildness congenial
-to matter; and from these, consequently, could be demonstrated the
-deviations from the laws of nature, and from thence, the extravagant
-passions and appetites of men.
-
-From materials like these were formed the four elements, and the
-beautiful structure of the heavens and the earth; and into the active
-but irrational principle of matter, the divinity infused a rational
-soul. The souls of men were formed from the remainder of the rational
-soul of the world, which had previously given existence to the
-invisible gods and demons. The philosopher, therefore, supported the
-doctrine of ideal forms, and the pre-existence of the human mind,
-which he considered as emanations of the Deity, and which can never
-remain satisfied with objects or things unworthy of their divine
-original. Men could perceive, with their corporeal senses, the types of
-immutable things, and the fluctuating objects of the material world;
-but the sudden changes to which these are continually liable, create
-innumerable disorders, and hence arise deception, and, in short, all
-the errors of human life. Yet, in whatever situation man may be, he is
-still an object of divine concern, and, to recommend himself to the
-favor of the pre-existent cause, he must comply with the purposes of
-his creation, and, by proper care and diligence, he can recover those
-immaculate powers with which he was naturally endowed.
-
-All science the philosopher made to consist in reminiscence--in
-recalling the nature, forms, and proportions, of those perfect and
-immutable essences, with which the human mind had been conversant. From
-observations like these, the summit of felicity might be attained by
-removing from the material, and approaching nearer to the intellectual
-world; by curbing and governing the passions, which were ever agitated
-and inflamed by real or imaginary objects.
-
-The passions were divided into two classes: the first consisted of the
-irascible passions, which originated in pride or resentment, and were
-seated in the breast; the other, founded on the love of pleasure, was
-the concupiscible part of the soul, seated in the inferior parts of the
-body. These different orders induced the philosopher to compare the
-soul to a small republic, of which the reasoning and judging powers
-were stationed in the head, as in a firm citadel, and of which the
-senses were the guards and servants. By the irascible part of the soul,
-men asserted their dignity, repelled injuries, and scorned danger and
-the concupiscible part provided the support and the necessities of
-the body, and, when governed with propriety, gave rise to temperance.
-Justice was produced by the regular dominion of reason, and by the
-submission of the passions; and prudence arose from the strength,
-acuteness, and perfection of the soul, without which other virtues
-could not exist.
-
-But amidst all this, wisdom was not easily attained; at their creation
-all minds were not endowed with the same excellence; the bodies which
-they animated on earth, were not always in harmony with the divine
-emanation; some might be too weak, others too strong. On the first
-years of a man's life depended his future character; an effeminate and
-licentious education seemed calculated to destroy the purposes of the
-divinity, while the contrary produced different effects, and tended to
-cultivate and improve the reasoning and judging faculty, and to produce
-wisdom and virtue.
-
-Plato was the first who supported the immortality of the soul upon
-arguments solid and permanent, deduced from truth and experience. He
-did not imagine that the diseases and death of the body could injure
-the principle of life, and destroy the soul, which, of itself, was of
-divine origin, and of an incorrupted and immutable essence, which,
-though inherent for a while in matter, could not lose that power which
-was the emanation of God. From doctrines like these, the great founder
-of Platonism concluded that there might exist in the world a community
-of men, whose passions could be governed with moderation, and who, from
-knowing the evils and miseries which arise from ill conduct, might
-aspire to excellence, and attain that perfection which can be derived
-from a proper exercise of the rational and moral powers. To illustrate
-this more fully, the philosopher wrote a book, well known by the name
-of the "Republic of Plato," in which he explains, with acuteness,
-judgment, and elegance, the rise and revolution of civil society; and
-so respected was his opinion as a legislator, that his scholars were
-employed in regulating the republics of Arcadia.
-
-It was a characteristic of Plato's mind, that he united a subtle
-intellect to a glowing fancy. As an illustration of his style, we
-may mention the passage in which he shows the operation of the three
-principles in the human being--mind, soul, and body--or the three
-powers of intellect, spirit, and matter. It occurs in the dialogue of
-Ph�drus, where he endeavors to illustrate the doctrine that the mind or
-reason should be the governing faculty.
-
-The soul is here compared to a chariot, drawn by a pair of winged
-steeds, one of which is well-bred and well-trained, and the other quite
-the contrary. The quiet horse, the Will, is obedient to the rein, and
-strives to draw its wilder yoke-fellow, the Appetite, along with it,
-and to induce it to listen to the voice of the charioteer, Reason. But
-they have a great deal of trouble with the restive horse, and the whole
-object of the journey seems to be lost, if this is permitted to have
-its way. In this allegory, it is shown that the object of Reason, in
-exacting obedience, is not merely that discipline and subordination
-which constitute the virtues of man, but to keep the mind in a state
-to rise to the contemplation and enjoyment of great and eternal truths.
-In other words, a man must be in a moral state, before he can place
-himself in a religious state, so as to enjoy the _summum bonum_, or
-greatest good. What, then, is this greatest good? or, in the language
-of Plato, its _idea_?--for, with him, _idea_ and _essence_ are
-synonymous. This is God--not his image, but his nature, which is the
-sovereign good. Thus the greatest happiness of man was placed by Plato
-in a mysterious union of the soul with this source of goodness. How
-near an approach to Christian communion with God, is this?
-
-However fantastic many of the details of Plato's system may seem, and
-however illusory its whole machinery must appear, when viewed in the
-light of modern criticism, one thing is to be observed,--that the
-great results of his philosophy are true. He struggled through the
-thick mists of his age, and discovered the eternal existence of Deity;
-he perceived and established, on grounds not to be controverted, the
-immortality of the soul. He placed true happiness where philosophy and
-religion place it--in the ascendency of the spirit over the body--the
-subjugation of the passions to the dominion of reason and virtue. It
-appears that the germs of these great truths had already manifested
-themselves in the minds of Pythagoras, Socrates, and others; and Plato
-borrowed from them many of his noble ideas. But he systematized what
-they had left in a crude state; he gave a more clear and distinct
-utterance to what his great master, Socrates, had dimly conceived, and
-ineffectually struggled to announce. He reached the highest point, in
-the search after divine knowledge which has ever been attained, without
-the direct aid of inspiration. In the gradual development of God's will
-to man, he was one of the great instruments. Yet, in reviewing his
-works, we see how imperfect was still his knowledge of things divine,
-and what fearful shadows would rest upon the world, if Plato were our
-only guide. How dark, uncertain, mysterious, would be the ways of
-God--the destinies of man--if left where the philosopher left them!
-
-[Illustration]
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-[Illustration]
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-
-                               SOCRATES.
-
-
-Socrates was born at Athens 468 B. C. His father, Sophroniscus, was
-a sculptor of humble reputation and in moderate circumstances. He
-educated his son to his own profession, in which it appears that the
-latter made considerable proficiency. He did not, however, devote
-himself wholly to this pursuit, but spent a large share of his time
-in reading the works of philosophers. Crito, an intimate friend,
-supplied him with money to pay the masters who taught him various
-accomplishments, and he became an auditor of most of the great
-philosophers who visited Athens, during his youth. By these means, he
-received the best education which an Athenian youth could command in
-those days.
-
-In the early part of his life, he wrought at his trade, so far as
-to earn a decent subsistence. Receiving a small property at his
-father's death, when he was about thirty years of age, he devoted
-himself entirely to philosophical pursuits. His habits were simple and
-economical; his dress was coarse, and he seldom wore shoes. By his
-frugality, he was thus able to live without labor, and yet without
-being dependent upon others.
-
-With regard to his public life, it appears that he served his country
-faithfully as a soldier, according to the duty of every Athenian
-citizen. He took part in three campaigns, displaying the greatest
-hardihood and valor. He endured, without repining, hunger and thirst,
-heat and cold. In a skirmish with the enemy, his pupil, Alcibiades,
-fell wounded in the midst of the enemy. Socrates rescued him and
-carried him off, for which the civic crown was awarded as the prize of
-valor. This reward, however, he transferred to Alcibiades. In another
-campaign he saved the life of his pupil, Xenophon, whom he carried from
-the field on his shoulders, fighting his way as he went.
-
-At the age of sixty-five, he became a member of the council of Five
-Hundred, at Athens. He rose also to the dignity of president of that
-body; by virtue of which office, he for one day managed the popular
-assemblies and kept the key of the citadel and treasury. Ten naval
-officers had been accused of misconduct, because, after the battle
-of Arginus�, they had omitted the sacred duty of burying the slain,
-in consequence of a violent storm. Their enemies, finding the people
-disposed to acquit them procured by intrigue, the prorogation of
-several assemblies. A new assembly was held on the day when Socrates
-was president; and the citizens, instigated by bad men, violently
-demanded that sentence of death should be pronounced on all the accused
-at once, contrary to law. But the menaces of violence were unable to
-bend the inflexible justice of Socrates, and he was able afterwards to
-declare, on his own trial, that ten innocent men had been saved by his
-influence.
-
-When Socrates formed the resolution of devoting himself to the pursuit
-of divine and human knowledge, the sophists, a set of arrogant
-philosophers, were perverting the heads and corrupting the hearts of
-the Grecian youth. He therefore put himself in opposition to these
-false guides, and went about endeavoring to instruct everybody in a
-wiser and better philosophy than that which prevailed. He was, in fact,
-an instructor of the people; and, believing himself an ambassador of
-God, he was occupied from the dawn of day in seeking persons whom he
-might teach either what is important to mankind in general, or the
-private circumstances of individuals. He went to the public assemblies
-and the most crowded streets, or entered the workshops of mechanics
-and artists, and conversed with the people on religious duties, on
-their social and political relations; on all subjects, indeed, relating
-to morals, and even on agriculture, war, and the arts. He endeavored
-to remove prevailing prejudices and errors, and to substitute right
-principles; to awaken their better genius in the minds of his hearers;
-to encourage and console them; to enlighten and improve mankind, and
-make them really happy.
-
-It is manifest that such a course must have been attended with great
-difficulties. But the serenity of Socrates was undisturbed; he was
-always perfectly cheerful in appearance and conversation. In the
-market-place and at home, among people and in the society of those
-whom love of truth and virtue connected more closely with him, he
-was always the same. It cannot be doubted that a happy physical and
-mental temperament contributed to produce this equanimity. But it was,
-likewise, a fruit of self-discipline and the philosophy he taught. He
-treated his body as a servant, and inured it to every privation, so
-that moderation was to him an easy virtue; and he retained in old age
-his youthful vigor, physical and mental. He was kind as a husband and
-a father. Though his wife, Xantippe, was a noted shrew, he viewed her
-as an excellent instrument of discipline, and treated her with patience
-and forbearance.
-
-Although the Greeks at this time were zealously devoted to their
-heathen mythology, Socrates was a sincere worshipper of the Supreme
-Being; yet, from his care not to offend his weaker brethren, he
-observed, with punctilious exactness, the religious uses which
-antiquity and custom had consecrated. He was constantly attended by a
-circle of disciples, who caught from him the spirit of free inquiry,
-and were inspired with his zeal for the highest good, for religion,
-truth and virtue. The succeeding schools of philosophy in Greece
-are therefore justly traced back to him; and he is to be regarded
-as the master who gave philosophical investigation among the Greeks
-its highest direction. Among his most distinguished disciples were
-Alcibiades, Crito, Xenophon, Antisthenes, Aristippus, Ph�don, �schines,
-Cebes, Euclid, and Plato. From the detached accounts given us by
-Xenophon and Plato, it appears that he instructed them in politics,
-rhetoric, logic, ethics, arithmetic, and geometry, though not in a
-systematic manner. He read with them the principal poets, and pointed
-out their beauties; he labored to enlighten and correct their opinions
-on all practical subjects, and to excite them to the study of whatever
-is most important to men.
-
-To make his instructions attractive, they were delivered, not in long
-lectures, but in free conversations, rendered interesting by question
-and answer. He did not reason _before_, but _with_ his disciples, and
-thus exercised an irresistible power over their minds. He obliged
-them to think for themselves, and if there was any capacity in a man,
-it could not fail to be excited by his conversation. This method of
-question and answer is called the _Socratic method_. The fragments of
-his conversations, preserved by Xenophon, often leave us unsatisfied;
-Plato alone has transmitted to us the genuine spirit of this method;
-and he was therefore viewed by the ancients as the only fountain of the
-Socratic philosophy,--a fact which has been too much disregarded by
-modern writers.
-
-Socrates fell a victim to the spirit of bigotry, which has sacrificed
-so many persons, who were in advance of the age. The document
-containing the accusation against him was lodged in the Temple of
-Cybele, as late as the second century of the Christian era. The
-following is a translation:--"Melitus, son of Melitus, accuses
-Socrates, son of Sophroniscus, of being guilty of denying the existence
-of the gods of the republic, making innovations in the religion of the
-Greeks, and of corrupting the Athenian youth. Penalty,--death."
-
-Melitus, who was a tragic writer of a low order, was engaged as an
-accuser in this affair, by the wealthy and more powerful enemies of
-Socrates. Amongst them were Anytus and Lycon, the former a rich artisan
-and zealous democrat, who had rendered very important services to
-the republic, by aiding Thrasybulus in the expulsion of the thirty
-tyrants, and in establishing the liberty of his country. The latter was
-an orator, and therefore a political magistrate, to which office the
-Athenian orators were entitled, by virtue of the laws of Solon.
-
-Socrates was seventy years of age when summoned to appear at the
-Areopagus. The news of this event did not excite much surprise, as the
-people had long expected it. Aristophanes, the celebrated comic poet of
-Athens, had previously undertaken, at the instigation of Melitus, to
-ridicule the venerable character of the philosopher; and when once he
-was calumniated and defamed, the fickle populace ceased to revere the
-man whom they had before looked upon as a being of a superior order.
-
-The enemies of Socrates were of two classes,--the one consisted of
-citizens who could not help admiring his genius and virtue, but who
-regarded him as a dangerous innovator and subverter of public order.
-They were ready, with him, to acknowledge that some reformation might
-be made in the tenets of Paganism; that the gods and goddesses were
-not patterns of virtue; and that the conduct of the sovereign of the
-skies, himself, was far from exemplary; but, said they, the thunders
-of Jupiter exercise a salutary influence over the minds of some, and
-the pains of Tartarus still operate as a bridle upon the passions of
-others. To bring in question the ancient faith, was at once to attack
-the institutions of the republic at their base, and excite revolution.
-The philosophy of Socrates, even though true, must be suppressed; for
-the life of one man is not to be put in the balance with the repose
-of a whole people,--with the safety of the country. It is better that
-Socrates should die, than Athens perish. Such was the reasoning of one
-portion.
-
-The other class was composed of the superstitious and bigoted,--of
-the vicious and imbecile,--who were daily exposed to the censures
-and sarcasms of the philosopher; in fine, of that set of narrow,
-jealous-minded men, who looked upon the welfare and fame of their
-neighbors with envy and with malice. The race that had exiled
-Aristides, because he was great, was ready to condemn Socrates, because
-he was wise. The friends and disciples of the great philosopher saw
-the danger that menaced him, and with anxiety and fear they crowded
-around their master, supplicating him to fly, or to adopt some means of
-defence; but he would do neither. Lysias, one of the most celebrated
-orators of the day, composed a pathetic oration, which he wished his
-friend to pronounce, as his defence, in the presence of his judges.
-Socrates read it, praised its animated and eloquent style, but rejected
-it, as being neither manly nor expressive of fortitude. The anxiety
-and trouble of avoiding condemnation appeared to him of little moment,
-when compared to the performance of his duty in upholding to the last
-moment, the truth of his principles and the dignity of his character.
-
-Socrates, though both eloquent and persuasive in conversation, was not
-capable of addressing a large assembly; therefore, on the day of his
-trial, he asked permission of his judges to use the means of defence to
-which he had been accustomed; namely, to speak familiarly with, and ask
-questions of, his adversaries.
-
-"Athenians," he said, in commencing, "I hope I shall succeed in my
-defence, if, by succeeding, good may result from it; but I look upon my
-success as very doubtful, and, therefore, do not deceive myself in that
-respect. But let the will of the gods be obeyed."
-
-The two chief accusations against Socrates, were firstly, that he
-did not believe in the religion of the state; secondly, that he was
-guilty of corrupting the minds of young men, and of disseminating the
-disbelief of the established religion.
-
-Socrates did not reply, in a direct manner, to either of these charges.
-Instead of declaring that he believed in the religion of his country,
-he proved that he was not an atheist; instead of refuting the charge of
-instructing youth to doubt the sacred tenets of the law, he declared
-and demonstrated that it was morality which he taught; and instead of
-appealing to the compassion of his judges, he did not disguise the
-contempt in which he held the means practised by parties accused, who,
-in order to excite sympathy and compassion, brought their children and
-relations to supplicate, with tears in their eyes, the mercy of the
-judges. "I, also, have friends and relations!" he said, "and, as to
-children, I have three,--one a stripling, the other two in childhood;
-yet I will not allow them to come here to excite your sympathy.
-Why will I not do so? It is not caused by stubbornness, nor by any
-disdain I have for you. For my honor, for your honor, for that of the
-republic, it is not meet that, with the reputation, whether true or
-false that I have acquired, I should make use of such means to procure
-your acquittal. Indeed, I should be ashamed if those that distinguish
-themselves for wisdom, courage, or any other virtue, should, like many
-people that I have seen, although they have passed for great men,
-commit actions the most grovelling--as if death were the greatest
-misfortune that could befall them, and that,--if their lives were
-spared,--they would become immortal!"
-
-When Socrates had ceased speaking, the judges of the Areopagus found
-him guilty, by a majority of three. On being demanded, according to
-the spirit of the Athenian laws, to pass sentence on himself, and
-to mention the death he preferred, Socrates, conscious of his own
-innocence, replied,--"Far from deeming myself guilty, I believe that
-I have rendered my country important services, and, therefore, think
-that I ought to be maintained in the Prytaneum at the public expense,
-during the remainder of my life,--an honor, O Athenians, that I merit
-more than the victors of the Olympic games. They make you happy in
-appearance; I have made you so in reality."
-
-This reply in the highest degree exasperated his judges, who condemned
-him to die by poison. When the sentence was passed, Socrates remained,
-for a few minutes, calm and undisturbed, and then asked permission to
-speak a few words.
-
-"Athenians," he said, "your want of patience will be used as a pretext
-by those who desire to defame the republic. They will tell you that
-you have put to death the wise Socrates; yes, they will call me wise,
-to add, to your shame--though I am not so. If you had but waited a
-short time, death would have come of itself, and thus saved you from
-disgracing yourselves. You see I am already advanced in years and must
-shortly die. All know that in times of war, nothing is more easy than
-saving our lives by throwing down our weapons, and demanding quarter of
-the enemy. It is the same in all dangers; a thousand pretexts can be
-found by those who are not scrupulous about what they say and do. It is
-difficult, O Athenians, to avoid death; but it is much more so to avoid
-crime, which is swifter than death. It is for this reason that, old and
-feeble as I am, I await the latter, whilst my accusers, who are more
-vigorous and volatile, embrace the former. I am now about to suffer the
-punishment to which you have sentenced me; my accusers, the odium and
-infamy to which virtue condemns them."
-
-"What is going to happen to me," he added, "will be rather an advantage
-than an evil; for it is apparent, that to die at present, and to be
-delivered of the cares of this life, is what will best suit me. I have
-no resentment towards my accusers, neither have I any ill-will against
-those who condemn me, although their intention was to injure me, to do
-all in their power to do me harm. I will make but one request; when
-my children are grown up, if they are seen to covet riches, or prefer
-wealth to virtue, punish and torment them as I have tormented you; and
-if they look upon themselves as beings of importance, make them blush
-for their presumption. This is what I have done to you. If you do that,
-you will secure the gratitude of a father, and my children will ever
-praise you. But it is time that we should separate; I go to die, and
-you to live. Which of us has the best portion? No one knows except God."
-
-When he had finished, he was taken to prison and loaded with chains.
-His execution was to have taken place in twenty-four hours, but it
-was postponed for thirty days, on account of the celebration of the
-Delian festivals. Socrates, with his usual cheerfulness and serenity,
-passed this time in conversing with his friends upon some of the most
-important subjects that could engage the mind of man. Plato relates,
-in the dialogue entitled The Phedon, the conversation which took place
-on the day preceding his death. That dialogue, without exception, is
-the most beautiful that the Greeks have left us. We can give only those
-passages which are more immediately connected with his death.
-
-"After the condemnation of Socrates," says Phedon, "we did not allow a
-day to escape without seeing him, and on the day previous to his death,
-we assembled earlier than usual. When we arrived at the prison door,
-the jailor told us to wait a little, as the Eleven were then giving
-orders for the death of Socrates."
-
-Speaking of the fear of death, Socrates said, "Assuredly, my dear
-friends, if I did not think I was going to find, in the other world,
-gods good and wise, and even infinitely better than we are, it would be
-wrong in me not to be troubled at death; but you must know that I hope
-soon to be introduced to virtuous men,--soon to arrive at the assembly
-of the just. Therefore it is that I fear not death, hoping, as I do,
-according to the ancient faith of the human race, that something better
-is in store for the just, than what there is for the wicked."
-
-The slave who was to give Socrates the poison, warned him to speak as
-little as possible, because sometimes it was necessary to administer
-the drug three or four times to those who allowed themselves to be
-overheated by conversation.
-
-"Let the poison be prepared," said Socrates, "as if it were necessary
-to give it two or three times;" then continued to discourse upon the
-immortality of the soul, mixing in his arguments the inspiration of
-sentiment and of poetry.
-
-"Let that man," said he, "have confidence in his destiny, who, during
-lifetime, has renounced the pleasures of the body as productive of
-evil. He who has sought the pleasures of science, who has beautified
-his soul, not with useless ornaments, but with what is suitable to his
-nature, such as temperance, justice, fortitude, liberty, and truth,
-ought to wait peaceably the hour of his departure, and to be always
-ready for the voyage, whenever fate calls him."
-
-"Alas! my dear friend," said Crito; "have you any orders for me, or for
-those present, with regard to your children or your affairs?" "What I
-have always recommended to you, Crito,"--replied Socrates, "to take
-care of yourselves,--nothing more. By doing so, you will render me a
-service, my family, and all who know you."
-
-After Socrates had bathed, his children and his female relations were
-brought into his presence. He spoke to them for some time, gave them
-his orders, then caused them to retire. After he returned, he sat down
-upon his bed, and had scarcely spoken, when the officer of the Eleven
-came in and said, "Socrates, I hope I shall not have the same occasion
-to reproach you as I have had in respect to others. As soon as I come
-to acquaint them that they must drink the poison, they are incensed
-against me; but you have, ever since you came here, been patient, calm,
-and even-tempered, and I am confident that you are not angry with
-me. Now, you know what I have told you. Farewell! Try to bear with
-resignation what cannot be avoided." Saying these words, he turned
-away, while the tears were streaming from his eyes.
-
-"I will follow your counsel," said Socrates. Then turning to his
-disciples, he continued, "Observe the honesty of that poor man.
-During my imprisonment, he has visited me daily, and now, see with
-what sincerity he weeps for me!" When the slave brought the poison to
-Socrates, the latter looked at him, and said, "Very well, my friend,
-what must I do? for you know best, and it is your business to direct
-me."
-
-"Nothing else but drink the poison; then walk, and when you find
-your limbs grow stiff, lie down upon your bed." At the same time, he
-handed the cup to Socrates, who took it without emotion or change of
-countenance; then looking at the man with a steady eye, he said,--"Tell
-me, is it allowable to make a drink-offering of this mixture?"
-"Socrates," the man replied, "we never prepare more than what is
-sufficient for one dose."
-
-"I understand you," said Socrates; "but nevertheless, it is lawful for
-me to pray to God that he may bless my voyage, and render it a happy
-one." Having said so, he raised the cup to his lips, and drank the
-poison with astonishing tranquillity and meekness. When Socrates looked
-around and saw his friends vainly endeavoring to stifle their tears,
-he said, "What are you doing, my companions? Was it not to avoid this,
-that I sent away the women? and you have fallen into their weakness. Be
-quiet, I pray you, and show more fortitude."
-
-In the mean time, he continued to walk, and when he felt his legs grow
-stiff, he lay down upon his back, as had been recommended. The person
-who gave Socrates the poison, then came forward, and, after examining
-his legs and feet, he bound them, and asked if he felt the cord. The
-dying philosopher answered, "No;" and feeling himself with his hand,
-he told his disciples, that "when the cold reached his heart, he should
-leave them."
-
-A few minutes afterwards, he exclaimed, "Crito, we owe a cock to
-Esculapius; do not forget to pay the debt." These were the last words
-of Socrates. Such was the end of the great philosopher; and it may be
-truly said that he was one of the wisest, best, and most upright of all
-the Athenians.
-
-In personal appearance Socrates was disagreeable: he had a sunken
-nose, and his eyes protruded so as to give him a strange appearance.
-It is supposed that he knew the shrewish temper of Xantippe, before he
-married her, and sought the alliance that she might give exercise to
-his patience. She tried every means to irritate him, and finding it
-impossible to rouse his anger, she poured some dirty water upon him
-from a window. "After thunder, we generally have rain," was the only
-remark the philosopher deigned to make. Many other anecdotes are handed
-down, which show the wonderful command Socrates had acquired over
-himself.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                              ALCIBIADES.
-
-
-This eminent Athenian general and statesman, was born about 450 B.
-C. Descended on both sides from the most illustrious families of his
-country,--born to the inheritance of great wealth,--endued with great
-personal beauty and the most brilliant mental qualities,--it seemed
-evident, from his early youth, that he would exert no slight influence
-over the counsels and fortunes of Athens. His father, Cleinias, was
-killed at the battle of Cheron�a, and being thus an orphan, he was
-placed under the wardship of his uncle, Pericles. The latter was too
-much engaged in affairs of state to bestow that care upon Alcibiades,
-which the impetuosity of his disposition required. In his childhood
-he showed the germ of his future character. One day, when he was
-playing at dice with some companions in the street, a wagon came up;
-he requested the driver to stop, and, the latter refusing, Alcibiades
-threw himself before the wheel, exclaiming, "Drive on, if thou darest!"
-
-He excelled alike in mental and bodily exercises. His beauty and birth,
-and the high station of Pericles, procured him a multitude of friends
-and admirers, and his reputation was soon injured by the dissipation in
-which he became involved. He was fortunate in acquiring the friendship
-of Socrates, who endeavored to lead him to virtue, and undoubtedly
-obtained a great ascendency over him, so that Alcibiades often quitted
-his gay associates for the company of the philosopher.
-
-He bore arms, for the first time, in the expedition against Potid�a and
-was wounded. Socrates, who fought at his side, defended him, and led
-him out of danger. In the battle of Delium, he was among the cavalry
-who were victorious, but, the infantry being beaten, he was obliged to
-flee, as well as the rest. He overtook Socrates, who was retreating on
-foot. Alcibiades accompanied him, and protected him.
-
-[Illustration: _Socrates saving Alcibiades._]
-
-For a considerable time he took no part in public affairs, but on the
-death of Cleon, 422 B. C., Nicias succeeded in making a peace for fifty
-years, between the Athenians and Laced�monians. Alcibiades, jealous of
-the influence of Nicias, and offended because the Laced�monians, with
-whom he was connected by the ties of hospitality, had not applied to
-him, sought to bring about some disagreement between the two nations.
-The Laced�monians sent ambassadors to Athens. Alcibiades received them
-with apparent good-will, and advised them to conceal their credentials,
-lest the Athenians should prescribe conditions to them. They suffered
-themselves to be duped, and, when called into the assembly, declared
-that they were without credentials. Alcibiades rose immediately, stated
-that they had credentials, accused them of ill-faith, and induced the
-Athenians to form an alliance with the Argives. A breach with the
-Laced�monians was the immediate consequence. Alcibiades commanded
-the Athenian fleet several times during the war, and devastated the
-Peloponnesus.
-
-He did not, however, refrain from luxury and dissipation, to which he
-abandoned himself after his return from the wars. On one occasion,
-after having a nocturnal revel, in the company of some friends, he laid
-a wager that he would give Hipponicus a box on the ear; which he did.
-This act made a great noise in the city, but Alcibiades went to the
-injured party, threw off his garments, and called upon him to revenge
-himself by whipping him with rods. This open repentance reconciled
-Hipponicus, who not only pardoned him, but gave him afterwards his
-daughter, Hipparete, in marriage, with a portion of ten talents--about
-ten thousand dollars. Alcibiades, however, still continued his levity
-and prodigality. His extravagance was conspicuous at the Olympic
-games, where he entered the stadium, not like other rich men, with one
-chariot, but with seven at a time--and gained the three first prizes.
-He seems also to have been victor in the Pythian and Nem�an games. By
-these courses he drew upon himself the hatred of his fellow citizens,
-and he would have fallen a sacrifice to the ostracism, if he had
-not, in connection with Nicias and Ph�ax, who feared a similar fate,
-artfully contrived to procure the banishment of his most formidable
-enemy.
-
-Soon afterwards, the Athenians, at the instance of Alcibiades, resolved
-on an expedition against Sicily, and elected him commander-in-chief,
-together with Nicias and Lamachus. But, during the preparations, it
-happened one night that all the statues of Mercury were broken. The
-enemies of Alcibiades charged him with the act, but postponed a public
-accusation till he had set sail, when they stirred up the people
-against him to such a degree, that he was recalled in order to be
-tried. Alcibiades had been very successful in Sicily, when he received
-the order to return. He prepared to obey, and embarked, but on reaching
-Thurium, he landed, and, instead of proceeding to Athens, concealed
-himself. Some one asking him, "How is this, Alcibiades? Have you no
-confidence in your country?"--he replied, "I would not trust my mother
-when my life is concerned, for she might, by mistake, take a black
-stone instead of a white one." He was condemned to death in Athens.
-When the news reached him, he remarked--"I shall show the Athenians
-that I am yet alive."
-
-He now went to Argos; thence to Sparta, where he made himself a
-favorite by conforming closely to the prevailing strictness of manners.
-Here he succeeded in inducing the Laced�monians to form an alliance
-with the Persian king, and, after the unfortunate issue of the Athenian
-expedition against Sicily, he prevailed on the Spartans to assist
-the inhabitants of Chios in throwing off the yoke of Athens. He went
-himself thither, and on his arrival in Asia Minor, roused the whole of
-Ionia to insurrection against the Athenians, and did them considerable
-injury. But Agis and the principal leaders of the Spartans became
-jealous of him, on account of his success, and ordered their commanders
-in Asia to cause him to be assassinated.
-
-Alcibiades suspected their plan, and went to Tissaphernes, a Persian
-satrap, who was ordered to act in concert with the Laced�monians. Here
-he changed his manners once more, adopted the luxurious habits of
-Asia, and soon contrived to make himself indispensable to the satrap.
-As he could no longer trust the Laced�monians, he undertook to serve
-his country, and showed Tissaphernes that it was against the interest
-of the Persian king to weaken the Athenians; on the contrary, Sparta
-and Athens ought to be preserved for their mutual injury. Tissaphernes
-followed this advice, and afforded the Athenians some relief. The
-latter had, at that time, considerable forces at Samos. Alcibiades sent
-word to their commanders, that, if the licentiousness of the people
-was suppressed and the government put into the hands of the nobles, he
-would procure for them the friendship of Tissaphernes, and prevent the
-junction of the Phoenician and Laced�monian fleets.
-
-This demand was acceded to, and Pisander was sent to Athens; by whose
-means the government of the city was put into the hands of a council,
-consisting of four hundred persons. As, however, the council showed no
-intention of recalling Alcibiades, the army of Samos chose him their
-commander, and exhorted him to go directly to Athens and overthrow the
-power of the tyrants. He wished, however, not to return to his country
-before he had rendered it some services; and therefore attacked and
-totally defeated the Laced�monians. When he returned to Tissaphernes,
-the latter, in order not to appear a participator in the act, caused
-him to be arrested in Sardis. But Alcibiades found means to escape;
-placed himself at the head of the Athenian army; conquered the
-Laced�monians and Persians, at Cyzicus, by sea and land; took Cyzicus,
-Chalcedon, and Byzantium; restored the sovereignty of the sea to the
-Athenians, and returned to his country, whither he had been recalled,
-on the motion of Critias.
-
-He was received with general enthusiasm; for the Athenians considered
-his exile as the cause of all their misfortunes. But this triumph was
-of short duration. He was sent with one hundred ships to Asia; and, not
-being supplied with money to pay his soldiers, he saw himself under
-the necessity of seeking help in Caria, and committed the command
-to Antiochus, who was drawn into a snare by Lysander, and lost his
-life and a part of his ships. The enemies of Alcibiades improved this
-opportunity to accuse him, and procure his removal from office.
-
-Alcibiades now went to Pacty� in Thrace, collected troops, and waged
-war against the Thracians. He obtained considerable booty, and secured
-the quiet of the neighboring Greek cities. The Athenian fleet was,
-at that time, lying at �gos Potamos. He pointed out to the generals
-the danger which threatened them, advised them to go to Sestos, and
-offered his assistance to force the Laced�monian general, Lysander,
-either to fight, or to make peace. But they did not listen to him, and
-soon after were totally defeated. Alcibiades, fearing the power of
-the Laced�monians, betook himself to Bithynia, and was about to go to
-Artaxerxes, to procure his assistance for his country. In the meantime,
-the thirty tyrants, whom Lysander after the capture of Athens, had set
-up there, requested the latter to cause Alcibiades to be assassinated.
-But Lysander declined, until he received an order to the same effect
-from his own government. He then charged Pharnabazes with the execution
-of it. Alcibiades was at the time with Timandra, his mistress, in a
-castle in Phrygia. The assistants of Pharnabazes, afraid to encounter
-Alcibiades, set fire to his house, and when he had already escaped the
-conflagration, they despatched him with their arrows. Timandra buried
-the body with due honor.
-
-Thus Alcibiades ended his life, 404 B. C., being about forty-five years
-old. He was endowed by nature with distinguished qualities, a rare
-talent to captivate and rule mankind, and uncommon eloquence, although
-he could not pronounce the letter _r_, and had an impediment in his
-speech. He had, however, no fixed principles, and was governed only by
-external circumstances. He was without that elevation of soul which
-steadily pursues the path of virtue. On the other hand, he possessed
-that boldness which arises from consciousness of superiority, and which
-shrinks from no difficulty, because confident of success. He was a
-singular instance of intellectual eminence and moral depravity. His
-faculty for adapting himself to circumstances enabled him to equal
-the Spartans in austerity of manners, and to surpass the pomp of the
-Persians. Plutarch says, that "no man was of so sullen a nature but he
-would make him merry; nor so churlish but he could make him gentle."
-
-
-
-
-                              DEMOCRITUS.
-
-
-Democritus, one of the most remarkable of the philosophers of
-antiquity, was born at Abdera, a maritime city of Thrace, 460 B. C. He
-travelled over the greatest part of Europe, Asia and Africa, in quest
-of knowledge. Though his father was so rich as to entertain Xerxes
-and his whole army, while marching against Greece, and left his son a
-large fortune, yet the latter returned from his travels in a state of
-poverty. It was a law of the country, that a man should be deprived
-of the honor of a funeral, who had reduced himself to indigence.
-Democritus was of course exposed to this ignominy; but having read
-before his countrymen his chief work, it was received with the greatest
-applause, and he was presented with five hundred talents,--a sum nearly
-equal to half a million of dollars. Statues were also erected to his
-honor; and a decree was passed that the expenses of his funeral should
-be paid from the public treasury.
-
-These circumstances display alike the great eminence of the
-philosopher, and an appreciation of genius and learning on the part
-of the people, beyond what could now be found in the most civilized
-communities of the world. Where is the popular assembly of the present
-day, that would bestow such a reward, on such an occasion?
-
-After his return from his travels, Democritus retired to a garden
-near the city, where he dedicated his time to study and solitude;
-and, according to some authors, put out his eyes, to apply himself
-more closely to philosophical inquiries. This, however, is unworthy
-of credit. He was accused of insanity, and Hippocrates, a celebrated
-physician, was ordered to inquire into the nature of his disorder.
-After a conference with the philosopher, he declared that not the
-latter, but his enemies were insane. Democritus was so accustomed to
-laugh at the follies and vanities of mankind, who distract themselves
-with care, and are at once the prey to hope and anxiety, that he
-acquired the title of the "laughing philosopher," in contrast to
-Heraclitus,[12] who has been called the "weeping philosopher." He told
-Darius, the king, who was inconsolable for the loss of his wife, that
-he would raise her from the dead if he could find three persons who had
-gone through life without adversity, and whose names he might engrave
-on the queen's monument. The king's inquiries after such, proved
-unavailing, and the philosopher discovered the means of soothing the
-sorrows of the sovereign.
-
-He was a disbeliever in the existence of ghosts; and some youths, to
-try his fortitude, dressed themselves in hideous and deformed habits,
-and approached his cave in the dead of night, expecting to excite his
-terror and astonishment. The philosopher received them unmoved, and,
-without hardly deigning to bestow upon them a look, desired them to
-cease making themselves such objects of ridicule and folly. He died in
-the one hundred and fourth year of his age, B. C. 357.
-
-All the works of Democritus, which were numerous, are lost. He was
-the first to teach that the milky way was occasioned by a confused
-light from a multitude of stars. He may be considered as the parent of
-experimental philosophy; in the prosecution of which he was so ardent,
-that he declared he would prefer the discovery of one of the causes of
-the works of nature, to the diadem of Persia. He is said to have made
-artificial emeralds by chemical means, and to have tinged them with
-various colors; he likewise found the art of dissolving stones and
-softening ivory.
-
-He was the author of the atomic theory; he viewed all matter, in which
-he included mind, as reducible to atoms; he considered the universe to
-consist only of matter and empty space. The mind he regarded as round
-atoms of fire. He argued that nothing could arise out of nothing; and
-also that nothing could utterly perish and become nothing. Hence he
-inferred the eternity of the universe, and dispensed with the existence
-of a Creator.
-
-He explained the difference in substances by a difference in their
-component atoms; and all material phenomena, by different motions,
-backward or forward, taking place of necessity. He did not seem to
-perceive that under this word, _necessity_, he concealed a deity. He
-explained sensation by supposing sensible images to issue from bodies.
-In moral philosophy, he only taught that a cheerful state of mind was
-the greatest attainable good.
-
-The theories of Democritus appear absurd enough in our time; but
-philosophy was then in its infancy. His struggles after light and truth
-display the darkness of the age, and the ingenuity of the philosopher.
-They may also teach us by what a process of mental toil, for centuries
-piled upon centuries, the knowledge we possess has been attained. The
-school he established, was supplanted, about a century after, by that
-of Epicurus.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Footnote 12: Heraclitus flourished about 500 years B. C. He was a
-native of Ephesus; and being of a melancholy disposition, he spent
-his time in mourning and weeping over the frailties of human nature,
-and the miseries of human life. He employed himself for a time, in
-writing different treatises, in which he maintained that all things
-are governed by a fatal necessity. His opinions, in some things, were
-adopted by the Stoics. He became at last a man-hater, and retired to
-the mountains, so as to be entirely separated from his fellow-men. Here
-he fed on grass, which brought on a dropsical complaint: to get cured
-of this, he returned to the town. He established his residence on a
-dunghill, hoping that the warmth might dissipate his disease; but this
-proved ineffectual, and he died in his sixtieth year.]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                               PERICLES.
-
-
-This celebrated man, born about 498 B. C., was an Athenian of noble
-birth, son of Xantippus and Agariste. He was endowed by nature with
-great powers, which he improved by attending the lectures of Damon,
-Zeno, and Anaxagoras. Under these celebrated masters, he became a
-commander, a statesman, and an orator, and gained the affections
-of the people by his great address, and well-directed liberality.
-When he took a share in the administration of public affairs, he
-rendered himself popular by opposing Cimon, who was the favorite of
-the nobility; and, to remove every obstacle which stood in the way of
-his ambition, he lessened the dignity and the power of the court of
-Areopagus, whom the people had been taught for ages to respect and
-venerate.
-
-He continued his attacks upon Cimon, and finally caused him to be
-banished by the ostracism. Thucydides also, who had succeeded Cimon
-on his banishment, shared the same fate, and Pericles remained, for
-fifteen years, the sole minister, and, as it may be said, the absolute
-sovereign of a republic which always showed itself so jealous of her
-liberties, and which distrusted so much the honesty of her magistrates.
-In his ministerial capacity, Pericles did not enrich himself, but the
-prosperity of Athens was the object of his administration. He made war
-against the Laced�monians, and restored the temple of Delphi to the
-care of the Phocians, who had been illegally deprived of that honorable
-trust.
-
-He obtained a victory over the Sicyonians near Nem�a, and waged a
-successful war against the inhabitants of Samos. The Peloponnesian war
-was fomented by his ambitious views, and when he had warmly represented
-the flourishing state, the opulence and actual power of his country,
-the Athenians did not hesitate to undertake a war against the most
-powerful republics of Greece--a war which continued for twenty-seven
-years, and was concluded by the destruction of their empire and the
-demolition of their walls. The arms of the Athenians were, for some
-time, crowned with success; but an unfortunate expedition raised
-clamors against Pericles, and the enraged populace attributed all their
-losses to him. To make atonement for their ill-success, they condemned
-him to pay fifty talents.
-
-The loss of popular favor did not so much affect Pericles, as the death
-of all his children. When the tide of disaffection had passed away, he
-condescended to come into the public assembly, and viewed with secret
-pride the contrition of his fellow-citizens, who universally begged his
-forgiveness for the violence which they had offered to his ministerial
-character. He was again restored to all his honors, and, if possible,
-invested with more power and more authority than before; but the
-dreadful pestilence which had diminished the number of his family, and
-swept away many of his best friends, proved fatal to himself, and about
-429 years B. C., in his seventieth year, he fell a sacrifice to that
-terrible malady which robbed Athens of so many of her citizens.
-
-Pericles was forty years at the head of the administration; twenty-five
-years with others, and fifteen alone. The flourishing state of the
-country under his government, gave occasion to the Athenians publicly
-to lament his loss and venerate his memory. As he was expiring
-and apparently senseless, his friends, that stood around his bed,
-expatiated with warmth on the most glorious actions of his life, and
-the victories which he had won--when he suddenly interrupted their
-tears and conversation, by saying, that in mentioning the exploits he
-had achieved, and which were common to him with all generals, they had
-forgotten to mention a circumstance, which reflected far greater glory
-on him as a minister, a general, and above all, as a man: "It is," said
-he, "that not a citizen in Athens has been obliged to put on mourning
-on my account."
-
-The Athenians were so affected by his eloquence that they compared it
-to thunder and lightning, and, as if he were another father of the
-gods, they gave him the title of Olympian. The poets said that the
-goddess of persuasion, with all her charms and attractions, dwelt
-upon his tongue. When he marched at the head of the Athenian armies,
-he observed that he had the command of a free nation, who were Greeks
-and citizens of Athens. He also declared that not only the hand of
-a magistrate, but also his eyes and his tongue, should be pure and
-undefiled. There can be no doubt that Pericles was one of the most
-eloquent orators and sagacious statesmen of Greece.
-
-Yet, great and venerable as his character may appear, we must not
-forget his follies. His vicious partiality for the celebrated
-courtesan, Aspasia, justly subjected him to the ridicule and censure
-of his fellow-citizens. The greatness of his talents and his services,
-enabled him to triumph over satire and reproach for the time, but the
-Athenians had occasion to execrate the memory of a man, who, by his
-example, corrupted the purity and innocence of their morals, and who,
-associating licentiousness with talents and public virtue, rendered it
-almost respectable.
-
-Pericles lost all his legitimate children by the pestilence already
-mentioned; and to call a natural son by his own name, he was obliged to
-repeal a law which he had made against spurious children, and which
-he had enforced with great severity. This son, named Pericles, became
-one of the ten generals who succeeded Alcibiades in the administration
-of affairs, and, like his colleagues, he was condemned to death by the
-Athenians, after the unfortunate battle of Arginus�.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                              ARISTIDES.
-
-
-This great Athenian general and statesman, who took so conspicuous
-a part in the deliverance of Greece from the Persians, and who has
-come down to us with the enviable surname of THE JUST, was the son of
-Lysimachus and born about the year 550 B. C. We know little of the
-steps by which he rose to eminence. He was one of the ten generals of
-the Athenian forces, when they fought with the Persians at Marathon.
-According to the custom, each general held command of the army for
-one day, in rotation. Aristides, perceiving the disadvantages of
-this system, prevailed on his colleagues to give up their command
-to Miltiades. To this, in a great measure, must be attributed the
-memorable victory of the Greeks upon that occasion.
-
-The year after this, Aristides was archon; and the ambitious
-Themistocles, desiring to get rid of him privately circulated a charge
-that Aristides was aiming at sovereign power. He succeeded finally in
-causing him to be exiled by the ostracism--a vote of banishment, in
-which the Athenians used shells for ballots. While the voting, upon
-this occasion, was going on, Aristides was among the people; a rustic
-citizen, who did not know him, came up and asked him to write the name
-of Aristides upon the shell with which he intended to vote. "Has he
-ever injured you?" said Aristides. "No," said the voter, "but I am
-tired of hearing him called the '_Just!_'"
-
-Aristides left Athens, with prayers for its welfare. He was recalled
-at the end of three years, and, forgetting his injury, devoted himself
-with ardor and success to the good of his country. In the famous battle
-of Platea, he commanded the Athenians, and is entitled to a great share
-of the merit of the splendid victory gained by the Greeks. He died at
-an advanced age, about 467 B. C. He was so poor that the expenses of
-his funeral were defrayed at the public charge, and his two daughters,
-on account of their father's virtues, received a dowry from the public
-treasury, when they came to marriageable years.
-
-The effect of so rare an example as that of Aristides, was visible even
-during his lifetime. The Athenians became more virtuous, in imitating
-their great leader. Such was their sense of his good qualities, that,
-at the representation of one of the tragedies of �schylus, when the
-actor pronounced a sentence concerning moral goodness, the eyes of the
-audience were all at once turned from the players to Aristides. When
-he sat as judge, it is said that the plaintiff in his accusation--in
-order to prejudice him against the defendant--mentioned the injuries
-he had done to Aristides. "Mention the wrong _you_ have received,"
-said the equitable Athenian. "I sit here as judge; the lawsuit is
-yours, not mine." On one occasion, Themistocles announced to the
-people of Athens that he had a scheme of the greatest advantage to the
-state; but it could not be mentioned in a public assembly. Aristides
-was appointed to confer with him. The design was to set fire to the
-combined fleet of the Greeks, then lying in a neighboring port, by
-which means the Athenians would acquire the sovereignty of the seas.
-Aristides returned to the people, and told them that nothing could be
-more advantageous--yet nothing more unjust. The project was of course
-abandoned.
-
-The character of Aristides is one of the finest that is handed down by
-antiquity. To him belongs the rarest of all praises, that of observing
-justice, not only between man and man, but between nation and nation.
-He was truly a patriot, for he preferred the good of his country to his
-own ambition. A candid enemy, an impartial friend, a just administrator
-of other men's money--an observer of national faith--he is well
-entitled to the imperishable monument which is erected in that simple
-title, THE JUST!
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                                 �SOP.
-
-
-This celebrated inventor of fables was a native of Phrygia, in Asia
-Minor, and flourished in the time of Solon, about 560 B. C. A life of
-him was written by a Greek monk, named Planudes, about the middle of
-the fourteenth century, which passed into circulation as a genuine
-work, but which is proved to have been a mere fiction. In that work,
-�sop is represented as being hunch-backed, and an object of disgust
-from his deformity. There appears to be no foundation whatever for this
-story. This invention of the monk, no doubt, had for its object, to
-give eclat to the beauties of �sop's mind, by the contrast of bodily
-deformity.
-
-Throwing aside the work of Planudes, we are left to grope in obscurity
-for the real history of the great fabulist. After the most diligent
-researches, we can do little more than trace the leading incidents of
-his life. The place of his birth, like that of Homer, is matter of
-question; Samos, Sardis, Coti�um in Phrygia, and Mesembria in Thrace,
-laying claim alike to that honor. The early part of his life was spent
-in slavery, and the names of three of his masters have been preserved:
-Dinarchus, an Athenian, in whose service he is said to have acquired
-a correct and pure knowledge of Greek; Xanthus, a Samian, who figures
-in Planudes as a philosopher, in order that the capacity of the slave
-may be set off by the incapacity of the master; and Iadmon or Idmon,
-another Samian, by whom he was enfranchised.
-
-He acquired a high reputation in Greece for that species of
-composition, which, after him, was called �sopian, and, in consequence,
-was solicited by Croesus to take up his abode at the Lydian court. Here
-he is said to have met Solon, and to have rebuked the sage for his
-uncourtly way of inculcating moral lessons. He is said to have visited
-Athens during the usurpation of Pisistratus, and to have then composed
-the fable of Jupiter and the Frogs[13] for the instruction of the
-citizens.
-
-Being charged by Croesus with an embassy to Delphi, in the course of
-which he was to distribute a sum of money to every Delphian, a quarrel
-arose between him and the citizens, in consequence of which he returned
-the money to his patron, alleging that those for whom it was meant
-were unworthy of it. The disappointed party, in return, got up the
-charge of sacrilege, upon which they put him to death. A pestilence
-which ensued was attributed to this crime, and in consequence they made
-proclamation, at all the public assemblies of the Grecian nation, of
-their willingness to make compensation for �sop's death to any one who
-should appear to claim it. A grandson of his master, Iadmon, at length
-claimed and received it, no person more closely connected with the
-sufferer having appeared.
-
-It is a question of some doubt, whether �sop was the inventor of that
-species of fable which endows the inferior animals, and even inanimate
-objects, with speech and reason, and thus, under the cover of humorous
-conceit, conveys lessons of wisdom; and which, from their pleasant
-guise, are often well received where the plain truth would be rejected.
-The probability is, that, if not the originator of such fables,
-�sop was the first who composed them of such point as to bring them
-into use as a powerful vehicle for the inculcation of truth. At all
-events, there is abundant proof that fables, passing under his name,
-were current and popular in Athens, during the most brilliant period
-of its literary history, and not much more than a century after the
-death of the supposed author. The drolleries of �sop are mentioned by
-Aristophanes in terms which lead us to suppose that they were commonly
-repeated at convivial parties. Socrates, in prison, turned into verse
-'those that he knew;' and Plato, who banishes the fictions of Homer
-from his ideal republic, speaks with high praise of the tendency of
-those of �sop.
-
-Many of the fables in circulation among us, under the name of �sop, are
-not his;--indeed, it is probable that but a small portion of them can
-trace their origin back to the Phrygian. A good fable, as well as a
-good story, however it may originate, is apt to be attributed to one
-whose character it may suit--and thus it happens that the same smart
-sayings are credited, in different countries, to different individuals;
-and thus, also, we see that many of the fables which we assign to �sop,
-are credited, by the Mohammedans, to their fabulist, Lokman.
-
-The value of fables, as instruments of instruction, is attested by
-Addison, in the following words. "They were," says he, "the first
-pieces of wit that made their appearance in the world; and have been
-still highly valued, not only in times of the greatest simplicity, but
-among the most polite ages of mankind. Jotham's fable of the Trees is
-the oldest that is extant, and as beautiful as any which have been
-made since that time. Nathan's fable of the Poor Man and his Lamb is
-likewise more ancient than any that is extant, excepting the above
-mentioned, and had so good an effect as to convey instruction to the
-ear of a king, without offending it, and to bring the 'man after God's
-own heart' to a right sense of his guilt and his duty. We find �sop
-in the most distant ages of Greece. And, if we look into the very
-beginning of the commonwealth of Rome, we see a mutiny among the common
-people appeased by the fable of the Belly and the Members; which was
-indeed very proper to gain the attention of an incensed rabble, at
-a time when perhaps they would have torn to pieces any man who had
-preached the same doctrine to them in an open and direct manner. As
-fables took their birth in the very infancy of learning, they never
-flourished more than when learning was at its greatest height. To
-justify this assertion, I shall put my reader in mind of Horace, the
-greatest wit and critic in the Augustan age; and of Boileau, the most
-correct poet among the moderns; not to mention La Fontaine, who, by
-this way of writing, is come more into vogue than any other author of
-our times."
-
-"Reading is to the mind," continues the writer, "what exercise is
-to the body: as, by the one, health is preserved, strengthened, and
-invigorated, by the other, virtue, (which is the health of the mind,)
-is kept alive, cherished and confirmed. But, as exercise becomes
-tedious and painful when we make use of it only as the means of health,
-so reading is too apt to grow uneasy and burdensome, when we apply
-ourselves to it only for our improvement in virtue. For this reason,
-the virtue which we gather from a fable or an allegory, is like the
-health we get by hunting, as we are engaged in an agreeable pursuit
-that draws us on with pleasure, and makes us insensible of the fatigues
-that accompany it."
-
-In modern times, La Fontaine has given us an admirable collection of
-fables, and the artist Grandville has added a new charm to them, by a
-very happy conceit. With infinite wit, he has dressed up the wolves,
-foxes, and other animals which figure in the fables, in human attire,
-yet so skilfully as to seem natural--thus aiding the imagination, in
-conceiving of the actors and speakers in the fables, as performing
-their several parts. By the aid of his magical pencil, even trees,
-kettles and kegs assume an appearance of life, and seem to justify the
-wit and wisdom which they are imagined to utter. The humor of these
-designs is inimitable; and thus not only is greater effect given to
-the particular fables illustrated, but greater scope, to the fable
-generally. We are indebted, in this country, for a most excellent
-translation of La Fontaine, with many of Grandville's designs, to
-Professor Wright.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Footnote 13: "The frogs, living an easy, free life everywhere among
-the lakes and ponds, assembled together one day, in a very tumultuous
-manner, and petitioned Jupiter to let them have a king, who might
-inspect their morals, and make them live a little honester. Jupiter,
-being at that time in pretty good humor, was pleased to laugh heartily
-at their ridiculous request; and, throwing a little log down into
-the pool, cried, 'There is a king for you,' The sudden splash which
-this made, by its fall into the water, at first terrified them so
-exceedingly, that they were afraid to come near it. But, in a little
-time, seeing it remain without moving, they ventured, by degrees, to
-approach it; and, at last, finding there was no danger, they leaped
-upon it, and, in short, treated it as familiarly as they pleased.
-
-"But not contented with so insipid a king as this was, they sent their
-deputies to petition again for another sort of one; for this they
-neither did nor could like. Upon that Jupiter sent them a stork, who,
-without any ceremony, fell to devouring and eating them up, one after
-another, as fast as he could. Then they applied themselves privately to
-Mercury, and got him to speak to Jupiter in their behalf, that he would
-be so good as to bless them again with another king, or to restore them
-to their former state. 'No,' says Jove, 'since it was their own choice,
-let the obstinate wretches suffer the punishment due to their folly.'"]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                                SOLON.
-
-
-Solon, one of the seven wise men of Greece, was born at Salamis, 637
-B. C. and educated at Athens. His father was one of the descendants of
-king Codrus, and, by his mother's side, he reckoned among his relations
-the celebrated Pisistratus. After he had devoted part of his time to
-philosophical and political studies, Solon travelled over the greatest
-part of Greece; but at his return home he was distressed at beholding
-the dissensions among his countrymen.
-
-All now fixed their eyes upon him as a deliverer, and he was
-unanimously elected archon. He might have become absolute, but he
-refused the dangerous office of king of Athens, and, in the capacity
-of lawgiver, he began to make a reform in every department of the
-government. The complaints of the poorer citizens found redress; all
-debts were remitted, and no one was permitted to seize the person of
-his debtor, if he was unable to make payment. After he had established
-the most salutary regulations in the state, and bound the Athenians
-by a solemn oath that they would faithfully observe his laws for the
-space of one hundred years, Solon resigned the office of legislator,
-and removed himself from Athens. He visited Egypt, and the court of
-Croesus,[14] king of Lydia--celebrated for his wealth, and the vanity
-of desiring to be esteemed the happiest of mankind. He here declared
-to the monarch that an Athenian, who had always seen his country
-flourish--who had virtuous children, and who fell in defence of his
-native land, had a happier career than the proudest emperor on the
-globe.
-
-After ten years' absence, Solon returned to Athens; but he had the
-mortification to find the greatest part of his regulations disregarded,
-through the factious spirit of his countrymen and the usurpation of
-Pisistratus. Not to be longer a spectator of the divisions that reigned
-in his country, he retired to Cyprus, where he died at the court of
-king Philocyprus, in the eightieth year of his age. The laws of Solon
-became established in Athens, and their salutary consequences can be
-discovered in the length of time they were in force in the republic.
-For above four hundred years they flourished in full vigor, and Cicero,
-who was himself a witness of their benign influence, passes the highest
-encomiums upon the legislator, whose superior wisdom framed such a code
-of regulations.
-
-It was the intention of Solon to protect the poorer citizens; and by
-dividing the whole body of the Athenians into four classes, three of
-which were permitted to discharge the most important offices and
-magistracies of the state, and the last to give their opinion in the
-assemblies, but not have a share in the distinctions and honors of
-their superiors; the legislator gave the populace a privilege, which,
-though at first small and inconsiderable, soon rendered them masters
-of the republic, and of all the affairs of government. He made a
-reformation in the Areopagus, increased the authority of the members,
-and permitted them yearly to inquire how every citizen maintained
-himself, and to punish such as lived in idleness, and were not employed
-in some honorable and lucrative profession. He also regulated the
-Prytaneum, and fixed the number of its judges to four hundred.
-
-The sanguinary laws of Draco were all cancelled except that against
-murder; and the punishment denounced against every offender was
-proportioned to his crime; but Solon made no law against parricide
-or sacrilege. The former of these crimes, he said, was too horrible
-to human nature for a man to be guilty of it, and the latter could
-never be committed, because the history of Athens had never furnished
-a single instance. Such as had died in the service of their country,
-were buried with great pomp, and their families were maintained at
-the public expense; but such as had squandered away their estates,
-such as refused to bear arms in defence of their country, or paid no
-attention to the infirmity and distress of their parents, were branded
-with infamy. The laws of marriage were newly regulated; it became an
-union of affection and tenderness, and no longer a mercenary contract.
-To speak with ill language against the dead, as well as against
-the living, was made a crime; for the legislator wished that the
-character of his fellow-citizens should be freed from the aspersions of
-malevolence and envy. A person that had no children was permitted to
-dispose of his estates as he pleased; females were not allowed to be
-extravagant in their dress or expenses; licentiousness was punished;
-and those accustomed to abandoned society, were deprived of the
-privilege of addressing the public assemblies. These celebrated laws
-were engraved on several tables; and that they might be better known
-and more familiar to the Athenians, they were written in verse.
-
-If we consider the time in which Solon lived, we shall see occasion to
-regard him as a man of extraordinary wisdom and virtue. Nearly all the
-systems of government around him were despotic. That government should
-be instituted and conducted for the benefit of the governed; and that
-the people are the proper depositories of power--principles recognised
-in his institutions--were truths so deeply hidden from mankind, as to
-demand an intellect of the highest order for their discovery.
-
-Nor are his virtues and humanity less conspicuous than his sagacity.
-While repealing the bloody code of Draco, he substituted mild and
-equitable laws; he shunned the harsh and savage system of Lycurgus,
-which sacrificed all the best feelings of the heart, and the most
-refined pleasures of life, in order to sustain the martial character
-of the state; and while he sought to soften the manners, he strove
-to exalt the standard of public and private virtue, not only by his
-laws, but by his conversation and example. He was thus, not only
-the benefactor of Athens and of Greece, but--as one of the great
-instruments of civilization throughout the world, and especially as
-one of the leaders in the establishment of free government--mankind at
-large owe him a lasting debt of gratitude.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-[Footnote 14: Croesus was the fifth and last of the Mermad�, who
-reigned in Lydia, and during his time he passed for the richest of
-mankind. He was the first who made the Greeks of Asia tributary to
-the Lydians. His court was the asylum of learning; and �sop, the
-famous fable-writer, among others, lived under his patronage. In a
-conversation with Solon, Croesus wished to be thought the happiest of
-mankind; but the philosopher apprized him of his mistake, and gave the
-preference to poverty and domestic virtue. Croesus undertook a war
-against Cyrus, the king of Persia, and marched to meet him with an army
-of 420,000 men, and 60,000 horse. After a reign of fourteen years he
-was defeated, B. C. 548; his capital was besieged, and he fell into
-the conqueror's hands, who ordered him to be burnt alive. The pile
-was already on fire, when Cyrus heard the conquered monarch exclaim,
-"Solon! Solon! Solon!" with lamentable energy. He asked him the reason
-of his exclamation, and Croesus repeated the conversation he once had
-with Solon, on human happiness. Cyrus was moved at the recital; and,
-at the recollection of the inconstancy of human affairs, he ordered
-Croesus to be taken from the burning pile, and he was afterwards one
-of his most intimate friends. The kingdom of Lydia became extinct in
-his person, and the power was transferred to Persia. Croesus survived
-Cyrus. The manner of his death is unknown. He is celebrated for the
-immensely rich presents which he made to the temple of Delphi, from
-which he received an obscure and ambiguous oracle, which he interpreted
-in his favor, but which was fulfilled in the destruction of his
-empire.]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                               LYCURGUS.
-
-
-This Spartan lawgiver is supposed to have been born about 900 B. C. He
-was the youngest son of king Eunomus, and was entitled to the throne
-upon the death of his brother, Polydectes; but he relinquished it in
-behalf of his unborn son, and administered the government in his name.
-By the wisdom of his measures, he won general esteem; and his noble
-disinterestedness raised his glory to a height which awoke envy against
-him in the minds of some of the most distinguished Spartans, who now
-conspired against him. Partly to escape the danger which threatened
-him, and partly to gratify the desire of seeing foreign nations, and
-learning their manners, he left Sparta, and travelled in various
-countries.
-
-After visiting Crete, and admiring the wise laws of Minos, he went to
-Iona. The effeminate and luxurious life of the inhabitants, and the
-feebleness of their laws, which formed a striking contrast with the
-simplicity and vigor of those of Crete, made a deep impression upon
-him. Here, however, he is said to have become acquainted with the poems
-of Homer, which he collected and carried to Greece. From hence he is
-said to have travelled into Egypt, India, and Spain; but this seems
-improbable.
-
-In the meanwhile, the two kings who succeeded him at Sparta, Archelaus
-and Charilaus, were esteemed neither by the people nor by the
-nobility; and, as there were no laws sufficient to maintain the public
-tranquillity, the confusion passed all bounds. In this dangerous
-situation, Lycurgus was the only man from whom help and deliverance
-could be expected. The people hoped from him protection against
-the nobles, and the kings believed that he would put an end to the
-disobedience of the people. More than once, ambassadors were sent to
-entreat him to come to the assistance of the state.
-
-He long resisted, but at last yielded to the urgent wishes of his
-fellow-citizens. At his arrival in Sparta, he found that not only
-particular abuses were to be suppressed, but that it would be necessary
-to form an entirely new constitution. The confidence which his
-personal character, his judgment, and the dangerous situation of the
-state, gave him among his fellow-citizens, encouraged him to encounter
-all obstacles. The first step which he took, was to add to the kings a
-senate of twenty-eight persons, venerable for their age, without whose
-consent the former were to undertake nothing. He thus established a
-useful balance between the power of the kings and the licentiousness
-of the people. The latter at the same time obtained the privilege of
-giving their voice in public affairs. They had not, however, properly
-speaking, deliberative privileges, but only the limited right of
-accepting or rejecting what was proposed by the kings or the senate.
