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§4
y/ ' T II E
SPIRIT of ATHENS.
BEING A POLITICAL and PHILOSOPHICAL
INVESTIGATION
OF THE
HISTORY of that REPUBLIC.
By WILLIAM YOUNG, Esqj
itrmriz a vwyudi (pgoi»i3-*?» Ifocrat- in Panath.
LONDON:
Printed for J. ROBSON, New Bond Street.
mdcclxxvii.
VI 0 i 1
.oi;
•jic
or
225
y*7s
PREFACE.
— *\/\ULcI'UM kgendum e/fe, non mult a, is an adage of antiquity re- plete with a deep and excellent fenfe;— - it means that much reading implies not much knowledge, and that fludy leadeth not neceH/arily to wifdom; — it teaches that to profit of our application, whillt we perufe one book, we mould think another; and inftead of being librorum helluones give the mind exercife and time wherewith to digeft a moderate and wholefome fare ;— it inculcates, that to run over many au- thors, may to the language of pedantry gain the title of learning \ but that atten- tively to penetrate the fenfe of a few, is the way to fcience.
a 2 All
[ iv ]
All men however have not equal acute- nefs to develope, equal affiduity to pur- fue, or equal memory to retain the fub- ject-matter of a book: fays Montaigne — I* I have read an hundred things in Titus Livius, that have efcaped the obfervations of others, and Plutarch has read an hun- dred more there, befides what I was able to difcover j" — fo far I agree with this fen- fible eflayiil ; but when he adds, — " and more perhaps than Livy ever inferted in his book,~either \ do not underftand, or I mult oppofe, or mufl refine upon, the {enfo of the text; for though an antiqu iry or chronologift may take advantage of fome trivial circumirance to falfely prefume the authenticity of an epoch or of a relicl, yet to him who reads hiftory, not as the hiflory of dates and pagods, but of men, it hath recondite in it all the leiTons of ethics and policy that he can make him- felf mafter of from the perufal : every annalid mufl be under the predica- ment of teaching more than himfelf knows to thofe who come after him, and
who.
t v ]
who of courfe connecting his particular link of the chain as well with the fucceed- ing as with the foregoing feries, may de- duce what the author could never furmife to have been in his work; — a ruftic makes a lever to rife, another employs it to ascer- tain the weight, nor is this ufe the lefs inherent in the inftrument for the igno- rance of its firft artificer : fo far I premife to obviate the objections I forfee may be made to this treatife, as too fancyfully in- veftigating the fubjcc~r., and extracting often from the text philofophy and politics when no fuch deductions mould be made, and no fuch lefTons (to ufe a word of Mon- taigne's tranflator, were ever inferted in my originals.
Ariilotle in his ninth chapter of poetics, difcriminating hiftory from poetry, makes not the difference to confifl in the mea- fure and harmony of verfe, — " the hiftories " of Herodotus (fays he) though put into " metre, would not conftitute a poem ; " hi/lory teaches what has been, poetry
" what
[ vi I
4t what may be \ wherefore, poetry is of " a more pbilofophical and didactic * fpirit
"than hiftory; this treating of things
" generally, th« latter individually." This opinion of Ariftotle that the epic mufe was a better and more comprehenfive teacher than the hiftoric, firft gave me the idea of writing the following work ; I could not but imagine that this deep-thinking man had once in his life decided too lightly :— that the poet might in an iEneas combine the mental qualities of many, as well as the painter draw the various beauties of nature into one piece of art, I could well conceive;— and that hiftory, when it deli- neated an individual, was confined to a narrower conapafs, than the canvafs fpread to the lavifh hand of fancy, I could nor
but
* The word c^wImC^ in the verfion is rendered by ret magis feila; in this fenle given us by the Latin tranfia* tor (if any fenfc) I have not taken it. <W«»o<; 0 «|»o?
enxhc. deferving ftudy informative to the ftudenfr— -
didaclic. Scapula v. dcriv. verb, irm^u.
[ vii ]
but allow ; but hiftory (thought I) is not the memoirs of one man, but the hiftory of men j it is perverted when employed in the fervice of Caefar, and not of Rome ; national characteriftic, as much or more than private character, mould be obviouf- ly deducible from this fort of work; and if thus treated (and thus it fhould be treat- ted) furely hiftory may teem with as much philofophic theory as poetry : in the annals of an united people we find matter for ge- neral pofitions, and the particular exam- ples interfperfed affirt: us in the analyfis or
tompofition of our fyftem; they form a
fet of rudiments to the «/*/«£<$, which poe- try can never have fo compleat j for many an incident replete with influence may not fuit its dignity, and the mention of many a pregnant circumftance may be exploded, as not being coincident with the rules of the art,— primo afpeflu kvia (fays Tacitus) ex qucis magnarum Jape rerum met us oriun- tur: poetry indeed (as obferves the fta-
gyrite)
t viii ] gyrite) tells us what may be ; but as a tiM torefs of morals and of wifdom, fhe can: only tell what may be, by collecting, com- bining, and modifying what has been -y and this (as the following effay may ferve to elucidate) is equally the province of hiftory : poetry may, perhaps, mow the fcene to a dim eye, in larger quarries, and in ftronger colours; to gain this advantage, likewife over to hiftory, and to paint a forcible and exprefTive picture of my fubject, I have changed the attitudes of fome figures, I have tranfpofed others, and approximated them to a ilronger contrail, or to a more glaring light ; many are the anachronifms which this free, or rather libertine, mode of writing has betrayed me into ; — but the eonfequence was unavoidable, and I hope this confeffion, as it cautions the unlearned againft error, may ferve to obviate the ftric- tures of the critical. My defign is from the annals of men and things to extract the fpi- rife of character and event, with the narra- tive to interweave the moral, and to give
at
[ i* ]
at once the hiftory and its comment ; and in this, my book may be of fome ufe to the young, or to the fuperficial ftudent ; — it may teach him that the ancient Greek hiftory is fraught with fomething more
than apothegm and anecdote, that to
know the names of Marathon and Salamis, of Codrus, or of Cimon, (to purfue a me- taphor of Mr. Burke's) is merely to know the land-marks of hiftory, and not the country, — that to a fagacious traveller the
country is the object, its abrupt breaks,.
its gentler declivities, its culture, and its produce : he mult not expect to meet with his acquaintance from the Pantheon ; — the heroes of fable have found no admit- tance in this work ; well were it, if no- nothing of more importance to the hiftory was omitted ! — In my courfe many a flower have I difregarded, that others have flayed to pluck, and perchance, fomctimes a Am- ple have I culled, which another hath ne- glected; what I have idly rejected, and what, perhaps, as idly chofen, may equally
fubject
c * j
fufcjecT: me to cenfure; 1 humbly fufr-
mit to it, nor will I prolong this preface to deprecate its feverity, nor, in the lan- guage of deference, to hint pretenfions, nor to jingle a quaint antithefis to public amufe- ment, and to public utility ;— to fay I wrote
for either, were vain as it is faife; 1
wrote the following book to beguile an idle time, and I know no better reafon for
publishing, than becaufe 1 have wrote,
it.
CONTENTS.
CONTENTS,
BOOK the FIRST.
Chap. I.
I Page
Ntroductory. — On Ancient Hiftory. 1
Chap. II. Of the Population of Attica. — Of the Pro- grefs of Society. I i
Chap. III. Of the Colonies acceding to the original Set- „ tlement — Of the Advantages thence ac- cruing to the Community.— Of the He- roic Age. 2©
Chap. IV. Of the Kings, and of the firft Archons of
Athens. .-— 28
Chap.
xii CONTENTS.
Chap. V. Of the Legiflation of Solon. — 33
Chap. VI. Of Pififtratus. 44
Chap. VII. Of Hipparchus. — Of Ariftogeiton and Har- modius. — Of theLover and beloved. 49
Chap. VIII. Of the Final expulfion of the Pififtratide. — Of a Democracy. — Of the Oftractfm. 56
Chap1. IX. Of Governments.— Of the energy of a newly formed Republic. — Of the Progrefs of Athens 69
Chap. X. Of Liberty.— Of Colonies. — Of the further Progrefs of Athens. -°- — 76
Chap. XT. Of the firft Perfian war. — Condemnation of Miltiades.— Further thoughts concerning
the Oftracifm. « 84
Chap,
CONTENTS, xiif
Chap. XII. Of the fecond Perfnn War. 97
Chap. XIII. Of Great Men. — Athens rebuilt. — Confe- quences of the Perfian War. — Supre- macy of Athens. • 115
BOOK the SECOND.
Chap. I.
Page.
OF the principles of happinefs national and private.— -Of Conqueft— Of the acquificions and power of Athens. 131
|
Chap. |
II. |
||
|
Of Arts. |
M5 |
||
|
Chap. |
III. |
||
|
Of Manners |
160 Chap. |
||
|
V^ A ATAHillJvl m* |
*iv CONTENTS.
Chap. IV. Qi Pericles. — Of the Dominion of Athens. — Of the Peloponnefian War to the Ar- give alliance. ■ 169
Chap. V. Of Navigation and Commerce. — Of the Si- cilian Expedition. ~ 190
Chap. VL Continuation of the Peloponnefian war.- Re- volutions at Athens. — Conclufion of the War, fubverfion of the Commonwealth and eftablifhment of the Oligarchy. 202
Chap. VII. Of the Expedition of the Ten Thoufand. — Parallel of the Commentaries of Xeno- phon and of Csefar. 215
Chap. VIII. Of Socrates. • i 233
Chap. IX. Reftoration of the Commonwealth. 240
Chap. X*. Of the degradation of the republic in its
contefls
CONTENTS. xr
contefts with Philip Temper of the
Times, deduced from the Orations of Demofthenes. ■ 253'
Chap. XI. Of the Holy War. ■ 27;;
Chap. XII. from the Battle of Chasronea to the furren- der of the Commonwealth to Antipa- pater, and the extinction of the Spirit of Athens. _— 288
ERRATA,
Page. Line.
6— 4. For undetermined read undermined
2i — 11. for far
38 — 10. gone the gone through the
42— 3. jataque juraque
67— 1 3. But it is not But is not
235 — 9. ■ infertiou affertion
2^4— 3. the this
361 — 13. — ■ Pagazse ■■■ ■ - • Pagafae
THE SPIRIT of ATHENS.
BOOK the FIRST.
CHAP. I.
THE wildeft narratives of remote anti- quity, however little to be depended on for veracity, are not wholly to be regarded as the fports of roving fantaftic genius, or as ufeful, merely as fables bearing a deep and beautiful moral : they arc (till more (Ink- ing as types of the fpirit and purfuits of the age they relate to. The mind of man untu- tored in philofophical truths recurs naturally to the marvellous i blind to the inherent wonders of every the minuted part of the creation, he himfelf imagines new miracles for the deity of
B his
I * ]
his foul j — each god, each demigod, each hero, is thus aggrandized by the fertile enthufiafm of his adherents, *who unwilling to allow the con- fcfleG iuperiority to a being noways eflcntially difFeringr from themfelves, inveft him with fuch po?.-e-s, and attribute to him fuch actions, as their wanton zeal may iuggeft, or wild credulity pa- tronize.^— StilJ however, the virtues held up to admiration, are the virtues of the age that ad- mires: the prejudices and purfuits of the fabulift enter into the delineation of the creature of his fancy, however perfect he may defign him, and as our poet pr other writer is a member q{, and writes but for his community, we may pronounce that his embellifhments, though but an airy fu« perftru&ure, are yet raifed on a known and good foundation, and that his recital is at leaft confo- riant to the amufement and tafte of his cotempo- raries.
' Thus the memoirs of chivalry or ftories of more -ancient heroifm inform, as well as delight j the age of gallant knighthood is perhaps better rief.nbed, in Arn^dis, tnan byMezeray; Woden and iiis followers are better known from a runic fong, than, from a monkifh hiftorian ; and in 'tie tales of Hercules and the Argonauts, the [pirit of t.hofe remote times is better traced than
it
I 3 1
it could be in the book of any {trie! confoj'jw- £r to truth and fact : we thus get acquainted with the prior ages by fables, as with fucceeding from records, nor is the ftudy thereof to be flighted, as long as the improbability of man is thought worthy to hold a place in his {pecu- lations i and the progrefs and various ftep.s and changes of the human mind are deemed proper objects of its enquiry. In fuch philofophical purfuit the reading of fabulous hiftory has its peculiar ufe, but further is not to be expected from it ; the infancy of human nature can no more fcrve as example to man in an improved (late, than the child's whims to one in years, in whofe deeper thoughts and ft tidies they may yet profitably find a place.
By many, and indeed mod of the learned, it hath been deemed difficult to draw the line m ancient hiftory between the fabulous and the au- thentic ; but here the word fabulous bears ano- ther fenfe, and the oppofition of terms may fim- ply be conilrued into true and falfe : The ten firft •books of Livy have been ftigmatized with the term fabulous, — meaning folely that the facts therein reprefented are fingular, doubtful, and in many cafes Hated as fuch, by the very author; fcut yet tre they not to be daflcd with the tales of
poetry
[ + ]
poetry : — their leflbn is deep and they bear 3
flrong and pointed character, whether after
the life or not, the picture hath a phyfiognomy moft interefting, and fo well elucidated by the mafterly touches of the painter, that equal profit and pleafure refult from the niceft confideration of it. It is enough that the politic Machiavel hath dedicated the moft fterling labours of his pen to reflections on this theme : I_.et the anti- quary bring his medals, or the book-learned his books to the controverfy — the pedant would cleanfe the root and filth is his portion, whilft the florentine bee pitched on the lively flower is fucking the fweeteft honey from each petal ! Little doth it matter J think where the record is of fo old a date, and affects not any right or property, and gives no authority to any fyftem, and brings no weight of favor or oppofition to. the opinions of the day ^ — little doth it matter, whether the hiftory is cempofed of abfolute facts, fo long as it bears the characterises of truth and nature.— The Venus of JJeuxis furely might be pronounced equally cftimable, whether the ftory of the five beauties of Agrigentum was true, or falfe.
Lord Bolingbroke looking over the genera} profpect of hiftory ancient, and modern,, and
mi
is)
Confidcring its tendency merely as to the know- ledge of men and manners, fays—he would chearfully exchange the books of Livy we have, for thofe we have not ; he enumerates thd advantages Livy had in his latter books of paint- ing characters he knew, and thofe too of the greateft ; of defcribing events he was concerned in, facts he had from the immediate actors,— quseque ipfe miferrima vidit;
But furely a cotemporary hiftoriah of fuch tur- bulent times might be too apt to exagerate through adulation or conceal through fearj to give the precepts not of the philofopher, but partizan j and colour facts into harmony with his own fyftem of patriotifm or friendfhip. Cse- cina in his letter to Cicero fays * — " much have ** I been neceQitated to refrain, many things have " I been obliged to pafs over lightly, many to " curtail, and very many abfolutely to omit — " thuscircumferib'd reftricled and broken as it " is, what pleafure or what ufeful information ** can be expected from the recital ?" So wrote the hiftorian Csecina, and fo probably did Livy write ; but this apart ; — have we not furHcient
pages
— Sed tamen me fuftinui, multa minui, multa fuftuli, comptura nc pofoi quidem ; — fie tot malis cum vinclum turn fraclum ftmiium fcribendi, quid dignum auribus, aut prokabile putcft afLrri/ Ckcron. Ep. hm, Lib. 6. Epilt. 7.
£ 6 I
pages' blotted with the follies and vices of gresfc men ? Have we no annals to refer to for the confequences of luxury, the progrefs of venality and corruption, and liberty undetermined ? Off are we yet to learn that one and the fame is the downfall of virtue and of freedom, and that with equal pace individuals become vicious, and a community enflaved ? Writings enough exift tracing the corruption of men and ftates through every mode and degree; — the period of antiquity ehara&erifed by a wild and impetuous generofityy by an cnthufiaftic patriotifm and daring love of freedom,-— —that age wherein the virtues were indebted to the pamons for more, than ever lince the boafted aid of reafon eould afford them, has been delineated but by few great matters \ and for the honour of humanity not a line there- of fcould be effaced. I would not barter one page of the early accounts of the republics of Athens- or of Rome for the moft accurate acquaintance with all that Auguftus ever did or thought.
Suicly in every mind there is an emulation ©f virtuous fuperioFity, whichj however fortune ©r the meaner pafllons may hebetate its powers, ftill at every example of luccefs in the particular objects of its predilection, glows into a momen- tary flame, which from frequent refufcitation may
acquire
[ 7 1
•acquire a liability and ftrength fufficient to reach, at the attainment of, what, at firft was regarded folely as matter of admiration : the idea of imi- tation which hath thus enraptured the fancy, may in times of perilous crifis fomewhat elevate the mind, and influence the conduct $ and if fuch ever may be the effect, what other lecture can balance the utility of that, which thus ani- mates the man and urges him to noble and dif- intereited fervices in a good, great, and public caufe.
The hiftory of intellect may be typified by the Egyptian Nile which long pours on and hurries all away in one collected channel ; as it advances it divides into various branches and at length breaks in many and widely diftant ftreams towards the great gulph, into which according to their respective forces, they for a time con- tinue their way, till finally all are loft and con- fufed in the abyfs : in the age of golden fimpli- city and ignorance the objects and purfuits of mankind were but little varied, their thoughts were confined to their common wants, their paf- fions moftly concentered in fome common local prejudice or affection j as the genius became ele- vated, and the judgment tutored by fucceifive experience, and the influence of general acqui-
fuions
[ * 3
fi tions of arts and of knowledge, the humaif mind proved its fureli diftinction from inftinft by the varieties of its tendency, its force, and its conclufions, in its progrefs to the fuperior ob- jects of reafon, the great truths, natural, morel, and political,— ax. length refined and pufhed to the extremity each reiearch clofcs in error and in darknefs.
In this hillory of intellect and manners there was an epoch when men had characters happily combining the uniform and various — viewing that period of antiquity we feem to defcry a landfcape of a bold and maffive tafte of comv pofition, contrafted with ftrcag light and fhade, and of a brilliant touch of colour, and much harmony ; whilit in the modern age we behold a fcene flittered into a multiplicity of luminous fpots, and gaudy without effect •, —perhaps it is too near the eye •,— perhaps it may be faid that" the favorite fcene of ancient hillory merely ap- pears the more beautiful, as a picture mellowed by age,— as a rude but diltant profpect harmo- nized by the intervening medium, and lofing all its abrupt breaks and deformities in the diftance ; whilit modern hiftory, (as it were) a foreground, appears fpotted with weeds and septiks which belong equally to the further
fcenr
[9 J
foene but arc there lefs confpicuous to the eye :— but furely in the old times I would allude' to, there was fomething eflentially diftinguifhing the characters of mankind, and abfolutely giving them a form and complexion differing from thofe of to-day.
Men when iirft called from the mere fociety of family and propinquity to more extenfive duties, and a new fort of combination, were fond of the novelty, and the compact was looked up to by every eye: then, individuals formed a community •, — now, more properly a community may be faid to be of individuals •> — then, the incereft of the whole was that of each ; — now, the inverfe is adopted, and each would operate? on the whole. The genius of patriotifm which .animated every breaft no longer exifts ; — we wonder at its effects \ — we doubt that the Greek Codrus or Roman Decii devoted themfelves ; — and that the elder Brutus mould facrifice the dearcft tyes of nature to a fentiment we fo little, know the force of, now fcems fingular if not impofTible : and yet Galileo cried — " ct tamen movet" and would have died for a mere fyftem -y and millions of religious zealots have daringly perilhed in defence of opinions themfelves under- itood not ; and mall we pay fo little refpeet to
mankind
f Jo J
fffaftfcirtd as to fuppofe them capable of ftfch efforts in favor of vanity of of ignorance, and not equally brave in fupport of the liberal and benevolent fentiments, the focial and fpirited principles, on which thofe fam'd eftabiifhments were feeured, their united labors had formed, their Peafon approved, and their habits and their happinefs required \
At leaft condemn them not unheard-, lifter* Once more to a teftimony in their favor ; attend te the hiftory of Athens.
£ H A P^
[ M }
CHAP. II.
f^ REECE was fituated under a benign latl- ^-^ tude, and whilft its inhabitants were but few, its fpontaneous fertility eafily fatisfied its paftoral poffcfTors, who with their herds rov'd peaceably from foot to fpot, as its beauties ©r conveniences invited j and left it, as fatiety or its harrafTed foil urged to a new fituation.
Under fuch circumftances of peace and fe- cured felicity, no wonder that population en- creafed -, and the bands of propinquity then from their too great extent being rent and broken, the detached parties became. more in number, and the face of the country gradually was covered with a diverfity of people, who retained but little fenfe of common family, and much of private intereft.
The wandering herd often now found the richeft pafturage preoccupied, and a fyftem of fuch appropriation being little underftood by favages, who heretofore deemed the earth, as heavens, common to all ; a claim to participate brought on contention, and the victorious took
poflcflion
t ** 3
pcfleiEon of the lands till fuch time as othef' in-* truders with better pretenfions of llrength ex-* pelled the conquerors, and fucceeded to art equally hoftile and precarious fettlcment.
The tribes broken, fcparated, and defpoiled of their flocks, fled to the mountains j till em- boldened by hunger and urged by revenge, they ventured from their lurking places in fmall but defperate bands, to procure a fuftenance and fa- tiate their rage by depredations on their former invaders. The fhepherds foon learnt to dread, and to defend themfelves againft, thefe new ene- mies : fmall bodies ftrengthened themfelves by coalition, and all parties ftremed ftudious. of the means to repel, or to annoy an enemy : arms were in every hand > habit enured to danger ; and the glory of conqueft too began to enforce its plea.
The moft verdant mead, the moft flourishing grove, the fweeteft fpring fucceflively bled the ftrongeft •, and all the goods man could then know, depended on his courage to attempt, or prowefs to maintain them. The richefl plain* of Greece were fcenes of continual war ; and all the evils, which the untutor'd barbarity of la- vages ordinarily annexes to conqueft, conjoined to make the weakef for ever forego that bounty
"of
[ '3 ]
of Nature, they could enjoy but for fo little % time, and with fo much danger: other fields were they to feek whofe poverty might enfure them from defolation, and rude and rocky fur- face might yet afford a cave hofpitable to the wretched j — a pofTtfllon unmolested as unenvied by their more potent neighbours.
Attica, a large trad of country poor of thofe natural advantages which were, and might again be the fubject of contention, fcemed a proper place of fettlement for thefe wanderers ;-— thus as Rome owed its population to crimes, fo did Athens tomifery; and by a fingular fatality the two mod yirtuous and moft powerful re- publics of the ancient world, were founded by fhc wicked, and by the weak !
No longer could the people fubfift from the fpontaneous bounties of the earth •, nature was to be courted for fuftenance; the golden age of indolence was paft, and man was to live but by the fweat of his brow. Every one equally fubfift ing from toil, induftry foon put in a new and allowed claim to property •, he that had fown the grain reaped the harveft, and prc- fcription gradually cemented this corner (lone of political inftitution. If it was not a fettled (late, it was a fraternity directed by known and
fixed
[ H 1
fjxed regulations ; and its union and progreffive arts gave them an evident jfuperiority over the brutal ftrength of an/ who might dare to attack them in their place of retreat, and ravage the fields endeared by their labours.
As felf-love is the parent of focial, fo are pri- vate affections of public ; attachment, as it were, from our little home in the center eradiates to the very periphery, and comprehends the great circle of the cbmmon-wealth. Herein behold the ground-work of patriotifm! 'Fattened by the habits of peace and competence to the fame grounds when old which their infancy fported in, reciprocal obligation had time to take root, and the fruits were a grateful and diffufive be- nevolence; the intereft, not of families only, but of men, feemed united, and whoever mould attempt to fever thofe bands, was by all confi- dered as having no claim to .that fociety he infulted. Peace was to all but to him vvho in- vaded it !
It is in the barren foil that genius and jndu- flry take the earlieft root-, the fterility of nature proves a fpur to art, and invention is awakened by the clamours of neceflity : foon the human mind is indebted to its activity for dill further force, and purfuing the paths which want or ap- petite
[ is 3
petite point to, is captivated with the profpe&s opening on either fide, and at length boldly de- viates into the wilds of knowledge and pleafure; Thus our community quickly outftripped its once more happy and formidable neighbours,* in the career of enjoyments and of power, whilffc cafe and plenty were fucceffively the refult of induilrious arts, and mental quicknefs and fo- cial combination were more than a match for j*obuft but divided favages.
The rough diamonds from the mine but lit* tie vary, it is when polifhed, that we diflin-' guim the beauties or dullnefs of the water, the flaw, or pure, or tinted brilliant ; fo civilisation ^ifcovers the fufqeptibility and value of each mind, a^d in the infancy of policy, where no prefcription hath fway, inequality of intellect, gradually produces correfpondent degrees of command and fubferviency. Ariftotle hath fe$ out in his politics with much ftudy and pains, and much fpeculation on, and many reafonings for this hypothefis ; but furely every ox that draws the plough is fufficient proof of the affer- lion ! from man to man flill greater is the fub- jection whilft admiration lpcks, or gratitude gilds, the chains himfelf from confcious infe^ riprity hath impofeu1.