-
-The Spartans conformed in general to the institutions of Lycurgus; but
-the equal division of property which he effected, excited among the
-rich such violent commotions, that the lawgiver fled to the temple, to
-save his life. On the way, he received a blow, which struck out one of
-his eyes. He merely turned round, and showed to his pursuers his face
-streaming with blood. This sight filled all with shame and repentance;
-they implored his pardon, and led him respectfully home. The person who
-had done the deed, a young man of rank, and of a fiery character, was
-given up to him. Lycurgus pardoned him, and dismissed him, covered with
-shame.
-
-After having thus formed a constitution for Sparta, Lycurgus endeavored
-to provide for its continuance. He made all the citizens take a
-solemn oath that they would change nothing in the laws which he had
-introduced, before his return. He then went to Delphi, and asked the
-gods whether the new laws were sufficient for the happiness of Sparta.
-The answer was, "Sparta will remain the most prosperous of all states
-as long as it observes these laws." He sent this answer to Laced�mon,
-and left his country forever. He died of voluntary starvation, and
-ordered his body to be burned, and the ashes scattered in the sea, lest
-they should be carried to Sparta, and his countrymen be released from
-their oath.
-
-Though the patriotism of Lycurgus appears to have been of the most
-exalted nature, his institutions were exceedingly barbarous, in many
-respects. He cherished no such thing as family ties, but required
-everything to yield to the good of the state. The children did not
-belong to the parents; feeble children were destroyed; meals were all
-taken in common; unmarried men were punished. Thus the private liberty
-of the people was taken away, and they were made slaves, in their daily
-habits, thoughts and feelings, to that power which was called the
-state. The design of the lawgiver seemed to be to rear up a nation of
-soldiers--not for conquest, but for defence. He would not permit Sparta
-to be encircled with walls, preferring that its defence should depend
-on the arms of the citizens. The men were wholly trained for martial
-life. Sensibility to suffering, and the fear of death, were treated
-with contempt. Victory or death, in battle, was their highest glory;
-cowardice was attended with the most deadly shame.
-
-The difference between the institutions of Lycurgus and those of Solon,
-may be seen in their results. The Spartans became a stern and haughty
-nation of soldiers; but they have left nothing behind but their story,
-to instruct mankind; while the Athenians, exalted by the genial breath
-of liberty, continue to this very hour to be the admiration of the
-world, for their literature, their arts, and their institutions.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                                HOMER.
-
-
-The Iliad is often spoken of as the greatest production of the human
-mind; yet it has been seriously questioned whether such a person
-as Homer ever lived! This paradox is to be explained by admitting,
-that, although the Iliad is a wonderful performance for the time and
-circumstances of its composition, still, it is by no means entitled to
-the supremacy which scholastic fondness assigns to it; and that the
-doubts thrown upon its authorship are but the mists engendered in the
-arena of hypercriticism.
-
-By Homer, we mean the author of the Iliad, whatever may have been his
-true name. The period at which he flourished is matter of doubt, but
-it is fixed by the Arundelian Marbles,[15] at 907 B. C., which is
-probably not far from the true date. A great many tales are handed
-down to us, in relation to him, which are mere fictions. The only well
-established facts, in his life, are that he was a native of Asiatic
-Greece, and a wandering poet, or rhapsodist, who went about the country
-reciting his compositions, according to the custom of those times. The
-story of his being blind is without authority.
-
-Such are the meagre facts which can be gathered amid the obscurity of
-that remote age in which Homer lived. There is something painful in
-this barrenness,--and we almost feel that the critics, in exploding the
-fond fictions which antiquity has woven around the name of the great
-poet, have performed an ungracious office. They have indeed dissipated
-fables, but they have left us little but darkness or vacuity in their
-place. Such is the yearning of the mind, in respect to those who have
-excited its emotions, and created an interest in the bosom, that it
-will cherish even the admitted portraitures of fiction and fancy,
-rather than content itself with the blank canvass of nothingness. The
-heart, as well as nature, abhors a vacuum.
-
-The fictitious history of Homer--which, however, is of some antiquity,
-and has passed current for centuries--is briefly as follows. His mother
-was named Critheis: she was married to M�on, king of Smyrna, and gave
-birth to a child, on or near the banks of the river Meles, from which
-circumstance he was called Meles genes. The mother soon died, and he
-was brought up and educated under the care of M�on. The name of Homer
-was afterwards given to him, on account of his becoming blind.
-
-The legends proceed in general to state that Homer himself became a
-schoolmaster and poet of great celebrity, at Smyrna, and remained
-there till Mentes, a foreign merchant, induced him to travel. That the
-author of the Iliad and Odyssey must have travelled pretty extensively
-for those times, is unquestionable; for besides the accurate knowledge
-of Greece which these works display, it is clear that the poet had a
-familiar acquaintance with the islands both in the �gean and the Ionian
-seas, the coasts of Asia Minor, Crete, Cyprus, and Egypt--which still
-bear the names he gave them--and possessed also distinct information
-with respect to Lybia, �thiopia, Phoenicia, Caria and Phrygia.
-
-In his travels, as the legends say, Homer visited Ithaca, and there
-became subject to a disease in his eyes, which afterwards terminated in
-total blindness. From this island he is said to have gone to Italy, and
-even to Spain; but there is no sign, in either of the two poems, of his
-possessing any definite knowledge westward of the Ionian sea. Wherever
-he went, Homer recited his verses, which were universally admired,
-except at Smyrna, where he was a prophet in his own country. At Phoc�a,
-a schoolmaster, of the name of Thestorides, obtained from Homer a copy
-of his poetry, and then sailed to Chios, and there recited these verses
-as his own. Homer went soon after to the same place, and was rescued
-by Glaucus, a goatherd, from the attack of his dogs, and brought by
-him to Bolissus, a town in Chios, where he resided a long time, in the
-possession of wealth and a splendid reputation.
-
-According to Herodotus, Homer died at Io, on his way to Athens, and
-was buried near the sea-shore. Proclus says he died in consequence of
-falling over a stone. Plutarch tells a different story. He preserves
-two responses of an oracle to the poet, in both of which he was
-cautioned to beware of the young men's riddle; and relates that the
-poet, being on a voyage to Thebes, to attend a musical or poetical
-contest at the feast of Saturn, in that city, landed in the island
-of Io, and, whilst sitting on a rock by the sea-shore, observed some
-young fishermen in a boat. Homer asked them if they had anything, and
-the young wags, who, having had no sport, had been diligently catching
-and killing as many as they could, of certain personal companions of a
-race not even yet extinct, answered,--"As many as we caught, we left;
-as many as we could not catch, we carry with us." The catastrophe of
-this absurd story is, that Homer, being utterly unable to guess the
-riddle, broke his heart, out of pure vexation; and the inhabitants of
-the island buried him with great magnificence, and placed the following
-inscription on his tomb:--
-
-
-    Here Homer, the divine in earthly bed,
-    Poet of Heroes, rests his sacred head.
-
-
-The general theory in regard to the poems of Homer, is that they were
-composed and recited by him, to the people living upon the islands and
-the main land along the coasts of Asia Minor. At that time books were
-unknown, and it is a question whether even the art of writing was then
-practised. Homer, therefore, published his poems in the only way he
-could do it--by oral delivery. Whether his verses were sung, or only
-recited, we cannot determine; but there is no doubt that he obtained
-both fame and maintenance by his performances.
-
-So deep was the impression made by the poet, that his verses were
-learned by heart, and preserved in the memories of succeeding
-rhapsodists and minstrels. His reputation was diffused over all Greece;
-and Lycurgus, who had heard of his compositions, is supposed to have
-taken pains, during his travels, to have them written down, and to have
-brought them in a collected form to Greece. They were, however, still
-in fragments, and the task of arranging and uniting them was performed
-by Pisistratus, with the help of the poets of his time. In this way,
-they received nearly the form they now possess; the division of each of
-the two epics into twenty-four books, corresponding with the letters
-of the Greek alphabet, being the work of the Alexandrian critics,
-some centuries after. It must be remembered, however, that although
-the poems of Homer were thus committed to writing in the time of
-Pisistratus, they continued to be recited by the rhapsodists, who were
-much favored in Greece, and in this way alone, for several centuries,
-were popularly known. It is probable that in these recitations, there
-was a good deal of dramatic action, and that they possessed something
-of the interest which belongs to theatrical representation.
-
-The vicissitudes to which Homer's reputation and influence have been
-subject, deserve notice. From the arrangement of the Iliad and Odyssey,
-in the time of the Pisistratid�, to the promulgation of Christianity,
-the love and reverence with which the name of Homer was regarded, went
-on constantly increasing, till at last public games were instituted in
-his honor, statues dedicated, temples erected, and sacrifices offered
-to him, as a divinity. There were such temples at Smyrna, Chios, and
-Alexandria; and, according to �lian, the Argives sacrificed to, and
-invoked the names and presence of, Apollo and Homer together.
-
-But about the beginning of the second century of the Christian era,
-when the struggle between the old and the new religions was warm
-and active, the tide turned. Heathenism, says Pope, was then to be
-destroyed, and Homer appeared to be the father of those fictions which
-were at once the belief of the Pagan religion, and the objections of
-Christianity against it. He became, therefore, deeply involved in the
-question, not with that honor which had hitherto attended him, but as
-a criminal, who had drawn the world into folly. These times, however,
-are past, and Homer stands on the summit of the ancient Parnassus, the
-boast and glory of Greece, and the wonder and admiration of mankind.
-
-The Iliad, with the exception of the Pentateuch and some others of the
-books of the Old Testament, is the most ancient composition known. It
-is interesting not only as a splendid poem, but also on account of the
-light it throws upon the history and manners of the remote ages in
-which it was written. We are struck with the similarity of the customs
-of the Asiatic Greeks to those of the Hebrews, as set forth in the
-Bible; and also with the fact that the Jupiter of Homer rises to that
-unchecked omnipotence assigned to Jehovah.
-
-The design of the Iliad seems to be to set forth the revenge which
-Achilles took on Agamemnon, for depriving him of his mistress, Briseis,
-while engaged in the siege of Troy--with the long train of evils which
-followed. The admirers of Homer have pretended to discover in the work
-the most profound art in the construction of the poem, and have hence
-deduced rules for the formation of the epic poem; but nothing is more
-clear than that, in the simple lines of Homer, the poet had no other
-guide than a profound knowledge of human nature and human sympathies;
-and that he only sought to operate on these by telling a plain story,
-in the most simple, yet effective manner. The absence of all art is
-one of the chief characteristics of the Iliad;--its naturalness is the
-great secret of its power.
-
-That this poem is the greatest of human productions--a point often
-assumed--is by no means to be received as true. It strikes us with
-wonder, when we consider the age in which it was composed, and we
-feel that Homer was indeed one of the great lights of the world. The
-following passage, one of the finest in the Iliad, is full of truth,
-nature and pathos--and it shows that the heroes of Troy, nearly three
-thousand years ago, had the same feelings and sympathies as those which
-beat in the bosoms of our time; yet we can point to a great number of
-passages in modern poems, far, very far superior to this. The scene
-represents Priam--who has come to the Greek camp for the purpose of
-redeeming the body of his son Hector--as addressing the chieftain,
-Achilles:
-
-
-    "Think, O Achilles, semblance of the gods!
-    On thy own father, full of days like me,
-    And trembling on the gloomy verge of life:
-    Some neighbor chief, it may be, even now,
-    Oppresses him, and there is none at hand,
-    No friend to succor him in his distress;
-    Yet doubtless, hearing that Achilles lives,
-    He still rejoices, hoping day by day,
-    That one day he shall see the face again
-    Of his own son from distant Troy returned.
-    But me no comfort cheers, whose bravest sons,
-    So late the flower of Ilium, all are slain.
-    When Greece came hither, I had fifty sons;
-    Nineteen were children of one bed; the rest
-    Born of my concubines. A numerous house!
-    But fiery Mars hath thinned it. One I had,
-    One, more than all my sons, the strength of Troy,
-    Whom standing for his country thou hast slain,--
-    Hector. His body to redeem I come;
-    Into Achia's fleet bringing myself
-    Ransom inestimable to thy tent.
-    Rev'rence the gods, Achilles! recollect
-    Thy father; for his sake compassion show
-    To me, more pitiable still, who draw
-    Home to my lips (humiliation yet
-    Unseen on earth) his hand who slew my son!
-
-    "So saying, he awakened in his soul regret
-    Of his own sire; softly he placed his hand
-    On Priam's hand, and pushed him gently away.
-    Remembrance melted both. Rolling before
-    Achilles feet, Priam his son deplored,
-    Wide slaughtering Hector, and Achilles wept
-    By turns his father, and by turns his friend
-    Patroclus: sounds of sorrow filled the tent."
-
-
-Beside the Iliad, another epic, divided into twenty-four books, and
-entitled the Odyssey, with a number of smaller pieces, are attributed
-to Homer, and doubtless upon good and substantial grounds. The Odyssey
-is a tale of adventures, like Robinson Crusoe, and Sinbad the Sailor,
-heightened by an object, and dignified by a moral far above these
-works. It tells us what befel Ulysses, in returning from the siege of
-Troy to his home in Greece; and is wrought up with wonderful powers
-of invention and fancy. It is esteemed inferior, on the whole, to the
-Iliad, and an eminent critic has said, that, in the former, Homer
-appears like the rising, and in the latter, like the setting sun.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-[Footnote 15: These Marbles consist of a large collection of busts,
-statues, altars, inscriptions, mutilated figures, &c., formed by Thomas
-Howard, Earl of Arundel, in the early part of the seventeenth century,
-and presented to the University of Oxford, by Henry Howard, the earl's
-grandson. They were obtained in various parts of Greece; many are of
-great antiquity and of great value, as well for the light they shed
-upon history as upon the arts, customs, and manners of past ages.]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                              CONFUCIUS.
-
-
-This greatest of Chinese philosophers was born in the petty kingdom
-of L�, now the province of Sh�ntung, in the year 549 B. C.--the same
-year that Cyrus became king of the Medes and Persians. The Chinese,
-in their embellishments of his history, tell us that his birth was
-attended with heavenly music, filling the air; that two dragons were
-seen winding over the roof; that five old men appeared at the door,
-and after consulting together, suddenly vanished; and that a unicorn
-brought to his mother a tablet in his mouth. It is also related that
-when he was born, five characters were seen on his breast, declaring
-him to be "the maker of a rule for settling the world." These and other
-marvels are a part of the established biography of the philosopher, as
-received by the Chinese.
-
-The father of Confucius, who was a magistrate of the district where he
-lived, died when the son was but three years old. The latter was poor
-and unknown during his youth--though his gravity and attention to study
-attracted the attention of his townsmen. When he approached manhood, he
-was esteemed remarkable for his wisdom, and equal to the learned men of
-the country in his knowledge of antiquity.
-
-At the age of seventeen he received an appointment as clerk in the
-grain department of the government; and so attentive was he in his
-trust, as, two years after, to be advanced to the general supervision
-of the fields and parks, and the breeding of cattle. About this time
-he was married, and two years after, his only son was born. Upon this
-occasion, Lord Ch�u the governor of L�, sent him two carp as a present,
-and accordingly Confucius named his son L� or Carp. His humor went even
-farther, and he gave the boy the additional title of Piy�, or Uncle
-Fish.
-
-At the age of twenty-four, Confucius lost his mother, whom he buried in
-the same grave with his father, who had been dead some time. He then
-resigned his office, that he might mourn three years for his mother,
-according to the ancient custom of the country. This practice had
-fallen into neglect, and, consequently, the example of Confucius, in
-following the holy custom of the fathers of the country, gained him
-great renown for his piety. His reputation was thus extended, and his
-example began to be followed.
-
-The three years of his mourning were not lost--for he then devoted
-himself to study. He diligently examined the books of the old authors,
-seeking to discover the means by which the ancient kings and sages
-sought to attain the perfection of morals. The result was, a conviction
-that the social virtues were best cultivated by an observance of the
-ancient usages of the country; and accordingly he resolved to devote
-his life to them, and to their permanent establishment in China. This
-great work he accomplished; and if we consider the effect he has
-produced on the most populous nation of the globe, and during a space
-of nearly two thousand years, we shall perceive the mighty consequence
-of his labors. The actual amount of influence he has exercised, perhaps
-exceeds that of any other human being, save Aristotle alone.
-
-Appearing to have a clear view of his great work, Confucius entered
-upon it with systematic diligence. He resolved to establish schools
-where his philosophy should be taught to pupils who would go forth and
-spread his doctrines through the empire. He also proposed to write a
-series of books, setting forth his views. All these things he lived to
-accomplish.
-
-The greater part of the life of Confucius was passed in travelling,
-visiting the courts of the petty princes, whose states then constituted
-the empire under the sovereign of the Ch�n dynasty. This course was,
-as might be expected, fruitless in reforming these states, but it
-diffused a general knowledge of himself and his doctrines, and procured
-him scholars. The prince of Ts� was the first who invited him to his
-court, and received him with distinction. This potentate heard him with
-pleasure, and applauded his maxims; but, to the chagrin of Confucius,
-he continued to live in luxury, and to allow his ministers to oppress
-his subjects and abuse their power. He, however, offered him for his
-maintenance the revenue of a considerable city, which the philosopher
-thought proper to decline, alleging that he had done nothing to merit
-such a recompense. After sojourning a year in Ts�, and seeing that his
-discourse produced no effect to reform the abuses and evils of the
-country, he left it, and visited some of the principal cities of China.
-
-On the road between Ts� and Chin, he fell into a difficulty. The prince
-of W� having attacked Chin, the lord of Ts� came to his relief, and
-sent an invitation to Confucius to join him; but the other party,
-fearing that he would do them a disservice, sent people to intercept
-him. They surrounded him in the wilderness, and would have starved him
-to death, had not a friend come to his relief, after a detention of
-seven days. After this narrow escape, he returned home and the prince
-of L� gave him a carriage, two horses and a servant, with which he set
-off for King-yang, the capital of the empire. Here he passed his time
-in observing the forms of government, the condition of the people and
-their manners, and how the rites and ceremonies of the ancient kings
-were regarded. He held several interviews with the ministers of the
-court, was permitted to visit the emperor's ancestral hall, and other
-sacred places, and had access to the archives of the kingdom, from
-which he was allowed to take extracts.
-
-One object in the visit of Confucius to the capital, was to see
-L�utsz', the founder of the T�u sect, or Rationalists, who lived in
-a retired place, some distance from court. This old philosopher,
-accustomed to visits from men of all ranks, received Confucius and his
-disciples with indifference. He was reclining on an elevated platform,
-and hearing that his visitor had come to hear from his own mouth an
-exposition of his tenets, and to ask him about _propriety_, he roused
-himself to receive him. "I have heard speak of you," says he, "and I
-know your reputation. I am told that you talk only of the ancients,
-and discourse only upon what they taught. Now, of what use is it to
-endeavor to revive the memory of men of whom no trace remains on the
-earth? The sage ought to interest himself with the times in which he
-lives, and regard present circumstances; if they are favorable, he
-will improve them; but if, on the contrary, they are unfavorable, he
-will retire and wait tranquilly, without grieving at what others do.
-He who possesses a treasure, will try to have everybody know it; he
-will preserve it against the day of need; this you will do if you are a
-sage. It seems, judging by your conduct, that you have some ostentation
-in your plans of instruction and that you are proud. Correct these
-faults, and purify your heart from all love of pleasure; you will, in
-this way, be much more useful than seeking to know what the ancients
-said."
-
-L�utsz' also observed, "A discreet merchant keeps his affairs to
-himself as if he knew nothing; an excellent man, although highly
-intelligent, demeans himself like an ignorant man." Confucius remarked
-to his disciples, "I have seen L�utsz'; have I not seen something
-like a dragon?" On leaving him, L�utsz' said, "I have heard that
-the rich dismiss their friends with a present, and the benevolent
-send away people with a word of advice; whoever is talented, and
-prying into everything, will run himself into danger, because he
-loves to satirize and slander men; and he who wishes to thoroughly
-understand recondite things will jeopard his safety, because he loves
-to publish the failings of men." Confucius replied, "I respectfully
-receive your instructions," and thus left him. L�utsz' advice seemed
-directed against a too inquisitive philosophy, and meddling too much
-in the affairs of the world; he was rather of the Budhistic school of
-quietists, while Confucius wished men to endeavor to make each other
-better.
-
-Confucius, like Aristotle and other masters, used to teach his
-disciples while walking with them, deriving instruction from what they
-saw. Once, while walking with them by the bank of a stream, he stopped
-from time to time to look very intently at the water, until their
-attention was excited, and they were induced to ask him the reason of
-his conduct. He replied, "The running of water in its bed is a very
-simple thing, the reason of which everybody knows. I was, however,
-rather making a comparison in my own mind between the running of water
-and doctrine. The water, I reflected, runs unceasingly, by day and by
-night, until it is lost in the bosom of the mighty deep. Since the days
-of Y�u and Shun, the pure doctrine has uninterruptedly descended to us:
-let us in our turn transmit it to those who come after us, that they,
-from our example, may give it to their descendants to the end of time.
-Do not imitate those isolated men, (referring to L�utsz',) who are
-wise only for themselves. To communicate the knowledge and virtue we
-possess, to others, will never impoverish ourselves. This is one of the
-reflections I would make upon the running of water."
-
-This peripatetic habit, and the aptitude for drawing instruction from
-whatever would furnish instruction, was usual with the philosopher,
-and he seldom omitted to improve an occasion. Once, when walking in
-the fields, he perceived a fowler, who, having drawn in his nets,
-distributed the birds he had taken into different cages. On coming up
-to him to ascertain what he had caught, Confucius attentively remarked
-the vain efforts of the captive birds to regain their liberty, until
-his disciples gathered round him, when he addressed the fowler,--"I do
-not see any old birds here; where have you put them?" "The old birds,"
-said he, "are too wary to be caught; they are on the look-out, and if
-they see a net or a cage, far from falling into the snare, they escape,
-and never return. Those young ones which are in company with them,
-likewise escape, but such only as separate into a flock by themselves,
-and rashly approach, are the birds I catch. If perchance I catch an old
-bird, it is because he follows the young ones."
-
-"You have heard him," said Confucius, turning to his disciples; "the
-words of this fowler afford us matter for instruction. The young
-birds escape the snare only when they keep with the old ones; the old
-ones are taken when they follow the young. It is thus with mankind.
-Presumption, hardihood, want of forethought, and inattention are the
-principal reasons why young people are led astray. Inflated with their
-small attainments, they have scarcely made a commencement in learning,
-before they think they know everything; they have scarcely performed
-a few virtuous acts, and straight they fancy themselves at the height
-of wisdom. Under this false impression they doubt nothing; they rashly
-undertake acts without consulting the aged and experienced, and thus,
-securely following their own notions, they are misled, and fall into
-the first snare laid for them. If you see an old man of sober years so
-badly advised as to be taken with the giddiness of a youth, attached
-to him, and thinking and acting with him, he is led astray by him, and
-soon taken in the same snare. Do not forget the answer of the fowler,
-but reflect on it occasionally."
-
-Having completed his observations at the capital, Confucius returned,
-by the way of Ts�, to his native state of L�, where he remained ten
-years. His house now became a sort of lyceum, open to every one who
-wished to receive instruction. His manner of teaching was to allow
-his disciples or others to come and go when they pleased, asking
-his opinion on such points, either in morals, politics, history, or
-literature, as they wished to have explained. He gave them the liberty
-of choosing their subject, and then he discoursed upon it. From these
-conversations and detached expressions of the philosopher, treasured
-up by his disciples, they afterwards composed Lun Y�, now one of the
-Four Books. Confucius, it is said, numbered upwards of three thousand
-disciples, or perhaps we ought to call them advocates or hearers
-of his doctrine. They consisted of men of all ranks and ages, who
-attended upon him when their duties or inclinations permitted, and
-who materially assisted in diffusing a knowledge of his tenets over
-the whole country. There were, however, a select few, who attached
-themselves to his person, lived with him, and followed him wherever he
-went; and to whom he entrusted the promulgation of his doctrines.
-
-After several years of retirement, Confucius was called into public
-life. The prince of L� died, and his son, entertaining a great respect
-for the philosopher, and esteem for his instructions, invited him to
-court, in order to learn his doctrines more fully. After becoming well
-acquainted with him, and reposing confidence in his integrity, the
-young ruler committed the entire management of the state to him; and
-the activity, courage, and disinterested conduct which he exhibited
-in the exercise of his power, soon had the happiest effect upon the
-country. By his wise rules and the authority of his example and his
-maxims he soon reformed many vicious practices, and introduced
-sobriety and order, in the place of waste and injustice. He occupied
-himself with agriculture, and regulated the revenue and the manner of
-receiving it; so that, in consequence of his measures, the productions
-of the state were increased, the happiness of the people was extended,
-and the revenue considerably augmented.
-
-He carried his reforms into every department of justice, in which, soon
-after he entered upon his duties as minister, he had an opportunity of
-exhibiting his inflexibility. One of the most powerful nobles of the
-state had screened himself from the just punishment due to his many
-crimes, under the dread of his power and riches, and the number of his
-retainers. Confucius caused him to be arrested, and gave order for his
-trial; and when the overwhelming proofs brought forward had convinced
-all of his guilt, he condemned him to lose his head, and presided
-himself at the execution. This wholesome severity struck a dread into
-other men of rank, and likewise obtained the plaudits of all men of
-sense, as well as of the people, who saw in the minister a courageous
-protector, ready to defend them against the tyranny of men in power.
-
-These salutary reforms had not been long in operation, before the
-neighboring states took alarm at the rising prosperity of L�; and the
-prince of Ts�, who had recently usurped the throne by assassinating
-its occupant, resolved to ruin the plans of Confucius. To this end he
-appointed an envoy to the young prince, with whose character he was
-well acquainted, desiring to renew the ancient league of friendship
-between the two countries. This envoy was charged with thirty-five
-horses, beautifully caparisoned, a large number of curious rarities,
-and twenty-four of the most accomplished courtesans he could procure in
-his dominions. The scheme succeeded; before these seductive damsels,
-the austere etiquette of the court of L� soon gave way, and fetes,
-comedies, dances, and concerts, took the place of propriety and
-decorum. The presence of the sage soon became irksome to his master,
-and he at last forbid him to come into his sight, having become quite
-charmed with the fair enchantresses, and no longer able to endure the
-remonstrances of his minister.
-
-Confucius, thus disgraced in his own country, and now at the age of
-fifty, left it, and retired to the kingdom of Wei, where he remained
-more than ten years, without seeking to exercise any public office,
-but principally occupied with completing his works, and instructing
-his disciples in his doctrines. During his residence in Wei, he
-frequently made excursions into other states, taking with him such of
-his disciples as chose to accompany him. He was at times applauded
-and esteemed, but quite as often was the object of persecution and
-contempt. More than once his life was endangered. He compared himself
-to a dog driven from his home: "I have the fidelity of that animal,
-and I am treated like it. But what matters the ingratitude of men?
-They cannot hinder me from doing all the good that is appointed me. If
-my precepts are disregarded, I have the consolation in my own breast
-of knowing that I have faithfully performed my duty." He sometimes
-spoke in a manner that showed his own impression to be that Heaven had
-conferred on him a special commission to instruct the world. When an
-attempt was made on his life, he said, "As Heaven has produced such a
-degree of virtue in me, what can Hw�nt�i do to me?" On another occasion
-of danger, he said, "If Heaven means not to obliterate this doctrine
-from the earth, the men of Kw�ng can do nothing to me."
-
-At the age of sixty-eight, after an absence of eighteen years,
-Confucius returned to his native country, where he lived a life of
-retirement, employed in putting the finishing hand to his works. In his
-sixty-sixth year, his wife died, and his son, Piy�, mourned for her a
-whole year; but one day overhearing his father say, "Ah! it is carried
-too far;" he dried up his tears. Three years after this, this son also
-died, leaving a son, Tsz'sz', who afterwards emulated his grandfather's
-fame as a teacher, and became the author of the Chung Yung, or True
-Medium. The next year, Yen Hwui, the favorite disciple of the sage,
-died, whose loss he bitterly mourned, saying, "Heaven has destroyed me!
-heaven has destroyed me!" He had great hopes of this pupil, and had
-depended upon him to perpetuate his doctrines.
-
-An anecdote is related of him about this time of life, which the
-Chinese regard as highly creditable to their sage. Tsz'kung, one of his
-disciples, was much surprised one morning to meet his master at the
-door, dressed with much elegance and nicety. On asking him where he was
-going, Confucius, with a sigh, replied, "I am going to court, and that
-too, without being invited. I have not been able to resist a feeling
-which possesses me to make a last effort to bring a just punishment
-upon Chin Chen, the usurper of the throne of Ts�. I am prepared by
-purification and fasting, for this audience, so that if I fail, I shall
-not have to accuse myself." On presenting himself, he was received with
-respect, and immediately admitted to an audience; and the prince of L�
-asked him what important affair had called him from his retirement.
-Confucius, replied: "Sire, that which I have to communicate, alike
-concerns all kings. The perfidious Chin Chen has imbued his hands in
-the blood of his legitimate sovereign, Kien. You are a prince; your
-state borders upon Ts�; Kien was your ally, and originally of the same
-race as yourself. Any one of these reasons is sufficient to authorize
-you to declare war against Chin Chen, and all of them combined make
-it your duty to take up arms. Assemble your forces and march to
-exterminate a monster whom the earth upholds with regret. This crime
-is such that it cannot be pardoned, and, in punishing it, you will at
-once avenge an outrage against heaven, from which every king derives
-his power; against royalty, which has been profaned by this perfidy;
-against a parent, to whom you are allied by ties of blood, alliance and
-friendship."
-
-The prince, convinced of the criminality of Chin Chen, applauded the
-just indignation which inspired the heart of Confucius, but suggested
-that before he entered upon such an enterprise, it would be best to
-confer with his ministers. "Sire," said the philosopher, "I have
-acquitted myself of a duty in laying this case before you; but it
-will be useless to insist upon it before your ministers, whom I know
-are disinclined to enter into my views. Reflect, I pray you, as a
-sovereign, upon what I now propose, and consult only with yourself as
-to its execution. Your servants are not sovereigns, and have no other
-than their own ends to gain, to which they sometimes sacrifice the good
-of their master and the glory of the state. I have no other end in view
-than to support the cause of justice; and I conjure you, by the sacred
-names of justice and good order, to go and exterminate this miscreant
-from the earth, and, by restoring the throne of Ts� to its rightful
-owner, to exhibit to the world your justice, and strike a salutary
-terror into the hearts of all who may wish to imitate this successful
-villany." On leaving, the prince said to Confucius, "I will think
-seriously on what you have said, and, if it be possible, will carry it
-into execution."
-
-Towards the end of his days, when he had completed his revision of the
-Five Classes, he, with great solemnity, dedicated them to Heaven. He
-assembled all his disciples and led them out of the town to one of the
-hills where sacrifices had been usually offered for many years. He here
-erected a table, or altar, upon which he placed the books; and then,
-turning his face to the north, adored Heaven, and returned thanks upon
-his knees, in a humble manner, for having had life and strength granted
-him to enable him to accomplish this laborious undertaking; he implored
-heaven to grant that the benefit to his countrymen from so arduous a
-labor might not be small. He had prepared himself for this ceremony by
-privacy, fasting and prayer. Chinese pictures of this scene represent
-the sage in the attitude of supplication, and a pencil of light, or
-a rainbow, descending from the sky upon the books, while his scholars
-stand around in admiring wonder.
-
-In his seventy-third year, a few days before his death, leaning upon
-his staff, Confucius tottered about the house, singing out,--
-
-
-    "The great mountain is broken!
-     The strong beam is thrown down!
-     The wise man is decayed!"
-
-
-He then related a dream he had had the night before, to his pupil,
-Tsz'kung, which he regarded as a presage of his own death; and, after
-keeping his bed seven days, he died on the 18th day of the second
-month, and was buried in the same grave with his wife. Tsz'kung mourned
-for him six years in a shed erected by the side of his grave, and then
-returned home. His death occurred 479 B. C., the year of the battle of
-Plat�a, in Greece, and about seven years before the birth of Socrates.
-Many events of great importance happened during his life, in western
-countries, of which the return of the Jews, and building of the second
-temple, Xerxes' invasion of Greece, the expulsion of the kings from
-Rome, the conquest of Egypt, and establishment of the Persian monarchy
-in its fullest extent, were the most important.
-
-Posthumous honors in great variety have been conferred upon Confucius.
-Soon after his death, the prince of L� entitled him _N� f�_, or father
-N�; which under the reign of Lint�, of the H�n dynasty, 197 B. C., was
-changed to _N� kung_, or duke _N�_, and his portrait was ordered to be
-hung up in the public school. By the emperors of the Tang dynasty it
-was made _sien shing_, the ancient sage. He was next styled the royal
-preacher, and his effigy clad in king's robes, and a crown put on
-its head. The Ming dynasty called him the most holy ancient teacher,
-Kungtsz', which title is now continued to him. His descendants have
-continued to dwell in Sh�ntung province, and the heads of the family
-have enjoyed the rank of nobility, being almost the only hereditary
-noblemen in the empire out of the imperial kingdom. They are called
-Yenshing kung. In the reign of K�ngh�, one hundred and twenty years
-ago, the descendants of the sage numbered eleven thousand males; the
-present is said to be the seventy-fourth generation. The chief of the
-family is commonly called the "holy duke," and enjoys all the honors
-of a prince. Whenever he visits the court, the emperor receives him
-with almost the same respect and ceremony as he does ambassadors from
-foreign countries. P. Amiot relates that he was honored with a call
-from him, upon one of his visits to court. "He was a pleasant and
-modest man, whom knowledge had not filled with conceit. He received,
-when he came to our house, some religious books, which we offered
-him in exchange for some Chinese books he gave us. His name was Kung
-Chauh�n, and he was of the seventy-first generation in direct descent
-from the sage,--in all probability the oldest family in the world, of
-which the regular descent can be traced." In the Life of Confucius,
-written by Amiot, which forms one of the volumes of the _M�moires sur
-les Chinoises_, there is a brief account of each of these heads of
-this family, with notices of other distinguished persons belonging to
-the house.
-
-In every district in the empire there is a temple dedicated to
-Confucius, and his name is usually suspended in every school-room in
-the land, and incense is burned before it morning and evening by the
-scholars. Adoration is paid to him by all ranks. In 1457, Jentsung,
-of the Ning dynasty, set up a copper statue of the sage in one of the
-halls of the palace, and ordered his officers, whenever they came to
-the palace, to go to this room, and respectfully salute Confucius
-before speaking of the affairs of state, even if the monarch were
-present. But this custom was represented to another emperor as tending
-to the worship of images, like the Budhists; and on that account the
-memorialist represented that simple tablets, inscribed with the name of
-him who was worshipped, were much better. This advice was followed; the
-statues of Confucius and his disciples were suppressed, by order of the
-emperor Ch�tsung, in 1530, and simple tablets have since been set up in
-the temples erected to his name.
-
-The writings of Confucius, as might be expected are held in great
-veneration, and regarded as the best books in the language. He revised
-all the ancient books, containing the precepts of the kings and
-emperors of former times, and left them pretty much as they are at the
-present day. He explained the Yi King, or Book of Changes, commented
-upon the L� K�, or Book of Rites, and compiled the Sh� King, or Book
-of Odes. He composed the Sh� King, or Book of Records, and the Chun
-Tsa�, or Spring and Autumn Annals,--so called, it is said, because the
-commendations contained therein are life-giving, like spring, and the
-reproofs are life-withering, like autumn. The books are collectively
-called the W� King, or Five Classics. The Hi�u King, or Memoir on
-Filial Duty; the Chung yung, or True Medium; the T�i Hi�h, or Superior
-Lessons, and the Lun Y�, or Conversations of Confucius, are all
-considered, by the Chinese, as containing the doctrines of the sage;
-the first one is sometimes ascribed to his own pen. The last three,
-with the work of Mencius, constitute the Sz Sh�, or Four Books, and
-were arranged in their present form by Ching f�tsz, about eight hundred
-years ago.
-
-The leading features of the morality of Confucius are, subordination
-to superiors, and kind, upright dealing with our fellow-men. From the
-duty, honor, and obedience owed by a child to his parents, he proceeds
-to inculcate the obligations of wives to their husbands, of subjects
-to their prince, and of ministers to their king, while he makes him
-amenable to Heaven. These principles are perpetually inculcated in
-the Confucian writings, and are imbodied in solemn ceremonials, and
-apparently trivial forms of mere etiquette. And, probably, it is this
-feature of his ethics which has made him such a favorite with all the
-governments of China for many centuries past, and at this day. These
-principles, and these forms, are early instilled into young minds,
-and form their conscience; the elucidation and enforcement of these
-principles and forms is the business of students who aspire to be
-magistrates or statesmen; and it is no doubt owing in great part, to
-the force of these principles on the national mind and habits, that
-China holds steadfastly together--the largest associated population
-in the world. Every one is interested in upholding doctrines which
-give him power over those under him; and as the instruction of his
-own youthful days has given him the habit of obedience and respect
-to all his superiors, so now, when he is a superior, he exacts the
-same obedience from his juniors, and public opinion accords it to
-him. The observance of such principles has tended to consolidate the
-national mind of China in that peculiar uniformity which has been
-remarked by those who have known this people. It has also tended to
-restrain all independence of thought, and keep even the most powerful
-intellects under an incubus which, while they were prevented by outward
-circumstances from getting at the knowledge of other lands was too
-great for their unassisted energies to throw off. It cannot be doubted
-that there have been many intellects of commanding power among the
-Chinese, but ignorance of the literature and condition of other nations
-has led them to infer that there was nothing worthy of notice out of
-their own borders, and to rest contented with explaining and enforcing
-the maxims of their sage.
-
-Confucius must be regarded as a great man, if superiority to the times
-in which one lives is a criterion of greatness. The immense influence
-he has exercised over the minds of his countrymen cannot, perhaps,
-be regarded as conclusive evidence of his superiority; but no mind
-of weak or ordinary powers could have stamped its own impress upon
-other minds as he has done. He never rose to those sublime heights of
-contemplation which Plato attained, nor does his mind seem to have been
-of a very discursive nature. He was content with telling his disciples
-how to act, and encouraging them to make themselves and others better,
-by following the rules he gave; not leading them into those endless
-disquisitions and speculations, upon which the Greek moralists so
-acutely reasoned, but which exercised no power over the conscience and
-life. The leading features of his doctrines have been acknowledged by
-mankind the world over, and are imbodied in their most common rules
-of life. "Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God," is a
-direction of inspired Writ; and, so far as he knew these duties, he
-inculcated them. He said little or nothing about spirits or gods, nor
-did he give any directions about worshipping them; but the veneration
-for parents, which he enforced, was, in fact, idolatrous, and has since
-degenerated into the grossest idolatry.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-Transcriber's Note:
-
-Italics are indicated by _underscores_.
-Small capitals have been rendered in full capitals.
-Footnote is placed to the end of chapter.
-Ligatures [oe] have been converted into oe.
-A number of minor spelling errors have been corrected without note.
-
-
-
-
-
-End of Project Gutenberg's Famous Men of Ancient Times, by S. G. Goodrich
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-
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Famous Men of Ancient Times, by S. G. Goodrich
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
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-Title: Famous Men of Ancient Times
-
-Author: S. G. Goodrich
-
-Release Date: June 23, 2016 [EBook #52400]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAMOUS MEN OF ANCIENT TIMES ***
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-produced from images generously made available by The
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-</pre>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%" >
-<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Cover" style="width: 70%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-
-
-<h1>FAMOUS MEN<br />
-<small><small>OF</small></small><br />
-<big>ANCIENT TIMES.</big></h1>
-
-<p class="center">BY</p>
-<p class="p02"><big><big>S. G. GOODRICH.</big></big></p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p class="center">BOSTON:</p>
-<p class="center">THOMPSON, BROWN &amp; COMPANY.</p>
-<p class="center"><span class="smcap">23 Hawley Street.</span></p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<h2>PREFACE</h2>
-
-
-<p>The reader of these pages will perhaps remark, that
-the length of the following sketches is hardly proportioned
-to the relative importance of the several subjects, regarded
-in a merely historical point of view. In explanation of this
-fact, the author begs leave to say, that, while he intended to
-present a series of the great beacon lights that shine along
-the shores of the past, and thus throw a continuous gleam
-over the dusky sea of ancient history,&mdash;he had still other
-views. His chief aim is moral culture; and the several
-articles have been abridged or extended, as this controlling
-purpose might be subserved.</p>
-
-<p>It may be proper to make one observation more. If the
-author has been somewhat more chary of his eulogies upon
-the great men that figure in the pages of Grecian and Roman
-story, than is the established custom, he has only to plead in
-his vindication, that he has viewed them in the same light&mdash;weighed
-them in the same balance&mdash;measured them by the
-same standard, as he should have done the more familiar characters
-of our own day, making due allowance for the times
-and circumstances in which they acted. He has stated the
-results of such a mode of appreciation; yet if the master
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span>spirits of antiquity are thus shorn of some portion of their
-glory, the writer still believes that the interest they excite is
-not lessened, and that the instruction they afford is not
-diminished. On the contrary, it seems to him that the
-study of ancient biography, if it be impartial and discriminating,
-is one of the most entertaining and useful to which
-the mind can be applied.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 30%" >
-<img src="images/004.jpg" alt="flower" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
-
-
-<table class="toc" summary="Contents">
-<tr>
-  <th class="toctit"></th>
-  <th class="tocpag">PAGE</th>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_7">Mohammed</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">7</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_25">Belisarius</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">25</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_60">Attila</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">60</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_68">Nero</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">68</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_74">Seneca</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">74</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_83">Virgil</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">83</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_95">Cicero</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">95</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_130">Julius C�sar</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">130</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_145">Hannibal</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">145</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_157">Alexander</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">157</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_183">Aristotle</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">183</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_197">Demosthenes</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">197</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_209">Apelles</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">209</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_213">Diogenes</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">231</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_218">Plato</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">218</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_229">Socrates</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">229</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_244">Alcibiades</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">244</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_252">Democritus</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">252</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_256">Pericles</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">256</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_261">Aristides</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">261</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_264">�sop</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">264</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_271">Solon</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">271</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_277">Lycurgus</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">277</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_282">Homer</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">282</td>
-</tr><tr>
-  <td class="toctit"><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_291">Confucius</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tocpag">291</td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 30%" >
-<img src="images/006.jpg" alt="flower" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<p class="p20"><b><big><big><big>FAMOUS MEN OF ANCIENT TIMES</big></big></big></b></p>
-
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%" >
-<img src="images/007.jpg" alt="Mohammed" style="width: 70%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>MOHAMMED.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This individual, who has exercised a greater influence
-upon the opinions of mankind than any other
-human being, save, perhaps, the Chinese philosopher
-Confucius, was born at Mecca, in Arabia, A. D. 570.
-He was the only son of Abdallah, of the noble line
-of Hashem and tribe of Koreish&mdash;descendants of Ishmael
-the reputed progenitor of the Arabian race.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The Koreishites were not only a commercial people,
-and rich by virtue of their operations in trade, but
-they were the hereditary guardians of the Caaba, or
-Kaaba, a heathen temple at Mecca. The custody of
-this sacred place, together with all the priestly offices,
-belonged to the ancestors of Mohammed.</p>
-
-<p>The Mohammedan authors have embellished the
-birth of the prophet with a great variety of wonderful
-events, which are said to have attended his introduction
-into the world. One of these is, that the Persian
-sacred fire, kept in their temples, was at once extinguished
-over all Arabia, accompanied by the diffusion
-of an unwonted and beautiful light. But this and
-other marvels, we leave to the credulity of the prophet's
-followers.</p>
-
-<p>Mohammed's father died early, and his son came
-under the guardianship of his uncle, Abu Taleb. He
-was a rich merchant, who was accustomed to visit
-the fairs of Damascus, Bagdad, and Bassora&mdash;three
-great and splendid cities, and Mohammed often accompanied
-him to these places. In his twelfth year,
-Mohammed took part in an expedition against the
-wandering tribes that molested the trading caravans.
-Thus, by travelling from place to place, he acquired
-extensive knowledge, and, by being engaged in warlike
-enterprise, his imagination became inflamed with
-a love of adventure and military achievements. If
-we add to this, that he had naturally a love of solitude,
-with a constitutional tendency to religious abstraction;
-and if, moreover, we consider that in his
-childhood he had been accustomed to behold the wild
-exercises, the dark ceremonies, and hideous rites of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>the temple of Caaba&mdash;we shall at once see the elements
-of character, and the educational circumstances, which
-shaped out the extraordinary career of the founder of
-Islamism.</p>
-
-<p>It appears that Mohammed was remarkable for
-mental endowments, even in his youth, for, in a religious
-conversation with a Nestorian monk, at Basra,
-he showed such knowledge and talent, that the monk
-remarked to his uncle, that great things might be
-expected of him. He was, however, attentive to business,
-and so completely obtained the confidence of his
-uncle, as a merchant, that he was recommended as a
-prudent and faithful young man, to Khadijah, a rich
-widow, who stood in need of an agent to transact her
-business and manage her affairs. In this capacity
-he was received, and so well did he discharge his
-duties, that he not only won the confidence of the
-widow, but finally obtained her hand in marriage.
-This event took place when he was about twenty-five
-years old, Khadijah being almost forty.</p>
-
-<p>Mohammed was now rich, and, though he continued
-to carry on mercantile business, he often retired
-to a cave, called Heva, near Mecca, where he resided.
-He also performed several journeys to different parts
-of Arabia and Syria, taking particular pains to gather
-religious information, especially of learned Jews and
-Christians.</p>
-
-<p>For some time, Mohammed, who lived happily
-with his wife, confided to her his visits to the cave
-Heva, professing to enjoy interviews with Heaven
-there, by means of dreams and trances, in which he
-met and conversed with the angel Gabriel. There is
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>little doubt that his habits of religious retirement and
-gloomy reflection had unsettled his judgment, and that
-he now gave himself up to the guidance of an overwrought
-fancy. It is probable, therefore, that he
-believed these visions to be of divine inspiration;
-else, why should he first communicate them, as realities,
-to his wife?</p>
-
-<p>Soon after this, he informed other members of his
-family of his visions, and, being now about forty years
-old, assumed with them, the character and profession
-of a prophet. Several of his friends, particularly his
-wife, and his cousin Ali, a young man of great energy
-of character, yielded to the evidence he gave of his
-divine mission. Having been silently occupied about
-three years in converting his nearest friends, he invited
-some of the most illustrious men of the family of
-Hashem to his house, and, after conjuring them to
-abandon their idolatry, for the worship of <span class="smcap">One God</span>,
-he openly proclaimed his calling, and set forth, that,
-by the commands of Heaven, revealed through the
-angel Gabriel, he was prepared to impart to his countrymen
-the most precious gift&mdash;the only means of
-future salvation.</p>
-
-<p>Far from being convinced, the assembly was struck
-silent with mingled surprise and contempt. The
-young and enthusiastic Ali, alone, yielded to his pretences,
-and, falling at his feet, offered to attend him,
-in good or evil, for life or for death. Several of the
-more sober part of the assembly sought to dissuade
-Mohammed from his enterprise; but he replied with
-a lofty fervor, that if the sun were placed in his right
-hand, and the moon in his left, with power over the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>
-kingdoms they enlighten, he would not, should not,
-could not hesitate or waver in his course.</p>
-
-<p>Inflamed by the opposition he met with among
-this assembly, Mohammed now went forth, and, wherever
-he could find crowds of people, there he announced
-his mission. In the temples, in the public
-squares, streets, and market-places, he addressed the
-people, laying claim to the prophetic character, and
-setting forth the duty of rejecting idolatry, for the
-worship of one God. The people were struck with
-his eloquence, his majesty of person, the beautiful
-imagery he presented to their minds, and the sublime
-sentiments he promulgated. Even the poet Lebid is
-said to have been converted by the wonderful beauty
-and elevation of the thoughts poured forth by the professed
-prophet. The people listened, and, though
-they felt the fire of his eloquence, still they were so
-wedded to their idolatries, that few were yet disposed
-to join him.</p>
-
-<p>To aid in understanding the revolution wrought by
-Mohammed, it may be well to sketch the condition
-of the Arabians at that period. The original inhabitants
-of Arabia, though all of one stock, and occupying
-a peninsula 1200 miles in length by 700 in width,
-had been, from time immemorial, divided into a variety
-of distinct tribes. These constituted petty communities
-or states, which, often changing, still left the
-people essentially the same. In the more elevated
-table lands, intersected by mountain ridges, with
-dreary wastes consisting of sandy plains, the people
-continued to pursue a roving life, living partly upon
-their flocks of camels, horses, and horned cattle, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>
-partly upon the robbery of trading caravans of other
-tribes. The people of the plains, being near the water,
-settled in towns, cultivated the soil, and pursued
-commerce.</p>
-
-<p>The various tribes were each governed by the oldest
-or most worthy sheik or nobleman. Their bards
-met once a year, at Okhad, holding a fair of thirty
-days, for the recitation of their productions. That
-which was declared to be the finest, was written in
-gold and suspended in the great temple of Mecca.
-This was almost the only common tie between the
-several states or tribes, for, although they nominally
-acknowledged an emir, or national chief, they had
-never been brought to act in one body.</p>
-
-<p>The adoration of the Arabians consisted chiefly in
-the worship of the heavenly luminaries; but they had
-a great variety of deities, these being personifications
-of certain powers in nature, or passions in mankind.
-They were represented by idols of every variety of
-shape, which were gathered around the ancient temple
-of Caaba, at Mecca, a large square edifice, considered
-as the central point of religion, and the favorite
-seat of divinity. Their worship was attended with
-the most horrid rites and shocking ceremonies: even
-children were sacrificed to the idols, and one of the
-tribes was accustomed to bury their daughters alive.
-Except that they fancied the souls of the departed to
-be transformed into owls, hovering in gloom around
-the grave, it does not appear that they had the least
-idea of a future state of existence.</p>
-
-<p>Such was the state of religion among the native
-Arabians. Among the foreign settlers in the towns<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>
-there were a few followers of the Greek and Roman
-philosophy; the Christians were never numerous.
-These latter were divided into a variety of sects, and
-those belonging to the Greek church, advocated monasteries,
-and were addicted to the worship of images,
-martyrs and relics. Some of these, even elevated the
-Virgin Mary into a deity, and addressed her as the
-third person in the Trinity.</p>
-
-<p>Mohammed, while he no doubt looked with horror
-upon this state of things, having studied the Bible,
-and clearly comprehended its sublime revelation of
-one God, conceived the idea of uniting the people of
-his native land under a religion of which this fundamental
-principle should constitute the basis. His
-purpose was to crush idolatry, and restore the lost
-worship of the true God. How far he was sincere,
-and how far he was an impostor, we cannot venture
-to affirm. It is probable that he was a religious enthusiast,
-deceived by his own fancies, and, perhaps,
-really believing his own visions. At the outset of
-his career, it is likely that he acted in good faith,
-while he was himself deluded. When he had advanced
-so far as to see power and dominion offered to
-his grasp, it is probable that his integrity gave way,
-and that thenceforward we are to consider him as
-under the alternate guidance of craft and fanaticism.</p>
-
-<p>Several of the nobles citizens of Mecca were finally
-converted by Mohammed. Khadijah was now dead,
-and the prophet had married Ayesha, the daughter
-of Abubeker, a man of great influence, and who exercised
-it in favor of his son-in-law. Yet the new faith
-made little progress, and a persecution of its votaries<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>
-arose, which drove them to Abyssinia, and caused
-Mohammed himself to fly for safety to Medina. This
-flight is called the Hegira, and, taking place in the
-year 622, is the epoch from which Mohammedan
-chronology is computed, as is ours from the birth of
-Christ.</p>
-
-<p>At Medina, whither his tenets had been carried by
-pilgrims, Mohammed was received with open arms.
-He was met by an imposing procession, and invested
-at once with the regal and sacerdotal office. The
-people also offered him assistance in propagating his
-faith, even by force, if it should be required. From
-this moment, a vast field seems to have been opened
-to the mind of Mohammed. Hitherto, he may have
-been but a self-deceived enthusiast; but now, ambition
-appears to have taken at least partial possession
-of his bosom. His revelations at once assumed a
-higher tone. Hitherto he had chiefly inculcated the
-doctrine of one God, eternal, omnipotent, most powerful
-and most merciful, together with the practical
-duties of piety, prayer, charity, and pilgrimages. He
-now revealed, as a part of his new faith, the duty of
-making war, even with the sword, to propagate Islamism,
-and promised a sensual paradise to those who
-should fall in doing battle in its behalf. At the same
-time he announced that a settled fate or destiny hung
-over every individual, which he could not by possibility
-alter, evade, or avert.</p>
-
-<p>He now raised men, and proceeded, sword in hand,
-to force the acknowledgment of his pretensions. With
-alternate victory and defeat, he continued to prosecute
-his schemes, and at last fell upon the towns and cas<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>tles
-of the peaceful and unwarlike Jews. These
-were soon taken and plundered. But the prophet
-paid dearly for his triumph. A Jewish female, at the
-town of Chaibar, gave him poison in some drink, and,
-though he survived, he never fully recovered from
-the effects of the dose.</p>
-
-<p>Thus advancing with the tribes settled in his own
-country, the power of the ambitious apostle increased
-like the avalanche in its overwhelming descent.
-Mecca was conquered, and yielded as well to his faith
-as to his arms. He now made expeditions to Palestine
-and Syria, while his officers were making conquests
-in all directions. His power was soon so
-great, that he sent messages to the kings of Egypt,
-Persia, and Ethiopia, and the emperor of Constantinople,
-commanding them to acknowledge the divine
-law revealed through him.</p>
-
-<p>At last, in the tenth year of the Hegira, he proceeded
-on a farewell pilgrimage to Mecca. The
-scene was imposing beyond description. He was
-attended by more than a hundred thousand of his
-followers, who paid him the greatest reverence.
-Everything in dress, equipage and imposing ceremony
-that could enhance the splendor of the pageant,
-and give it sanctity in the eyes of the people, was
-adopted. This was the last great event of his life.</p>
-
-<p>Mohammed had now become too powerful to be
-resisted by force, but not too exalted to be troubled
-by competition. His own example in assuming the
-sacred character of an apostle and prophet, and the
-brilliant success which had attended him, gave a hint
-to others of the probable means of advancing them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>selves
-to a similar pitch of dignity and dominion.
-The spirit of emulation, therefore, raised up a fellow-prophet
-in the person of Moseilama, called to this day
-by the followers of Islam "the lying Moseilama," a
-descendant of the tribe of Honeifa, and a principal
-person in the province of Yemen.</p>
-
-<p>This man headed an embassy sent by his tribe to
-Mohammed, in the ninth year of the Hegira, and then
-professed himself a Moslem; but on his return home,
-pondering on the nature of the new religion and the
-character and fortunes of its founder, the sacrilegious
-suggestion occurred to him, that by skilful management
-he might share with his countryman in the glory
-of a divine mission; and, accordingly, in the ensuing
-year he began to put his project in execution. He
-gave out that he, also, was a prophet sent of Heaven,
-having a joint commission with Mohammed to recall
-mankind from idolatry to the worship of the true God.
-He, moreover, aped his model so closely as to publish
-written revelations resembling the Koran, pretended
-to have been derived from the same source.</p>
-
-<p>Having succeeded in gaining a considerable party,
-from the tribe of Honeifa, he at length began to put
-himself still more nearly upon a level with the prophet
-of Medina, and even went so far as to propose to Mohammed
-a partnership in his spiritual supremacy.
-His letter commenced thus: "From Moseilama, the
-apostle of God, to Mohammed, the apostle of God.
-Now let the earth be half mine and half thine." But
-the latter, feeling himself too firmly established to
-stand in need of an associate, deigned to return him
-only the following reply: "From Mohammed, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>
-apostle of God, to Moseilama, the liar. The earth is
-God's: he giveth the same for inheritance unto such
-of his servants as he pleaseth; and the happy issue
-shall attend those who fear him."</p>
-
-<p>During the few months that Mohammed lived after
-this, Moseilama continued, on the whole, to gain
-ground, and became at length so formidable, as to
-occasion extreme anxiety to the prophet, now rapidly
-sinking under the effects of disease. An expedition,
-under the command of Caled, the "Sword of God,"
-was ordered out to suppress the rival sect headed by
-the spurious apostle, and the bewildered imagination
-of Mohammed, in the moments of delirium, which
-now afflicted him, was frequently picturing to itself
-the results of the engagement between his faithful
-Moslems and these daring apostates.</p>
-
-<p>The army of Caled returned victorious. Moseilama
-himself, and ten thousand of his followers, were
-left dead on the field; while the rest, convinced by
-the shining evidence of truth that gleamed from the
-swords of the conquerors, renounced their errors, and
-fell quietly back into the bosom of the Mohammedan
-church. Several other insurgents of similar pretences,
-but of minor consequence, were crushed in like
-manner in the early stages of their defection.</p>
-
-<p>We have now reached the period at which the
-religion of Mohammed may be considered as having
-become permanently established. The conquest of
-Mecca and of the Koreishites had been, in fact, the
-signal for the submission of the rest of Arabia; and
-though several of the petty tribes offered, for a time,
-the show of resistance to the prophet's arms, they
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>were all eventually subdued. Between the taking of
-Mecca and the period of Mohammed's death, somewhat
-more than three years elapsed. In that short
-period he had destroyed the idols of Arabia; had
-extended his conquests to the borders of the Greek
-and Persian empires; had rendered his name formidable
-to those once mighty kingdoms; had tried his
-arms against the disciplined troops of the former, and
-defeated them in a desperate encounter at Muta.</p>
-
-<p>His throne was now firmly established; and an
-impulse given to the Arabian nation, which induced
-them to invade, and enabled them to conquer, a large
-portion of the globe. India, Persia, the Greek empire,
-the whole of Asia Minor, Egypt, Barbary, and
-Spain, were eventually reduced by their victorious
-arms. Mohammed himself did not indeed live to see
-such mighty conquests achieved, but he commenced
-the train which resulted in this wide-spread dominion,
-and, before his death, had established over the
-whole of Arabia, and some parts of Asia, the religion
-which he had devised.</p>
-
-<p>And now, having arrived at the sixty-third year of
-his age, and the tenth of the Hegira, A. D. 632, the
-fatal effects of the poison, which had been so long
-rankling in his veins, began to discover themselves
-more and more sensibly, and to operate with alarming
-virulence. Day by day, he visibly declined, and it
-was evident that his life was hastening to a close.
-For some time previous to the event, he was conscious
-of its approach, and is said to have viewed and awaited
-it with characteristic firmness. The third day before
-his dissolution, he ordered himself to be carried to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>
-the mosque, that he might, for the last time, address
-his followers, and bestow upon them his parting
-prayers and benedictions. Being assisted to mount
-the pulpit, he edified his brethren by the pious tenor
-of his dying counsels, and in his own example taught
-a lesson of humility and penitence, such as we shall
-scarcely find inculcated in the precepts of the Koran.</p>
-
-<p>"If there be any man," said the prophet, "whom
-I have unjustly scourged, I submit my own back to
-the lash of retaliation. Have I aspersed the reputation
-of any Mussulman? let him proclaim my fault
-in the face of the congregation. Has any one been
-despoiled of his goods? the little that I possess shall
-compensate the principal and the interest of the debt."
-"Yes," replied a voice from the crowd, "thou owest
-me three drachms of silver!" Mohammed heard the
-complaint, satisfied the demand, and thanked his
-creditor that he had accused him in this world, rather
-than at the day of judgment. He then set his slaves
-at liberty, seventeen men and eleven women; directed
-the order of his funeral; strove to allay the
-lamentations of his weeping friends, and waited the
-approach of death. He did not expressly nominate
-a successor, a step which would have prevented the
-altercations that afterwards came so near to crushing
-in its infancy the religion and the empire of the Saracens;
-but his appointment of Abubeker to supply
-his place in the function of public prayer, and the
-other services of the mosque, seemed to intimate indirectly
-the choice of the prophet. This ancient and
-faithful friend, accordingly, after much contention,
-became the first Caliph of the Saracens, though his
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>reign was closed by his death at the end of two
-years.</p>
-
-<p>The death of Mohammed was hastened by the
-force of a burning fever, which deprived him at times
-of the use of reason. In one of these paroxysms of
-delirium, he demanded pen and paper, that he might
-compose or dictate a divine book. Omar, who was
-watching at his side, refused his request, lest the
-expiring prophet might dictate something which
-should supersede the Koran. Others, however, expressed
-a great desire that the book might be written;
-and so warm a dispute arose in the chamber of the
-apostle that he was forced to reprove their unbecoming
-vehemence. The writing was not performed,
-and many of his followers have mourned the loss of
-the sublime revelations which his dying visions might
-have bequeathed to them.</p>
-
-<p>The favorite wife of the prophet, Ayesha, hung
-over her husband in his last moments, sustaining his
-drooping head upon her knee, as he lay stretched
-upon the carpet; watching with trembling anxiety
-his changing countenance, and listening to the last
-broken sounds of his voice. His disease, as it drew
-towards its termination, was attended at intervals
-with most excruciating pains, which he constantly
-ascribed to the fatal morsel taken at Chaibar; and as
-the mother of Bashar, his companion who had died
-upon the spot from the same cause, stood by his side,
-be exclaimed, "O mother of Bashar, the cords of my
-heart are now breaking of the food which I ate with
-your son at Chaibar." In his conversation with those
-around him, he mentioned it as a special prerogative<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>
-granted to him, that the angel of death was not allowed
-to take his soul till he had respectfully asked permission
-of him, and this permission he condescendingly
-granted. Recovering from a swoon into which
-the violence of his pains had thrown him, he raised
-his eyes towards the roof of the house, and with faltering
-accents exclaimed, "O God! pardon my sins.
-Yes, I come among my fellow-laborers on high!"
-His face was then sprinkled with water, by his own
-feeble hand, and shortly after he expired.</p>
-
-<p>The city, and more especially the house of the
-prophet, became at once a scene of sorrowful but
-confused lamentation. Some of his followers could
-not believe that he was dead. "How can he be dead,
-our witness, our intercessor, our mediator with God?
-He is not dead. Like Moses and Jesus, he is wrapped
-in a holy trance, and speedily will he return to his
-faithful people." The evidence of sense was disregarded,
-and Omar, brandishing his scimitar, threatened
-to strike off the heads of the infidels who should
-affirm that the prophet was no more. The tumult
-was at length appeased, by the moderation of Abubeker.
-"Is it Mohammed," said he, "or the God of
-Mohammed, whom ye worship? The God of Mohammed
-liveth forever, but the apostle was a mortal
-like ourselves, and, according to his own prediction,
-he hath experienced the common fate of mortality."</p>
-
-<p>The prophet's remains were deposited at Medina,
-in the very room where he breathed his last, the floor
-being removed to make way for his sepulchre, and a
-simple and unadorned monument was, some time after,
-erected over them. The house itself has long since<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>
-mouldered, or been demolished, but the place of the
-prophet's interment is still made conspicuous to the
-superstitious reverence of his disciples. The story
-of his relics being suspended in the air, by the power
-of loadstone in an iron coffin, and that too at Mecca,
-instead of Medina, is a mere idle fabrication. His
-tomb at the latter place has been visited by millions
-of pilgrims, and, from the authentic accounts of travellers
-who have visited both these holy cities in disguise,
-we learn that it is constructed of plain mason
-work, fixed without elevation upon the surface of the
-ground. The urn which encloses his body is protected
-by a trellis of iron, which no one is permitted
-to pass.</p>
-
-<p>The Koran or Alkoran, meaning <i>the Book</i>, is a collection
-of all the various fragments which the prophet
-uttered during the period in which he professed to
-exercise the apostolic office. They were originally
-written on scattered leaves, but they were collected
-by Abubeker, two years after Mohammed's death.
-They are in the purest and most refined dialect of
-Arabia, and are distinguished by extraordinary graces
-of style.</p>
-
-<p>The Koran furnishes not only the divinity, but the
-civil law of the Mohammedans. It professes to contain
-the revelation of God's will by Gabriel to Mohammed,
-and through him to mankind. One of the
-books gives an account of the translation of the
-prophet by night to the third heaven, upon a winged
-animal, named Alborak, and resembling an ass, where
-he saw unutterable things. The great doctrines of the
-Koran, as before stated, are the existence of one supreme<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>
-God, to whom alone adoration and obedience are due.
-It declares that the divine law was faithfully delivered
-by Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Christ. It
-declares the immortality of the soul of man, and the
-final judgment, and sets forth that the good are to
-dwell in everlasting bliss, amid shady and delicious
-groves, and attended by heavenly virgins. The hope
-of salvation is not confined to the Moslem, but is extended
-to all who believe in God and do good works.
-Sinners, particularly unbelievers, are to be driven
-about in a dark burning hell, forever.</p>
-
-<p>The practical duties enjoined by the Koran, are the
-propagation of Islamism, and prayers directed to the
-temple of Mecca, at five different periods of the day,
-together with fasting, alms, religious ablutions, pilgrimages
-to Mecca, &amp;c. It allows a man but four
-wives, though the prophet had seventeen, and it is
-curious to add that all were widows, save one. It
-strongly prohibits usury, gaming, wine and pork.</p>
-
-<p>We cannot deny to Mohammed the possession of
-extraordinary genius. He was a man of great eloquence,
-and the master of a beautiful style of composition;
-and he possessed that majesty of person,
-which, united to his mental qualities, gave him great
-ascendancy over those who came into his presence.
-He lived in a dark age, amid a benighted people; yet,
-without the aids of education, he mastered the religious
-systems of the day, and took a broad and sagacious
-view of the moral and political condition of
-the people of Asia. He conceived the sublime idea
-of uniting, by one mighty truth, the broken fragments
-of his own nation, and the destruction of idolatry by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>
-the substitution of the worship of one God. It is true,
-that he sought to accomplish these ends by unlawful
-means&mdash;by imposture, and the bloody use of the
-sword; we must admit, also, that he was licentious
-and although we cannot fail to condemn his character,
-we must acknowledge the splendor of his abilities and
-allow that while he imposed on his followers, he
-established a faith infinitely above Paganism, and
-sprinkled with many rays of light from the fountain
-of Divine Truth.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/024.jpg" alt="tent" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/025.jpg" alt="Belisarius" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>BELISARIUS.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This celebrated general, to whom the emperor Justinian
-is chiefly indebted for the glory of his reign,
-was a native of Germania, on the confines of Thrace,
-and was born about the year 505. It is probable that
-he was of noble descent, liberally educated, and a
-professor of the Christian faith. The first step in his
-military career was an appointment in the personal
-guard of Justinian, while that prince was yet heir
-apparent to the throne.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The Roman or Byzantine empire, at this period,
-embraced almost exactly the present territory of the
-Turkish dominions in Europe and Asia Minor, with
-the addition of Greece&mdash;Constantinople being its capital.
-Italy was held by the Goths; Corsica, Sardinia
-and Barbary in Africa, by the Vandals.</p>
-
-<p>Justin I., an Illyrian peasant, having distinguished
-himself as a soldier, had become emperor. His education
-was of course neglected, and such was his
-ignorance, that his signature could only be obtained
-by means of a wooden case, which directed his pen
-through the four first letters of his name. From his
-accession, the chief administration of affairs devolved
-on Justinian, his nephew and intended heir, whom
-he was reluctantly compelled to raise from office to
-office, and at length to acknowledge as his partner on
-the throne. His death, after a languid reign of nine
-years and a life of nearly fourscore, left Justinian
-sole sovereign in name, as well as in fact.</p>
-
-<p>In order to appreciate the life and actions of Belisarius,
-it is necessary to understand the character of
-the new emperor, during whose long reign his great
-exploits were performed. The first act of Justinian
-on ascending the throne, was to marry a dissolute
-actress, named Theodora, who, though licentious,
-avaricious, cruel and vindictive, soon acquired an
-almost complete control over him. His mind was
-essentially feeble and inconstant, and, though his
-Christian faith was doubtless sincere, it was less fruitful
-of virtues than of rites and forms. At his accession
-his treasury was full; but it was soon exhausted
-by his profuseness, and heavy taxes were imposed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>
-offices put to sale, charities suppressed, private fortunes
-seized, and, in short, every act of rapacity, injustice
-and oppression, practised by his ministers, to
-support the wasteful magnificence of the court.</p>
-
-<p>The troops of the empire at this period were by no
-means what they had been in the time of Scipio and
-C�sar. They consisted, to a great extent, of foreign
-mercenaries, and were divided into squadrons according
-to their country; thus destroying all unity of feeling,
-and annihilating that national spirit which once
-made the Roman arms the terror of the world. These
-hired troops, which greatly outnumbered the native
-soldiers, marched under their own national banner,
-were commanded by their own officers, and usually
-followed their own military regulations. The inefficiency
-of such mingled and discordant forces, is obvious;
-yet it was under such a system that Belisarius
-entered upon his military career.</p>
-
-<p>With a feeble and corrupt government, an ill-appointed
-and trustless army, the Roman empire was
-still surrounded with powerful enemies. It is scarcely
-possible to conceive of a great nation in a condition
-of more complete debility and helplessness, than was
-the kingdom of the C�sars, at the period in which
-Belisarius appears upon the active stage of life.</p>
-
-<p>Kobad, king of Persia, after a long cessation of hostilities,
-renewed the war toward the close of Justin's
-reign, by the invasion of Iberia, which claimed the
-protection of the emperor. At this period, Belisarius,
-being about twenty years of age, had the command
-of a squadron of horse, and was engaged in some of
-the conflicts with the Persian forces, on the borders<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>
-of Armenia. In conjunction with an officer named
-Sittas, he ravaged a large extent of territory, and
-brought back a considerable number of prisoners.</p>
-
-<p>On a second incursion, however, they were less
-fortunate; for, being suddenly attacked by the Persian
-forces, they were entirely defeated. It appears
-that Belisarius incurred no blame, for he was soon
-after promoted to the post of governor of Dara, and
-the command of the forces stationed there. It was at
-this place that he chose Procopius, the historian, as
-his secretary, and who afterwards repaid his kindness
-by a vain attempt to brand his name with enduring
-infamy.</p>
-
-<p>Soon after Belisarius obtained the command of
-Dara, Justinian came to the throne, and enjoined it
-upon his generals to strengthen the defences of the
-empire in that quarter. This was attempted, but the
-Persians baffled the effort. Belisarius was now appointed
-general of the East, being commander-in-chief
-of the whole line of the Asiatic frontier. Foreseeing
-that a formidable struggle was soon to ensue, he
-applied himself to the raising and disciplining an
-army. He traversed the neighboring provinces in
-person, and at last succeeded in mustering five and
-twenty thousand men. These, however, were without
-discipline, and their spirit was depressed by the
-ill success that had long attended the Roman arms.</p>
-
-<p>In this state of things, the news suddenly came,
-that 40,000 men, the flower of the Persian army,
-commanded by Firouz, was marching upon Dara.
-Confident of victory, the Persian general announced
-his approach, by the haughty message that a bath
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>should be ready for him at Dara the next evening.
-Belisarius made no other reply than preparations for
-battle. Fortifying himself in the best manner he was
-able, he awaited the onset; exhorting his men, however,
-by every stimulating motive he could suggest,
-to do honor to the name and fame of Rome.</p>
-
-<p>The battle began by a mutual discharge of arrows,
-so numerous as to darken the air. When the quivers
-were exhausted, they came to closer combat. The
-struggle was obstinate and bloody; and the Persians
-were already about to win the victory, when a body
-of horse, judiciously stationed behind a hill by Belisarius,
-rushed forward, and turned the tide of success.
-The Persians fled, and the triumph of Belisarius was
-complete. They left their royal standard upon the
-field of battle, with 8000 slain. This victory had a
-powerful effect, and decided the fate of the campaign.</p>
-
-<p>The aged Kobad, who had conceived a profound
-contempt for the Romans, was greatly irritated by the
-defeat of his troops. He determined upon a still
-more powerful effort, and the next season sent a formidable
-army to invade Syria. Belisarius, with a
-promptitude that astounded he enemy, proceeded to
-the defence of this province, and, with an inferior
-force, compelled the Persian army to retreat. Obliged
-at length, by his soldiers, against his own judgment,
-to give battle to the enemy, he suffered severely, and
-only avoided total defeat by the greatest coolness and
-address. Even the partial victory of the enemy was
-without advantage to them, for they were obliged to
-retreat, and abandon their enterprise. Soon after this
-event, Kobad died, in his eighty-third year, and his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>
-successor, Nushirvan, concluded a treaty of peace
-with Justinian.</p>
-
-<p>The war being thus terminated, Belisarius took up
-his residence at Constantinople, and here became the
-second husband of Antonina, who, though the child
-of an actress, had contracted an exalted marriage on
-account of her beauty, and having filled a high office,
-enjoyed the rank and honors of a patrician. While
-thus raised above the dangerous profession of her
-mother, she still adhered to the morals of the stage.
-Though openly licentious, she obtained through her
-bold, decided, and intriguing character, aided by remarkable
-powers of fascination, a complete ascendancy
-over Belisarius. It is seldom that a man is great in
-all respects, and the weakness of the general whose
-history we are delineating, was exhibited in a blind
-and submissive attachment to this profligate woman.</p>
-
-<p>A singular outbreak of popular violence occurred
-about this period, which stained the streets of Constantinople
-with blood, and threatened for a time to
-hurl Justinian from his throne. The fondness of the
-Romans for the amusements of the circus, had in no
-degree abated. Indeed, as the gladiatorial combats
-had been suppressed, these games were frequented
-with redoubled ardor. The charioteers were distinguished
-by the various colors of red, white, blue, and
-green, intending to represent the four seasons. Those
-of each color, especially the blue and green, possessed
-numerous and devoted partisans, which became at
-last connected with civil and religious prejudices.</p>
-
-<p>Justinian favored the Blues, who became for that
-reason the emblem of royalty; on the other hand, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>
-Greens became the type of disaffection. Though
-these dangerous factions were denounced by the statutes,
-still, at the period of which we speak, each party
-were ready to lavish their fortunes, risk their lives,
-and brave the severest sentence of the laws, in support
-of their darling color. At the commencement of
-the year 532, by one of those sudden caprices which
-are often displayed by the populace, the two factions
-united, and turned their vengeance against Justinian.
-The prisons were forced, and the guards massacred.
-The city was then fired in various parts, the cathedral
-of St. Sophia, a part of the imperial palace, and
-a great number of public and private buildings, were
-wrapped in conflagration. The cry of "<i>Nika! Nika!</i>"
-Vanquish! Vanquish! ran through every part of the
-capital.</p>
-
-<p>The principal citizens hurried to the opposite shore
-of the Bosphorus, and the emperor entrenched himself
-within his palace. In the mean time, Hypatius,
-nephew of the emperor Anastatius, was declared emperor
-by the rioters, and so formidable had the insurrection
-now become, that Justinian was ready to
-abdicate his crown. For the first and last time, Theodora
-seemed worthy of the throne, for she withstood
-the pusillanimity of her husband, and, through her
-animated exhortations, it was determined to take the
-chance of victory or death.</p>
-
-<p>Justinian's chief hope now rested on Belisarius.
-Assisted by Mundus, the governor of Illyria, who
-chanced to be in the capital, he now called upon the
-guards to rally in defence of the emperor; but these
-refused to obey him. Meanwhile, by another caprice
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>the party of the Blues, becoming ashamed of their
-conduct, shrunk one by one away, and left Hypatius
-to be sustained by the Greens alone.</p>
-
-<p>These were dismayed at seeing Belisarius, issuing
-with a few troops which he had collected, from
-the smoking ruins of the palace. Drawing his sword,
-and commanding his veterans to follow, he fell upon
-them like a thunderbolt. Mundus, with another division
-of soldiers, rushed upon them from the opposite
-direction. The insurgents were panic-struck, and
-dispersed in every quarter. Hypatius was dragged
-from the throne which he had ascended a few hours
-before, and was soon after executed in prison. The
-Blues now emerged from their concealment, and,
-falling upon their antagonists, glutted their merciless
-and ungovernable vengeance. No less than thirty
-thousand persons were slain in this fearful convulsion.</p>
-
-<p>We must now turn our attention to Africa, in which
-the next exploits of Belisarius were performed. The
-northern portion of this part of the world, known to
-us by the merited by-word of Barbary, hardly retains
-a trace of the most formidable rival and opulent province
-of Rome. After the fall of Jugurtha, at the
-commencement of the second century, it had enjoyed
-a long period of prosperity and peace&mdash;having escaped
-the sufferings which had fallen upon every
-other portion of the empire. The Africans in the fifth
-century were abounding in wealth, population, and
-resources. During the minority of Valentinian, Boniface
-was appointed governor of Africa. Deceived by
-�tius into a belief of ingratitude on the part of the
-government at home, he determined upon resistance,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>and with this view, concluded a treaty with the Vandals
-in the southern portion of Spain.</p>
-
-<p>These, embarking from Andalusia, whose name
-still denotes their former residence, landed at the
-opposite cape of Ceuta, A. D. 429. Their leader was
-the far-famed Genseric, one of the most able, but most
-lawless and bloody monarchs recorded in history.
-Of a middle stature, and lamed by a fall from his
-horse, his demeanor was thoughtful and silent; he
-was contemptuous of luxury, sudden in anger, and
-boundless in ambition. Yet his impetuosity was
-always guided and restrained by cunning. He well
-knew how to tempt the allegiance of a foreign nation,
-to cast the seeds of future discord, or to rear them to
-maturity.</p>
-
-<p>The barbarians on their passage to Africa consisted
-of 50,000 fighting men, with a great crowd of women
-and children. Their progress through the African
-province was rapid and unopposed, till Boniface, discovering
-the artifices of �tius, and the favorable disposition
-of the government of Rome, bitterly repented
-the effects of his hasty resentment. He now endeavored
-to withdraw his Vandal allies; but he found it
-less easy to allay, than it had been to raise, the storm.
-His proposals were haughtily rejected, and both parties
-had recourse to arms. Boniface was defeated, and
-in the event, Genseric obtained entire possession of
-the Roman provinces in Africa.</p>
-
-<p>Carthage, which had risen from its ruins at the
-command of Julius C�sar and been embellished by
-Diocletian, had regained a large share of its former
-opulence and pride, and might be considered, at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>
-time of which we speak, the second city in the western
-empire. Making this his capital, Genseric proceeded
-to adopt various measures to increase his
-power, and, among others, determined upon the creation
-of a naval force. With him, project and performance
-were never far asunder. His ships soon rode
-in the Mediterranean, and carried terror and destruction
-in their train. He annexed to his kingdom the
-Balearic islands, Corsica and Sardinia; the last of
-which was afterwards allotted by the Vandals as a
-place of exile or imprisonment for captive Moors;
-and during many years, the ports of Africa were what
-they became in more recent days, the abode of fierce
-and unpunished pirates.</p>
-
-<p>With every returning spring, the fleet of Genseric
-ravaged the coasts of Italy and Sicily, and even of
-Greece and Illyria, sometimes bearing off the inhabitants
-to slavery, and sometimes levelling their cities
-to the ground. Emboldened by long impunity, he
-attacked every government alike. On one occasion,
-when sailing from Carthage, he was asked by the
-pilot of his vessel to what coast he desired to steer&mdash;"Leave
-the guidance to God," exclaimed the stern
-barbarian; "God will doubtless lead us against the
-guilty objects of his anger!"</p>
-
-<p>The most memorable achievement of Genseric, the
-sack of Rome in 455, is an event too much out of the
-track of our narrative to be detailed here. We can
-only pause to state, that, after spending a fortnight in
-that great metropolis, and loading his fleets with its
-spoils, he returned to Africa, bearing the Empress
-Eudocia thither, as his captive. She was, at length,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>
-released, but one of her daughters was compelled by
-Genseric to accept his son in marriage.</p>
-
-<p>The repeated outrages of the Vandal king at length
-aroused the tardy resentment of the court of Constantinople,
-and Leo I., then emperor, despatched an army
-against him, consisting of nearly one hundred thousand
-men, attended by the most formidable fleet that
-had ever been launched by the Romans. The commander
-was a weak man, and being cheated into a
-truce of five days by Genseric, the latter took advantage
-of a moment of security, and, in the middle of
-the night, caused a number of small vessels, filled with
-combustibles, to be introduced among the Roman
-ships. A conflagration speedily ensued; and the
-Romans, starting from their slumbers, found themselves
-encompassed by fire and the Vandals. The
-wild shrieks of the perishing multitude mingled with
-the crackling of the flames and the roaring of the
-winds; and the enemy proved as unrelenting as the
-elements. The greater part of the fleet was destroyed,
-and only a few shattered ships, and a small number
-of survivors, found their way back to Constantinople.</p>
-
-<p>A peace soon followed this event, which continued
-uninterrupted till the time of Justinian. Genseric
-died in 477, leaving his kingdom to his son Hunneric.
-About the year 530, Gelimer being upon the Vandal
-throne, Justinian began to meditate an expedition
-against him. His generals, with the exception of
-Belisarius, were averse to the undertaking. The same
-feeling was shared by many of the leading men about
-the court, and in an assembly, in which the subject
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>was under discussion, Justinian was about to yield to
-the opposition, when a bishop from the east earnestly
-begged admission to his presence.</p>
-
-<p>On entering the council chamber he exhorted the
-emperor to stand forth as the champion of the church,
-and, in order to confirm him in the enterprise, he
-declared that the Lord had appeared to him in a
-vision, saying, "I will march before him in his battles,
-and make him sovereign of Africa." Men seldom
-reject a tale, however fantastic, which coincides with
-their wishes or their prepossessions. All the doubts
-of Justinian were at once removed; he commanded a
-fleet and army to be forthwith equipped for this sacred
-enterprise, and endeavored still further to insure its
-success by his austerity in fasts and vigils. Belisarius
-was named supreme commander, still retaining
-his title as General of the East.</p>
-
-<p>In the month of June, A. D. 533, the Roman armament,
-consisting of five hundred transports, with twenty
-thousand sailors, and nearly the same number of soldiers,
-became ready for departure. The general
-embarked, attended on this occasion by Antonina and
-his secretary, the historian Procopius, who, at first,
-had shared in the popular fear and distaste of the
-enterprise, but had afterwards been induced to join it
-by a hopeful dream. The galley of Belisarius was
-moored near the shore, in front of the imperial palace,
-where it received a last visit from Justinian, and a
-solemn blessing from the patriarch of the city. A
-soldier recently baptized was placed on board, to secure
-its prosperous voyage; its sails were then unfurled,
-and, with the other ships in its train, it glided<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>
-down the straits of the Bosphorus, and gradually
-disappeared from the lingering gaze of the assembled
-multitude.</p>
-
-<p>With a force scarcely one fourth as strong as that
-which was annihilated by Genseric, about seventy
-years before, Belisarius proceeded upon his expedition.
-Having touched at Sicily and Malta, he proceeded to
-the coast of Africa, where he landed in September,
-about one hundred and fifty miles from Carthage, and
-began his march upon that city. He took several
-towns, but enforcing the most rigid discipline upon
-his troops, and treating the inhabitants with moderation
-and courtesy, he entirely gained their confidence
-and good will. They brought ample provisions to
-his camp, and gave him such a reception as might be
-expected rather by a native than a hostile army.</p>
-
-<p>When the intelligence of the landing and progress
-of the Romans reached Gelimer, who was then at
-Hermione, he was roused to revenge, and took his
-measures with promptitude and skill. He had an
-army of eighty thousand men, the greater part of
-whom were soon assembled, and posted in a defile
-about ten miles from Carthage, directly in the route
-by which Belisarius was approaching. Several severe
-skirmishes soon followed, in which the Vandals
-were defeated.</p>
-
-<p>The main army now advanced, and a general engagement
-immediately ensued. In the outset, the
-Vandals prevailed, and the Romans were on the eve
-of flying, defeated, from the field. A pause on the
-part of Gelimer was, however, seized upon by Belisarius
-to collect and rally his forces, and with a united<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>
-effort he now charged the Vandal army. The conflict
-was fierce, but brief: Gelimer was totally defeated,
-and, with a few faithful adherents, he sought safety
-in flight. Knowing that the ruinous walls of Carthage
-could not sustain a siege, he took his way to
-the deserts of Numidia.</p>
-
-<p>All idea of resistance was abandoned; the gates
-of Carthage were thrown open, and the chains across
-the entrance of the port were removed. The Roman
-fleet soon after arrived, and was safely anchored in
-the harbor. On the 16th September, Belisarius made
-a solemn entry into the capital. Having taken every
-precaution against violence and rapacity, not a single
-instance of tumult or outrage occurred, save that a
-captain of one of the vessels plundered some of the
-inhabitants, but was obliged to restore the spoil he
-had taken. The soldiers marched peaceably to their
-quarters; the inhabitants continued to pursue their
-avocations; the shops remained open, and, in spite of
-the change of sovereigns, public business was not for
-a moment interrupted! Belisarius took up his quarters
-in the palace of Gelimer, and in the evening held
-a sumptuous banquet there, being attended by the
-same servants who had so lately been employed by
-the Vandal king.</p>
-
-<p>With his usual activity, Belisarius immediately
-applied himself to the restoration of the ruinous ramparts
-of the city. The ditch was deepened, the
-breaches filled, the walls strengthened, and the whole
-was completed in so short a space as to strike the
-Vandals with amazement. Meanwhile, Gelimer was
-collecting a powerful army at Bulla, on the borders
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>of Numidia at the distance of four days' journey
-from Carthage.</p>
-
-<p>Having placed the capital in a proper state for defence,
-at the end of three months from its capture,
-Belisarius led forth his army, leaving only five hundred
-troops to guard the city. Gelimer was now
-within twenty miles of the capital, having raised an
-army of one hundred thousand men. No sooner had
-the Romans taken up their march toward his camp,
-than they prepared for battle. The armies soon met,
-and Belisarius, having determined to direct all his
-endeavors against the centre of the Vandal force,
-caused a charge to be made by some squadrons of the
-horse guards. These were repulsed, and a second
-onset, also, proved unsuccessful.</p>
-
-<p>But a third prevailed, after an obstinate resistance.
-The ranks of the enemy were broken; Zazo, the
-king's brother, was slain, and consternation now completed
-the rout of the Vandals. Gelimer, under the
-influence of panic, betook himself to flight; his absence
-was perceived, and his conduct imitated. The
-soldiers dispersed in all directions, leaving their camp,
-their goods, their families, all in the hands of the
-Romans. Belisarius seized upon the royal treasure
-in behalf of his sovereign, and in spite of his commands,
-the licentious soldiers spent the night in debauchery,
-violence and plunder.</p>
-
-<p>Gelimer fled to the mountains of Papua, inhabited
-by a savage but friendly tribe of Moors. He sought
-refuge in the small town of Medenus, which presented
-a craggy precipice on all sides Belisarius returned
-to Carthage, and sent out various detachments,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>which rapidly subdued the most remote portions of
-the Vandal kingdom.</p>
-
-<p>Immediately after the capture of Carthage, he had
-despatched one of his principal officers to Justinian,
-announcing these prosperous events. The intelligence
-arrived about the time that the emperor had completed
-his <i>pandects</i>.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> The exultation of the monarch is
-evinced by the swelling titles he assumes in the preamble
-of these laws. All mention of the general by
-whom his conquests had been achieved, is carefully
-avoided; while the emperor is spoken of as the
-"pious," "happy," "victorious," and "triumphant!"
-He even boasts, in his Institutes, of the warlike fatigues
-he had borne, though he had never quitted the luxurious
-palace of Constantinople, except for recreation
-in some of his neighboring villas.</p>
-
-<p>While the Roman general was actively employed
-at Carthage, Pharus was proceeding in the siege of
-Medenus, which had been begun immediately after the
-flight of Gelimer. Pent up in this narrow retreat,
-the sufferings of the Vandal monarch were great, from
-the want of supplies and the savage habits of the
-Moors. His lot was likewise embittered by the recollection
-of the soft and luxurious life to which he had
-lately been accustomed.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p>
-<p>During their dominion in Africa, the Vandals had
-declined from their former hardihood, and yielded to
-the enervating influence of climate, security and success.
-Their arms were laid aside; gold embroidery
-shone upon their silken robes, and every dainty from
-the sea and land were combined in their rich repasts.
-Reclining in the shade of delicious gardens, their
-careless hours were amused by dancers and musicians,
-and no exertion beyond the chase, interrupted
-their voluptuous repose. The Moors of Papua, on
-the contrary, dwelt in narrow huts, sultry in summer,
-and pervious to the snows of winter. They most
-frequently slept upon the bare ground, and a sheepskin
-for a couch was a rare refinement. The same
-dress, a cloak and a tunic, clothed them at every
-season, and they were strangers to the use of both
-bread and wine. Their grain was devoured in its
-crude state, or at best was coarsely pounded and
-baked, with little skill, into an unleavened paste.</p>
-
-<p>Compelled to share this savage mode of life, Gelimer
-and his attendants began to consider captivity, or
-even death, as better than the daily hardships they
-endured. To avail himself of this favorable disposition,
-Pharus, in a friendly letter, proposed a capitulation,
-and assured Gelimer of generous treatment
-from Belisarius and Justinian. The spirit of the
-Vandal prince, however, was still not wholly broken,
-and he refused the offers, while acknowledging the
-kindness of his enemy. In his answer he entreated
-the gifts of a lyre, a loaf of bread, and a sponge, and
-his messenger explained the grounds of this singular
-petition. At Medenus, he had never tasted the food of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>civilized nations, he wished to sing to music an ode
-on his misfortunes written by himself, and a swelling
-on his eyes needed a sponge for its cure. The brave
-Roman, touched with pity that such wants should be
-felt by the grandson and successor of Genseric, forthwith
-sent these presents up the mountain, but by no
-means abated the watchfulness of his blockade.</p>
-
-<p>The siege had already continued for upwards of
-three months, and several Vandals had sunk beneath
-its hardships, but Gelimer still displayed the stubborn
-inflexibility usual to despotic rulers, when the sight
-of a domestic affliction suddenly induced him to yield.
-In the hovel where he sat gloomily brooding over his
-hopeless fortunes, a Moorish woman was preparing, at
-the fire, some coarse dough. Two children, her son
-and the nephew of Gelimer, were watching her progress
-with the eager anxiety of famine. The young
-Vandal was the first to seize the precious morsel, still
-glowing with heat, and blackened with ashes, when
-the Moor, by blows and violence, forced it from his
-mouth. So fierce a struggle for food, at such an age,
-overcame the sternness of Gelimer. He agreed to
-surrender on the same terms lately held out to him,
-and the promises of Pharus were confirmed by the
-Roman general, who sent Cyprian as his envoy to
-Papua. The late sovereign of Africa reentered his
-capital as a suppliant and a prisoner, and at the suburb
-of Aclas, beheld his conqueror for the first time.</p>
-
-<p>With the capitulation of Gelimer, the Vandal was
-at an end. There now remained to Belisarius
-but the important task of making the conquered countries
-permanently useful to the Romans. But, while
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>occupied in this design, his glory having provoked
-envy, he was accused to Justinian of the intention of
-making himself king over the territories he had conquered.
-With the weakness of a little mind, the
-emperor so far yielded to the base accusation as to
-send a message to Belisarius, indicating his suspicions.
-The latter immediately departed from Carthage,
-and, taking with him his spoils and captives,
-proceeded to Constantinople.</p>
-
-<p>This ready obedience dissipated the suspicions of
-the emperor, and he made ample and prompt reparation
-for his unfounded jealousy. Medals were struck
-by his orders, bearing on one side the effigy of the
-emperor, and on the other that of the victorious general,
-encircled by the inscription, <i>Belisarius, the glory
-of the Romans</i>. Beside this, the honors of a triumph
-were decreed him, the first ever witnessed in the Eastern
-capital.</p>
-
-<p>The ceremony was in the highest degree imposing.
-The triumphal procession marched from the house
-of Belisarius to the hippodrome,<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> filled with exulting
-thousands, where Justinian and Theodora sat
-enthroned. Among the Vandal captives, Gelimer was
-distinguished by the purple of a sovereign. He shed
-no tears, but frequently repeated the words of Solomon,
-"Vanity of vanities: all is vanity." When he
-reached the imperial throne, and was commanded
-to cast aside the ensigns of royalty, Belisarius hastened
-to do the same, to show him that he was to
-undergo no insult as a prisoner, but only to yield the
-customary homage of a subject. We may pause for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>
-a moment to reflect upon the caprices of fortune,
-which had raised a comedian, in the person of Theodora,
-to see the successor of Genseric and Scipio
-prostrate as slaves before her footstool.</p>
-
-<p>Both the conqueror and captive experienced the
-effects of imperial generosity. The former received
-a large share of the spoil as his reward, and was
-named consul for the ensuing year. To the Vandal
-monarch, an extensive estate in Galatia was assigned,
-to which he retired, and, in peaceful obscurity, spent
-the remainder of his days.</p>
-
-<p>We must now turn our attention to Italy. Theodoric
-the Great, the natural son of Theodomir, king
-of the Ostrogoths, became the master of Italy toward
-the close of the fifth century. The Gothic dominion
-was thus established in the ancient seat of the Roman
-empire, and the king of the Goths was seated
-upon the throne of the C�sars.</p>
-
-<p>Theodoric has furnished one of the few instances
-in which a successful soldier has abandoned warlike
-pursuits for the duties of civil administration, and,
-instead of seeking power by his arms, has devoted himself
-to the improvement of his kingdom by a peaceful
-policy. Upright and active in his conduct, he enforced
-discipline among his soldiers, and so tempered
-his general kindness by acts of salutary rigor, that he
-was loved as if indulgent, yet obeyed as if severe.
-He applied himself to the revival of trade, the support
-of manufactures, and the encouragement of agriculture.</p>
-
-<p>At the death of this great monarch, in 526, his
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>grandson, Athalaric, then only ten years of age, became
-king. After a nominal reign of eight years he
-died in consequence of his dissipations, and was succeeded
-by Theodatus, the nephew of Theodoric.
-This prince having attained the throne by the murder
-of Amalasontha, the widow of Theodoric, Justinian
-regarded him as an usurper stained with an atrocious
-crime, and therefore determined to drive him from
-his throne.</p>
-
-<p>Accordingly, a force of twelve thousand men was
-despatched to Italy under Belisarius. Landing at
-Catania, in Sicily, they surprised the Goths, and had
-little difficulty in reducing the island. Fixing his
-head quarters at Syracuse, he was making preparations
-to enter the heart of Italy, when a messenger
-came to inform him that a serious insurrection had
-broken out at Carthage. He immediately set out for
-that place. On his arrival the insurgents fled, but
-Belisarius pursued them, overtook them, and, though
-their force was four times as great as his own, they
-were completely defeated in a pitched battle. Returning
-to Carthage, the Roman general was informed by
-a messenger from Sicily that a formidable mutiny
-had broken out in his army there. He immediately
-embarked, and soon restored his troops to order and
-discipline.</p>
-
-<p>The rapid conquest of Sicily by Belisarius struck
-terror into the heart of king Theodatus, who was weak
-by nature, and depressed by age. He was therefore
-induced to subscribe an ignominious treaty with Justinian,
-some of the conditions of which forcibly display
-the pusillanimity of one emperor, and the vanity
-of the other. Theodatus promised that no statue
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>should be raised to his honor, without another of Justinian
-at his right hand, and that the imperial name
-should always precede his own in the acclamations
-of the people, at public games and festivals: as if the
-shouts of the rabble were matter for a treaty!</p>
-
-<p>But even this humiliating compact was not sufficient
-for the grasping avarice of Justinian. He required
-of Theodatus the surrender of his throne,
-which the latter promised; but before the compact
-could be carried into effect, he was driven from his
-throne, and Vittiges, a soldier of humble birth, but
-great energy and experience, was declared his successor.
-Establishing his head quarters at Ravenna,
-the Gothic king was making preparations to sustain
-his cause, when Belisarius, who had taken Naples,
-was invited to Rome by Pope Sylverius. Taking
-advantage of this opportunity, he immediately advanced,
-and triumphantly entered the "eternal city."</p>
-
-<p>Rome had now been under the dominion of its
-Gothic conquerors for sixty years, during which it
-had enjoyed the advantages of peace and prosperity.
-It had been the object of peculiar care, attention, and
-munificence, and had received the respect due to the
-ancient mistress of the world. Still, the people at
-large looked upon their rulers as foreigners and barbarians,
-and desired the return of the imperial sway,
-seeming to forget that they were preferring a foreign
-to a native government.</p>
-
-<p>Belisarius lost no time in repairing the fortifications
-of Rome, while he actively extended his conquests in
-the southern parts of Italy. His military fame was
-now a host, and most of the towns submitted, either<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>
-from a preference of the Byzantine government, or
-respect for the military prowess of the Roman general.</p>
-
-<p>The great achievements of Belisarius strike us with
-wonder, when we consider the feeble means with
-which they were accomplished. His force at the outset
-of his invasion of Italy did not exceed 12,000
-men. These were now much reduced by the bloody
-siege of Naples, and by his subsequent successes,
-which made it necessary to supply garrisons for the
-captured towns.</p>
-
-<p>Vittiges, in his Adriatic capital, had spent the winter
-in preparations, and when the spring arrived, he
-set forth with a powerful army. Knowing the small
-force of Belisarius, he hurried forward towards Rome,
-fearing only that his enemy should escape by flight.
-The genius of Belisarius never shone with greater
-lustre than at this moment. By numerous devices
-he contrived to harass the Gothic army in their march,
-but owing to the flight of a detachment of his troops
-whom he had stationed at one of the towers, to delay
-their progress, they at last came upon him by surprise.</p>
-
-<p>He was at the moment without the city, attended
-by only a thousand of his guards, when suddenly he
-found himself surrounded by the van of the Gothic
-cavalry. He now displayed not only the skill of a
-general, but the personal courage and prowess of a
-soldier. Distinguished by the charger whom he had
-often rode in battle&mdash;a bay with a white face&mdash;he
-was seen in the foremost ranks, animating his men to
-the conflict. "That is Belisarius," exclaimed some
-Italian deserters, who knew him. "Aim at the bay!"
-was forthwith the cry through the Gothic squadrons
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>and a cloud of arrows was soon aimed at the conspicuous
-mark. It seemed as if the fate of Italy was felt
-to be suspended upon a single life&mdash;so fierce was the
-struggle to kill or capture the Roman leader.</p>
-
-<p>Amid the deadly strife, however, Belisarius remained
-unhurt; and it is said that more of the army
-fell that day by his single arm, than by that of any
-other Roman. His guards displayed the utmost courage
-and devotion to his person, rallying around him,
-and raising their bucklers on every side, to ward off
-the showers of missiles that flew with deadly aim at
-his breast. Not less than a thousand of the enemy
-fell in the conflict&mdash;a number equal to the whole Roman
-troop engaged in the battle. The Goths at
-length gave way, and Belisarius, with his guards, reentered
-the city.</p>
-
-<p>On the morrow, March 12th, A. D. 537, the memorable
-siege of Rome began. Finding it impossible,
-even with their vast army, to encircle the entire walls
-of the city, which were twelve miles in length, the
-Goths selected five of the fourteen gates, and invested
-them. They now cut through the aqueducts, in
-order to stop the supply of water, and several of them,
-having never been repaired, remain to this day, extending
-into the country, and seeming like the "outstretched
-and broken limbs of an expiring giant."</p>
-
-<p>Though the baths of the city were stopped, the
-Tiber supplied the people with water for all needful
-purposes. The resources and activity of Belisarius
-knew no bounds: yet he had abundant occasion for
-all the advantages these could supply. The relative
-smallness of his force, the feebleness of the defences<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>
-the fickleness and final disaffection of the people, the
-intrigues of Vittiges, and his vastly superior army
-constituted a web of difficulties which would have
-overwhelmed any other than a man whose genius
-could extort good from evil, and convert weakness into
-strength.</p>
-
-<p>For a whole year, the encircling walls of Rome
-were the scenes of almost incessant attack and defence.
-The fertile genius of Vittiges suggested a
-thousand expedients, and the number as well as courage
-of his troops enabled him to plan and execute a
-variety of daring schemes. Yet he was always baffled
-by his vigilant rival, and his most elaborate
-devices were rendered fruitless by the superior genius
-of the Roman general. At last, on the 21st of March,
-A. D. 538, foreseeing that Belisarius was about to
-receive reinforcements, and despairing of success in
-the siege, Vittiges withdrew his army, suffering in
-his retreat a fearful massacre, from a sally of the
-Roman troops.</p>
-
-<p>Vittiges retired to Ravenna, and Belisarius soon
-invested it. While he was pressing the siege, Justinian,
-probably alarmed by the threats of the Persian
-king, entered into a treaty with the ambassadors of
-Vittiges, by which he agreed to a partition of Italy,
-taking one half himself, and allowing the Gothic king
-to retain the other portion. Belisarius refused to ratify
-this treaty, and soon after, was pressed by the
-Goths to become their king. Vittiges even joined in
-this request, and Belisarius had now the easy opportunity
-of making himself the emperor of the West,
-without the remotest fear of failure. But he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>
-too deeply impressed with his oath of allegiance, to
-allow him to entertain a treacherous design toward
-his sovereign, and he rejected the tempting offer.
-The merit of his fidelity under these circumstances,
-is heightened by the consideration that he had refused
-the ratification of the treaty, and was well aware that
-reproach, or even hostility, might await him at Constantinople.</p>
-
-<p>Soon after these events, Ravenna capitulated, and
-Belisarius became its master. His fame was now at
-its height; but this only served to inflame the envy
-of his rivals at Constantinople. These, insidiously
-working upon the suspicious temper of Justinian, induced
-him to command the return of Belisarius to
-Constantinople. With prompt obedience, he embarked
-at Ravenna, carrying with him his Gothic captives
-and treasure. After five years of warfare, from the
-foot of Etna to the banks of the Po, during which he
-had subdued nearly the same extent of country which
-had been acquired by the Romans in the first five
-centuries from the building of that city, he arrived at
-Constantinople.</p>
-
-<p>The voice of envy was silenced for a time, and
-Belisarius was appointed to the command of the army
-now about to proceed against the Persians. The captive
-monarch of the Goths was received with generous
-courtesy by the emperor, and an ample estate was
-allotted to him in Asia. Justinian gazed with admiration
-on the strength and beauty of the Gothic captives&mdash;their
-fair complexions, auburn locks, and lofty
-stature. A great number of these, attracted by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>
-fame and character of Belisarius, enlisted in his
-guards.</p>
-
-<p>In the spring of the year 540, Chosroes or Nushirvan,
-the Persian king, invaded the Roman provinces
-in the east. The next year Belisarius proceeded
-against him, and took his station at Dara. Here,
-instead of a well-appointed army, he found only a
-confused and discordant mass of undisciplined men.
-After various operations, being baffled by the treachery
-or incapacity of his subalterns, he was obliged to
-retreat, and closed a fruitless campaign, by placing
-his men in winter quarters.</p>
-
-<p>Being recalled to Constantinople, he went thither,
-but took the field early in the spring, with the most
-powerful army he had ever commanded. Nushirvan
-advanced into Syria, but, thwarted by the masterly
-man&oelig;uvres of Belisarius, he was at last obliged to
-retreat. Soon after, the Roman general being again
-recalled by Justinian, the most fatal disasters befel
-the Roman army.</p>
-
-<p>During these Persian campaigns, the political security,
-as well as the domestic happiness of Belisarius,
-were shaken by the misconduct of his wife. She
-had long been engaged in an intrigue with Theodosius,
-the young soldier newly baptized as an auspicious
-omen in the galley of the general, upon his departure
-for Africa. Though told of this, Belisarius had been
-pacified by the protestations and artifices of Antonina;
-but while he was absent in Asia Minor, she, being
-left in Constantinople, pursued her licentious career
-with little scruple.</p>
-
-<p>Her son Photius, a gallant young soldier, being a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>
-check upon her conduct, became the object of her
-hatred. While at the distance of a thousand miles,
-during the Persian campaign, he still experienced the
-malignant influence of her intrigues, and urged by a
-sense of duty to his step-father, made him acquainted
-with his mother's depravity. When she afterwards
-joined her husband on the frontier, he caused her to
-be imprisoned, and sent Photius towards Ephesus to
-inflict summary punishment upon Theodosius. The
-latter was taken captive by Photius, and borne to
-Cilicia.</p>
-
-<p>Antonina, by her convenient intrigues in behalf of
-Theodora, had laid her under great obligations, and
-obtained the greatest influence over her. The empress,
-therefore, now interfered to save her friend.
-Positive injunctions were sent to Cilicia, and both
-Photius and Theodosius were brought to Constantinople.
-The former was cast into a dungeon and tortured
-at the rack; the latter was received with distinction;
-but he soon expired from illness. Photius,
-after a third escape from prison, proceeded to Jerusalem,
-where he took the habit of a monk, and finally
-attained the rank of abbot.</p>
-
-<p>Belisarius and Antonina were summoned to Constantinople,
-and the empress commanded the injured
-husband to abstain from the punishment of his wife.
-He obeyed this order of his sovereign. She next required
-a reconciliation at his hands; but he refused to
-comply with a demand which no sovereign had a
-right to make. He, therefore, remained at Constantinople,
-under the secret displeasure of Theodora and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>
-Justinian, who only wanted some plausible pretext to
-accomplish his ruin.</p>
-
-<p>The invasion of Nushirvan, in the ensuing spring
-impelled the terrified emperor to lay aside his animosity,
-and restore the hero to the direction of the
-eastern armies; but in this campaign, his former
-offence was aggravated, and the glory of saving the
-East was outweighed by the guilt of frankness. Justinian
-was recovering from a dangerous illness; a
-rumor of his death had reached the Roman camp,
-and Belisarius gave an opinion in favor of the emperor's
-nearest kinsman as his successor, instead of
-acknowledging the pretensions of Theodora to the
-throne. This declaration inflamed with equal anger
-the aspiring wife and the uxorious husband.</p>
-
-<p>Buzes, the second in command, who had concurred
-in these views, was confined in a subterranean dungeon,
-so dark that the difference of day and night was
-never apparent to its inmate. Belisarius himself was
-recalled, with flattering professions of confidence and
-friendship, lest resentment should urge him to rebellion;
-but on his arrival at Constantinople, the mask
-was thrown aside; he was degraded from the rank
-of general of the East; a commission was despatched
-into Asia to seize his treasures; and his personal
-guards, who had followed his standard through so
-many battles, were removed from his command.</p>
-
-<p>It was with mingled feelings of compassion and
-surprise, that the people beheld the forlorn appearance
-of the general as he entered Constantinople, and rode
-along the streets, with a small and squalid train.
-Proceeding to the gates of the palace, he was exposed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>
-during the whole day to the scoffs and insults of the
-rabble. He was received by the emperor and Theodora
-with angry disdain, and when he withdrew, in
-the evening, to his lonely palace, he frequently turned
-round, expecting to see the appointed assassins advancing
-upon him.</p>
-
-<p>In the evening, after sunset, a letter was brought
-him from Theodora, declaring that his life was granted
-and a portion of his fortune spared at the intercession
-of his wife, and she trusted that his future
-conduct would manifest his gratitude to his deliverer.
-The favorable moments of surprise and gratitude were
-improved by Antonina with her usual skill. Thus,
-by the artifices of two designing women, the conqueror
-of armies was subdued, and Belisarius once more
-became the duped and submissive husband.</p>
-
-<p>A fine of three hundred pounds weight of gold was
-levied upon the property of Belisarius, and he was suffered
-for many months to languish in obscurity. In
-544, however, he was appointed to the command of the
-war in Italy, whither he soon proceeded. Here, in
-his operations against far superior forces, he displayed
-the same genius as before, and in February, 547, he
-again entered Rome. He pursued the war with various
-fortune; but at last, finding his means entirely
-inadequate to the necessities of the contest, he begged
-of the emperor either reinforcements or recall. Engrossed
-by religious quarrels, Justinian took the easier
-course, and adopted the latter. Thus, after having
-desolated Italy with all the horrors of war for several
-years, he now abandoned it, from mere weakness and
-caprice.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Belisarius returned to Constantinople, and for several
-years his life affords no remarkable occurrence.
-He continued in the tranquil enjoyment of opulence
-and dignities; but, in the year 559, various warlike
-tribes beyond the Danube, known under the general
-name of Bulgarians, marched southward, and desolated
-several provinces by sword, fire, and plunder.
-Zabergan, their enterprising leader, having passed the
-frozen Danube in the winter, detached one portion
-of his army for the pillage of Greece, and the other
-against the capital.</p>
-
-<p>So sudden and bold an aggression filled Constantinople
-with helpless and despairing terror. The
-people and the senators were agitated with fear, and
-the emperor sat trembling in his palace. In this
-general confusion and affright, all eyes were turned
-with hope to the conqueror of Africa and Italy.
-Though his constitution was broken by his military
-labors, his heart was alive to the call of his country,
-and Belisarius prepared to crown his glorious life by
-a last and decisive battle. He resumed his rusty armor,
-collected a handful of his scattered veterans, and
-in the return of martial spirit he seemed to shake off
-the weakness of decrepitude.</p>
-
-<p>Sallying from the city with three hundred mounted
-men, he met Zabergan at the head of two thousand
-cavalry. Selecting a favorable position, he withstood
-the onset, and, seeming to recover the powers of his
-youth, he astonished all around him by his intrepidity
-and skill. After a severe and bloody struggle, the
-Bulgarians were driven back in the utmost disorder;
-four hundred fell on the field, and Zabergan himself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>
-escaped with difficulty. The whole army of barbarians,
-amounting to many thousands, were seized with
-contagious fear, raised their camp, and retreated to the
-north.</p>
-
-<p>Belisarius was preparing for a close pursuit, when
-again his enemies awaked the suspicions of Justinian
-by suggesting that he was aiming at popular favor
-with disloyal views. The enthusiastic praises of his
-heroic conduct, by the people, turned even the emperor's
-heart to jealousy, and he chose rather to purchase
-the departure of the barbarians by tribute, than
-to permit Belisarius to obtain new laurels by chastising
-their audacity.</p>
-
-<p>From this period, Belisarius continued under the
-displeasure of Justinian, whose suspicious temper
-seemed to grow more virulent as his faculties sunk in
-the dotage of years. In 563, several conspiracies
-against the life of Justinian were detected, and under
-torture, some of the domestics of Belisarius accused
-their master of participation. This testimony, disproved
-by the long life and the habitually submissive
-loyalty of Belisarius, was sufficient for his conviction.
-He was stripped of his fortune, deprived of his guards,
-and detained as a close prisoner in his palace.</p>
-
-<p>The other conspirators were condemned and executed;
-but, in consideration of the past services of
-Belisarius, the decree of death was changed for that
-of blindness, and his eyes were accordingly put out.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>
-He was now restored to liberty, but, deprived of all
-means of subsistence, he was compelled to beg his
-bread before the gates of the convent of Laurus.
-There he stood with a wooden platter which he held
-out for charity, exclaiming to the passers-by, "Give a
-penny to Belisarius the general!"</p>
-
-<p>The affecting scene was long impressed upon the
-recollection of the people; and it would seem that this
-spectacle of persecuted merit aroused some dangerous
-feelings of indignation and pity, and he was, therefore,
-removed from public view. Belisarius was brought
-back to his former palace, and a portion of his treasures
-was allotted for his use. His death, which was
-doubtless hastened by the grief and hardships of his
-lot, occurred in 565; and Antonina, who survived
-him, devoted the remains of her life and fortune to
-the cloister.</p>
-
-<p>In person, Belisarius was tall and commanding;
-his features regular and noble. When he appeared
-in the streets of Constantinople, he never failed to
-attract the admiration of the people. As a military
-leader, he was enterprising, firm, and fearless. His
-conception was clear, and his judgment rapid and
-decisive. His conquests were achieved with smaller
-means than any other of like extent recorded in history.
-He experienced reverses in the field; but never<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>
-did he fail without strong and sufficient reason. His
-superior tactics covered his defeats, retrieved his losses,
-and prevented his enemies from reaping the fruits of
-victory. Never, even in the most desperate emergencies,
-was he known to lose his courage or presence
-of mind.</p>
-
-<p>Though living in a barbarous and dissolute age,
-Belisarius possessed many shining virtues. In the
-march of his armies, he would avoid the trampling
-of the corn-fields, nor would he allow his soldiers
-even to gather apples from the trees without making
-payment to the villagers. After a victory, it was his
-first care to extend mercy and protection to the vanquished.
-The gift of a golden bracelet or collar
-rewarded any valorous achievement among his troops;
-the loss of a horse or weapon was immediately supplied
-from his private funds; the wounded ever found
-in him a father and a friend. To all, he was open
-and easy of access, and by his courteous demeanor
-often comforted, where he could not relieve. From
-his generosity, one would have deemed him rich;
-from his manners, poor. His private virtues promoted
-and confirmed the discipline of his soldiers. None
-ever saw him flushed with wine, nor could the charms
-of his fairest captives overcome his conjugal fidelity.</p>
-
-<p>But the most remarkable feature in the character
-of Belisarius is his steadfast loyalty, and the noble
-magnanimity with which he overlooked the suspicious
-meanness and ingratitude of his sovereign. It is
-impossible to find in history another instance of an
-individual so strongly induced to rebellion by treacherous
-treatment or the part of his country, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>
-opportunity of placing a crown upon his head without
-the risk of effectual opposition, who refused, from
-patriotic motives, the double temptation.</p>
-
-<p>That Belisarius had faults, is not to be denied. His
-blind submission to his wife displayed great weakness,
-and led him into most of the errors which are charged
-upon his public career. In his last campaign in Italy,
-his wealth having been exhausted by an enormous
-fine, he endeavored to repair his losses by imitating
-the rapacity universally practised by other commanders
-of that period. He thus inflicted upon his memory
-a serious stain, and showed that, however he was
-exalted above the age, he was still a man. His whole
-career affords a striking moral, coinciding with the
-emphatic language of Scripture, "Put not thy trust
-in princes."</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/059.jpg" alt="ship" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> These were a digest of the civil law of Rome, made by the
-order of Justinian, and have been preserved to our time.
-They contained five hundred and thirty-four decisions or judgments
-of lawyers, to which the emperor gave the force of law.
-The compilation consists of fifty books, and has contributed to
-save Justinian's name from the contempt and reproach which
-had otherwise been heaped upon it.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> A space where the chariot races were exhibited.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> This portion of the story of Belisarius has been the subject
-of controversy. It has been doubted by Gibbon and other
-historians, whether the infliction of blindness upon Belisarius
-and his beggary, were not mere traditionary fables. But Lord
-Mahon, in his excellent life of the great Roman general from
-which we have drawn the preceding account, appears to have
-established their authenticity. The beautiful tale of Belisarius
-by Marmontel, is fictitious in many of its details.</p>
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span></p></div>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%" >
-<img src="images/060.jpg" alt="Attila" style="width: 70%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>ATTILA, KING OF THE HUNS</h2>
-
-
-<p>This renowned barbarian was the son of Mandras,
-and of a royal line. He served in the army of his uncle,
-Roas, who was king of the Huns. At his death,
-in 433, he succeeded him, sharing the throne with
-his brother Bleda. The Huns at this period were
-very numerous and warlike. They extended over the
-southern part of Russia, and a considerable portion
-of the present empire of Austria. Attila's kingdom
-lay between the Carpathian mountains and the Danube,
-and was called Pannonia.</p>
-
-<p>At this period, the Roman empire had been for
-more than a century divided into the Eastern and
-Western empire. Theodosius II. was now emperor
-of the former, and Constantinople its capital, while
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>Valentinian III. was emperor of the latter, and Rome,
-or Ravenna, the seat of his government.</p>
-
-<p>Both branches of the Roman empire were now
-sunk in the lap of luxury. They were spread over
-with splendid cities, and enriched with all the refinements
-of art, and all the spoils gathered from every
-quarter of the world. These offered a tempting inducement
-to the fierce and hungry barbarians of the
-north. Alaric<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> had shown the way to Rome a few
-years before, and taught the weakness of the queen of
-the world. Constantinople was not likely to be an
-inferior or more inaccessible prize. Attila's dominions
-bordered upon those of the two empires, and the
-distance to either capital was not more than five or
-six hundred miles.</p>
-
-<p>Among the first achievements of the two brothers,
-they threatened the Eastern empire with their armies,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>and twice compelled the weak Theodosius to purchase
-peace on humiliating terms. They then extended
-their dominions both east and west, until they
-reigned over the whole country from the Baltic to
-the Caspian Sea.</p>
-
-<p>Attila was regarded by the Huns as their bravest
-warrior, and most skilful general. He performed
-such feats of valor, and success so uniformly attended
-his career, that the ignorant and superstitious people
-were inclined to think him more than mortal. He
-took advantage of this feeling, and pretended that he
-had found the sword of their tutelar god, and that
-with this he intended to conquer the whole earth.
-Being unwilling to hold a divided sceptre, he caused
-his brother Bleda to be murdered, and when he gave
-out that it was done by the command of God, the
-event was celebrated with the greatest demonstrations
-of joy.</p>
-
-<p>Being now sole master of a warlike people, his
-ambition made him the terror of all the surrounding
-nations. It was a saying of his own, that no grass
-grew where his horse had set his foot, and the title
-of the "Scourge of God" was assigned to him, as
-characterizing his career. He extended his dominions
-over the whole of Germany and Scythia. The
-Vandals, the Ostrogoths, and a part of the Franks,
-acknowledged his sway, and both the Eastern and
-Western empires paid him tribute. Historians tell
-us that his army amounted to 700,000 men.</p>
-
-<p>Having heard of the riches of Persia, he directed
-his march against it. Being defeated on the plains
-of Armenia, he turned back, to satisfy his desire of
-plunder in the dominions of the emperor of the East.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>
-Regardless of existing treaties, he laid waste the
-whole country from the Black Sea to the Adriatic.
-In three bloody engagements, he defeated the troops
-sent against him by Theodosius. Thrace, Macedonia,
-and Greece, were overrun by the savage robber,
-and seventy flourishing cities were utterly destroyed.</p>
-
-<p>Theodosius was now at the mercy of the victor
-and was obliged to sue for peace. One of the servants
-of Attila, named Edekon, was tempted by an
-agent of the emperor to undertake the assassination
-of his master, on his return to Pannonia; but, at the
-moment he was about to accomplish his object, his
-courage failed him, he fell on his knees before Attila,
-confessed his criminal design, and disclosed the plot.
-Constantinople trembled at the idea of Attila's revenge;
-but he was contented with upbraiding Theodosius,
-and the execution of Crisapheus, who had
-drawn his servant into the scheme.</p>
-
-<p>Priscus, a Roman historian, who was an ambassador
-to Attila in the year 448, gives an interesting
-account of the king and his people. He found the
-palace in the midst of a large village. The royal
-edifice was entirely of wood: the houses of the Huns
-were also of wood, sometimes mixed with mortar
-made of earth. The only stone building was a set
-of baths. The wooden pillars of the palace were
-carved and polished, and the ambassador could discover
-some evidence of taste in the workmanship, as
-well as barbarous magnificence in the display of rich
-spoils taken from more civilized nations.</p>
-
-<p>They were soon invited to a sumptuous entertainment,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>in which the guests were all served upon utensils
-of silver and gold; but a dish of plain meat was
-set before the king on a wooden trencher, of which
-he partook very sparingly. His beverage was equally
-simple and frugal. The rest of the company were
-excited into loud and frequent laughter by the fantastic
-extravagances of two buffoons; but Attila preserved
-his usually inflexible gravity. A secret agent
-in the embassy was charged with the disgraceful
-task of procuring the assassination of this formidable
-enemy. Attila was acquainted with this, which was
-the real object of the mission, but he dismissed the
-culprit, as well as his innocent companions, uninjured.
-The emperor Theodosius was compelled, however,
-to atone for his base attempt, by a second embassy,
-loaded with magnificent presents, which the king of
-the Huns was prevailed upon to accept. Theodosius
-died not long after, and was succeeded by the more
-virtuous and able Marcian.</p>
-
-<p>Attila was at this time collecting an enormous
-army, and threatened both divisions of the Roman
-world at once. To each emperor he sent the haughty
-message, "Attila, my lord and thy lord, commands
-thee immediately to prepare a palace for his reception!"
-To this insult, he added a demand upon the
-emperor for the remainder of the tribute due from
-Theodosius. Marcian's reply was in the same laconic
-style: "I have gold for my friends, and steel for my
-enemies!"</p>
-
-<p>Attila determined to make war first on Valentinian.
-Honoria, the emperor's sister, who had been guilty
-of some youthful error, and was consequently confined
-in a convent, had sent Attila a ring, offering to become
-his wife. It was to claim her and half the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>empire as her dower, that Attila professed to be making
-these formidable preparations. At last, he appeared
-to accept the excuse of Theodosius for not
-allowing his sister to become his wife, and speedily
-marched with a prodigious force to the westward.
-He set out in midwinter, and did not pause till he
-reached the Rhine. Having defeated the Franks, he
-cut down whole forests to make rafts for his army to
-cross the river, and now, throwing off the mask, entered
-Gaul, a dependency of Rome.</p>
-
-<p>The horrors of his march it is scarcely possible to
-describe. Everything was destroyed that came in
-his way. Before him were terror and despair; behind,
-a broad track marked with desolation, ruin and death.
-He proceeded in his victorious career, till he reached
-the ancient town of Orleans. Here an obstinate
-defence was offered. The combined armies of Rome,
-under the celebrated �tius, and the Goths under Theodoric,
-attacked him here, and compelled him to raise
-the siege. He retreated to Champaign, and waited
-for them in the plain of Chalons. The two armies
-soon approached each other.</p>
-
-<p>Anxious to know the event of the coming battle,
-Attila consulted the sorcerers, who foretold his defeat.
-Though greatly alarmed, he concealed his feelings,
-and rode among his warriors, animating them for the
-impending struggle. Inflamed by his ardor, the Huns
-were eager for the contest. Both armies fought
-bravely. At length the ranks of the Romans and
-Gauls were broken, and Attila felt assured of victory,
-when, suddenly, Thorismond, son of Theodoric, swept
-down like an avalanche from the neighboring heights<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>
-upon the Huns. He threw them into disorder, spread
-death through their ranks, and Attila, pressed on all
-sides, escaped to his camp with the utmost difficulty.</p>
-
-<p>This was the bloodiest battle ever fought in Europe,
-for 106,000 men lay dead on the field. Theodoric
-was slain, and Attila, who had gathered his treasures
-into a heap, in order to burn himself with them in
-case he was reduced to extremities, was left unexpectedly
-to make his retreat.</p>
-
-<p>Having returned to Hungary and reinforced his
-army, he proceeded to repeat his demand for the hand
-of Honoria. He mastered the unguarded passes of
-the Alps, and, in 452, carried devastation into the
-north of Italy. At last he approached the city of
-Rome, when a supplicatory embassy met him, Pope
-Leo I. being at its head. The eloquence of the pontiff,
-united to prudential considerations, prevailed, and
-the city was saved; Attila returning to his home
-beyond the Danube. The Romans looked upon this
-preservation as a miracle, and they have preserved a
-legend that St. Peter and St. Paul appeared to the
-barbarian, and threatened him with instant death, if
-he did not accept the proffered terms.</p>
-
-<p>Attila now soothed himself by adding the beautiful
-Ildico to his numerous wives, whom he wedded with
-all due ceremony. On this occasion he gave himself
-up to licentiousness, but in the morning after his marriage,
-he was found dead in his tent, and covered with
-blood, Ildico sitting veiled by his side. The story
-went abroad that he had burst a blood-vessel, and died
-in consequence, but a common suspicion is entertained
-that he was stabbed by his bride.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The news of Attila's death spread terror and sorrow
-among his army. His body was enclosed in
-three coffins,&mdash;the first of gold, the second of silver,
-and the third of iron. The captives who dug his
-grave were strangled, so that the place of his burial
-might not be known.</p>
-
-<p>In person, Attila was marked with the Tartar
-characteristics, from which he, as well as the people
-of his kingdom, were descended. He was low in
-stature, broad-chested, and of a powerful frame. He
-was dark complexioned, with a few straggling hairs
-for beard, a flat nose, large head, and small eyes. No
-one could look upon him, and not feel that he had
-come into the world to disturb it. The number of
-persons slain in his battles amounted to hundreds of
-thousands, yet to so little purpose, that his empire
-was immediately dismembered upon his death.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/067.jpg" alt="Attila" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Alaric was one of the most eminent of those northern
-chiefs who successively overran Italy, during the decline of the
-Western empire, and the first who gained possession of imperial
-Rome. He learned the art of war under the celebrated
-emperor of the East, Theodosius, who curbed the depredations
-of the Goths. At his death, Alaric became their leader, and
-overran Greece, A. D. 396. In the year 403, he entered Italy
-with a powerful army, but was defeated, and retired to his
-own country. In 410, he again entered Italy, besieged and took
-Rome, which he entered at midnight, and gave it up to plunder
-and pillage for six days. He now led his troops into the southern
-provinces of Italy, but died suddenly while he was besieging
-Cozenza. He was buried in the channel of the river Bucente,
-in Naples, that his remains might not be found by the Romans.
-To perform the burial, the water of the river was turned out
-of its course.</p></div>
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%" >
-<img src="images/068.jpg" alt="Nero" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-
-<h2>NERO.</h2>
-
-
-<p>Claudius C�sar Nero was son of Caius Domitius
-�nobarbus and Agrippina, the daughter of Germanicus
-and wife of the Emperor Claudius, after the
-death of her first husband. He was adopted by the
-Emperor Claudius, A.D. 50, and when he was murdered
-by his wife, four years after, Nero succeeded
-him on the throne. He possessed excellent talents,
-and was carefully educated by Seneca and Burrhus.
-The beginning of his reign was marked by acts of the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>greatest kindness and condescension, by affability,
-complaisance and popularity. The object of his administration
-seemed to be the good of his people;
-and when he was desired to sign his name for the
-execution of a malefactor, he exclaimed, "I wish to
-heaven I could not write!" He appeared to be an
-enemy to flattery, and when the senate had liberally
-commended the wisdom of his government, Nero
-desired them to keep their praises till he deserved
-them.</p>
-
-<p>But these promising virtues were soon discovered
-to be artificial, and Nero displayed the real propensities
-of his nature. He delivered himself from the
-sway of his mother, and at last ordered her to be
-assassinated. This unnatural act of barbarity shocked
-some of the Romans; but Nero had his devoted
-adherents; and when he declared that he had taken
-away his mother's life to save himself from ruin, the
-senate applauded his measures, and the people signified
-their approbation. Even Burrhus and Seneca,
-Nero's advisers, either counselled or justified his conduct.