[ ,6 ]
Mark the picture of fociety which now pre- fents itfelf to view — genius working not on lux- uries or refinements, but confined to an in- vestigation of the common arts and neceflarie3 of life ; and weaknefs courting it for a participa- tion of its comforts; and paying the debt of gratitude, or earned of expectancy, with menial fervice and affiftance.
In an earlier period, the cave was a refuge common to all, the acorn was to be plucked by every hand, and in the calm of univerfal ignorance, knowledge Or activity, for the courfe lay dormant; and its claims were not known, not underftood, or not allowed : but now the man of reafon culled new bleflings from the earth, and where nature feemed deficient, found refources of happinefs and eafe in his own in- ventive faculties ; nor is it wonderful, that thofe whofe powers were inadequate to their wants, mould purchafe fheltcr in his hut, warmth from his fire, or fufteitance from his roots, with obfequious attention to ferve and venerate the benefactor : with deference to fome over lear- ned men, who have made of late fo many impor- tant and accurate deductions from mythology, we will venture to fuppofe, that whoever firfl planted a twig, or fov^d a grain, or flruck fire
from
[ 17 ]
from a flint, thence forward, became a character divine ; and that every foot had its race of dei- ties— its Bacchus, its Ceres, and its Vulcan.
The advantages accruing from this union of the wife and flrong;, were too obvious to ceafe with the firft projector ; his name was reverenced and invoked by his adherents, and his temporal power and rule were delegated to the man, whom fuperior acutenefs diflinguifhed, or preemption introduced-, the latter in the firft: inftance, fpe- cioufly cloathed with the fpirit of enterprize, were admitted into competition with the wile and the expert ; but as in thofe times the only title to rule, was the conferring of benefits, of which every fubject was individually to partake, and capable too of flriking the balance between fervices paid, and good received ; thefe intruders- were fpeedily difgraced, and perhaps in the fhock of public commotion, were detached from the general body, and with a few others whom fympathy or refentment connected with them, were left to rely on that ftfepgth which paflion and fclf-confidence rendered at once unfit for rule, and impatient cf fubjec*U m.
They retired to their old manfions of refuge
among the woods and rocks — but the cavern was
grown damp and gloomy, and the wind had
Q learnt
[ r8 )
learnt to chill, and the fun to fcorch ; and pafc wlc had taught that thefe evils might be avoided^ and from prefent inexpertnefs they knew not how ! As in the progrefs of the individual from in- fancy to maturity, fo in the hiftory of the fpe- cies, we find that the paflions have born fruit, when the bloffbms of reafon but peeped from the bud: happily in the firft inftance the earlier vio- lences of the youth may at once be calmed and tutored, and even their effects medicated by the interpofition of thofe who have at once fuperior pcafon to urge, and ftrength to reftrain: but who is to coerce the lavage, — whole life fills up an impetuous moment of puberty, in the long progreffive hiftory of his kind ; who hath awa- kened at once to wifhes and to impotence; to the pafTions of man, and fcarcely to the inftinct of the brute! Envy without emulation^ gloomy difcontent, and the rage of unfated appetites—^- (the feeble ray of reafon directing to the object,., without throwing fufEcient light to develope its moral and proper ufer duties, and confequences;) what a dreadful animal mull they form! and- fuch was man, when (m the cafe above menti- oned) he recurred to folitude with the full har- veft of wants and paflions, he had known, and only known how to reap in the fields of fociety.
In
t '9 3
In thefe times every diftrict had its Cacus j and as attack necefTarily enforces defence, every tribe its Hercules. In the courfe of a few years, the imitative faculty of man mull have made fuch progrefs, and the connexions within the pale of fociety have become fo much more complicated, and the dangers from without, fo much more frequent and important, that the brave and the judicious might readily be fup- pofed to fupercede the pretenfions of the pro- jector or artificer, with whom too fo many now claimed in common. The patriarch ruler gave out fimple laws, or rather maxims to his people, decided between them, repelled their enemies* and facrificed to their gods — he was their judge, their hero and their priefl ; he was the only (lave in the domain, for the black fpirit of defpotifrn was as yet confined within the magic circle of its duties, which when it tranfgrefTed, the charm of authority and pre-eminence was inftantane- oufly difiblved*
CHAP,
i ±© j
CHAP. III.
X X 7E have traced the firft population of Xttil * * Ca; v/e have marked the progreflive culture of people and of foil ; and from a mere fociety of nature, feen men gradually accumulate On the experience of their forefathers, and lay the ground-work of art and of policy,, of the comforts of life and of the means to enfure them : but the eftablifliment had now attained that point in progrefs,. riiat no longer urged by the fame necefrkies, it was not to be expected they fhould continue the fame fpeed in the career of improvement : Society was now in fome mea- fure formed and regulated, and each individual born to fome fixed relation in it, cramped by the purfuits and authority of a parent, and reflrained by the peace and love of order' that prevailed throughout, could no longer inno- vate with applaufe or even fafety : The fhorf fcafon of autuiTi may fufHce for the vintage, but whole years are required to mellow and perfect; ihe produ$ion! if fbmc extraordinary cafualty
happened
I 21 ] ^happened nor, the future progrefs of this people was to be the (low and imperceptible work of ages i — happily fuch cafualty was not wanting.
It muft be allowed that foil and climate operate much on the conftitution ,and tempe- rament of the body, and the fubtlety of the nervous fluid, the crafiitude of the blood, the relaxation or tendon of mufcle, (in a word) ,the texture of the whole frame being thus de- pendant on, and varying with exterior caufes ; for as their influence acts, the whole animal man muft differ in his ftrengt^, pafiions or acutenefs, and be accordingly fit or unfit for diverfe purfuits or modifications of the excellen- cies of his kind.
It is true that varieties of the ftrongeft na- ture actuate individuals even of the fame na- tion, and under like predicament of fpot -, acute- -nefs directs application •, imagination affords matter for the deeper fpec'ulatift ; the politician reins the impetuoiity of the valiant ; and every different force and temper of mind infufficienc in itfelf, feems to ftrike fire by collifion with the proper fubftance: thus arts fiourifh ; thus •fcience civilifes j and thus, men from a very difcord of character form the harmony of the Social fyfieiru
Society
t 2a 1
Society will doubtlefsly thus perfect itfelf in proportion to the diverfities of its component parts, which by their various combinations and reciprocities, may enlarge the materia medica of human weaknefs, and ferve the wants and luxuries, the hopes and vanities, the curiofity and activity of man -, and though an ifolated nation may from the refources of various cha- racter and force of genius within itfelf, make much progrefs, may excell in many arts, and jmfh its enquiries far in knowledge ; yet can- not it cope with others of more general com- merce, and heterogeneous mixture : let China bear teftimony to the pofition ; has that vaft but fequeftered nation made a progrefs in huma- nity proportionate to its duration ? — Do not the- infant colonies of the weft — the very republics of yefterday outftrip her in the great career, and boaft of theories and inventions fhe knows not, or knows but weakly ? It is the general commerce and intercourfe with each other which hath given the people of Europe this fudden fuperiority •, a variety of national cha- racter has forced new combinations on that of individuals; and Italian fancy, French wit, Eng- lifh penetration, and German afiiduity, have from diverfe and diflant habitations met, and
unitecj
[ 23 ]
united their common labors, and connected and modified their feveral properties, for the fur- therance of every art of utility or entertain- ment.
Attica in the remoteft antiquity, boafled fimi- lar advantages ; fcarcely had fhe learnt the firft rudiments of art and policy, when various colonies acceded to the country, and holding forth a new horn of plenty, enriched her native flores with exotic germes of knowledge and civilization.
The religions and the fciences from the north and from the fouth hailed each other in this central fpot : Orpheus brought in the deities of Thrace; and the Saitse met him, fraught with all the fuperftitions, wifdom, and policy of old JEgypt : the priftine inhabitants received this colony as a gift of the gods ; cherifhed it ; adopted its cuftoms; not fatisfied with affording a merely hofpitable refuge, tended honor and dominion; and finally feated the chieftain of thefe exiles on the countries' throne : the myfte- ries of religion they incorporated with their own ; and their own hereditary manners and diftinctions they gave up, and anew, claffed themfclves according to the. arrangement of duty and honors they were taught by thefe fo- reign
[ 24 ]
reign fettlers : as in ./Egypt, the nation was now triply divided into the diftinct clades of the literary noble, the countryman and the art'zan — So fudden was the traniition from irregular po- licy, to a fyftem, of good order and good go- vernment !
The Carians too (whom Herodotus terms the wifeft of men;- at length forlbok their piracy, and fixed themfelves on this coaft, long the object of their depredations ; they foon recon- ciled themfelves to the previous fettler.% and at the port Phaleron, laid the foundation of that naval power, which fublequently raifed the Athenians to wealth, to conqueft, and to em- pire !
Nor was it to thefe exotics only that Attica paid the grateful debt of exact and anxious culti- vation •, in this age of fimplicity the human mind not yet refined into depravity, as it few virtue, acknowledged and rewarded it: in the progref- fion of rulers, we find a Meflenian for an act of bravery, called to the Athenian throne ; and with him many wanderers from various parts of Greece came to partake his government and cede fomewhat of their native ruftic liberty to a fyftem of general comfort and iecurity.
The petty diftncts of- the Peloponnefe had now fometime handled the helm of government
— but
f 25 ]
— but: with a rude and unfkillful force : con- ftant wars harafted them from without, and perpetual difTention at home ; and from imbe- cillity or difguft many yet forfook their native hearth, and went in fearch of a habitation more favorable to their fears or to their philofophy •, and though in the courfe of human acquire- ments, the nurferies of thefe men were far be- hind-hand with Attica •, yet minds rectified from error, and refined by misfortune, proved no ufclefs lefibn or unprofitable connexion : fympathy and fimilitude of lot foon mutually attached thefe various exiles ; the diverfity of origin and habitual fentiment and prejudice thence proceeding, naturally hd them to think and difcourfe on their prior Hate and reciprocal objections ; paft error and mifery fweetened the intercouric with diffidence and complacency ; and as the rougher points and irregularities of two furfaces are employed to fmooth and per- fect each other, fo gradually did this commerce deftroy the crudities of each national character, and form one compact body of rcafonable men, and polifhed citizens.
A long continuance of plenty and fecurity is too apt to elate the mind, and carry it beyond the nice boundaries of prudence and contented
virtue :
[ 26 ]
virtue : when a (late is from low degrees become thus full of rich and reftive blood, better is it than the humour, expend itfelf in ebullition, than recoil and ferment within, to the detriment of the internal commonweal, and perhaps to its very dififolution and ruin.
At a time when the habits of converfe and thought quickened the paflions and apprehen- fion i at a time when the minds of men were growing too active for reft, and too turbulent for controul ; when the wife and the valiant anew felt and claimed diftinctions over their fellows ; when the ambition of fome and envy of others was fucceeding to the virtuous and peaceable emulation of all ; the danger of relapling into anarchy was imminent and great-, but fortu- nately— the made of chivalry arofe, and beck' oning each active genius into her circle, pre- ferved the internal ftate from that annoyance the wanton fpirit of the age might feem to por- tend. Damfels ravimed, and damfels refcued, rnake up the hiftory of this period j not even in the feudal lower age, was enterprize more the de- lioht or admiration of all : the wreath of honor
O
was then firft fnatched, and feparately and dis- tinctly worn from the crown of virtue ; whilft the dangers and not motives of the achievement
were
t *7 ]
were confidered : Throughout all Greece,
fays Thucydides, arms were in every hand, 'till Athens renewed the example of civilization, and her citizens firft laid afide the fword : fo many wanderers then poured into Attica, as the only and peculiar feat of permanent and happy councils (continues the fame author) that fhe too in her turn was forced to colonize, and fend forth her fupernumeraries to till the fields of Ionia.
Mark the progrefs — Common fecurity was the firft band of union ; indigence inftrucled, intereft cemented, and foreign population en- riched and enlarged the fociety : from long peace and fecurity fprang new distinctions among men •, influence in private life extended to af- ccndancy in the ftate j individuals grew impa- tient of reft and of equality, and ambition like a famifhed tiger, was recurring to its own litter for fuftenance and prey, when a providential cafualty directed its activity to external objects ; and in the mean time the commonwealth had peace and leifure, to find theories to its prao* " tice, and draw practice from thecry — to widen the foundation of the ftate fyftem, and cement it fo as to withftand whatever mock, till time and progreflive reafon fhould finifh the building ,— the glory and bulwark of Greece !
CHAP.
[ 23 3
CHAP. IV.
f'JPHE natural rights and liberties of mankind -*■ were foon felt though late underftood •, and wjien, in this Hate compofed of diverfe nations and people, the varieties of each had opened the minds of all \ when reafon and pafTion had Ihown a difoofition to make ftronger and earlier fhoots in this heterogeneous foil -t the love and fear of power were of the fame birth.
From the earlieft period of monarchy, the people were ever encroaching on its fupremacy ; and many of their kings raifed from a low degree to the throne, thought much too of their own duties, and their people's claims •, their own juft ilrbferviency to the interefts of the multitude whofe fovereignty was merely delegated to their care and fidelity.
Whilft other countries boaft a long and fuc- cefilve train of heroes, we find in the lift of A- thenian kings but very few marked in characters cf renown : the fpirit of the people was ever in vio-Hant oppofition to that of defpotifm, and fplendid ambition found not means of eluding
the
[ *9 ] trie caution of the public, and wading into the fields of glory through bloodfhed and opprefllon ; thus the fervants and not mailers of the commu- nity, their preheminence of character was in ge- neral confined to virtues which were the portion of many, and undiilinguifhed,— as each indivi- dual (tar in the galaxy though ftill making part of its beauty and its luftre. If any one king at- tained a brighter and more glorious name than the refc, it was from fome act of danger to him- fclf or of benefit to the flate, and which would equally have ennobled its meaneft constituent ; but from Thefeus to Codrus we find few re- marked for any eccentric exploit.
Codrus p:ud the debt of nature to his country ;. and under pretence of deference to the memory of their heroic king, the Athenians permitted noiie thereafter to bear the fame title.
Hitherto the libido rcgnum had full fway and authority; no written laws or definite regulations as yet circumfcribed the abufe of »power ; what- ever reftri&ions might Curb its excefs, were founded on the comparative fears of the mo- narch, the pretentions of the eminent, and the impcmoi'fy of the multitude : but the time was. now cotpe wjiei) inilitution was to correct the
fyftem
[ 30 ]
fyftem of command and fubmiflion, and {ketch out the adequate degrees of each.
Some authors have idly claffed the firft Ar- chons with the Athenian kings, obferving that a change took place in little more than the title of the matter : were this the faft, ftill was the al- teration of moment •, even in the moft enlighten- ed ages what prefcriptive devotion hath been paid to mere words !— how much honor and au- thority have attended a title even when ufurped with the worft of crimes or meaneft of frauds ! are there none even in this land of freedom, whofe hearts yet acknowledge the hereditary ab- jection of their forefathers, and would caned their very bond of independancy to crouch for their all to fome idol- name?
The word King had in Attica, as elfewhere, a traditionary afcendant over many who knew not the purport of the title, or the individual who bore it ; with the name much of this blind veneration ceas'd •, and refpeft, that great barrier to public liberty being broken down, the paths to an independant commonweal were not lefs open than alluring.
In truth the change of title was not the only one that took place on the death of the patriot Codrus : " the Medontidae (fays Paufanias) re- " ceived the lbvercignty much abridged of its
•f former
t 3' J
" former power, and ultimately made accounts-* " ble to the people for a juft: and due exercife of " the truft repofed." What thefe redrictions were., we are not told ; but they mud have been mani- fold and ftrong, to have rendered the laft re- gulation of any effect ; for who mall dare to meet the lion in his foreft ? Can defpotifm be called to account? The hardy challenger, if fuch is to be found, mud prepare for death, or the date for a revolution ! but perhaps the proofs are more than prefumptive, that on the edablifhment of the Archons, their fway was confined to much narrower limits than that of their predeceffors •, and that an aceufation was neither uncommon in itfelf, nor dangerous to the appellant. The ufurper Pifidratus pleading as a criminal before the court of the Areopagus items to have had retrofpect to fome fimilar cuf- lom of the Archons, and to leek favor from his citizens by this deference to their prior inftituti- ons : other fads might be adduced ; but I think the future hiftory of the commonwealth is itfelf fufficient proof of what is nfferred : — on the death of Alcmxon did any commotion fucceed, when the government was made derennial ? Did not the citizens ftarlefs of any evafion of this their new determination, confide the limited feep- tre to the fame family who had borne it in per- petuity ?
[ 32 ]
petuity ? or had any one of thefe Archons the hardinefs or authority to extend the duration of their command ? Yet 1 find not that Champ's office differed from that of his brother Alcmseon fave in the confined period of poffcflion.
A ten years command ftill feemed to preclude too many candidates, and to the ambitious com- petition of the ploutocracy Athens was indebted for a further flep into the regions of freedom : The Archonfhip was made annual, and the power was divided amongft nine, inverted with various duties and authority. This oligarchy feverally acting with a vague and indefinite jurif- prudence, as various as partial in their decrees, foon gave rife to faction, to party and difcontent. The commonalty demanded fome furety for their perfons and property ; the nobles wifhed to ftrengthen their order by unanimity -f and the alien deprecated the partial judgment which unreftricted mig-ht echo to the calls of native affections and domeftic interefls : thus all united to require written and irrefragable rules of jurif- dicYion : Draco was fummoned by the general voice of his countrymen to be their legifhtor ; and his Thefmoi (though the few remaining, [ think, by no means fpeak him equal to the fub- lime truft he was honor'd withj for a time gave quiet and harmony to the republic.
CHAP,
t 23 ] S3
C II A P. V.
' | 'HE fophift deep in midnight lucubration -*■ exults over the folution of his problem, and looks down on the purfuits of others with derifion and contempt : Refpect indeed feems due to the operations of the intellect, in pre- ference to the more mechanical labors of the body ; but if (as we ought to do) we meafure the value of every occupation by its compara- tive uiefulnefs to fociety; the recluie ftudies of many will be difcovered to be but a more fpe- cious way of trifling, and honeft induftry will bear the palm over luch idle fpeculations how- ever fanciful or penetrating. Mental refearches when directed to proper objects, have the jufteft claim to our veneration ; but let us proportion it to the benefits thence accruing to mankind, nor hallow thofe ingenious extravagancies, our praife of which hath already allured but too many profeflionaries of fcience from its juft and ufcful limits, into fome wild and unprofitable D fearch
[ |4 1
fearch, after Tome truth without confequence, or fyftem without foundation.
Of all employments of the mind, furely that is the worthiest, and as it, were divine, which feeks to eftablifh. order in fociety ; to humanize the great Leviathan ; to adapt the various parts of the vaft machine, and nicely fit each fpring* where it can beft acl, each wheel where it can beft: move,. to the intent and good purpofes of the general combination ; to duely weigh and obvi- ate the friction that might impede, or material which might fwervc to the detriment of the di- verfe parts— till the whole proceed in juft and. invariable concert !
The legiflator mull be experienced, to know mankind ; and wife, — for he is to direct them y he mult be virtuous,: — for precepts are to be recommended by example; and brave, — for innovation is to be enforced with courage ; and after all, fays the younger Pliny, — Neque cuiquam tarn clarum fiatim ingenium eft, nt pojjit emergere^ nifi ilk materia, cccafio, fautor etiam commenda- torque co;.iingat-\ To few as thefe great qualities are allotted, to fewer is given the opportunity of exerting them !
It was foon that the regulations of Draco were fo\md inadequate to the great purpofe of harmonising the difcordant interefts of- the ci- tizens-
f 35 ]
tizens of Athens : The rich and the poor ftill combated with the refpective arms of authority and numbers ; and thofe who were in a middle ftate of competency, difrelifhed a fituation which was to include them in the conquefts of either party, the flaves cf a defpotic faction, or prey of a lawleis multitude.
Arts of every kind had made a quick pro- grefs ; the pyrates from Cam had introduced the knowledge cf navigation j and the parentage of its citizens in foreign countries, had given Athens early notions of profiting of a connexi- on with diverfc and diftant parts : Trade foon gave birth to inequalities of opulence and pow- er ; and now, in this general mart, this feat of rivalfhip and commerce, the encreafing love and examples of luxury demanded the readied: and quickeft road to wealth : Project might enhance on the profits of trade, and a well concerted fcheme fuddenly place the lowell citizen on a level with the mod opulent ; thus many of a voluptuous or ambitious turn, (train- ed their every faculty in fome novel and vifion- ary purfuit.
The rich favored this deftructive fpirit of
enterprife, by advancing neceflaries for thefe
undertakings; the returns of which being found
D 2 m oft
[ 36 ]
moft precarious, the intereft for loans was ir*- creafed, and gradually the moil ufuridus ex- orbitancy was tolerated, till in fine even a fmall debt became the ground. work of an infolvency y and under fevere laws of credit, as neceffary in a commercial commonwealth, very many were at the mercy of their fellow citizens : it was a law, that the debtor whofe pecuniary means were infufBcient, was to repay the loan by corporal fervice ; but as the intereft of the debt was out of all proportion to the principal, well were it if a difcharge of that, and by the fevered fervitude could appeafe the taskmafter, and prevent other wanton, and yet legal exercife of his refentment. Under fuch circumftances ibme even of the mod wealthy,, but who. had avoided all ufurious practices, dreaded the croud of inftruments to tyranny, which others of their order kept in unremitting confinement, and which by peculiar favor or kind treatment, might be conciliated to any treachery or uturpation of their ambitious matters : joining with thole of the middle Hate, they fought to anticipate the danger by a new modulation of the common- wealth ; they united their efforts to influence the body of the people ; the wifdom and virtues of Solon had rendered him eminently confpicu-
ous^
[ 37 J
ous*, and not (as ufual) by ballot, but by ge- neral fuffrage, he was declared Archon and law- giver.
Solon being afked — " how injury, or injustice, '" might be forbad a place in human fociety ?" — Anfwered — by teaching all to feel the injuries done to each : — to fix fuch focial intereft, fuch reciprocal philanthropy on inftitution ; — to di- rect equally the hopes and fears, equally the reafon and pafiions of all— to the fame object, to the fecurity of all — in a word, wifely to pro- fit of the connexion of felf-love and focial, and by making each man a citizen, to make each citien a patriot, feems to have been the great object in yiew throughout the legiQation of Solon.
In the body of the whole people he placed the ultimate authority of debate, for the inte- refls of the whole were concerned in the deck fion : in the order of patricians he centered the executive power, for a liberal education and independence he deemed rtquifite to office, and their diilinction might, give authority to the dilcharge of it.
To the nobles he confined the court called Areopagus, and beftowed on it every honor and dignity : to equiponderate the balance, he
on
[ 3§ ]
on the other fide constituted a fcnare annually to be chofen from the feveral tribes ; and in this, were reiident the greater povver and authority : All matters previous to a reference to the peo- ple were herein propofed, argued, and explain- ed ; and rejected or dreft out for public debate, as mould feem moll fitting and falutary.
As the Areopagus was campofed only of the moil eminent of the nobles, — of fuch. as had gone the Archonfhip with credit and applaufe ; fo the fenate was to be a compound of the beft men of the whole community ; the candidates lives were ftrictiy examined into by the guar- dians of their refpective tribes, and then again previous to the ballot they were to be approved of by the Archons : under fuch precautions the reader will obferve that the ballot, far from being a ridiculous mode of forming the magiftra- ture, preferred impartiality in the ftate, gave difcontent the colour of irreligion, and to every virtuous and fenfible citizen, and to only fuch, opened a claim to office, and a probability of fuccefs.
It was the prstorfhip and other powers which in after-times were given by fuffrage, and not thofe drawn by lot, which proved ruinous to the republic.
As
I 39 1
As the voice of the fenate might be fuppofed for the molt part to have fufficient weight with the people to influence their refolutions, each meaner denizon might feem too little inte- terefted in, and as it were, eitranged from the commonwealth^ in order there into give him -a fclf-confequence by public occupation, a judi- cial capacity was affignedto all whofe irreproach- able morals and conduct permitted the claim ; and their names were drawn by lots for the fe- veral juries in the different courts of judicature.
It was ever inculcated that office was not to be courted as giving power and afcendcncy ; — •its powers originated in and belonged only to the conilitution, and its duiies, and duties only, were confidered as properly belonging to the magistrate or minifter confided in: the more ftron^ly to inftill this idea, and to wipe the 'blot of inj uft ice too from this diftincYion, each man in office from the Archoh to the juryman, received a daily pay for his fer vices and atten- dance ; and thus too the poorer but good citi- zen, law not his family diftfeflcd from the fa- crifice of his private vocation to public duties.
Various were the laws framed more particular- ly to inculcate, that the ftate belonged to every .man, and every man to the fkte : the debtor's
eue&s
[ 4° ]
effects might be feized, but his perfon was fa- cred ; for his goods and chattels were private property, but hhnfelf belonged to the republic : exception was made in the diilraiu to imple- ments of hufbandry and art ; for idlenefc was at Athens a crime, and to admit crimes of neceftity were to fofler the moft abfurd paradox : in all civil and other cafes, the parties concerned mignt chufe their refpective advocates j but the advocate was to receive no emolument from his client, — every citizen was his brother, and he was to attend thanks, from their general parent, the commonwealth.
The happinefs of all was the object of Solon, and having provided for it by a wife and im- partial legation, he adopted other regulati- ons neceffary to the giving vigour and perpetu- ity to his fyftem.
It has been cbferved, that he reftricted the higher ofiices of truft to the patrician j — to fix the ftate on the felf-ccnfequence therein of each individual, he made the executive part in all cafes refponfible to the whole body of the people, for a due exercife of the truft repofed : nay, the very mover of a refolution in the aflembly, was liable to be fubfequently called to account for his mere proportion ; and thence the artful and
interefted
[ 4i 3
interefted man feared to prevail himfelf of an un- guarded moment of paffion or prejudice, to in- fluence the populace to decrees of partial ten- dency, or inconducive to the common welfare : an entrance into the higher order too, was by no means precluded to thofe of the lower clafs, for the qualification was a particular and fixed revenue ; and herein hope (ever of more active influence than poffeffion) found new caufe of at- tachment to the republic, and commerce re- joiced in new incentives to induftry.
To prevent confpiracies of the difcontented or factious, the numbers of guefts at feafts and entertainments were limited ; and every where there was free accefs to the public cenfors : if any commotion occurred, neutrality was fub- jeul to fuch fevere and heavy penalties, that action feemed eligible even to the timid and thus all being concerned, any particular combination might the more readily be crufhed and the ftate recoil into its priftine conftitution. It belongs not to this comment to particu- larize his private laws ; — how much they were venerated by antiquity fcarcely an author of note but bears witnefs to ! Cicero is a very en- thufiaft when he fpeaks of this great legiflator j Livy tells us, that when Pofthumius and others
were
r ♦* ]
'were fent into Greece by the decemvir?, they were ordered — " indytas leges Solonis deicribere, ediarum Gracite civitatum inftituta, mores, ja- t-aqiie nofcere :" And Tacitus having enumerated ether great lawgivers, proceeds in climax to — •Qusefitiores leges Salcms.
Scarcely had the fyftem of Solon taken place when the -usurpation of Pififtratus fruftrated his views by a new eflablidiing the kingly govern- ment:.
How blind is mani how dark feem the paths through which a beneficent providence often ■conducts him to fuccefs ! whilft we perufe the innumerable examples upon record, of flight misfortune conducing to much profperity •, — of the miferies which i-n the lives of many have unforefeenly proved agents to their fuperior happinefs ; — of Hates elevated to grandeur thro' the improbable means of depreflion : — we ought not in the apparently evil fituation of ourfeives or country, to cherifh our defpondency by lpe- cious calculation and prefumptuous forefight, but rather look up to the divine will in thank- iulnefs — Quod liccat fperare, timentil
It was fcarcely poffible that the habitudes of fervitude and command fhould luddeniy be era- dicated ; and private difcontent was more likely
to
[ 43 ]
to find frefh plea for faction, than to be quieted by new arrangements : injuries take deeper root than benefits ; the few were likely to remember the lofs, and the number to be carelefs of the gift : in fine, it was not probable that order mould fo quickly be eftablimed amongft a peo- ple corrupt and at variance ; the more perfect: the fyftem, the lefs conftant adherence thereto was to be expected from the anarchy of indo- lence, avarice, fervility and ambition.
// ivas the ufurpation of Pijiftratus that pre- pared a Jirong and adequate foundation for the commonwealth of Solon.
Pififtratus was the beft of kings, and by his authority enforcing due obfervance of the pri- vate and fome other inftitutions of Solon, he taught the great lawgiver's name gradually to be revered •, till arrived at a proper maturity, the ftate profited of an opportunity of innova- tion, to firmly eftablifh the whole body of laws, and the constitution fo wifely calculated to ren- der them an happy and free people
£ H A P
[ 44 ]
CHAP. VI.
nr^HE ready acquiefcence of the ploutocracy ■*■ in the legiflation or Solon, could not pro- ceed but from the impoffibility of immediate re- finance to a meafure they did not expect, and therefore were not provided to oppofe.
The remiffion of debts ; the diminution of their power; their previous life of cruelty and injuitice, which no act of amnefty could cancel in the book of conscience, however it might pre- clude public punifhment or private infult ; — all thefe, and many other circumilances gave birth to conflicting paftions of various bent and force, but all pufhing to the fubverfion of a govern- ment, fo obnoxious to the prior habits of vice and tyranny.
The manifold dhTentients of neceflity formed a coalition, and had it not been for the more foaring ambition of fome of the party, again had the (late recoiled into all the evils of its tyran- nous
[ 4* }
nous ariftocracy : Lycurgus and Megacles, two of the mofl powerful and opulent of the rank of nobles, headed each their refpective parties in contention for the fupreme power ; when Pifif- tratus artfully feized the regal prize from between the unwary competitors.
Of all the paths to ufurpation the mofl ready ] is through the favor of the poorer clafs ; their numbers are at once greater, and no individual intereft therein is of fufficient moment to break the combination : their intellect being confined to narrower limits, its feat and bent is the more eafily di (covered by the artful orator ; and of nearly equal force and tenor throughout the lift of individuals, he is not at the pains offearching for and joining the varieties of reaibning fuited to different tempers and minds ; and thus is his tafk Ids difficult -, and as his art is lefs necefTary, his fallacy is lefs obvious : The paffions too of the multitude are eafily awakened, and undirect- ed by penetration to diftant objects are content- ed to Sympathize with thofe before them, and thus readily are they worked upon by the well- acle.i part of the deiigning demagogue.
Quintilian feems defirous in his delineation of a perfect orator, of entering into competition
with
r 46 3
with the wifeman of the ftoics, by crouding lfe to the catalogue of accompliihmenis every vir- tue and every talent: perhaps Pififtratus approxi- mated ihe exalted character nearer than any of antiquity ; Cicero calls him the Prince of Gre- cian eloquence, and prefers his powers of fpeak- ing to thofe of Solon ; his wifdom was efteem- ed fuel), that his name was added to the lift of fages of Greece ; Gellius tells us he was the firft that inftituted a public library •, and when we re- member the liberal arts, let us remember, it was perhaps tothe erudition and care of Pifittratus that we owe the prefent exigence of the Iliad : as a man and as a citizen we have the great law-giv- er's own affent to his poffefling the virtues of ei- ther in fo eminent a degree, as to leave no room for cenfure except of his ambition to be fupreme; and when vdted with the fupreme power, his con- duct was fo moderate, and his regulations fo juft and wife, that each acrimonious reproof of the fame Solon, iliil concludes with the conftiuon, that he is yet the bell of kings.
Solon was much indebted to him for every mark of private friemifhip ; and his character as a legislator, owed not lefs to him on the fecre of public honor and veneration ; for Pififtratus not
only
E 47 1
only adopted and enforced his laws, but recon> mended them too by the mod condefcending ex- ample, elevating the dignity of the Areopagus by his own public homage and fubmiGion to- its authority.
Pififtratus was well aprized that habits of power are not readily foregone, and he accord- ingly banifned the chief of the Ariftocracy from the city : he well knew that the idle would be meddling and tumultuous, and therefore necefil- tated every denizon to fome trade or occupation; but as he likewife forefaw that commerce was not to be foftered but by a fpirit of equality, and national freedom incompatible with his views of government, he directed the attention and induf- cry of his fubjects to as yet much neglected agri- culture.— Perhaps too he had the penetration to judge the career of the Athenians to have been hitherto, too hafty ; and remanded them to their primitive occupation, as net being yet fufficient- ly mature, — to grace injustice with policy, to a- «lorn corruption wirh elegance, and to clothe, as it were, the nakednefs of vice.
Pififtratus underwent many reverfes of for- tune, but the vicifiltudes of his power not being fiifEciently particularized by any hiftorian to
give
[ 48 ]
give—« thefpirit of charafier or event," the Hat- ing of the mere outfide facts comes not within the purpofe of this comment.
Were we acquainted with a minute detail rela- tive to Megacles' conneding himfelf with his competitor Lycurgus, to expel their common enemy > his recal of that enemy to worft his prior opponent j the fecond expulfion of Pififtra- tus to gratify family refentment, and again his refumption of the regal feat,— had we (I fay) * juft and particular account of each fact and a- gent of this wondrous little hiftory •,— fo many paffions, fomany arts of political intrigue might be found to center in it, that perhaps would it merit not a chapter but a volume I
As much virtue, and as much wifdom have often been employed to effect a purpofe in com- mon life, as to manage a minifterial bufincfs ; and the memoirs of one whofe hours are chec- quered with the functions and difficulties of at once a public and private ftation, moft juftly en- gage the avidity of the reader : how much then would his attention be fixed to the intending. leffon of a whole commonweal, repeatedly waver- ing to domeftic incidents, and public and pri- vate, interefts reciprocally influencing, and de- pending on, the one the other I
CHAP,
[ 49 3
CHAP. VII.
QO firmly had Pififtratus eflablifhed the king- ^ ly power, that on his deceafe, without com- motion it peaceably defcended to his children ; and happily for Athens they were not lefs heirs to their father's virtues and wifdom, than to his throne.
Whatever might be the participation in go- vernment bequeath'd to the other brothers, ilill fuperiority of merit as well as the rights of elder- hood, placed the chief authority in Hipparchus ; •who having under fuch a preceptor as Pififtratus imbib'd an early taftefor the polite arts, purfued them through every branch of the mechanic to the more liberal, and to the molt exalted : he planted and waled in the Acidemia for the ufe and difquifuions of the philofopher : he enlarged and emended the compilation of Homer's rhap- fodies undertaken by his father j and to awaken new emulation among the Mules, his patronage was held forth to every fervant of Parnafius ; — E and
t 50 3
and Simonides and Anacreon were his friends r the city was a great part rebuilt and every where adorned under his infpection •, and as the pro- grefs of art difplayed kfelf in the beauteous ap- pearance of Athens, fo equally did fcience Ihow its influence in the polilhed demeanor of the A- thenians.
An eccentric genius hath contended that a de- licate and highly finifhed civilization is equally deftructive to the virtues, and to the happinefs of mankind j and that a life of inftinc~t were prefer- able to the fomuch-boafted acquifitions of focie- ty : without entering into the trite arguments re- lative to a ftat-e of nature, let me obferve, that improveability being one diftinguifhing quality of man, it not only indicates that this fanciful fyftem of ignorance is to the' lad degree paradoxi- cal, but implies too, the intention of the creat- ing and fuperintending being,, to fix the happi- nefs of man in the activity of his faculties ; and furely it is in polifhed fociety, that the exercife of them may be pufhed to the greateft extent and variety, and be attended with the leaft dan- ger and inconvenience : The polite world in the courfe of its refinements hath adopted a certain though indefinable code for familiar conduct, which without faying how far thou may ft go,
tells
[ 5i 1
tells thee when thou art to go no further ; and thus without taking vivacity from difcourfe, or argument from debate, conciliates the intetcourie of man with man by a reciprocal and prefcrip^ tive condefcenfion j and to the modern cynic lee me remark, that from deficiency of fuch rules deducted from poliihed humanity, many centu- ries even of our own sera have been blackened with fuch extravagancies of vice and cruelty, as thofe of a more liberal age would Ihudder at the mere recital of.
Can we fuppofe, when from the "catalogue of emperors and kings, fo many are to be felected who began their reign with juftice, and clos'd it in tyranny. — Can we fuppofe, that for years they artfully concealed their depravity, and from the firft internally acknowledged the immoral ten- dencies which covered their future days with (hame and ruin ? — Rather am I inclined to be- lieve, that the plenitude of power hath been the firft caufe of corruption, — that the moll virtuous of defpots have at fome finifter hour unwarily learn'd to admit adulation, thence to deduct ar- rogance, and thence, (whilft they no longer duly poized the fcale of relative duties and merits) unfeelingly to regard the wrongs or miferies of thofc imploring their juftice or beneficence.
E 2 Hip-
Hipparchus was of the number whofe virtues ceded to the baneful influence of unbounded power ; from a vain attempt to corrupt the mo- rals of Harmodius, he directed his attack to the chaftity of the young man's filter •, the youth in- Ifiamed with rage at the repeated infult, told his ftory, and declared his defues of vengeance to his preceptor Ariftogeiton-, Ariftogeiton fympathized in his pupil's juft re'fentments, and with ardor joined in a confpiracy to affaflinate Hipparchus. We are informed that Hipparchus three days previous to his death, faw a vifion which fore- told hi'm the confequences of his injuftice: is it "to be wondered at7 that remorfe found a fpectre for a tyrant •,— or that an evil confeience fliould Hart at a lhadow, and lend its fears the fpirit of prophecy ! — -verahe bac affirmare turn auftnt, in- 'tereji tamen exempli ut vera videantur !
Harmodius fell an immediate victim 'to his re- venge ; Ariftogeiton was feized and referved for* the fentence of Hippias, brother and fucceffor to the deceafed king : to every queftion, even when on the rack, he anfwered with the moil deter- mined fortitude ; and 'being afked by the incenf- ed monarch the names of his accomplices in the confpiracy, he directed his revenge to the moil faithful adherents of the tyrant, and by firmly
and
( 53 ]
«nd invariably recording his deareft inmates in the accufation, blackened every future hour with horror and fufpicion.
The connexion of Ariftoge-ton and Harmodi- us, of the old man and the young, or (as the Greeks termed them) of the lover and the be- loved, is fo well known, and yet has been fo often and fo much mifconflrued, that a fhort digreflion on the fubject may not be improper to this eiTay. That fuch connexions were uni- verfally in practice we have the authority of all antiquity to prove : in many the moil virtuous ftates, and particularly in Sparta, it was infa- mous for a youth not to be the object of affecti- on to fome one of maturer age j and yet iElian tells us that — " if fuch interccurfe were polluted with ought of criminality, exile and even death were the penalties of the offence : but had we not this and many other authorities for the purity of thefe attachments -, — were we not told of the chaite predilection of Socrates for Alcibiades, and of many other great men for feme young pupil or follower — can y/c fuppofe (and fome have fup- pofed) that thefe fiiendfhips were {till fullied with immorality •, — and that mere cuilom in a word could univerfally give the moll horrid and
dif-
[ 5+ 1
difguftful vice a preference over the deareft and mofb neceffary inftinct of nature ?
I am perfuaded that the prohibition of the ufe of boys to flaves, merely alluded to the particu- lar but pure amity above defcribed, and was founded on the too great advantages enfuing fuch corrdpondence — advantages of inftrudion and liberal document, which the young domeftic could imbibe, but to the prejudice of that humi- lity fo neceffary to fervkude, in a ftate wherein the flaves fo much out-number'd the citizens.
' — To them and their advancement what a happy futurity was in view, whilft each younger denizon was inftructed by the conduct and coun- fels of fome adopted father, who was to inftil into him the love of virtue and of his country, and then blefs his work, and exultingly live over again in the public and moral merits of his puT pil !
Nothing more conduces to vice than the too general commerce of the young with the youno- • reafbn in fuch fociety is deafened by clamour, loft in impetuofity, or fubdued by paflion j nor doth it refift the ufnrpaticn whilft in example it finds a ready palliative to the fufferance : but the intercourfe cf thofe of different times of life;
{ 5S ]
meliorates the chara&ers of either, tempering the morofenels of age and the petulance of youth.
That thefe very intimate connexions were fometimes of vicious tendency, may be allowed; but the contamination mould be confidered in the light of exception, and not of general and approved practice.
CHAP.
[ 56 ]
CHAP. VIII.
A S the conduct of the two former kings had ■ *• ferved to promote a love of order and a habit of polifhed demeanor, calculated to obvi- ate all oanger of licencioufnefs or anarchy fhould a ftate of liberty enfue ; fo did the odious tyran-. ny of their fucceffor make that liberty the dar- ling wifh of eyery Athenian.
Incenfed at the death of his brother, and a-f larmed at the informations of /Yriftogeiton, Hip- pias mowed vengeance the bloodieft paths of cruelty, and as fuipicion found him objects, re- morie envenom'd, and pra&ice hardened his mind to a familiarity with the horrideft fcenes of maffacre and oppreflion.
His iubjects were vexed with new and accu- mulating impofts, and every man's mereft com- petency was drained, and his nectfiitiespoftponed, to the luxuries and excefs of a vicious court; whilft each nobie, eminent for wealth or meritj hourly was in danger of falling a victim to the fears of the defpot, or to the avarice of his ad^
herents :
[ 57 3
Hcrents: many under fuch circumftances volun* tarily left their native country, and many were driven into banifhment to pamper the creatures of the palace with confiscations.
Every pafTion united to urge thefe exiles to a recovery of their loft fortunes and country ; and! a connexion of one of the prefcribed families with the Pythian prieftefs happily fuggefted the means of fuccefs : this minifler of the oracle at their inftigation interefted the Lacedaemonians in the enfrarichifement of their city ; conftantly replying to their every demand with the previ- ous jnj unci ion to deliver Athens from the tyran- ny. Whether from the ambitious defire of fome pretence to get footing on the other fide the ifth- mus, or other political, or perhaps really religi- ous, motive, the Spartans readily promifed the afliftance required, and fent an armament ('but of fmall force) which was worfted by Hippias and his auxiliaries.
No longer was the contention directed by the meek efforts of generous Piety ;— national pride was concerned j-r-the Spartans felt the indignity of the repulfe, and to efface all memory of the defeat, repeated the attack with redoubled force and fent their king Cleomenes to head, and cn-
furc
[ ss ]
fare fucccfs to the expedition. Fortunately they intercepted the children and family of Hippias attempting to evade the dangers of the fiege, nor would they deliver up thefe precious hoftao-es to the king, but on the condition of his immedi- ately giving up the citadel and abdicating the fovereignty. Thus was Athens freed from the ufnrping family of Pififtratus.
Clifthenes, who was a chief agent in the revo- lution, gained great credit thereby with his coun- trymen; and on his return rivetting the affections of his fellow- citizens by a fpecious difplay of moderation and ability, his influence over the people became fo great, that his virtue was daz- zled with the glaring and open profpeft of pow- er ; and he no longer faw, that not to abuie a merited afcendency in a free ftate, was the no- bleft fame ; and the mod glorious object of am- bition to unite the command of one's-felf, with that over others : on ftretching his hand out to the fceptre, it however met a competitor for the orafp : Ifagoras revived the op pofition to the fa- mily of Megacles,of whom Clifthenes was a lineal flefcendant ; and on the faith of foreign affiflance he too put in a claim to the throne : during the prior expedition, the Spartan leader had been his ^ueft, and in ancient times fuch hofpitality was
eyer
C 59 ]
ever after, a plea for favor or afliftance, as ftrong as the feelings of a long and approved amity. Cleomenes gave a ready ear to the en- treaties of his hoft, and immediately turning his arms towards Athens, expelled Clifthenes and his party ; and having purfued them beyond the boundaries of the country, returned to matter the city, and model its conftitution and Hate to the will and pleafure of lfagoras ; but the Athe- nians had favoured the momentary tafte of li- berty, and were already become too high-mind- ed to tamely yield their necks to the yoke, they had fo lately fhaken off; indignant at the at- tempt, they generally accorded to reprefs the Spartan, and punifh the few unworthy citizens who had joined thefe foreigners, and who abet- ting the invafion of their newly recovered liber- ties, vilely had prefer'd the name of Partizan, to that of Patriot.
Cleomenes and his forces quickly gave way to the impetuous fpirit of newly acquired free- dom ; forced into the citadel, they for a while relied on the ftrength of the place, but at length the determinate valour and afliduity of the be- feigers enforced a capitulation : the Lacedaemo- nians were difmifTed in fafety ; but the Athenian delinquents were to a man put to death, — apror
puious
[ 6o ]
pitious facrifke to the afcendant day-ftar of
liberty! — —the example was efficacious:
Clifthenes returning from his fecond exile, coincided with the fpirit of his fellow citizens ; and with emulative ardour abetted the eftablifih- roent of the commonwealth of Solon.
Pore over each fyftem from the Stagyrites, to the politician's letter cf the day, ft ill cf every form of government you will obierve the demo- cratic to have met with the moil univerfal cen- fure; but perhaps it may be found, that thij difapprobation, general as it is, proceeds left from the faults of iuch republican conftitution than other latent caufe imperceptibly influencing its opponents.
The ariftocratie part of fociety feems to he the body of men of fuperiqr or cultivated in- tellccl:, and the argument falling of courfe r.9 their difquifition, the commonalty of mankind are not likely to be treated with a confideration di veiled of partiality or prejudice ;— — " thcfirjl builds on a confcious fuperiority over the mul- titude; and the fecond takes experience of its in- fuiHciency and incertitude as an equally found corner ftone for a flable and firm fuperftruc- ture :" Who (fays one of thefc monarchs of an eafy chair) — " who ought to govern, if not the
it chofen
[ 6. ]
m chofen few whofe rank and opulence have af-< " forded the means of education, whofe powers " of intelligence have been brought forth, and ** whole capacity unerring in felf-conduct, feems * fo fined to regulate that of others ? — Shall " tye rndifcriminateJy truft our fortunes to the " indigent, our honors to the mean, or tmr " private happinefs, and the public weal to " an ignorant multitude, whofe ears lead but to " their paffions, affording a ready road to the " rhetorical agent of domefbic treafons or of
" foreign interefts r" Soft, Soft, my good
Sir — you have built truly your fairy-caftle, and would now brutify each inhabitant of the domain with all the whimftcal feverity of a magician in a Romance! the intellects of mankind originally are of much nearer equality, than you are will- ing to fuppofe; — the diversities, whence you are about to deduce the argument of this fpe- cbus declamation, proceed from the eafualties around you j — to fuddenly form a democratic body of the heterogeneous mafs you have in view, were abfurd indeed •, but the abfurdity is the creature of your own brain : when you% again examine the merits of this form of go- vernment, candidly reject fuch milkauing pre-
mifes j
mifes ; confider a democracy when well regu- lated on ks beft principles, and well eftablifhed on the happieft practice;— —with equality of power, as far as policy Jhould concede, fuppofe equality of intellect as far as nature will admit, unaffifted by other afcititious advantages than fuch as are open to he whole people ; every ar- gument refpecting their infuffieiency will in fuch cafe fall to the ground, for thefe advantages are not lefs great than general : — may not a conftant attention to public affairs form the minds of many* as of one, to a verfatility and penetration fitted for all the variety and difficulties of bufi-
nefs ? Without being ftatefmen, may not
very many learn well to judge of ftatefmen ?
And this is all that is necefTary, for merit will have the means of forcing itfelf into office, through public notice and efteem j and on fuch ought its fole claim to reft.
But you talk of the fubferviency of a popular audience to every fallacy of an artful orator ! — and do you really then think that a multitude dailily accuftomed to ail the artifice and force of harangue, is to be clarTed with a modern croud, opening wide their eyes, and mouths too, to the declaimer, as if ignorant with which fenfe to receive the novel tafte of eloquence ? —
Pericles
[ 6; 1
Pericles truly pleads to the paflions ! — aye— td thofe of fame and public fpirit :— Demodhenes pleads to the paflions ! — he lived in the decline of the republic, yet con over his Olynthiacs or Philippics, and tell me if he hath attempted to roufe ought other emotion than of virtue and
patriotifm ! thefe in a learned and free Hate
(and a free (late will be a learned one,) are the only paflions at all times open to the orator; and touching thefe he had more nearly recalled the commonwealth to its fird energy and prin- ciples, than could have done any merely fyfte- matic debater.
Thrives not Hate opulence on commerce ? Public confeqnence and dignity on domeftic union ? — And that union on a fociality of fc\f- intered ? — and boads not a free rqmblic a fupe- rioriiy in thefe refpe&s over any other whatever?
A warm advocate for the liberties of mankind, ■—(liberties, which political inditution ought furely to medicate with the tendered hand, nor wantonly corrode or amputate) I may perhaps appear bold in afierting that a democracy in. the high prfettion of its eftablijhment, is the date the bed calculated for general happincfs, and Chat the true and good objection to ir, proceeds
not
t 64 3
not from the vices of fuch constitution, bu£ from the unavoidable brevity of its career.
The primary authority is refident in the many; but of force the executive power muft be dele- gated to the few : the firji is in the hands of the people, whofe will being once determined and promulgated, neceffity from day to day more rarely calls fur their interpofition ; the fe- cond entrufted to their agents, requires Unre- mitted exertion ; as the one power becomes dormant, the latter encreafes in vigilance ; till at length the importance of the ftate yields to the confequence of private men, and the fer- vant of the public directs the legiflation he fhould obey, whilft the individual reaping in- fluence from the magiftracy, reciprocally com- municates that .afcendancy to his office : thus gradually the conftitutional balance is loft, and the commonwealth, whatever of its laws or exterior forms it may for a while retain, hath quickly deviated from the equal and free fpirit which charadterifed the original inftitution -9 which at once gave to the date moderation and force, at once enfured to the community peace and virtue at home, and confequence and vic- tory abroad.