-Many of his courtiers shared the unhappy
-fate of Agrippina, and Nero sacrificed to his fury or
-caprice all such as obstructed his pleasures, or stood
-in the way of his inclinations.</p>
-
-<p>In the night he generally sallied out from his
-palace, to visit the meanest taverns and the scenes of
-debauchery in which Rome abounded. In his nocturnal
-riots he was fond of insulting the people in
-the streets, and on one occasion, an attempt to offer
-violence to the wife of a Roman senator nearly cost
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>him his life. He also turned actor, and publicly appeared
-on the Roman stage, in the meanest characters.
-He had an absurd passion to excel in music, and to
-conquer the disadvantages of a hoarse, rough voice,
-he moderated his meals, and often passed the day
-without eating.</p>
-
-<p>The celebrity of the Olympic games having attracted
-his notice, he passed into Greece, and presented
-himself as a candidate for the public honors. He
-was defeated in wrestling, but the flattery of the
-spectators adjudged him the victory, and Nero returned
-to Rome with all the pomp and splendor of an
-eastern conqueror, drawn in the chariot of Augustus,
-and attended by a band of musicians, actors, and stage
-dancers from every part of the empire.</p>
-
-<p>These private and public amusements of the emperor
-were comparatively innocent; his character was
-injured, but not the lives of the people. His conduct,
-however, soon became more censurable; he was
-guilty of various acts which cannot be even named
-with decency. The cruelty of his nature was displayed
-in the sacrifice of his wives Octavia and Popp�a;
-and the celebrated writers, Seneca, Lucan, Petronius,
-&amp;c., became the victims of his wantonness.
-The Christians did not escape his barbarity. He had
-heard of the burning of Troy, and as he wished to
-renew that dismal scene, he caused Rome to be set on
-fire in different places. The conflagration became
-soon universal, and during nine successive days the
-fire was unextinguished. All was desolation; nothing
-was heard but the lamentations of mothers whose
-children had perished in the flames, the groans of
-the dying, and the continual fall of palaces and buildings.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Nero was the only one who enjoyed the general
-consternation. He placed himself on a high tower
-and he sang on his lyre the destruction of Troy; a
-dreadful scene which his barbarity had realized before
-his eyes. He attempted to avert the public odium
-from his head, by a feigned commiseration of the sufferings
-of his subjects, and by charging the fire upon
-the Christians. He caused great numbers of them
-to be seized and put to death. Some were covered
-with the skins of wild beasts, and killed by dogs set
-upon them; others were crucified; others were
-smeared with pitch and burned, at night, in the imperial
-gardens, for the amusement of the people!</p>
-
-<p>Nero began to repair the streets and the public
-buildings at his own expense. He built himself a
-celebrated palace, which he called his golden house.
-It was profusely adorned with gold and precious
-stones, and with whatever was rare and exquisite.
-It contained spacious fields, artificial lakes, woods, gardens,
-orchards, and every device that could exhibit
-beauty and grandeur. The entrance to this edifice
-would admit a colossal image of the emperor, one hundred
-and twenty feet high; the galleries were each a
-mile long, and the whole was covered with gold. The
-roofs of the dining halls represented the firmament, in
-motion as well as in figure, and continually turned
-round, night and day, showering all sorts of perfumes
-and sweet waters. When this grand edifice, which,
-according to Pliny, extended all round the city, was
-finished, Nero said that he could now lodge like a
-man!</p>
-
-<p>His profusion was not less remarkable in all his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>
-other actions. When he went fishing, his nets were
-made with gold and silk. He never appeared twice
-in the same garment, and when he undertook a voyage,
-there were thousands of servants to take care of
-his wardrobe. His continued debauchery, cruelty, and
-extravagance at last roused the resentment of the people.
-Many conspiracies were formed against him,
-but they were generally discovered, and such as were
-accessory, suffered the greatest punishments. One
-of the most dangerous plots against Nero's life was
-that of Piso, from which he was delivered by the
-confession of a slave. The conspiracy of Galba
-proved more successful; for the conspirator, when
-he was informed that his design was known to Nero,
-declared himself emperor. The unpopularity of Nero
-favored his cause; he was acknowledged by the whole
-Roman empire, and the senate condemned the tyrant,
-that sat on the throne, to be dragged, naked, through
-the streets of Rome, whipped to death, and afterwards
-to be thrown from the Tarpeian rock, like the meanest
-malefactor. This, however, was not done, for Nero,
-by a voluntary death, prevented the execution of the
-sentence. He killed himself, A. D. 68, in the thirty-second
-year of his age, after a reign of thirteen years
-and eight months.</p>
-
-<p>Rome was filled with acclamations at the intelligence
-of this event, and the citizens, more strongly to
-indicate their joy, wore caps such as were generally
-used by slaves who had received their freedom. Their
-vengeance was not only exercised against the statues
-of the deceased tyrant, but his friends were the objects
-of the public resentment, and many were crushed to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>
-pieces in such a violent manner, that one of the senators,
-amid the universal joy, said that he was afraid
-they should soon have cause to wish for Nero. The
-tyrant, as he expired, begged that his head might not
-be cut off from his body and exposed to the insolence
-of an enraged populace, but that the whole might be
-burned on a funeral pile. His request was granted,
-and his obsequies were performed with the usual
-ceremonies.</p>
-
-<p>Though his death seemed to be the source of universal
-gladness, yet many of his favorites lamented
-his fall, and were grieved to see that their pleasures
-and amusements were terminated by the death of the
-patron of debauchery and extravagance. Even the
-king of Parthia sent ambassadors to Rome to condole
-with the Romans, and to beg that they would honor
-and revere the memory of Nero. His statues were
-also crowned with garlands of flowers, and many
-believed that he was not dead, but that he would soon
-make his appearance and take a due vengeance upon
-his enemies. It will be sufficient to observe, in finishing
-the character of this tyrannical emperor and
-detestable man, that the name of <i>Nero</i> is, even now,
-the common designation of a barbarous and unfeeling
-oppressor.</p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 30%" >
-<img src="images/073.jpg" alt="water" style="width: 30%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<h2>LUCIUS ANN�US SENECA.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This individual, whose "Morals" are so familiar to
-us, was born at Corduba, in Spain, six years before
-Christ. His father was a rhetorician of some celebrity,
-and a portion of his works has come down to
-our time. While Lucius was yet a child, he removed
-from Corduba to Rome, which henceforward became
-his residence. The son, possessing very promising
-talents, received the greatest care and attention in
-respect to his education. He was taught eloquence
-by his father, and took lessons in philosophy from the
-most celebrated masters. According to the custom
-of those who sought to excel in wisdom and knowledge,
-he travelled in Greece and Egypt, after completing
-his studies, and his work entitled <i>Qu�stiones
-Naturales</i> showed that he made good use of his opportunities
-during this excursion; it also proves that
-he was master of the science of his time.</p>
-
-<p>Young Seneca was fascinated with the philosophical
-speculations of the Stoics,<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> to which sect he became
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>devoted. He even adopted the austere modes of life
-they inculcated, and refused to eat the flesh of animals;
-but when the emperor, Tiberius,<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> threatened
-to punish some Jews and Egyptians for abstaining
-from certain meats, at the suggestion of his father, he
-departed from this singularity. In compliance with
-his father's advice, who urged upon him the necessity
-of devoting himself to some kind of business, he
-adopted the profession of an advocate.</p>
-
-<p>As a pleader, Seneca appeared to great advantage,
-and consequently excited the envy of Caligula, who
-aspired to the reputation of an orator. Apprehensive
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>of the consequences, he changed his views, and became
-a candidate for the honors and offices of the
-state. He was made pr�tor, under Claudius, but,
-being charged with a shameful intrigue with a lady
-of rank, he was banished to Corsica. Though his
-guilt was not satisfactorily proved, he continued for
-five years in exile; during which period he wrote a
-treatise on Consolation. In this, he seems to draw
-contentment and peace from philosophical views, and
-one would fancy that he was elevated by these, above
-the evils of his condition. Yet, unhappily for his
-reputation in respect to consistency and sincerity, history
-tells us that, at this period, he was suing to the
-emperor in the most abject terms for restitution.</p>
-
-<p>Claudius<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> at length married Agrippina, and Seneca,
-being recalled, was made preceptor of Nero, the
-son of Agrippina, who was destined to become emperor.
-From the favorable traits of character displayed
-by the pupil of the philosopher in the early
-part of his career, it might seem that Seneca's instructions
-had exerted a good influence over him.
-But an impartial scrutiny of the events of that period
-has led to the probable conclusion that he was a pander
-to the worst of Nero's vices. It is certain that
-he acquired immense wealth in a short period of time,
-and it appears that this was obtained through the
-munificence of his royal patron. The latter was
-avaricious and mercenary, and was likely to part with
-his money only for such things as ministered to his
-voluptuous passions.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span></p>
-<p>The possessions of Seneca were enormous. He
-had several gardens and villas in the country, and a
-magnificent palace in Rome. This was sumptuously
-furnished, and contained five hundred tables of cedar,
-with feet of ivory, and all of exquisite workmanship.
-His ready cash amounted to about twelve millions of
-dollars. It appears certain that such riches could not
-have been acquired by means of Seneca's precepts;
-and the inference of many of his contemporaries, as
-well as of posterity, has been, that the virtue which
-appears so lovely in his pages was but the decorous
-veil of avarice, vice, and crime.</p>
-
-<p>For a period after his accession to the throne,
-Nero's conduct was deserving of praise; but he soon
-threw off all regard even to decency, and launched
-forth upon that career which has made his name a
-by-word and reproach for all after time. Seneca,
-being accused of having amassed immense wealth by
-improper means, became greatly alarmed; for he
-knew the tyrant so well as to foresee that, under color
-of this charge, he was very likely to sacrifice him, in
-order to obtain his property. Pretending, therefore,
-to be indifferent to riches, he begged the emperor to
-accept of his entire fortune, and permit him to spend
-the remainder of his days in the quiet pursuits of philosophy.
-The emperor, with deep dissimulation, refused
-this offer&mdash;no doubt intending in some other
-way to compass the ruin of Seneca.</p>
-
-<p>Aware of his danger, the philosopher now kept
-himself at home for a long period, as if laboring under
-disease. Some time after, a conspiracy for the murder
-of Nero, headed by Piso, was detected. Several<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>
-of the most noble of the Roman senators were concerned,
-and Seneca's name was mentioned as an
-accessory. Nero, doubtless glad of an opportunity to
-sacrifice him, now sent a command that he should
-destroy himself.</p>
-
-<p>It has been a question whether Seneca was really
-concerned in the conspiracy of Piso. The proof
-brought against him was not indeed conclusive, but
-it is obvious that his position might lead him to desire
-the death of the tyrant, as the only means of safety
-to himself; and Seneca's character, unfortunately, is
-not such as to shield his memory against strong suspicion
-of participation in the alleged crime.</p>
-
-<p>Seneca was at table, with his wife, Paulina, and
-two of his friends, when the messenger of Nero arrived.
-He heard the words which commanded him
-to take his own life, with philosophic firmness, and
-even with apparent joy. He observed that such a
-mandate might long have been expected from a man
-who had murdered his own mother and assassinated
-his best friends. He wished to dispose of his possessions
-as he pleased, but his request was refused.
-When he heard this, he turned to those around who
-were weeping at his fate, and told them, that, since he
-could not leave them what he believed his own, he
-would leave them at least his own life for an example&mdash;an
-innocent conduct, which they might imitate, and
-by which they might acquire immortal fame.</p>
-
-<p>Against their tears and wailings, he exclaimed with
-firmness, and asked them whether they had not
-learned better to withstand the attacks of fortune and
-the violence of tyranny. As for his wife, he attempted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>
-to calm her emotions, and when she seemed resolved
-to die with him, he said he was glad to have his
-example followed with so much constancy. Their
-veins were opened at the same moment; but Nero,
-who was partial to Paulina, ordered the blood to be
-stopped, and her life was thus preserved.</p>
-
-<p>Seneca's veins bled but slowly, and the conversation
-of his dying moments was collected by his friends,
-and preserved among his works. To hasten his
-death, he drank a dose of poison, but it had no effect,
-and therefore he ordered himself to be carried to a
-hot bath, to accelerate the operation of the draught,
-and to make the blood flow more freely. This was
-attended with no better success, and, as the soldiers
-were clamorous, he was carried into a stove, and suffocated
-by the steam. Thus he died, in the 66th year
-of the Christian era.</p>
-
-<p>The death of Seneca has been loudly applauded, and
-has sometimes been pronounced sublime; but this is
-owing to an ignorance of the time, and inattention to
-Seneca's own doctrines. With the Stoics, death was
-nothing; "It is not an evil, but the absence of all
-evil." This was their creed. With such principles,
-there could be no fear of death, and consequently, we
-find that courage to die&mdash;if it be courage to encounter
-that which is not an evil&mdash;was common in Seneca's
-time. "At that period of languor and luxury," says
-M. Nisard, "of monstrous effeminacies, of appetites
-for which the world could hardly suffice&mdash;of perfumed
-baths, of easy and disorderly intrigues, there were
-daily men of all ranks, of all fortunes, of all ages,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>
-who released themselves from their evils by death.
-How was it possible for them to avoid suicide, with
-no other consolation than the philosophy of Seneca,
-and his theories on the delights of poverty?</p>
-
-<p>"Marcellinus<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> is attacked with a painful but curable
-malady. He is young, rich, has slaves, friends,
-everything to make life pleasant: no matter, he conceives
-the fancy of the pleasure of dying. He assembles
-his friends; he consults them as if he were going
-to marry. He discusses with them his project of suicide,
-and puts it to the vote. Some advise him to do
-as he pleases; but a Stoic, a friend of Seneca's, then
-present, exhorts him bravely to die. His principal
-reason is that he is <i>ennuy�</i>. No one contradicts the
-Stoic. Marcellinus thanks his friends, and distributes
-money to his slaves. He abstains for three days
-from all food, and is then carried into a warm bath,
-where he quickly expires, having muttered some
-words on the pleasure he felt in dying.</p>
-
-<p>"This pleasure was so little of an affectation, so
-much had it become the fashion, that some of the
-austere Stoics thought themselves bound to place certain
-restrictions upon it. They committed suicide
-from <i>ennui</i>, from idleness, from want of patience to
-cure themselves of their ills,&mdash;for distraction&mdash;much
-in the same way that they killed each other in duels,
-under Cardinal Richelieu."</p>
-
-<p>Viewed in this light, Seneca's death had nothing
-in it of the sublime: he yielded but to a fashion; he
-only practised what was common. If he sincerely
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span>believed his professed creed&mdash;that death is the absence
-of all evil&mdash;he neither evinced courage nor dignity;
-if he did not believe, then his conduct displayed but
-the skilful acting of a part, and under circumstances
-which mark him with the deepest hypocrisy.</p>
-
-<p>It is impossible to deny that Seneca's works are
-full of wisdom, though they fall far short of the Christian's
-philosophy. In his treatise upon benefits, for
-example, we have the following passage:&mdash;</p>
-
-<p>"The good will of the benefactor is the fountain
-of all benefits; nay, it is the benefit itself, or, at least,
-the stamp that makes it valuable and current. Some
-there are, I know, that take the matter for the benefit,
-and tax the obligation by weight and measure. When
-anything is given them, they presently cast it up&mdash;'What
-may such a house be worth? such an office?
-such an estate?' as if that were the benefit which is
-only the sign and mark of it, for the obligation rests
-in the mind, not in the matter; and all those advantages
-which we see, handle, or hold in actual possession,
-by the courtesy of another, are but several modes
-or ways of explaining and putting the good will in
-execution. There needs no subtlety to prove that
-both benefits and injuries receive their value from the
-intention, when even brutes themselves are able to
-decide this question. Tread upon a dog by chance,
-or put him in pain upon the dressing of a wound,
-the one he passes by as an accident, and the other,
-in his fashion, he acknowledges as a kindness. But
-offer to strike at him&mdash;though you do him no hurt at
-all&mdash;he flies in the face of you, even for the mischief
-that you barely meant him."</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>This is all just and true: it makes the heart the
-seat of moral action, and thus far coincides with the
-Christian's philosophy. But if there be nothing after
-death, what sanction has virtue? It may be more
-beautiful than vice, and consequently preferable, just
-as a sweet perfume is more desirable than an offensive
-odor. It is good taste, therefore, to be virtuous.
-Still, each individual may choose for himself,
-and without future responsibility, for all alike must
-share the oblivion of the tomb. The insufficiency of
-this philosophy to ensure virtue, is attested by the life
-of Seneca, as well as that of most of his sect. It resulted
-in the grossest hypocrisy; an ostentation of
-virtue, covering up the practice of vice.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/082.jpg" alt="Gods" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> The Stoics were the followers of Zeno, a Greek philosopher
-of Citium. They professed to prefer virtue to everything
-else, and to regard vice as the greatest of evils. They required
-an absolute command over the passions, and maintained the
-ability of man to attain perfection and felicity in this life. They
-encouraged suicide, and held that the doctrine of rewards and
-punishments was unnecessary to enforce virtue upon mankind.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Tiberius succeeded Augustus C�sar, as emperor; at his
-succession he gave promise of a happy reign, but he soon disgraced
-himself by debauchery, cruelty, and the most flagitious
-excesses. It was wittily said of him by Seneca that he was
-never intoxicated but once, for when he became drunk, his
-whole life was a continued state of inebriety. He died A. D.
-37, after a reign of twenty-two years, and was succeeded by
-Caligula.
-</p>
-<p>
-For a brief period, Rome now enjoyed prosperity and peace;
-but the young emperor soon became proud, cruel and corrupt.
-He caused a temple to be erected to himself, and had his own
-image set in the place of Jupiter and the other deities. He
-often amused himself by putting innocent people to death; he
-attempted to famish Rome, and even wished that the Romans
-had one head, that he might strike it off at a blow! At last,
-weary of his cruelties, several persons formed a conspiracy
-and murdered him, A. D. 41. History does not furnish another
-instance of so great a monster as Caligula.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Claudius succeeded Caligula in 41, and, after a reign of
-thirteen years, he was poisoned by his wife, Agrippina.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Seneca, Ess. lxxvii.</p></div>
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<h2>VIRGIL.</h2>
-
-
-<p>Mantua, the capital of New Etruria itself built
-three centuries before Rome, had the honor of giving
-birth to Publius Virgilius Maro. This event happened
-on or near the fifteenth of October, seventy
-years B. C, or during the first consulship of Pompey
-the Great and Licinius Crassus. Who his father
-was, and even to what country he belonged, has been
-the subject of much dispute. Some assert that he
-was a potter of Andes; but the most probable account
-is, that he was either a wandering astrologer, who
-practised physic, or a servant to one of this learned
-fraternity. It is observed by Juvenal, that <i>medicus,
-magus</i> usually went together, and that this course of
-life was principally followed by the Greeks and Syrians;
-to one of these nations, therefore, it is presumed,
-Virgil owes his birth. His mother, Maia, was of
-good extraction, being nearly related to Quintilius
-Varus, of whom honorable mention is made in the
-history of the second Carthaginian war.</p>
-
-<p>It appears that all due attention was paid to young
-Virgil's education. He passed through his initiatory
-exercises at Mantua; thence he removed to Cremona,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>
-and afterwards to Milan. In all these places he prosecuted
-his studies with the most diligent application,
-associating with the eminent professors of every
-department of science, and devoting whole nights to
-the best Latin and Greek authors. In the latter he
-was greatly assisted by his proximity to Marseilles,
-the only Greek colony that maintained its refinement
-and purity of language, amidst the overwhelming influence
-of all the barbarous nations that surrounded
-it. At first, he devoted himself to the Epicurean
-philosophy, but receiving no satisfactory reason for
-its tenets from his master, the celebrated Syro, he
-passed over to the academic school, where physics
-and mathematics became his favorite sciences; and
-these he continued to cultivate, at leisure moments,
-during his whole life.</p>
-
-<p>At Milan, he composed a great number of verses
-on various subjects, and, in the warmth of early youth,
-framed a noble design of writing an heroic poem, on
-the Wars of Rome; but, after some attempts, he was
-discouraged from proceeding, by the abruptness and
-asperity of the old Roman names.</p>
-
-<p>It is said that he here formed the plan and collected
-the materials for his principal poems. Some
-of these he had even begun; but a too intense application
-to his studies, together with abstinence and
-night-watching, had so impaired his health, that an
-immediate removal to a more southern part of Italy
-was deemed absolutely necessary for the preservation
-of his existence. He fixed upon Naples, and visiting
-Rome in his way, had the honor, through the interest
-of his kinsman and fellow-student, Varus, of being
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>introduced to the emperor, Octavius, who received
-him with the greatest marks of esteem, and earnestly
-recommended his affairs to the protection of Pollio,
-then lieutenant of Cisalpine Gaul, where Virgil's patrimony
-lay, and who generously undertook to settle
-his domestic concerns. Having this assurance, he
-pursued his journey to Naples. The charming situation
-of this place, the salubrity of the air, and the constant
-society of the greatest and most learned men of
-the time, who resorted to it, not only re-established his
-health, but contributed to the formation of that style
-and happy turn of verse in which he surpassed all his
-cotemporaries.</p>
-
-<p>To rank among the poets of their country, was, at
-this time, the ambition of the greatest heroes, statesmen,
-and orators of Rome. Cicero, Octavius, Pollio,
-Julius C�sar, and even the stoical Brutus, had been
-carried away by the impetuosity of the stream; but
-that genius which had never deserted them in the
-forum, or on the day of battle, shrunk dismayed at a
-comparison with the lofty muse of Virgil; and, although
-they endeavored, by placing their poems in
-the celebrated libraries, to hand them down to posterity,
-scarcely a single verse of these illustrious authors
-survived the age in which they lived. This preponderence
-of fashion, however, was favorable to Virgil;
-he had for some time devoted himself to the study
-of the law, and even pleaded one cause with indifferent
-success; but yielding now to the impulse of the
-age and his own genius, he abandoned the profession
-and resumed with increased ardor the cultivation of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>that talent for which he afterwards became so distinguished.</p>
-
-<p>Captivated at an early age by the pastorals of Theocritus,
-Virgil was ambitious of being the primitive
-introducer of that species of poetry among the Romans.
-His first performance in this way, entitled
-Alexis, is supposed to have appeared when the poet
-was in his twenty-fifth year. Pal�mon, which is a
-close imitation of the fourth and fifth Idyls of Theocritus,
-was probably his second; but as this period of
-the life of Virgil is enveloped in a considerable degree
-of obscurity,&mdash;few writers on the subject having
-condescended to notice such particulars as chronological
-arrangement,&mdash;little more than surmise can be
-offered to satisfy the researches of the curious. The
-fifth eclogue was composed in allusion to the death
-and deification of C�sar, and is supposed to have
-been written subsequently to Silenus, his sixth
-eclogue. This is said to have been publicly recited
-on the stage, by the comedian Cytheris, and to have
-procured its author that celebrity and applause to which
-the peculiar beauty and sweetness of the poem so
-justly entitled him.</p>
-
-<p>The fatal battle of Philippi, in which Augustus and
-Antony were victorious, at once annihilated every
-shadow of liberty in the commonwealth. Those
-veteran legions, who had conquered the world, fought
-no more for the dearest rights of their country. Having
-been once its protectors, they now became its
-ravagers. As the <i>amor patria</i> no longer inspired them,
-the treasury of the Roman empire proved inadequate
-to allay their boundless thirst for wealth. Augustus,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>
-therefore, to silence their clamors, distributed among
-them the flourishing colony of Cremona, and, to make
-up the deficiency, added part of the state of Mantua.
-In vain did the miserable mothers, with famishing
-infants at their breasts, fill the forum with their numbers,
-and the air with their lamentations; in vain did
-the inhabitants complain of being driven, like vanquished
-enemies, from their native homes. Such
-scenes are familiar to the conquerors in a civil war;
-and those legions, which had sacrificed their own and
-their country's liberty, must be recompensed at the
-expense of justice and the happiness of thousands.
-Virgil, involved in the common calamity, had recourse
-to his old patrons, Pollio and Mec�nas;<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> and, supported
-by them, petitioned Augustus not only for the
-possession of his own property, but for the reinstatement
-of his countrymen in theirs also; which, after
-some hesitation, was denied, accompanied by a grant
-for the restitution of his individual estate.</p>
-
-<p>Full of gratitude for such favor, Virgil composed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>
-his Tityrus, in which he has introduced one shepherd
-complaining of the destruction of his farm, the anarchy
-and confusion of the times; and another rejoicing
-that he can again tune his reed to love amidst his
-flocks; promising to honor, as a superior being, the
-restorer of his happiness.</p>
-
-<p>Unfortunately for Virgil, his joy was not of long
-continuance, for, on arriving at Mantua, and producing
-his warrant to Arrius, a captain of foot, whom he
-found in possession of his house, the old soldier was
-so enraged at what he termed the presumption of a
-poet, that he wounded him dangerously with his
-sword, and would have killed him had he not escaped
-by swimming hastily over the Mincius. Virgil was,
-therefore, compelled to return half the length of Italy,
-with a body reduced by sickness, and a mind depressed
-by disappointment, again to petition Augustus for
-the restoration of his estate. During this journey,
-which, from the nature of his wound, was extremely
-slow, he is supposed to have written his Moeris, or
-ninth eclogue; and this conjecture is rendered more
-probable by the want of connexion, perceivable through
-the whole composition&mdash;displaying, evidently, the disorder
-at that time predominant in the poet's mind.
-However, on his arrival at Rome, he had the satisfaction
-to find that effectual orders had been given in
-his behalf, and the farm was resigned into the hands
-of his procurator or bailiff, to whom the above pastoral
-is addressed.</p>
-
-<p>The Sibylline Oracles, having received information
-from the Jews that a child was to be born, who should
-be the Saviour of the world, and to whom nations<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>
-and empires should bow with submission, pretended
-to foretell that this event would occur in the year of
-Rome, 714, after the peace concluded between Augustus
-and Antony. Virgil, viewing this prophecy
-with the vivid imagination of a poet, and willing to
-flatter the ambition of his patron, composed his celebrated
-eclogue, entitled Pollio, in which he supposes
-the child, who was thus to unite mankind and restore
-the golden age, to be the offspring of Octavia, wife of
-Antony, and half sister to Augustus. In this production,
-the consul Pollio, Octavia, and even the unborn
-infant, are flattered with his usual delicacy; and the
-rival triumviri, though a short time before in open
-hostility, have the honor of equally sharing the poet's
-applause.</p>
-
-<p>While Pollio, who seems to have been the most
-accomplished man of his age, and is celebrated as a
-poet, soldier, orator and historian, was engaged in an
-expedition against the Parthini, whom he subdued,
-Virgil addressed to him his Pharmaceutria, one of
-the most beautiful of all his eclogues, and in imitation
-of a poem of the same name, by his favorite
-author, Theocritus. This production is the more
-valuable, as it has handed down to posterity some
-of the superstitious rites of the Romans and the
-heathen notions of enchantment. Virgil himself
-seems to have been conscious of the beauty of his
-subject, and the dignity of the person whom he was
-addressing; and, accordingly, has given us, by the
-fertility of his genius and the brilliancy of his imagination,
-some of the most sublime images that are to
-be found in any of the writings of antiquity.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>By the advice, and indeed at the earnest entreaty of
-Augustus, Virgil, in his thirty-fourth year, retired to
-Naples, and formed the plan of his Georgics: a design
-as new in Latin verse, as pastorals, before his,
-were in Italy. These he undertook for the interest,
-and to promote the welfare, of his country. As the
-continual civil wars had entirely depopulated and laid
-waste the land usually appropriated for cultivation,
-the peasants had turned soldiers, and their farms
-became scenes of desolation. Famine and insurrection
-were the inevitable consequences that followed such
-overwhelming calamities. Augustus, therefore, resolved
-to revive the decayed spirit of husbandry, and
-began by employing Virgil to recommend it with all
-the insinuating charms of poetry. This work took
-up seven of the most vigorous years of his life, and
-fully answered the expectations of his patron.</p>
-
-<p>Augustus, having conquered his rival, Antony, gave
-the last wound to expiring liberty, by usurping the
-exclusive government of the Roman empire. To
-reconcile a nation, naturally jealous of its freedom, to
-this, seems to have been the grand object of Virgil,
-in his �neid. This poem was begun in the forty-fifth
-year of the author's life, and not only displays admirable
-poetical genius, but great political address. Not
-an incident that could in any way tend to flatter the
-Roman people into a submission to the existing government,
-has escaped his penetrating judgment. He
-traces their origin to the Trojans, and makes Augustus
-a lineal descendant of �neas. At the command
-of the gods they obey him, and in return are promised
-the empire of the world.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>So anxious was Augustus as to the result of this
-poem, that he insisted upon having part of it read
-before the whole was completed. Gratitude, after
-threats and entreaties had been used in vain, at length
-induced its author to comply; and, knowing that Octavia,
-who had just lost her son, Marcellus, would be
-present, Virgil fixed upon the sixth book, perhaps the
-finest part of the whole �neid. His illustrious auditors
-listened with all the attention which such interesting
-narrative and eloquent recital demanded, till
-he came to that beautiful lamentation for the death of
-young Marcellus, and where, after exhausting panegyric,
-he has artfully suppressed the name of its object,
-till the concluding verse:</p>
-
-
-<div class="poem">
-  <div class="stanza">
-    <span class="i0">"Tu Marcellus eris."<br /></span>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-
-<p>At these words, Octavia, overcome with surprise and
-sorrow, fainted away; but, on recovering, was so
-highly gratified at having her son thus immortalized,
-that she presented the poet with ten <i>sesterces</i> for each
-line; amounting, in the whole, to about ten thousand
-dollars.</p>
-
-<p>Having at length brought his �neid to a conclusion,
-Virgil proposed travelling into Greece, and devoting
-three years to the correction and improvement
-of his favorite work. Having arrived at Athens, he
-met with Augustus, who was returning from a victorious
-expedition to the East, and who requested the
-company of the poet back to Italy. The latter deemed
-it his duty to comply; but, being desirous to see as
-many of the Grecian antiquities as the time would
-allow, went for that purpose to Megara. Here he
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>was seized with a dangerous illness, which, from neglect,
-and the agitation of the vessel in returning to
-Italy, proved mortal, at Brundusium. Thus the great
-poet died on the twenty-second of September, nineteen
-years B. C, and at a period when he had nearly completed
-his fifty-second year. He expired with the
-greatest tranquillity; and his remains, being carried
-to Naples, were interred in a monument, erected at a
-small distance from the city; where it is still shown,
-with the following inscription, said to have been dictated
-by him on his death-bed:</p>
-
-
-<div class="poem">
-  <div class="stanza">
-    <span class="i0">Mantua me genuit; Calabri rapuere, tenet nunc<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Parthenope; cecini pascua, rura, duces.<br /></span>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-
-<p>In his will he had ordered that the �neid should
-be burnt, not having finished it to his mind; but Augustus
-wisely forbade the destruction of a performance
-which will perpetuate his name, as one of the greatest
-of poets. It was, therefore, delivered to Varius and
-Tucca, Virgil's intimate friends, with the strictest
-charge to make no additions, but merely to publish it
-correctly, in the state it then was.</p>
-
-<p>In person, Virgil was tall, and wide-shouldered, of
-a dark swarthy complexion, which probably proceeded
-from the southern extraction of his father; his constitution
-was delicate, and the most trifling fatigue,
-either from exercise or study, produced violent headache
-and spitting of blood. In temper he was melancholy
-and thoughtful, loving retirement and contemplation.
-Though one of the greatest geniuses of
-his age, and the admiration of the Romans, he always
-preserved a singular modesty, and lived chastely when
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>the manners of the people were extremely corrupt.
-His character was so benevolent and inoffensive, that
-most of his cotemporary poets, though they envied
-each other, agreed in loving and esteeming him. He
-was bashful to a degree of timidity; his aspect and
-behavior was rustic and ungraceful; yet he was so
-honored by his countrymen, that once, coming into the
-theatre, the whole audience rose out of respect to him.
-His fortune was large, supposed to be about seventy
-thousand pounds sterling, besides which he possessed
-a noble mansion, and well-furnished library on the
-Esquiline Mount, at Rome, and an elegant villa in
-Sicily. Both these last, he left to Mec�nas, at his
-death, together with a considerable proportion of his
-personal property; the remainder he divided between
-his relations and Augustus,&mdash;the latter having introduced
-a politic fashion of being in everybody's will,
-which alone produced a sufficient revenue for a
-prince.</p>
-
-<p>The works of Virgil are not only valuable for their
-poetic beauties, but for their historical allusions and
-illustrations. We here find a more perfect and satisfactory
-account of the religious customs and ceremonies
-of the Romans, than in any other of the
-Latin poets, Ovid excepted. Everything he mentions
-is founded upon historical truth. He was
-uncommonly severe in revising his poetry&mdash;and often
-compared himself to a bear that licks her cubs into
-shape.</p>
-
-<p>In his intercourse with society, Virgil was remarkable;
-his friends enjoyed his unbounded confidence,
-and his library and possessions in Rome were so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>
-liberally offered for the use of those who needed
-them, as to seem to belong to the public. Amiable
-and exemplary, however, as he was, he had bitter
-enemies; but their revilings only served to add lustre
-to his name and fame.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/094.jpg" alt="ox" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Mec�nas, a celebrated Roman, who distinguished himself
-by his liberal patronage of learned men and letters. His fondness
-for pleasure removed him from the reach of ambition,
-and he preferred to live and die a knight, to all the honors and
-dignities that the Emperor Augustus could heap upon him.
-The emperor received the private admonitions of Mec�nas in
-the same friendly way in which they were given. Virgil and
-Horace both enjoyed his friendship. He was fond of literature,
-and from the patronage which the heroic and lyric poets of the
-age received from him, patrons of literature have ever since
-been called by his name. Virgil dedicated to him his Georgics
-and Horace his Odes. He died eight years B. C.</p></div>
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/095.jpg" alt="Cicero" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>CICERO.</h2>
-
-
-<p>Marcus Tullius Cicero was born on the 3d of
-January, 107, B. C. His mother, whose name was
-Helvia, was of an honorable and wealthy family; his
-father, named Marcus, was a wise and learned man
-of fortune, who lived at Apulia. This city was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>
-anciently of the Samnites, now part of the kingdom
-of Naples. Here Cicero was born, at his father's
-country seat, which it seems was a most charming
-residence.</p>
-
-<p>The care which the ancient Romans bestowed upon
-the education of their children was worthy of all
-praise. Their attention to this, began from the moment
-of their birth. They were, in the first place,
-committed to the care of some prudent matron, of
-good character and condition, whose business it was
-to form their first habits of acting and speaking; to
-watch their growing passions, and direct them to their
-proper objects; to superintend their sports, and suffer
-nothing immodest or indecent to enter into them, that
-the mind, preserved in all its innocence, and undepraved
-by the taste of false pleasures, might be at
-liberty to pursue whatever was laudable, and apply
-its whole strength to that profession in which it should
-desire to excel.</p>
-
-<p>Though it was a common opinion among the
-Romans that children should not be instructed in letters
-till they were seven years old, yet careful attention
-was paid to their training, even from the age of
-three years. It was reckoned a matter of great importance
-what kind of language they were first accustomed
-to hear at home, and in what manner their
-nurses, and even their fathers and mothers spoke,
-since their first habits were then formed, either of a
-pure or corrupt elocution. The two Gracchi were
-thought to owe that elegance of speaking for which
-they were distinguished, to their mother, Cornelia,
-who was a very accomplished woman and remarkable
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>for the purity of her diction, as well in speaking as
-writing.</p>
-
-<p>Young Cicero experienced the full advantage of
-these enlightened views, in his childhood. When he
-was of sufficient age to enter upon a regular course
-of study, his father removed to Rome, and placed him
-in a public school, under an eminent Greek master.
-Here he gave indications of those shining abilities,
-which rendered him afterwards so illustrious. His
-school-fellows carried home such stories of his extraordinary powers, that their parents were often induced
-to visit the school, for the sake of seeing a youth of
-such endowments.</p>
-
-<p>Encouraged by the promising genius of his son
-Cicero's father spared no cost or pains to improve it
-by the help of the ablest professors. Among other
-eminent instructors, he enjoyed the teaching of the
-poet Archias. Under this master, he applied himself
-chiefly to poetry, to which he was naturally addicted
-and made such proficiency in it, that, while he was
-still a boy, he composed and published a poem, called
-Glaucus Pontius.</p>
-
-<p>After finishing the course of juvenile studies, it
-was the custom to change the dress of the boy for that
-of the man, and take what they called the <i>manly
-gown</i>, or the ordinary robe of the citizen. This was
-an occasion of rejoicing, for the youth thus passed
-from the power of his tutor into a state of greater liberty.
-He was at the same time introduced into the
-forum, or great square of the city, where the assemblies
-of the people were held. Here also, they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>
-addressed by the magistrates, and here all the public
-pleadings and judicial transactions took place.</p>
-
-<p>When Cicero was sixteen years old, he was introduced
-to this place, with all customary solemnity.
-He was attended by the friends and dependants of
-the family, and after divine rites were performed in
-the capital, he was committed to the special protection
-of Q. Mucius Sc�vola, the principal lawyer as
-well as statesman of that age.</p>
-
-<p>Young Cicero made good use of the advantages he
-enjoyed. He spent almost his whole time in the
-society of his patron, carefully treasuring up in his
-memory the wisdom that fell from his lips. After
-his death, he came under the instruction of another
-of the same family&mdash;Sc�vola, the high priest, a person
-remarkable for his probity and skill in the law.</p>
-
-<p>The legal profession, as well as that of arms and
-eloquence, was a sure recommendation to the first
-honors of the republic; for it appears to have been
-the practice of many of the most eminent lawyers to
-give their advice gratis to all that asked it. It was
-the custom of the old senators, eminent for their wisdom
-and experience, to walk up and down the forum
-in the morning, freely offering their assistance to all
-who had occasion to consult them, not only in cases
-of law, but in relation to their private affairs. At a
-later period, they used to sit at home, with their doors
-open, upon a kind of throne, or raised seat, giving
-access and audience to all who might come.</p>
-
-<p>It is not surprising that a profession thus practised
-should be honored among the Roman people, nor is
-it wonderful that Cicero's ambitious mind should have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>
-been attracted by so obvious a road to honor and preferment.
-But his views were not satisfied with being
-a mere lawyer. He desired especially to be an orator;
-and, conceiving that all kinds of knowledge
-would be useful in such a profession, he sought every
-opportunity to increase his stores of information. He
-also attended constantly at the forum, to hear the
-speeches and pleadings; he perused the best authors
-with care, so as to form an elegant style; and cultivated
-poetry, for the purpose of adding elegance and grace
-to his mind. While he was thus engaged, he also
-studied philosophy, and, for a time, was greatly pleased
-with Ph�drus, the Epicurean, who then gave lessons
-at Rome. Though he retained his affection for the
-amiable philosopher, Cicero soon rejected his system
-as fallacious.</p>
-
-<p>It was always a part of the education of the young
-gentlemen of Rome, to learn the art of war by personal
-service, under some general of name and experience.
-Cicero accordingly took the opportunity to
-make a campaign with Strabo, the father of Pompey
-the Great. During this expedition, he manifested
-the same diligence in the army that he had done in
-the forum, to observe everything that passed. He
-sought to be always near the person of the general,
-that nothing of importance might escape his notice.</p>
-
-<p>Returning to Rome, Cicero pursued his studies as
-before, and about this time, Molo, the Rhodian, one
-of the most celebrated teachers of eloquence of that
-age, coming to the city to deliver lectures upon oratory,
-he immediately took the benefit of his instructions,
-and pursued his studies with ceaseless ardor.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>
-His ambition received an impulse at this time, from
-witnessing the fame of Hortensius, who made the
-first figure at the bar, and whose praises fired him
-with such emulation, that, for a time, he scarcely
-allowed himself rest from his studies, either day or
-night.</p>
-
-<p>He had in his own house a Greek preceptor, who
-instructed him in various kinds of learning, but more
-particularly in logic, to which he paid strict attention.
-He, however, never suffered a day to pass, without
-some exercise in oratory, particularly that of declaiming,
-which he generally performed with some of his
-fellow-students. He sometimes spoke in Latin, but
-more frequently in Greek, because the latter furnished
-a greater variety of elegant expressions, and because
-the Greek masters were far the best, and could not
-correct and improve their pupils, unless they declaimed
-in that language.</p>
-
-<p>Cicero had now passed through that course of discipline,
-which, in his treatise upon the subject, he
-lays down as necessary for the formation of an accomplished
-orator. He declares that no man should pretend
-to this, without being acquainted with everything
-worth being known, in art and nature; that this is
-implied in the very name of an orator, whose profession
-is to speak upon every subject proposed to him,
-and whose eloquence, without knowledge, would be
-little better than the prattle and impertinence of children.</p>
-
-<p>He had learnt grammar and the languages from
-the ablest teachers, passed through the studies of
-humanity and the polite letters with the poet Archias
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>been instructed in philosophy by the principal philosophers
-of each sect&mdash;Ph�drus the epicurean, Philo
-the academic, Diodorus the Stoic&mdash;and acquired a
-thorough knowledge of the law from the greatest
-jurists and statesmen of Rome&mdash;the two Sc�volas.</p>
-
-<p>These accomplishments he regarded but as subservient
-to the object on which his ambition was placed,&mdash;the
-reputation of an orator. To qualify himself,
-therefore, particularly for this, he had attended the
-pleadings of the greatest speakers of his time, heard
-the daily lectures of the most eminent orators of
-Greece, constantly written compositions at home, and
-declaimed them under the correction of these masters.</p>
-
-<p>That he might lose nothing which would in any
-degree improve and polish his style, he spent the
-intervals of his leisure in the company of ladies, especially
-those who were remarkable for elegant conversation,
-and whose fathers had been distinguished
-for their eloquence. While he studied the law, therefore,
-under Sc�vola, the augur, he frequently conversed
-with his wife, L�lia, whose discourse he says
-was tinctured with all the eloquence of her father,
-L�lius, the most polished orator of his time. He
-also frequented the society of her daughter, Mucia,
-as well as that of two of her granddaughters, who all
-excelled in elegance of diction, and the most exact
-and delicate use of language.</p>
-
-<p>It is impossible not to admire the noble views which
-Cicero had formed of the profession to which he was
-to devote his life. Nor can we withhold praise for
-the diligence, energy and judgment with which he
-trained himself for entering upon the theatre of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>
-ambition. If in all respects he is not to be regarded
-as a model for imitation, still, his example is thus far
-worthy of emulation to all those who seek to enjoy a
-virtuous and lasting fame.</p>
-
-<p>Thus adorned and accomplished, Cicero, at the age
-of twenty-six years, presented himself at the bar, and
-was soon employed in several private causes. His
-first case of importance was the defence of S. Roscius,
-of Ameria, which he undertook in his twenty-seventh
-year; the same age at which Demosthenes distinguished
-himself at Athens.</p>
-
-<p>The case of Roscius was this. His father was
-killed in the recent proscription of Sylla, and his
-estate, worth about �60,000 sterling, was sold, among
-the confiscated estates of the proscribed, for a trifling
-sum, to L. Cornelius Chrysogonus, a young favorite
-slave, whom Sylla had made free, and who, to secure
-possession of it, accused the son of the murder of his
-father, and had prepared evidence to convict him; so
-that the young man was likely to be deprived, not
-only of his fortunes, but, by a more villanous cruelty,
-of his honor also, and his life.</p>
-
-<p>The tyrant Sylla was at this time at the height of
-his power. Fearing his resentment, therefore, as
-well as the influence of the prosecutor, the older advocates
-of Rome refused to undertake the defence of
-Roscius, particularly as it would lead them into an
-exposure of the corruptions of the age, and the misdemeanors
-of those high in rank and office.</p>
-
-<p>But Cicero readily undertook it, as a glorious opportunity
-of enlisting in the service of his country, and
-giving a public testimony of his principles, and his zeal
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>for that liberty to the support of which he was willing
-to devote the labors of his life. In the management
-of the cause, he displayed great skill and admirable
-eloquence. Roscius was acquitted, and Cicero
-was applauded by the whole city for his courage and
-address. From this period he was ranked as one of
-the ablest advocates of Rome.</p>
-
-<p>Having occasion in the course of his pleading to
-mention that remarkable punishment which their ancestors
-had contrived for the murder of a parent&mdash;that
-of sewing the criminal alive into a sack, and throwing
-him into a river&mdash;he says, "that the meaning of it
-was, to strike him at once, as it were, out of the system
-of nature, by taking him from the air, the sun,
-the water, and the earth; that he who had destroyed
-the author of his being, should lose the benefit of
-those elements whence all things derive their being.
-They would not throw him to the beasts, lest the contagion
-of such wickedness should make the beasts
-themselves more furious; they would not commit
-him naked to the stream, lest he should pollute the
-very sea, which was the purifier of all other pollutions;
-they left him no share of anything natural,
-how vile or common soever; for what is so common
-as breath to the living, earth to the dead, the sea to
-those who float, the shore to those who are cast up?
-Yet these wretches live so, as long as they can, as
-not to draw breath from the air; die so, as not to
-touch the ground; are so tossed by the waves, as not
-to be washed by them; so cast out upon the shore,
-as to find no rest, even on the rocks."</p>
-
-<p>This passage was received with acclamations of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>applause; yet, speaking of it afterwards himself,
-Cicero calls it "the redundancy of a juvenile fancy,
-which wanted the correction of his sounder judgment;
-and, like all the compositions of young men, was not
-applauded so much for its own sake, as for the hopes
-which it gave of his more improved and ripened talents."</p>
-
-<p>The popularity of his cause, and the favor of the
-audience, induced Cicero, in the course of his plea, to
-expose the insolence and villany of the favorite,
-Chrysogonus, with great freedom. He even ventured
-some bold strokes at Sylla himself. He took care,
-however, to palliate these, by observing, that through
-the multiplicity of Sylla's affairs, who reigned as
-absolute on earth as Jupiter in heaven, it was not
-possible for him to know everything that was done by
-his agents, and that he was perhaps forced to connive
-at some of the corrupt practices of his favorites.</p>
-
-<p>Soon after this trial, Cicero set out for the purpose
-of visiting Greece and Asia, the fashionable tour of
-that day with those who travelled for pleasure or improvement.
-At Athens he spent six months, renewing
-the studies of his youth, under celebrated masters. He
-was here initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries, the
-end and aim of which appear to have been to inculcate
-the unity of God and the immortality of the soul.</p>
-
-<p>From Athens, he passed into Asia, where he was
-visited by the principal orators of the country. These
-kept him company through the remainder of his tour,
-frequently exercising themselves together in oratorical
-exhibitions. They came at last to Rhodes, where
-Cicero applied to Molo, and again became his pupil<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>
-On a public occasion he made an address at the end
-of which, the company were lavish of their praises.
-Molo alone was silent, till, observing that Cicero was
-somewhat disturbed, he said, "As for you, Cicero, I
-praise and admire you, but pity the fortune of Greece,
-to see arts and eloquence, the only ornaments which
-were left to her, transplanted by you to Rome."</p>
-
-<p>Soon after Cicero's return from his travels, he
-pleaded the cause of the famous comedian, Roscius,
-whom a singular merit in his art had recommended
-to the familiarity and friendship of the greatest men
-of Rome. The case was this. One Fannius had
-made over to Roscius, a young slave, to be trained
-for the stage, on condition of a partnership in the
-profits which the slave should acquire by acting. The
-slave was afterwards killed, and Roscius prosecuted
-the murderer for damages, and obtained, by composition,
-a little farm, worth about 800 pounds, for his
-particular share. Fannius also sued separately, and
-was supposed to have gained as much, but, pretending
-to have recovered nothing, sued Roscius for the
-moiety of what he had received.</p>
-
-<p>One cannot but observe, from Cicero's pleading,
-the wonderful esteem and reputation which Roscius
-enjoyed&mdash;of whom he draws a very amiable picture.
-"Has Roscius, then," said he, "defrauded his
-partner? Can such a stain adhere to such a man,
-who&mdash;I speak it with confidence&mdash;has more integrity
-than skill, more veracity than experience; whom the
-people of Rome know to be a better man than he is
-an actor, and, while he makes the first figure on the
-stage in his art, is worthy of the senate for his virtues?"</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>His daily pay for acting is said to have been about
-thirty pounds sterling. Pliny computes his yearly
-profit at 4000 pounds; but Cicero seems to rate it at
-5000 pounds. He was generous, benevolent, and a
-contemner of money; after he had raised an ample
-fortune from the stage, he devoted his talents to the
-public, for many years, without pay; whence Cicero
-urges it as incredible that he, who in ten years past
-might honestly have gained fifty thousand pounds,
-which he refused, should be tempted to commit a
-fraud for the paltry sum of four hundred. We need
-but add that the defence was effectual.</p>
-
-<p>Soon after Cicero's return to Rome, he, being about
-thirty years of age, was married to Terentia, a lady
-of good station in life, and of large fortune. Shortly
-after, he was a candidate for the office of qu�stor, in
-which he succeeded by the unanimous suffrage of the
-tribes.</p>
-
-<p>The provinces of the qu�stors being distributed by
-lot, the island of Sicily fell to Cicero's share. This
-was called the granary of the republic, and this year,
-there being great scarcity at Rome, the people were
-clamorous for a supply. As it was a part of the duty
-of the qu�stors to supply the city with corn, a difficult
-duty devolved upon Cicero; for, while he was to see
-that Rome was adequately furnished, it was necessary
-to avoid impoverishing the island. He, however,
-acquitted himself with the greatest prudence and
-address, displaying courtesy to the dealers, justice to
-the merchants, generosity to the inhabitants, and, in
-short, doing all manner of good offices to everybody.
-He thus obtained the love and admiration of the Sicil<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>ians,
-and, at his departure, they paid him greater
-honors than had ever been bestowed, even upon their
-own governors.</p>
-
-<p>In his hours of leisure, Cicero pursued his rhetorical
-studies, making it a rule never to let a day pass
-without some exercise of this kind. At the expiration
-of his year, he left the island, and, on his return
-to Rome, he stopped at Baiae, the chief seat of pleasure
-at that time in Italy, and where there was a perpetual
-resort of the rich and great, as well on account
-of its delightful situation, as for the use of its luxurious
-baths and tepid waters.</p>
-
-<p>Pleased with the success of his administration, and
-flattering himself that all Rome was celebrating his
-praises, he reached this place, and mingled amongst
-the crowd. What was his disappointment and mortification,
-to be asked by the first friend he met, "How
-long since you left Rome, and what is the news
-there?" "I came from the provinces," was the reply.
-"From Africa, I suppose," said one of the
-bystanders. "No, I came from Sicily," said Cicero,
-a little vexed. "How, did you not know that Cicero
-was qu�stor of Syracuse?" said another person present;
-thus showing his ignorance, while he pretended
-to be wiser than the rest. This incident humbled
-Cicero for the time, and made him feel that he had
-not yet made himself so conspicuous as to live perpetually
-in the eye of so mighty a city as Rome.</p>
-
-<p>Having now devoted himself to a life of business
-and ambition, he omitted none of the usual arts of
-recommending himself to popular favor, and facilitating
-his advancement to the highest honors. "He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>
-thought it absurd," says Plutarch, "that, when every
-little artificer knew the name and use of all his tools,
-a statesman should neglect the knowledge of men,
-who were the proper instruments with which he was
-to work; he made it his business, therefore, to learn
-the name, the place, and the condition of every eminent
-citizen; what estate, what friends, what neighbors
-he had; and could readily point out their several
-houses, as he travelled through Italy."</p>
-
-<p>This knowledge was deemed so necessary at Rome,
-where the people expected to be courted by their public
-men, that every individual who aspired to official
-dignities, kept a slave or two in his family, whose
-sole business it was to know the name and person of
-every citizen at sight, so that he might whisper them
-to his master as he passed through the streets, and
-enable him to salute them familiarly, as particular
-acquaintances. Such artifices, which appear degrading
-in our day, were by no means beneath the practice
-of one so elevated in his sense of propriety as
-Cicero.</p>
-
-<p>Having reached his thirty-seventh year, and being
-therefore eligible to the office of edile, he offered himself
-as a candidate, and was elected by the people.
-Before he entered upon its duties, however, he undertook
-the prosecution of C. Verres, the late pr�tor of
-Sicily, charged with many flagrant acts of injustice,
-rapine and cruelty, during his triennial government
-of that island. This was one of the most memorable
-transactions of Cicero's life, and has given him greater
-fame than any other.</p>
-
-<p>In order to obtain the evidence, he proceeded to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>
-Sicily, where he was received with the greatest kindness
-and favor, though every art was resorted to, by
-the agents of Verres, to obstruct his inquiries. On
-his return, he found the most formidable preparations
-to resist him. Hortensius was engaged for Verres
-and several of the leading families had taken his part.
-Cicero, however, produced his witnesses, whose depositions
-overwhelmed the criminal with such proofs
-of guilt, that Hortensius had nothing to say for his
-client, who submitted without defence to a voluntary
-exile.</p>
-
-<p>From this account, it appears, that, of the seven
-orations on the subject of this trial, which now remain
-among the works of Cicero, two only were spoken,
-and these contain little more than a statement of the
-whole case. The five others were published afterwards,
-as they were prepared, and intended to be
-spoken, if Verres had made a regular defence.</p>
-
-<p>From the evidence produced, it appears that every
-species of rapine was practised without scruple by
-Verres, during his pr�torship. Cicero estimated
-the amount of his plunder at 800,000 pounds sterling,
-or nearly four millions of dollars. It is shocking to
-read the black catalogue of this man's crimes; yet,
-such was the corruption of society, especially among
-the higher classes, that Cicero, instead of gaining
-favor by his exposure of these abuses, brought upon
-himself the hatred and ill-will of the largest portion
-of the nobility. They doubtless looked upon the public
-offices as their inheritance, and did not like to see
-the accustomed privileges of the provincial governors
-abridged. We may add here that Verres continued
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>long in a miserable exile, deserted and forgotten by
-his former friends, and was actually relieved in his
-necessities by the generosity of Cicero. He was
-afterwards proscribed and murdered by Mark Antony,
-in order to obtain some fine statues, which he had
-obtained by robbery, during his government in Sicily,
-and which he had refused to part with, even in the
-extremity of his poverty.</p>
-
-<p>From the impeachment of Verres, Cicero entered
-upon the office of edile, and in one of his speeches
-gives a short account of its duties. "I am now chosen
-edile," says he, "and am sensible of what is committed
-to me by the Roman people. I am to exhibit
-with the greatest solemnity the most sacred sports to
-Ceres, Liber, and Libera; am to appease and conciliate
-the mother Flora to the people and city of Rome,
-by the celebration of the public games; am to furnish
-out those ancient shows, the first which were
-called Roman, with all possible dignity and religion,
-in honor of Jupiter, Juno, Minerva; am to take care
-also of all the sacred edifices, and, indeed, of the whole
-city."</p>
-
-<p>The people of Rome were passionately fond of
-the public games and diversions, and the allowance for
-them being small, the ediles were obliged to supply
-the rest. Many of them, in their ambition to flatter
-the people and obtain their favor, incurred such expense
-in these entertainments, as to involve themselves
-in ruin. Every part of the empire was ransacked
-for whatever was rare and curious to increase the
-splendor of these shows; the forum, in which they
-were exhibited, was usually beautified with porticoes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>
-for the purpose, and these were decorated with the
-choicest pictures and statues, which Rome, and indeed,
-all Italy could furnish. Several of the great men of
-Cicero's time had distinguished their magistracy by
-their magnificence, some of them having entertained
-the city with stage plays, in which the scenes were
-entirely covered with silver. C�sar, in the sports
-exhibited upon the occasion of his father's funeral,
-caused the entire furniture of the theatre to be made
-of solid silver, so that the wild beasts trod upon that
-metal.</p>
-
-<p>Unseduced by these examples, Cicero took the
-middle course, which was suited to his circumstances.
-In compliance with the custom, he gave three entertainments,
-which were conducted with taste, and to
-the satisfaction of the people. The Sicilians gave
-him effectual proofs of their gratitude by supplying
-him largely with provisions for the use of his table and
-the public feasts he was obliged to provide. Cicero,
-however, took no private advantage of these gifts, for
-he distributed the whole to the poor.</p>
-
-<p>Soon after leaving the office of edile, Cicero was
-chosen pr�tor; a magistrate next in dignity to a consul.
-The business of the pr�tors was to preside and
-judge in all causes, especially of a public or criminal
-kind. There were eight of them, and their several
-jurisdictions were assigned by lot. It fell to Cicero
-to hear charges of extortion and rapine, brought
-against magistrates and governors of provinces. In
-this office, he acquired great reputation for integrity
-and impartiality&mdash;qualities, in the corrupted state of
-Rome, scarcely to be found, either in public or private<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>
-life, among men of high stations. While he seemed
-full of employment as pr�tor, and attentive to his
-duties in the senate, Cicero still had a large practice
-as advocate. It is evident that nothing but ceaseless
-industry and wonderful facility in the despatch of
-business, could have enabled him to discharge his
-multifarious duties, and with such surpassing ability.</p>
-
-<p>His office of pr�tor having expired, Cicero now
-fixed his hopes upon the consulship. While he was
-aiming at this, and resorting to all the ordinary means
-of attaining his object, by flattering the people, allaying
-the hostility of the nobles, and strengthening his
-interest on every hand, he was expending large sums
-of money in decorating his several villas, especially
-that of Tusculum, in which he took the greatest
-pleasure. This was situated in the neighborhood of
-Rome, and furnished him an easy retreat from the
-hurry and fatigue of the city. Here he built several
-rooms and galleries, in imitation of the schools and
-porticoes of Athens, in which he was accustomed to
-hold philosophical conversations with his learned
-friends. He had given Atticus, a lover of the arts,
-who resided at Athens, a general commission to purchase
-for him pictures, statues and other curiosities;
-and Atticus, having a rare taste in these matters, thus
-assisted him to embellish and enrich his residence
-with a choice collection of works of art and literary
-treasures, of various kinds.</p>
-
-<p>Cicero, being now in his forty-third year, became
-eligible as consul, and offered himself as a candidate
-for that high office. As the election approached, his
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>interest appeared to take the lead; for the nobles, envious
-and jealous of him as they were, were alarmed
-by the threatening aspect of the times, and saw the
-necessity of entrusting the consular power to strong
-and faithful hands. The intrigues of C�sar, the plots
-of Cataline, the ambition of Pompey, seemed to heave
-and convulse the elements of society to its foundation,
-and portend a storm which threatened the very existence
-of the state. Thus, by the voices of the people
-as well as the favor of the patricians, Cicero was proclaimed
-First Consul, and Antonius was chosen his
-colleague.</p>
-
-<p>This year, Cicero's father died in a good old age,
-and he gave his daughter Tullia, in marriage, at the
-age of thirteen, to C. Piso Frugi, a young nobleman
-of great hopes and of one of the best families in Rome.
-He was also much gratified by the birth of a son and
-heir to his family.</p>
-
-<p>Cicero had now passed through the usual gradations
-to the highest honors which the people could
-bestow, or a citizen desire. He entered upon his
-trust with a patriotic determination to discharge its
-duties, not so much according to the fleeting humor, as
-the lasting interests of the people. The most remarkable
-event of his consulship was the conspiracy of
-Cataline, which he detected by his sagacity, and defeated
-by his courage and address.</p>
-
-<p>Cataline was adapted by art and nature, to be the
-leader of desperate enterprises. He was of an illustrious
-family, of ruined fortunes, profligate heart,
-undaunted courage and unwearied industry. He had
-a capacity equal to the hardiest attempt, a tongue that
-could seduce, an eloquence to persuade, a hand to
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>execute. His character, compounded of contradictory
-qualities&mdash;of great virtues, mastered by still greater
-vices&mdash;is forcibly drawn by Cicero himself.</p>
-
-<p>"Who," said he, "was more agreeable at one time
-to the best citizens? Who more intimate at another
-with the worst? Who a man of better principles?
-Who a fouler enemy to this city? Who more intemperate
-in pleasure? Who more patient in labor?
-Who more rapacious in plundering, who more profuse
-in squandering? He had a wonderful faculty
-of engaging men to his friendship and obliging them
-by his observance; sharing with them in common
-whatever he was master of; serving them with his
-money, his interest, his pains, and, when there was
-occasion, by the most daring acts of villany, moulding
-his nature to his purposes, and bending it every way
-to his will. With the morose, he could live severely;
-with the free, gayly; with the old, gravely; with the
-young, cheerfully; with the enterprising, audaciously;
-with the vicious, luxuriously. By a temper so various
-and pliable, he gathered about him the profligate
-and the rash from all countries; yet held attached to
-him, at the same time, many brave and worthy men,
-by the specious show of a pretended virtue."</p>
-
-<p>Associated in the plot with Cataline, were about
-thirty-five individuals as leaders, some of them senators,
-and all of them men of rank and consideration.
-Several were from the colonies and the larger towns
-of Italy. Among the most important of these persons
-were Lentulus and Cethegus, both patricians,
-possessing powerful family influence; the two Syllas
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>nephews of the dictator; Cassius, who was a competitor
-with Cicero for the consulship, and Autronius,
-who had obtained an election to that office, but was
-not permitted to hold it, on account of his gross briberies.
-Julius C�sar was suspected of being also
-engaged in the scheme, but it is probable that while
-he was willing to see it attempted, hoping to be benefited
-by the convulsion that might follow, he was
-too wary to commit himself by any overt act of
-treason.</p>
-
-<p>A meeting of the conspirators was finally held, in
-which it was resolved that a general insurrection
-should be raised throughout Italy, the different parts
-of which were assigned to different leaders. Cataline
-was to put himself at the head of the troops in Etruria;
-Rome was to be set on fire in different places at
-once, under the direction of Cassius, and a general
-massacre of the senate, with all the enemies of the
-conspirators, was to be affected under the management
-of Cithegus. The vigilance of Cicero being
-the chief occasion of their apprehensions, two knights
-of the company undertook to gain access to his house
-early the next morning, upon pretence of business,
-and, rushing into his chamber, to kill him in his bed.</p>
-
-<p>But no sooner was the meeting over, than Curius,
-one of the assembly, and in the interest of Cicero,
-sent him a particular account of all that had transpired.
-He immediately imparted the intelligence to
-some of the chiefs of the city, who assembled at his
-house that night, and made preparations for the emergency.
-The two knights came before break of day
-to Cicero's house, but had the mortification to find it
-carefully guarded. Cataline had set out in the hope
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>of surprising the town of Preneste, one of the strongest
-fortresses of Italy, and within twenty five miles of
-Rome; but Cicero's messenger anticipated him,
-and when the attack was made the next night, he
-found the place so well guarded, as to forbid an assault.</p>
-
-<p>Cicero now assembled the senate at the temple of
-Jupiter, in the capital, where they were accustomed
-to meet only in times of public alarm, and laid before
-them the facts which we have narrated. Cataline had
-returned to Rome, and being a member of the senate,
-met the charge with profound dissimulation and the
-most subtle cunning. Cicero, however, poured forth
-upon him such a torrent of invective, and placed his
-guilt in so strong a light, that the conspirator became
-desperate, made a threatening speech to the senate,
-and left the hall. That night, he departed and repaired
-with expedition to head the forces at Etruria.