Machiavel
[ <55 ]
Muchiavel obferves in the firft chapter of the third book of his difcourfes, that the moft .per- fect political arrangement is that which hath fomething in its efTence fitted to obviate the dif- lblucion of the Itate, by occafionally recalling it to the firft principles of its inftitution : of this advantage a democracy feems incapable.
When once fuch ftate is affected, the difeafe is not in the head that plans, or heart that
wills, or hand that executes •, the whole mafs
is generally difordered, nor is there a found part through which the blood may return in a purer ftate to medicate the more corrupted : The pef- tilence fpreads through the whole body at once, and with that progreffive and fure venom per- vades to the very vitals of the conftitution, that
to attempt a cure were vain; to ward off the
infection, or to obviate antidotes to the firft poifon of it, may not be fo forlorn a hope. In a mo- narchy it is from the vitiated morals of its con- ftituents that government becomes infected : in a democracy the diforder originates in govern- ment i for the pcop^e muft become idle to be- come vicious i and muft firft lofe attention to the commonwealth, to have leifure for diffolutencfs and ruin in their private capacities.
F Knowin
I 66 ]
Knowing then to what evil, and to what par£ the preventative mould be directed, is there a panacea of fufficient efficacy to enfure fuccefs ? Surely not ! — perhaps the mod promifing was the fpecies of exile adopted in various republics of yore:— —the petalifm of Argos and Syracufe, the oftracifm of Athens.
What ingratitude to profcribe the virtue that hath long labored for the public weal ! — what folly to banifh the man whofe abilities may be as they have been, the fupport of the (rate ! what ill-policy, to fend to foreign climes at once fo ufeful a friend, and fo dangerous an enemy? - -Such are the objections which occur on the immediate and firft view of the fubj.ee>, but they muft as quickly yield to the ftronger reafens in favor of the institution.
It from time to time fnatched a dangerous prop from their affairs, and bade the people awaker* to their own fupport and welfare ; it made men wary- of preheminence, and often taking fomewhat from the evergrowing matter of the executive fcaic, anew balanced the common- wealth.
Public protection implies particular fubmif- fion, and he who fubferibes to fixed ordinances' or iaws^ by iceking iecurity under their fhelter,
[ 67 3
hath no right to deprecate their penalties or pre- cautions.
No character in a free and equal community can be of fufficient eminence to fuperfede the. interells of the (late, without danger that at iome finifter period, thole interefts may be fa- cririced to fome partial or ielf-confideration : in as much as the whole outweighs the part, it is proper therefore to nave the maxim ever in view, — " that particular fliould cede to general welfare ; and that an individual pays but ajuft debt to his country, were even life *he demand."
But it is hot the feceflion of the old ftatefman or experienced veteran, fraught with politics and difcipline, a lofs to his country ; and per- haps its enemy ?
With refpecl: to the pretended ability and knowledge, the fuperiority is more dangerous than ufeful •, in a wholefome republic (and we are not now talking of on. already corrupted) a found and plain underftanding is the mofl: faithful, and furely an adequate, guide in the ftrai^htroad of virtuous adminiftrationv and who- ever talks of the neccflarily difficult and crooked paths of government, is to be fufpecled of mean- ing treachery on the way, and is to be guarded againlt, as oncdefnous of bewildering thofe he F 2 is
[ 68 ]
i*5 hired to direct -, that his infufficiency may be- efs apparent, or treafons more fecure. ' That the oftracifm might appear to fome, and might fometimes be an unmerited perfecution j — and that, in the bitternefs of refentment and dif- guft, an alienation of good-will, might attend a good man on his departure from the common- wealth, was indeed to be apprehended : every circumftance was ftadied therefore to mitigate the evil, property was prefer ved and remitted during the banifhment, its time was limited, and the very exilfr was hone*.
CHAP'
[ «9 ]
CHAP. IX.
rT,HE diftinctions or authorities on which * man founds his claim to dominion over other creatures were of little moment, had he not the means of enforcing fubjection and obe- dience : for this power he relies nor on the firm texture of bone or of finew ; his ftrength de- pends not on the frame of his body, but on the etherial fpirit which animates it, — on free voli- tion exercifing intellect, and reciprocally intel- lect tutoring choice, till from the joint activity refult force of thought, ingenuity, forefight, and courage which is no other than felf-confi- dence deduced from the prior acquifitions.
The more the mind is practifed in this inter- nal or home-education, the more varieties
are left to its deliberation and to its choice, the more elevated and perfect will it become ; and the greater fuperiority will it give over all other animals, whofe faculties being confined to fixed and particular limits, are not able to cope with thofe who indefinitely can encreafe their own,
or
[ 7° J
or command extraneous forces to mailer in con- tention, or affert in fovereignty
The fame circumftances which diftinguifl} man, and make all other creatures abject (laves to his appetite and pleasures, occafion too a difference in the fame fpecies ; and relatively elevate or abafe an individual, and even a whole people in proportion as mental advantages fhall have been their relpecYive lot.
In a defpotic government, fuppofing even the adminiftration to be juft and wife, ftill rauft an inferiority in the point alluded to, be unavoid- able •, whilft the higher clafs grow enervate in over-abundance, and the poorer multitude are deprefled to a mere communion with the glebe ; the minds of this fociety cannot improve by the whoiefome education of general exigency work- ing with general liberty-, and long as the fuc- cefs of the number refts on the quality of its conftituents, the Tartar will dethrone the Chi- nefe, the favage will conquer the peafant, the freeman the Dave.
As the genius and fpirit of men become tor- pid or loft, as it were, under the uncontrolable command of one, it is natural to fuppofe that an oppofite arrangement will be of ufe to them, and that they will become fuperior by affociat-
mg
r 71 i
mg in fuch a manner, as leaft to coerce the freedom of will, or hebetate by difufe the pow- ers of mind in each individual ; and a re- public will moft effectually anfwer this impor- tant purpofe, the conftitution of which favors the equality and independance of each, as far as may be compatible with the fafety and union of all j of this let the Athenians be my exam* pie : " They, (fays Herodotus) when under the *4 controul of their kings, were of no account in " the eye of Greece, but immediately on the " difiblution of the tyranny, they became great, w and by far greater, than the people which *' had hitherto held them in fo little eftima- " tion."
It may perhaps be obferved, that this change looks too fudden to agree with the previous theory-, — that the Athenians feem rather in- fpired than taught ; — rather elevated by fome inftantaneous, than chronical advantage ; for they appear to have anticipated all the progref- five wiiUom of council, on the firft emergen- cy •, and all the energy of action in their firft enterprize : let it be remembered, that this people had been meliorated by vicifiitude, and the fa- lutary lefTon of tranlient evil, rather than be- ntifribed by the oppreftions of a long tyranny ;
that,
[ 7* ]
that, fome were even fufficiently aged to remem- ber the prior times of liberty, and joyfully ac- knowledge the ftar which brightened the even- ing of their day, to have been the fame which gave glory to its birth ; — many had pafTed in exile the interval of ufurpation ; and all had fome particle of the fpirit of their fore-fathers yet left; — fome tale to tell of the miferies of flavery, and of the bicflings of freedom ; — fome hereditary reafoning on private rights and pub- blic duties. To this be it added, that the firft outfet of a republic is ever marked with pecu- liar force and vigour :— as the limbs newly- unmackled, fo the mind liberated from the weight of imperious coercion, fprings with frefli elasticity and ardour to every object of activity : the people look up to their new compact ; the fentiment precedes the principles of freemen ; and they firft fupport, they know not why, what they afterwards find every reafon to fupport : the fpark of patriotifm firft catches, or rather electrically pervades the whole band, nor pre- maturely fails till progreflive virtue and wif- dom give it fubftance to feed on, and extend itfelf.
The Spartans when they liflened to the advice of the oracle and freed Athens from the defpo-
tifm
[ 73 I
tlfm of the family of Pififtratus, perhaps acted from religion •, or perhaps, and more probably were influenced by fome political motive : That felfifh (late (for felfifli we (hall find it throughout the whole courle of Grecian Hiftory) was never actuated by principles of philanthropy or fatisfi- ed with the fentiment of difinterefted protection ! It is to be prefumed that fome error in policy occafioned their ready compliance with the in- junctions of the Pythian prieftefs ; for foon as they faw the tendency of the exploit, — foon as they found that freedom was a gift incompatible with retribution, — that this fingular prefent placed the obliged at a diftance from the donor, and admitted not of the vulgar forms of fubmif- five acknowledgment, — They repented them of the hafty interpofition, and of having adopted a meafure, which, they too late perceived, inftead of rendering the Athenian people fubordinate, from gratitude to them ; or weak, from divifi- ons among themfelves ; — had raifed a fpirit of union and felf-confidence which portended rival- (hip of character and dominion : and be it re- marked, that when Cleomenes again unmeath'd the fword, no reverence of the will of Heaven withheld his hand from annoying the people he had been ordered to fuccour and fave:-- thus quick-
[ 74 ]
. ly a^. Lacedasmon feems the happy age to have panned over, when (in the words of Livy) — *c nondum h<£cy qu<e nunc tenet fecu'um negligentla deum venerat, nee inlerpretando fibi quifque jusju- randum et leges apt as faciebat, fed fuos potius mores ad ea accomodabat /"
The Athenians Caw and prepared for the im- pending ftorm •, every where they fought aflift- ance, and even fent to the Perfian to proffer their friendfhip and alliance, and afk an honourable and free fupport in this their diftrefs : the king queftioned with furprife the minifters of this new people, and finally obferved that it became them better to talk of homage, than of equal amity, before the Lord of Afia ; — that he might be in- duced to protect them as fervants, but could not deign to ferve them as allies : the ambaffadors unwarily condefcended to promife — " earth and water, the " abject acknowledgment required ; but on their return to Athens their conduct was cenfureci, and the terms of afiiftance unanimouf- ly rejected.
The Basotians had now penetrated into Attica on one fide ; the Chalcidenfes were depopulating the coafts ; and the Spartan army compofed of the chief youth of the flate, and infpirited by the preience of their two kings, had pafs'd thelft-
mu$.
[ 7S 1
mus. The Athenians contemning a merely de- fenfive part, march'd from their city, and pre- pared to aflanlt the enemy with vigour : the numbers, difcipline, and valour of the Spartans demanded their firft attention, and to them they directed their firft onfet. The Spartans awaited not the attack : their kings Cleomenes and De- maratus differing with refpect to the invafion, •or to the conduct of it, the diffenfion fo infected the whole army, that it was not thought expedi- ent in this divided ftate to truft a battle • and they, and their allies precipitately withdrew to their refpective homes ; and left the Athenians at liberty to repel the Baeotians and attack Chalcis, both of which expeditions were crowned with fuccefs, and Athens grew up in renown and con- sequence.
CHAP
t 76 ]
CHAP. X.
CIVIL Liberty confifts in the fecure poftefll- on of a particular ftation and property, not to be affected but by the diflblution of the flate which afcertains and enfures them : when a form of government circumfcribes the latitude of conceflion to its fubje&s of equal rights and participation, — civil liberty is confined \ when its policy and laws are inadequate to regular admi- niftration, — civil liberty is insecure : the preten- tions of a juft and wife legiflation are fo to mo- dulate its force and its fecurity; and £0 to pro- vide for general eafe and happinefs, as to leave as little controul for the free-fpirited, and as little licentioufnefs for the man of a quiet and homely turn, to make the fubjecl: of anxiety, — as are compatible with each other, and as abiblute ne- cefllty requires.
Men of an improved genius and capacity will yet fometimes pufh their idea of polity to a re- finement, calculated to difguft them with any inftitution they may be born fubject to ; and
men
[ 77 I
men too in the extremities of an hot and active^ or of a peaceable and domeftic fpirit, will find wherewithal to colour their fituation with difcon- tent, and deprecate the controul of government or licentioufnefs of the people, refpectively as. they are fitted for enterprize or quiet, — for the forum of Rome, or farm at Tibur.
It is certain that no diffatisfaclion with the conftitution of his country, can authorife an in- dividual to plot an innovation, ever pregnant with danger to the whole community ; and that the neceffity muft be very obvious and prelfing, — and the authority of very many muft afient, to make any plea for commotion good and adequate.
But happinefs, it will be faid, is the great end of all political ordonnance or arrangement ; — that ftates may not be of the beft inftitution, that even thofe of the beft may have deviated from their firft principle; and furely it is equally hard for a polifhed and wife man to be aggrieved by the errors of a favage anceftor; or to ftand with his head under a ruin, becaufe in a better ftate it had been a comfortable habitation to his fore- fathers. This realbning will have weight in eve- ry country which permits not a free egrefs from its dominion ; where luch migration is reftricled, the canon is unjuft, and agrees not with the
great
[ 7« ]
great axiom — " Lex eft fumma ratio" — for reafori favors the contentment and good of each , when it interferes not with that of any.
That a body of men may leave their native country, and that fo doing they withdraw them- felves from the parent date, its protection and its powers, I think qUeftions fo infeparable, that had not a contrary mode of reafoning been of late much and often enforced, — I mould iuppofe the argument too obvious to neceflltate the de- tail : afTuredly thofe who depart on a conditional expedition, as they are benefited, fo are they ob- ligated by the conditions thereof j but the vo- luntary exile who feeks refuge in the ftorms of- the ocean, and trofts his body to foreign climates' and exotic diet ; who forgoes the delights of ha- bit, and fweets of long connexion, who flies from fo many attachments to fo much danger,— flies not from diflike to his paternal glebe or pri- vate fociality, — it is from fuppofed or real griev- ance of fubjection that he efcapes, and if the imperious rule is to purfue him to his retreat, the permiflion to quit the Ihore is at beft trivial and infuking.
The Colony embarking for a region of fixed and regulated fociety, of courfe muft acquiefce in the previous compact 3 but landing on a yet un*
ap-
[ 79 3
appropriated fpot, have furely as juft a right to adopt the iyitem of affociation, their prejudices or wifdo'm may fugged.
This was the reafonir-g of old, and was fup- ported by the demeanor of the ancient repuplics towards the various fettlements formed in difcant parrs by their diftgufted or necefiitous citizens ; for neceffity, or from over-popniation or from other cafuakies incident to fociety, might often and perhaps mod frequently occafion many to feck other fortunes and another country. On the motives of quitting the original people, de- pended their fuccefilve favor and partial protec- tion (for that partiality may actuate and attach very large and removed foe-die?, this, and in confutation of Dr. Price every hktory will evince) —and the Colony had a conditionally refpected plea for the tender and gratuitous interference of the mother-country, in all caics of exigency and danger.
The cities of Ionia had been conquered and annexed by Craefus to the kingdom of Lydia, and with Lydia fell into the hands of the Per- fian : (till however they remembered them of their origin, and the commonwealths of their parent Greece newly liberated from their ieveral dy nafties, inftilled a'fentiment of emulation and
in-
t 80 )
indignant fhame, which at a favourable crifis- might have given birth to a revolution. Milti- ades of Athens who had newly thence led a Co- Jony to the Cherfonefe, judged that crifis to be arrived : — Darius with all the chiefs and beft youth of Afia were employed in the conqueft of Scythia •, to facilitate the expedition, with great labor and art a bridge had been erTe&ed over the Danube, and thither the army was now directing its retreat from the fnows and famine of the North : the pafs was guarded but by a fmall de- tachment, and Mikiades propofed to the chiefs of the Greek fettlements, to mafter the guard, and then breaking do#n the bridge, to leave Da- rius and his troops to perim in the colds and dearth of Scythia ; and thus deftroying at once the tyrant and the inftrumems of his tyranny, at leifure to form fuch eftablimments as were confo- nant to their ideas of juftice, or claims to li- berty.
The ariftocracies and petty tyrants of this di- ftricl felt their private interefts clam with this hardy propofal •, and Hutiaeus of Miletus parti- cularly "remarking to his fellow-defpots — " that his and their authority ex'rfted but in fubordina- tion to the Perfian, and that nullifying the lieu- tenancy of his power, they gave up their own ;
—the
r 81 ]
— the fcheme of Miltiades met with general dis- approbation, and perceiving himfelf to be no longer of fervice to his own, or any other Colo- ny, he returned to a private fituation in his na- tive Athens.
He had however awaken'd the fpirit of the A- fiatic Greeks, and left them prone to revolt, whenever the opinion of their leaders fhould cede to the meafure; and foon they did cede from fac- tious and felfifh paffions, what they had denied to more generous and public views, and when the happy opportunity was paft, engaged in a conteft as difhonorable from motive as ruinous in confequence.
Ariftagoras, who moved by private interefh and disaffection had been the chief inftigator of the rebellion, recurred to Sparta for afiiftance •, but his declamation was ill-fuited to the iron af- fembly of Lacedaemon; an appeal to philanthro- py and the fentimental claims of a diftant affi- nity, a tale of diflrefs, and the confcience of a noble kindnefs, and difmterefted protection, were topics better fitted for an audience that refpected the fofter paffions of humanity : to Athens he next applied, and there was received with all honor, and hofpitality ; fuccour was unani- moufly voted, and quickly an armamenc of G twenty
[ 8-2 T
twenty fail was made ready to join the confede- rate forces : this exertion was the more glorious for Athens* as ihe was at that very period in ex- pectation of a powerful attack on her own peo- ple and country. Cleomenes nurtur'd a rooted enmity, nor yet forewent the idea of ruining the republic that had fo often worded and difgraced him : in hopes that fome partizans of Hippias might yet be found in Attica to give a treacher- ous welcome to his invafion, he purpofed making that tyrant the inftrument of his vengeance ; and inviting him to the Peloponnefe,. promifed to re- inflate him in the power, he had been the means of depriving him of : the Achseans and other al- lies of Sparta were however previoufly to be con. fulted j a congrefs was called, and the refult of the debate unexpectedly proving inimical to their defigns, o'erwhelmed the king and his protected fugitive with confufion and difappointment. Soficles of Corinth particularly inveighed againft the horrors and injultice of tyranny •, reproved the rancour of Cleomenesv and chid the La- cedaemonians for favouring a fyflem of oppref- fion in other countries, the eftablifhment of which, they fo well knew the evils of, and fo- well guarded againft at home ; and in fine pe- remptorily told them, they were not to expect,, that Corinth (whole delegate he was) would fur- ther
[ «3 ]
ther abett a fcheme of defpotifm which (in their own (late) too fatal experience had fully evinced was replete with danger and iniquity.
The other minifters coincided with the opinion of Soficles, and deaf to all menace or intercef- fion, returned peaceably to their refpecYive coun- tries.
Hippias fruftrated of his views of fuccour from the Peloponnefe, withdrew to Afia, and profiting of the refentment borne to the Athenians from the fupport given to the rebellious provin- ces, perfuaded the king to countenance his pre- tenfions to the goverment of Attica : it was at this time that the armament of the colonies at- tacked and burnt the city of Sardis, and Darius exafperated by the fuccefs, vow'd vengeance to the hardy interpofition of the Athenians, and gave readier ear to the proffers and entreaties of Hippias.
G a CHAP.
[ H I
CHAP. VIII.
~~"\/f AN is^ut what he knows— {&]*> my ■V** Lord Vefularn; the extent then of his knowledge is that of his excellence, to the attainment of which opportunities of acquifition muft coincide with the capacity thereof, and it is not alone the primary circumftances of birth the peculiar rarenefs of the fpirits or quality of their channels, or what elfe to be acted on by climate or other natural cafualty, that can fingly elevate the human character, but a- further and more refined combination of influences is requi- fice ; — of influences originating not from the ma- terial but mental world, not from the tempera- ture of foil or air, or even temperament of parents ;: —•but from the pre-eftabli(hed order of fociety,— the prefer! ptive objects of its ingenuity, fludy,. emulation, or eiieem. The advantages of coun- try in a phyfical fenfe, it will readily be granted are not alone equivalent to- thofe of country under the political purport of the word j it yet refts
for
[ §5 1
for confideration, — how far thefe may agr:e^F — Whether the vertical funs which (according to many ancient and modern fophifts) are fo fa- vorable to a finer texture of the brain, are not opprefilve to its further ftrength and energy ?-— ' Whether quicknefs is not incompatible with (la- bility ? — And as man is not fo much excellent from the gift of poficfling as from the faculty of acquiring, whether the retentive and progrefTive powers incident to rhofe born under lels brilliant ikies, give not in the courfe of time and things, a national fuperiority made and ftrengthened by gradual and improved accumulation, which the more vivacious children of the fun muft ever look up to in defpair ? — the moft etherial genius born to the community finding no previous com- mon ftock whence to draw inltruction, — no pre- vious bafis whereon to build or improve fytlcms for the ufe of, and to further again the progrefs of, pofterity i Avoiding a too long and digref- five train of reafoning, I leave it to the reader's ingenuity to leek, and fupply thefe queries with, a ready affirmative j — to deduct levity from fan- cy and ignorance from inaction, — to mark the paffions born of indolence Rifling reafon in its birth ; and then to acconnt, — why eaftern genius hath gleam'd in metaphor, and not fhone in po- em;
[ 86 ]
em ; — why fancied, and not thought in fcience ; — grafting the firft lhoots of knowledge, why
left it to others to mature the fruit; and
( touching home to the fubject ) to deve- lope why the people of Afia dreading the re- condite theories and active practice of republi- canifm, have ever fought, and do ftill feek fhelcer from the diflrefs of employ and pain of thought, under torpid fubmiffion to a defpot.
Throughout the annals of mankind, I know not a period more fully demonstrative of the in- fluence of government on men, and of clime on both, than the times of conteft between Greece and Perfia !
If hiftory is philofophy teaching by example, —never did fhe teach in a more nervous ftrain, a lefibn of contempt for tyranny, and of love and admiration of a ftate of freedom !
Darius needed not the flave's admonition who was ordered every morning and evening to re- member him of Athens; Hippias was a too vigilant incendiary to omit any occafion of mak- ing the king's rdentment fubfetvient to his own intereits and deigns,
As foon as the rebellion in Ionia was quelled, and the Perfran freed from inteftine commotion could fafely lead his forces abroad, the afiidu-
ity
[ *7 1
ky of Hippias prevailed, and Darius fent his minifters to demand homage of the diverfe dates of Greece, and particularly to deliver his man- date to Athens, to fubmit at difcretion to his power, and to receive Hippias as his delegate : the Athenians not fatisfied with treating this embafly with contempt, ftrove in other parts too to procure it a fimilar reception ; and if any city yielded tokens of fubmiffioq from motives of lucre or fear, they plainly declared that neutrality was not admiflible, and that all who entered not into the common caufe with the ardour of friends, were to be regarded as ene- mies.
The iEginetans were among thofe who liftened to the profers or menaces of the Perfian.
JEgina was an ifland which of a flat and ftoney foil, had from the very firft necefiltated its inhabi- tants to feek fuftenance from the feas \ the bark was foon improved into the vefiel, the troop of filhermen became a 'nation of merchants, and its naval experience and power, during the ufurpa- tions at Athens, had arrogated the dominion of the feas.
The difguft Qf thefe too neighbouring rivals (for JEgina was within fight of Attica) was
eafily
[ 88 ]
eafily to be enflamed into a war •, and the pre- fent demeanor of the iflanders gave a pretext for hoflility to the Athenians, the moll option- able and glorious : the ^ginetans being how- ever fubordinate to the Spartan, it was hr{t thought proper to demand chaftifement at the hands of the iovereign ftate — of the people who had a&ed in a manner derogatory to the honor of Greece, had fpurned the compact of its aflbci- ated cities, and abetted the defigns of its ene- mies : the Spartans gave ear to the remonftrance, and taking ten of the chief citizens from JEgi- na, pledged them to Athens in fccurity for the fidelity of their countrymen ; thele again quickr Jy made reprifals on the coaft of Attica, and after various altercation, a naval war broke out between iEgina and Athens, and was fometime carried on with various fuccefs, but with uni- form animofity and exertion. This private conteft merits our attention, as it marks the progrefs of, and has its fhare in accounting for
the Athenian greatncfs at fea, for thofe
" wooden waUs—rwhich. fo fuddenly rofe up, the fafeguard and bulwark of Greece : the ex- pedition to the coau: of Jonia, and attack of Sardis, had awakened the fpirit of naval prowr els ^ and the ^Eginetan war had taught the fhip-
builder
t 89 ]
builder and engineer, the advantages of their art ; and given the mariner the courage and dex- terity of habit.
Darius's forces to the amount of two hundred thoufand root, and ten thonfand horfe, were now muflercd in Cilicia, and ready for embar- kation : fix hundred vefTels of war were already hovering on the coafts, and this formidable ar- mament taking aboard the troops, immediately pointed its courfe to Eubsea : the city of Ere- tria in that ifland, had likewife given fome fup- port to the infurgents of Ionia, and Datis the Perfian general, was ordered by the king, to bring the whole of that and the Athenian people in chains to the foot of his throne.
This haughty mandate, and the mighty force deftined to its accomplifhmcnt, intimidated the independant republics, and turned the attention of all from inteftine broils, to the means of common fafety : in vain however the i (lands boafted the parade of oppofition, to fo nume- rous an enemy-, they were quickly over-run and defpoiled ; even Eretria made but a fhort re- finance ; and Datis having thus in part effected his commiflion, fent a multitude of every age and fex, to await the lentence of Darius : four thoufand men whom Athens had generoufly af- forded
[ 9° 1
forded in fuccour, were as generoufly difmififed by the Eretrians, previous to the moment of de- fpair, that furrendered up their liberties •, and they opportunely returned for the defence of
their native country. " The Perfian camp
" is pitched on the plains of Marathon, let us
" (faid Miltiades) — let us meet them with
" ardour in the field ; vain is the idea of
" fafety within thefe walls ; impatience of con- " finement, and the feelings of private attach- " ment, and of private intereft, ever have, " and will beget treachery ; and mould this not " be the cafe, ftill the firft emotion of courage " deadens, unlefs animated by the heat ofen- " terprize ; — the fpirit of men lofes force in a di- *' vifion of ports ; embody your citizens, lead <c them undauntedly forth, and emulation and " patriotifm will effecl: wonders."
The advice of Miltiades was adopted, and how juft the reafoning, and how provident of events, every after-circumftance will evince ! —during the conflict at Marathon, (the par- ticulars of which I think it inconfequential to recite) a fhield was by fome traitor- hand held up at Athens, in token to the Perfian fieet, that the walls were vacate ; but the citizens re- turned in time from the completion of their
victory,
[ 9i 1
victory, to fruftrate the treachery, and repel the invaders.
The commonwealth began now to feel, and glory in, the effects of its happy eftablifhment; the firft. means of its liberty were recalled to mind, the firft moment was fanctified, the firft authors venerated : the deed of Ariftogeiton and Harmodius was again held up to public view ; decree enfued decree in honor of their names; no flave was ever after to bear the fame appellation ; their martyrdom was con* figned to the chorus at the Panathansan fefti- val, and their ftatues were anew cut out in brafs, and by the hand of Praxiteles.
The conduct and valour of Miltiades were crowned too with marks of public favor and renown : his portrait was painted at the head of the ten generals, who led forth the ten thoufand brave citizens of Athens, to the conqueft of twenty times their number ; and the hero was Contented with his reward.
When pecuniary or other rccompenfe of worldly value is beftowed on a great or good deed, and the gift to virtue, is the fame with the hire of vice ; the diftinction is much im- paired, and the purity of the motive no longer being afcertained, the action h no longer in
the
[ 92 ]
the fame manner ennobled by its reward ; the high minded then difdaining to receive in con. mon with thofe of fordid views, the incentive of glory lofes ground, and the hopes of pay- ment enlarge their influence, till in fine the un- worthy alone pufh forward to notice and retri- bution through means corrupting and deftructive to the commonwealth : public virtue is then loft, and with it the republic.
The Perfian forces were effectually repulfed, and had now retired homeward in difmay : fe- venty veffels were fitted out from Athens to fcour the feas, and levy fines on fuch of the iilands, as by apoftacy to the common caufe, or a neutral policy, had avoided the danger, and were now to reap the fruits of the victory. A contribution from thefe ftates was deemed a juft demand, and Miltiades was fent at the head of the Meet, to command and enforce the impoft. His firtl defoliation was to Paros, where by ac- cident being fruftrated of his purpofe, and fe- verely wounded too in the thigh, he returned iuccefslefs and defpirited to Athens. The peo- ple were aftonifned ar the repulfe ! an Athenian armament, and under the conduct of Milti- ades was to be irrefiftable ! the leader furcly mull have betrayed the duties of his command,
and
[ 93 3
and have tampered with thePerfian, or very iflands he was fent to tax or punifh ! difcontent often gives birth to general rumour, and rumour to particular fufpicion : the conduct of Miltiades was arraigned and condemned, and a heavy fine impofed, from the weight of which, and of his country's difpieafure, he was freed by a fudden death, the confequence of the wound got in its iervice.
Ingratitude is a topic on which the declaimer
rivets the attention of his audience. It
touches home to the felRfhnefs of benevolence -9
it paints an irkibme picture of the interefi:
gcnerofity takes in expected retribution, and anger (from di.Tatisfaction of the confcience thus awakened to itfelf) irritates, and vexes the mind with the object that occafioned it; the motives of this involuntary anger we are not willing to fift to the bottom, but haftily attri- bute it to an antipathy of the vicious and the mean ,-* — but the vicious and the mean ftart with horror at the fame tale of benefit ill-repayed: the quality of their mite of goodnefs is equally dear, and the proof of the alloy, equally dif- trefsful : It muft be this facility of awakening emotion, and iaterefting the reader, or fclf. deception, or miiapplication of the term, that
hath
[ 94 1
hath betrayed fo many writers into the abfur- dity of harranguing on the ingratitude of a col- lected date to a fubjeft thereof. Hath not
the lenfible Feyjo in his Theatros Criticos, and the Florentine in his difcourfes, and Scanyan in his hiilory, and all the Belles-Lettres- writ- ers of the French, have they not twitted
the Athenians with ingratitude to private citi- zens? as if, in any vicious fenfe, (and in
any other fenfe, 1 think the word hath no mean- ing) a republic could be ungrateful to a confti- tuent !
It is a mark of general depravity, when adu- lation exalts the mere duties of life : a juft idea of what we owe to our country, precludes all works of fuperorogation in the pure faith of pa- triotism, as in that of religion : when we have done all we can, we have done but what we ought i in the leffer as in the more general fyftem we mould with refignation often con- fider a private evil as the public benefit ; and look on the * " vox populi^ if not that of
God,
* Et nori fenza cagione fi aflbmiglia la voce d'un populo a quello d'kldio, perche fi vede una opinione univerlale, far artetti meravigliofi ne' pronoftichi fuoi ; tal che pare che per occulta virtu, prevegga il fuo male, et il fuo bene.
Machiavele in L. imo. de diftorfi, cap. 58.
■e
[ 95 ]
God, yet as worthy to be held in fecondary ve- neration. Ench citizen that affembled for the oftracifm or other mode of judicature, met to confidcr of the fafety and weal of the repu- blic ; from the moment he was in his public capacity, no other than public views were to influence his vote •, it was not whether the man proceeded againft, had hitherto been of fervice, but whether in future he might be of difiervice to the ft ate ; he was to confider himfelf as an advocate retained on the part of his country, that its fafety and well-being now and here- after depended on his voice, and that it was not juftifiable to reject the mereft furmife cf dan- ger to many, in favor to one-, no luftre of private character was to dazzle, and draw his attention from the common weal ; if a thought of the man intruded, it was derogatory to the
duty of the citizen : " Miltiades behaved
" jultly in the Cherlbnefe ; true, but he
** there ajfumed the enfigns and honors of a ** king :" — His manners are plaufible, his elo- quence popular, his valour approved •, — c< it " was the very charatler of Piji/iratus :" — Re- member the victory at Marathon ; — N doth not '* himfelf remember it too much ?" — His enmity with the Perfian king, mud furely be irrecor-
cileablc,
[ 96 }
cileable, for could Dar'iis forget the hardy propofal made on the j|anks of the Danube ? — " Aye, but when Tijfaphernes jent fiores to ** Attica^ it was on the intercejfion^ and to the " faith of Miltiades alone, that he would trufi
" them:" fays Nepos — Hac populus re/pi'
ciens malluit eum innoxium plecli, quam fe diutius effe in timore.
CHAP.
[ 97 1^
CHAP. XIL
"T\ARIUS irritated by the defeat, was ga- ^*" therino; together the fugitives from Ma- rathon, levying new forces, building mips, every way preparing a vafl armament to crufh and extirpate the very name of Athens, — when death ftept in between — and put a fudden flop to his career of vanity, rage, and folly.
A young and ignorant youth upon the throne; a minifter facrificing truth, honor, and the weal of thoufands to a private purpofe ; that purpofe effected by the fouleft adulation ; and that adulation oppofed in vain, and with dan- ger too, to the honed differ) tient — a fcene now become common place on the great theatre of the world, was then played in the council cham- ber of Perfia: Xerxes opens the debate with much ignorance, and much arrogance; Mar- donius prevails himfelf of the one, and flatters the other •, — the fpeech of Artabanus I cannot io lightly pafs over:—." Give fome attention II J (faid
[ 98 ]
" (faid he) O king, to contrary counfel •, the " value of the previous opinion will then have •' fome teft ; the found quality of advice is to " be afcertained by oppofition alone : — where " is this prowefs that the Greeks are to find fo " irrefiftable ? — Failed it not in Scythia ? — ** Failed it not in Attica ? — How few intrepid ** men there braved the afTault of thoufands r* " — — How fully did they evince that courage " and unanimity could conquer in defpight of " multitudes ! — and this bridge over the Helle- ** fpont !— is it fo foon then forgot, how nearly j Darius and all the flower of Perfia were be- M trayed, and left victims to the colds and *' dearth of Scythia ? — I fhudder at the thought " that the fate of our king, our all, depended " on a fingle voice,— and that too of Hiftisus, *' the traitor! but fuppofing this armament, " this mighty fleet, thefe numerous troops, to
" be invincible-, can they fubdue too the
M elements r* — Your bridge, and your fhips, " may they not be mattered by ftorms ? Or i& *' armour proof againil peftilence or famine i *' It is not the force of myriads that can oppofe '* the will of heaven; as its thunders fpare the u lowly object, and beat down the. oak or pa- tc la.ee ; fo God delights in abafing the arro-
_*' gance
[ 99 ]
*c gance of human wifhes, and depreffes t he " mightier and elevates the weaker power ! — for " know, O King, that God jealous of the fentiment " fe!f-greatnefs, permit teth it but to himfelf alone !" — This fpeech (which I have clofcly copied from Herodotus) was received with contempt, and anfwered with pafiion ; the fpeaker was called coward and dotard, and the expedition was re- folved on : the debate then clofed, the curtain dropt, and (according to the known inverfion of
the political theatre) the farce being ended,
the tragedy was to begin.
Let us pafs over the mutters and march of the army, and haften to fix Xerxes and the Perfnn camp near Tempe in ThefTaly. The ftorm rum- bled from afar, and Greece awakened to the found ! a common fenate was called, every private preten- tion and conteft was waved, levies were ordered, taxes impofed, alliances fuggelted, and every means of defence explored, argued, and expedit- ed. Synstus the Spartan, and Themiiiocles were immediately fent forward with ten thoufand men to meet the Perfian, to folicit adherence to the common caufe, to fix the wavering, to at- tach he diflentient •, and every where collecting what troops they could, to harrafs the invaders, and cutting off their provifions and forage to re- H 2 urd
E ioo ]
tard their progrefs, and give the Grecian council time to think, and act belt for the common fe- curity. Thefe generals were in many parts fruf- trated of fuccefs j — fome ftates were alienated by difguft, the generous wifhes of fome were repref- fcd by inability or fear, and others motiv'd by lucre deigned not even to plead prefent eafe or danger, but openly abetted the defigns of the enemy. The emiffaries difpatched in queft of fuccour from Apulia and Sicily met not with a more favourable reception : the Carthaginians intimidated by the vicinity of iEgypt,. (then a a province of the Perfian empire) had entered in- to an offenfive alliance with Xerxes, and the part afllgned them,, was to keep the Greek fettlements- in Italy, and Sicily too fully employed, to any ways afford afiiftance to the mother-country. Under thele accumulated diftrefTes and difap- pointments, it was judged expedient to ftudy every means of protracting the war, and heaven in default of other allies, might perhaps abet fo juft a caufe, and with defeafe temped or famine, vex and diminilh their enemies. Leonidas and the Spartans undertook to retard for fometime the Perfian inroad into Greece ; and it is well known how refolutely at Thermopylae thofe
brave
[ ioi ]
brave troops effected the purpofe, and bartered their lives for the fafety of their country.
In the war with Darius we faw the Athenians firmly difpute the field of battle, we faw the un- animity of patriots fubftitute to the difcipline of foldiers, produce as combined and as irrefiftable a force ; we are now to view them in a different fcene of action — to behold them driven vaga- tran'd to the feas, and in this their diftrefs, open- ing another fluice, and milling in a new channel to honor and dominion !
The confederate fleet was flattened near Arte- mifium in Eubaea-, the Perfian admiral lent round three hundred vefifels to block up this ar- mament in the narrow ftrait that divides that ifland from the continent, and intercept them in retreat; this haughty indication of fuperiority awakened the indignation of the Greeks, and that and defpair of flight urged thern to await the conflict with the fullen refolution of thofc who forefee, and are prepared for the wof ft.
Though the Athenians, from regard to the common union waved' all pretentions to the fu- preme command, yet Eurybiades the Spartan leader in every cafe of difficulty recurred to the genius- of Themiftocles j — This' Athenian was endowed with a larger portion of etherial fpiric
than
[ 102 ]
than in the munificence of nature is often allotted to one man; — daring in enterprize, cool in ac- tion, of a forefight like prophecy, a comprehen- fion intuitive, and a memory (as himfelf declar- ed) retentive even to a pain, was this extraor- dinary charac"ter,--rand it quickly gained an af- cendancy which no political arrangement could preclude ; — was the commander of Sparta, of Tegeasa, or iEgina, or ought other date, ftill to Themiftocles every mind looked up for fcheme, every eye for example : he perceived that the fpirit of his countrymen deadened in inaction; he well knew that defence was of a fluggifh caft, that attack anticipated the air of triumph, and he ac- cordingly uied every art to perfuade them to provoke the combat, and go forth and afiail the Perfian detachment: he fucceeded ; and the con- flict though not decifive, gave the allied Greeks better hopes of victory; — Jt (how'd that valour had its fuperiority as well as multitude, and taught them for the future to regard difparity of force, as diftinct from that of numbers.
Xerxes and his army were now far in their way to Attica, the country was depopulated, the city defencelefs— " fhall we then forfake our " mips ?_ no (faid Themiftocles) — rather let us *' ufe them to favc our wives, our children, our
V al\
[ io3 ]
" all that is dear to us : — grieve not at the bat- " tering of your walls ; — the republic lives not " in its edifices but its menj not the city, but the ** citizens make the ftate ; — fave them, and A- " thens is ftill great, and may yet be happy.'* This defperate refource was adopted, and thofe, whom lex, decrepitude, or infancy rendered unfit for fervice, were depofited in Salamis* iEgina, and other neighbouring i (lands, to await better times for their reftoration to their native gods and country.
In the chain of affection, patriotifm appears a neceffary link intermediate to focial love, and general philanthrophy : — the man who loves not his country, can be no very warm friend to man- kind : thus we find the Athenians fhowed more ardour for, and more benevolence to the com- mon caufe than any other of the Greeks j the Spartans indeed were equally attached to their Sparta, but not equally to the common welfare ; to account for this exception we muft obferve, that inftitution with them fupplaced nature with habit, that habit tranfcends not its practice, and that their devotion was thus bounded by the maxims and exercife of duty prefcribed to the narrow circle of their own ftate.
Much
[ 104 1
Much as Athens had filtered, and conftant as* (he was in her iufferings, the other allies were lit- tle willing to rifque any thing for her fupport or ednfolation : a felfifh fyftem of conduct was a- doptec, the fortification of the ifthmus, and the ftation of in t heef jr did coafts of the Pelopon- ncfe were determined on by the confederates whofe pofieffions lay in thofe parts : ThemilTo- cles (aw the danger of this narrow policy, that the different detachments quitting the general rendezvous were likely to quit the common caufe j fome would retire to their native har- bours* fome fell their freedom, and fome feek it on a diftant and unmolefted more ; — and were the Athenian wives and daughters to be left de- fencelefs, and devoted to all the outrage of cap- tivity ? — were the people to be forfaken, who had forfaken their all to preferve their faith, and take fo hurdy a part in the perils too of others ? —Some of the Greeks went fo far as to reject the Athenian voice in council, to cavil at their very exigence as a ftate, and bafely twit them with the iofs of that country, they had given up from inch public-fpirited and noble motives : incenfed at the iniu.lt, the Athenians declared, — They ftill hud, and mould foon difplay, their confequence \ — that they would depart for Siris
in
[ io5 J
in Italy, the propitious fpot of fettlcment point- ed out to them by the oracle ; and the Pelopon- nefians would then feel how much they had loft, and feverely rue the infolence of their prefent deportment. This menace caufed at lead fome hefitation, and Themiftocles prevailed himfelf of the moment of delay to fruftrate the fcheme of retreat and force an engagement : he found means of informing Xerxes of the intended de- parture, and with fpecious argument, and under the mafk of treafonable friendihip, perfuaded him to intercept the pafs, and attack the Greci- ans when in the diforder and difmay of flight ; the ftratagem fucceeded, the Perfian fleet block- ed up the road •, and Themiftocles then aprizing the confederates of the impracticability of efcape, neceflity held the place of virtue^ and they pre- prepared for the combat.
On one fide behold the naval force of half the known world, and amidft a croud of uncouth names and barbarous novelties, difcover too the moft experienced and renown'd of maritime na- tions,— the veteran failors of the ifles, of the Euxine fea and of iEgypt ; — remark too three hundred veflels from Sidonia and Syria, and manned by thofe Phaenicians whofe prowefs and practice are the favourite theories of antiquity !
On
[ io6 ]
On the other part, view the armament of the Greeks ; — a fmall but defperate band, not equal- ling in numbers the twentieth part of the enemy, but ftill placing a forlorn hope of victory in the refolution to die for it !
Themiftocles ftudied every means to leffen or baffle the fuperiority of the enemy : he tampered with the Afiatic Greeks, and making them, or making them feem, inclinable to defert, render- ed them fufpicious to the king, and they were not permitted to mingle in the combat : he art- fully contrived to draw the Perfian into the nar- row leas, where the previous orders and arrange- ments of fo crouded a fleet were impeded and broken, and in the moment of embarrafiment he gave the fignal for attack ; the Greeks rufhed with impetuofity into the midfl of the enemy funk fome veflcls, difordered the whole body, forced many on fhore, and many finding their very efforts to engage fruitlefs, withdrew from the fcene of action : to particularize a modern battle may perhaps pleafe fome military reader j but I fee little instruction and much pedantry in the detail of ancient warfare ; let us then con- clude the fight of Salamis, and fay, victory was decifive on the part of the Greeks. Though many fhips were funk and many ftranded, yet it
was
[ i°7 1
was to be fuppofed that of fo vaft a fleet fuffici* ent might remain to be Hill formidable, and bring the fuperiority at fea again to hoftile dif- cufiion. — Juflin clears up this difficulty with pbferving, that thofe who had efcaped or avoided the conflict, dreading the relentment and cruelty of the king as much, or more than even the bravery of the foe, flunk oft in fecrecy to their refpective ports and cities.
Arrogance and meannefs of fpirit belong to dirt of the fame mold ! — this Xerxes — this haughty Lord of half mankind, difmayed by a Angle defeat, flies towards the Hellefpont, fear- ful left his bridge {hould be broken down, a re- treat cut off, and three millions of foldiers be ne- ceffitated to cope with a few petty and exhaufted republics ! He left however Mardonius to cany on the war, or rather (as I think Diodorus of Sicily hints) to cover his retreat ; for the army was not deemed adequate to the prior purpofe, and Mardonius retired northward to recruit, and add to his forces.
The threat of fecefllon from the league dropt by the Athenians previous to the fight, was not readily forgot j whatever provocation called forth the menace, the menace alone was remembered,
and
[ ro8 ]
and with all the bitternefs of difguft, for hatred often finds new fubject in its very injuftice.
When Eurybiades was to bellow the palm of virtue, he patted by the Athenians, and gave to their rivals the JTiginetans the firit place of defert : the Spartans however feared the abili- ties of Themiftocles, and while they infulted the people, to conciliate their general, loaded him with prefents and applaufe : the Athenians were too high-minded to ftoop to reproach or com- plaint ; but their indignation vented itfelf on Themiftocles, who had held his hand forth for the gift, and from a mercenary confideration, had waved the memory of the many indignities offered to his country : he was immediately de- graded, and the command given to Xantippus. Attica was now vacated by the Perfian, and af- fection for the natal foil that endearment
which the recollcclion of tender or happy inci- dents gives to the fcene of paft enjoyment (deemed enjoyment perhaps becaufe paft) — and a fuperftitious veneration of fome fpots, and the attachment ufe gives to all, urged the fugitives to immediately reclaim the fite of their native city, repair its ruins, rebuild its walls, arid propitiate its gods with new facri£ces and tem- ples.
The
[ ic9 }
The reftlefs ambition of Themiftocles ill- brooked the difgrace he was under with his fel- low-citizens ; and to recover their favor, his ge- nius agitated every plan of private artifice, or of public fervice : convening the affembly, in a bold and artful harrangue, he hinted at a fcheme of the utmoft importance to the ftate, but which notoriety would fruftrate the execution of •,— -he therefore demanded the afiiftance of fuch good and wife citizens as could be relied on by the community : fmgly, Ariftides was judged to be of wifdom and integrity adequate to the truft, and he was commanded to attend to, and re- port his opinion of the project in view. Arif- tides on a future day ftept forth, and without preamble of approbation or diflike, merely declared that the fcheme was equally replete with benefit to themlelves, and with injuftice to others v and without further enquiry it was una- nimously rejected.
The very effence of a popular government (fays Montefquieu) is virtue ; — it is indeed the foul of a republic, and diilblution attends its exit : Dynafties may ftand on a bafis of various fubltance, of force of inditution, or mere pre- fcription^ but a democracy requires the pre- cious
t HO 1
clous cement of probity fifted from every paf- ticle of vicious or felftfh inclination : the date cannot long exifl but of good citizens, and the
O fc> >
good citizen hath its foundation in the good man j — patriotifm may be termed an alchemy elaborated of all private virtues : obferve well, that had Athens paid the lighted attention to the policy of Themiftocles, it mud have been from felfiih views, and every citizen who had given a voice even for the debate, mud have been actuated by motives that marked him as a member dangerous to the future common- weal.
The Athenians of all others were mod the object of dread to the common enemy •, Mara- thon echoed the hidory of their valour, Sala- mis of their policy-, and the force accruing to the confederacy from their peculiar vigour and credit was obvious on repeated trial : Mardoni- us pondered how to detach this people from the alliance-, their patrimonies were plundered, and themfelves and families doomed to a long and laborious penury ; mifery might at length, perhaps have broken the firmnefs of their fpirit, and have alienated their minds from lb didrefT- ful a caufe : (to ufe the elegant words of Ta- citus)
[ in 3
citus) eertamen virtutis et ambitio gloria felt-
cium hominum funt affettus !
Minifters were difpatched to Athens with' every threat that could influence, and every proffer that might feduce ; — would they pay a titular hommage, and be merely nominal tribu- taries to Xerxes, the faireft fpot of Greece, or of the known world was at their choice •, their city mould be rebuilt, and public edifices erected and endowed with fplendor and with opulence ; nor mould a law be touched, or pri- vilege be invaded: the Spartans fent emifTaries in hade and terror to meet and oppofe this em- bafly ; they were confcious of the ill-treatment which Athens might plead in vindication of in- fidelity to the Grecian league, and they came ready fraught with argument, entreaty and re- proach.
On this occafion, there was a dignity in the con- duct of the Athenian fenate which never can fuffi- ciently be admired: the propofals ofMardonius were received with a contemptuous filence ;— the ambafladors limply were defired to immediately quit the city ; for the fenate revered the facrcd character, and was unwilling it fhould meet with the ir.fult, any delay within thofe walls might expofe it to : — to the Spartans they re- plied
[ Iff ]
plied in the haughty tone of offended defert, and bad them for the future judge hetter of their virtue and their fervices.
Mardonius exafperated at the repulfe, again poured his myriads into Attica, and again the aged and the weak were wafted to the neigh- bouring coafts, and the city deftroyed, and its* very foundations erafed. As if their country was endeared by adverfity, the people this time lin- gered to the laft moment within their town, nor quitted it, till their fupplications for reinforce- ment had been rejected by Sparta, and every other city of the league. It foon appeared that an engagement though procraftinated, could not be avoided ; Mardonius advanced raging with lire and fword from territory to territory, and then at length the cogency of their own affairs induced the Peloponnefians to take the field, and the confederate army as foon as collected, advanced to meet the enemy, then defolating the plains of Platxa. Paufanias the Spartan king commanded the allied forces confuting of an hundred thoufand combatants \ — a number by far greater than the Grecians had ever hereto- fore muttered in one field of battle. Let us not dwell on inconfequent particulars ; — the vic- tory
[ "3 1
tbry at Plataea though more fliarply contefled, was again decifive in favour of the Greeks; — - the Perfian generals were killed, the whole army routed, and the carnage purfued with fuch rage and animofity, that fortunate was the Per- fian who efcaped to tell his king, how pro- phetic were the tears he (hed, when numbering his millions at Sardis!
Lieutychides and Xantippus ftill purfuingand harraffing the remains of the fleet worfted at Sa- lamis, at length forced it from the feas ; — the mariners no longer daring to face the naval pow- er of the Greeks, drew their veffels on more, and by a fortification and entrenchment, fought to fecure them from the enemy ; but nothing- could flop the ardour of conqueft ;— the Greci- ans fall ied from their mips; — impediment and numbers were flighted; — nothing could refift the confidence and ftrength of the affailants; and the very day that crowned the Greeks with Victory at Platsa, gave them the laurel too at Mycale.