-The result of the whole enterprise was, that several
-of the accomplices were executed, and Cataline himself
-fell bravely fighting at the head of those troops
-he had induced to join his cause. Cicero received
-the thanks of the senate, and the most unbounded
-applause at the hands of the people.</p>
-
-<p>Cicero's administration being now at an end, nothing
-remained but to resign the consulship, according
-to custom, in an assembly of the people, and declare
-upon oath that he had administered the office with
-fidelity. It was usual for the consul, under such circumstances,
-to address the people, and on the present
-occasion an immense concourse of people met to hear
-the farewell speech of Cicero. But Metellus, one of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span>
-the new tribunes, ambitious to signalize himself by
-some display of that remarkable veto power committed
-to the tribunes, determined to disappoint the orator
-and the audience.</p>
-
-<p>Accordingly, when Cicero had mounted the rostrum,
-and was about to address the people, Metellus
-interfered, remarking that he who had put citizens
-to death unheard, ought not to be permitted to speak
-for himself. This was a reflection upon Cicero,
-because the associates of Cataline had been executed
-by a vote of the senate, without the ordinary trial.
-Cicero, however, was never at a loss, and, instead
-of pronouncing the usual form of the oath, exalted
-his voice so that all the people might hear him, saying,
-"I have saved the republic and the city from
-ruin!" The vast multitude caught the sounds, and,
-with one acclamation, declared, "You have sworn the
-truth!" Thus, the intended affront of Metellus was
-turned to the advantage of Cicero, and he was conducted
-from the forum to his house with every demonstration
-of respect by the whole city.</p>
-
-<p>It was about this period that Cicero is supposed to
-have pronounced his oration, still extant, in defence
-of his old preceptor, Archias. He, doubtless, expected
-from his muse an immortality of fame; for Archias
-had sung in Greek verse the triumphs of Marius over
-the Cimbri, and of Lucullus over Mithridates. He
-appears, however, to have died without celebrating
-the consulship of Cicero; and Archias, instead of
-adding to the fame of the orator, would have been
-buried in complete oblivion, had not his memory been
-perpetuated in the immortal pages of his pupil.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Pompey the Great now returned to Rome, in the
-height of his fame and fortunes, from the Mithridatic
-war. It had been apprehended that he was coming
-back to Rome, at the head of his army, to seize upon
-the government. It is certain that he had this in his
-power, and C�sar, with the tribune Metellus, was
-inviting him to it. But he seemed content, for the
-time, with the glory he had achieved. By his victories
-he had extended the boundaries of the empire
-into Asia, having reduced three powerful kingdoms
-there, Pontus, Syria and Bithynia, to the condition of
-Roman provinces, taken the city of Jerusalem, and
-left the other nations of the east, as far as the Tigris,
-tributary to the republic.</p>
-
-<p>For these great services, a triumph was decreed
-him, which lasted two days, and was the most splendid
-that had ever been seen in Rome. Of the spoils,
-he erected a temple to Minerva, with an inscription
-giving a summary of his victories:&mdash;"that he had
-finished a war of thirty years; had vanquished, slain,
-and taken two millions one hundred and eighty-three
-thousand men; sunk or taken eight hundred and forty-six
-ships; reduced to the power of the empire a
-thousand five hundred and thirty-eight towns and fortresses,
-and subdued all the countries between the
-lake M&oelig;ris and the Red Sea."</p>
-
-<p>The spectacle which Rome, at this period, presents
-is full of warning to mankind. In the very height
-of her pride and her power, holding the whole civilized
-world in her grasp, she was still torn with
-dissensions, and corrupted through every vein and
-artery of society. With political institutions favorable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>
-to liberty, and calculated to promote public and private
-virtue; yet vice and crime stained the character of
-public men, while profligacy, in every form, characterized
-the people at large.</p>
-
-<p>Nor could anything better be expected; for the
-general policy of the nation was alike wicked and
-unwise. Instead of seeking prosperity by the peaceful
-arts of life, they sought to enrich themselves by
-robbing other nations. War was the great trade of
-the state; the soldier was a hero; a successful general,
-the idol of the nation. The greatest plunderer
-received the greatest honors, and glory was proportioned
-to the blood spilled and the spoils obtained. A
-system so immoral could not fail to debauch the nation,
-nor was it difficult to see that, from robbing other
-countries, the victorious general, having attached the
-soldiery to himself by leading them on to booty, would
-soon learn to turn his arms against the country.
-Such had now become the experience of Rome; and
-the natural course of ambition seemed to be to obtain
-the command of an army in some of the provinces,
-gorge the soldiers with plunder, and, having become
-the idol of the troops, to march upon Rome and seize,
-by intimidation or force, the sceptre of power. Such
-a course had been expected of Pompey, and was soon
-after adopted by C�sar.</p>
-
-<p>The triumvirate, consisting of C�sar, Pompey and
-Crassus, was now formed, and Cicero yielded, for a
-time, to their power. His patriotism and integrity
-were obstacles, however, to the success of their
-schemes, and he became the object of their hatred
-and persecution. Perceiving the storm that was ready<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>
-to burst over him, he threw himself at the feet of
-Pompey and begged his protection. This, however,
-was refused; and seeing no alternative but to defend
-himself by force, or retreat till the storm had blown
-over, he adopted the latter course by the advice of
-Cato and Hortensius. He left the city, and attended
-by a numerous train of friends, pursued his way to
-Sicily.</p>
-
-<p>After his departure, the dissolute Clodius, who had
-become tribune, caused a law to be passed, denouncing
-Cicero in violent terms, and forbidding all persons,
-on pain of death, to harbor or receive him. Immediately
-after, his houses, both in the city and country,
-were given up to plunder; the marble columns of his
-dwelling on the Palatine hill were carried away by
-one of the consuls, and the rich furniture of his Tusculum
-villa, by another. Even the ornamental trees of
-his plantations were taken up and transplanted to one
-of his neighbor's grounds. To make the loss of his
-house in Rome irretrievable, Clodius caused the space
-to be consecrated to the service of religion, and a
-temple to be built upon it, dedicated to the goddess
-of liberty!</p>
-
-<p>Nor did the vengeance of Cicero's enemies stop here.
-Clodius pursued his wife and children with the same
-fury, and made several attempts to gain access to his
-son, then six years old, with the intention of putting
-him to death. But the child was carefully guarded,
-and finally removed from the reach of his malice.
-Terentia took sanctuary in the temple of Vesta, but
-she was dragged forcibly out, and insolently examined
-as to the concealment of her husband's property.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>Being a woman of singular spirit, however, she bore
-these indignities with masculine courage.</p>
-
-<p>The desolation of Cicero's fortunes at home, and
-the misery which he suffered abroad, in being deprived
-of everything that was dear to him, soon made
-him repent his flight. His suffering was increased
-on reaching Sicily, for there he found his former
-friends afraid to receive him, in consequence of the
-decree of banishment which had been passed at
-Rome, and which forbade him to remain within four
-hundred miles of the city. He therefore found it
-necessary to leave Sicily, and after various changes
-of opinion, he resolved to proceed to Thessalonica, in
-Macedonia. Here he took up his residence with his
-friend Plaucius, who treated him with the utmost
-kindness.</p>
-
-<p>Cicero was so dejected by his misfortunes, that he
-shut himself up in his apartments, and refused to see
-all company. When his brother, Quintus, was on his
-way from Asia to Rome, Cicero felt incapable of supporting
-an interview, and did not see him, so deeply
-were his feelings affected. At the same time, his
-letters to his friends were full of regret, complaint
-and despondency. It is obvious that, in this period
-of trial, he displayed great weakness of character,
-though it is probable that his affectionate disposition&mdash;his
-fondness for his children, and love of his friends&mdash;rendered
-separation from them an evil almost worse
-than death. It would seem, also, that he had so long
-enjoyed the homage paid to his talents, had so long
-lived in the blaze of popular favor, that his present
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>exile seemed like being deprived of the very light of
-heaven.</p>
-
-<p>But the period of his return to Rome was now approaching.
-Clodius, by a series of the most flagrant
-outrages, made himself hated at Rome, and finally
-put himself in opposition to Pompey himself. The
-people at large were favorable to Cicero, and it was
-not long before the senate, with great unanimity,
-passed a resolution favorable to his recall. Pompey
-urged the measure with ardor, and declared that
-Cicero ought to be received with such honors, as
-might atone for the sorrows of his exile.</p>
-
-<p>Preparations were made to obtain the passage of a
-law coinciding with the resolve of the senate; but
-Clodius, with his slaves and a multitude of hired
-gladiators, resisted the tribunes who sought to gain
-possession of the market-place, for that purpose. Several
-bloody encounters followed, and for a time the
-streets of Rome were deluged with blood. The dead
-bodies were thrown into the Tiber, which were so
-numerous as almost to obstruct its channel. Nothing
-can better show the greatness of Cicero's reputation,
-than the facts now transpiring in Rome. For several
-months the attention of the people of that city, and of
-Italy, was wholly occupied with the question of his
-recall. The ambassadors of kings, the messengers of
-princes,&mdash;affairs which involved the fate of nations&mdash;were
-all laid aside, till this absorbing subject could be
-disposed of.</p>
-
-<p>The senate, after long deliberation, and in a full
-assembly, at last passed a decree for his restoration;
-Clodius, among four hundred and fifty, giving the only
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>vote against it. When the news reached a neighboring
-theatre, the air was rent with acclamation.
-�sopus, the actor, was performing, at the time, the
-part of Timolean, banished from the country, in one
-of the plays of Accius. By a happy change of
-a few words, and giving the utmost effect to his
-voice, he directed the thoughts of the audience to
-Cicero, while he uttered these sentences, "What, he
-who always stood up for the republic! who, in doubtful
-times, spared neither life nor fortunes&mdash;the greatest
-friend in the greatest dangers&mdash;of such parts and
-talents! O Father&mdash;I saw his house and rich furniture
-all in flames! O, ungrateful Greeks, inconstant
-people; forgetful of services,&mdash;to see such a man
-banished, driven from his country, and suffer him to
-continue in this condition!" It is not possible to describe
-the thrilling effect of these words, or the enthusiasm
-of the people. When Lentulus, the consul,
-who had taken an active part in Cicero's favor, entered
-the place, they all rose up, stretched out their
-hands, and, with tears of joy and loud acclamations,
-testified their thanks. Several of the senators coming
-into the theatre, were received with the most deafening
-applause. Clodius also making his appearance
-was assailed by reproaches, threats and curses.</p>
-
-<p>Though a decree was now regularly obtained for
-Cicero's return, Clodius had still the courage and address
-to hinder its sanction by the popular assemblies.
-There were several meetings of the senate, and the
-whole city was shaken to its foundation with the
-question now at issue. All Italy and indeed many
-of the remote provinces were thrown into a state of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>ferment by the struggle, and the mighty interests of
-the empire were postponed till this important question
-could be settled. Ptolemy, the king of Egypt, driven
-from his kingdom, and seeking protection at the
-hands of Rome, even though a lodger in Pompey's
-house, could not obtain an audience, till Cicero's
-cause was decided.</p>
-
-<p>The greatest preparations were now made for submitting
-the question to the popular assemblies.
-Never had there been known so numerous and solemn
-a gathering of the Roman people as on this
-occasion. The whole country seemed to be drawn together.
-It was reckoned a sin to be absent. Neither
-age nor infirmity was thought a sufficient excuse for
-failing to lend a helping hand to the restoration of
-Cicero. The meeting was held in the field of Mars,
-for the more convenient reception of so vast a multitude.
-It was an august scene. The senators presided
-at the polls, to see the ballots fairly taken. The
-result was that Cicero was recalled from exile by the
-unanimous suffrage of all the hundreds, and to the
-infinite joy of the whole city!</p>
-
-<p>Cicero, having been advised of the course of events,
-had returned as far as Brundusium, where he was
-met by his daughter Tullia. In a few days he received
-the welcome intelligence of his recall. Setting
-out immediately for Rome, he everywhere
-received the most lively demonstrations of joy from
-the people. Multitudes were drawn together to congratulate
-him on his return. The whole road, from
-Brundusium to Rome, being crowded with men,
-women, and children, seemed like one continued<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>
-street. Every prefecture, town and colony throughout
-Italy decreed him statues, or public honors, and sent
-deputations to him, with tenders of congratulation.
-Cicero himself remarks, that Italy brought him back
-on its shoulders, and that the day of his return was
-worth an immortality.</p>
-
-<p>Cicero was now restored to his dignity, but not to
-his fortunes. Restitution had been decreed, and the
-sum of �22,000 was finally paid him. This he accepted,
-though it was scarcely more than half what
-he had actually lost. He now attached himself to the
-cause of Pompey, but spent several years with little
-public employment, being chiefly occupied with his
-rhetorical studies and the business of an advocate.
-The turbulent Clodius was at last slain by Milo, and
-Cicero was thus delivered from his most troublesome
-enemy.</p>
-
-<p>The senate now conferred upon him the office of
-pro-consul, or governor, of Cilicia, in Asia Minor,
-whither he immediately proceeded. He discharged
-the duties of this office with ability, and, on his return,
-was decreed a triumph. But he was prevented from
-enjoying it by the factious opposition of his enemies.
-On his return, he found Rome agitated with serious
-disturbances. The rupture between C�sar and Pompey
-had taken place, and the horrors of a civil war
-seemed to be impending over the republic. In vain
-did he attempt to reconcile the fierce and haughty
-rivals.</p>
-
-<p>C�sar advanced upon Rome, and Pompey was
-forced to fly with the consuls and the senate. C�sar
-had met Cicero at Formiae, and sought to gain him
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>over to his cause, but though convinced that he would
-prevail in the coming struggle, he felt himself
-prompted, by a sense of honor to return to Pompey,
-who had served him so effectually during his exile.
-After the fatal battle of Pharsalia and the flight of
-Pompey, he returned to Rome, where he was graciously
-received by C�sar.</p>
-
-<p>He now devoted himself to literary and philosophical
-pursuits, and, soon after, divorced his wife Terentia,
-an act which has justly subjected him to much reproach.
-It is true that she was a woman of an imperious
-and turbulent spirit, expensive and negligent in
-her private affairs, busy and intriguing in public matters.
-But these qualities were in some degree compensated
-by her devotion to Cicero, and especially by
-the energy with which she had sought to effect his
-return during his exile. His letters to her at this
-period recognise her efforts in his behalf, and are full
-of the most tender expressions of affection and esteem.</p>
-
-<p>It must be remarked that the nuptial bond was
-lightly regarded at this period in Rome, and divorces
-were so common as to be little thought of. Terentia
-was soon after married to Sallust, the historian, by
-which it would seem that her separation from Cicero
-inflicted upon her no disgrace. Cicero would perhaps
-have been little blamed, were it not that he
-was soon after married to a young lady named Publilia,
-of whom he was guardian, and who had been
-committed to his care by her father's will. She had
-a large estate, and this was doubtless Cicero's inducement
-to the match, if not to the divorce of Terentia.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>It is the suspicion of such motives, in these transactions,
-that has sullied the fame of Cicero. We may
-add here, in respect to Terentia, that she was once or
-twice married after the death of Sallust, and lived to
-the age of one hundred and three years.</p>
-
-<p>C�sar, having established himself as dictator, Cicero
-was induced to assent to his government. Accordingly,
-he pronounced a famous oration, in which he
-mingled as much counsel as panegyric for the despot.
-He was rapidly regaining his former consideration,
-when the conspiracy of Brutus and his associates terminated
-the career of the ambitious usurper. Antony
-now took C�sar's place, and while he was prosecuting
-his designs, Cicero returned to his literary occupations.
-He went to Greece for a time, but soon returned,
-and pronounced those famous orations against
-Antony, which are called Philippics.</p>
-
-<p>Octavius, known as Augustus C�sar, and the
-nephew of Julius C�sar, united his interests with
-those of Antony, and having obtained the consulate,
-soon gained an ascendency over the senate. Cicero,
-in his retirement at Tusculum, saw that the power
-having passed into the hands of desperate men, the
-liberty of Rome was no more. He soon heard that
-his own name was included among those of the proscribed.
-He fled immediately to Astura, on the sea
-coast, where he found a vessel waiting for him.</p>
-
-<p>He here embarked, but contrary winds drove him
-back to the shore. At the earnest entreaty of his
-slaves, he embarked a second time, but returned to
-await his fate at his country seat near Formiae, declaring,
-"I will die in my country, which I have
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>more than once saved." His slaves, seeing the neighborhood
-already disturbed by the soldiers of Antony,
-endeavored to convey him away in a litter, but soon
-discovered the assassins, who had been sent to take
-his life, at their heels. They prepared for resistance,
-but Cicero, who felt that death was unavoidable,
-bowed his head before Pompilius, the commander of
-the murderers, who had once been saved by his eloquence,
-and suffered death more courageously than
-he had borne misfortune.</p>
-
-<p>Thus died Cicero, and with him the liberties of
-Rome. The dynasty of the emperors was built upon
-the ruins of the republic, and, continuing for five centuries,
-was finally extinguished in the gloom of the
-dark ages. Cicero was killed on the 7th December,
-43 B. C., at the age of sixty-three. His head and
-hands were severed from the body, by his murderers,
-and carried to Antony, who caused the former to be
-placed upon the rostra in the forum, between the two
-hands. The odium of these barbarities fell chiefly
-upon Antony, yet they left a stain of perfidy and
-ingratitude upon Augustus, which can never be wiped
-away.</p>
-
-<p>In his person, Cicero was tall and slender, yet his
-features were regular and manly. He mingled great
-dignity with an air of cheerfulness and serenity, that
-inspired both affection and respect. His constitution
-was naturally weak, but his prudent habits enabled
-him to support all the fatigues of an active and studious
-life, with health and vigor. In dress, he avoided
-singularity, and was only remarkable for personal
-neatness and appropriateness of attire. In domestic
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>and social life, his demeanor was exceedingly amiable.
-He was an affectionate parent, a zealous friend,
-a generous master. Yet he was not more generous
-to his friends than placable to his enemies. It was
-one of his sayings, delivered in a public assembly,
-that "his enmities were mortal, his friendships
-immortal."</p>
-
-<p>The moral character of Cicero was not blemished
-by the stain of any habitual vice. He was, indeed, the
-shining pattern of virtue in an age, of all others, the
-most licentious and profligate. His great soul was
-superior to the sordid passions which engross little
-minds&mdash;avarice, envy and malice. His familiar letters,
-in which he pours out his whole heart, are free
-from anything base, immodest or vengeful. A uniform
-principle of benevolence, justice, love of his
-friends and his country, is seen to flow through the
-whole, inspiring all his thoughts and words and actions.</p>
-
-<p>The failings of Cicero consisted chiefly in his
-vanity and that despondency under adverse circumstances,
-which seemed unworthy of his character.
-With these abatements, we must pronounce him a
-truly great and good man&mdash;the glory of Rome, an
-honor to human nature. His works, a large portion
-of which are extant, are among the richest treasures
-bequeathed to us by antiquity, and there are few
-minds so exalted, even with the advantages of our
-own time, as not to find instruction in his pages.</p>
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%" >
-<img src="images/130.jpg" alt="Julius Caesar" style="width: 70%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>CAIUS JULIUS C�SAR.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This celebrated Roman, famous for his intrigues,
-his generalship, his eloquence and his talents, was
-born in the year 100 B. C. He was of a good family,
-and his aunt Julia was wife of Caius Marius, who
-had been consul. We know little of him in his youth,
-though it would seem that he early attracted attention
-by his abilities and ambition. At the age of fifteen,
-he left his father, and was made a priest in the temple
-of Jupiter, the year after. At the age of seventeen,
-he married Cornelia, a daughter of Cinna. By this
-marriage, and through his aunt Julia, he was allied
-both to Marius and Cinna, the two principal opposers
-of Sylla, who had acquired an ascendency in Rome,
-and exercised his power with fearful and bloody<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>
-tyranny. Soon after his marriage, C�sar became an
-object of suspicion to the despot; he was stripped of
-his office as priest of Jupiter, his wife's dower was
-confiscated, and he, being threatened with death,
-deemed it prudent to seek safety in flight.</p>
-
-<p>He wandered up and down the country, concealing
-himself for a time among the Sabines; but at last he
-escaped by sea, and went to Bithynia in Asia Minor,
-and sought protection of king Nicomedes. His stay
-at this place was, however, short. He re-embarked,
-and was taken, near the isle of Pharmacusa, by pirates,
-who were masters of that sea, and blocked up all the
-passages with a number of galleys and other vessels.
-They asked him only twenty talents for his ransom.
-He laughed at their demand, as the consequence of
-not knowing him, and promised them fifty talents.</p>
-
-<p>To raise the money he despatched his attendants
-to different cities, and in the meantime remained, with
-only one friend and two servants, among these people,
-who considered murder a trifle. C�sar, however,
-held them in great contempt, and used, whenever he
-went to sleep, to send them an order to keep silence.
-Thus he lived among them thirty-eight days, as if
-they had been his guards rather than his keepers.</p>
-
-<p>Perfectly fearless and self-possessed, he joined in
-their diversions, and took his exercises among them.
-He wrote poems and orations, and rehearsed them to
-these pirates; and when they expressed no admiration,
-he called them dunces and barbarians&mdash;nay,
-he often threatened to crucify them. They were
-delighted with these freedoms, which they imputed
-to his frank and facetious vein. But as soon as the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>
-money was brought for his ransom, and he had recovered
-his liberty, he manned some vessels in the
-port of Miletus, in order to attack these corsairs. He
-found them still lying at anchor by the island, took
-most of them, together with the money he had paid
-them, and caused them to be imprisoned at Pergamus.</p>
-
-<p>After this adventure, C�sar took lessons of Appolonius
-Molo, of Rhodes, a celebrated teacher of rhetoric,
-who had been the instructor of Cicero. He here displayed
-great talents, especially in an aptitude for eloquence,
-in which he afterwards excelled. After this,
-he served under different generals in Asia, and upon
-the death of Sylla, returned to Rome, where he soon
-became conspicuous among the aspiring politicians
-of the day.</p>
-
-<p>Rome was at this time a republic, in which there
-was a constant struggle for ascendency between the
-aristocracy and the democracy&mdash;between the privileged
-few and the people. Sylla had placed the
-former on a firm footing; for a time, therefore, C�sar,
-who courted the people, took no open part, but looked
-calmly on, waiting and watching for his opportunity.
-He, however, seized every occasion to please and
-flatter the people; he gave expensive entertainments
-to which they were invited; he attached to his person
-the talented and enterprising young men; he distributed
-presents, paid compliments, and said a thousand
-pleasant things, calculated to flatter those whose
-favor he desired. He also made public speeches on
-various occasions, in all of which he avowed sentiments
-which gratified the plebeians. Thus beginning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>
-afar off and steadily approaching his object he was
-ere long in a situation to realize it. Cato, who had
-watched him carefully, discovered his dangerous ambition,
-but he could not prevent the success of his
-schemes.</p>
-
-<p>At the age of thirty-one, he was chosen by the people,
-as one of the military tribunes, an office which
-gave him the command of a legion, or division in the
-army. The year following, he was qu�stor, or
-receiver of public moneys in Spain; and in the year
-68, having returned to Rome, he was chosen edile&mdash;an
-office which gave him charge of the public buildings.</p>
-
-<p>In this situation, he had an opportunity to indulge
-his taste for magnificence and display; at the same
-time, he gratified the people. He beautified the city
-with public edifices and gave splendid exhibitions of
-wild beasts and gladiators.</p>
-
-<p>He was now thirty-five years old, and being desirous
-of military glory, he sought a command in
-Egypt. He offered himself as a candidate&mdash;but failed.
-The next year he took his measures more carefully.
-The corruption of the voters of Rome, at that time,
-was such as to excite our disgust. On the day of
-election, there were stalls, openly kept, where the
-votes of the freemen were bought, with as little shame,
-as if they had been common merchandise. We hardly
-know which most to despise, the crafty leaders, who
-thus corrupted the people, or the venal voters, who
-abused and degraded the dearest of privileges.</p>
-
-<p>Though C�sar was from the beginning a professed
-champion of the democracy, yet the manner in which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>
-he treated those whose support he sought, showed
-that his designs were selfish; that he wished to make
-the people instruments of his ambition. A man who
-will flatter the mass; use false, yet captivating arguments
-with them; appeal to their prejudices; fall in
-with their currents of feeling and opinion, even
-though they may be wrong, may profess democracy
-but he is at heart an aristocrat: he has no true love
-for the people; no confidence in them; he really despises
-them, and looks upon them but as the despicable
-tools of his ambition. Such was C�sar, and such is
-always the popular demagogue. While nothing is
-more noble than a true democrat&mdash;a true well-wisher
-of the people&mdash;and one who honestly seeks to vindicate
-their rights, enlighten their minds, and elevate
-them in the scale of society; so nothing is more
-base than a selfish desire to govern them, hidden beneath
-the cloak of pretended democracy.</p>
-
-<p>The measures of C�sar were now so open, and his
-real character so obvious, that we should wonder at
-his success with the people, did we not know the
-power which flattery exerts over all mankind, and
-that when a man of rank and talents becomes a demagogue,
-he is usually more successful than other men.
-It was so, at least, with C�sar. He courted the
-populace on all occasions; he distributed money with
-a lavish hand, particularly among the poorer voters.</p>
-
-<p>After many intrigues, he obtained the office of
-pr�tor, at the end of a sharply contested election.
-This office was one of high dignity and trust. The
-pr�tor administered justice, protected the rights of
-widows and orphans&mdash;presided at public festivals<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>
-was president of the senate, in the absence of the
-consul, and assembled or prorogued the senate at his
-pleasure. He also exhibited shows to the people, and
-in the festivals of Bona Dea, where none but women
-were admitted, his wife presided.</p>
-
-<p>In obtaining this office, C�sar achieved a great triumph.
-He also increased his power, and reached a
-situation which enabled him still more to flatter the
-people. An event, however, occurred about this
-time, which gave him great annoyance. During the
-ceremonies in honor of the Bona Dea, at his house, a
-profligate person, named Clodius, disguised as a woman,
-gained access to the festivities. This caused a
-great deal of scandal, and C�sar divorced his wife,
-Pompeia, whom he had married after the death of
-Cornelia.</p>
-
-<p>In the year 63 B. C., a conspiracy, which had for
-its object the subversion of the Roman government,
-was detected by Cicero, the orator, then consul. It
-was headed by Cataline, a Roman nobleman of dissolute
-habits, whose life had been stained with many
-crimes. His accomplices were men of similar character,
-who took an oath of fidelity to the cause, which
-they sealed by drinking human blood. After the
-disclosure of the plot, Cataline braved the senate for
-a time, but five of his associates being seized, he fled
-to Gaul, where, having raised some troops, he was
-attacked, and fell, bravely fighting to the last.</p>
-
-<p>When the trial of the five accomplices came on in
-the Roman senate, there was but a single person who
-dared to oppose their execution, and this was C�sar.
-His courage, moral or physical, never failed him.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>In policy and war, he often undertook what might
-seem the most desperate schemes, yet the event usually
-bore out his judgment, or his skill and energy
-generally ensured success. In the present case, he
-failed; though his speech in the senate had a wonderful
-effect. Even Cicero wavered. As that speech
-is handed down by Sallust, it is a masterly performance.
-It gave C�sar a high place as an orator, he
-being now regarded as second to Cicero alone.
-Though he did not obtain his direct object respecting
-the conspirators, and was driven from his office by the
-aristocratic faction, he gained more than he lost, by
-increased popularity with the plebeians.</p>
-
-<p>In the year 60 B. C., when the time was approaching
-for the choice of consuls, C�sar being a candidate,
-the aristocratic faction saw that they could not defeat
-his election; they therefore thought to check him, by
-associating with him Bibulus, one of their own party.
-When the election took place, C�sar and Bibulus
-were chosen. The latter was rather a weak man,
-and offered no effectual obstacle to C�sar's schemes.
-On one occasion, he determined to check his colleague,
-and for this purpose, resorted to the use of an extreme
-power, vested, however, in his hands. It was the
-custom, before any public business, to consult the
-augurs. These were officers of state, who were supposed
-to foretell future events.</p>
-
-<p>The augur sat upon a high tower, where he studied
-the heavens, and particularly noticed comets,
-thunder and lightning, rain and tempest. The chirping
-or flying of birds&mdash;the sudden crossing of the
-path by quadrupeds&mdash;accidents, such as spilling salt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>
-hearing strange noises, sneezing, stumbling, &amp;c.&mdash;were
-all esteemed ominous, and were the means by which
-the soothsayers pretended to unravel the fate of men
-and of nations. When these gave an unfavorable
-report, a consul could stop public business, and even
-break up the sittings of the senate. Bibulus resorted
-to the use of this power, and not only declared that
-the augurs were unfavorable, but that they would be
-so all the year! This extravagant stretch of authority
-was turned to ridicule by C�sar and his friends,
-and the baffled consul, in disgust and shame, shut
-himself up in his own house. C�sar was now, in
-fact, the sole consul of Rome.</p>
-
-<p>Pompey the Great was at this period in the full
-flush of his fame. His military achievements had
-been of the most splendid character. He was, therefore,
-a man of the highest consideration, and even
-superior to C�sar in standing. The latter, by a series
-of intrigues, gained his favor, and these two, rivals at
-heart, both yearning for supreme authority in Rome,
-entered into a political alliance, which they cemented
-by the marriage of Julia, C�sar's daughter, to Pompey.
-It mattered not, among these unscrupulous politicians,
-that Julia had long been betrothed to Marcus
-Brutus. C�sar, at this time, also took a wife, named
-Calpurnia, daughter of Piso&mdash;a political match, which
-greatly enlarged his power. Three great men were
-now at the head of affairs in Rome&mdash;C�sar, Pompey,
-and Crassus&mdash;and this union is called in history the
-First Triumvirate.</p>
-
-<p>C�sar was, however, the master as well of the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>senate as of the people. By his influence, an agrarian
-law was passed, for the division of some public
-lands in Campania, among the poorer citizens, which
-he carried by intimidation. Everything gave way
-before him; even Cicero, who was in his way, was
-banished. C�sar's desire was now to have an army
-at his command: this he obtained, being appointed to
-the charge of the provinces of Gaul, on both sides of
-the Alps, for five years.</p>
-
-<p>From this time, the history of Rome presents a
-striking parallel to that of the republic of France
-during Bonaparte's first campaigns in Italy. In both
-cases we see a weak republic, torn by contending factions,
-and rather feeding discontent than seeking
-tranquillity. In both cases we see vast provinces of
-the distracted republic occupied by a general of unlimited
-powers&mdash;a man of superior genius, desperate
-resolves, and fearful cruelty&mdash;a man, who, under the
-show of democratic principles and a love of the people,
-gains a complete ascendency over the soldiers,
-that he may lead them on to victory, bloodshed, plunder,
-and despotism!</p>
-
-<p>We shall not follow C�sar in the details of his
-victorious career. It is sufficient to say, that, in nine
-campaigns, he waged war against the numerous tribes
-which occupied the present territory of France, Britain,
-Switzerland, and Germany. Some of these were
-warlike and populous nations, and frequently brought
-into the field immense armies of fierce and formidable
-soldiery. Though often pushed to extremity, by a
-series of splendid achievements, C�sar reduced them
-all to subjection at last. During this period, it is said
-that he fought nearly a thousand battles, captured<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>
-eight hundred towns, slew a million of men, and
-reduced to captivity as many more! If the warrior's
-glory is estimated by the blood he sheds, the life he
-extinguishes, the liberty he destroys&mdash;C�sar's crown
-must be one of surpassing splendor.</p>
-
-<p>Though C�sar did not visit Rome during this long
-period, he was by no means ignorant of what was
-transpiring there. It was his custom to spend his
-winters in Cisalpine Gaul, that is, on the southern side
-of the Alps, about two hundred and fifty miles from
-Rome. Here he was able to keep up a correspondence
-with his friends, and to mingle in all the intrigues
-that agitated the mighty city&mdash;the heart of the empire.</p>
-
-<p>Pompey had at length broken through the alliance
-with C�sar, and set up for supreme authority. It
-was now understood that C�sar had similar views,
-and Rome began to look with fear and trembling upon
-the issue that was approaching between these powerful
-rivals. Pompey succeeded in getting certain acts
-passed by the senate, requiring C�sar to quit his
-army, and come to Rome. The latter saw danger
-in this, and while he determined to visit Rome, he
-resolved that his army should accompany him. The
-southern boundary of his provinces was a small
-stream, called the Rubicon. When C�sar came to
-this, he hesitated. To cross it with his troops, was a
-declaration of war. Staggered with the greatness of
-the attempt, he stopped to weigh with himself its evils
-and advantages; and, as he stood revolving in his own
-mind the arguments on both sides, he seemed to waver
-in his opinion. In a state of doubt, he conferred
-with such of his friends as were by, enumerating the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>
-calamities which the passage of that river would bring
-upon the world, and the reflections that might be
-made upon it by posterity. At last, upon some sudden
-impulse, bidding adieu to his reasonings, and
-plunging into the abyss of futurity&mdash;in the words of
-those who embark in doubtful and arduous enterprises&mdash;he
-cried out, "The die is cast;" and immediately
-passed the river.</p>
-
-<p>He now travelled with the utmost rapidity, having
-but about three hundred horse and five thousand foot.
-The consternation of the whole country was evinced
-by the movements visible on all hands&mdash;not individuals,
-only, were seen wandering about, but whole cities
-were broken up, the inhabitants seeking safety in
-flight. Pompey himself, with his friends, fled from
-Rome, and C�sar entered the city, and took possession
-of the government without opposition.</p>
-
-<p>A senate was hastily assembled, and the forms of
-law observed, though in obedience to C�sar's will.
-He was declared dictator, and then marched to Brundusium,
-whither Pompey had fled. After many skirmishes,
-the two armies met on the plains of Pharsalia,
-a town of Thessaly, in Greece, and a decisive and
-bloody engagement took place. Pompey was defeated,
-and, wandering like a distracted man, came at last
-to Egypt, where he was treacherously murdered.
-C�sar followed, as the remorseless eagle pursues its
-prey, but finding his rival slain, he repaired in triumph
-to Rome. These events occurred in the year
-48 B. C.</p>
-
-<p>After various proceedings, C�sar was elected consul
-for ten years, and declared dictator for life. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>
-mask was now thrown off&mdash;the despot stood disclosed.
-Forty senators, incensed at his subversion of the constitution
-of Rome, entered into a conspiracy to take
-his life, and, on the 18th of March, B. C. 44, they
-stabbed him, as he was entering the senate chamber.
-Proud even in death, C�sar muffled his face in his
-cloak as he fell, that his expiring agonies might not
-be witnessed.</p>
-
-<p>Thus lived and thus died, Julius C�sar. His talents
-were only equalled by his ambition. If he sought
-glory, it was often by worthy means&mdash;by valuable
-improvements, and real benefits. Yet he hesitated
-not to trample upon life, principles, bonds, rights&mdash;upon
-liberty&mdash;his country&mdash;everything that stood in
-the way of his towering wishes.</p>
-
-<p>He left behind him an account of his battles, written
-from day to day, as events occurred. These are
-called Commentaries, and furnish a fund of authentic
-narrative for history, beside being admired for their
-elegance of style. It was after a victory over Pharnaces,
-king of Pontus, in Asia Minor, that he used
-the remarkable words, <i>veni, vidi, vinci</i>&mdash;"I came, I
-saw, I conquered." They well express the celerity
-and decision of his movements. In private affairs he
-was extravagant of money; his debts at one time
-amounted to eight hundred talents&mdash;almost a million of
-dollars. These were paid by his friends. In public
-concerns he did not appear greedy of wealth. As an
-evidence of the activity and energy of his faculties,
-it was said that at the same time he could employ
-his ear to listen, his eye to read, his hand to write,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>and his mind to dictate. His disposition led him irresistibly
-to seek dominion; in battle, he must be a conqueror;
-in a republic, he must be the master. This
-leading feature in his character is well illustrated, in
-his saying to the inhabitants of a village, "I would
-rather be first here, than second in Rome." His character
-is delineated by an eminent writer, in the following
-terms:&mdash;</p>
-
-<p>"Such was the affection of his soldiers, and their
-attachment to his person, that they, who, under other
-commanders, were nothing above the common rate of
-men, became invincible when C�sar's glory was concerned,
-and met the most dreadful dangers with a
-courage which nothing could resist.</p>
-
-<p>"This courage, and this great ambition, were cultivated
-and cherished, in the first place, by the generous
-manner in which C�sar rewarded his troops,
-and the honors which he paid them. His whole conduct
-showed that he did not accumulate riches to
-minister to luxury, or to serve any pleasures of his
-own, but that he laid them up in a common stock, as
-prizes to be obtained by distinguished valor; and that
-he considered himself no farther rich, than as he was
-in a condition to do justice to the merit of his soldiers.
-Another thing that contributed to make them invincible,
-was their seeing C�sar always take his share in
-the danger, and never desire any exemption from
-labor and fatigue.</p>
-
-<p>"As for his exposing his person to danger, they
-were not surprised at it, because they knew his passion
-for glory; but they were astonished at his patience
-under toil, so far, in all appearance, above his
-bodily powers; for he was of a slender make, fair,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>of a delicate constitution, and subject to violent headaches,
-and epileptic fits. He had the first attack of
-the falling sickness at Corduba. He did not, however,
-make these disorders a pretence for indulging himself.
-On the contrary, he sought in war a remedy for his
-infirmities, endeavoring to strengthen his constitution
-by long marches, by simple diet, by seldom coming
-under cover. Thus he contended against his distemper,
-and fortified himself against its attacks.</p>
-
-<p>"When he slept, it was commonly upon a march,
-either in a chariot or a litter, that rest might be no
-hindrance to business. In the daytime he visited the
-castles, cities, and fortified camps, with a servant at his
-side, and with a soldier behind, who carried his sword.</p>
-
-<p>"As a warrior and a general, we behold him not
-in the least inferior to the greatest and most admired
-commander the world ever produced; for, whether
-we compare him with the Fabii, the Scipios, the Metelli&mdash;with
-the generals of his own time, or those who
-flourished a little before him&mdash;with Sylla, Marius, the
-two Luculli, or with Pompey himself, whose fame in
-every military excellence, reached the skies, C�sar's
-achievements bear away the palm. One he surpassed
-in the difficulty of the scene of action; another in the
-extent of the countries he subdued; this, in the number
-and strength of the enemies he overcame; that,
-in the savage manners and treacherous dispositions
-of the people he humanized; one, in mildness and
-clemency to his prisoners; another, in bounty and
-munificence to his troops; and all, in the number of
-battles that he won, and enemies that he killed.
-In less than ten years' war in Gaul, he took eight<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span>
-hundred cities by assault, conquered three hundred
-nations, and fought pitched battles, at different times,
-with three millions of men, one million of which he
-cut in pieces, and made another million prisoners."</p>
-
-<p>Such was C�sar, one of the greatest, yet worst of
-men. It appears that after his death he was enrolled
-among the gods. It is evident that a people who
-looked upon such a being as divine, must have worshipped
-power, and not virtue; and that what we
-call vice and crime, were, in their view, compatible
-with divinity.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/144.jpg" alt="legio" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%" >
-<img src="images/145.jpg" alt="Hannibal" style="width: 70%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>HANNIBAL.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This great man, a native of Carthage, and son of
-Hamilcar Barcas, was born 247 B. C. At this
-period, Rome and Carthage were rival powers
-and both seated upon the borders of the Mediterranean
-Sea. Rome had been in existence about five
-hundred years, and had already extended her conquests
-over Italy and a portion of Spain. She had
-not yet crossed the Alps, to conquer the more northern
-Gauls or Goths, but she was rapidly advancing in
-power; and, about a century after, Greece and Asia
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>Minor fell before her. Already her proud eagle began
-to spread his wing, and whet his beak for conquest
-and slaughter.</p>
-
-<p>Rome was a nation of soldiers; and, paying little
-respect to commerce, manufactures and productive
-industry, she sought to enrich herself by robbing
-other countries&mdash;thus building herself up by the very
-means which the Goths and Vandals employed, seven
-hundred years after, for her destruction. Carthage
-was, in most respects, the opposite of Rome; her citizens
-were chiefly devoted to commerce and manufactures.
-The Mediterranean was dotted over with
-her vessels, and she had numerous colonies in Spain
-and along the coasts of Africa.</p>
-
-<p>The city of Rome was the centre of the republic
-and the seat of government. Here all the laws were
-enacted; here all the military movements and other
-affairs of state were decided upon. The city was at
-this time nearly twenty miles in circuit, and defended
-by a triple range of walls. The number of its inhabitants
-was several millions.</p>
-
-<p>Carthage was also a vast city, situated in Africa,
-about four hundred miles south-west of Rome, the
-Mediterranean Sea lying between them. It originated
-with a small colony of people from Tyre, a maritime
-city in Syria, about a hundred years before Rome was
-founded by Romulus. It increased rapidly, and became
-a flourishing place. The city exercised dominion
-over the whole country around. Its government was
-a mixture of aristocracy and democracy; the chief
-men ruling on all ordinary occasions, but sometimes
-consulting the people.</p>
-
-<p>The Carthaginians were an industrious nation and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>
-appear to have had no taste or leisure for the gladiator
-fights, the shows of wild beasts, the theatrical exhibitions
-and other amusements, that excited such deep
-interest among the idle and dissipated Romans. They
-were, in many respects, exemplary in their morals&mdash;even
-abstinence from wine being required of the
-magistrates while in office. Their religion, however,
-was a gloomy superstition, and their punishments
-were cruel. They even sacrificed children to their
-gods, in the earlier periods of their history.</p>
-
-<p>Though chiefly addicted to commerce, the Carthaginians
-paid great attention to agriculture. The rich
-men laid out their surplus money in cultivating the
-lands; and in the time of Hannibal, the whole extent
-of country around Carthage, which was the territory
-now called Tunis, was covered with vast herds of the
-finest cattle, fields waving with corn, vineyards and
-olive grounds. There were a multitude of small villages
-scattered over the country; near to the great
-city, the whole landscape was studded with the splendid
-villas of the rich citizens. To such a pitch was
-the art of agriculture carried, that one Mago wrote
-twenty-eight books upon the subject. These were
-carried to Rome, after the conquest of Carthage, and
-greatly increased the knowledge and skill of the Romans,
-in the science of husbandry.</p>
-
-<p>It was at a period when these two great powers
-had already extended themselves so far as to come in
-frequent collision, that Hannibal was born. His father
-was a general, who had served in Spain and fought
-against the Romans in the first Punic war. His mind
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span>was filled with hatred of that nation; and while Hannibal
-was yet a boy of nine years old, and about to
-accompany his father in his Spanish campaigns, he
-caused him to kneel before the altar, and swear eternal
-hatred to the Romans.</p>
-
-<p>Asdrubal, the brother of Hamilcar, succeeded, at
-the death of the latter, to the command of the Carthaginian
-army in Spain; at his death, Hannibal, now
-twenty-one years old, was made general of the whole
-army, as well by the acclamations of the soldiers, as
-the decree of the Carthaginian senate. He immediately
-marched against various barbarous tribes in
-Spain, yet unsubdued, and quickly reduced them to
-submission.</p>
-
-<p>During the first Punic war, Carthage had lost her
-finest colonies&mdash;the island of Sicily, as well as the
-Lipari isles&mdash;all of which had fallen into the hands
-of Rome. She had now recovered from the losses
-of that war, and Hannibal determined to revenge the
-injuries Rome had inflicted upon his country. Accordingly,
-he laid siege to Saguntum, in Spain, a
-large city subject to Rome, and situated on the Mediterranean,
-near the present town of Valencia. Faithful
-to their alliance, and expecting succors from Rome,
-the people made the most determined resistance for
-eight months. They were at last reduced to such
-fearful extremity for food, that they killed their infant
-children and fed upon their blood and flesh. Filled
-with a horrid despair, they finally erected an immense
-pile of wood, and setting it on fire, the men first hurled
-their women, slaves and treasures into the blaze, and
-then plunged into it themselves. Hannibal now entered
-the city, but, instead of finding rich spoils, he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>
-only witnessed a heap of ashes. The solitude of that
-scene might have touched even a warrior's heart.
-The present town of Murviedo, the site of the ancient
-Saguntum and the witness of these horrid
-scenes, still abounds in remains of Roman architecture.</p>
-
-<p>The second Punic war was begun by these proceedings
-against Saguntum. Hannibal, who had
-determined upon the invasion of Italy, spent the winter
-in making his preparations. Leaving a large
-force in Africa, and also in Spain, to defend these
-points, he set out, in the spring of the year 218, with
-eighty thousand foot and twelve thousand horse, to
-fulfil his project.</p>
-
-<p>His course lay along the Mediterranean; the whole
-distance to Rome being about one thousand miles by
-the land route which he contemplated. When he had
-traversed Spain, he came to the Pyrenees, a range
-of mountains separating that country from Gaul, now
-France. Here he was attacked by wild tribes of
-brave barbarians, but he easily drove them back. He
-crossed the Pyrenees, traversed Gaul, and came at
-last to the Alps, which threw up their frowning battlements,
-interposing a formidable obstacle between him
-and the object of his expedition. No warrior had
-then crossed these snowy peaks with such an army;
-and none but a man of that degree of resolution and
-self-relience which will not be baffled, would have
-hazarded the fearful enterprise. Napoleon accomplished
-the task, two thousand years afterwards, but
-with infinitely greater facilities.</p>
-
-<p>Hannibal, after a march of five months, descended
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>the southern slopes of the Alps, and poured down
-upon the soft and smiling plains of Italy. The northern
-portion, called Cisalpine Gaul, was peopled with
-Gothic tribes, long settled in the country. They were
-desirous, however, of throwing off the Roman yoke,
-and therefore favored the Carthaginian cause. Hannibal,
-whose army had been greatly reduced in his
-march, especially in crossing the Alps, remained
-among some of these people for a time, to recruit,
-and then proceeded southward toward Rome.</p>
-
-<p>On the banks of the river Tessino he was met by
-a Roman army despatched against him; but, after a
-bloody conflict, he was victorious. In a few weeks
-he again encountered the Romans, and again he triumphed.
-Thus, the whole of Cisalpine Gaul fell
-into his hands, and these people, relieved from the
-presence of the Roman army, aided him freely with
-every kind of supplies.</p>
-
-<p>Rome now presented a scene of the greatest activity.
-She was not yet softened by luxuries, or corrupted
-by indulgence; she did not, therefore, yield to
-fear, as in after days, when the wild leaders of the
-north poured down from the Alps, like an avalanche.
-She was alarmed, but yet she met the emergency
-with courage and resolution. Every artisan in the
-city was busy in preparation; the senate were revolving
-deep schemes; generals held councils of war;
-soldiers were recruited and trained; the people ran
-to and fro in the streets, telling the last news, and
-recounting some marvellous legend of the Carthaginians
-and their dreaded leader. All was bustle and
-preparation.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span></p>
-<p>When the spring of the year 217 B. C. arrived,
-two Roman armies took the field; one under the consul
-Flaminius, and the other under the consul Servilius.
-Hannibal first marched against Flaminius,
-but in passing the swamps of the river Arno, his army
-suffered greatly, and he himself lost one of his eyes.
-Soon after this, Flaminius, who was a rash and
-headstrong man, came up with him on the banks of
-the lake Trasimenus, and gave the Carthaginians battle.
-Here, again, the genius of Hannibal triumphed.
-The conflict was dreadful, and the water of the lake
-where the armies met, was red with blood. But the
-Romans were totally defeated.</p>
-
-<p>After this event, a famous general, Quintus Fabius
-Maximus, was appointed dictator of Rome, and, under
-his direction, a new policy was adopted. Instead of
-sending armies to act offensively against Hannibal at
-a distance, the defensive system of warfare was rigidly
-observed. This prudent course, adopted by Fabius,
-has given a signification to his name; the <i>Fabian</i>
-policy being a term which is used as synonymous
-with <i>prudent</i> policy. It is thought that Washington,
-in our revolutionary war, imitated this great Roman
-general.</p>
-
-<p>But the successes of Hannibal and the disasters of
-Rome, had not yet ended. In the year 216, another
-battle was determined upon, and Hannibal met the
-enemy at Cann�, near the present city of Naples.
-Here, again, the Romans were defeated with dreadful
-slaughter. Not less than forty thousand of their soldiers
-were slain. To this day, the relics of the fight
-are ploughed up from the ground, and the spot where
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>the battle took place, is called the "field of blood."
-If the red stain has long since vanished from the soil,
-time cannot wash out the bloody record from the
-memory of man.</p>
-
-<p>Beside this fearful carnage, ten thousand Roman
-soldiers were taken prisoners. The Carthaginian
-loss was small. We can only account for such events
-as these, by the supposition that Hannibal, whose
-army was scarcely half as large as that of the Romans,
-was a man greatly superior in capacity even
-to the able and practised generals of Rome, who were
-sent against him. Nothing in modern times has been
-witnessed, to compare with his achievements, except
-those of Napoleon, operating in the same countries,
-and also contending against disciplined troops and
-generals long practised in the military art.</p>
-
-<p>The whole of lower Italy was now in the possession
-of Hannibal. He had entered the country by
-the north, and, having passed Rome, was in the southern
-portion of the peninsula. It would seem that he
-was now near the consummation of his wishes, and
-that the imperial city must fall before him; but such
-was not the event. A defensive system was still observed,
-and the city being too formidable for attack,
-Hannibal was obliged to look around for aid. He
-applied to Philip of Macedon and the Syracusans,
-but the Romans contrived to keep both occupied at
-home.</p>
-
-<p>Hasdrubal, the brother of Hannibal, had charge of
-the Carthaginian forces in Spain, where he conducted
-the war with ability. In a great battle, he defeated
-the Romans; and two generals, by the name of Scipio,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>fell. Another Scipio was sent thither, and he
-soon recovered in Spain what the Romans had lost
-there. Hasdrubal now left that country to join his
-brother, and, crossing the Alps without opposition,
-reached Italy. Before he could effect the junction
-he desired, he was met by the Roman forces, his
-army cut to pieces and he himself slain. Hannibal
-was now obliged to act on the defensive. Yet he
-continued to sustain himself here for a series of years
-without calling upon Carthage for supplies.</p>
-
-<p>Scipio, having finished the war in Spain, now
-transported his army across the Mediterranean: thus
-<i>carrying the war into Africa</i>, and giving rise to an
-expression still in vogue, and significant of effective
-retaliation. By the aid of Massinissa, a powerful
-prince of Numidia, now Morocco, he gained two victories
-over the Carthaginians, who were obliged
-hastily to recall their great commander from Italy.
-He landed at Leptis, and advanced near Zama, five
-days' journey to the west of Carthage. Here he met
-the Roman forces, and here, for the first time, he suffered
-a total defeat. The loss of the Carthaginians
-was immense, and they were obliged to sue for
-peace. This was granted on humiliating terms by
-Scipio, called Africanus, after this victory. Hannibal
-would still have resisted, but he was compelled by
-his countrymen to submit. Thus ended the second
-Punic war, 200 B. C, having continued about eighteen
-years.</p>
-
-<p>Hannibal now applied himself to the reform of
-abuses in the government of Carthage. In this he
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>was supported by the people, but he incurred the dislike
-of certain leading men among his countrymen.
-These, insensible to his great services, and only guided
-by their jealousy, sent to the Roman authorities certain
-representations, calculated to excite their suspicion
-and arouse their anger against him. Ambassadors
-were accordingly sent to Carthage, to demand
-his punishment; but Hannibal, foreseeing the storm,
-fled to Tyre. From this place he went to Ephesus,
-and induced Antiochus to declare war against Rome,
-B. C. 196. He had himself but a subordinate command,
-and when the war, which proved unfortunate,
-was over, he was compelled to depart, and seek a
-refuge with Prusias, prince of Bithynia, in Asia Minor.
-The Romans, being uneasy so long as their formidable
-enemy was alive, sent to Prusias to demand that he
-should be given up. Hannibal, now driven to extremity,
-and sick of life, destroyed himself by poison, B. C.
-183, in the sixty-fifth year of his age.</p>
-
-<p>We have no accounts of this wonderful man except
-from his enemies, the Romans, and nothing from
-them but his public career. Prejudiced as are these
-sources of evidence, they still exhibit him as one of
-the most extraordinary men that has ever lived.
-Many of the events of his life remind us of the career
-of Napoleon. Like him, he crossed the Alps with a
-great army; like him, he was repeatedly victorious
-over disciplined and powerful forces in Italy; like him,
-he was finally overwhelmed in a great battle; like
-him, he was a statesman as well as a general; like him,
-he was the idol of the army; like him, he was finally
-driven from his country and died in exile. No one
-achievement of Bonaparte's life was equal to that of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>Hannibal in crossing the Alps, if we consider the difficulties
-he had to encounter; nor has anything in
-generalship surpassed the ability he displayed in sustaining
-himself and his army, for sixteen years, in
-Italy, in the face of Rome, and without asking for
-assistance from his own country.</p>
-
-<p>During this whole period he never once dismissed
-his forces, and though they were composed of Africans,
-Spaniards, Gauls, Carthaginians and Greeks&mdash;persons
-of different laws, languages and habits&mdash;never
-was anything like mutiny displayed among them.
-How wonderful was the genius that held such a vast
-number of persons&mdash;the fiery spirits of so many different
-nations&mdash;subject to one will, and obedient to one
-authority! Where can we look for evidence of talent
-superior to this? We cannot doubt that Hannibal, in
-addition to his great mind, possessed those personal
-qualifications, which enabled him to exercise powers
-of fascination over all those persons who came into
-his presence; and that, in this respect too, he bore a
-resemblance to Napoleon.</p>
-
-<p>We may not approve, yet we can hardly fail to
-admire, the unflinching hostility of Hannibal to Rome.
-He had been taught this in his childhood; it came
-with the first lessons of life, and from the lips of a
-father; he had sworn it at the altar. Rome was the
-great enemy of his country; and as he loved the last,
-he must hate the first. His duty, his destiny, might
-serve to impel him to wage uncompromising war
-against Rome; for this he lived&mdash;for this, at last, he
-died.</p>
-
-<p>Nor can we believe that this sentiment, which
-formed the chief spring of his actions, was unmixed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>
-with patriotism. Indeed, this was doubtless at its
-very root. It was for the eclipse that she cast over
-Carthage, that he would annihilate Rome. It was
-from a conviction that one of these great powers must
-give way to the other&mdash;that the existence of Rome
-boded destruction to Carthage&mdash;that he waged uncompromising
-and deadly war upon the former.</p>
-
-<p>That Hannibal was patriotic, is evinced also by the
-reforms which he sought to effect in the government
-of his country. These had for their object the benefit
-of the people at large. For this, he obtained the
-confidence of the mass, while he incurred the hostility
-of the few. It is no evidence against him
-that he fell a victim to the jealousy thus excited, for
-such has too often been the fate of the lover of his
-country.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/156.jpg" alt="Death of Hannibal" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%" >
-<img src="images/157.jpg" alt="Alexander the Great" style="width: 70%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>ALEXANDER, KING OF MACEDON.</h2>
-
-
-<p>It is now somewhat more than two thousand years
-since this warrior flourished; yet his image continues
-to stand out from the page of history in bold relief,
-seeming not only to claim our attention, but to challenge
-our admiration. A brief outline of his history
-may enable us to judge upon what basis this undying
-fame is founded.</p>
-
-<p>Alexander was born 354 B. C., on the same day
-that Erostratus destroyed the famous temple of Diana
-at Ephesus, by fire. A wit of the time remarked
-that "it was no wonder that the temple of Diana
-should be burnt at Ephesus, while the goddess was at
-Macedon, attending the birth of Alexander." Plutarch
-observes that this witticism was frigid enough<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>
-to have extinguished the flames. Philip, Alexander's
-father, being absent at the time of his birth, received
-three messages in one day: the first informed him
-that his general, Parmenio, had won a great battle;
-the second, that his horse had gained the prize at the
-Olympic games; the third, that his wife had borne
-him a son.</p>
-
-<p>At the time of Alexander's birth, Macedonia, which
-lay north of Greece, and now constitutes that part of
-Turkey called Romelia, had become a warlike and
-powerful kingdom. Philip was not only an able
-warrior, but an ambitious and sagacious statesman.
-He greatly civilized his own people, trained them to
-arms, and added to his kingdom several adjacent
-states. By a series of victories and crafty negotiations
-he had also become the nominal protector, but real
-master of Greece. It was against the insidious policy
-of Philip that Demosthenes pronounced his caustic
-speeches, which gave rise to the term "Philippics."</p>
-
-<p>Although Philip was ruthless in war and unscrupulous
-in policy, still he was a very enlightened
-prince. He understood many of the arts, customs
-and feelings which belong to civilization; nor was he
-destitute of noble traits of character. We are told
-that a Grecian, named Arcadius, was constantly railing
-against him. Venturing once into the dominions
-of Philip, the courtiers suggested to their prince that
-he had now an opportunity to punish Arcadius for
-his past insults, and to put it out of his power to repeat
-them. The king took their advice, but in a different
-way. Instead of seizing the hostile stranger
-and putting him to death, he sent for him, and then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>
-caused him to be dismissed, loaded with courtesies
-and kindness.</p>
-
-<p>Some time after Arcadius' departure from Macedon,
-word was brought that the king's old enemy had
-become one of his warmest friends, and did nothing
-but diffuse his praises wherever he went. On hearing
-this, Philip turned to his courtiers, and said with
-a smile, "Am not I a better physician than you are?"
-We are also told of numerous instances in which
-Philip treated his prisoners of war with a kindness
-quite unusual in the barbarous age in which he lived.
-Though dissolute in private life, as a prince he was
-far in advance of his nation in all that belongs to
-civilization.</p>
-
-<p>No better evidence of his enlightened views can be
-required than is afforded by the pains he bestowed
-upon the education of Alexander, his eldest son, and
-heir to his throne. He obtained for him the best
-masters, and finally placed him under the care of
-Aristotle, then the most learned and famous philosopher
-of Greece, and one of the most extraordinary
-men that ever lived. It cannot but be interesting
-and instructive to trace the history of the greatest
-warrior, who was, at the same time, the pupil of the
-greatest philosopher, of antiquity.</p>
-
-<p>Alexander was an apt and attentive student, and
-easily mastered the studies to which he applied. He
-was somewhat headstrong if treated with harshness,
-and he resisted, if an attempt was made to drive him.
-He, however, was docile and obedient when treated
-gently. It would seem, that, in this at least, he was
-very much like the clever boys of our own day. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>
-mastered not only matters of science, but polite literature
-also. He was greatly delighted with Homer's
-Iliad, and, it is thought, modelled himself upon the
-warlike heroes of that poem. In after days, even in
-his campaigns, he took a copy of this work with him,
-and in the camp, read it at moments of leisure, and
-slept with it at night beneath his pillow.</p>
-
-<p>Alexander was greatly attached to Aristotle during
-his pupilage, though he changed both in feeling and
-conduct towards him afterwards. Philip seems to
-have formed a high estimate of the services rendered
-by Aristotle. The latter being born at Stagira&mdash;and
-hence called the Stagirite&mdash;which had been dismantled,
-Philip ordered it, in compliment to the philosopher,
-to be rebuilt, and re-established there the inhabitants
-which had either fled or been reduced to
-slavery. He also ordered a beautiful promenade,
-called Mirza, to be prepared on the borders of the
-river, for the studies and literary conversation of the
-people. Here were shown, even in the time of Plutarch,
-Aristotle's stone seats and shady walks.</p>
-
-<p>It is interesting to remark here, that both Philip
-and Alexander, powerful sovereigns and men of great
-minds, were yet inferior, in what constitutes greatness,
-to Aristotle. They treated him, indeed, as their inferior&mdash;an
-object of their patronage; and it is also true,
-that both Philip and Alexander are remembered at
-the present day; but the consequences of their actions
-ceased ages ago. Not so with Aristotle: his
-books being preserved, have come down to our times,
-and for two thousand years have been constantly exercising
-a powerful influence over mankind. There<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>
-can be no doubt, therefore, that the schoolmaster is
-infinitely above the prince; the one lives for a generation,
-the other for all time; the one deals with external
-things which perish; the other with knowledge,
-science&mdash;principles&mdash;which never die. The one is a
-being of action, the other of mind; the one may
-be great for a brief space in the eye of vulgar observation,
-but he is soon quenched in utter oblivion; the
-other, though his body be dead, still lives by the
-power of the spirit. It is desirable to impress this
-truth on our hearts, for it shows that true glory lies
-in cultivating and exercising the mind; while, in
-comparison, it is a poor and mean ambition, which
-incites us to seek only worldly power or wealth or
-station.</p>
-
-<p>At an early period, Alexander displayed noble
-qualities, amid some vices. He was exceedingly ambitious,
-and when news came that his father had
-taken some strong town, or won some great battle,
-"My father will conquer," he exclaimed impatiently
-"the whole world, and will leave nothing for me to
-conquer." Though in the light of our Christian philosophy,
-nothing more wicked than the feelings here
-displayed could exist, still it accorded with the education
-he had received, and was an earnest of that
-love of war and conquest which signalized his after
-career. It may be stated, also, that Alexander did
-not value riches or pleasure, in his youth, but seemed
-to be always excited by a love of glory; he did not
-desire a kingdom that should afford him opulence
-and the means of luxury, but one that would bring
-wars and conflicts, and the full exercise of ambition.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>A sad portrait this, viewed in the light of our day&mdash;yet
-the very description of a hero, and almost of a
-god, in the age and country in which he lived.</p>
-
-<p>When Alexander was about twelve years old, a
-horse was brought for sale from Thessaly called Bucephalus.
-The price required was about �2,500 sterling,
-or $12,000. Yet when any one attempted to mount
-him, he became restive and unmanageable. Philip was
-incensed that such a price should be asked for so
-vicious a beast, but Alexander had observed him carefully,
-and saw that he was indeed a noble creature.
-He therefore wished to try him. His father rebuked
-him sharply, but the prince persevered, and desired
-to mount the horse. "If you are not able to ride him
-upon trial," said Philip, "what forfeit will you pay?"
-"The price of the horse," said Alexander. This produced
-a laugh rather at Alexander's expense&mdash;but the
-forfeit was agreed upon, and he ran to the horse.
-He had observed that he was startled at his shadow,
-the sun shining very brightly; so he turned his head
-to the sun, leaped lightly upon his back, obtained a
-firm seat, and gave the animal the rein. The noble
-beast felt, with that quick intelligence of which his
-race is capable, that one worthy to be his master was
-on his back, and set forward. Finding him inclined
-to run, Alexander, nothing daunted, but with a spirit
-as wild and fearless as his own, and no doubt with a
-bounding and joyous sympathy, gave him the spur,
-and made him fly over the plain.</p>
-
-<p>Philip and all his courtiers around him were
-greatly frightened at first, but soon Alexander wheeled
-Bucephalus about, and rode him back to the place<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>
-from which he started. The animal was completely
-subdued; yet there was something in his proud look,
-as he now stood still before the admiring throng,
-which seemed to say, "I yielded, but only to one
-worthy of being a conqueror." Alexander was received
-by a shout of acclamation&mdash;but Philip was
-overcome by the noble chivalry of his boy, and wept
-in very joy. "Seek another kingdom, my son!"