The mighty armament employed on this ex- pedition, was the united effort of the vaft em- pire of Perfia, and its forces being thus fuccef- fively worded, and its fleets deftroyed, Xerxes I was
[ 'M- J
was no longer in capacity of carrying hoftilities abroad, but embittered with difappointed va- nity, was left to vent its cruelty on his fub- jects, or bury its poignancy in diflipation, till vice and tyranny exceeded even the bounds of Afiatic fufferance, and he fell a victim to the public refentment.
C H A. P.
[ ns 3
CHAP. XIII.
/'""VFtentimes a rational enquiry proves intro- ^^ duclory to the emotions of the heart, and gives birth to a pleafure the more ftrong, as proceeding from the united impulfe of argu- ment and paffion ; whilit we trace the vicifli- tudes of human lot j whilft we ftudy to obviate our own or others frailties ; whilft we glean know- ledge and happinefs from the fields of error and misfortune, we become interefted in the cha- racters of our leffon, a generous fympathy mixes itfelf with our fpeculations, and as reafon ap- proves or condemns every nerve vibrates in harmony to the fentiment ; we become cenfors with Cato, and patriots with Brutus, and for a moment enter into the habitudes of the fociety artfully introduced to us by the writer, as flrongly as thofe of our daily and domeftic in- tercourfe. The facility of particular applica- tions, and the intereft therein taken by the ge- nerality of readers, have induced many hiftori- ans to make public events fecondary to private I 2 characters;
f n6 ] characters ; and inilead of attempting to ablbrb* the attention in the weal and fortunes of the col- lected flate, to take the eafier task of painting a fingle life, and attaching the fludent by the refined flattery of raifing in him afcititious feel- ings, and then placing them in a proud felf- Gomparifon with the picture. Even thofe who give the moil idle perufal to a work, are yet from daily practice habituated to a consideration of the virtues and vices of an individual, but when the actions of a combined fociety are in view, the lengthened chain requires the mod aifiduous fpirit to unravel ir, much penetra- tion to difcover the minute links, arid much acutenefs to fcrutinize their muhiplicate rela- tions and dependencies.
More are capable of feeling than -of fpeculat- ing; perhaps all men are fonder of fentiment than thought; and when I prefume to blame tnofe who have turned hiftory* into adventure, and have emulated the portrait-painter, whofe colofial h'eroe (talks in front of a town or a batr tie fcarcely the dimenfion of his fhoe, — when I propofe everywhere to elevate the battle and"'
the town, to take virtue, as much as may
be, in the aggregate, nor deprefs the characte- riftic of-a-people by an unnatural and degrading
contrail
T »7 ]
contraft with the character of one man," perhaps I may afford lefs entertainment than thofe I am bold to cenfure ; but my firft end in penning this hiftorical effay, is during a retirement and vacancy of employ, ill-fuited to the activity of my temper, to write fomething for felf-exercife and improvement, and fuccefe as an author is but a fecondary view.
Great men I am apt to look upon as factitious beings •, the further the analyfis is purfued, the more rational the nil admirari of the old Nu-
micus will appear ; the more we mail be
led to think that they are much indebted to cafualties for their elevation ; and remark- ing the extravagancies on which their pre- tenfions to fuperiority are often . founded, per- haps imagine that merit as well as opulence, are in the hands of fortune •, whilft by her good fa- vor crimes are aggrandized into heroifm, and vice which in a meaner (late was turned from with abhorrence, becomes refpected in its excefs. Even the real virtue which fome few times hath found its way to preheminence, perhaps was not of a more fublimate or etherial temper, than that of myriads depreffed in oblivion ; as the ftatue of MemnOn in TEgypt, which fpoke when the riling fun beam'd on its head, fo
many
[ "8 ]
many a Teeming block in private life might vi- vify, were a timely ray of fortune directed to its recefs of fpirit : perhaps thofe minds endow- ed with the mod tranfeendant qualities, have through every age patted with little notice, or
even efteem ; the foldier who asked Milti-
ades wherefore he wore the laurel his country had won (if he fpoke not from envy) was of more intrinfic worth than Miltiades : fome alloy is neceflary to make a character current : the younger Pliny well obferves, — " that genius cannot alone ftruggle into day; it muft be drawn forth by feafon and circumftance, nor will this fuffice, unlefs too it be abetted by the patro- nage of focial favor and introduction."— — Is there a man fo vifionary and fo little practiced in life, as not to know; that the price of public notice is the abafement of many parts neceffary to the theory of exalted virtue ? The candidate mult often proftitute his opinion, if not his morals •, it is the only key to the barrier of va- nity, and if he difdain that path to the good graces of mankind, he had better foregoe all hopes of attainment ; and after all, and even the mod brilliant exertion of ability, the fimple reafon of preference will often prevail, which raifed Poppasus Sabinus to the favor of the
emperor
[ H9 ]
•emperor Claudius — nullam cb eximiam artem, fed quvi par negotiis neqne fnpra erat : a policy well deferving attention.
The fubtilty of intellect:, or fpirit of entre- prize, or what elfe may enter into the composi- tion of thofe we vulgarly term " Great men, are particularly to be guarded againft in popular governments : afcendency of private character may difcompofe the union or corrupt the virtue of the people •, favour to particular men may beget factions in the flate, and focial love recoil from the extent of patriotism, to -the narrow circle of a party j then is it retreated midway to domeftic and to felf-intereft: •,— felf-intereft in its turn will quickly fway, and the whole commonwealth be diftracted with various and private influences.
Even a virtuous man too much diftinguifhed and exalted above his peers may open this fluice to the ruin of his country : let us draw a cha- racter more dangerous, and more fitted for felf- elevation, — let us delineate the hero of Salamis :
■ •' His mind was of a fublimate and active
fpirir? that pervaded in a momentary courfe, the paft, the prefent and the future •, and had a com- mand of experience, fubtilty, and forefight for the exigencies of the hour, as for the protractions of policy ; quick in thought, and tardy to exe- cute j
[ izo ]
cute ; or dilatory in purpofe, and immediate and bold irr perpetration, as juncture necefiitated, or as feafbn required : no fcheme was too deep for his capacity ; no enterprize too hardy for his Courage ; he had not the winning ibftnefs, but he had the force of eloquence j his tongue was not perfuafive but commanding ; — its art was the fimplicity of truth -y when he fpoke, it was not a plaufibility of addrefs, it was not a fpeci- ous dilplay of argument, or an appeal to the pathetic that drew the favour of the afTembly, but a fomething comprchenfive, intuitive, pro- phetic,— a fomething of genius that rivetied the attention, and on the felf-diffidence of the hearer raifed an uncontrolable command ; the minds of the audience were amazed and daunted into acquiefcence, even when not argued into con- viction ; and the artful rhetor forgot his art, and the opinicnative were abalhed before him ! — • Such or like preheminence of character was fatal to the commonwealth of Athens: Miltiades pre- pared the way for Themiftocles; Themiftocles for Pericles; crouching to the fucceflive afcendancy of their great men, the people were habitually brought to confider their popular ftate as depend- ant ; and rather confide their public weal to the abilities of a ftatefman, than to the wifdom of the
constitution :
r 121 3
Conftuution : they infenfibly deviated from the found and fimple principle of conduft adopted by their forefathers, and to a free progrefs in the ftrait road of virtue, prefer'd a leading firing in the maze of politics •, they were then often led to injuftice, often bewildered in ruinous practices, often betrayed to bloody and ufelefs expeditions ; at length enured to fubferviency they were at times the means of glory and power to the am- bitious, tools to the crafty, wealth to the avari- cious, and a fubtcrfuge to the criminal ; when the farce of their fanction was not needed, they were allured from the Forum to the Piraeus, of citizens were made mere merchants, and taught a leffon of lucre and diftipation that encreafed their difrelifh for public duties, and threw fur- ther opportunity of malverfation into the hands of their demagogue : an afiembly of citizens, after the time of Pericles could rarely be formed, but by bribes to the alert, and fines on thofe of tardy appearance : — an office was injiituted for that purpofe alcne.
The people of Athens reclaiming their native foil planned their new city on a larger, and im- proved fcale ; the old port Phaleron feemed of too fmall extent, and the foundations of a more commodious receptacle for their [hipping were
now
[ J22 ]
now laid at the Pirseeus ; an arfenal and fpaciou mercantile key were defigned, and were to be furrounded with walls of an extraordinary height, and of a thicknefs that would admit two chariots lo pafs on the fummit ; and the {tones were to be rivetted with iron, and cemented with molten lead : The Spartans viewed with jealoufy and fear the progrefs of thefe mighty works ; they remonftrated againft the policy of fuch fortifica- tion— " might it not prove a place of arms for the Perfian !" — againft the injuftice of it ; — " why diftruft their friends and allies ?" — The Atheni- ans anfwered not with their old-famioned noble fincerity •, — they trailed not to a fair parley, or to a brave defiance j — remark very particularly their conduct (even Juftin the epitomift has par- ticularly remarked it) — They were perfuaded jy their great nan — to trick, to evade, to trifle — to fay and to unlay, — and to prefer a low crafty- hood to an honell appeal to the juflice of the al- lies, or to a reliance on their own force : The- miitocles in the fmifter means he took of rebuild- ing and ftrcngthening Athens, more effectually ferved the dominion of Sparta by corrupting the people, than he annoyed it by fortifying the city : this was the firit blow given to public vir- tue,—the commonwealth (hook to its very foun- dation,
t *23 ]
dation, and a crevice was ever after open to matter of corrofive fap, or of fudden explofion.
The expedition of Xerxes though iuccefslefs to the invader, was not the lefs fatal to Greece ; the profufion of gold and filver found in the Perfian camp after the battle of Platasa, and the inundation of wealth poured into the country from the feveral other victories, anticipated greatly the progrefs of particular accumulation, and of general luxury ; private citizens became diftinguifhed, and foon diftinguifhable alone, by their fuperior opulence : Cimon, whofe patrimo- ny, we are told, was infufficient to pay his fa- ther's debt to the public, fuddenly became pof- feffed of fo great wealth, that feafting the com- monalty of Athens was with him an ordinary ex- pence.
The redemption of the captives too returned a prodigious fum to the conquerors ; and the mul- titude who were not ranfomed, taking the menial trades and fervices from the citizens, taught them (as we (hall duly obferve) a fatal lefTon of pride and overbearance. Other flaves were fent to the filver mines in Attica, which although (ac- cording to Xenophon) worked from time imme- morial had hitherto been productive of a fcanty revenue, but were now likely to be labored with
a toil-
[ 124 1
atoilfome afilduity that promifed the moft a- biindant returns. — So many fprings of corrup- tion at once buril the fbd ! — the fluices rhey tore up, — the ftoppages they bore away, and •channels they purfued, fhall be delineated ia their proper chart.
Succefsful in her defence, Greece in her turn brandifhed the hoflile fword, and in the ar- rogance of triumph meditated new victories m the very heart of Afia. Many of the Greek colonies had come over during the conteft, all were lukewarm to the Perfian caufe, and had proved rather an encumbrance, than fupport, to the armaments they were inlifted into : to protect thefe people and fave them from the vengeance of Xerxes was the cftenfible, and indeed a juft reafon for ftill protracting the war; — but the avidity of glory as of wealth encreafes with ac- quifition, and motives of ambition and avarice probably lurked beneath the femblance of difin- terefted bravery and beneficence.
The Spartans ftill kept the lead in the confer deracy, Paufanias their king was ftill veiled with the fupreme command, and ftill the allies col- lectively fubmitted to a military jurifdiction.
The education of the Lacedaemonian youth pretended not to teach them, but to confine
them
[ i*S 1
them to the beft road ; — to fix them in a lingu- lar walk of virtue guarded by daemons and bugbears, wherein they were goaded on by lhame and pride, and frighten'd with whips and mafks on the minuteft tendency to linger or to deviate, tillin fine hab it hardened or conciliated their minds to the rugged way. This inftituti- on however lb much outraged nature, and fa much infringed her original claims to various temperature of pafiion and of mind, that the le« giflator foriaw fhe mull ever be on the watch to affert her rights, and invalidate his fyftem : it was therefore his policy to have as little inroad to her as pofiible,. and to cut offall connexion with thofe whofe example might too amiably- enforce her interefts and caufe : He permitted no ftrangers to fojourn in his city, or citizens to travel into flrange countries y even war too often waged with the lame people was profcribed as being too"- familiar and corruptive an inter- courfe; (the apprehenfion of teaching the ene- my I think falfely attributed as his motive, for the Spartans knew Id's of the art of war, than a- nyof the Greeks). Indeed in bounty to mankind Lycurgus having adopted fuch a fcheme of go- vernment could not do lefs than ftudy its imma- culate continuance, for having treated men ay
wild
[ 126 ]
wild beails he had made them fo ; his plan was to chain and not to humanize, and the loofening of the fetter might be equally fatal to his people and to their neighbours.
The duration and commerce of the Perfian war had ferved much to relax the Spartan feve- fity, and having foregone the ftrict fpirit of their difciplirie, they had no juft theory of ethics whence to medicate the ill, and they ruflied head- long into every kind of barbarous infolence and linpoliflied debauchery.
The allies beheld the conduct of Paufanias and his followers with indignation, and one by one they withdrew from his command and fub- mkted themfelves to the generalfhip of Cymon and Ariftides : the Ephori faw their inftitution in danger, and waving for the prefent all other confiderations fullenly acquiefced in the fuprema* cy of Athens.
A fixed eftablifliment of proportional fubfidies was a necefiary meafure previous to any new ex- pedition : each (late accordingly contented to an affefsment at fuch rates of men and monies, as the general exigency and its refpective ftrength mi^ht authorife •, and the Athenians were per- mitted to commence their adminiftration with afluming the important authority of fixing, col- lecting,
kfling, and managing the quota of each mem- ber-city of the confederacy : this truft, we are told, was executed by Ariftides with a ftricl faith and impartiality that gave new afcendency to him and to his country ; but the courfe of fuch power was corruptive and ruinous y and the.diveftment thereof difficult, as the continuance dangerous* The ill-policy indeed of confiding the fole conduct of the levies to any fingle ftate feems fo very obvious, that a curious reader might re- queft a nicer fearch into this fingular matter : it will be obferved, (as it indeed prov'd) that a power thus repofed, indefinite in extent as in duration, was virtually perpetual and defpotic ;. for could the period of its authority be queftion- cd, whilft that authority was in full force j — or its force be fafely excepted to, when its expiation was not at hand ; — fubmimon to fuch a com- mand was in time likely to fall into fervitude> and difiention at all times to bear the mein of hoftility : It was probable that the party repofed in progremvely would admit the fole alternative of conftant fervice or virulent enmity. Confi- dering the facility of obviating fo fatal confe- fequences by the fimple cftablilhment of a coun- cil or committee of the feveral ftates, it is dif- ficult
[ 123 1
ficult to account for their coinciding in lb cte- ftruftive a meafure : perhaps dazzled by a Cue- cefiive and rapid courfe of conqueft, they gav£ not leifure to political confideration, boat blindly adopted what feemed readied for the prefent pur- pofe, and made choice of a ible and uncontrola- ble command as beft fitted for war,— not pro-1 vident that its conferences might extend td times of peace.
From this period the conducl: of the Atheni- ans at home and abroad wore a new afpec>, was- founded on new principles of government, and model'd to a new fyftem of politics ; their fu- ture career therefore fhall be referved for difqui- fition in another book.
The completion of the war with Perfia was hereafter involved with a feries of local interefts and inteftine commotions j fo fat however it may be proper to anticipate events, as not to leave the reader in any incertitude with refpect to a conclunon of hoftilities with the common ene-
lliy : this thread of hiftory indeed runs but
lightly through the web, which fimply fpotted with the victories over the Perfian at Cyprus and Eurymedon is every where interwoven with the varieties of national party, ufurpation and quar- rel;
[ 129 ]
rel j — the victories at Eurymedon and Cyprus clofed the conteft with Xerxes, and a peace was concluded in terms the mod glorious and bene- ficial to Greece and her allies, and the molt hu- miliating to their aggreflbr.
& BOOK
t 131 ]
BOOK the SECOND.
G H A P. ti
—TX THERE is happinefs to be found ? the man of power who {hines the fun of his little fphere, whofe every nod is obey'd, and every folly flattered, (till reftlefs and ill-content- ed, pufhes forward to new fchemes of happinefs* and rifques his" all in purfuit of fome untafted ac- quifltion : The wealthy, whole every wifh is an- ticipated by gratification, feems not more bleft in his peculiar lot, but peevifhly complains of fatiety, and liftens with attention to the vifiona- ry talker of woods and rocks, and the felicity, of a rural folitude : afk the hermit — if retire- ment can give the promifcd blifs? — from pride he will perhaps affirm fo j — but in terms of mifan- thropy and difcontent which furely evince the folly of the affertion !
Happinefs is no where to be found, but every where to be fought for.
The humfman lays his account of pleafure not
in the capture, but in thcchaceof the game-, — fo
the greater objects of human attachment intereftin
K z the
[ 132 I
t&e^piirfuit, and foon give difrelifh in the tran- quillity of the poflfefiion. The elaftic xther
\vhich flows in the channels of the nerves, and infpirits the mafs of the brain, requires motion and expenditure, not to flagnate in torpid com- preflure, load the blood, and thicken the humours, 'till the habit is replete with horrors and with melancholy.
Divinely is it thus inftituted, that the activity of our faculties Ihould conftitute our happinefs, whilft what blefles the individual, enriches the fpecics ; and the purfuit which gives pleafure to^ each, tends to fome acquifition productive of further diftinctions to humanity, and elevating it more and more,, in the fy.fl.em of which it makes a part.
From motion comes enjoyment j-hence the rich rhan would be richer, the great mai>greater y and all- would add to, or change fomething, to-morrow, of what they pofiefs to-day : — hence the defpot would ftill fubject one province more -,r— the tear of Alexander, that there were no more worlds to- conquer, belongs to every human eye in the pri- vate circle of difficulties furmounted or fubdued j the final conquefl; is pleafureable only in expec- tation j— to the harrafTed veteran it may indeed
be
I 133 ]
'be optionable,— but to provoke reft in the bright- jiefs of the day, is to expofe the impatient mind to uneafy fleeps and painful dreams.
Syllaenjoyedtheenergy of contention, but found the object thereof not worth retaining; and Csefar, Jong harrafTed by foreign wars,, and newly ek raped from .civil broils, perceived eafe to be in- compatible with -his happinefs> and at the hour of his death was meditating on the extremes of JParthia as new fcenes of conqueft, and a new means of felicity, to remit from the ardour of his fpirit. Why are we tenacious of liberty but becaufe it gives an open field to that exertion of our minds or bodies, whence alone pleafure can proceed? whether they are employed in track- ing a wild bead, or in exploring a fyftem, it is the fame pleafure ; and reftriction to the maa who hath once tailed it, is furejy worfe thaa death !
The difeontented fpirit of mankind, fo often and fo much deprecated by every trifler in meta- phyfics, is then found to be confident with their fcappinefs, and neceflary to their improvement ; nor is the mental inquietude of all, or particular ambition of the great, fit fubject of contempt to jjic fage, or of wonder to the illiterate •
Is.
t '34 ]
Is the reader yet aprized of the recondite prin: ciple of that ardour for acquifition, which im- pels an individual to gain, or a ftate to con- quer ? Perceives he that it originates from
an inftinc"l rooted in our very nature, for wife
and profitable ends ? Or without recurring to
more remote, or more complicated reafoning ; fees he not whence the Athenians, tranquil and nndifturb'd at home, were actuated to the conti- nuance of a war in fearch of power and dominion, the very fuccefs of which might be pronounced fubverfive of their commonwealth ?
A republican government is replete with feeds of difiblution, fome of fpeedy, fome of flower growth, and all co-operating to a change of the constitution or ruin of the country.
The reftlefs fpirit above defcribed, urging each to that exertion whence his happinefs is to flow, will, under a monarchic, or the controul of other reftricttve governments, of necefTity ex- pend itfelf in art or fcience, or in fomething, which without moleftation of any, may turn to the account of all ; but in a free ftate each indi- vidual, having fome mare in the political concern, may, perhaps, prefer that peculiar field of exer- ciie to his mind, and progreflively may, in his
active
[ 135 )
active courfe, overleap the bounds of perfcriptive order, and fafe adminiftration. In a monarchy every fituation is open but one ; the vifionary may purfue honors, with as little detriment to the community, as the merchant his trade ; or maa of learning, fcience ; or the man of genius, art ; but in a commonwealth a particular fite is al- lotted to each, and the general arrangement is endangered, when any would deviate from their fixed place, in queft of confideration or afcend- ancy. It is only in times of commotion, or by commotion, that at any rate this defire of dis- tinction can effect its purpofe ; and thence in the great book, of experience we find the hiftories of a republican people more particularly marked by epochs of inteftine tumult and foreign war. From the moment conqueft is the object of its policy, the exiftence of the commonwealth is co- eval only with the courfe of its victories ; nor ulti- mately is its failure in arms lefs ruinous than its fuccefs.- Grant that it conquer without lofs of peo- ple or diminution of funds j^-fuppofe that the ge- nerals are actuated by none but public ambition, and that they refume their private occupation, and rank without murmur, and without party ;— fuppofe every favorable circumftance even to a
paradox -,
t I3<* ]
paradox j — the fuccefsful war has added fqme city or fome province, and will not fuch accef- fion be the ruin of the capitol ?— {I will again wave the fatal courfe of luxurious pride conco- mitant to national felicity ; — I will confine my reafoning to the peculiarities of a democratic command) this city, this province, — how is it to
be governed ? Quid aliud (fays Tacitus) ex-
itio Athenienfihus fuit> quanquam arm'ts pqlle- rtnt, niji quod fubjeftos pro alienigenis arce-
fent? But the contrary policy, were it
not equally deftru&ive ? Give the conquered
peop}e the rights of denizons ; — let them in their, refpective cities, partake the free conftitution of the democracy ; — with the form of government will they not imbibe the high fpirit and force
which diftinguifti the donors ? -Will they not
as they favour liberty, difrelifh command ? the tree by natural growth raifed above the flirub that flickered its tender and firit fhoots, will it not cruih it with the exuberance of its branches, exhauft its fources, and poifon its head ? The wary politician would in anfwer obferve, that a contrary demeanor were of equally destruc- tive tendency : a coercive and abfolute com- mand dver a province a^nesed to the dominion of
t 137 ]
a free Hate, muft make a contrail productive of difcontent and every ill confequence hinted at in the words of the hiftorian ; what was gained by armies muft be retained by fimilar means, and in times of trouble will be found not an accef- fion to, but an incumbrance on, the republic ; add, — that citizens of the fuperior date entrufted with a command foreign to the fpirit of their own conftitution will grow tainted by the exam- ples of fubferviency and habitudes of power; and return to corrupt the principles of their countrymen, and innovate on the commonwealth.
We muft conclude then that conqueft is de- ftructive to the people whofe form of government approaches to the free, or democratic ; and that among the principles of their decline is that in-' ftin<5Uvc activity, pufhing on to acquifitions dan- gerous to, and corruptive of the poiTefTors.
On a review of the particular fituation of Athens, from the cafualties of the Perfian war, and from the ill policy of the allies, it is not to be wondered at, that the leaders were influenced, or people miflead to a deftructive fyftem of iri- fatiable conqueft : opportunity courted them with an ever prefent, and aflkluous fmile; whilft
the,
t 138 ]
the danger lurking in the obfcure, was vifible to none, or but to the ftrongeft fight.
The annual fubfidy entrufled to the admini- riiftration of the Athenians amounted to four hundred and fixty talents, and from that and other refources ten thoufand talents had gradu- ally been amafTed ; Pelos, indeed, was the place appointed for the depofit, but the treafurer was chofen, and refident at Athens, and his com- mand of the monies was unaccounted for to the reft of the league. Not lefs firm was the fove- reignty over the perfons, than over the fortunes of the allies, whilft the military authority of Cimon was ftrengthened by the affection and gratitude qf the Afiatic and other Greeks, whom he freed, whom he refcued, or whom he pardoned.
The city rebuilt on a new plan, and the forti- fications erected on an improved principle, gave an eafe and fecurity to the inhabitants, wherein ingenuity found leifure for new arts of hoftility or defence •, whilft the Piraeus was fraught with artificers, whom experience as feamen, had taught juftly to eftimate their work as fhip- builders, and to add to, or alter their mecha- pifm from circumftantial recollection of defici- ency or inconvenience.
Goli
[ 139 3
Gold and filver abounded in the city : the captives were numerous, and the rich feared not to truft the menial arts, and their domeftic con- cerns to the hands of (laves ; whilft the citizens, whofe fortunes were yet to make, gave up the hammer for the fword, or the plough for the par : eafy was it to infpirit thefe greedy adven- turers ; and eager were the demagogues to ufe their influence, — embarked in the fame purfuit of wealth, and urged by fupenor quefl of glory.
Even the virtuous Ariftides to conciliate the people to his defigns, betrayed the conftitution, and deftroyed the well concerted balance of So- lon, by favouring the Plebeian fcale, whilft he annulled the exclufive pretenfions of the ploutq- cracy to the archonfhip, and laid that dignity open to the commonalty.
Ambition is but a prouder fpec'es of avarice* — gain equally produces defire ;— poiTeflion is equally wide of content •, and the purfuit is equally indefinite -, — for as the object is nor in the one, nor in the other cafe, enjoyed, it cannot fatiate :— .having received much, thp Athenians foon learnt tp demand more ; and the crifis co- operating with their >wifhes, from an irregular and capricious exaction, they progrefTively a- dopted a fixed fcheme of conqueft, and a con- certed
1 Ho ]
eerted fyftem of command. No longer in&cure in their domeftic concerns, many of the petty ftates grew tired of diftant campaigns, and were defirous of repairing the ravages of pad war by an afliduous attention to the arts of peace ; — to fuch the Athenians permitted the wifhed-for re- tirement, provided that for the deficiency of men, they proportionally added to the pecuniary and naval fubfidies : the mips they manned with their own citizens, and the monies they applied to the ornament of their city, or referved it for future exigencies $ and thus the nation became warlike, and the ftate wealthy. Others equally ill-fatisfied with the continuance of hoflilities, but more acute in penetrating the policy, and more bold in preventing thedefigns of the Ather nians, harrangued in the haughty tone of oppo- fition, and feceded from their command : but the prior attachment of many, and conccflions of other cities had made the attempt nugatory, and at this crifis more fatal to the liberties of Greece, than even acquiefcence j for each refractory ftate fubdued under the pretext of delegated authority, became an acceffion to the particular forces of Athens, and was itfelf a means of more abfolute
exercife, and of a wider extent of power : —
thus j the fuperiority at fea was flrengthened by
* the
f *4' 1
the conqueft of jfegina ;— and thus the rebellion of the Thafians gave pretence for the feizure of their gold mines, and but fcrved to encreafe the funds of the already too powerful republic.
At the clofe of the Perfian war many of the towns of Thrace, many of the Afiatic coaft, moft of the iflands of the ^gean, the Cyclades, the very confiderable tract of Eubsa, and va-- rious other diftrids in the vicinity and elfewherc, were tributary to the Athenians j nor did they reft contented with this dominion, but fought every oec'afion of difputc as a means of acquiii- tion -T and wheir difcontent could not even coin a pretext for hoftility, by holding forth a treache- rous protection- to each pxtty Hate, they found in its inteiline commotions new means of ufur- pation, and in its foreign quarrels new fubjeel: of conqueft. Whenever lbme ftl-judging city thus called in their aid, gratitude at kaft demanded an acquiefcence in the Athenian policy of fend- ing their own fupernumeraries, to inhabit pare ©f the conquered or ceded territory ; and too late fuch colony was found to be an ever-encroaching neighbour, and in times of trouble, an authori- tative garrifon. This mode of colonization was a favourite policy of the Athenian adminiftration, and not reftri&ed to countries,, they were in trea- ty*
[ I42 ]
ty, or at variance with ; but by a Caotiotfs forefight, was extended to every remote fpot. whereto the courfe of victory might direct their interefts or defigns : Pericles expedited a num* ber of emigrants, who feized the country of the Sybarites, and under the appellation of Thu* rii, even in Italy, eftablifhed afettlement mind- ful of the Athenian authority and name : thefe, if not effective of fubordination in the adjacent parts by their power, might at leaft conciliate their alliance by attention and favor; and thus every way fome force accrued to the original republic, from the meafure : — for to attach powerful allies was another mailer-point in the Athenian councils ; with this view the pre- tentions of Inarus to the ./Egyptian dynafty, were fupported againft the Perfian ; — and with this view, an attempt was made to reinftateOreftes in Theffaly.
The ftill keeping up the claim to the power of arbitrary taxation, under pretence that the Perfian was meditating a renewal of hoftilities j —the removal of the bank from Delos to Athens, —and the various other fteps above-cited, tend- ing to uncontrola'ole power, might well be fup- pofed to roufe the attention of Sparta, and the other great republics of Greece :— the firft im*
portant
t H3 1
portant ftate that coped with the Athenian arms was the Bseotian ;— but in vain it would oppofe their progrefs,— Myronides over-ran, and fub- dued the whole country to the very walls of Thebes. Corinth and other great cities were un- able to enter into the conflict, whilft Athens, holding forth an infidious welcome to every fac- tious tributary of any other ftate, diverted it gra- dually of its ftrength, and contrafted frefh vi- gour with its decline. The Lacedemonians would willingly have interpofed, but the de- ftruction of their city by an earthquake, and the defolation of their country, by the rebellious Helots, kept them too fully employed to give any effectual rebuff to the career of their rivals ;
nay, they were even forced to afk their afliflv
ance to forward the fiege of Ithomae, where the infurgents had taken refuge ; no iboner was the reinforcement arrived, but from fufpicion it was remanded, and Athens difgufted at the infult, publicly difclaimed any further alliance with La- ced semon : armies then came from Sparta with intent to fuccour the oppreffed, and circumfcribe the encroachments of this growing power ; but of a force truly rather calculated to irritate, than to quell the enterprizing fpirit of the Athe- nians : Bseotia indeed was recovered, but Samos
and
[ H4 3 , and many other places of importance, refted iri the hands of the conquerors ; and the Pelopone- fians rued dearly their interpofition, Tolmides, and then Pericles, failing with a mighty arma- ment round the peninfula, and at various de- fcents, burning the cities and defolating the country.
A general peace was at length negotiated, and took place, to the content of all :— for Athens too required leifure to methodize the wide ex- tended rule fhe from good fortune^ or good po- licy, had acquired.
CHAR
I H5 }
CHAP. Il4
**1p II E man whom e£erci!e hath trained to A run eafily with fpeed, will run with grace .* the mind too not only becomes vigorous, but elegant, from the frequent ufe of its powers •, what it hath begun, it will have the fagacity ta finifh ; arid what perfected, the fpirit to refine : ——No longer fatisfied with a trite road of prac- tice, it will at length deviate into new paths, wherein to exercife its activity or ftrength % as it is allured by fairer profpects of pleafure, or ex- pelled its old ways by obftacle or annoyance.
When a free ftate is in that point of its pro- greflion, that finifhed law and method have ren- dered interpofition unnccefTary, but to the agents of the commonwealth, the active mind difgufted with the famenefs and facility of public practice, will recur to private life ; and bufily add conve- nience to neceflaries, and luxury to convenience : each fenfe is then plied with enjoyment, till each object palls upon the tafte ; and fuccelTively the powers of art are called upon for new and more L acccm*
I »4* I
aecomplifhed excellence to charm the ear, to fi* the eye, or to enrapture the fancy.
Art has thus, in fome countries, attained ma- turity, but its decline hath ever been rapid ; for to reft contented with a (tile of fculpture,. or of literature, were to foregoe purfuit ; and this be- ing incompatible with mental inquietude, true fcience as well as every thing elfe, has had its viciffitudes, and yielded to that fondnefs for no- velties which is the fpring of all human under- taking ; painting hath deviated into extravagan- cy or littlenefs ;. architecture hath loft its effect in finical ornament •, poetry been buried in the quaintnefs of conceit ; and even hiftory in fearch of novel excellence hath wandered into the tur- gid, the marvellous, or the pretty. When
from the abfolute perverfion of government, po- litics are become dangerous, and a man no longer with fafety can mingle in public adminiftration, or fecurely, even agitate his private concerns ; the intellect uneafy in floth, will Hill recur to a pro- per object:, and veiling the profcribed activity in Platonic fpeculation, or obviating its confe- quences with ftoic firmnefs, will feek new life and motion from philofophy. Socrates, the firft great moral preceptor, fell amidft the ruins of the Athenian republic,— -and the fectaries of Ze-
no
t 147 i
lid chiefly flourifhed under the tyranny of the Csefars.
With an eye to the gradation of government, it is thus probable that art will forerun philo- fophy ; and that the growing wealth, the pride of family, and love of diftin&ion, may launch into the virtues of beneficence or vanities of patronage, previous to the diflipated luxury productive finally of thofe revolutions, when the mind muft, under the neceffity of the times, feek fome alleviation from filent fyftem, or fteel itfelf againft actual evils by apathy, or blunt their force by anticipation : — fays Tacitus, — Pofiquam c<cdibus favitum, et magnitude fama exitio erat9 cateri ad fapienticfa confer tire : as the plenitude of power corrupts the defpot, fo the impotence of refiftance forms the fage, nor untier the cafualty of their refpective fortunes belongs it to ought,1 but to the divine eye, to penetrate the recefs, and fcan the merits of each character : — the ty- rants may have been the better compofition ! j
O man of virtue, pity the criminal, and be humble !
Perhaps too, art may have the prior place from its more immediate connexion with the wants of mankind ; the wooden bowl is polifhed
to the hand, and delights the touch, it is
L a engraved,
[ fiflf ]■
engravedj and pleafes the eye:— the trunk in- ks elevation, naturally pufhes forth new branch- es, and fuccefiively ramifies on each fHoot, ' till loft in the minuted tendril ! j»
Perhaps too pliilofophy may come lad in fuc- ceflion, as being of that high and etherialcaft, as tor require every previous experience and exercife to- ftrengthen and enlarge the mind, and render it at once capacious for its theories-, and firm for its* practice !
Perhaps too; when want is provided for, — every defire ferved,— even fancy fatiated, and we can go no further; — to obviate difapoint-- ment, we find out that we ought not — and pre- tend to adopt from choice, what we are driven to by neceffity !
free dates (it hath by many been obferved) are the bed nurfery-bed of the arts:; and other Rates (it will be obferved) have ran a career fomewhat fimilar to that of Athens, and have known a period when emulation fickeningin the ftagnation of public fervices and duties, might be fuppofed to invigorate in other fcenes of em- ployment ; and wherefore then (will ft be asked) is the Athenian name fo fingularly preheminent in the annals of polite tade and ingenious work- rnanfliip ? The reader will remember, that foori
after
[ 149 1
- rafter the -city was rebuilt, the people of Athsns •became principals in the Perfian war -, — that the new intereft was to be eftablifhed by fome extraordinary exertion ; — and that the gifts of ■fortune and of fame called forth every Athenian .to the field, who had at heart his own honor and confequcnce in the republic, or thofe of the republic, in relation to Greece. From the.
• dearth of young and active citizens, many- of the menial trades fell to the numerous captives that thronged fucccffively from each victory : the warriours returning with all the pride of tri- umph, difdained to practife the mechanical pro- fefiions, in common with their fervants ; to •iind them other employment, wherein none but freemen could be -competitors, a decree palled, forbidding any Have the exercife of fciv!pture or of painting ; — and the liberal and the illiberal arts were thus for ever feparated at Athens : the mod exalted fpirit from that period, dif- dained not the chifeJ or the pallet-, the labor as well as the deftgn, equally ennobled -genius; — the boldeit theory thence was combined with the molt delicate execution ; nor was the time -expended on the work any confideration to the artift, whilit renown was his object, — — or if avaricious, no price was efteemed too high for a
noble
[ js° 3
noble and finifhed performance: if I miftafce
not, Pliny tclb us, that the Laocoon took up the lives of a father and his two fons ;— a work from which the moft elaborate Dutchman might learn to finifti, the moft correct draftfman might ftudy precifion, and the moft fublime poet in- yention and idea !
Another circumftance which conduced parti- cularly to the refinement and progrefs of the arts at Athens, was the timely adminiftration of one who from nature and education had every requi- fite of judicious tafte, and poffefTed at once the moft unbounded power, and moft liberal fpirit that ever ennobled patronage. Pericles the fon of the Xantippus renowned for the defeat of the Perfians at Mycale, comes not at prefent to our view in the character of minifter, but of patron; — his mind opened by the lubtilties of his preceptor Anaxagoras, and poliihed by his intercourfe with the accomplifhed Afpalia j exercifed by the ingenious fophiitry of the fage, and refined by the erudite delicacy and elegance of his no lefs philofophical miftrefs, — it grew flexible and capacious, — it became benevolent and luxurious, — luxurious in thofe objects which through the fenfe a-vaken the fancy, and enrap- ture the foul with the contemplation of fymme-
trie
r 151 i
'trie beauty: to feel tin's divine, this har- monic fentiment the mind mud be in unifon with, and beautiful (if I may fo exprefs it) as, its object; — it muft have all the pliable va- riety, all the entbufiaftic wanderings a vifionary tutor could exercife it to; and all the yielding temper, the refined judgment, the fqueamifh nicety of tafte, (in a word) the melody of finifh- ed character which may refuk, and can refult only, from the convert of a lovely, and beloved woman !
With a tafte for the liberal fciences and arts, Pericles (hoy/ illicitly I will not at prefent urge) enjoyed the moft ample means of recompensing defert, and of foftering genius : the bank of the general contributions had been removed from Delos, and no immediate exigency demanding the application of rhefe monies to the common caufe, he- converted them to the purpofes of embellifhing the city, and with an affiduity that foon rendered Athens the ornament, as it had been the bulwark of Greece: Nor did Pericles find it difficult to gain the afTent of his countrymen, to this mifuie of the public funds ; Athens was a miltrefs endeared by lofs, and vmofe value was enhanced by the difficulties of redemption, and no citizen grudged to dif-
fipate
[ t% ]
fipate his own, or even to trefpafs on his neigh- bour's patrimony, — to deck out her beauties, and give new luftre to her name.
The immortal ftatuary Phidias was made fur perintendant of the public works, and by his fame drew together the firfl: artifts of Greece, and without envy, gave due encouragement to all, — " for envy (as Pericles nobly obferves in
his funeral oration,) comes not but from
fomewhat inferior to its objecV
Public edifices of the richefl and grandefl ftrucl:ure were every where raifed ^ — what the magnificence of thefe bpildings was, may be fur- mifed from the fum of a thoufand talents, or an hundred and eighty thoufand pounds fterling expended folely on the temple of Minerva, and that at a time when, from the multitude of Haves, labor was almoll gratuitous : in this temple, called the Parthenion, Hood a ftatue of the goddefs, thirty cubits high, wrought in ivory by the hand cf Phidia?, and profuftly decorated with gold j — the precious metal ufed for the figure of a victory, affixed to the brcafi:- plate, amounted in weight alone, to forty ta- lents : — I have dwelt on the richnefs of material particularly, for furely the workmanfhip of thefe times need not be infifted on, when (if I
may
f 153 ]
may fo exprefs it) we have the many living ex- amples thereof in the Florentine gallery, and in the Belvidere court at Rome.
Polygnotus too and others at this period excelled much in painting : a mere enumeration of their works, not agreeing- with the tenor of this efiay, muft give way to a digrefllon on a Jefs trite, though much queftioned fubjecT,— Was the art of the ftatuary antecedent to the painters? I am convinced that it was, and with the learning of the German Winckelman on my fide, will on this point difpute with even the ingeni- ous Mr. Webb. — To talk of the perfedt know- ledge of drawing, as prcvioufiy neceffary to the formation of a figure which on every bearing and in every light, was to have the juft out- line of nature, implies a very partial compre- henfion of the poflible beginnings of the artj— rather fhould I fuppofe (and the relids of the higheit antiquity aid my fuppcfition) that the firft models of the human figure depended for their correct nefs on the momentary idea, and precife vifion of the artift, and that he plai(lere4 on his clay, or pared its prominencies, till his eye was fatisfied with the fimilitude. There were indeed juch ftatu.es as the Egyptian, hewn
out
[ '54 J
out on diagram rather than defign, with acute angles, no grace of limb, no motion, no compofition, but an exact and fcrupulous length of bone and conformity of proportions : Dae- dalus the Athenian, on thefe granite mummies, I can well imagine to have firft worked, and to have improved them without the ftudy of draw- ing, or the afnftance of ought other original than nature; — <-to have feparated the limbs
from their rigid unity with the trunk, to
have enlarged fome, and to have diminifhed other parts, till the nice gradations of mufcle, and their modulation to attitude, were founded on uniform experience and more exact obferva- tion.
The portraits of Semiramis and her hufband on the walls of Babylon will be quoted from Diodorus, and the lovers fhadow penciled round by his miftrefs, will be cited from Pliny, and many other tales, and much reafoning may be brought to prove the antiquity of painting ; and if I will not allow art to originate from that quarter, the conceffion will be expected of me at leaft, that fculpture and painting may be nearly coeval •, but not even this can I agree to ; —nor was the palace of Alcinous, ncr other
kingly
f W 1
kingly hall decked by the lavifh fong of Homer therein decorated with pictures, but
Two rows of (lately dogs on either hand,
In fculptur'd gold and labor'd filver ftand :
Thefe Vulcan form'd with art divine, to wait
Immortal guardians o? Alcinous g*te;
Alive each animated frame appears. PoiK.
-—Nor was the temple or houfe of Solomon adorn* ed with pictures.-- In all the Eaitern metaphors of the earlier holy writ, I remember not one exem- plification from painting : — but fays the divine canon, — " Thou Ihalt not. make to thyfelf any " graven image :" — from the figure of man to form a fimilar figure, was furely more obvious3 than to deceive the fenfe by that complicated art which gives a juft fwell and relative deprefTure to a plane furface. — The (latue had a fimple and obvious original. — The man who firfl (tripped the bark from the tree, and fmoothed the knotty trunk, was in his way to that art, which after- wards ftretched to the formation of an Apollo.
At the time when fculpture was at the highefl: pitch, then painting began to emulate its excel- lence ; much it was to feck without the pale of imitation, but much too it was to borrow from ihe prior art} colour and its contingencies of
r <5« r
Jight and (hade, it was to feek for in nature, but the precife outline it could more readily copy itom the correct and unvarying models of a Phi- dias or Alcamenes} from attention to fuch fi- nifhed performances defign foon attained a de- gree of perfection, which no modern work can be fuppofed to give a juft idea of-, — when Pliny tells me that — Ambire debet fe extremitas, etficde- finere ut fr omit tat edia p oft fey oft end at que qua; cc- cultat ; — I confefs my eye is but ill-fatisfied with even the Seftine chapel. Whilft we allow the fnperiority of defign to the ancient painters, let us not extravagantly deal them out every accom- plifhment of the profeflion : from the old poets, and from the antiquarians, TElian, Paufanias, and others, I think one may gather that the an- cient artifts delighted much in fingle figures, and that their fmgle figures had all the animation that colour and defign could produce ; but their more crowded pictures feem to have been of a frigid, •or of an extravagant compofition : they knew not the technical propriety and difpofuion of planes ; nor do they appear to have been well acquainted with the beauties of effect modulated ©n the varieties of the aerial medium •, — in the picture of the battle of Marathon, befides a very particular delineation of all that pafTed in that me- morable
[ '57 ]
morable field, the Perfian fleet too was defcried from afar, and Cin<egirus retaining the vejjel with his teeth. Their characters mull generally, I think, have been better in the detail, than in the oroupe, and the figures, rather than the picture, have been the object of admiration. Though a pafiage is cited from Vitruvius, mentioning a fcene as old as the times of JEfchylus, drawn ap- parently on juft principles of optics, and on which Anaxagoras wrote a treatife; — and though Eupompus (we are exprefsly told) was of opinion, that a knowledge of geometry v.'3s neceffary to an exact delineation of the objects in nature, yet cannot I coincide in the idea that the ancients were mailers of a regular and fyftematic perfpec- tive : — particular inftances belong rather to the fide of exception, than of rule $ — when we art told of one particular fcene, I ihould imagine k to be Angularity which recommended it to no- tice ; — when we are told that one Eupompus was of fuch,. or fuch an opinion, it implies, I think, that the generality were not.
Nicetas, as we learn from Cicero's academics, and others, as we learn from the firft book of Lu- cretius, had a juft idea of the figure of the earth ; but fuch fyftem not bqing the adoption of the age, it is not to be placed to the account of its
erudition.
[ »S8 ]
erudition. — It thus little furthered the progrefs of natural philofophy ; and as little might the opinion of one individual artift, prove the ad- vancement of art.
Without mathematical knowledge much may- be done, — a building may be tolerably drawn,— a flying line well conducted from mere obferva- tion,--and without any fixed point of fight or diagram from rule and cornpafs, an acute and fteady eye may learn to well diftinguilh the po- £tion, fituation, and diftance of objects, by mowing their prober planes in their proper forms, and marking the regular and juft dimi- nution ; — but the perfpective part of defign is then dependant for its accuracy rather on the artift, than on the arr, — and is liable to gain or lole, as his delicacy of vifion corrects, or his dullnefs or inattention perverts it v whilft, if founded on known and invariable principles, a mechanic — a very bricklayer can fcarccly err ; that the ancients had no fuch juft theory, is fuf- iiciently apparent, I think from the pictures dif- covered in the theatre of Hcrculaneum, and town of Pompeii; nor will it avail- to fry that they were done when painting was in its decline ; —the more noble branches of the fcience, it may not be jufl: therefore to queftion from the ex- amples
t '59 Ji
amples before us, but the more mechanical parts of the profeffion might be fuppofed to have gained ground, as the fublimer fell into decay ; —had perfpective ever been reduced to juft prin- ciples, it would have been perfected on the ruins
of the art it was founded on, its difficulties
would have been explored, novel fingularities have exercifed its truths, and the beauties of de- fign would have been fucceeded by profeflional fubrilty and trick : — nor will it avail to aflert, that thefe works were of fomc inferior, fome pro- vincial hand. — The frequent refidence of the emperors and Roman nobility on this coaft might authorize contradiction, — but it is unnecefTary, as it proves nothing, whilft even in this country (a country by no means famous in the chapter of art) not even a fign-pofl: can be produced whereon are depicted the upper and under fur- face of the fame folid, a circumftance not un- common in the otherwife neatly and finely exe- cuted relics of ancient painting.
C H A P.
t *6° 3
chap. in;
rT"* H E manners of men in private life are fuhr* ■*■ ject to the cenfure or approbation of every on« ; for every one arrived at maturity thinks he hath feen enough of private life, and is apt to de- duce a general theory from his private practice, to which whatever doth not conform, is fet at naught ; with him complacency hath but one fort of good-breeding, and good morals but one fort of decency j what is good, and what is pro- per is definable by his own habits of converfation, and his indignation is raifed at the very fuppofi- tion, that there may be other manners as well as his own effective of grace, chearfulnefs, and
improvement to fociety : To fuchthe author
might appear fophjflical, or, at bell, vifionary, who mould afTert, — M That the American wood •' and French court are regions equally barba- rous;— who mould pretend, — that men are " the belt fituated, when in that golden mean " of civilization, which inculcates the genuine ** focial duties of hofpitality, unadulterated by
" new*!
[ x6i ]
u new-fangled ceremonies ; and influences to mu- *' tual affiftance and fervices, untainted byfalfeand " barbarous diftinclions and intereflsj— who mould " argue, that at fuch period aflbciates were not " only more friendly, but more companionable;— " that the virtues not mining doubtfully under the " infincerity of compliment, were open for all to " chufe, and to attach themfelves to, thofe the " moft congenial with their own ; — that converfa- " tion had more varieties from thofe of character^ " not being polifhed off; — and more fcience from " the youthful years not being facrificed to ufelefs " or trivial accomplimments, or to the vicious " praclticeof exterior benevolence with mental re- " fervation ; — who mould fay, that, in what isnow " called fuperior or refined company, rarely ought " but trivial queftions are debated with candour " and with learning : — Ignorance begets incohe- " rency, and incoherency warmth ; —politics,-—
" nay, even philofophy grows pafllonate ! not
" having explored the great truths, and fixed their " principles of good and bad, of right and wrong. " — Thefe modern men (to ufe a metaphor of the " fublime, the virtuous Shaftfbury) when launched •' in the current of reafoning, ignorant of its depths f* and courfe, alarmed, catch with hafte at the firlt M ? twig,
t m i
•* twig, and with all their ftrength ftruggle to af- ** fift its weaknefs, little weening that the fame '* force would land them fafely on the fhore j— - M fome point in argumentation is thus cafually and •* unmeaningly caught at, and with obftinacy " defended againflfome one, whilft both, if exer- ** cifed and friendly, fwimmers might down the " current have floated on to the terra firma of ** truth:" — the queer fentiments of fuch old cynic (if fuch there be; I fubmit willingly to the polite abufe of the reader j but in return I expect z conceflion on his fide, and that for once, at leaft, he will forget his own rules of refinement, and prepare to admit, that with a demeanor dif- ferent from his own, an Athenian may have had the requifites for rendering his foeiety mirthful, eafy, and inftruclive.
The frequent afTemblage of the people on the public concerns mult have made every one con- verfant in political fubjects ; and the minds too of men muft thence have become ftrong, and fitted for abftrufe difcourfe, penetrating in dif- quifitions of ferious moment, lively in common chat, and communicative at all times ; for no reftric"Hon filenced the boldeft champion of difcontent, or merricft advocate of fcandal.