-said he, in the fulness of his heart, "for Macedon is
-too small for thee!" Such was the value in those
-days set upon personal gallantry and courage; and we
-know that these qualities are of the utmost importance,
-when hard blows usually decide the fate of empires.</p>
-
-<p>Everything seemed to show that Alexander had
-very early acted under the idea of being a king, and
-of pursuing, in that character, a career of conquest.
-No doubt all around him, the courtiers, his father and
-mother, and his teachers had thus trained him, and
-no doubt all this coincided with his natural turn of
-mind. He not only showed personal courage, but a
-precocious desire of practical knowledge. When less
-than twelve years of age, ambassadors came to visit
-the court of Macedon from Persia. Philip was absent,
-and Alexander therefore received them with
-great politeness, and a sobriety quite astonishing.
-He asked no trifling or childish questions; but made
-a great many inquiries about the roads to Persia;
-the distance from place to place; the situation of
-certain provinces; the character of their king; how
-he treated his enemies; in what the power of Persia
-lay, &amp;c. All this astonished the ambassadors,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>who, in their excitement, exclaimed, "The boasted
-sagacity of Philip is nothing to the lofty and enterprising
-genius of his son!" Such, indeed, were the
-striking qualities of young Alexander, that the people
-of Macedon, in their admiration, called the youth
-king, and his father only general!</p>
-
-<p>Philip was pleased with all this, but as Alexander
-grew older, troubles sprung up between them. Olympias,
-the mother of Alexander, was a woman of fierce
-and restive temper, and she was justly incensed by
-a foolish marriage which Philip made with a young
-lady, named Cleopatra. At the celebration of this union
-there was great festivity, and the king got drunk.
-Alexander's mind, having been poisoned by his
-mother, was in such a state of irritation, that he
-spoke rudely at the feast. Philip drew his sword,
-but his passion and the wine he had drunk, caused
-him to stumble, and he fell upon the floor. "See,"
-said Alexander, insolently&mdash;"men of Macedon, see
-there the man who was preparing to pass from Europe
-into Asia! He is not able to pass from one
-table to another!" After this insult, he left the table,
-and taking his mother, they repaired to Epirus.</p>
-
-<p>Here they spent some time, but Philip at last induced
-them to come back. Other troubles, however,
-arose, and finally king Philip was slain by Pausanius,
-whom he had injured. Olympias was thought to
-have incited the young man to this desperate act, and
-suspicion of participation fell upon Alexander.</p>
-
-<p>The latter, now twenty years of age, succeeded to
-his father's throne. His dominion extended over
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span>Macedon and the adjacent tribes to the north, including
-nearly the whole of that territory which now
-forms a part of Turkey, and lies between Greece, and
-the Argentaro mountains. Macedonia itself, was far
-less civilized than the southern parts of Greece: the
-people were, indeed, men of a different race, being
-esteemed barbarous, though the kings claimed to
-have been of Hellenic origin, and even to trace their
-lineage to Achilles and Hercules. The nation was
-much softened in its manners by the wise administration
-of Philip, while, at the same time, they were
-carefully trained in the art of war. The surrounding
-tribes, still more savage than his own people, and
-often giving exercise to his arms, still served to fill
-his ranks with the most daring and powerful soldiery.</p>
-
-<p>Greece, too, constituted a part of the kingdom now
-left to the youthful Alexander. But his father had
-only conquered, not consolidated into one empire, his
-vast dominions. Upon his death, the barbarians on
-the north, and the states of Greece at the south, feeling
-themselves liberated from a tyrant, and little
-fearing a youth of twenty, either revolted or showed
-a disposition to revolt. Alexander's advisers recommended
-him to give up Greece, and seek only to subdue
-the barbarous tribes around him, and to do this
-by mild measures.</p>
-
-<p>Such a course did not suit the young king. He
-took the opposite course; marched north as far as the
-Danube, defeating his principal enemy, and thus
-securing submission to his authority in that quarter.
-He then pushed southward, and fell upon the restive
-Thebans, destroying their city, and reducing the place
-to a mere heap of ghastly ruins! No less than six<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>
-thousand of the inhabitants were slain in battle, and
-three thousand were sold as slaves!</p>
-
-<p>In the midst of the horrors which took place
-immediately after Thebes was taken&mdash;fire and the
-sword, slaughter, rapine, violence, raging on all
-sides&mdash;a party of savage Thracians, belonging to Alexander's
-army, demolished the house of Timoclea, a
-woman of high standing and quality. Having carried
-off the booty found in her house, and shamefully
-abused the lady, the captain asked her if she had not
-some gold and silver concealed. She replied that she
-had&mdash;and taking him alone into the garden, showed
-him a well, in which she said she had thrown everything
-of value when the city was taken. The officer
-stooped to look into the well, when the lady pushed
-him down, and rolling stones down upon him, soon
-despatched him. The Thracians, coming up, found
-what she had done, and, binding her hands, took her
-to Alexander. When he asked her who she was&mdash;"A
-sister of Theagenes," said she, proudly and fearlessly,&mdash;"a
-Theban general, who fought for the
-liberty of Greece, against the usurpation of Philip&mdash;and
-fell gloriously at the battle of Cheron�a!" Alexander
-was so much struck by her noble mien and
-patriotic sentiments, that he caused her and her children
-to be set at liberty. Such are the few rays of
-light, that flash across the dark path of the conqueror!</p>
-
-<p>Greece was soon brought to a state of submission
-and, as Alexander now contemplated an expedition
-against Darius, king of Persia, the several states,
-having held an assembly at Corinth, concluded to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>
-furnish their quota of supplies. Many statesmen and
-philosophers came to Corinth, where Alexander was
-to congratulate him upon this result; but the king
-was disappointed to find that Diogenes, the cynic philosopher,
-was not among the number. As he desired
-greatly to see him, he went to his residence in the
-suburbs of the city, to pay him a visit. He found
-the philosopher, basking in the sun; at the approach
-of so many people, he carelessly roused himself a little,
-and happened to fix his eyes on Alexander&mdash;"Is
-there anything," said the king, condescendingly&mdash;"in
-which I can serve you?"&mdash;"Only stand a little out of
-my sunshine," said Diogenes. This answer produced
-a laugh among the crowd, who thought it mere vulgarity;
-but Alexander saw deeper, and, reflecting upon
-that superiority, which could regard even his presence
-without surprise, and look with disdain upon his gifts,
-remarked, "that if he were not Alexander, he would
-wish to be Diogenes."</p>
-
-<p>Alexander set out, in the spring of the year 334 B. C.,
-upon his expedition against Persia&mdash;from which, however,
-he never returned. He had thirty thousand
-foot, and five thousand horse, and a supply of money.
-His troops were well armed, the infantry bearing
-shields, spears, and battle-axes of iron; the horse were
-equipped with similar weapons, but defended with helmets
-and breastplates. The officers all bore swords.
-The arms of the Persians were similar, though many
-of their troops used the bow: the forces of Alexander
-were, however, better provided, better trained,
-and far more athletic than their Asiatic enemies.</p>
-
-<p>We must pause a moment to look at that mighty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span>
-power which had now swallowed up Assyria, Babylon,
-and the countries from the Grecian Archipelago on the
-west, to India on the east; an extent of territory nearly
-three thousand miles in length, and comprehending
-at once the most fertile and populous region on the
-face of the globe. Such were the power and resources
-of the Persian empire, that, about one hundred
-and fifty years prior to the date of which we are
-speaking, it had sent an army, with its attendants, of
-five millions of persons, to conquer that very Greece,
-which was now preparing to roll back the tide of war,
-and put a final period to its proud existence.</p>
-
-<p>The reigning king of Persia was Darius III., a weak
-but conceited monarch, who held his court at the
-splendid city of Persepolis, which had long been the
-capital of the empire. His situation was very similar
-to that of the sultan of Turkey at the present day.
-The Persians, though their king ruled over almost
-countless nations, were comparatively few in number.
-His revenue was derived from the tribute of dependent
-princes, and the extortions made by his own
-satraps or governors. His empire, consisting of so
-many nations, required constant watchfulness, to keep
-all parts in subjection; and as the Asiatic troops were
-inferior, he kept in his pay, at all times, a considerable
-number of renegade Greeks, as soldiers.</p>
-
-<p>Being made aware of the design of Alexander,
-Darius sent a vast army westward, and marching into
-Syria himself, determined there to await his enemy.
-Alexander crossed the Propontis, now Sea of Marmora,
-which immediately brought him into Asia Minor, and
-the dominions of Persia. As soon as he landed, he
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>went to Ilium, the scene of the Trojan war, and the
-ten years' siege of Troy, celebrated in the Iliad. He
-anointed the pillar upon Achilles' tomb with oil&mdash;and
-he and his friends ran naked around it, according
-to the custom which then prevailed. He also adorned
-it with a wreath, in the form of a crown. These ceremonies
-are supposed to have been intended to enforce
-the belief that he was descended from Achilles&mdash;a
-claim which he always maintained.</p>
-
-<p>Meantime, the Persian generals had pushed forward
-and posted themselves upon the banks of the Granicus,
-a small river now called Ousvola, which empties
-into the sea of Marmora. Alexander led the attack
-upon them by plunging into the river with his horse.
-He advanced, with thirteen of his troop, in the face
-of a cloud of arrows; and though swept down by the
-rapidity of the current, and opposed by steep banks
-lined with cavalry, he forced his way, by irresistible
-strength and impetuosity, across the stream. Standing
-upon the muddy slope, his troops were now obliged
-to sustain a furious attack, hand to hand, and eye to
-eye. The Persian troops, cheered by their vantage
-ground, pushed on with terrific shouts, and hurled
-their javelins, like snow-flakes, upon the Macedonians.
-Alexander, being himself distinguished by his buckler
-and crest, decorated with white plumes, was the
-special object of attack. His cuirass was pierced by
-a javelin, at the joint; but thus far he was unhurt.
-Now he was assailed by two chiefs of great distinction.
-Evading one, he engaged the other; after a
-desperate struggle, in which his crest was shorn
-away, and his helmet cleft to his hair, he slew one of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>the chiefs, and was saved, at the moment of deadly
-peril, by the hand of his friend Clytus, who despatched
-the other.</p>
-
-<p>While Alexander's cavalry were fighting with the
-utmost fury, the Macedonian phalanx and the infantry
-crossed the river, and now engaged the enemy.
-The effect of a leader's example was never more displayed.
-Alexander's exhibition of courage and prowess,
-made every soldier a hero. They fought, indeed,
-like persons who knew nothing, and cared for nothing,
-but to destroy the enemy. Some of the Persians gave
-way and fled. Their hireling Greeks, however, maintained
-the fight, and Alexander's horse was killed under
-him&mdash;but not Bucephalus. "When Greek meets
-Greek, then comes the tug of war." The fight was,
-indeed, severe, but at last Alexander triumphed. The
-victory was complete. The loss of the Persians was
-twenty-five thousand slain; that of the Macedonians
-less than fifty.</p>
-
-<p>Alexander had now passed the gates of Asia, and
-had obtained entrance into the dominions of the enemy.
-He paused for a time to pay the last honors to
-the dead. To each, he erected a statue of brass, executed
-by Lysippus. Upon the arms which were taken
-and distributed among the troops, he caused this inscription
-to be made:&mdash;"Won by Alexander, of the
-barbarians in Asia!"</p>
-
-<p>We may pause here to note that Bonaparte seems
-to have imitated the Macedonian conqueror in this
-kind of boasting. As he was on his march to Russia,
-he caused to be graven on a stone fountain at Coblentz
-upon the Rhine, as follows:</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>"Year MDCCCXII. <i>Memorable for the campaign
-against Russia.</i> 1812."</p>
-
-<p>The Russian commander, when Napoleon had been
-dethroned, passing through Coblentz with his troops,
-caused to be carved, immediately beneath as follows:</p>
-
-<p>"<i>Seen and approved by the Russian commander of
-the town of Coblentz, January 1, 1814.</i>"</p>
-
-<p>It is true that no such speedy retort awaited the
-Macedonian conqueror, yet he was bound upon an
-errand which was ere long to put a period to his proud
-career.</p>
-
-<p>Alexander soon pushed on to the East, and, meeting
-Darius near the Gulf of Issus, now Aias, and
-forming the north-eastern point of the Mediterranean,
-a tremendous engagement took place. Darius was
-defeated, and more than one hundred thousand of his
-soldiers lay dead on the field. Darius escaped with
-difficulty, leaving his tent, and even his wife and
-daughter, in the hands of the enemy. When the
-fighting was over, Alexander went to see the tent of
-Darius. It was, indeed, a curiosity to one like the
-Macedonian king, little acquainted with eastern refinements.
-He gazed for a time at the luxurious baths of
-Darius; his vases, boxes, vials and basins, all of
-wrought gold; he inhaled the luscious perfumes, and
-surveyed the rich silk drapery and gorgeous furniture
-of the tent&mdash;and then exclaimed, contemptuously&mdash;"This,
-then, it seems, is to be a king,"&mdash;intimating
-that if these were the only distinctions of a king, the
-title deserved contempt.</p>
-
-<p>While Alexander was thus occupied, he was told
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span>that the wife and daughter of Darius were his captives.
-The queen was one of the loveliest women
-that was ever known, and his daughter was also exceedingly
-beautiful. Though Alexander was told all
-this, he sent word to the afflicted ladies that they need
-have no fear; and he caused them to be treated with
-the utmost delicacy and attention. He refrained from
-using his power in any way to their annoyance; and
-thus displayed one of the noblest graces of a gentleman
-and a man&mdash;a nice regard for the feelings of the
-gentler sex. This anecdote of the conqueror has
-shed more honor upon his name for two thousand
-years, than the victory of the Issus; nor will it cease
-to be cited in his praise, as long as history records his
-name.</p>
-
-<p>The historians represent Alexander as simple in
-his tastes and habits at this period. He was temperate
-in eating, drank wine with great moderation,
-and if he sat long at table, it was for the purpose of
-conversation, in which he excelled, though given to
-boasting of his military exploits. When business
-called, nothing could detain him; but in times of leisure,
-his first business in the morning was to sacrifice
-to the gods. He then took his dinner, sitting. The
-rest of the day he spent in hunting, or deciding differences
-among his troops, or in reading and writing.
-Sometimes he would exercise himself in shooting or
-darting the javelin, or in mounting and alighting from
-a chariot in full career. Sometimes, also, he diverted
-himself with fowling and fox-hunting. His chief
-meal was supper, which he took at evening, and in a
-recumbent posture, with his friends around him.
-He was not fond of delicacies and though they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>
-always found at his table, he usually sent them to
-others. Such was Alexander during the early periods
-of his campaigns in Asia.</p>
-
-<p>After various operations, Alexander marched against
-Ph&oelig;nicia and Sidon, which submitted at once. Tyre
-resisted, but, after a siege of seven months, was
-taken by storm. Eight thousand Tyrians fell in the
-onslaught, and thirty thousand captives were sold into
-slavery. Gaza was now taken, after a siege of two
-months. Alexander then marched to Jerusalem, to
-punish the inhabitants for refusing to supply him
-with men and money. The high priest, Jaddus,
-went forth to meet the conqueror, attended by the
-priests and the people, with all the imposing emblems
-and signs of the Jewish religion. Alexander was so
-struck with the spectacle, that he pardoned the people,
-adored the name of the Most High, and performed
-sacrifices in the temple, according to the instructions
-of Jaddus. The book of the prophet Daniel was
-shown to him, and the passage pointed out in which
-it was foretold that the king of Grecia would overcome
-the king of Persia, with which he was well
-pleased.</p>
-
-<p>The conqueror now turned his arms against Egypt,
-which yielded without striking a blow. Having
-established the government on a liberal footing, he
-set out, A. D. 331, to attack the Persian king, who
-had gathered an army of a million of men, and was
-now in Persia. About this time, he received a letter
-from Darius, in which that prince proposed, on condition
-of a pacification and future friendship, to pay him
-ten thousand talents in ransom of his prisoners, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span>
-cede him all the countries on this side the Euphrates,
-and to give him his daughter in marriage. Upon
-his communicating these proposals to his friends, Parmenio
-said, "If I were Alexander, I would accept
-them." "So would I," said Alexander, "if I were
-Parmenio." The answer he gave Darius, was, "that
-if he would come to him, he should find the best of
-treatment; if not, he must go and seek him."</p>
-
-<p>In consequence of this declaration, he began his
-march; but he repented that he had set out so soon,
-when he received information that the wife of Darius
-was dead. That princess died in childbed; and the
-concern of Alexander was great, because he lost an
-opportunity of exercising his clemency. All he could
-do was to return, and bury her with the utmost magnificence.</p>
-
-<p>Alexander, having subdued various places that held
-out against him, now proceeded in his march against
-Darius. He found him with his immense army encamped
-on the banks of the Bumadus, a small river in
-what is now called Kourdistan. Alexander immediately
-approached, and prepared for battle. Being
-near the enemy at night, the murmur of the immense
-multitude, seeming like the roaring of the sea, startled
-one of Alexander's friends, who advised him to attack
-them in the night. The reply was, "I will not steal
-a victory!"</p>
-
-<p>During that night, though it was foreseen that a
-dreadful and doubtful battle was to be fought the next
-day, Alexander, having made his preparations, slept
-soundly. In the morning, on the field, he wore a
-short coat, girt close about him; over that, a breast
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>plate of linen strongly quilted, which he had taken
-in the battle of the Issus. His helmet was of polished
-iron, and shone like silver. To this was fixed a gorget,
-set with precious stones. His sword was light,
-and of the finest temper. The belt he wore was superb
-and was given him by the Rhodians, as a mark
-of respect. In reviewing and exercising, he spared
-Bucephalus, but he rode him in battle, and when he
-mounted his back it was always a signal for the onset.</p>
-
-<p>Aristander, the soothsayer, rode by the side of
-Alexander, in a white robe, and with a golden crown
-upon his head. He looked up, and lo, an eagle was
-sailing over the army! His course was towards the
-enemy. The army caught sight of the noble bird,
-and, taking it for a good omen, they now charged the
-enemy like a torrent. They were bravely resisted,
-but Alexander and his troops burst down upon them
-like an overwhelming avalanche, cutting their way
-towards the tent of Darius. The path was impeded
-by the slaughtered heaps that gathered before them,
-and their horses were embarrassed by the mangled and
-dying soldiers, who clung to the legs of the animals,
-seeking in their last agonies to resist them. Darius,
-now in the utmost peril, turned to fly, but his chariot
-became entangled in the slain. Seeing this, he
-mounted a swift horse, and fled to Bactriana, where
-he was treacherously murdered by Bessus.</p>
-
-<p>Alexander was now declared king of all Asia, and,
-though this might seem the summit of his glory, it
-was the point at which his character begins to decline.
-He now affected the pomp of an eastern prince, and
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>addicted himself to dissipation. He, however, continued
-his conquests. He marched to Babylon, which
-opened its gates for his reception. He proceeded to
-Persepolis, which he took by surprise. Here, in a
-drunken frolic, and instigated by an abandoned woman,
-named Thais, he set fire to the palace, which was
-burnt to the ground.</p>
-
-<p>He now marched into Parthia, and, meeting with a
-beautiful princess, named Roxana, daughter of a Bactrian
-king, he fell in love with her, and married her.
-Some time after this, upon some suspicion of the
-fidelity of Philotas, the son of Parmenio, he caused
-him to be put to the torture till he died. He then
-sent orders to have his father, an old and faithful soldier,
-who had fought under Philip, and who was now
-in Media, to be put to death, which were but too
-faithfully executed. This horrid transaction was soon
-followed by another, still more dreadful. Under the
-excitement of wine, a dispute arose between Alexander
-and Clytus, the brave officer who had saved his
-life at the battle of the Granicus.</p>
-
-<p>Both became greatly excited: taunts and gibes
-were uttered on either side. Alexander, unable longer
-to keep down his rage, threw an apple in the face of
-Clytus, and then looked about for his sword; but one
-of his friends had prudently taken it away. Clytus
-was now forced out of the room, but he soon came
-back, and repeated the words of Euripides, meaning
-to apply them to Alexander:</p>
-
-
-
-<div class="poem">
-  <div class="stanza">
-    <span class="i0">"Are these your customs?&mdash;Is it thus that Greece<br /></span>
-    <span class="i1"> Rewards her combatants? Shall one man claim<br /></span>
-    <span class="i1"> The trophies won by thousands?"<br /></span>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-
-
-<p>The conqueror was now wholly beside himself.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>He seized a spear from one of the guards, and, at a
-plunge, ran it through the body of Clytus, who fell
-dead, uttering a dismal groan as he expired.</p>
-
-<p>Alexander's rage subsided in a moment. Seeing
-his friends standing around in silent astonishment, he
-hastily drew out the spear, and was applying it to
-his own throat, when his guards seized him, and carried
-him by force to his chamber. Here the pangs
-of remorse stung him to the quick. Tears fell fast
-for a time, and then succeeded a moody, melancholy
-silence, only broken by groans. His friends attempted
-in vain to console him. It was not till after long and
-painful suffering, that he was restored to his wonted
-composure.</p>
-
-<p>Alexander now set out for the conquest of India,
-then a populous country, and the seat of immense
-wealth. After a series of splendid achievements, he
-reached the banks of the Hydaspes, a considerable
-stream that flows into the Indus. Here he was met by
-Porus, an Indian king, with an army, in which were
-a large number of elephants. A bloody battle followed,
-in which Alexander was victorious and Porus
-made captive. "How do you wish to be treated?" said
-Alexander to the unfortunate monarch. "Like a
-king," was the brief, but significant reply. Alexander
-granted his request, restored his dominions and much
-enlarged them, making him, however, one of his tributaries.</p>
-
-<p>The conqueror, not yet satisfied, wished to push
-on to the Ganges; but his army refusing to go farther,
-he was forced to return. On his way back, he
-paid a visit to the ocean, and, in a battle with some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>
-savage tribes, being severely wounded, he came near
-losing his life. On the borders of the sea, he and his
-companions first saw the ebbing and flowing of the
-tide,&mdash;a fact of which they were before entirely ignorant.
-In this expedition the army suffered greatly:
-when it set out for India, it consisted of 150.000 men:
-on its return, it was reduced to one fourth of that
-number.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%" >
-<img src="images/178.jpg" alt="Alexander the Great" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<p>Coming to a fertile district, Alexander paused to
-recruit, and refresh his men. He then proceeded,
-keeping up a kind of bacchanalian f�te, in which the
-whole army participated. His own chariot was drawn
-by eight horses: it consisted of a huge platform
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span>where he and his friends revelled, day and night.
-This carriage was followed by others, some covered
-with rich purple silk and others with fresh boughs.
-In these were the generals, crowned with flowers, and
-inebriated with wine. In the immense procession
-there was not a spear, helmet, or buckler, but in their
-places cups, flagons, and goblets. The whole country
-resounded with flutes, clarionets, and joyous songs.
-The scene was attended with the riotous dances and
-frolics of a multitude of women. This licentious
-march continued for seven days.</p>
-
-<p>When he arrived at Susa, in Persia, he married a
-great number of his friends to Persian ladies. He
-set the example by taking Statira, daughter of Darius,
-to himself, and gave her sister to Heph�stion, his
-dearest friend. He now made a nuptial feast for the
-newly-married people, and nine thousand persons sat
-down to the entertainment. Each one was honored
-with a golden cup.</p>
-
-<p>On his return to Babylon, Alexander determined
-to make that place his residence and capital, and set
-about various plans for carrying this into effect. But
-his mind seemed haunted with superstitious fears.
-Everything that happened was construed into an
-augury of evil. The court swarmed with sacrifices
-and soothsayers, but still, for a long time, peace could
-not be obtained by the monarch.</p>
-
-<p>At last he seemed to be relieved, and being asked
-by Medias to a carousal, he drank all day and all
-night, until he found a fever coming upon him. He
-then desisted, but it was too late. The disease increased,
-setting at defiance every attempt at remedy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>
-and in the space of about thirty days he died. Such
-was the miserable end of Alexander the Great. His
-wife, Roxana, with the aid of Perdiccas, murdered
-Statira and her sister, and the empire of the mighty
-conqueror was divided between four of his officers.</p>
-
-<p>The great achievement of Alexander&mdash;the grand
-result of his life&mdash;was the subjugation of the Persian
-monarchy, which lay like an incubus upon the numerous
-nations that existed between the Indus and
-the Euxine sea, and at the same time intercepted the
-communication between Europe and Asia. It was
-an achievement far greater than it would be now to
-overthrow the Ottoman throne, and give independence
-to the various tribes and states that are at present
-under its dominion. That he accomplished this
-work for any good motive, we cannot maintain, for
-his whole course shows, that, like all other conquerors,
-his actions began and terminated in himself.</p>
-
-<p>The character of Alexander has been delineated in
-the course of this brief sketch. We have not been
-able to give the details of all his battles, marches, and
-countermarches. His achievements were indeed stupendous.
-He crossed the Propontis in 334, and died
-in 323. It was in the brief space of eleven years,
-and at the age of thirty-three, that he had accomplished
-the deeds of which we have given a naked
-outline. Nor was he a mere warrior. He displayed
-great talents as a statesman, and many of the traits
-of a gentleman. His whole life, indeed, was founded
-upon an atrocious wrong&mdash;that one man may sacrifice
-millions of lives for his own pleasure&mdash;but this was
-the error of the age. As before intimated, considered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>
-in the light of Christianity, he was a monster; yet,
-according to the heathen model, he was a hero, and
-almost a god.</p>
-
-<p>In seeking for the motives which impelled Alexander
-forward in his meteor-like career we shall see
-that it was the love of glory&mdash;an inspiration like that
-of the chase, in which the field is an empire, and the
-game a monarch. In this wild ambition, he was
-stimulated by the Iliad of Homer, and it was his darling
-dream to match the bloody deeds of its heroes&mdash;Ajax
-and Achilles. It is impossible to see in his
-conduct, anything which shows a regard to the permanent
-happiness of mankind. He makes war, as if
-might were the only test of right; and he sacrifices
-nations to his thirst of conquest, with as little question
-of the rectitude of his conduct, as is entertained
-by the lion when he slays the antelope, or the sportsman
-when he brings down his game.</p>
-
-<p>Although we see many noble traits in Alexander,
-the real selfishness of his character is evinced in his
-famous letter to Aristotle. The latter, having published
-some of his works, is sharply rebuked by the
-conqueror, who says to him&mdash;"Now that you have
-done this, what advantage have I, your pupil, over
-the rest of mankind, since you have put it in the
-power of others to possess the knowledge which
-before was only imparted to me!" What can be
-more narrow and selfish than this? Even the current
-standard of morals in Alexander's time, would
-condemn this as excessive meanness.</p>
-
-<p>We must not omit to record the last days of one
-that figures in Alexander's annals, and is hardly less<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>
-famous than the conqueror himself&mdash;we mean his
-noble horse, Bucephalus. This animal, more renowned
-than any other of his race, died on the banks
-of the Hydaspes. Craterus was ordered to superintend
-the building of two cities, one on each side of
-this river. The object was to secure the passage in
-future. That on the left bank was named Nic�a, the
-other Bucephala, in honor of the favorite horse, which
-had expired in battle without a wound, being worn
-out by age, heat, and over-exertion. He was then
-thirty years old. He was a large, powerful, and spirited
-horse, and would allow no one but Alexander to
-mount him. From a mark of a bull's head imprinted
-on him, he derived his name, Bucephalus; though
-some say that he was so called in consequence of
-having in his forehead a white mark resembling a
-bull's head.</p>
-
-<p>Once this famous charger, whose duties were restricted
-to the field of battle, was intercepted, and fell
-into the hands of the Uxians. Alexander caused a
-proclamation to be made, that, if Bucephalus were
-not restored, he would wage a war of extirpation
-against the whole nation. The restoration of the
-animal instantly followed the receipt of this notification;
-so great was Alexander's regard for his horse
-and so great the terror of his name among the barbarians.
-"Thus far," writes Arrian, "let Bucephalus
-be honored by me, for the sake of his master."</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/183.jpg" alt="Aristotle" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>ARISTOTLE.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This great philosopher was born at Stagira, or
-Stageira, in Macedonia, 384 B. C. His father, physician
-to Amyntas II., king of Macedonia, commenced
-the education of his son, intending to prepare him
-for his own profession; and the studies pursued by
-the latter with this object, doubtless laid the foundation
-for that lore of natural history, which he displayed
-through life, and which he cultivated with
-such success.</p>
-
-<p>Aristotle lost both his parents while he was still
-young. After their death, he was brought up under
-Proxenes, a citizen of Mysia, in Asia Minor, who had
-settled in Stagira. Aristotle testified his gratitude to
-Proxenes and his wife, by directing, in his will, that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>
-statues of them should be executed at his expense
-and set up as his parents. He also educated their
-son Nicanor, to whom he gave his daughter Pythias
-in marriage.</p>
-
-<p>In his eighteenth year, Aristotle left Stagira and
-went to Athens, the centre of letters and learning in
-Greece&mdash;doubtless attracted thither by the fame of
-the philosopher, Plato. It appears, however, that
-during the three first years of his residence there,
-Plato was absent on a visit to Sicily. There can be
-no doubt that Aristotle paid particular attention to
-anatomy and medicine, as appears both from his circumstances
-in youth, and what we know of his best
-writings. It is also probable, as is indicated by some
-statements of ancient writers, that for a space he practised,
-like Locke, the healing art; he must, however,
-from an early age, have devoted his whole time to the
-study of philosophy and the investigation of nature,
-and have abandoned all thoughts of an exclusively
-professional career.</p>
-
-<p>His eagerness for the acquisition of knowledge, and
-his extraordinary acuteness and sagacity, doubtless
-attracted Plato's attention at an early period; thus we
-are told that his master called him "the Intellect of
-the school," and his house, the "House of the reader;"
-that he said Aristotle required the curb, while Zenocrates,
-a fellow-disciple, required the spur; some of
-which traditions are probably true. We are likewise
-informed that when reading he used to hold a brazen
-ball in his hand over a basin, in order that, if he fell
-asleep, he might be awaked by the noise which it
-would make in falling. Although Aristotle did not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>
-during Plato's life, set up any school in opposition to
-him, as some writers have stated, he taught publicly
-in the art of rhetoric, and by this means became the
-rival of the celebrated Isocrates, whom he appears,
-notwithstanding his very advanced age, to have attacked
-with considerable violence, and to have treated
-with much contempt.</p>
-
-<p>Aristotle remained at Athens till Plato's death, 347
-B. C., having at that time reached his thirty-seventh
-year. Many stories are preserved by the ancient
-compilers of anecdotes, respecting the enmity between
-Plato and Aristotle, caused by the ingratitude of the
-disciple, as well as by certain peculiarities of his character
-which were displeasing to the master. But
-these rumors appear to have no other foundation than
-the known variance between the opinions and the
-mental habits of the two philosophers; and particularly
-the opposition which Aristotle made to Plato's
-characteristic doctrine of ideas; whence it was inferred
-that there must have been an interruption of their
-friendly relations. The probability, however, is, that
-Aristotle, at whatever time he may have formed his
-philosophical opinions, had not published them in an
-authoritative shape, or entered into any public controversy,
-before his master's death. In his Nicomachean
-Ethics, moreover, which was probably one of his
-latest works, he says "that it is painful to him to
-refute the doctrine of ideas, as it had been introduced
-by persons who were his friends: nevertheless, that
-it is his duty to disregard such private feelings; for
-both philosophers and truth being dear to him, it is
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>right to give the preference to truth." He is, likewise,
-stated to have erected an altar to his master
-inscribing on it that he was a man "whom the wicked
-ought not even to praise."</p>
-
-<p>After the death of Plato, Aristotle left Athens and
-went to live at the court of Hermeias, prince of Atarneus.
-He had resided here but three years, when
-Hermeias, falling into the hands of the Persians, was
-put to death. Aristotle took refuge in Mytilene, the
-chief city of Lesbos. Here he married Pythias, sister
-of Hermeias, and who, being exposed to persecution
-from the Persians, now coming into power there, he
-saved by a rapid flight. For the patriotic and philosophical
-prince Hermeias, Aristotle entertained a
-fervent and deep affection, and he dedicated to his
-memory a beautiful poem, which is still extant. On
-account of the admiration he expresses of his friend,
-he was afterwards absurdly charged with impiety in
-deifying a mortal.</p>
-
-<p>In the year 356 B. C., Philip of Macedon wrote a
-famous letter to Aristotle, as follows: "King Philip
-of Macedon, to Aristotle, greeting. Know that a
-son has been born to me. I thank the gods, not so
-much that they have given him to me, as that they
-have permitted him to be born in the time of Aristotle.
-I hope that thou wilt form him to be a king worthy
-to succeed me, and to rule the Macedonians."</p>
-
-<p>In the year 342 B. C., Aristotle was invited by
-Philip to take charge of the education of his son,
-Alexander, then fourteen years old. This charge was
-accepted, and Alexander was under his care three or
-four years. The particulars of his method of instruction
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span>are not known to us; but when we see the greatness
-of mind that Alexander displayed in the first
-years of his reign,&mdash;his command of his passions till
-flattery had corrupted him, and his regard for the arts
-and sciences,&mdash;we cannot but think that his education
-was judiciously conducted. It may be objected that
-Aristotle neglected to guard his pupil against ambition
-and the love of conquest; but it must be recollected
-that he was a Greek, and of course a natural enemy
-to the Persian kings; his hatred had been deepened
-by the fate of his friend Hermeias; and, finally, the
-conquest of Persia had, for a long time, been the wish
-of all Greece. It was, therefore, natural that Aristotle
-should exert all his talents to form his pupil with
-the disposition and qualifications necessary for the
-accomplishment of this object.</p>
-
-<p>Both father and son sought to show their gratitude
-for the services of such a teacher. Philip rebuilt
-Stagira, and established a school there for Aristotle.
-The Stagirites, in gratitude for this service, appointed
-a yearly festival, called <i>Aristotelia</i>. The philosopher
-continued at Alexander's court a year after his accession
-to the throne, and is said to have then repaired
-to Athens. Ammonius, the Eclectic, says that he
-followed his pupil in a part of his campaigns; and
-this seems very probable; for it is hardly possible that
-so many animals as the philosopher describes could
-have been sent to Athens, or that he could have given
-so accurate a description of them without having personally
-dissected and examined them. We may conjecture
-that he accompanied Alexander as far as
-Egypt, and returned to Athens about 331 B. C., pro<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>vided
-with the materials for his excellent History of
-Animals.</p>
-
-<p>Aristotle, after parting with Alexander, returned to
-Athens, where he resolved to open a school, and
-chose a house, which, from its vicinity to the temple
-of Apollo Lyceus, was called the <i>Lyceum</i>. Attached
-to this building was a garden, with walks, in Greek
-<i>peripatoi</i>, where Aristotle used to deliver his instructions
-to his disciples; whence his school obtained the
-name of <i>peripatetic</i>. It appears that his habit was
-to give one lecture in the early part of the day on
-the abstruser parts of his philosophy, to his more advanced
-scholars, which was called the <i>morning walk</i>,
-and lasted till the hour when people dressed and
-anointed themselves; and another lecture, called the
-<i>evening walk</i>, on more popular subjects, to a less select
-class.</p>
-
-<p>It was probably during the thirteen years of his
-second residence at Athens, that Aristotle composed
-or completed the greater part of his works which
-have descended to our days. The foundation of most
-of them was, doubtless, laid at an early period of his
-life; but they appear to have been gradually formed,
-and to have received continual additions and corrections.
-Among the works which especially belong to
-this period of his life, are his treatises on Natural
-History; which, as has been correctly observed by a
-late writer on this subject, are not to be considered as
-the result of his own observations only, but as a collection
-of all that had been observed by others, as well
-as by himself.</p>
-
-<p>It is stated by Pliny, that "Alexander the Great,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>
-being smitten with the desire of knowing the natures
-of animals, ordered several thousand persons, over the
-whole of Asia and Greece, who lived by hunting, bird-catching
-and fishing, or who had the care of parks,
-herds, hives, seines, and aviaries, to furnish Aristotle
-with materials for a work on animals." We are
-likewise informed that Aristotle received from Alexander
-the enormous sum of eight hundred talents,&mdash;nearly
-a million of dollars, to prosecute his researches
-in natural history,&mdash;a circumstance which did not
-escape the malice of his traducers, who censured him
-for receiving gifts from princes. Seneca, who states
-that Philip furnished Aristotle with large sums of
-money for his history of animals, had, doubtless, confounded
-the father and son.</p>
-
-<p>Callisthenes, a relation of Aristotle, by his recommendation,
-attended Alexander in his expedition to
-Asia, and sent from Babylon to the philosopher, in
-compliance with his previous injunctions, the astronomical
-observations which were preserved in that
-ancient city, and which, according to the statement
-of Porphyrius, reached back as far as 1903 years
-before the time of Alexander the Great; that is, 2234
-years before the Christian era.</p>
-
-<p>Aristotle had, at this time, reached the most prosperous
-period of his life. The founder and leader of
-the principal school of Greece, and the undisputed
-head of Grecian philosophy, surrounded by his numerous
-disciples and admirers, protected by the conqueror
-of Asia, and by him furnished with the means
-of following his favorite pursuits, and of gratifying
-his universal spirit of inquiry, he had, probably, little
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span>to desire in order to fill up the measure of a philosopher's
-ambition. But he did not continue to enjoy
-the favor of Alexander till the end. Callisthenes, by
-his free-spoken censures and uncourtly habits, had
-offended his master, and had been executed, on a
-charge of having conspired with some Macedonians
-to take away his life; and the king's wrath appears
-to have extended to his kinsman, Aristotle, as being
-the person who had originally recommended him. It
-is not, however, probable that this circumstance
-caused any active enmity between the royal pupil and
-his master; even if we did not know that Alexander
-died a natural death, there would be no reason for
-listening to the absurd calumny that Aristotle was
-concerned in poisoning him. Aristotle indeed appears
-to have been considered, to the last, as a partisan of
-Alexander, and an opponent of the democratic interest.</p>
-
-<p>When the anti-Macedonian party obtained the superiority
-at Athens in consequence of Alexander's
-death, an accusation against Aristotle was immediately
-prepared, and the pretext selected, was, as in
-the case of Socrates, <i>impiety</i>, or <i>blasphemy</i>. He was
-charged by Eurymedon, the priest, and a man named
-Demophilus, probably a leader of the popular party,
-with paying divine honors to Hermeias, and perhaps
-with teaching certain irreligious doctrines. In order
-to escape this danger, and to prevent the Athenians,
-as he said, in allusion to the death of Socrates, from
-"sinning twice against philosophy," he quitted Athens
-in the beginning of the year 322 B. C., and took
-refuge at Chalcis, in Eub&oelig;a, an island then under the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span>
-Macedonian influence&mdash;leaving Theophrastus his successor
-in the Lyceum. There he died, of a disease
-of the stomach, in the autumn of the same year, being
-in the sixty-third year of his age. His frame is said
-to have been slender and weakly, and his health had
-given way in the latter part of his life, having probably
-been impaired by his unwearied studies and the
-intense application of his mind. The story of his
-having drowned himself in the Euripus of Eub&oelig;a, is
-fabulous.</p>
-
-<p>The characteristic of Aristotle's philosophy, as
-compared with that of Plato, is, that while the latter
-gave free scope to his imagination, and, by his doctrine
-that we have ideas independent of the objects
-which they represent, opened a wide door to the
-dreams of mysticism&mdash;the latter was a close and strict
-observer of both mental and physical phenomena,
-avoiding all the seductions of the fancy, and following
-a severe, methodical, and strictly scientific course of
-inquiry, founded on data ascertained by experience.
-The truly philosophical character of his mind, and
-his calm and singularly dispassionate manner of writing,
-are not more remarkable than the vast extent
-both of his reading and of his original researches.
-His writings appear to have embraced nearly the
-whole circle of the theoretical and practical knowledge
-of his time, comprising treatises on logical, metaphysical,
-rhetorical, poetical, ethical, political, economical,
-physical, mechanical, and medical science. He likewise
-wrote on some parts of the mathematics; and,
-besides a collection of the constitutions of all the
-states known in his age, both Grecian and barbarian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span>
-he made chronological compilations relating to the
-political and dramatic history of Greece.</p>
-
-<p>His works, however, though embracing so large an
-extent of subjects, were not a mere encyclop�dia, or
-digest of existing knowledge; some of the sciences
-which he treated of were created by himself, and the
-others were enriched by fresh inquiries, and methodized
-by his systematic diligence. To the former
-belong his works on analytics and dialectics, or, as it
-is now called, logic; to the invention of which science
-he distinctly lays claim, stating that "before
-his time nothing whatever had been done in it."
-Nearly the same remark applies to his metaphysical
-treatise. "But of all the sciences," says Cuvier,
-"there is none which owes more to Aristotle, than
-the natural history of animals. Not only was he
-acquainted with a great number of species, but he has
-studied and described them on a luminous and comprehensive
-plan, to which, perhaps, none of his successors
-has approached; classing the facts not according
-to the species, but according to the organs and
-functions, the only method of establishing comparative
-results. Thus it may be said that he is not only the
-most ancient author of comparative anatomy, whose
-works have come down to us, but that he is one of
-those who have treated this branch of natural history
-with the most genius, and that he best deserves to be
-taken for a model. The principal divisions which
-naturalists still follow in the animal kingdom, are due
-to Aristotle; and he had already pointed out several
-which have recently been again adopted, after having
-once been improperly abandoned. If the foundations<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>
-of these great labors are examined, it will be seen
-that they all rest on the same method. Everywhere
-Aristotle observes the facts with attention; he compares
-them with sagacity, and endeavors to rise to
-the qualities which they have in common."</p>
-
-<p>Among the sciences which he found partly cultivated,
-but which he greatly advanced, the most prominent
-are those of rhetoric, ethics, and politics. Of
-rhetoric he defined the province, and analyzed all the
-parts with admirable skill and sagacity. His treatise
-on the passions, in this short but comprehensive work,
-has never been surpassed, if it has ever been equalled,
-by writers on what may be termed descriptive moral
-philosophy. His ethical writings contain an excellent
-practical code of morality, chiefly founded on the
-maxim that virtues are in the middle, between two
-opposite vices; as courage between cowardice and
-fool-hardiness, liberality between niggardliness and
-prodigality, &amp;c. His remarks on friendship are also
-deserving of special notice; a subject much discussed
-by the ancients, but which has less occupied the attention
-of philosophers, since love has played a more
-prominent part, in consequence of the influence of the
-Germans, and the introduction of the manners of chivalry
-in western Europe. His treatise on politics is
-not, like Plato's Republic, and the works of many
-later speculators on government, a mere inquiry after
-a perfect state, but contains an account of the nature
-of government, of the various forms of which it is
-susceptible, and the institutions best adapted to the
-societies in which these forms are established; with
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>an essay, though unhappily an imperfect one, on education.
-This treatise is valuable, not only for its theoretical
-results, but also for the large amount of
-information which it contains, on the governments of
-Greece and other neighboring countries. Throughout
-these last-mentioned works, the knowledge of the
-world and of human nature displayed by Aristotle, is
-very observable; and, although his mind appears to
-have preferred the investigations of physical and metaphysical
-science, yet he holds a very high place in
-the highest rank of moral and political philosophers.
-Aristotle, it will be remembered, did not lead the life
-of a recluse; but, as the friend of Hermeias, the teacher
-of Alexander, and the head of a philosophical school,
-he was brought into contact with a great variety of
-persons, and learned by practice to know life under
-many different forms, and in many different relations.</p>
-
-<p>Of all the philosophers of antiquity, Aristotle has
-produced the most lasting and extensive effect on
-mankind. His philosophical works, many centuries
-after his death, obtained a prodigious influence, not
-only in Europe, but even in Asia; they were translated
-into Arabic, and from thence an abstract of his
-logical system passed into the language of Persia.
-In Europe they acquired an immense ascendency in
-the middle ages, and were considered as an authority
-without appeal, and only second to that of Scripture;
-we are even informed that in a part of Germany his
-ethics were read in the churches on Sunday, in the
-place of the Gospels. Parts of his philosophy, which
-are the most worthless, as his Physics, were much
-cultivated; and his logical writings were, in many
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>cases, abused so as to lead to vain subtleties, and captious
-contests about words. The connection between
-some of his tenets and the Roman Catholic theology,
-tended much to uphold his authority, which the
-Reformation lowered in a corresponding degree. His
-doctrines were in general strongly opposed by the
-early reformers. In 1518 Luther sustained a thesis at
-Heidelberg, affirming that "he who wishes to philosophize
-in Aristotle, must be first stultified in Christ."
-Luther, however, gave way afterwards, and did not
-oppose Aristotle, as to human learning. Melanchthon,
-who was one of the mildest of the reformers, was a
-great supporter of Aristotle. Many of his doctrines
-were in the same century zealously attacked by the
-French philosopher, Pierre Ramus. Bacon, afterwards,
-with others of his followers, added the weight
-of their arguments and authority against him. Aristotle's
-philosophy accordingly fell into undeserved
-neglect during the latter part of the seventeenth, and
-the whole of the eighteenth century. Of late, however,
-the true worth of his writings has been more fully
-appreciated, and the study of his best treatises has
-much revived.</p>
-
-<p>The most valuable of Aristotle's lost works, and indeed
-the most valuable of all the lost works of Greek
-prose, is his collection of One Hundred and Fifty-eight
-Constitutions, both of Grecian and Barbarian
-States, the Democratic, Oligarchical, Aristocratical,
-and Tyrannical, being treated separately, containing
-an account of the manners, customs, and institutions
-of each country. The loss of his works on Colonies,
-on Nobility, and on Royal Government; of his Chronological
-Collections, and of his Epistles to Philip,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>
-Alexander, Antipater, and others, is also much to be
-regretted. He likewise revised a copy of the Iliad,
-which Alexander carried with him during his campaigns,
-in a precious casket; hence this recension,
-called the <i>casket copy</i>, passed into the Alexandrine
-library, and was used by the Alexandrine critics.
-His entire works, according to Diogenes Laertius,
-occupied in the Greek manuscripts 445,270 lines.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 40%" >
-<img src="images/196.jpg" alt="man" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/197.jpg" alt="Demosthenes" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>DEMOSTHENES.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This celebrated Grecian orator was born about 384 or
-385 years B. C., at a period when Athens had reached
-the zenith of her literary, and had passed that of her
-political, glory. Juvenal has represented him slightingly,
-as the son of a blacksmith&mdash;the fact being
-that the elder Demosthenes was engaged in various
-branches of trade, and, among others, was owner of a
-sword manufactory. His maternal grandmother was
-a Thracian woman&mdash;a circumstance noticeable because
-it enabled his enemies, in the spirit of ill-will, to taunt
-him as a barbarian and hereditary enemy of his
-country; for the Greeks, in general, regarded the
-admixture of other than Greek blood, with the same
-sort of contempt and dislike that the whites of America
-do the taint of African descent.</p>
-
-<p>Being left an orphan when seven years old, Demosthenes
-fell into the hands of dishonest guardians<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span>,
-who embezzled a large portion of the property which
-his father had bequeathed to him. His constitution
-appears to have been delicate, and it may have been
-on this account that he did not attend the gymnastic
-exercises, which formed a large portion of the education
-of the youths in Greece; exercises really important
-where neither birth nor wealth set aside the obligation
-to military service common to all citizens; and
-where, therefore, skill in the use of arms, strength,
-and the power to endure fatigue and hardship, were
-essential to the rich as well as to the poor. It may
-have been on this account that a nickname expressive
-of effeminacy was bestowed on him, which was afterwards
-interpreted into a proof of unmanly luxury and
-vicious habits; indeed, the reproach of wanting physical
-strength clung to him through life; and apparently
-this was not undeserved. Another nickname that he
-obtained was that of "Viper." In short, the anecdotes
-which have come down to us, tend pretty uniformly
-to show that his private character was harsh and unamiable.</p>
-
-<p>His ambition to excel as an orator is said to have
-been kindled by hearing a masterly and much admired
-speech of Callistratus. For instruction, he
-resorted to Is�us, and, as some say, to Isocrates, both
-eminent teachers of the art of rhetoric. He had a
-stimulus to exertion in the resolution to prosecute his
-guardians for abuse of their trust; and having gained
-the cause, B. C. 364, in the conduct of which he
-himself took an active part, recovered, it would seem,
-a large part of his property. The orations against
-Aphobus and Onetor, which appear among his works,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span>
-profess to have been delivered in the course of the
-suit; but it has been doubted, on internal evidence,
-whether they were really composed by him so early
-in life.</p>
-
-<p>Be this as it may, his success emboldened him to
-come forward as a speaker in the assemblies of the
-people; on what occasion, and at what time, does not
-appear. His reception was discouraging. He probably
-had underrated, till taught by experience, the
-degree of training and mechanical preparation requisite
-at all times to excellence, and most essential in
-addressing an audience so acute, sensitive and fastidious
-as the Athenians. He labored also under physical
-defects, which almost amounted to disqualifications.
-His voice was weak, his breath short, his articulation
-defective; in addition to all this, his style was throughout
-strained, harsh and involved.</p>
-
-<p>Though somewhat disheartened by his ill success,
-he felt as Sheridan is reported to have expressed himself
-on a similar occasion, that <i>it was in him, and it
-should come out</i>; beside, he was encouraged by a
-few discerning spirits. One aged man, who had
-heard Pericles, cheered him with the assurance that
-he reminded him of that unequalled orator; and the
-actor Satyrus pointed out the faults of his delivery,
-and instructed him to amend them. He now set himself
-in earnest to realize his notions of excellence;
-and the singular and irksome methods which he
-adopted, denoting certainly no common energy and
-strength of will, are too celebrated and too remarkable
-to be omitted, though the authority on which they
-rest is not free from doubt. He built a room under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span>
-ground, where he might practise gesture and delivery
-without molestation, and there he spent two or three
-months together, shaving his head, that the oddity of
-his appearance might render it impossible for him to
-go abroad, even if his resolution should fail. The
-defect in his articulation he cured by reciting with
-small pebbles in his mouth. His lungs he strengthened
-by practising running up hill, while reciting
-verses. Nor was he less diligent in cultivating
-mental than bodily requisites, applying himself earnestly
-to study the theory of the art as explained
-in books, and the examples of the greatest masters of
-eloquence. Thucydides is said to have been his favorite
-model, insomuch that he copied out his history
-eight times, and had it almost by heart.</p>
-
-<p>Meanwhile, his pen was continually employed in
-rhetorical exercises; every question suggested to him
-by passing events served him for a topic of discussion,
-which called forth the application of his attainments to
-the real business of life. It was perhaps as much for
-the sake of such practice, as with a view to reputation,
-or the increase of his fortune, that he accepted employment
-as an advocate, which, until he began to
-take an active part in public affairs, was offered to
-him in abundance.</p>
-
-<p>Such was the process by which he became confessedly
-the greatest orator among the people by whom
-eloquence was cultivated, as it has never been since by
-any nation upon earth. He brought it to its highest
-state of perfection, as did Sophocles the tragic drama,
-by the harmonious union of excellences which had
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span>before only existed apart. The quality in his writings,
-which excited the highest admiration of the
-most intelligent judges among his countrymen in the
-later critical age, was the Protean versatility with
-which he adapted his style to every theme, so as to
-furnish the most perfect examples of every order and
-kind of eloquence.</p>
-
-<p>Demosthenes, like Pericles, never willingly appeared
-before his audience with any but the ripest
-fruits of his private studies, though he was quite capable
-of speaking on the impulse of the moment in a
-manner worthy of his reputation. That he continued
-to the end of his career to cultivate the art with unabated
-diligence, and that, even in the midst of public
-business, his habits were those of a severe student, is
-well known.</p>
-
-<p>The first manifestation of that just jealousy of
-Philip, the ambitious king of Macedon, which became
-the leading principle of his life, was made 252 B. C.,
-when the orator delivered the first of those celebrated
-speeches called Philippics. This word has been naturalized
-in Latin and most European languages, as a
-concise term to signify indignant invective.</p>
-
-<p>From this time forward, it was the main object of
-Demosthenes to inspire and keep alive in the minds
-of the Athenians a constant jealousy of Philip's power
-and intentions, and to unite the other states of Greece
-in confederacy against him. The policy and the disinterestedness
-of his conduct have both been questioned;
-the former, by those who have judged, from
-the event, that resistance to the power of Macedonia
-was rashly to accelerate a certain and inevitable evil;
-the latter, by those, both of his contemporaries and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span>
-among posterity, who believe that he received bribes
-from Persia, as the price of finding employment in
-Greece for an enemy, whose ambition threatened the
-monarch of the East. With respect to the former,
-however, it was at least the most generous policy, and
-like that of the elder Athenians in their most illustrious
-days&mdash;not to await the ruin of their independence
-submissively, until every means had been tried for
-averting it; for the latter, such charges are hard
-either to be proved or refuted. The character of Demosthenes
-certainly does not stand above the suspicion
-of pecuniary corruption, but it has not been
-shown, nor is it necessary or probable to suppose,
-that his jealousy of Philip of Macedon was not, in the
-first instance, far-sighted and patriotic. During fourteen
-years, from 352 to 338, he exhausted every resource
-of eloquence and diplomatic skill to check the
-progress of that aspiring monarch; and whatever
-may be thought of his moral worth, none can undervalue
-the genius and energy which have made his
-name illustrious, and raised a memorial of him far
-more enduring than sepulchral brass.</p>
-
-<p>In 339 B. C., Philip's appointment to be general
-of the Amphictyonic League gave him a more direct
-influence than he had yet possessed; and in the same
-year, the decisive victory of Cheronea, won over the
-combined forces of Thebes, Athens, &amp;c., had made
-him master of Greece. Demosthenes served in this
-engagement, but joined, early in the flight, with circumstances,
-according to report, of marked cowardice
-and disgrace. He retired for a time from Athens,
-but the cloud upon his character was but transient<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>
-for, shortly after, he was entrusted with the charge of
-putting the city in a state of defence, and was appointed
-to pronounce the funeral oration over those
-who had been slain. After the battle of Cheronea,
-Philip, contrary to expectation, did not prosecute hostilities
-against Athens; on the contrary, he used his
-best endeavors to conciliate the affections of the people,
-but without success. The party hostile to Macedon
-soon regained the superiority, and Demosthenes
-was proceeding with his usual vigor in the prosecution
-of his political schemes, when news arrived of
-the murder of Philip, in July, 336.</p>
-
-<p>The daughter of Demosthenes had then lately
-died; nevertheless, in violation of national usage, he
-put off his mourning, and appeared in public, crowned
-with flowers and with other tokens of festive rejoicing.
-This act, a strong expression of triumph over
-the fall of a most dangerous enemy, has been censured
-with needless asperity; the accusation of having
-been privy to the plot for Philip's murder, beforehand,
-founded on his own declaration of the event
-some time before intelligence of it came from any
-other quarter, and the manifest falsehood as to the
-source of the information, which he professed to derive
-from a divine revelation, involves&mdash;if it be judged
-to be well founded&mdash;a far blacker imputation.</p>
-
-<p>Whether or not it was of his own procuring, the
-death of Philip was hailed by Demosthenes as an
-event most fortunate for Athens, and favorable to the
-liberty of Greece. Thinking lightly of the young
-successor to the Macedonian crown, he busied himself
-the more in stirring up opposition to Alexander,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>and succeeded in urging Thebes into that revolt,
-which ended in the entire destruction of the city, B.
-C., 335. This example struck terror into Athens.
-Alexander demanded that Demosthenes, with nine
-others, should be given up into his hands, as the authors
-of the battle of Cheronea and of the succeeding
-troubles of Greece; but finally contented himself with
-requiring the banishment of Charidemus alone.</p>
-
-<p>Opposition to Macedon was now effectually put
-down, and, until the death of Alexander, we hear little
-more of Demosthenes as a public man. During this
-period, however, one of the most memorable incidents
-of his life occurred, in that contest of oratory with
-�schines, which has been more celebrated than any
-strife of words since the world began. The origin of
-it was as follows. About the time of the battle of
-Cheronea, one Ctesiphon brought before the people a
-decree for presenting Demosthenes with a crown for
-his distinguished services; a complimentary motion,
-in its nature and effects very much like a vote in the
-English parliament, declaratory of confidence in the
-administration. �schines, the leading orator of the
-opposite party, arraigned this motion, as being both
-untrue in substance and irregular in form; he indicted
-Ctesiphon on these grounds, and laid the penalty
-at fifty talents, equivalent to about $50,000.
-Why the prosecution was so long delayed, does not
-clearly appear; but it was not brought to an issue
-until the year 330, when �schines pronounced his
-great oration "against Ctesiphon." Demosthenes defended
-him in the still more celebrated speech "on
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span>the crown." These, besides being admirable specimens
-of rhetorical art, have the additional value, that
-the rival orators, being much more anxious to uphold
-the merits of their own past policy and conduct, than
-to convict and defend the nominal object of prosecution,
-have gone largely into matters of self-defence
-and mutual recrimination, from which much of our
-knowledge of this obscure portion of history is derived.
-�schines lost the cause, and not having the
-votes of so much as a fifth part of the judges, became
-liable, according to the laws of Athens, to fine and
-banishment. He withdrew to Rhodes, where he established
-a school of oratory. On one occasion, for
-the gratification of his hearers, he recited first his
-own, then his adversary's speech. Great admiration
-having been expressed of the latter, "What then," he
-said, "if you had heard the brute himself?" bearing
-testimony in these words to the remarkable energy
-and fire of delivery which was one of Demosthenes'
-chief excellences as an orator.</p>
-
-<p>A fate similar to that of his rival, overtook Demosthenes
-himself, a few years later, B. C. 324. Harpalus,
-an officer high in rank and favor under Alexander,
-having been guilty of malversation to such
-an extent that he dared not await discovery, fled to
-Greece, bringing with him considerable treasures and
-a body of mercenary soldiers. He sought the support
-of the Athenians; and, as it was said, bribed
-Demosthenes not to oppose his wishes. Rumors to
-that effect got abroad, and though his proposals were
-rejected by the assembly, Demosthenes was called
-to account, and fined fifty talents, nearly $50,000,
-as having been bribed to give false counsel to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>
-people. Being unable to pay the amount of the fine,
-it acted as a sentence of banishment, and he retired
-into �gina. Like Cicero, when placed in a similar
-situation, he displayed effeminacy of temper, and an
-unmanly violence of regret, under a reverse of fortune.</p>
-
-<p>In the following year, however, the death of Alexander
-restored him to political importance; for when
-that event opened once more to the Athenians the
-prospect of shaking off the supremacy of Macedonia,
-Demosthenes was recalled, with the most flattering
-marks of public esteem. He guided the state during
-the short war waged with Antipater, the Macedonian
-viceroy, until the inequality of the contest became
-evident, and the Macedonian party regained its
-ascendency. Demosthenes then retired to the sanctuary
-of Calauria, an island sacred to Neptune, on
-the coast of Argolis. Sentence of death was passed
-on him in his absence. He was pursued to his
-place of refuge by the emissaries of Antipater, and
-being satisfied that the sanctity of the place would
-not protect him, he took poison, which, as a last
-resort, he carried about his person, concealed in a
-quill.</p>
-
-<p>Most of the speeches of Demosthenes are short, at
-least compared with modern oratory. He rarely
-spoke extempore, and bestowed an unusual degree of
-pains on his composition. That style which is described
-by Hume as "rapid harmony, exactly adapted
-to the sense; vehement reason, without any appearance
-of art; disdain, anger, boldness, freedom, involved
-in a continued stream of argument"&mdash;instead
-of being, as it would seem, the effervescence of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span>
-powerful, overflowing mind, was the labored produce
-of much thought, and careful, long-continued
-polish.</p>
-
-<p>If we compare the two greatest orators of antiquity&mdash;Cicero
-and Demosthenes&mdash;it may seem difficult to
-decide between them. By devoting his powers almost
-exclusively to oratory, the latter excelled in energy,
-strength, and accuracy; and as a mere artist, was
-probably the superior. Cicero, by cultivating a more
-extended field, was doubtless far the abler lawyer,
-statesman and philosopher. Of the value of their
-works to mankind, there is no comparison; for
-those of Cicero are not only more numerous and diversified,
-but of more depth, wisdom, and general
-application. We must also remark, that while the
-soul of Demosthenes appears to have been selfish and
-mean, that of Cicero ranks him among the noblest
-specimens of humanity, whether of ancient or modern
-times.</p>
-
-<p>If we compare the speeches of these great men
-with the efforts of modern orators, we shall see that
-the latter greatly surpass them in range of thought,
-power of diction and splendor of illustration. The
-question then arises, why did the orations of Cicero
-and Demosthenes produce such electrical effects upon
-their auditors? The reason doubtless was, that they
-paid the greatest attention to action, manner and
-tones of voice&mdash;thus operating upon their hearers by
-nearly the same powers as the modern opera. There
-was stage effect in their manner, and music in their
-tones, combined with most perfect elocution&mdash;and the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span>application of these arts, carried to the utmost perfection,
-was made to the quick Italians or mercurial
-Athenians. These suggestions may enable us to
-understand the fact, that speeches, which, uttered in
-the less artful manner of our day, and before our
-colder audiences, would fall flat and dead upon the
-ear, excited the utmost enthusiasm, in more southern
-climes, two thousand years ago.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 40%" >
-<img src="images/208.jpg" alt="man" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>APELLES.</h2>
-
-
-<p>Apelles was a celebrated painter of Cos, a little
-island in the Egean Sea. The date of his birth is not
-known, but he painted many portraits of Philip, and was
-still nourishing in the time of Alexander, who honored
-him so much that he forbade any other artist to draw
-his picture. His chief master was Pamphilius, a
-famous painter of Macedon. He was so attentive to
-his profession, that he never spent a day without employing
-his pencil,&mdash;whence the proverb of <i>Nulla die
-sine linea</i>. His most perfect picture was the Venus
-Anadyomene, which, however, was not wholly finished
-when the painter died.</p>
-
-<p>He executed a painting of Alexander, holding thunder
-in his hand, so much like life, that Pliny, who
-saw it, says that the hand of the king with the thunder
-seemed to come out of the picture. This was placed
-in Diana's temple at Ephesus. He made another
-picture of Alexander; but the king, on coming to see
-it after it was painted, appeared not to be satisfied
-with it. It happened, however, at that moment a
-horse, passing by, neighed at the horse in the picture,
-supposing it to be alive; upon which the painter said,
-"One would imagine that the horse is a better judge
-of painting, than your majesty." When Alexander
-ordered him to draw the picture of Campaspe, one of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span>
-his favorites, Apelles became enamored of her, and
-the king permitted him to marry her. He wrote
-three volumes on painting, which were still extant in
-the age of Pliny,&mdash;but they are now lost. It is said that
-he was accused, while in Egypt, of conspiring against
-the life of Ptolemy, and that he would have been put
-to death, had not the real conspirator discovered himself,
-and thus saved the artist. Apelles put his name
-to but three pictures; a sleeping Venus, Venus Anadyomene,
-and an Alexander.</p>
-
-<p>Apelles appears to have been not only an excellent
-artist, but a man of admirable traits of character.
-Being once at Rhodes, he met with the productions
-of Protogenes,<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> which so greatly delighted him that
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>he offered to purchase the whole. Before this, Protogenes
-was entirely unappreciated by his countrymen,
-but the approbation of one so distinguished as Apelles,
-brought him into notice, and his fame soon became
-established.</p>
-
-<p>Another story of Apelles is told as having given
-rise to the well-known maxim, <i>Ne sutor ultra crepidam</i>:
-Let the shoemaker stick to his last. Apelles placed
-a picture, which he had finished, in a public place, and
-concealed himself behind it, in order to hear the criticisms
-of the passers-by. A shoemaker observed a
-defect in the shoe, and the painter forthwith corrected
-it. The cobbler came the next day, and being somewhat
-encouraged by the success of his first remark,
-began to extend his censure to the leg of the figure,
-when the angry painter thrust out his head from
-behind the figure, and told him to keep to his trade.</p>
-
-<p>Apelles excelled in grace and beauty. The painter,
-who labored incessantly, as we have seen, to improve
-his skill in drawing, probably trusted as much to that
-branch of his art, as to his coloring. We are told that
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>he only used four colors. He used a varnish which
-brought out the colors, and at the same time preserved
-them. His favorite subject was the representation
-of Venus, the goddess of love,&mdash;the female blooming
-in eternal beauty; and the religious system of the age
-favored the taste of the artist.</p>
-
-<p>Apelles painted many portraits of Alexander the
-Great, who, we are told, often visited his painting
-room. It is not easy to reconcile his rambling life
-with this account, unless we suppose that Apelles
-followed him into Asia; a conjecture not altogether
-improbable, if we read the account of the revelries at
-Susa, after Alexander's return from India, and of the
-number of all kinds of professional artists then assembled
-to add to the splendor of the festival.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 68%" >
-<img src="images/212.jpg" alt="chariot" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Protogenes, a painter of Rhodes, who flourished about 328
-years B. C. He was originally so poor that he painted ships
-to maintain himself. His countrymen were ignorant of his
-merits, before Apelles came to Rhodes and offered to buy all
-his pieces, as we have related. This opened the eyes of the
-Rhodians; they became sensible of the talents of their countryman,
-and liberally rewarded him. Protogenes was employed
-seven years in finishing a picture of Jalysus a celebrated
-huntsman, supposed to have been the son of Apollo and the
-founder of Rhodes. During all this time the painter lived
-only upon lupines and water, thinking that such aliment would
-leave him greater flights of fancy; but all this did not seem
-to make him more successful in the perfection of his picture.
-He was to represent in this piece a dog panting, and with
-froth at his mouth; but this he could never do with satisfaction
-to himself; and when all his labors seemed to be without success,
-he threw his sponge upon the piece in a fit of anger.
-Chance alone brought to perfection what the utmost labors of
-art could not do; the fall of the sponge upon the picture represented
-the froth of the mouth of the dog in the most perfect
-and natural manner, and the piece was universally admired.
-Protogenes was very exact in his representations, and copied
-nature with the greatest nicety; but this was blamed as a fault
-by his friend Apelles. When Demetrius besieged Rhodes, he
-refused to set fire to a part of the city, which might have made
-him master of the whole, because he knew that Protogenes
-was then working in that quarter. When the town was taken,
-the painter was found closely employed, in a garden, finishing
-a picture; and when the conqueror asked him why he
-showed not more concern at the general calamity, he replied,
-that Demetrius made war against the Rhodians; and not against
-the fine arts.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span></p></div>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>DIOGENES.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This eccentric individual was a native of Sinope, a
-city of Pontus, and born 419 B. C. Having been
-banished from his native place, with his father, upon
-the accusation of coining false money, he went to
-Athens, and requested Antisthenes, the Cynic,<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> to
-admit him among his disciples. That philosopher in
-vain attempted to drive away the unfortunate supplicant.
-He even threatened to strike him; but Diogenes
-told him he could not find a stoic hard enough to
-repel him, so long as he uttered things worthy of
-being remembered. Antisthenes was propitiated by
-this, and received him among his pupils.</p>
-
-<p>Diogenes devoted himself, with the greatest diligence,
-to the lessons of his master, whose doctrines
-he afterwards extended and enforced. He not only,
-like Antisthenes, despised all philosophical speculations,
-and opposed the corrupt morals of his time, but
-also carried the application of his principles, in his
-own person, to the extreme. The stern austerity of
-Antisthenes was repulsive; but Diogenes exposed the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>follies of his cotemporaries with wit and humor, and
-was, therefore, better adapted to be the censor and
-instructor of the people, though he really accomplished
-little in the way of reforming them. At the
-same time, he applied, in its fullest extent, his principle
-of divesting himself of all superfluities. He taught
-that a wise man, in order to be happy, must endeavor
-to preserve himself independent of fortune, of men,
-and of himself; and, in order to do this, he must despise
-riches, power, honor, arts and sciences, and all the
-enjoyments of life.</p>
-
-<p>He endeavored to exhibit, in his own person, a
-model of Cynic virtue. For this purpose, he subjected
-himself to the severest trials, and disregarded all the
-forms of polite society. He often struggled to overcome
-his appetite, or satisfied it with the coarsest
-food; practised the most rigid temperance, even at
-feasts, in the midst of the greatest abundance, and did
-not consider it beneath his dignity to ask alms.</p>
-
-<p>By day, he walked through the streets of Athens
-barefoot, with a long beard, a stick in his hand, and a
-bag over his shoulders. He was clad in a coarse
-double robe, which served as a coat by day and a
-coverlet by night; and he carried a wallet to receive
-alms. His abode was a cask in the temple of Cybele.
-It is said that he sometimes carried a tub about on
-his head which occasionally served as his dwelling.
-In summer he rolled himself in the burning sand, and
-in winter clung to the marble images covered with
-snow, that he might inure himself to the extremes of
-the climate. He bore the scoffs and insults of the
-people with the greatest equanimity. Seeing a boy
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>draw water with his hand, he threw away his wooden
-goblet, as an unnecessary utensil. He never spared
-the follies of men, but openly and loudly inveighed
-against vice and corruption, attacking them with keen
-satire, and biting irony. The people, and even the
-higher classes, heard him with pleasure, and tried
-their wit upon him. When he made them feel his
-superiority, they often had recourse to abuse, by
-which, however, he was little moved. He rebuked
-them for expressions and actions which violated decency
-and modesty, and therefore it is not credible
-that he was guilty of the excesses with which his
-enemies reproached him. His rudeness offended the
-laws of good breeding, rather than the principles of
-morality.</p>
-
-<p>On a voyage to the island of �gina, he fell into
-the hands of pirates, who sold him as a slave to Xeniades,
-a Corinthian. He, however, emancipated him,
-and entrusted to him the education of his children.
-He attended to the duties of his new employment
-with the greatest care, commonly living in summer
-at Corinth, and in the winter at Athens. It was at
-the former place that Alexander found him at the
-road-side, basking in the sun; and, astonished at the
-indifference with which the ragged beggar regarded
-him, entered into conversation with him, and finally
-gave him permission to ask him a boon. "I ask
-nothing," answered the philosopher, "but that thou
-wouldst get out of my sunshine." Surprised at this
-proof of content, the king is said to have exclaimed,
-"Were I not Alexander, I would be Diogenes." The
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>following dialogue, though not given as historical, is
-designed to represent this interview.</p>
-
-<p><i>Diogenes.</i> Who calleth?</p>
-
-<p><i>Alexander.</i> Alexander. How happeneth it that you would not come out of your tub to my palace?</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> Because it was as far from my tub to your palace, as from your palace to my tub.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> What! dost thou owe no reverence to kings?</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> No.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> Why so?</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> Because they are not gods.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> They are gods of the earth.</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> Yes, gods of the earth!</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> Plato is not of thy mind.</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> I am glad of it.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> Why?</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> Because I would have none of Diogenes' mind but Diogenes.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> If Alexander have anything that can pleasure Diogenes, let me know, and take it.</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> Then take not from me that you cannot give me&mdash;the light of the sun!</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> What dost thou want?</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> Nothing that you have.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> I have the world at command.</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> And I in contempt.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> Thou shalt live no longer than I will.</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> But I shall die, whether you will or no.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> How should one learn to be content?</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> Unlearn to covet.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> (<i>to Heph�stion.</i>) Heph�stion, were I not Alexander,
-I would wish to be Diogenes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span></p>
-<p><i>H.</i> He is dogged, but shrewd; he has a sharpness,
-mixed with a kind of sweetness; he is full of wit,
-yet too wayward.</p>
-
-<p><i>A.</i> Diogenes, when I come this way again, I will
-both see thee and confer with thee.</p>
-
-<p><i>D.</i> Do.</p>
-
-<p>We are told that the philosopher was seen one day
-carrying a lantern through the streets of Athens: on
-being asked what he was looking after, he answered,
-"I am seeking an honest man." Thinking he had
-found among the Spartans the greatest capacity for
-becoming such men as he wished, he said, "Men, I
-have found nowhere, but children, at least, I have
-seen in Laced�mon." Being asked, "What is the
-most dangerous animal?" his answer was, "Among
-wild animals, the slanderer; among tame, the flatterer."
-He expired 323 B. C., at a great age, and, it is
-said, on the same day that Alexander died. When he
-felt death approaching, he seated himself on the road
-leading to Olympia, where he died with philosophical
-calmness, in the presence of a great number of people
-who were collected around him.</p>
-
-<p>None of the works of Diogenes are extant; in these
-he maintained the doctrines of the Cynics. He
-believed that exercise was of the greatest importance,
-and capable of effecting everything. He held that
-there were two kinds of exercise,&mdash;one of the body,
-and one of the mind,&mdash;and that one was of little use
-without the other. By cultivation of the mind, he
-did not mean the accumulation of knowledge or science,
-but a training which might give it vigor, as
-exercise endows the body with health and strength.</p>
-
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> The Cynics were a sect of philosophers, founded by Antisthenes,
-at Athens; they took their name from their disposition
-to criticise the lives and actions of others. They were famous
-for their contempt of riches, their neglect of dress, and the
-length of their beards. They usually slept on the ground.</p></div>
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/218.jpg" alt="Plato" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>PLATO.</h2>
-
-
-<p>It has been remarked by Coleridge, that all men
-are born disciples either of Plato or Aristotle: by
-which he means that these two great men are the
-leaders in the two kinds of philosophy which govern
-the thinking world,&mdash;the one looking into the soul, as
-the great well of truth; the other, studying the outward
-world, and building up its system upon facts
-collected by observation. The truth is doubtless to
-be found by compounding the two systems.</p>
-
-<p>Plato was born at Athens, in May, 429 B. C. He
-was the son of Ariston and Perectonia. His original
-name was Aristocles, and it has been conjectured that
-he received that of Plato, from the largeness of
-his shoulders: this, however, is improbable, as Plato<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span>
-was then a common name at Athens. Being one of
-the descendants of Codrus, and the offspring of a
-noble, illustrious, and opulent family, he was educated
-with the utmost care; his body was formed and invigorated
-with gymnastic exercises, and his mind was
-cultivated and trained by the study of poetry and of
-geometry; from which two sources he doubtless derived
-that acuteness of judgment and warmth of
-imagination, which stamped him as at once the most
-subtle and flowery writer of antiquity.</p>
-
-<p>He first began his literary career by writing poems
-and tragedies; but he was disgusted with his own
-productions, when, at the age of twenty, he was introduced
-into the society of Socrates, and was qualified
-to examine, with critical accuracy, the merit of his
-compositions, and compare them with those of his
-poetical predecessors. He, therefore, committed them
-to the flames. During eight years he continued to
-be one of the pupils of Socrates; and though he was
-prevented by indisposition from attending the philosopher's
-last moments, he collected, from the conversation
-of those that were present, and from his own
-accurate observations, very minute and circumstantial
-accounts, which exhibit the concern and sensibility
-of the pupil, and the firmness, virtue, and elevated
-moral sentiments of the dying philosopher.</p>
-
-<p>After the death of Socrates Plato retired from
-Athens, and, with a view to emerge his stores of
-knowledge, he began to travel over different countries.
-He visited Megara, Thebes, and Elis, where he met
-with the kindest reception from his fellow-disciples,
-whom the violent death of their master had likewise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span>
-removed from Attica. He afterwards visited Magna
-Gr�cia, attracted by the fame of the Pythagorean
-philosophy, and by the learning, abilities, and reputation
-of its professors, Philolaus, Archytas, and Eurytus.
-He then passed into Sicily, and examined the
-eruptions of Etna. He visited Egypt, where the
-mathematician Theodorus, then flourished, and where
-he knew that the tenets of the Pythagorean philosophy
-had been fostered.</p>
-
-<p>When he had finished his travels, Plato retired to
-the groves of Academus, in the neighborhood of
-Athens, and established a school there; his lectures
-were soon attended by a crowd of learned, noble, and
-illustrious pupils; and the philosopher, by refusing to
-have a share in the administration of political affairs,
-rendered his name more famous and his school more
-frequented. During forty years he presided at the
-head of the academy, and there he devoted his time
-to the instruction of his pupils, and composed those
-dialogues which have been the admiration of every
-succeeding age. His studies, however, were interrupted
-for a while, as he felt it proper to comply with
-the pressing invitations of Dionysius, of Syracuse,
-to visit him. The philosopher earnestly but vainly
-endeavored to persuade the tyrant to become the father
-of his people, and the friend of liberty.</p>
-
-<p>In his dress, Plato was not ostentatious; his manners
-were elegant, but modest, simple, and without
-affectation. The great honors which were bestowed
-upon him, were not paid to his appearance, but to his
-wisdom and virtue. In attending the Olympian
-games, he once took lodgings with a family who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span>
-were totally strangers to him. He ate and drank
-with them, and partook of their innocent pleasures
-and amusements; but though he told them his name
-was Plato, he did not speak of the employment he
-pursued at Athens, and never introduced the name
-of that great philosopher, whose doctrines he followed,
-and whose death and virtues were favorite topics of
-conversation in every part of Greece. When he
-returned to Athens, he was attended by the family
-which had so kindly entertained him; and, being
-familiar with the city, he was desired to show them
-the celebrated philosopher whose name he bore.
-Their surprise may be imagined, when he told them
-that he was the Plato whom they wished to behold.</p>
-
-<p>In his diet he was moderate; and, indeed, to sobriety
-and temperance in the use of food, and abstinence
-from those indulgences which enfeeble the body and
-enervate the mind, some have attributed his preservation
-during a terrible pestilence which raged in Athens
-at the beginning of the Peloponnesian war. Plato
-was never subject to any long or lingering indisposition;
-and, though change of climate had enfeebled a
-constitution naturally strong and healthy, the philosopher
-lived to an advanced age, and was often heard
-to say, when his physicians advised him to leave his
-residence at Athens, where the air was impregnated
-by the pestilence, that he would not advance one single
-step to gain the top of Mount Athos, were he
-assured of attaining the longevity which the inhabitants
-of that mountain were said to enjoy. Plato
-died on his birth-day, in the eighty-first year of his
-age, about the year 348 B. C. His last moments
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span>were easy, and without pain; and, according to some
-authors, he expired in the midst of an entertainment;
-but Cicero tells us that he died while in the act of
-writing.</p>
-
-<p>The works of Plato are numerous; with the exception
-of twelve letters, they are all written in the form
-of dialogue, in which Socrates is the principal interlocutor.
-Thus he always speaks by the mouth of
-others, and the philosopher has nowhere made mention
-of himself, except once in his dialogue entitled
-Ph�don, and another time in his Apology for Socrates.
-His writings were so celebrated, and his opinions
-so respected, that he was called divine; and for
-the elegance, melody, and sweetness of his expressions,
-he was distinguished by the appellation of the
-Athenian bee. His style, however, though commended
-and admired by the most refined critics among
-the ancients, has not escaped the censure of some of
-the moderns. It is obvious that the philosopher cannot
-escape ridicule, who supposes that fire is a pyramid
-tied to the earth by numbers; that the world is a
-figure consisting of twelve pentagons; and who, to
-prove the metempsychosis and the immortality of the
-soul, asserts that the dead are born from the living,
-and the living from the dead. The speculative mind
-of Plato was employed in examining things divine
-and human; and he attempted to ascertain and fix
-not only the practical doctrines of morals and politics
-but the more subtle and abstruse theory of mystical
-theogony&mdash;the origin of the gods, or divine power.
-His philosophy was universally received and adopted
-in ancient times, and it has not only governed the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>opinions of the speculative part of mankind, but it
-continues still to influence the reasoning, and to divide
-the sentiments of the moderns.</p>
-
-<p>In his system of philosophy, he followed the physics
-of Heraclitus, the metaphysical opinions of Pythagoras,
-and the morals of Socrates. He maintained the
-existence of two beings&mdash;one self-existent, and the
-other formed by the hand of a pre-existent, creative
-god and man. The world, he maintained, was created
-by that self-existent cause, from the rude, undigested
-mass of matter which had existed from all
-eternity, and which had ever been animated by an
-irregular principle of motion. The origin of evil
-could not be traced under the government of a deity,
-without admitting a stubborn intractability and wildness
-congenial to matter; and from these, consequently,
-could be demonstrated the deviations from
-the laws of nature, and from thence, the extravagant
-passions and appetites of men.</p>
-
-<p>From materials like these were formed the four
-elements, and the beautiful structure of the heavens
-and the earth; and into the active but irrational principle
-of matter, the divinity infused a rational soul.
-The souls of men were formed from the remainder
-of the rational soul of the world, which had previously
-given existence to the invisible gods and demons.
-The philosopher, therefore, supported the doctrine of
-ideal forms, and the pre-existence of the human mind,
-which he considered as emanations of the Deity, and
-which can never remain satisfied with objects or
-things unworthy of their divine original. Men could
-perceive, with their corporeal senses, the types of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span>immutable things, and the fluctuating objects of the
-material world; but the sudden changes to which
-these are continually liable, create innumerable disorders,
-and hence arise deception, and, in short, all
-the errors of human life. Yet, in whatever situation
-man may be, he is still an object of divine concern,
-and, to recommend himself to the favor of the pre-existent
-cause, he must comply with the purposes of
-his creation, and, by proper care and diligence, he can
-recover those immaculate powers with which he was
-naturally endowed.</p>
-
-<p>All science the philosopher made to consist in
-reminiscence&mdash;in recalling the nature, forms, and proportions,
-of those perfect and immutable essences,
-with which the human mind had been conversant.
-From observations like these, the summit of felicity
-might be attained by removing from the material, and
-approaching nearer to the intellectual world; by curbing
-and governing the passions, which were ever
-agitated and inflamed by real or imaginary objects.</p>
-
-<p>The passions were divided into two classes: the
-first consisted of the irascible passions, which originated
-in pride or resentment, and were seated in the
-breast; the other, founded on the love of pleasure,
-was the concupiscible part of the soul, seated in the
-inferior parts of the body. These different orders
-induced the philosopher to compare the soul to a
-small republic, of which the reasoning and judging
-powers were stationed in the head, as in a firm citadel,
-and of which the senses were the guards and servants.
-By the irascible part of the soul, men asserted
-their dignity, repelled injuries, and scorned danger
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>and the concupiscible part provided the support and
-the necessities of the body, and, when governed with
-propriety, gave rise to temperance. Justice was produced
-by the regular dominion of reason, and by the
-submission of the passions; and prudence arose from
-the strength, acuteness, and perfection of the soul,
-without which other virtues could not exist.</p>
-
-<p>But amidst all this, wisdom was not easily attained;
-at their creation all minds were not endowed with
-the same excellence; the bodies which they animated
-on earth, were not always in harmony with the divine
-emanation; some might be too weak, others too
-strong. On the first years of a man's life depended
-his future character; an effeminate and licentious
-education seemed calculated to destroy the purposes
-of the divinity, while the contrary produced different
-effects, and tended to cultivate and improve the reasoning
-and judging faculty, and to produce wisdom
-and virtue.</p>
-
-<p>Plato was the first who supported the immortality
-of the soul upon arguments solid and permanent,
-deduced from truth and experience. He did not
-imagine that the diseases and death of the body could
-injure the principle of life, and destroy the soul,
-which, of itself, was of divine origin, and of an incorrupted
-and immutable essence, which, though inherent
-for a while in matter, could not lose that power
-which was the emanation of God. From doctrines
-like these, the great founder of Platonism concluded
-that there might exist in the world a community of
-men, whose passions could be governed with moderation,
-and who, from knowing the evils and miseries
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>which arise from ill conduct, might aspire to excellence,
-and attain that perfection which can be derived
-from a proper exercise of the rational and moral powers.
-To illustrate this more fully, the philosopher
-wrote a book, well known by the name of the "Republic
-of Plato," in which he explains, with acuteness,
-judgment, and elegance, the rise and revolution of
-civil society; and so respected was his opinion as a
-legislator, that his scholars were employed in regulating
-the republics of Arcadia.</p>
-
-<p>It was a characteristic of Plato's mind, that he
-united a subtle intellect to a glowing fancy. As an
-illustration of his style, we may mention the passage
-in which he shows the operation of the three principles
-in the human being&mdash;mind, soul, and body&mdash;or
-the three powers of intellect, spirit, and matter. It
-occurs in the dialogue of Ph�drus, where he endeavors
-to illustrate the doctrine that the mind or reason
-should be the governing faculty.</p>
-
-<p>The soul is here compared to a chariot, drawn by
-a pair of winged steeds, one of which is well-bred
-and well-trained, and the other quite the contrary.
-The quiet horse, the Will, is obedient to the rein,
-and strives to draw its wilder yoke-fellow, the Appetite,
-along with it, and to induce it to listen to the
-voice of the charioteer, Reason. But they have a
-great deal of trouble with the restive horse, and the
-whole object of the journey seems to be lost, if this
-is permitted to have its way. In this allegory, it is
-shown that the object of Reason, in exacting obedience,
-is not merely that discipline and subordination which
-constitute the virtues of man, but to keep the mind
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>in a state to rise to the contemplation and enjoyment
-of great and eternal truths. In other words, a man
-must be in a moral state, before he can place himself
-in a religious state, so as to enjoy the <i>summum bonum</i>,
-or greatest good. What, then, is this greatest good?
-or, in the language of Plato, its <i>idea</i>?&mdash;for, with him,
-<i>idea</i> and <i>essence</i> are synonymous. This is God&mdash;not
-his image, but his nature, which is the sovereign
-good. Thus the greatest happiness of man was
-placed by Plato in a mysterious union of the soul
-with this source of goodness. How near an approach
-to Christian communion with God, is this?</p>
-
-<p>However fantastic many of the details of Plato's
-system may seem, and however illusory its whole
-machinery must appear, when viewed in the light of
-modern criticism, one thing is to be observed,&mdash;that
-the great results of his philosophy are true. He
-struggled through the thick mists of his age, and discovered
-the eternal existence of Deity; he perceived
-and established, on grounds not to be controverted,
-the immortality of the soul. He placed true happiness
-where philosophy and religion place it&mdash;in the
-ascendency of the spirit over the body&mdash;the subjugation
-of the passions to the dominion of reason
-and virtue. It appears that the germs of these great
-truths had already manifested themselves in the minds
-of Pythagoras, Socrates, and others; and Plato borrowed
-from them many of his noble ideas. But he
-systematized what they had left in a crude state; he
-gave a more clear and distinct utterance to what his
-great master, Socrates, had dimly conceived, and
-ineffectually struggled to announce. He reached the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span>
-highest point, in the search after divine knowledge
-which has ever been attained, without the direct aid
-of inspiration. In the gradual development of God's
-will to man, he was one of the great instruments.
-Yet, in reviewing his works, we see how imperfect
-was still his knowledge of things divine, and what
-fearful shadows would rest upon the world, if Plato
-were our only guide. How dark, uncertain, mysterious,
-would be the ways of God&mdash;the destinies of
-man&mdash;if left where the philosopher left them!</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 50%" >
-<img src="images/228.jpg" alt="Feather" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/229.jpg" alt="Socrates" style="width: 70%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>SOCRATES.</h2>
-
-
-<p>Socrates was born at Athens 468 B. C. His
-father, Sophroniscus, was a sculptor of humble reputation
-and in moderate circumstances. He educated
-his son to his own profession, in which it appears that
-the latter made considerable proficiency. He did not,
-however, devote himself wholly to this pursuit, but
-spent a large share of his time in reading the works
-of philosophers. Crito, an intimate friend, supplied
-him with money to pay the masters who taught him
-various accomplishments, and he became an auditor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span>
-of most of the great philosophers who visited Athens,
-during his youth. By these means, he received the
-best education which an Athenian youth could command
-in those days.</p>
-
-<p>In the early part of his life, he wrought at his trade,
-so far as to earn a decent subsistence. Receiving a
-small property at his father's death, when he was
-about thirty years of age, he devoted himself entirely
-to philosophical pursuits. His habits were simple
-and economical; his dress was coarse, and he seldom
-wore shoes. By his frugality, he was thus able to
-live without labor, and yet without being dependent
-upon others.</p>
-
-<p>With regard to his public life, it appears that he
-served his country faithfully as a soldier, according to
-the duty of every Athenian citizen. He took part in
-three campaigns, displaying the greatest hardihood
-and valor. He endured, without repining, hunger
-and thirst, heat and cold. In a skirmish with the
-enemy, his pupil, Alcibiades, fell wounded in the midst
-of the enemy. Socrates rescued him and carried him
-off, for which the civic crown was awarded as the
-prize of valor. This reward, however, he transferred
-to Alcibiades. In another campaign he saved the life
-of his pupil, Xenophon, whom he carried from the
-field on his shoulders, fighting his way as he went.</p>
-
-<p>At the age of sixty-five, he became a member of
-the council of Five Hundred, at Athens. He rose
-also to the dignity of president of that body; by virtue
-of which office, he for one day managed the popular
-assemblies and kept the key of the citadel and
-treasury. Ten naval officers had been accused of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span>
-misconduct, because, after the battle of Arginus�,
-they had omitted the sacred duty of burying the slain,
-in consequence of a violent storm. Their enemies,
-finding the people disposed to acquit them procured
-by intrigue, the prorogation of several assemblies. A
-new assembly was held on the day when Socrates
-was president; and the citizens, instigated by bad
-men, violently demanded that sentence of death should
-be pronounced on all the accused at once, contrary to
-law. But the menaces of violence were unable to
-bend the inflexible justice of Socrates, and he was
-able afterwards to declare, on his own trial, that ten
-innocent men had been saved by his influence.</p>
-
-<p>When Socrates formed the resolution of devoting
-himself to the pursuit of divine and human knowledge,
-the sophists, a set of arrogant philosophers, were perverting
-the heads and corrupting the hearts of the
-Grecian youth. He therefore put himself in opposition
-to these false guides, and went about endeavoring
-to instruct everybody in a wiser and better philosophy
-than that which prevailed. He was, in fact, an
-instructor of the people; and, believing himself an
-ambassador of God, he was occupied from the dawn
-of day in seeking persons whom he might teach
-either what is important to mankind in general, or
-the private circumstances of individuals. He went
-to the public assemblies and the most crowded streets,
-or entered the workshops of mechanics and artists,
-and conversed with the people on religious duties,
-on their social and political relations; on all subjects,
-indeed, relating to morals, and even on agriculture,
-war, and the arts. He endeavored to remove prevail<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>ing
-prejudices and errors, and to substitute right principles;
-to awaken their better genius in the minds of
-his hearers; to encourage and console them; to enlighten
-and improve mankind, and make them really
-happy.</p>
-
-<p>It is manifest that such a course must have been
-attended with great difficulties. But the serenity of
-Socrates was undisturbed; he was always perfectly
-cheerful in appearance and conversation. In the
-market-place and at home, among people and in the
-society of those whom love of truth and virtue connected
-more closely with him, he was always the
-same. It cannot be doubted that a happy physical
-and mental temperament contributed to produce this
-equanimity. But it was, likewise, a fruit of self-discipline
-and the philosophy he taught. He treated his
-body as a servant, and inured it to every privation, so
-that moderation was to him an easy virtue; and he
-retained in old age his youthful vigor, physical and
-mental. He was kind as a husband and a father.
-Though his wife, Xantippe, was a noted shrew, he
-viewed her as an excellent instrument of discipline,
-and treated her with patience and forbearance.</p>
-
-<p>Although the Greeks at this time were zealously
-devoted to their heathen mythology, Socrates was a
-sincere worshipper of the Supreme Being; yet, from
-his care not to offend his weaker brethren, he observed,
-with punctilious exactness, the religious uses
-which antiquity and custom had consecrated. He
-was constantly attended by a circle of disciples, who
-caught from him the spirit of free inquiry, and were
-inspired with his zeal for the highest good, for reli<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span>gion,
-truth and virtue. The succeeding schools of
-philosophy in Greece are therefore justly traced back
-to him; and he is to be regarded as the master who
-gave philosophical investigation among the Greeks its
-highest direction. Among his most distinguished disciples
-were Alcibiades, Crito, Xenophon, Antisthenes,
-Aristippus, Ph�don, �schines, Cebes, Euclid, and
-Plato. From the detached accounts given us by
-Xenophon and Plato, it appears that he instructed
-them in politics, rhetoric, logic, ethics, arithmetic, and
-geometry, though not in a systematic manner. He
-read with them the principal poets, and pointed out
-their beauties; he labored to enlighten and correct
-their opinions on all practical subjects, and to excite
-them to the study of whatever is most important to
-men.</p>
-
-<p>To make his instructions attractive, they were delivered,
-not in long lectures, but in free conversations,
-rendered interesting by question and answer. He did
-not reason <i>before</i>, but <i>with</i> his disciples, and thus exercised
-an irresistible power over their minds. He
-obliged them to think for themselves, and if there was
-any capacity in a man, it could not fail to be excited
-by his conversation. This method of question and
-answer is called the <i>Socratic method</i>. The fragments
-of his conversations, preserved by Xenophon, often
-leave us unsatisfied; Plato alone has transmitted to
-us the genuine spirit of this method; and he was
-therefore viewed by the ancients as the only fountain
-of the Socratic philosophy,&mdash;a fact which has been
-too much disregarded by modern writers.</p>
-
-<p>Socrates fell a victim to the spirit of bigotry, which
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span>has sacrificed so many persons, who were in advance
-of the age. The document containing the accusation
-against him was lodged in the Temple of Cybele, as
-late as the second century of the Christian era. The
-following is a translation:&mdash;"Melitus, son of Melitus,
-accuses Socrates, son of Sophroniscus, of being guilty
-of denying the existence of the gods of the republic,
-making innovations in the religion of the Greeks,
-and of corrupting the Athenian youth. Penalty,&mdash;death."</p>
-
-<p>Melitus, who was a tragic writer of a low order,
-was engaged as an accuser in this affair, by the
-wealthy and more powerful enemies of Socrates.
-Amongst them were Anytus and Lycon, the former a
-rich artisan and zealous democrat, who had rendered
-very important services to the republic, by aiding
-Thrasybulus in the expulsion of the thirty tyrants,
-and in establishing the liberty of his country. The
-latter was an orator, and therefore a political magistrate,
-to which office the Athenian orators were entitled,
-by virtue of the laws of Solon.</p>
-
-<p>Socrates was seventy years of age when summoned
-to appear at the Areopagus. The news of this event
-did not excite much surprise, as the people had long
-expected it. Aristophanes, the celebrated comic poet
-of Athens, had previously undertaken, at the instigation
-of Melitus, to ridicule the venerable character of
-the philosopher; and when once he was calumniated
-and defamed, the fickle populace ceased to revere the
-man whom they had before looked upon as a being
-of a superior order.</p>
-
-<p>The enemies of Socrates were of two classes,&mdash;the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span>one consisted of citizens who could not help admiring
-his genius and virtue, but who regarded him as a
-dangerous innovator and subverter of public order.
-They were ready, with him, to acknowledge that some
-reformation might be made in the tenets of Paganism;
-that the gods and goddesses were not patterns of
-virtue; and that the conduct of the sovereign of the
-skies, himself, was far from exemplary; but, said
-they, the thunders of Jupiter exercise a salutary influence
-over the minds of some, and the pains of Tartarus
-still operate as a bridle upon the passions of others.
-To bring in question the ancient faith, was at once to
-attack the institutions of the republic at their base,
-and excite revolution. The philosophy of Socrates,
-even though true, must be suppressed; for the life of
-one man is not to be put in the balance with the
-repose of a whole people,&mdash;with the safety of the
-country. It is better that Socrates should die, than
-Athens perish. Such was the reasoning of one portion.</p>
-
-<p>The other class was composed of the superstitious
-and bigoted,&mdash;of the vicious and imbecile,&mdash;who were
-daily exposed to the censures and sarcasms of the
-philosopher; in fine, of that set of narrow, jealous-minded
-men, who looked upon the welfare and fame
-of their neighbors with envy and with malice. The
-race that had exiled Aristides, because he was great,
-was ready to condemn Socrates, because he was wise.
-The friends and disciples of the great philosopher
-saw the danger that menaced him, and with anxiety
-and fear they crowded around their master, supplicating
-him to fly, or to adopt some means of defence;
-but he would do neither. Lysias, one of the most
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span>celebrated orators of the day, composed a pathetic
-oration, which he wished his friend to pronounce, as
-his defence, in the presence of his judges. Socrates
-read it, praised its animated and eloquent style, but
-rejected it, as being neither manly nor expressive of
-fortitude. The anxiety and trouble of avoiding condemnation
-appeared to him of little moment, when
-compared to the performance of his duty in upholding
-to the last moment, the truth of his principles and the
-dignity of his character.</p>
-
-<p>Socrates, though both eloquent and persuasive in
-conversation, was not capable of addressing a large
-assembly; therefore, on the day of his trial, he asked
-permission of his judges to use the means of defence
-to which he had been accustomed; namely, to speak
-familiarly with, and ask questions of, his adversaries.</p>
-
-<p>"Athenians," he said, in commencing, "I hope I
-shall succeed in my defence, if, by succeeding, good
-may result from it; but I look upon my success as
-very doubtful, and, therefore, do not deceive myself
-in that respect. But let the will of the gods be
-obeyed."</p>
-
-<p>The two chief accusations against Socrates, were
-firstly, that he did not believe in the religion of the
-state; secondly, that he was guilty of corrupting the
-minds of young men, and of disseminating the disbelief
-of the established religion.</p>
-
-<p>Socrates did not reply, in a direct manner, to either
-of these charges. Instead of declaring that he believed
-in the religion of his country, he proved that
-he was not an atheist; instead of refuting the charge
-of instructing youth to doubt the sacred tenets of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>
-law, he declared and demonstrated that it was morality
-which he taught; and instead of appealing to the
-compassion of his judges, he did not disguise the contempt
-in which he held the means practised by parties
-accused, who, in order to excite sympathy and compassion,
-brought their children and relations to supplicate,
-with tears in their eyes, the mercy of the
-judges. "I, also, have friends and relations!" he
-said, "and, as to children, I have three,&mdash;one a stripling,
-the other two in childhood; yet I will not
-allow them to come here to excite your sympathy.
-Why will I not do so? It is not caused by stubbornness,
-nor by any disdain I have for you. For my
-honor, for your honor, for that of the republic, it is not
-meet that, with the reputation, whether true or false
-that I have acquired, I should make use of such
-means to procure your acquittal. Indeed, I should be
-ashamed if those that distinguish themselves for wisdom,
-courage, or any other virtue, should, like many
-people that I have seen, although they have passed
-for great men, commit actions the most grovelling&mdash;as
-if death were the greatest misfortune that could befall
-them, and that,&mdash;if their lives were spared,&mdash;they
-would become immortal!"</p>
-
-<p>When Socrates had ceased speaking, the judges
-of the Areopagus found him guilty, by a majority of
-three. On being demanded, according to the spirit
-of the Athenian laws, to pass sentence on himself,
-and to mention the death he preferred, Socrates, conscious
-of his own innocence, replied,&mdash;"Far from
-deeming myself guilty, I believe that I have rendered
-my country important services, and, therefore, think<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span>
-that I ought to be maintained in the Prytaneum at the
-public expense, during the remainder of my life,&mdash;an
-honor, O Athenians, that I merit more than the victors
-of the Olympic games. They make you happy
-in appearance; I have made you so in reality."</p>
-
-<p>This reply in the highest degree exasperated his
-judges, who condemned him to die by poison. When
-the sentence was passed, Socrates remained, for a
-few minutes, calm and undisturbed, and then asked
-permission to speak a few words.</p>
-
-<p>"Athenians," he said, "your want of patience will
-be used as a pretext by those who desire to defame
-the republic. They will tell you that you have put
-to death the wise Socrates; yes, they will call me
-wise, to add, to your shame&mdash;though I am not so. If
-you had but waited a short time, death would have
-come of itself, and thus saved you from disgracing
-yourselves. You see I am already advanced in years
-and must shortly die. All know that in times of
-war, nothing is more easy than saving our lives by
-throwing down our weapons, and demanding quarter
-of the enemy. It is the same in all dangers; a thousand
-pretexts can be found by those who are not
-scrupulous about what they say and do. It is difficult,
-O Athenians, to avoid death; but it is much
-more so to avoid crime, which is swifter than death.
-It is for this reason that, old and feeble as I am, I
-await the latter, whilst my accusers, who are more
-vigorous and volatile, embrace the former. I am
-now about to suffer the punishment to which you
-have sentenced me; my accusers, the odium and infamy
-to which virtue condemns them."</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span></p>
-<p>"What is going to happen to me," he added, "will
-be rather an advantage than an evil; for it is apparent,
-that to die at present, and to be delivered of the
-cares of this life, is what will best suit me. I have
-no resentment towards my accusers, neither have I
-any ill-will against those who condemn me, although
-their intention was to injure me, to do all in their
-power to do me harm. I will make but one request;
-when my children are grown up, if they are seen to
-covet riches, or prefer wealth to virtue, punish and
-torment them as I have tormented you; and if they
-look upon themselves as beings of importance, make
-them blush for their presumption. This is what I
-have done to you. If you do that, you will secure
-the gratitude of a father, and my children will ever
-praise you. But it is time that we should separate;
-I go to die, and you to live. Which of us has the
-best portion? No one knows except God."</p>
-
-<p>When he had finished, he was taken to prison and
-loaded with chains. His execution was to have taken
-place in twenty-four hours, but it was postponed for
-thirty days, on account of the celebration of the Delian
-festivals. Socrates, with his usual cheerfulness
-and serenity, passed this time in conversing with
-his friends upon some of the most important subjects
-that could engage the mind of man. Plato relates,
-in the dialogue entitled The Phedon, the conversation
-which took place on the day preceding his death.
-That dialogue, without exception, is the most beautiful
-that the Greeks have left us. We can give only
-those passages which are more immediately connected
-with his death.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>"After the condemnation of Socrates," says Phedon,
-"we did not allow a day to escape without seeing
-him, and on the day previous to his death, we assembled
-earlier than usual. When we arrived at the
-prison door, the jailor told us to wait a little, as the
-Eleven were then giving orders for the death of Socrates."</p>
-
-<p>Speaking of the fear of death, Socrates said, "Assuredly,
-my dear friends, if I did not think I was
-going to find, in the other world, gods good and wise,
-and even infinitely better than we are, it would be
-wrong in me not to be troubled at death; but you
-must know that I hope soon to be introduced to virtuous
-men,&mdash;soon to arrive at the assembly of the just.
-Therefore it is that I fear not death, hoping, as I do,
-according to the ancient faith of the human race, that
-something better is in store for the just, than what
-there is for the wicked."</p>
-
-<p>The slave who was to give Socrates the poison,
-warned him to speak as little as possible, because
-sometimes it was necessary to administer the drug
-three or four times to those who allowed themselves
-to be overheated by conversation.</p>
-
-<p>"Let the poison be prepared," said Socrates, "as
-if it were necessary to give it two or three times;"
-then continued to discourse upon the immortality of
-the soul, mixing in his arguments the inspiration of
-sentiment and of poetry.</p>
-
-<p>"Let that man," said he, "have confidence in his
-destiny, who, during lifetime, has renounced the
-pleasures of the body as productive of evil. He who
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span>has sought the pleasures of science, who has beautified
-his soul, not with useless ornaments, but with
-what is suitable to his nature, such as temperance,
-justice, fortitude, liberty, and truth, ought to wait
-peaceably the hour of his departure, and to be always
-ready for the voyage, whenever fate calls him."</p>
-
-<p>"Alas! my dear friend," said Crito; "have you
-any orders for me, or for those present, with regard
-to your children or your affairs?" "What I have
-always recommended to you, Crito,"&mdash;replied Socrates,
-"to take care of yourselves,&mdash;nothing more. By
-doing so, you will render me a service, my family,
-and all who know you."</p>
-
-<p>After Socrates had bathed, his children and his female
-relations were brought into his presence. He
-spoke to them for some time, gave them his orders,
-then caused them to retire. After he returned, he
-sat down upon his bed, and had scarcely spoken,
-when the officer of the Eleven came in and said,
-"Socrates, I hope I shall not have the same occasion to
-reproach you as I have had in respect to others. As
-soon as I come to acquaint them that they must drink
-the poison, they are incensed against me; but you have,
-ever since you came here, been patient, calm, and
-even-tempered, and I am confident that you are not
-angry with me. Now, you know what I have told
-you. Farewell! Try to bear with resignation what
-cannot be avoided." Saying these words, he turned
-away, while the tears were streaming from his eyes.</p>
-
-<p>"I will follow your counsel," said Socrates. Then
-turning to his disciples, he continued, "Observe the
-honesty of that poor man. During my imprisonment,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>he has visited me daily, and now, see with what sincerity
-he weeps for me!" When the slave brought
-the poison to Socrates, the latter looked at him, and
-said, "Very well, my friend, what must I do? for
-you know best, and it is your business to direct me."</p>
-
-<p>"Nothing else but drink the poison; then walk,
-and when you find your limbs grow stiff, lie down
-upon your bed." At the same time, he handed the
-cup to Socrates, who took it without emotion or
-change of countenance; then looking at the man
-with a steady eye, he said,&mdash;"Tell me, is it allowable
-to make a drink-offering of this mixture?" "Socrates,"
-the man replied, "we never prepare more than
-what is sufficient for one dose."</p>
-
-<p>"I understand you," said Socrates; "but nevertheless,
-it is lawful for me to pray to God that he may
-bless my voyage, and render it a happy one." Having
-said so, he raised the cup to his lips, and drank
-the poison with astonishing tranquillity and meekness.
-When Socrates looked around and saw his friends
-vainly endeavoring to stifle their tears, he said,
-"What are you doing, my companions? Was it not
-to avoid this, that I sent away the women? and you
-have fallen into their weakness. Be quiet, I pray
-you, and show more fortitude."</p>
-
-<p>In the mean time, he continued to walk, and when
-he felt his legs grow stiff, he lay down upon his back,
-as had been recommended. The person who gave
-Socrates the poison, then came forward, and, after
-examining his legs and feet, he bound them, and
-asked if he felt the cord. The dying philosopher answered,
-"No;" and feeling himself with his hand,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span>
-he told his disciples, that "when the cold reached his
-heart, he should leave them."</p>
-
-<p>A few minutes afterwards, he exclaimed, "Crito,
-we owe a cock to Esculapius; do not forget to pay
-the debt." These were the last words of Socrates.
-Such was the end of the great philosopher; and it
-may be truly said that he was one of the wisest, best,
-and most upright of all the Athenians.</p>
-
-<p>In personal appearance Socrates was disagreeable:
-he had a sunken nose, and his eyes protruded so as
-to give him a strange appearance. It is supposed
-that he knew the shrewish temper of Xantippe, before
-he married her, and sought the alliance that she
-might give exercise to his patience. She tried
-every means to irritate him, and finding it impossible
-to rouse his anger, she poured some dirty water upon
-him from a window. "After thunder, we generally
-have rain," was the only remark the philosopher
-deigned to make. Many other anecdotes are handed
-down, which show the wonderful command Socrates
-had acquired over himself.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 50%" >
-<img src="images/243.jpg" alt="men" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/244.jpg" alt="Alcibiades" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>ALCIBIADES.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This eminent Athenian general and statesman, was
-born about 450 B. C. Descended on both sides from
-the most illustrious families of his country,&mdash;born to
-the inheritance of great wealth,&mdash;endued with great
-personal beauty and the most brilliant mental qualities,&mdash;it
-seemed evident, from his early youth, that he
-would exert no slight influence over the counsels and
-fortunes of Athens. His father, Cleinias, was killed
-at the battle of Cheron�a, and being thus an orphan,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>he was placed under the wardship of his uncle, Pericles.
-The latter was too much engaged in affairs
-of state to bestow that care upon Alcibiades, which
-the impetuosity of his disposition required. In his
-childhood he showed the germ of his future character.
-One day, when he was playing at dice with some
-companions in the street, a wagon came up; he requested
-the driver to stop, and, the latter refusing,
-Alcibiades threw himself before the wheel, exclaiming,
-"Drive on, if thou darest!"</p>
-
-<p>He excelled alike in mental and bodily exercises.
-His beauty and birth, and the high station of Pericles,
-procured him a multitude of friends and admirers,
-and his reputation was soon injured by the dissipation
-in which he became involved. He was fortunate in
-acquiring the friendship of Socrates, who endeavored
-to lead him to virtue, and undoubtedly obtained a
-great ascendency over him, so that Alcibiades often
-quitted his gay associates for the company of the
-philosopher.</p>
-
-<p>He bore arms, for the first time, in the expedition
-against Potid�a and was wounded. Socrates, who
-fought at his side, defended him, and led him out of
-danger. In the battle of Delium, he was among the
-cavalry who were victorious, but, the infantry being
-beaten, he was obliged to flee, as well as the rest.
-He overtook Socrates, who was retreating on foot.
-Alcibiades accompanied him, and protected him.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%" >
-<img src="images/246.jpg" alt="Alcibiades" style="width: 70%" />
-  <div class="caption">
-    <p class="center"><i>Socrates saving Alcibiades.</i></p>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-
-
-<p>For a considerable time he took no part in public
-affairs, but on the death of Cleon, 422 B. C., Nicias
-succeeded in making a peace for fifty years, between
-the Athenians and Laced�monians. Alcibiades, jealous
-of the influence of Nicias, and offended because
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span>the Laced�monians, with whom he was connected by
-the ties of hospitality, had not applied to him, sought
-to bring about some disagreement between the two
-nations. The Laced�monians sent ambassadors to
-Athens. Alcibiades received them with apparent
-good-will, and advised them to conceal their credentials,
-lest the Athenians should prescribe conditions
-to them. They suffered themselves to be duped, and,
-when called into the assembly, declared that they
-were without credentials. Alcibiades rose immediately,
-stated that they had credentials, accused them
-of ill-faith, and induced the Athenians to form an
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span>alliance with the Argives. A breach with the Laced�monians
-was the immediate consequence. Alcibiades
-commanded the Athenian fleet several times
-during the war, and devastated the Peloponnesus.</p>
-
-<p>He did not, however, refrain from luxury and dissipation,
-to which he abandoned himself after his
-return from the wars. On one occasion, after having
-a nocturnal revel, in the company of some friends, he
-laid a wager that he would give Hipponicus a box on
-the ear; which he did. This act made a great noise
-in the city, but Alcibiades went to the injured party,
-threw off his garments, and called upon him to revenge
-himself by whipping him with rods. This
-open repentance reconciled Hipponicus, who not only
-pardoned him, but gave him afterwards his daughter,
-Hipparete, in marriage, with a portion of ten talents&mdash;about
-ten thousand dollars. Alcibiades, however, still
-continued his levity and prodigality. His extravagance
-was conspicuous at the Olympic games, where
-he entered the stadium, not like other rich men, with
-one chariot, but with seven at a time&mdash;and gained the
-three first prizes. He seems also to have been victor
-in the Pythian and Nem�an games. By these
-courses he drew upon himself the hatred of his fellow
-citizens, and he would have fallen a sacrifice to the
-ostracism, if he had not, in connection with Nicias and
-Ph�ax, who feared a similar fate, artfully contrived to
-procure the banishment of his most formidable enemy.</p>
-
-<p>Soon afterwards, the Athenians, at the instance of
-Alcibiades, resolved on an expedition against Sicily,
-and elected him commander-in-chief, together with
-Nicias and Lamachus. But, during the preparations,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span>
-it happened one night that all the statues of Mercury
-were broken. The enemies of Alcibiades charged
-him with the act, but postponed a public accusation
-till he had set sail, when they stirred up the people
-against him to such a degree, that he was recalled in
-order to be tried. Alcibiades had been very successful
-in Sicily, when he received the order to return.
-He prepared to obey, and embarked, but on reaching
-Thurium, he landed, and, instead of proceeding to
-Athens, concealed himself. Some one asking him,
-"How is this, Alcibiades? Have you no confidence
-in your country?"&mdash;he replied, "I would not trust
-my mother when my life is concerned, for she might,
-by mistake, take a black stone instead of a white one."
-He was condemned to death in Athens. When the
-news reached him, he remarked&mdash;"I shall show the
-Athenians that I am yet alive."</p>
-
-<p>He now went to Argos; thence to Sparta, where he
-made himself a favorite by conforming closely to the
-prevailing strictness of manners. Here he succeeded
-in inducing the Laced�monians to form an alliance
-with the Persian king, and, after the unfortunate issue
-of the Athenian expedition against Sicily, he prevailed
-on the Spartans to assist the inhabitants of Chios in
-throwing off the yoke of Athens. He went himself
-thither, and on his arrival in Asia Minor, roused the
-whole of Ionia to insurrection against the Athenians,
-and did them considerable injury. But Agis and the
-principal leaders of the Spartans became jealous of
-him, on account of his success, and ordered their
-commanders in Asia to cause him to be assassinated.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Alcibiades suspected their plan, and went to Tissaphernes,
-a Persian satrap, who was ordered to act in
-concert with the Laced�monians. Here he changed
-his manners once more, adopted the luxurious habits
-of Asia, and soon contrived to make himself indispensable
-to the satrap. As he could no longer trust the
-Laced�monians, he undertook to serve his country,
-and showed Tissaphernes that it was against the interest
-of the Persian king to weaken the Athenians;
-on the contrary, Sparta and Athens ought to be preserved
-for their mutual injury. Tissaphernes followed
-this advice, and afforded the Athenians some relief.
-The latter had, at that time, considerable forces at
-Samos. Alcibiades sent word to their commanders,
-that, if the licentiousness of the people was suppressed
-and the government put into the hands of the nobles,
-he would procure for them the friendship of Tissaphernes,
-and prevent the junction of the Ph&oelig;nician
-and Laced�monian fleets.</p>
-
-<p>This demand was acceded to, and Pisander was sent
-to Athens; by whose means the government of the city
-was put into the hands of a council, consisting of four
-hundred persons. As, however, the council showed
-no intention of recalling Alcibiades, the army of Samos
-chose him their commander, and exhorted him
-to go directly to Athens and overthrow the power of
-the tyrants. He wished, however, not to return to his
-country before he had rendered it some services; and
-therefore attacked and totally defeated the Laced�monians.
-When he returned to Tissaphernes, the
-latter, in order not to appear a participator in the act,
-caused him to be arrested in Sardis. But Alcibiades
-found means to escape; placed himself at the head
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span>of the Athenian army; conquered the Laced�monians
-and Persians, at Cyzicus, by sea and land; took
-Cyzicus, Chalcedon, and Byzantium; restored the
-sovereignty of the sea to the Athenians, and returned
-to his country, whither he had been recalled, on the
-motion of Critias.</p>
-
-<p>He was received with general enthusiasm; for the
-Athenians considered his exile as the cause of all
-their misfortunes. But this triumph was of short
-duration. He was sent with one hundred ships to
-Asia; and, not being supplied with money to pay his
-soldiers, he saw himself under the necessity of seeking
-help in Caria, and committed the command to
-Antiochus, who was drawn into a snare by Lysander,
-and lost his life and a part of his ships. The enemies
-of Alcibiades improved this opportunity to accuse
-him, and procure his removal from office.</p>
-
-<p>Alcibiades now went to Pacty� in Thrace, collected
-troops, and waged war against the Thracians. He
-obtained considerable booty, and secured the quiet of
-the neighboring Greek cities. The Athenian fleet
-was, at that time, lying at �gos Potamos. He pointed
-out to the generals the danger which threatened
-them, advised them to go to Sestos, and offered his
-assistance to force the Laced�monian general, Lysander,
-either to fight, or to make peace. But they did
-not listen to him, and soon after were totally defeated.
-Alcibiades, fearing the power of the Laced�monians,
-betook himself to Bithynia, and was about to go to
-Artaxerxes, to procure his assistance for his country.
-In the meantime, the thirty tyrants, whom Lysander
-after the capture of Athens, had set up there, requested<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span>
-the latter to cause Alcibiades to be assassinated.
-But Lysander declined, until he received an order to
-the same effect from his own government. He then
-charged Pharnabazes with the execution of it. Alcibiades
-was at the time with Timandra, his mistress,
-in a castle in Phrygia. The assistants of Pharnabazes,
-afraid to encounter Alcibiades, set fire to his
-house, and when he had already escaped the conflagration,
-they despatched him with their arrows. Timandra
-buried the body with due honor.</p>
-
-<p>Thus Alcibiades ended his life, 404 B. C., being
-about forty-five years old. He was endowed by nature
-with distinguished qualities, a rare talent to captivate
-and rule mankind, and uncommon eloquence, although
-he could not pronounce the letter <i>r</i>, and had an impediment
-in his speech. He had, however, no fixed
-principles, and was governed only by external circumstances.
-He was without that elevation of soul which
-steadily pursues the path of virtue. On the other
-hand, he possessed that boldness which arises from
-consciousness of superiority, and which shrinks from
-no difficulty, because confident of success. He was
-a singular instance of intellectual eminence and moral
-depravity. His faculty for adapting himself to circumstances
-enabled him to equal the Spartans in
-austerity of manners, and to surpass the pomp of the
-Persians. Plutarch says, that "no man was of so
-sullen a nature but he would make him merry; nor
-so churlish but he could make him gentle."</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>DEMOCRITUS.</h2>
-
-
-<p>Democritus, one of the most remarkable of the
-philosophers of antiquity, was born at Abdera, a maritime
-city of Thrace, 460 B. C. He travelled over
-the greatest part of Europe, Asia and Africa, in quest
-of knowledge. Though his father was so rich as to
-entertain Xerxes and his whole army, while marching
-against Greece, and left his son a large fortune, yet
-the latter returned from his travels in a state of poverty.
-It was a law of the country, that a man should
-be deprived of the honor of a funeral, who had reduced
-himself to indigence. Democritus was of
-course exposed to this ignominy; but having read
-before his countrymen his chief work, it was received
-with the greatest applause, and he was presented with
-five hundred talents,&mdash;a sum nearly equal to half a
-million of dollars. Statues were also erected to his
-honor; and a decree was passed that the expenses of
-his funeral should be paid from the public treasury.</p>
-
-<p>These circumstances display alike the great eminence
-of the philosopher, and an appreciation of genius
-and learning on the part of the people, beyond what
-could now be found in the most civilized communities
-of the world. Where is the popular assembly of the
-present day, that would bestow such a reward, on
-such an occasion?</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>After his return from his travels, Democritus retired
-to a garden near the city, where he dedicated
-his time to study and solitude; and, according to some
-authors, put out his eyes, to apply himself more closely
-to philosophical inquiries. This, however, is unworthy
-of credit. He was accused of insanity, and Hippocrates,
-a celebrated physician, was ordered to
-inquire into the nature of his disorder. After a conference
-with the philosopher, he declared that not
-the latter, but his enemies were insane. Democritus
-was so accustomed to laugh at the follies and vanities
-of mankind, who distract themselves with care, and
-are at once the prey to hope and anxiety, that he
-acquired the title of the "laughing philosopher," in
-contrast to Heraclitus,<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> who has been called the "weeping
-philosopher." He told Darius, the king, who
-was inconsolable for the loss of his wife, that he would
-raise her from the dead if he could find three persons
-who had gone through life without adversity, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>
-whose names he might engrave on the queen's monument.
-The king's inquiries after such, proved unavailing,
-and the philosopher discovered the means of
-soothing the sorrows of the sovereign.</p>
-
-<p>He was a disbeliever in the existence of ghosts;
-and some youths, to try his fortitude, dressed themselves
-in hideous and deformed habits, and approached
-his cave in the dead of night, expecting to excite his
-terror and astonishment. The philosopher received
-them unmoved, and, without hardly deigning to bestow
-upon them a look, desired them to cease making
-themselves such objects of ridicule and folly. He
-died in the one hundred and fourth year of his age,
-B. C. 357.</p>
-
-<p>All the works of Democritus, which were numerous,
-are lost. He was the first to teach that the milky
-way was occasioned by a confused light from a multitude
-of stars. He may be considered as the parent
-of experimental philosophy; in the prosecution of
-which he was so ardent, that he declared he would
-prefer the discovery of one of the causes of the works
-of nature, to the diadem of Persia. He is said to
-have made artificial emeralds by chemical means,
-and to have tinged them with various colors; he likewise
-found the art of dissolving stones and softening
-ivory.</p>
-
-<p>He was the author of the atomic theory; he viewed
-all matter, in which he included mind, as reducible
-to atoms; he considered the universe to consist only
-of matter and empty space. The mind he regarded
-as round atoms of fire. He argued that nothing could
-arise out of nothing; and also that nothing could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span>
-utterly perish and become nothing. Hence he inferred
-the eternity of the universe, and dispensed with
-the existence of a Creator.</p>
-
-<p>He explained the difference in substances by a
-difference in their component atoms; and all material
-phenomena, by different motions, backward or forward,
-taking place of necessity. He did not seem to
-perceive that under this word, <i>necessity</i>, he concealed
-a deity. He explained sensation by supposing sensible
-images to issue from bodies. In moral philosophy,
-he only taught that a cheerful state of mind was the
-greatest attainable good.</p>
-
-<p>The theories of Democritus appear absurd enough
-in our time; but philosophy was then in its infancy.
-His struggles after light and truth display the darkness
-of the age, and the ingenuity of the philosopher.
-They may also teach us by what a process of mental
-toil, for centuries piled upon centuries, the knowledge
-we possess has been attained. The school he established,
-was supplanted, about a century after, by that
-of Epicurus.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/255.jpg" alt="tomb" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Heraclitus flourished about 500 years B. C. He was a
-native of Ephesus; and being of a melancholy disposition, he
-spent his time in mourning and weeping over the frailties of
-human nature, and the miseries of human life. He employed
-himself for a time, in writing different treatises, in which he
-maintained that all things are governed by a fatal necessity.
-His opinions, in some things, were adopted by the Stoics. He
-became at last a man-hater, and retired to the mountains, so
-as to be entirely separated from his fellow-men. Here he fed
-on grass, which brought on a dropsical complaint: to get cured
-of this, he returned to the town. He established his residence
-on a dunghill, hoping that the warmth might dissipate his
-disease; but this proved ineffectual, and he died in his sixtieth
-year.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span></p></div>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/256.jpg" alt="Pericles" style="width: 55%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>PERICLES.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This celebrated man, born about 498 B. C., was an
-Athenian of noble birth, son of Xantippus and Agariste.
-He was endowed by nature with great powers,
-which he improved by attending the lectures of Damon,
-Zeno, and Anaxagoras. Under these celebrated
-masters, he became a commander, a statesman, and an
-orator, and gained the affections of the people by his
-great address, and well-directed liberality. When he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span>
-took a share in the administration of public affairs, he
-rendered himself popular by opposing Cimon, who
-was the favorite of the nobility; and, to remove every
-obstacle which stood in the way of his ambition, he
-lessened the dignity and the power of the court of
-Areopagus, whom the people had been taught for ages
-to respect and venerate.</p>
-
-<p>He continued his attacks upon Cimon, and finally
-caused him to be banished by the ostracism. Thucydides
-also, who had succeeded Cimon on his banishment,
-shared the same fate, and Pericles remained,
-for fifteen years, the sole minister, and, as it may be
-said, the absolute sovereign of a republic which always
-showed itself so jealous of her liberties, and which
-distrusted so much the honesty of her magistrates.
-In his ministerial capacity, Pericles did not enrich
-himself, but the prosperity of Athens was the object
-of his administration. He made war against the
-Laced�monians, and restored the temple of Delphi to
-the care of the Phocians, who had been illegally deprived
-of that honorable trust.</p>
-
-<p>He obtained a victory over the Sicyonians near
-Nem�a, and waged a successful war against the inhabitants
-of Samos. The Peloponnesian war was
-fomented by his ambitious views, and when he had
-warmly represented the flourishing state, the opulence
-and actual power of his country, the Athenians did
-not hesitate to undertake a war against the most powerful
-republics of Greece&mdash;a war which continued for
-twenty-seven years, and was concluded by the destruction
-of their empire and the demolition of their
-walls. The arms of the Athenians were, for some
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>time, crowned with success; but an unfortunate expedition
-raised clamors against Pericles, and the
-enraged populace attributed all their losses to him.
-To make atonement for their ill-success, they condemned
-him to pay fifty talents.</p>
-
-<p>The loss of popular favor did not so much affect
-Pericles, as the death of all his children. When the
-tide of disaffection had passed away, he condescended
-to come into the public assembly, and viewed with
-secret pride the contrition of his fellow-citizens, who
-universally begged his forgiveness for the violence
-which they had offered to his ministerial character.
-He was again restored to all his honors, and, if possible,
-invested with more power and more authority
-than before; but the dreadful pestilence which had
-diminished the number of his family, and swept away
-many of his best friends, proved fatal to himself, and
-about 429 years B. C., in his seventieth year, he fell
-a sacrifice to that terrible malady which robbed Athens
-of so many of her citizens.</p>
-
-<p>Pericles was forty years at the head of the administration;
-twenty-five years with others, and fifteen
-alone. The flourishing state of the country under
-his government, gave occasion to the Athenians publicly
-to lament his loss and venerate his memory.
-As he was expiring and apparently senseless, his
-friends, that stood around his bed, expatiated with
-warmth on the most glorious actions of his life, and
-the victories which he had won&mdash;when he suddenly
-interrupted their tears and conversation, by saying,
-that in mentioning the exploits he had achieved,
-and which were common to him with all generals,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span>
-they had forgotten to mention a circumstance, which
-reflected far greater glory on him as a minister, a
-general, and above all, as a man: "It is," said he,
-"that not a citizen in Athens has been obliged to put
-on mourning on my account."</p>
-
-<p>The Athenians were so affected by his eloquence
-that they compared it to thunder and lightning, and,
-as if he were another father of the gods, they gave
-him the title of Olympian. The poets said that the
-goddess of persuasion, with all her charms and attractions,
-dwelt upon his tongue. When he marched
-at the head of the Athenian armies, he observed that
-he had the command of a free nation, who were Greeks
-and citizens of Athens. He also declared that not
-only the hand of a magistrate, but also his eyes and
-his tongue, should be pure and undefiled. There can
-be no doubt that Pericles was one of the most eloquent
-orators and sagacious statesmen of Greece.</p>
-
-<p>Yet, great and venerable as his character may appear,
-we must not forget his follies. His vicious partiality
-for the celebrated courtesan, Aspasia, justly
-subjected him to the ridicule and censure of his fellow-citizens.
-The greatness of his talents and his
-services, enabled him to triumph over satire and reproach
-for the time, but the Athenians had occasion
-to execrate the memory of a man, who, by his example,
-corrupted the purity and innocence of their morals,
-and who, associating licentiousness with talents
-and public virtue, rendered it almost respectable.</p>
-
-<p>Pericles lost all his legitimate children by the pestilence
-already mentioned; and to call a natural son
-by his own name, he was obliged to repeal a law<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span>
-which he had made against spurious children, and
-which he had enforced with great severity. This
-son, named Pericles, became one of the ten generals
-who succeeded Alcibiades in the administration of
-affairs, and, like his colleagues, he was condemned
-to death by the Athenians, after the unfortunate battle
-of Arginus�.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 50%" >
-<img src="images/260.jpg" alt="soldat" style="width: 40%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/261.jpg" alt="Aristides" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>ARISTIDES.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This great Athenian general and statesman, who
-took so conspicuous a part in the deliverance of Greece
-from the Persians, and who has come down to us with
-the enviable surname of <span class="smcap">The Just</span>, was the son of
-Lysimachus and born about the year 550 B. C. We
-know little of the steps by which he rose to eminence.
-He was one of the ten generals of the Athenian forces,
-when they fought with the Persians at Marathon. According
-to the custom, each general held command of
-the army for one day, in rotation. Aristides, perceiving
-the disadvantages of this system, prevailed on his
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span>colleagues to give up their command to Miltiades.
-To this, in a great measure, must be attributed the
-memorable victory of the Greeks upon that occasion.</p>
-
-<p>The year after this, Aristides was archon; and the
-ambitious Themistocles, desiring to get rid of him
-privately circulated a charge that Aristides was aiming
-at sovereign power. He succeeded finally in
-causing him to be exiled by the ostracism&mdash;a vote of
-banishment, in which the Athenians used shells for ballots.
-While the voting, upon this occasion, was going
-on, Aristides was among the people; a rustic citizen,
-who did not know him, came up and asked him to
-write the name of Aristides upon the shell with which
-he intended to vote. "Has he ever injured you?"
-said Aristides. "No," said the voter, "but I am tired
-of hearing him called the '<i>Just!</i>'"</p>
-
-<p>Aristides left Athens, with prayers for its welfare.
-He was recalled at the end of three years, and, forgetting
-his injury, devoted himself with ardor and
-success to the good of his country. In the famous
-battle of Platea, he commanded the Athenians, and
-is entitled to a great share of the merit of the splendid
-victory gained by the Greeks. He died at an advanced
-age, about 467 B. C. He was so poor that
-the expenses of his funeral were defrayed at the public
-charge, and his two daughters, on account of their
-father's virtues, received a dowry from the public
-treasury, when they came to marriageable years.</p>
-
-<p>The effect of so rare an example as that of Aristides,
-was visible even during his lifetime. The
-Athenians became more virtuous, in imitating their
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span>great leader. Such was their sense of his good qualities,
-that, at the representation of one of the tragedies
-of �schylus, when the actor pronounced a sentence
-concerning moral goodness, the eyes of the audience
-were all at once turned from the players to Aristides.
-When he sat as judge, it is said that the plaintiff in
-his accusation&mdash;in order to prejudice him against the
-defendant&mdash;mentioned the injuries he had done to
-Aristides. "Mention the wrong <i>you</i> have received,"
-said the equitable Athenian. "I sit here as judge;
-the lawsuit is yours, not mine." On one occasion,
-Themistocles announced to the people of Athens that
-he had a scheme of the greatest advantage to the state;
-but it could not be mentioned in a public assembly.
-Aristides was appointed to confer with him. The
-design was to set fire to the combined fleet of the
-Greeks, then lying in a neighboring port, by which
-means the Athenians would acquire the sovereignty
-of the seas. Aristides returned to the people, and
-told them that nothing could be more advantageous&mdash;yet
-nothing more unjust. The project was of course
-abandoned.</p>
-
-<p>The character of Aristides is one of the finest that
-is handed down by antiquity. To him belongs the
-rarest of all praises, that of observing justice, not only
-between man and man, but between nation and nation.
-He was truly a patriot, for he preferred the
-good of his country to his own ambition. A candid
-enemy, an impartial friend, a just administrator of
-other men's money&mdash;an observer of national faith&mdash;he
-is well entitled to the imperishable monument which is
-erected in that simple title, <span class="smcap">The Just</span>!</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/264.jpg" alt="Aesop" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>�SOP.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This celebrated inventor of fables was a native of
-Phrygia, in Asia Minor, and flourished in the time of
-Solon, about 560 B. C. A life of him was written
-by a Greek monk, named Planudes, about the middle
-of the fourteenth century, which passed into circulation
-as a genuine work, but which is proved to have
-been a mere fiction. In that work, �sop is represented
-as being hunch-backed, and an object of disgust
-from his deformity. There appears to be no
-foundation whatever for this story. This invention
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span>of the monk, no doubt, had for its object, to give eclat
-to the beauties of �sop's mind, by the contrast of
-bodily deformity.</p>
-
-<p>Throwing aside the work of Planudes, we are left
-to grope in obscurity for the real history of the great
-fabulist. After the most diligent researches, we can
-do little more than trace the leading incidents of his
-life. The place of his birth, like that of Homer, is
-matter of question; Samos, Sardis, Coti�um in Phrygia,
-and Mesembria in Thrace, laying claim alike to
-that honor. The early part of his life was spent in
-slavery, and the names of three of his masters have
-been preserved: Dinarchus, an Athenian, in whose
-service he is said to have acquired a correct and pure
-knowledge of Greek; Xanthus, a Samian, who figures
-in Planudes as a philosopher, in order that the
-capacity of the slave may be set off by the incapacity
-of the master; and Iadmon or Idmon, another Samian,
-by whom he was enfranchised.</p>
-
-<p>He acquired a high reputation in Greece for that
-species of composition, which, after him, was called
-�sopian, and, in consequence, was solicited by Cr&oelig;sus
-to take up his abode at the Lydian court. Here
-he is said to have met Solon, and to have rebuked the
-sage for his uncourtly way of inculcating moral lessons.
-He is said to have visited Athens during the
-usurpation of Pisistratus, and to have then composed
-the fable of Jupiter and the Frogs<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> for the instruction
-of the citizens.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Being charged by Cr&oelig;sus with an embassy to
-Delphi, in the course of which he was to distribute a
-sum of money to every Delphian, a quarrel arose between
-him and the citizens, in consequence of which
-he returned the money to his patron, alleging that
-those for whom it was meant were unworthy of it.
-The disappointed party, in return, got up the charge
-of sacrilege, upon which they put him to death. A
-pestilence which ensued was attributed to this crime,
-and in consequence they made proclamation, at all
-the public assemblies of the Grecian nation, of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span>
-willingness to make compensation for �sop's death
-to any one who should appear to claim it. A grandson
-of his master, Iadmon, at length claimed and received
-it, no person more closely connected with the
-sufferer having appeared.</p>
-
-<p>It is a question of some doubt, whether �sop was
-the inventor of that species of fable which endows the
-inferior animals, and even inanimate objects, with
-speech and reason, and thus, under the cover of humorous
-conceit, conveys lessons of wisdom; and
-which, from their pleasant guise, are often well received
-where the plain truth would be rejected. The
-probability is, that, if not the originator of such
-fables, �sop was the first who composed them of
-such point as to bring them into use as a powerful
-vehicle for the inculcation of truth. At all
-events, there is abundant proof that fables, passing
-under his name, were current and popular in Athens,
-during the most brilliant period of its literary history,
-and not much more than a century after the death of
-the supposed author. The drolleries of �sop are
-mentioned by Aristophanes in terms which lead us to
-suppose that they were commonly repeated at convivial
-parties. Socrates, in prison, turned into verse
-'those that he knew;' and Plato, who banishes the
-fictions of Homer from his ideal republic, speaks
-with high praise of the tendency of those of �sop.</p>
-
-<p>Many of the fables in circulation among us, under
-the name of �sop, are not his;&mdash;indeed, it is probable
-that but a small portion of them can trace their
-origin back to the Phrygian. A good fable, as
-well as a good story, however it may originate, is apt
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span>to be attributed to one whose character it may suit&mdash;and
-thus it happens that the same smart sayings are
-credited, in different countries, to different individuals;
-and thus, also, we see that many of the fables
-which we assign to �sop, are credited, by the Mohammedans,
-to their fabulist, Lokman.</p>
-
-<p>The value of fables, as instruments of instruction,
-is attested by Addison, in the following words. "They
-were," says he, "the first pieces of wit that made
-their appearance in the world; and have been still
-highly valued, not only in times of the greatest simplicity,
-but among the most polite ages of mankind.
-Jotham's fable of the Trees is the oldest that is extant,
-and as beautiful as any which have been made
-since that time. Nathan's fable of the Poor Man and
-his Lamb is likewise more ancient than any that is
-extant, excepting the above mentioned, and had so good
-an effect as to convey instruction to the ear of a king,
-without offending it, and to bring the 'man after God's
-own heart' to a right sense of his guilt and his duty.
-We find �sop in the most distant ages of Greece.
-And, if we look into the very beginning of the commonwealth
-of Rome, we see a mutiny among the
-common people appeased by the fable of the Belly
-and the Members; which was indeed very proper to
-gain the attention of an incensed rabble, at a time
-when perhaps they would have torn to pieces any
-man who had preached the same doctrine to them
-in an open and direct manner. As fables took their
-birth in the very infancy of learning, they never flourished
-more than when learning was at its greatest
-height. To justify this assertion, I shall put my
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span>reader in mind of Horace, the greatest wit and critic
-in the Augustan age; and of Boileau, the most correct
-poet among the moderns; not to mention La
-Fontaine, who, by this way of writing, is come more
-into vogue than any other author of our times."</p>
-
-<p>"Reading is to the mind," continues the writer,
-"what exercise is to the body: as, by the one, health
-is preserved, strengthened, and invigorated, by the
-other, virtue, (which is the health of the mind,) is kept
-alive, cherished and confirmed. But, as exercise becomes
-tedious and painful when we make use of it only
-as the means of health, so reading is too apt to grow
-uneasy and burdensome, when we apply ourselves to
-it only for our improvement in virtue. For this reason,
-the virtue which we gather from a fable or an
-allegory, is like the health we get by hunting, as we
-are engaged in an agreeable pursuit that draws us on
-with pleasure, and makes us insensible of the fatigues
-that accompany it."</p>
-
-<p>In modern times, La Fontaine has given us an admirable
-collection of fables, and the artist Grandville
-has added a new charm to them, by a very happy
-conceit. With infinite wit, he has dressed up the
-wolves, foxes, and other animals which figure in the
-fables, in human attire, yet so skilfully as to seem natural&mdash;thus
-aiding the imagination, in conceiving of the
-actors and speakers in the fables, as performing their
-several parts. By the aid of his magical pencil, even
-trees, kettles and kegs assume an appearance of life,
-and seem to justify the wit and wisdom which they
-are imagined to utter. The humor of these designs is
-inimitable; and thus not only is greater effect given to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span>
-the particular fables illustrated, but greater scope,
-to the fable generally. We are indebted, in this
-country, for a most excellent translation of La Fontaine,
-with many of Grandville's designs, to Professor
-Wright.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 50%" >
-<img src="images/270.jpg" alt="banch" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> "The frogs, living an easy, free life everywhere among
-the lakes and ponds, assembled together one day, in a very
-tumultuous manner, and petitioned Jupiter to let them have a
-king, who might inspect their morals, and make them live a
-little honester. Jupiter, being at that time in pretty good humor,
-was pleased to laugh heartily at their ridiculous request;
-and, throwing a little log down into the pool, cried, 'There is
-a king for you,' The sudden splash which this made, by its
-fall into the water, at first terrified them so exceedingly, that
-they were afraid to come near it. But, in a little time, seeing
-it remain without moving, they ventured, by degrees, to approach
-it; and, at last, finding there was no danger, they
-leaped upon it, and, in short, treated it as familiarly as they
-pleased.
-</p>
-<p>
-"But not contented with so insipid a king as this was, they
-sent their deputies to petition again for another sort of one;
-for this they neither did nor could like. Upon that Jupiter sent
-them a stork, who, without any ceremony, fell to devouring
-and eating them up, one after another, as fast as he could.
-Then they applied themselves privately to Mercury, and got
-him to speak to Jupiter in their behalf, that he would be so
-good as to bless them again with another king, or to restore
-them to their former state. 'No,' says Jove, 'since it was their
-own choice, let the obstinate wretches suffer the punishment
-due to their folly.'"</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span></p></div>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/271.jpg" alt="Solon" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>SOLON.</h2>
-
-
-<p>Solon, one of the seven wise men of Greece, was
-born at Salamis, 637 B. C. and educated at Athens.
-His father was one of the descendants of king Codrus,
-and, by his mother's side, he reckoned among his relations
-the celebrated Pisistratus. After he had devoted
-part of his time to philosophical and political
-studies, Solon travelled over the greatest part of
-Greece; but at his return home he was distressed at
-beholding the dissensions among his countrymen.</p>
-
-<p>All now fixed their eyes upon him as a deliverer,
-and he was unanimously elected archon. He might
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span>have become absolute, but he refused the dangerous
-office of king of Athens, and, in the capacity of lawgiver,
-he began to make a reform in every department
-of the government. The complaints of the poorer
-citizens found redress; all debts were remitted, and
-no one was permitted to seize the person of his debtor,
-if he was unable to make payment. After he had
-established the most salutary regulations in the state,
-and bound the Athenians by a solemn oath that they
-would faithfully observe his laws for the space of one
-hundred years, Solon resigned the office of legislator,
-and removed himself from Athens. He visited Egypt,
-and the court of Cr&oelig;sus,<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> king of Lydia&mdash;celebrated
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span>for his wealth, and the vanity of desiring to be esteemed
-the happiest of mankind. He here declared to the
-monarch that an Athenian, who had always seen his
-country flourish&mdash;who had virtuous children, and
-who fell in defence of his native land, had a happier
-career than the proudest emperor on the globe.</p>
-
-<p>After ten years' absence, Solon returned to Athens;
-but he had the mortification to find the greatest part
-of his regulations disregarded, through the factious
-spirit of his countrymen and the usurpation of Pisistratus.
-Not to be longer a spectator of the divisions
-that reigned in his country, he retired to Cyprus,
-where he died at the court of king Philocyprus, in the
-eightieth year of his age. The laws of Solon became
-established in Athens, and their salutary consequences
-can be discovered in the length of time they were in
-force in the republic. For above four hundred years
-they flourished in full vigor, and Cicero, who was
-himself a witness of their benign influence, passes the
-highest encomiums upon the legislator, whose superior
-wisdom framed such a code of regulations.</p>
-
-<p>It was the intention of Solon to protect the poorer
-citizens; and by dividing the whole body of the Athenians
-into four classes, three of which were permitted
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span>to discharge the most important offices and magistracies
-of the state, and the last to give their opinion in
-the assemblies, but not have a share in the distinctions
-and honors of their superiors; the legislator
-gave the populace a privilege, which, though at first
-small and inconsiderable, soon rendered them masters
-of the republic, and of all the affairs of government.
-He made a reformation in the Areopagus, increased
-the authority of the members, and permitted them
-yearly to inquire how every citizen maintained himself,
-and to punish such as lived in idleness, and
-were not employed in some honorable and lucrative
-profession. He also regulated the Prytaneum, and
-fixed the number of its judges to four hundred.</p>
-
-<p>The sanguinary laws of Draco were all cancelled
-except that against murder; and the punishment denounced
-against every offender was proportioned to
-his crime; but Solon made no law against parricide
-or sacrilege. The former of these crimes, he said,
-was too horrible to human nature for a man to be
-guilty of it, and the latter could never be committed,
-because the history of Athens had never furnished a
-single instance. Such as had died in the service of
-their country, were buried with great pomp, and their
-families were maintained at the public expense; but
-such as had squandered away their estates, such as
-refused to bear arms in defence of their country, or
-paid no attention to the infirmity and distress of their
-parents, were branded with infamy. The laws of
-marriage were newly regulated; it became an union
-of affection and tenderness, and no longer a mercenary
-contract. To speak with ill language against<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span>
-the dead, as well as against the living, was made a
-crime; for the legislator wished that the character of
-his fellow-citizens should be freed from the aspersions
-of malevolence and envy. A person that had no
-children was permitted to dispose of his estates as he
-pleased; females were not allowed to be extravagant
-in their dress or expenses; licentiousness was punished;
-and those accustomed to abandoned society,
-were deprived of the privilege of addressing the public
-assemblies. These celebrated laws were engraved
-on several tables; and that they might be better
-known and more familiar to the Athenians, they
-were written in verse.</p>
-
-<p>If we consider the time in which Solon lived, we
-shall see occasion to regard him as a man of extraordinary
-wisdom and virtue. Nearly all the systems
-of government around him were despotic. That government
-should be instituted and conducted for the
-benefit of the governed; and that the people are the
-proper depositories of power&mdash;principles recognised
-in his institutions&mdash;were truths so deeply hidden from
-mankind, as to demand an intellect of the highest
-order for their discovery.</p>
-
-<p>Nor are his virtues and humanity less conspicuous
-than his sagacity. While repealing the bloody code
-of Draco, he substituted mild and equitable laws; he
-shunned the harsh and savage system of Lycurgus,
-which sacrificed all the best feelings of the heart, and
-the most refined pleasures of life, in order to sustain
-the martial character of the state; and while he
-sought to soften the manners, he strove to exalt
-the standard of public and private virtue, not only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span>
-by his laws, but by his conversation and example.
-He was thus, not only the benefactor of Athens and
-of Greece, but&mdash;as one of the great instruments of
-civilization throughout the world, and especially as
-one of the leaders in the establishment of free government&mdash;mankind
-at large owe him a lasting debt of
-gratitude.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 45%" >
-<img src="images/276.jpg" alt="pharao" style="width: 45%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Cr&oelig;sus was the fifth and last of the Mermad�, who
-reigned in Lydia, and during his time he passed for the richest
-of mankind. He was the first who made the Greeks of Asia
-tributary to the Lydians. His court was the asylum of learning;
-and �sop, the famous fable-writer, among others, lived
-under his patronage. In a conversation with Solon, Cr&oelig;sus
-wished to be thought the happiest of mankind; but the philosopher
-apprized him of his mistake, and gave the preference
-to poverty and domestic virtue. Cr&oelig;sus undertook a war
-against Cyrus, the king of Persia, and marched to meet him
-with an army of 420,000 men, and 60,000 horse. After a
-reign of fourteen years he was defeated, B. C. 548; his capital
-was besieged, and he fell into the conqueror's hands, who ordered
-him to be burnt alive. The pile was already on fire,
-when Cyrus heard the conquered monarch exclaim, "Solon!
-Solon! Solon!" with lamentable energy. He asked him the
-reason of his exclamation, and Cr&oelig;sus repeated the conversation
-he once had with Solon, on human happiness. Cyrus was
-moved at the recital; and, at the recollection of the inconstancy
-of human affairs, he ordered Cr&oelig;sus to be taken from the
-burning pile, and he was afterwards one of his most intimate
-friends. The kingdom of Lydia became extinct in his person,
-and the power was transferred to Persia. Cr&oelig;sus survived
-Cyrus. The manner of his death is unknown. He is celebrated
-for the immensely rich presents which he made to the
-temple of Delphi, from which he received an obscure and ambiguous
-oracle, which he interpreted in his favor, but which
-was fulfilled in the destruction of his empire.</p></div>
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/277.jpg" alt="Lycurgus" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>LYCURGUS.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This Spartan lawgiver is supposed to have been
-born about 900 B. C. He was the youngest son of
-king Eunomus, and was entitled to the throne upon
-the death of his brother, Polydectes; but he relinquished
-it in behalf of his unborn son, and administered
-the government in his name. By the wisdom
-of his measures, he won general esteem; and his
-noble disinterestedness raised his glory to a height
-which awoke envy against him in the minds of some
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span>of the most distinguished Spartans, who now conspired
-against him. Partly to escape the danger
-which threatened him, and partly to gratify the desire
-of seeing foreign nations, and learning their manners,
-he left Sparta, and travelled in various countries.</p>
-
-<p>After visiting Crete, and admiring the wise laws
-of Minos, he went to Iona. The effeminate and luxurious
-life of the inhabitants, and the feebleness of
-their laws, which formed a striking contrast with the
-simplicity and vigor of those of Crete, made a deep
-impression upon him. Here, however, he is said to
-have become acquainted with the poems of Homer,
-which he collected and carried to Greece. From
-hence he is said to have travelled into Egypt, India,
-and Spain; but this seems improbable.</p>
-
-<p>In the meanwhile, the two kings who succeeded
-him at Sparta, Archelaus and Charilaus, were esteemed
-neither by the people nor by the nobility;
-and, as there were no laws sufficient to maintain the
-public tranquillity, the confusion passed all bounds.
-In this dangerous situation, Lycurgus was the only
-man from whom help and deliverance could be expected.
-The people hoped from him protection against
-the nobles, and the kings believed that he would put
-an end to the disobedience of the people. More than
-once, ambassadors were sent to entreat him to come
-to the assistance of the state.</p>
-
-<p>He long resisted, but at last yielded to the urgent
-wishes of his fellow-citizens. At his arrival in Sparta,
-he found that not only particular abuses were to be
-suppressed, but that it would be necessary to form an
-entirely new constitution. The confidence which his
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span>personal character, his judgment, and the dangerous
-situation of the state, gave him among his fellow-citizens,
-encouraged him to encounter all obstacles.
-The first step which he took, was to add to the kings
-a senate of twenty-eight persons, venerable for their
-age, without whose consent the former were to undertake
-nothing. He thus established a useful balance
-between the power of the kings and the licentiousness
-of the people. The latter at the same time obtained
-the privilege of giving their voice in public affairs.
-They had not, however, properly speaking, deliberative
-privileges, but only the limited right of accepting
-or rejecting what was proposed by the kings or the
-senate.</p>
-
-<p>The Spartans conformed in general to the institutions
-of Lycurgus; but the equal division of property
-which he effected, excited among the rich such violent
-commotions, that the lawgiver fled to the temple, to
-save his life. On the way, he received a blow, which
-struck out one of his eyes. He merely turned round,
-and showed to his pursuers his face streaming with
-blood. This sight filled all with shame and repentance;
-they implored his pardon, and led him respectfully
-home. The person who had done the deed, a
-young man of rank, and of a fiery character, was
-given up to him. Lycurgus pardoned him, and dismissed
-him, covered with shame.</p>
-
-<p>After having thus formed a constitution for Sparta,
-Lycurgus endeavored to provide for its continuance.
-He made all the citizens take a solemn oath that they
-would change nothing in the laws which he had
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span>introduced, before his return. He then went to Delphi,
-and asked the gods whether the new laws were
-sufficient for the happiness of Sparta. The answer
-was, "Sparta will remain the most prosperous of all
-states as long as it observes these laws." He sent
-this answer to Laced�mon, and left his country forever.
-He died of voluntary starvation, and ordered
-his body to be burned, and the ashes scattered in the
-sea, lest they should be carried to Sparta, and his
-countrymen be released from their oath.</p>
-
-<p>Though the patriotism of Lycurgus appears to
-have been of the most exalted nature, his institutions
-were exceedingly barbarous, in many respects. He
-cherished no such thing as family ties, but required
-everything to yield to the good of the state. The
-children did not belong to the parents; feeble children
-were destroyed; meals were all taken in common;
-unmarried men were punished. Thus the private
-liberty of the people was taken away, and they were
-made slaves, in their daily habits, thoughts and feelings,
-to that power which was called the state. The
-design of the lawgiver seemed to be to rear up a
-nation of soldiers&mdash;not for conquest, but for defence.
-He would not permit Sparta to be encircled with
-walls, preferring that its defence should depend on
-the arms of the citizens. The men were wholly
-trained for martial life. Sensibility to suffering, and
-the fear of death, were treated with contempt. Victory
-or death, in battle, was their highest glory; cowardice
-was attended with the most deadly shame.</p>
-
-<p>The difference between the institutions of Lycurgus
-and those of Solon, may be seen in their results.
-The Spartans became a stern and haughty nation of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span>
-soldiers; but they have left nothing behind but their
-story, to instruct mankind; while the Athenians, exalted
-by the genial breath of liberty, continue to this
-very hour to be the admiration of the world, for their
-literature, their arts, and their institutions.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 40%" >
-<img src="images/281.jpg" alt="man" style="width: 45%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/282.jpg" alt="Homer" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>HOMER.</h2>
-
-
-<p>The Iliad is often spoken of as the greatest production
-of the human mind; yet it has been seriously
-questioned whether such a person as Homer ever
-lived! This paradox is to be explained by admitting,
-that, although the Iliad is a wonderful performance for
-the time and circumstances of its composition, still, it is
-by no means entitled to the supremacy which scholastic
-fondness assigns to it; and that the doubts thrown
-upon its authorship are but the mists engendered in
-the arena of hypercriticism.</p>
-
-<p>By Homer, we mean the author of the Iliad, whatever
-may have been his true name. The period at
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span>which he flourished is matter of doubt, but it is fixed
-by the Arundelian Marbles,<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> at 907 B. C., which is
-probably not far from the true date. A great many
-tales are handed down to us, in relation to him, which
-are mere fictions. The only well established facts,
-in his life, are that he was a native of Asiatic Greece,
-and a wandering poet, or rhapsodist, who went about
-the country reciting his compositions, according to
-the custom of those times. The story of his being
-blind is without authority.</p>
-
-<p>Such are the meagre facts which can be gathered
-amid the obscurity of that remote age in which Homer
-lived. There is something painful in this barrenness,&mdash;and
-we almost feel that the critics, in exploding
-the fond fictions which antiquity has woven around
-the name of the great poet, have performed an ungracious
-office. They have indeed dissipated fables, but
-they have left us little but darkness or vacuity in
-their place. Such is the yearning of the mind, in
-respect to those who have excited its emotions, and
-created an interest in the bosom, that it will cherish
-even the admitted portraitures of fiction and fancy,
-rather than content itself with the blank canvass of
-nothingness. The heart, as well as nature, abhors a
-vacuum.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span></p>
-<p>The fictitious history of Homer&mdash;which, however,
-is of some antiquity, and has passed current for centuries&mdash;is
-briefly as follows. His mother was named
-Critheis: she was married to M�on, king of Smyrna,
-and gave birth to a child, on or near the banks of the
-river Meles, from which circumstance he was called
-Meles genes. The mother soon died, and he was
-brought up and educated under the care of M�on.
-The name of Homer was afterwards given to him,
-on account of his becoming blind.</p>
-
-<p>The legends proceed in general to state that Homer
-himself became a schoolmaster and poet of great
-celebrity, at Smyrna, and remained there till Mentes,
-a foreign merchant, induced him to travel. That the
-author of the Iliad and Odyssey must have travelled
-pretty extensively for those times, is unquestionable;
-for besides the accurate knowledge of Greece which
-these works display, it is clear that the poet had a
-familiar acquaintance with the islands both in the
-�gean and the Ionian seas, the coasts of Asia Minor,
-Crete, Cyprus, and Egypt&mdash;which still bear the names
-he gave them&mdash;and possessed also distinct information
-with respect to Lybia, �thiopia, Ph&oelig;nicia, Caria
-and Phrygia.</p>
-
-<p>In his travels, as the legends say, Homer visited
-Ithaca, and there became subject to a disease in his
-eyes, which afterwards terminated in total blindness.
-From this island he is said to have gone to Italy, and
-even to Spain; but there is no sign, in either of the
-two poems, of his possessing any definite knowledge
-westward of the Ionian sea. Wherever he went,
-Homer recited his verses, which were universally<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span>
-admired, except at Smyrna, where he was a prophet
-in his own country. At Phoc�a, a schoolmaster, of
-the name of Thestorides, obtained from Homer a copy
-of his poetry, and then sailed to Chios, and there
-recited these verses as his own. Homer went soon
-after to the same place, and was rescued by Glaucus,
-a goatherd, from the attack of his dogs, and brought
-by him to Bolissus, a town in Chios, where he resided
-a long time, in the possession of wealth and a splendid
-reputation.</p>
-
-<p>According to Herodotus, Homer died at Io, on his
-way to Athens, and was buried near the sea-shore.
-Proclus says he died in consequence of falling over a
-stone. Plutarch tells a different story. He preserves
-two responses of an oracle to the poet, in both of
-which he was cautioned to beware of the young men's
-riddle; and relates that the poet, being on a voyage
-to Thebes, to attend a musical or poetical contest at
-the feast of Saturn, in that city, landed in the island
-of Io, and, whilst sitting on a rock by the sea-shore,
-observed some young fishermen in a boat. Homer
-asked them if they had anything, and the young
-wags, who, having had no sport, had been diligently
-catching and killing as many as they could, of certain
-personal companions of a race not even yet extinct,
-answered,&mdash;"As many as we caught, we left; as
-many as we could not catch, we carry with us." The
-catastrophe of this absurd story is, that Homer, being
-utterly unable to guess the riddle, broke his heart, out
-of pure vexation; and the inhabitants of the island
-buried him with great magnificence, and placed the
-following inscription on his tomb:&mdash;</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<div class="poem">
-  <div class="stanza">
-    <span class="i0">Here Homer, the divine in earthly bed,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Poet of Heroes, rests his sacred head.<br /></span>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p>The general theory in regard to the poems of
-Homer, is that they were composed and recited by
-him, to the people living upon the islands and the
-main land along the coasts of Asia Minor. At that
-time books were unknown, and it is a question
-whether even the art of writing was then practised.
-Homer, therefore, published his poems in the only
-way he could do it&mdash;by oral delivery. Whether his
-verses were sung, or only recited, we cannot determine;
-but there is no doubt that he obtained both fame
-and maintenance by his performances.</p>
-
-<p>So deep was the impression made by the poet, that
-his verses were learned by heart, and preserved in
-the memories of succeeding rhapsodists and minstrels.
-His reputation was diffused over all Greece; and Lycurgus,
-who had heard of his compositions, is supposed
-to have taken pains, during his travels, to have
-them written down, and to have brought them in a
-collected form to Greece. They were, however, still
-in fragments, and the task of arranging and uniting
-them was performed by Pisistratus, with the help of
-the poets of his time. In this way, they received
-nearly the form they now possess; the division of
-each of the two epics into twenty-four books, corresponding
-with the letters of the Greek alphabet, being
-the work of the Alexandrian critics, some centuries
-after. It must be remembered, however, that although
-the poems of Homer were thus committed to writing
-in the time of Pisistratus, they continued to be recited
-by the rhapsodists, who were much favored in Greece,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span>and in this way alone, for several centuries, were
-popularly known. It is probable that in these recitations,
-there was a good deal of dramatic action, and
-that they possessed something of the interest which
-belongs to theatrical representation.</p>
-
-<p>The vicissitudes to which Homer's reputation and
-influence have been subject, deserve notice. From
-the arrangement of the Iliad and Odyssey, in the
-time of the Pisistratid�, to the promulgation of Christianity,
-the love and reverence with which the name
-of Homer was regarded, went on constantly increasing,
-till at last public games were instituted in his
-honor, statues dedicated, temples erected, and sacrifices
-offered to him, as a divinity. There were such
-temples at Smyrna, Chios, and Alexandria; and, according
-to �lian, the Argives sacrificed to, and invoked
-the names and presence of, Apollo and Homer
-together.</p>
-
-<p>But about the beginning of the second century of the
-Christian era, when the struggle between the old and
-the new religions was warm and active, the tide turned.
-Heathenism, says Pope, was then to be destroyed,
-and Homer appeared to be the father of those fictions
-which were at once the belief of the Pagan religion,
-and the objections of Christianity against it. He
-became, therefore, deeply involved in the question, not
-with that honor which had hitherto attended him, but
-as a criminal, who had drawn the world into folly.
-These times, however, are past, and Homer stands on
-the summit of the ancient Parnassus, the boast and
-glory of Greece, and the wonder and admiration of
-mankind.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span></p>
-<p>The Iliad, with the exception of the Pentateuch and
-some others of the books of the Old Testament, is the
-most ancient composition known. It is interesting
-not only as a splendid poem, but also on account of
-the light it throws upon the history and manners of
-the remote ages in which it was written. We are
-struck with the similarity of the customs of the Asiatic
-Greeks to those of the Hebrews, as set forth in the
-Bible; and also with the fact that the Jupiter of
-Homer rises to that unchecked omnipotence assigned
-to Jehovah.</p>
-
-<p>The design of the Iliad seems to be to set forth the
-revenge which Achilles took on Agamemnon, for depriving
-him of his mistress, Briseis, while engaged in
-the siege of Troy&mdash;with the long train of evils which
-followed. The admirers of Homer have pretended
-to discover in the work the most profound art in the
-construction of the poem, and have hence deduced
-rules for the formation of the epic poem; but nothing
-is more clear than that, in the simple lines of Homer,
-the poet had no other guide than a profound knowledge
-of human nature and human sympathies; and
-that he only sought to operate on these by telling a
-plain story, in the most simple, yet effective manner.
-The absence of all art is one of the chief characteristics
-of the Iliad;&mdash;its naturalness is the great secret
-of its power.</p>
-
-<p>That this poem is the greatest of human productions&mdash;a
-point often assumed&mdash;is by no means
-to be received as true. It strikes us with wonder,
-when we consider the age in which it was composed,
-and we feel that Homer was indeed one of the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span>great lights of the world. The following passage,
-one of the finest in the Iliad, is full of truth, nature
-and pathos&mdash;and it shows that the heroes of Troy,
-nearly three thousand years ago, had the same feelings
-and sympathies as those which beat in the
-bosoms of our time; yet we can point to a great
-number of passages in modern poems, far, very far
-superior to this. The scene represents Priam&mdash;who
-has come to the Greek camp for the purpose of redeeming
-the body of his son Hector&mdash;as addressing
-the chieftain, Achilles:</p>
-
-
-<div class="poem">
-  <div class="stanza">
-    <span class="i0">"Think, O Achilles, semblance of the gods!<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">On thy own father, full of days like me,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">And trembling on the gloomy verge of life:<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Some neighbor chief, it may be, even now,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Oppresses him, and there is none at hand,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">No friend to succor him in his distress;<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Yet doubtless, hearing that Achilles lives,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">He still rejoices, hoping day by day,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">That one day he shall see the face again<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Of his own son from distant Troy returned.<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">But me no comfort cheers, whose bravest sons,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">So late the flower of Ilium, all are slain.<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">When Greece came hither, I had fifty sons;<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Nineteen were children of one bed; the rest<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Born of my concubines. A numerous house!<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">But fiery Mars hath thinned it. One I had,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">One, more than all my sons, the strength of Troy,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Whom standing for his country thou hast slain,&mdash;<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Hector. His body to redeem I come;<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Into Achia's fleet bringing myself<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Ransom inestimable to thy tent.<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Rev'rence the gods, Achilles! recollect<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Thy father; for his sake compassion show<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">To me, more pitiable still, who draw<br /></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span>
-    <span class="i0">Home to my lips (humiliation yet<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Unseen on earth) his hand who slew my son!<br /></span>
-  </div>
-
-  <div class="stanza">
-    <span class="i0">"So saying, he awakened in his soul regret<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Of his own sire; softly he placed his hand<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">On Priam's hand, and pushed him gently away.<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Remembrance melted both. Rolling before<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Achilles feet, Priam his son deplored,<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Wide slaughtering Hector, and Achilles wept<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">By turns his father, and by turns his friend<br /></span>
-    <span class="i0">Patroclus: sounds of sorrow filled the tent."<br /></span>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-
-<p>Beside the Iliad, another epic, divided into twenty-four
-books, and entitled the Odyssey, with a number
-of smaller pieces, are attributed to Homer, and doubtless
-upon good and substantial grounds. The Odyssey is
-a tale of adventures, like Robinson Crusoe, and Sinbad
-the Sailor, heightened by an object, and dignified
-by a moral far above these works. It tells us what
-befel Ulysses, in returning from the siege of Troy to
-his home in Greece; and is wrought up with wonderful
-powers of invention and fancy. It is esteemed
-inferior, on the whole, to the Iliad, and an eminent
-critic has said, that, in the former, Homer appears like
-the rising, and in the latter, like the setting sun.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%" >
-<img src="images/290.jpg" alt="Ilias" style="width: 60%" />
-</div>
-
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> These Marbles consist of a large collection of busts, statues,
-altars, inscriptions, mutilated figures, &amp;c., formed by
-Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, in the early part of the
-seventeenth century, and presented to the University of Oxford,
-by Henry Howard, the earl's grandson. They were obtained
-in various parts of Greece; many are of great antiquity and
-of great value, as well for the light they shed upon history as
-upon the arts, customs, and manners of past ages.</p></div>
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 50%" >
-<img src="images/291.jpg" alt="Confucius" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-<h2>CONFUCIUS.</h2>
-
-
-<p>This greatest of Chinese philosophers was born in
-the petty kingdom of L�, now the province of Sh�ntung,
-in the year 549 B. C.&mdash;the same year that Cyrus
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span>became king of the Medes and Persians. The Chinese,
-in their embellishments of his history, tell us
-that his birth was attended with heavenly music,
-filling the air; that two dragons were seen winding
-over the roof; that five old men appeared at the door,
-and after consulting together, suddenly vanished; and
-that a unicorn brought to his mother a tablet in his
-mouth. It is also related that when he was born, five
-characters were seen on his breast, declaring him to be
-"the maker of a rule for settling the world." These
-and other marvels are a part of the established biography
-of the philosopher, as received by the Chinese.</p>
-
-<p>The father of Confucius, who was a magistrate of
-the district where he lived, died when the son was
-but three years old. The latter was poor and unknown
-during his youth&mdash;though his gravity and
-attention to study attracted the attention of his townsmen.
-When he approached manhood, he was
-esteemed remarkable for his wisdom, and equal to the
-learned men of the country in his knowledge of antiquity.</p>
-
-<p>At the age of seventeen he received an appointment
-as clerk in the grain department of the government;
-and so attentive was he in his trust, as, two years
-after, to be advanced to the general supervision of the
-fields and parks, and the breeding of cattle. About
-this time he was married, and two years after, his
-only son was born. Upon this occasion, Lord Ch�u
-the governor of L�, sent him two carp as a present,
-and accordingly Confucius named his son L� or Carp.
-His humor went even farther, and he gave the boy the
-additional title of Piy�, or Uncle Fish.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span></p>
-<p>At the age of twenty-four, Confucius lost his mother,
-whom he buried in the same grave with his father,
-who had been dead some time. He then resigned his
-office, that he might mourn three years for his mother,
-according to the ancient custom of the country. This
-practice had fallen into neglect, and, consequently, the
-example of Confucius, in following the holy custom
-of the fathers of the country, gained him great renown
-for his piety. His reputation was thus extended,
-and his example began to be followed.</p>
-
-<p>The three years of his mourning were not lost&mdash;for
-he then devoted himself to study. He diligently
-examined the books of the old authors, seeking to discover
-the means by which the ancient kings and sages
-sought to attain the perfection of morals. The result
-was, a conviction that the social virtues were best
-cultivated by an observance of the ancient usages of
-the country; and accordingly he resolved to devote
-his life to them, and to their permanent establishment
-in China. This great work he accomplished; and if
-we consider the effect he has produced on the most populous
-nation of the globe, and during a space of nearly
-two thousand years, we shall perceive the mighty
-consequence of his labors. The actual amount of
-influence he has exercised, perhaps exceeds that of
-any other human being, save Aristotle alone.</p>
-
-<p>Appearing to have a clear view of his great work,
-Confucius entered upon it with systematic diligence.
-He resolved to establish schools where his philosophy
-should be taught to pupils who would go forth and
-spread his doctrines through the empire. He also
-proposed to write a series of books, setting forth his
-views. All these things he lived to accomplish.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The greater part of the life of Confucius was passed
-in travelling, visiting the courts of the petty princes,
-whose states then constituted the empire under the
-sovereign of the Ch�n dynasty. This course was, as
-might be expected, fruitless in reforming these states,
-but it diffused a general knowledge of himself and his
-doctrines, and procured him scholars. The prince of
-Ts� was the first who invited him to his court, and
-received him with distinction. This potentate heard
-him with pleasure, and applauded his maxims; but, to
-the chagrin of Confucius, he continued to live in luxury,
-and to allow his ministers to oppress his subjects
-and abuse their power. He, however, offered him for
-his maintenance the revenue of a considerable city,
-which the philosopher thought proper to decline, alleging
-that he had done nothing to merit such a recompense.
-After sojourning a year in Ts�, and seeing
-that his discourse produced no effect to reform the
-abuses and evils of the country, he left it, and visited
-some of the principal cities of China.</p>
-
-<p>On the road between Ts� and Chin, he fell into a
-difficulty. The prince of W� having attacked Chin,
-the lord of Ts� came to his relief, and sent an invitation
-to Confucius to join him; but the other party,
-fearing that he would do them a disservice, sent people
-to intercept him. They surrounded him in the
-wilderness, and would have starved him to death, had
-not a friend come to his relief, after a detention of
-seven days. After this narrow escape, he returned
-home and the prince of L� gave him a carriage, two
-horses and a servant, with which he set off for King-yang,
-the capital of the empire. Here he passed his
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span>time in observing the forms of government, the condition
-of the people and their manners, and how the
-rites and ceremonies of the ancient kings were regarded.
-He held several interviews with the ministers
-of the court, was permitted to visit the emperor's ancestral
-hall, and other sacred places, and had access
-to the archives of the kingdom, from which he was
-allowed to take extracts.</p>
-
-<p>One object in the visit of Confucius to the capital,
-was to see L�utsz', the founder of the T�u sect, or
-Rationalists, who lived in a retired place, some distance
-from court. This old philosopher, accustomed
-to visits from men of all ranks, received Confucius
-and his disciples with indifference. He was reclining
-on an elevated platform, and hearing that his visitor
-had come to hear from his own mouth an exposition
-of his tenets, and to ask him about <i>propriety</i>, he
-roused himself to receive him. "I have heard speak
-of you," says he, "and I know your reputation. I am
-told that you talk only of the ancients, and discourse
-only upon what they taught. Now, of what use is it
-to endeavor to revive the memory of men of whom
-no trace remains on the earth? The sage ought to
-interest himself with the times in which he lives, and
-regard present circumstances; if they are favorable,
-he will improve them; but if, on the contrary, they
-are unfavorable, he will retire and wait tranquilly,
-without grieving at what others do. He who possesses
-a treasure, will try to have everybody know
-it; he will preserve it against the day of need; this
-you will do if you are a sage. It seems, judging by
-your conduct, that you have some ostentation in your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span>
-plans of instruction and that you are proud. Correct
-these faults, and purify your heart from all love of
-pleasure; you will, in this way, be much more useful
-than seeking to know what the ancients said."</p>
-
-<p>L�utsz' also observed, "A discreet merchant keeps
-his affairs to himself as if he knew nothing; an excellent
-man, although highly intelligent, demeans
-himself like an ignorant man." Confucius remarked
-to his disciples, "I have seen L�utsz'; have I not
-seen something like a dragon?" On leaving him,
-L�utsz' said, "I have heard that the rich dismiss
-their friends with a present, and the benevolent
-send away people with a word of advice; whoever
-is talented, and prying into everything, will run
-himself into danger, because he loves to satirize and
-slander men; and he who wishes to thoroughly understand
-recondite things will jeopard his safety,
-because he loves to publish the failings of men."
-Confucius replied, "I respectfully receive your instructions,"
-and thus left him. L�utsz' advice seemed
-directed against a too inquisitive philosophy, and
-meddling too much in the affairs of the world; he
-was rather of the Budhistic school of quietists, while
-Confucius wished men to endeavor to make each other
-better.</p>
-
-<p>Confucius, like Aristotle and other masters, used
-to teach his disciples while walking with them, deriving
-instruction from what they saw. Once, while
-walking with them by the bank of a stream, he
-stopped from time to time to look very intently at
-the water, until their attention was excited, and they
-were induced to ask him the reason of his conduct.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span>He replied, "The running of water in its bed is a very
-simple thing, the reason of which everybody knows.
-I was, however, rather making a comparison in my
-own mind between the running of water and doctrine.
-The water, I reflected, runs unceasingly, by day and
-by night, until it is lost in the bosom of the mighty
-deep. Since the days of Y�u and Shun, the pure
-doctrine has uninterruptedly descended to us: let us
-in our turn transmit it to those who come after us,
-that they, from our example, may give it to their
-descendants to the end of time. Do not imitate those
-isolated men, (referring to L�utsz',) who are wise only
-for themselves. To communicate the knowledge and
-virtue we possess, to others, will never impoverish
-ourselves. This is one of the reflections I would
-make upon the running of water."</p>
-
-<p>This peripatetic habit, and the aptitude for drawing
-instruction from whatever would furnish instruction,
-was usual with the philosopher, and he seldom omitted
-to improve an occasion. Once, when walking in
-the fields, he perceived a fowler, who, having drawn
-in his nets, distributed the birds he had taken into
-different cages. On coming up to him to ascertain
-what he had caught, Confucius attentively remarked
-the vain efforts of the captive birds to regain
-their liberty, until his disciples gathered round him,
-when he addressed the fowler,&mdash;"I do not see any old
-birds here; where have you put them?" "The old
-birds," said he, "are too wary to be caught; they are
-on the look-out, and if they see a net or a cage, far
-from falling into the snare, they escape, and never
-return. Those young ones which are in company
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span>with them, likewise escape, but such only as separate
-into a flock by themselves, and rashly approach, are
-the birds I catch. If perchance I catch an old bird,
-it is because he follows the young ones."</p>
-
-<p>"You have heard him," said Confucius, turning to
-his disciples; "the words of this fowler afford us
-matter for instruction. The young birds escape the
-snare only when they keep with the old ones; the old
-ones are taken when they follow the young. It is
-thus with mankind. Presumption, hardihood, want
-of forethought, and inattention are the principal reasons
-why young people are led astray. Inflated with
-their small attainments, they have scarcely made a
-commencement in learning, before they think they
-know everything; they have scarcely performed a
-few virtuous acts, and straight they fancy themselves
-at the height of wisdom. Under this false impression
-they doubt nothing; they rashly undertake acts without
-consulting the aged and experienced, and thus,
-securely following their own notions, they are misled,
-and fall into the first snare laid for them. If you see
-an old man of sober years so badly advised as to be
-taken with the giddiness of a youth, attached to him,
-and thinking and acting with him, he is led astray
-by him, and soon taken in the same snare. Do not
-forget the answer of the fowler, but reflect on it occasionally."</p>
-
-<p>Having completed his observations at the capital,
-Confucius returned, by the way of Ts�, to his native
-state of L�, where he remained ten years. His house
-now became a sort of lyceum, open to every one who
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span>wished to receive instruction. His manner of teaching
-was to allow his disciples or others to come and
-go when they pleased, asking his opinion on such
-points, either in morals, politics, history, or literature,
-as they wished to have explained. He gave them
-the liberty of choosing their subject, and then he discoursed
-upon it. From these conversations and
-detached expressions of the philosopher, treasured up
-by his disciples, they afterwards composed Lun Y�,
-now one of the Four Books. Confucius, it is said,
-numbered upwards of three thousand disciples, or
-perhaps we ought to call them advocates or hearers
-of his doctrine. They consisted of men of all ranks
-and ages, who attended upon him when their duties
-or inclinations permitted, and who materially assisted
-in diffusing a knowledge of his tenets over the whole
-country. There were, however, a select few, who
-attached themselves to his person, lived with him, and
-followed him wherever he went; and to whom he
-entrusted the promulgation of his doctrines.</p>
-
-<p>After several years of retirement, Confucius was
-called into public life. The prince of L� died, and
-his son, entertaining a great respect for the philosopher,
-and esteem for his instructions, invited him to court,
-in order to learn his doctrines more fully. After
-becoming well acquainted with him, and reposing
-confidence in his integrity, the young ruler committed
-the entire management of the state to him; and the
-activity, courage, and disinterested conduct which he
-exhibited in the exercise of his power, soon had the
-happiest effect upon the country. By his wise rules
-and the authority of his example and his maxims
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span>he soon reformed many vicious practices, and introduced
-sobriety and order, in the place of waste and
-injustice. He occupied himself with agriculture, and
-regulated the revenue and the manner of receiving it;
-so that, in consequence of his measures, the productions
-of the state were increased, the happiness of the
-people was extended, and the revenue considerably
-augmented.</p>
-
-<p>He carried his reforms into every department of
-justice, in which, soon after he entered upon his duties
-as minister, he had an opportunity of exhibiting
-his inflexibility. One of the most powerful nobles of
-the state had screened himself from the just punishment
-due to his many crimes, under the dread of his
-power and riches, and the number of his retainers.
-Confucius caused him to be arrested, and gave order
-for his trial; and when the overwhelming proofs
-brought forward had convinced all of his guilt, he
-condemned him to lose his head, and presided himself
-at the execution. This wholesome severity struck
-a dread into other men of rank, and likewise obtained
-the plaudits of all men of sense, as well as of the
-people, who saw in the minister a courageous protector,
-ready to defend them against the tyranny of men
-in power.</p>
-
-<p>These salutary reforms had not been long in operation,
-before the neighboring states took alarm at the
-rising prosperity of L�; and the prince of Ts�, who
-had recently usurped the throne by assassinating its
-occupant, resolved to ruin the plans of Confucius.
-To this end he appointed an envoy to the young
-prince, with whose character he was well acquainted,
-desiring to renew the ancient league of friendship<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span>
-between the two countries. This envoy was charged
-with thirty-five horses, beautifully caparisoned, a large
-number of curious rarities, and twenty-four of the
-most accomplished courtesans he could procure in his
-dominions. The scheme succeeded; before these
-seductive damsels, the austere etiquette of the court
-of L� soon gave way, and fetes, comedies, dances,
-and concerts, took the place of propriety and decorum.
-The presence of the sage soon became irksome to his
-master, and he at last forbid him to come into his
-sight, having become quite charmed with the fair
-enchantresses, and no longer able to endure the remonstrances
-of his minister.</p>
-
-<p>Confucius, thus disgraced in his own country, and
-now at the age of fifty, left it, and retired to the kingdom
-of Wei, where he remained more than ten years,
-without seeking to exercise any public office, but
-principally occupied with completing his works, and
-instructing his disciples in his doctrines. During
-his residence in Wei, he frequently made excursions
-into other states, taking with him such of his disciples
-as chose to accompany him. He was at times applauded
-and esteemed, but quite as often was the
-object of persecution and contempt. More than once
-his life was endangered. He compared himself to a
-dog driven from his home: "I have the fidelity of
-that animal, and I am treated like it. But what matters
-the ingratitude of men? They cannot hinder
-me from doing all the good that is appointed me. If
-my precepts are disregarded, I have the consolation
-in my own breast of knowing that I have faithfully
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span>performed my duty." He sometimes spoke in a manner
-that showed his own impression to be that Heaven
-had conferred on him a special commission to instruct
-the world. When an attempt was made on his life,
-he said, "As Heaven has produced such a degree of
-virtue in me, what can Hw�nt�i do to me?" On
-another occasion of danger, he said, "If Heaven means
-not to obliterate this doctrine from the earth, the men
-of Kw�ng can do nothing to me."</p>
-
-<p>At the age of sixty-eight, after an absence of eighteen
-years, Confucius returned to his native country,
-where he lived a life of retirement, employed in putting
-the finishing hand to his works. In his sixty-sixth
-year, his wife died, and his son, Piy�, mourned
-for her a whole year; but one day overhearing his
-father say, "Ah! it is carried too far;" he dried up
-his tears. Three years after this, this son also died,
-leaving a son, Tsz'sz', who afterwards emulated his
-grandfather's fame as a teacher, and became the author
-of the Chung Yung, or True Medium. The next
-year, Yen Hwui, the favorite disciple of the sage, died,
-whose loss he bitterly mourned, saying, "Heaven has
-destroyed me! heaven has destroyed me!" He had
-great hopes of this pupil, and had depended upon him
-to perpetuate his doctrines.</p>
-
-<p>An anecdote is related of him about this time of
-life, which the Chinese regard as highly creditable to
-their sage. Tsz'kung, one of his disciples, was much
-surprised one morning to meet his master at the door,
-dressed with much elegance and nicety. On asking
-him where he was going, Confucius, with a sigh,
-replied, "I am going to court, and that too, without
-being invited. I have not been able to resist a feeling
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span>which possesses me to make a last effort to bring a
-just punishment upon Chin Chen, the usurper of the
-throne of Ts�. I am prepared by purification and
-fasting, for this audience, so that if I fail, I shall not
-have to accuse myself." On presenting himself, he
-was received with respect, and immediately admitted
-to an audience; and the prince of L� asked him
-what important affair had called him from his retirement.
-Confucius, replied: "Sire, that which I have
-to communicate, alike concerns all kings. The perfidious
-Chin Chen has imbued his hands in the blood
-of his legitimate sovereign, Kien. You are a prince;
-your state borders upon Ts�; Kien was your ally,
-and originally of the same race as yourself. Any
-one of these reasons is sufficient to authorize you to
-declare war against Chin Chen, and all of them combined
-make it your duty to take up arms. Assemble
-your forces and march to exterminate a monster
-whom the earth upholds with regret. This crime is
-such that it cannot be pardoned, and, in punishing it,
-you will at once avenge an outrage against heaven,
-from which every king derives his power; against
-royalty, which has been profaned by this perfidy;
-against a parent, to whom you are allied by ties of
-blood, alliance and friendship."</p>
-
-<p>The prince, convinced of the criminality of Chin
-Chen, applauded the just indignation which inspired
-the heart of Confucius, but suggested that before he
-entered upon such an enterprise, it would be best to
-confer with his ministers. "Sire," said the philosopher,
-"I have acquitted myself of a duty in laying
-this case before you; but it will be useless to insist<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span>
-upon it before your ministers, whom I know are disinclined
-to enter into my views. Reflect, I pray you,
-as a sovereign, upon what I now propose, and consult
-only with yourself as to its execution. Your servants
-are not sovereigns, and have no other than their own
-ends to gain, to which they sometimes sacrifice the
-good of their master and the glory of the state. I
-have no other end in view than to support the cause
-of justice; and I conjure you, by the sacred names of
-justice and good order, to go and exterminate this
-miscreant from the earth, and, by restoring the throne
-of Ts� to its rightful owner, to exhibit to the world
-your justice, and strike a salutary terror into the
-hearts of all who may wish to imitate this successful
-villany." On leaving, the prince said to Confucius,
-"I will think seriously on what you have said, and, if
-it be possible, will carry it into execution."</p>
-
-<p>Towards the end of his days, when he had completed
-his revision of the Five Classes, he, with great
-solemnity, dedicated them to Heaven. He assembled
-all his disciples and led them out of the town to one
-of the hills where sacrifices had been usually offered
-for many years. He here erected a table, or altar,
-upon which he placed the books; and then, turning
-his face to the north, adored Heaven, and returned
-thanks upon his knees, in a humble manner, for having
-had life and strength granted him to enable him
-to accomplish this laborious undertaking; he implored
-heaven to grant that the benefit to his countrymen
-from so arduous a labor might not be small. He had
-prepared himself for this ceremony by privacy, fasting
-and prayer. Chinese pictures of this scene represent
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span>the sage in the attitude of supplication, and a pencil
-of light, or a rainbow, descending from the sky
-upon the books, while his scholars stand around in admiring
-wonder.</p>
-
-<p>In his seventy-third year, a few days before his
-death, leaning upon his staff, Confucius tottered about
-the house, singing out,&mdash;</p>
-
-
-<div class="poem">
-  <div class="stanza">
-    <span class="i0">"The great mountain is broken!<br /></span>
-    <span class="i1">The strong beam is thrown down!<br /></span>
-    <span class="i1">The wise man is decayed!"<br /></span>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p>He then related a dream he had had the night
-before, to his pupil, Tsz'kung, which he regarded as a
-presage of his own death; and, after keeping his bed
-seven days, he died on the 18th day of the second
-month, and was buried in the same grave with his
-wife. Tsz'kung mourned for him six years in a shed
-erected by the side of his grave, and then returned
-home. His death occurred 479 B. C., the year of the
-battle of Plat�a, in Greece, and about seven years before
-the birth of Socrates. Many events of great
-importance happened during his life, in western countries,
-of which the return of the Jews, and building
-of the second temple, Xerxes' invasion of Greece, the
-expulsion of the kings from Rome, the conquest of
-Egypt, and establishment of the Persian monarchy in
-its fullest extent, were the most important.</p>
-
-<p>Posthumous honors in great variety have been conferred
-upon Confucius. Soon after his death, the
-prince of L� entitled him <i>N� f�</i>, or father N�; which
-under the reign of Lint�, of the H�n dynasty, 197 B.
-C., was changed to <i>N� kung</i>, or duke <i>N�</i>, and his
-portrait was ordered to be hung up in the public
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span>school. By the emperors of the Tang dynasty it was
-made <i>sien shing</i>, the ancient sage. He was next
-styled the royal preacher, and his effigy clad in king's
-robes, and a crown put on its head. The Ming
-dynasty called him the most holy ancient teacher,
-Kungtsz', which title is now continued to him. His
-descendants have continued to dwell in Sh�ntung
-province, and the heads of the family have enjoyed
-the rank of nobility, being almost the only hereditary
-noblemen in the empire out of the imperial kingdom.
-They are called Yenshing kung. In the reign of
-K�ngh�, one hundred and twenty years ago, the descendants
-of the sage numbered eleven thousand
-males; the present is said to be the seventy-fourth
-generation. The chief of the family is commonly
-called the "holy duke," and enjoys all the honors of
-a prince. Whenever he visits the court, the emperor
-receives him with almost the same respect and ceremony
-as he does ambassadors from foreign countries.
-P. Amiot relates that he was honored with a
-call from him, upon one of his visits to court. "He
-was a pleasant and modest man, whom knowledge
-had not filled with conceit. He received, when he
-came to our house, some religious books, which we
-offered him in exchange for some Chinese books he
-gave us. His name was Kung Chauh�n, and he was
-of the seventy-first generation in direct descent from
-the sage,&mdash;in all probability the oldest family in the
-world, of which the regular descent can be traced."
-In the Life of Confucius, written by Amiot, which
-forms one of the volumes of the <i>M�moires sur les
-Chinoises</i>, there is a brief account of each of these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span>
-heads of this family, with notices of other distinguished
-persons belonging to the house.</p>
-
-<p>In every district in the empire there is a temple
-dedicated to Confucius, and his name is usually suspended
-in every school-room in the land, and incense
-is burned before it morning and evening by the scholars.
-Adoration is paid to him by all ranks. In 1457,
-Jentsung, of the Ning dynasty, set up a copper statue
-of the sage in one of the halls of the palace, and
-ordered his officers, whenever they came to the palace,
-to go to this room, and respectfully salute Confucius
-before speaking of the affairs of state, even if the
-monarch were present. But this custom was represented
-to another emperor as tending to the worship
-of images, like the Budhists; and on that account the
-memorialist represented that simple tablets, inscribed
-with the name of him who was worshipped, were
-much better. This advice was followed; the statues
-of Confucius and his disciples were suppressed, by
-order of the emperor Ch�tsung, in 1530, and simple
-tablets have since been set up in the temples erected
-to his name.</p>
-
-<p>The writings of Confucius, as might be expected
-are held in great veneration, and regarded as the best
-books in the language. He revised all the ancient
-books, containing the precepts of the kings and emperors
-of former times, and left them pretty much as
-they are at the present day. He explained the Yi
-King, or Book of Changes, commented upon the L�
-K�, or Book of Rites, and compiled the Sh� King, or
-Book of Odes. He composed the Sh� King, or Book
-of Records, and the Chun Tsa�, or Spring and Autumn
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span>Annals,&mdash;so called, it is said, because the commendations
-contained therein are life-giving, like spring, and
-the reproofs are life-withering, like autumn. The
-books are collectively called the W� King, or Five
-Classics. The Hi�u King, or Memoir on Filial Duty;
-the Chung yung, or True Medium; the T�i Hi�h, or
-Superior Lessons, and the Lun Y�, or Conversations
-of Confucius, are all considered, by the Chinese, as
-containing the doctrines of the sage; the first one is
-sometimes ascribed to his own pen. The last three,
-with the work of Mencius, constitute the Sz Sh�, or
-Four Books, and were arranged in their present form
-by Ching f�tsz, about eight hundred years ago.</p>
-
-<p>The leading features of the morality of Confucius
-are, subordination to superiors, and kind, upright dealing
-with our fellow-men. From the duty, honor, and
-obedience owed by a child to his parents, he proceeds
-to inculcate the obligations of wives to their husbands,
-of subjects to their prince, and of ministers to their
-king, while he makes him amenable to Heaven.
-These principles are perpetually inculcated in the
-Confucian writings, and are imbodied in solemn ceremonials,
-and apparently trivial forms of mere etiquette.
-And, probably, it is this feature of his ethics which
-has made him such a favorite with all the governments
-of China for many centuries past, and at this day.
-These principles, and these forms, are early instilled
-into young minds, and form their conscience; the
-elucidation and enforcement of these principles and
-forms is the business of students who aspire to be
-magistrates or statesmen; and it is no doubt owing
-in great part, to the force of these principles on the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span>national mind and habits, that China holds steadfastly
-together&mdash;the largest associated population in the
-world. Every one is interested in upholding doctrines
-which give him power over those under him; and as
-the instruction of his own youthful days has given him
-the habit of obedience and respect to all his superiors,
-so now, when he is a superior, he exacts the same
-obedience from his juniors, and public opinion accords
-it to him. The observance of such principles has
-tended to consolidate the national mind of China in
-that peculiar uniformity which has been remarked by
-those who have known this people. It has also tended
-to restrain all independence of thought, and keep
-even the most powerful intellects under an incubus
-which, while they were prevented by outward circumstances
-from getting at the knowledge of other lands
-was too great for their unassisted energies to throw
-off. It cannot be doubted that there have been many
-intellects of commanding power among the Chinese,
-but ignorance of the literature and condition of other
-nations has led them to infer that there was nothing
-worthy of notice out of their own borders, and to rest
-contented with explaining and enforcing the maxims
-of their sage.</p>
-
-<p>Confucius must be regarded as a great man, if
-superiority to the times in which one lives is a criterion
-of greatness. The immense influence he has exercised
-over the minds of his countrymen cannot,
-perhaps, be regarded as conclusive evidence of his superiority;
-but no mind of weak or ordinary powers
-could have stamped its own impress upon other minds
-as he has done. He never rose to those sublime heights
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span>of contemplation which Plato attained, nor does his
-mind seem to have been of a very discursive nature.
-He was content with telling his disciples how to act,
-and encouraging them to make themselves and others
-better, by following the rules he gave; not leading
-them into those endless disquisitions and speculations,
-upon which the Greek moralists so acutely reasoned,
-but which exercised no power over the conscience and
-life. The leading features of his doctrines have been
-acknowledged by mankind the world over, and are
-imbodied in their most common rules of life. "Do
-justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God,"
-is a direction of inspired Writ; and, so far as he knew
-these duties, he inculcated them. He said little or
-nothing about spirits or gods, nor did he give any
-directions about worshipping them; but the veneration
-for parents, which he enforced, was, in fact, idolatrous,
-and has since degenerated into the grossest idolatry.</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 50%" >
-<img src="images/310.jpg" alt="flower" style="width: 50%" />
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-<pre>
-
-
-
-
-
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