The
[ i63 ]
The dominion of the Teas and general fpirit of commerce allured feveral to foreign parts. Travel thus broke in uport national prejudice; and the refidence of the many ftrangers at this general mart on bufinefs, or for pleafure, or for both, opened the minds of all, and brought to- gether; as it were, the notions of the known world to enrich the mental {lock of the Athe- nians. They thus educated, comprized others, as well as Greeks, within the circle of their benevolence : their very flaves were treated with a partiality proportionate to their merit; they were cloathed without diftinction, like ci- tizens ;— to ftrike or even infult another's flave was highly penal ; and fome of natural elegance of manners, or peculiar erudition, were even ad- mitted to a familiar participation of the table. Jf one may extract any juit opinion from cotem- porary and other authors, I mould fay, — that the merry and wife never kifTed each other with more tempered cordiality, than at this period, in Athens : in a country where a mindful drinker * was proverbial for a dangerous man, good fel* M 2 lowfhip
• — j.\7iu pukpn* fU(Mt»len. V. Plutirchi Symp. z4
t 164 ]
lowfhip could have been no rarity ; nor where a harlot dogmatized, could philofophy have been out of vogue.
The fine gentleman will object their grofihefs of converfation, which he will obferve is obvi- ous from many ancient writers, and more parti- cularly the open indecencies of their great comic poet, who afiuredly wrote conformably to the tafte of his auditors •, — to fuch it might be faid, (and the fevere and virtuous ftoic f would fay) that propriety of language is merely a matter of convention : and that words are not libertine, if the fentiment is not fo ; nor a vicious fentiment proper, however cautious the language it is couched in.
The gallant will object — that the Athenian ladies were much confined, and prohibited the
feftivity of a promifcuous fociety j but the
courtezans were admitted, and without difcredit admitted j and where there were fuch as Afpafia,
(with
••f- ^Placet ftoicis fuo quamque rem nomine apellare, fie enim dhTerunt, " nihil efle obfeenum nihil turpe di<ftu ; nam (i quod in obfeenitate fl >gitium, id aut in re efle, aut in verbo ; nihil efte tertium ; in re non eft, &c. multo minus in yerbis, fi enim quod verbo fignificatur turpe non eft, verbum quod fignificat turpe efle non poteft." T. Ciceron. £p. fam. 1. 9. ep. 22.
[ '65 II
(with reverence be it fpoken) the abfence of the matrons might not have been fo deplorable.
The epicure will object — the proverb of an Athenian feaft — ever bearing application to fome- thing very wide of profufion — will point out Pe- ricles going forth to a friend's dinner, with his portion of eatables born after him by a (lave, and then laughingly perhaps will remind you of a college tutor on his march to fupper, ftrutting before the decrepit bearer of his pipe and com- mons : this is raillery and not argument ;■ —
a greater glutton in good converfation, than in good eating, I feel not the force of it, nor think it worth the anfwering.
Domeflic parcimony is far from incompatible with public magnificence: the citizens of Athens had yet fomewhat of the patriot, — were yet capable of fympathifing with the glory of the commonwealth, and of facrificing thereto fome portion of more private interests, and more fel- fifh defires : their forefathers loved their coun- try,—they were proud of it,— and pride for a time proped up the ruins of that fabric which virtue had railed. The firft fuitors of the fair miftrefs Athens were fentimentally attached to the foul; —(as in the motto prefixed to this treatife, Ifor
. crates
[ i66 |
crates emphatically calls the fpirkual tgjor of
the inftitution) Their fucceffors too were
yet conftant to the fair-, but it was a groffer paflion for the fenfible object, and was no longer difplayed by 2. brave and knight-like al- fiduity of fervice, and a fubferviqney of morals to the pure and correct pattern cf the republic, but was fhown in a prodigality of ornament and a profufion of wealth corruptive of, and ruinous to the very patriot-love that lavifhed it ; for an attachment to fenfible objects paf- fes almoft with the novelty, and the mind thereby degenerates into a vicious levity.
When the Athenians began to view with rap- ture and pride the beauties of their city, the Splendid array of their fleets, and to glory in their grandeur and opulence, — they gloried in- deed in what was external and quickly perifh- able, for what was internal and lafting, but ft ill fomethirig in common was at heart j — nay, the cement of the public weal for a moment feemed more binding and ftrong, — as if lock'd up by a froft, but to perifh with the diflblution of the feafon : in a former period, men gave up their very fuftenance, their very lives for the well- being, for the life of the republic ; they now made the fmalkr facrifice of private to public.
lu*urV
... . i
d
[ i67 ]
luxury, and lived thriftily at home, to add to the pomp of the feftival, to the apparel of the theatre, or to the decoration of the city : felf- love indeed, by a penetrating eye, might be dif- covered in its paflage homeward, it feemed to have withdrawn from the extreme circle of the focial fyftem, and might be fuppofed (hortly to plot for itielf, and confufe and break the corn- pad with jarring interefts and defigns.
Xenophon in his treatifes on the revenues and on the ftate of Athens, gives us a very unfa- vorable account of the aggregate manners of the commonalty, but it was of a fome-what after period of which he wrote, and moreover, he is to be liftened to with caution, for he was a pro- feffed enemy of the republic, and often afiferts from prejudice, what even at this diftance of
time may be readily confuted : he tells us
that the people bore not with reproof, nor ever admitted any fharp touches relative to their con- dud •, but this is contradicted both by the fa- mous fatirical picture of * Parrhafius, and almoft
every
• Voluit namque varium, iracundum, injurium, inconftan- tem ; eundem exorabilem, clementem, mifcricordem, exccl- fi»m,' gloriofiiai, humitam, fugacemque ct omnia paritcr ' . Pliny, L. ?C.
«ftcndcrc'
t 168 ]
every play, and more particularly the knights of Ariftophanes, (a paffage in which, by the by, proves the knowledge of letters very ge- neral, for the man who keeps the pudding-flail, confeffes he hath had no good education, for he could only read and write).— Xenophon hath ever feemed to me but a doubtful name •, — for, tho' eminent as a foldier, he was in mercenary fer- vice j though {killed as a ftatefman, yet an at- poftate from his country ; though great as a philofopher, yet meanly envious of the greater Plato.
Whoever would develope a national character, let him contemplate it in the laws and regulati- ons of the flate, the nature of its dominion abroad, and the tenor of its constitution at home ; let him reflect on their combination with
the arts, with the religion, nay, with the very
face, and climate of the country ; with thefe let him compare hiftorical facts, and if he hath candidly and acutely purfued the fpeculation, he will have a fet of manners before him very near the truth, and which mould cautioufly cede to even a cotemporary opinion, and however re- fpectable.
CHAP.
[ ifl9 3
CHAP. IV.
AN interval of peace hath given us leifure to digrefs a while, and we have beguiled the idle hour in refearches after domeftic and general refinements. We left the Athenians flu- dying the arrangement and command of the vail force they had acquired j we are foon to view it on the march, but previoufly let us array this armament, and mark the particularities whence may be prefumed its difcomfiture or fuccefs, let us examine the character of the leader, and the numbers and ordonnance of the whole.
Pericles was ennobled by defcent from the Xantippus who commanded the fleet at Mycale, this and his own perfonal accomplifliments, and more particularly his affability, and a natural readinefs of fpeech, which by fludy he had improved into a mod refined eloquence, made him an early favoumHRe people j but by the wifer remarked as a tranfeendant character, which might fometime bear the commonwealth from its proper biafs, and the admirable qua-tj1
lines'
[ >7° J
iities of which were to be regarded as the more dangerous, in proportion to the public favor and notice they attracted ; his perfon too was faid to refemble that of Pififtratus, and light as this circumftance mould feem, it was the weight that fet the people's minds agoing in fearch of other fimilarities which never were, or never would have been remarked, but for the firft ground-work on which fancy wrought, of a femblance of voice and phyfiognomy : Pericles finding himfelf thus the object of fufpicion, and his manners, and even gait, a tcx,t on which each cautious republican was to roufe the at- tention and free fpirit of the people, he deter- mined to elude the effects of the public appre- henfion, by withdrawing for a time from thofe affemblies wherein he was regarded with fo fear- ful and wary an eye : He left the city for the camp, and ftrived to fubftitute the name of a hardy foldier, for that of an artful and plotting citizen ; to fimulate and difllmulate were now become his neceffary ftudy, and fo deeply did he profit of the theory, that on his return, he managed to ingratiate himfelf and fecure a party, before his opponents were even aware that from their remiflhefs or miftake, he had taken a
•ftrong
[ i7* 3
flrong hold in the affections of the" people, and which their united powers or policy were inef- ficient to force or to entice, him from: In vain the lavilh ipirit of Cimon, with feafts and (hows, attempted to lival him in the good favor of the commonalty ; Pericles oppofed prodigality to prodigality, and the fole refult of the conteft was further licentioufnefs in the ftate : — in vain the honeft knCt and valour of Thucydides were patronifed by the nobles, and fet up to cope with the pretentions of this rifi'ng genius " when I throw him (faid Thucydides) he fays he is not down, and tjiey believe him, even when on the ground :" with his eloquence he carried all before him, and imbittered by the repeated attacks of the higher clafs, he turned its whole current to fap the bulwark of the arifto- cracy j licentioufnefs then poured in with eddies and whirlpools, with ftreams and with counter- ftreams, wherein indeed bimfelf was found (but alone found) an adequate pilot to the common- wealth,— from whom none could take the helm, and with whom the vefTel was wholly to penfh.
— When manners were incorrupt : whenjuf- tice ruled at home, and equity abroad ; when in the purity of the inftitution, all were confidered
[ *72 3
by each, and each by none ; when the individual flate leaned to philanthrophy, as the individual to the ftate ; and moral fitnefs was extended to national interefts, and the rule of national conduct, adminiftration required no refinement; —even as men deviated from (if ever they were bleft by) fuch virtuous fyftem, flill a found in- tellect and a firm fpirit were for a while equal to the miniftry of public affairs : but now to harmo- nize all the jarring and difcordant elements which fociety was broken into,— to keep together and di- rect together this heterogeneous and uncemented mafs, without change, and without lofs, required an art unknown to former times, — an art referved for the genius of Pericles : — to corrupt, and to rule by corruption ; — to extract unanimity from difcordant paflions ; — to prop fuccumbing va- lour with pride ; — to deduce the patriot virtues from the animofities of party; — to build a fyf- tem of dependence on vanity, and for fubordi- nation to fubftitute dependance ; to draw plenty from diffipation, and make the comforts and competence of the many, proceed from the ex- travagance of the few ; — in foreign marts to ba- lance commodity by manufacture, and the utilty of manufacture by novelty or elegance ;— to pur- chafe armies with wealth, and recover wealth
with,
[ *73 ]
•with armies, or make negotiation fupply the de- ficiencies of both •, — thefe were the arts of this great man, great may be faid, for the greateft in theie refpects have thought him a fit object of their emulation, — well were it if they confidered too the other qualities and merits which raifed this character to the high preheminence it holds ! — Pericles was truly what Cato faid of Pompey
falvS
Libertate, potens ; et folus, plebe parata, Privatus, parere Ilbi.
—He encroached not on the liberties of the re- public, nor though he diflipated the funds of the ftate, did he raife a fortune on its bankruptcy -> as he ufed it to conciliate, fo at times did he employ his eloquence to reprove and chaften the turbulency of the populace j a's from ambition he banifhed, fo from virtue he recalled his com- petitor Cimon y— as rivalfhip loft ground, he honored his rivals-, and finally fought to reftore the patrician influence, and anew balance the commonwealth : to gain the lead in public af- fairs, he had much perplexed, but no one knew better how to unravel them j he had ever fome
re-
t *74 1
refource for the diftreffes, fome fafeguard in the dangers, fome honorable means of colouring over the difcredit of the republic.
Arts andv fcience flourished under his patron- age, public fpirit was countenanced, and the general welfare and fafety Cas far as was compa- tible with the general corruption) were attended to with a happy infight and refolute practice : as the force of Athens fickened from the depra- vity of her citizens, he medicated the weaknefs, and fubftituting art for ftrercgth, taught her to act with a (kill and vigilance more than equal to manly prowefs :— the warriour who trembled under the fhield, might fccurely throw his jave* lin from the rampart, unfteady in the field, he might yet be dexterous on the fcas ; the fubordi- nate ftates being moftly or iflanders or maritime, thereby were more eafily to be kept under, and an enemy under the like predicament more eafily annoyed ; and if defolation was fprcad through the territory of Attica, its fleets with fudden and unprepared for invafion might make a de- fcent on the enemy's coafts, and the balance of conqueft and depredation for a time be equally held i for a time I fay, — for arts may be ac- quired
t *7S ]
quired by thofc who have them riot, but virtu* rarely be recovered by thofe who have loft it.
It is faid that Pericles, or to fcreen fome paft malverfation, or to make his abilities necefifary for the future, engaged his country in a war ;—* that to trufl to fortifications and fleets was the fyftem of war he adopted, is certain -, — that he was the immediate or the fole caufe of the rup- ture between Athens 3fid Sparta, is much, and with much reafon to be doubted : Thucydides. exprefsly tells us, " that the dominion of Athens was become too abfolute and extenfive to be any longer regarded with paflive envy by the great rival Hates •, they thought even their own liber- ties endangered, and if they found not, were ready to coin fome pretext for hoftilities, and league together to pluck the eagle's wing ere {he gained a pitch above the flight of vengeance The oftenfible hiftory is as follows.
Epidamnus owed its fettlement to united colo- nies from Corinth and from Corcyra ; diflention had thus an original germe in this little ftate^ which finally burft forth, and in the commotion, many of the molt noted and moft wealthy of the citiiens were compelled to fly the fury of the po- pulace and take fhelter in the neighbouiing but
baf-
[ 176 J
barbarous diftricr. of the Taulantii : thefe people they perfuaded to aid their defign of forcibly re- inftating themfelves in their country ; when the townfmen inveterately bent againft their return, fent to Corcyra for fuccour wherewith to repel the attack, and drive the affailants back to the woods ; Corcyra refufing affiftance, they then applied to Corinth as being the joint parent ftate, where their plea was admitted, and forthwith a fubfidy voted to back their pretentions' and party: Corcyra alarmed at this interpofition of Corinth, and fearful left the colony of Epidarnnus mould now totally recur from its protection to that of its rival, thought fit to take a part in its affairs, and difpatch a fleet in fupport of the exiles ; tnis and the Corinthian armaments met, aad the latter being worfted, the flame had caught, which afrerwards burft in conflagration over Greece : Epidarnnus was now loft fight of, Co- rinth fought to revenge itfelf on Corcyra, and Corcyra deeming itfelf alone unequal to the con- iTict, applied to the alliance of Athens: the Co- rinthian emifTaries met them fraught with argu- ments evincive of the juftice of their caufe ; but the Corcyreans made a better plea to the ambi- tion of their auditors ;— They were iflanders, —
their
[ *77 )
their navy was powerful, — they were fituated con- veniently for the invafion of the nether fide of the Pelopcnnefe, — or of Italy, — or of Sicily,— or thence of the whole borders of the Mediter- ranean : fuch an opportunity might not again occur, and was not nOw therefore to be pad over ; fome rcfpeft however had the Athenians for ap- pearances, and not to feem in the eye of Greece the firft abettors of frefh hoftility they con- cluded a merely defenfive treaty with the Cor- cyreans; but to make a defenfive treaty with a people already in arms, was furely equivalent to a declaration of war. The Corinthians unable to cope alone with thefe united powers addrefled the Spartans, and roufed them from their le- thargy with a tale of this new acceflion to their rivals, the dangerous avidity of further pofTef- iion thence difcoverable in the Athenians, and their own lofs of that power and eftimation in Greece, which was (o gloriouGy bequeathed them by their forefathers at Platzca.
Sparta now fent to Athens, and Athens fent back to Sparta, and fucceffive negotiation was agitated, but in fuch a manner as proved either to be in fearch only of fome colouring for their animofity, and fome means of involving N others
f 178 J
ot-hers too in the difpute, and making the nipM l\ire general.
. Pericles at length plainly told his country- men,— " that to cede the minuted point in de- bate, was to give up national honor without pro- viding for national fecurity •, that their pufilla- flimity apparent on a trivial conceffion would merely draw on further and more important re- quisitions ; — and that as well as more becoming,, k was more advantageous to reject in the firft in- ftance, and fhow a ipirit, that at leaft would en- fure the confidence of their allies, and fubmif- fion of their tributaries : — He difplayed to them their wealth : — ten thoufand talents were then
in the treasury ; fix hundred they received
annually in tribute j the temples were rich in or- naments of gold •, and the mafllve ipoils of the Perfian camp were ready in exigency to be melt- ed down : he made known to them their
force ; — their army was numerous and well ap- pointed ; and their navy, amounting to three hundred fail, was all equipped, and 'ready for
embarkation: he fhowed them the extent
arid advantage of their dominion ; from Cor-
cyra arid Zacynthus on the one fide, and Eu- ba.'a on the other, they feemed to embrace the
whole
[ 179 3
whole Grecian Teas ; they pofTefTed the vaft cliif- ter of the Cyclades ; and to thefe, and to other iflands of the iEgean had lately added the capital acquifition of Samos ;< on the continent their pofTeflions feemed fo happily fcattered, that they well might be imagined chofen garrifons of Greece : they had at command Acarnania on the confines of the TEtolian, and Platsea on the bor- ders of the Boeotian territory, and MefTenia in the extreme of the Peloponnefe ; and Amphipolis and Eion and other cities in Thrace; and they had the Cherfonefe and Hellefpont; and they had parts of Caria and Ionia, on the Afiatic coaft ; Doria in the northern extremity of Greece was theirs ; and themfelves were fituated in the very center of the field of war, ready to difpatch fuccour or annoyance to each point of the circle : with thefe refources, and with this empire A- thens could not brook concefllon $ —a defiance enfued ; — and war was prepared for on all fides. , — Hoftilities commenced with an attempt to fur- prife Plateea; the town was taken and was re- covered •, many of the agreflbrs were (lain, and many remained captive within the walls; the Theban army then defolating the diftrict around, approached the city to fupport the cnterprize of N 2 their
[ i8o ]
their countrymen •, whofe failure and captivity being made acquainted with, they entered into1 treaty for their lives, and promifed to defift from further devaftation, on condition that their citizens were remanded on the army's retreat from the country ; thefe terms were agreed to, and the Thebans withdrew •, but no fooner were they withdrawn, than the Platasans put to death- their prifoners ; and this act of atrocious and wanton perfidy, portentive of all its horrors and cruelty, opened the Peloponnefian war.
Both Athens and Sparta fent to follicit the al- liance of the Perfian king, who warily for the prefent, liftened to their feveral pretenfions ; it was his intereft to let the contending ftates wafte' the very marrow of their firength, ere he ac- corded any fuccour, and then by fupporting the one or the other, as their weaknefs called for his aid to raife them again for the fight, he finally might with facility opprefs together both the com- batants.
The fubOrdinate ftates of Athens were ftrictly tinder its command ; they paid their tribute and fcrvice ; they had no dififentient voice ; and their fleets and armies were headed by Athenians ;— thus they were fubmifiive, but they were faithlefs.
JThc
C 181 ]
The Spartans were at the head of an alliance embarked in one common caufe, but with va- rious and independant interefts.; thus, though {ready to the general purpofe, yet often on par- ticulars they were dillentient.
The Spartans in the feveral cities under their •fovereignty placed an oligarchy, and the form of government feemed to fecure a quiet and eafy adminiftration, but the people were not in their interefts, and in a crifis of danger co-operated not with ardour and fpirit.
The Athenians fettered their own democracy in each little diftricl: of their dominion, but with fo many reftrictions and refervations in favor of their own fuprerracy, that whilft the Ariftocra~ tics were difgufled at the licentioufnefs, the po- pular advocates were equally irritated by the con- troul of government, and only the ubiquity of the fleet, and often not even that, could infurc the faithful adherence of their tributaries. The diftinctions of opulence and family, and the ftrength of numbers occafioned at times the moft bloody commotions in every town of Greece, and as the demagogues, or the patrician influ- ence got the better; the parties refpec"lively
opened
t 182 ]
opened their gates to the Athenian, or to the confederate forces.
The Peloponnefians were numerous and war- like but not wealthy, and thus were bold and powerful in fudden invafion, but not being pro- vided for a long campaign, their force quickly wafted, and the excurfion though impetuous,-— not being fuftained, was indecifive.
Pericles was aware of the force and of the weaknefs of the enemy, and not attempting to oppofe the frequent inroads into Attica, left the country open to devaftation, and fought to re- pair the lpfs by reprifals made by his fleet?. The peninfula could double the mu Iters of Athens, but Athens had refources that equalled the lefTer to the greater number : {he excelled in Arts offenfive, and defcnfive ; her great wealth Jupplied necelTaries, and her expeditions were marked by vigour and perfeverance j her fleets wafted her troops where they were not expected, and of courfe were not to be refilled ; — nor prow- tkt nor thoufands could balance thefe advan- tages : — it was not till after receiving lubfidies from the Perfian treafury, and a leflbn of naval affairs dearly purchafed by repeated and bloody defeat, that Sparta gained the final fuperiority in this long contention,
$nimofity
in
6
r is3 3
Animofity was in thefe times carried to the moft horrid excefs ; party in each little Hate abetted the carnage of the great civil broil; when any town capitulated, private enmity and political duTeation demanded the murder of
thofe whom national holiility had fpared ;
well were it, if only fome of the more zealous republicans, or more eflieemed and diftmguiflied nobles were the victims ; — often a whole people were maflacred, — the Platseans, the Melians and many others were after conqueft deliberately put
to the fword, nay ! — a long and much debated
edict pafTcd at Athens *' to extirpate with- out refpect to fex or age, every citizen of the noble and populous Mitylene I"-!— men's minds (fays Thucydides) at length became totally de- praved and habituated or to fraud, from the neceiTities, or to cruelty, from the exam- ples of the times ; treachery was forefight, temerity was valour, every vice put on the name of fome virtue, and every virtue was degraded by fome apellation, that brought danger or con- tempt on its adherents; when any party got the better, the firft flaughter was fo horrid, that on a reverfe of fortune, the fecond (hould feem but juftice, was not the fecond encreafed to that
pitch
[ 184 1
pitch of cruelty, as to make the firft compara- tively innocent !
The herdfmen flying their defencelefs villages, thronged to the fortified towns, and there fervid to mingle in the tumult and feed the appe- tite of carnage : to be idle is to be vicious, and habits of vice and idlenefs are not readily fore- gone, and thus was honed induftry in a great meafure loft, and Greece no longer to be the rich and labored country, which of yore nurtured fo many beauteous commonwealths : thefe mul- titudes of men crouding all together within walls, their temperament of body as well as of mind was vitiated, and defperation found new lubject for its horrors and extravagance in pef-
tilence and famine:- who hath not read of
the memorable plague at Athens? Then Pe- ricles too died ; perhaps it hath been well for • the republic, had he never been born ! — but his death was equally fatal to it as his life : none other knew how to medicate the ills he had oc- cafioned ; he had ufed the people to the voice of a demagogue ; — his indeed, as it ever urged fome juft and ufeful plan, fo was it a charm, that like Aaron's rod, fwallowed up all others, and with a fuperior magic kept the afiemblies confiflently to his purpofe : on his death a thou-
fand
E 185 ]
land pretenders arofe, and with rival arts and equal wcakneis perplexed the public councils, difunit- ed the people, and led them to ruin and dc- ftruction.
On the barren rock of Sphacterium, four hun* dred and twenty of the firil warriours of Sparta were furrounded by the Athenian fleet-, many of them were killed, and the remainder after a fharp conteii: furrendered at difcretion : Sparta humiliated by the lofs fued to Athens for peace ; Athens for a while haughtily rejected the pro- pofal, but Brafidas with the fpecious proclama- tion of general liberty, having gained many of the towns of Thrace, and ThefTaly, and with fuccefsful arms, or more fuccefsful clemency dailily bringing over others from the Athenian dominion or alliance, they at lengrh ceded to the requeft, and agreed to a truce of one year, wherein they might have leimre to concert a trea- ty, the ground-work of which was to be, the exchange of the prifoners from Sphacterium for the cities which Brafidas had got pofiefiion of, whether by conqueft, or from defection. This truce was quickly infringed, Brafidas ftill pur- fuing his victories in pretended ignorance of the cefiation of arms : The Athenians at length fent an army to oppofe his progrefs under the com- mand
[ *S6 ]
wand of one Cleon, a braggart, who had talk- ed himfelf into office by depreciating real me- rit, and lauding his own and that of the peo- ple : the cowardice and ignorance of this Cleon brought deftrudtion on the army committed to I>is care, though fuperior in appointment and iuimbers to the enemy: the Athenian forces were cut to pieces, but on the other fide, the death ofBrafidas feemed almoft a balance to tjie victory f for though others might be found to lead the army, not one could pretend to that perfonal intereft he had acquired throughout the country, by a perfeverance in the virtues (fo un- common to thofe times,) of candour, ftrict faith, mercy, and beneficence.
Both parties now again recurred to negocia- tion, and a peace was finally concluded between Athens and Sparta : thefe fovereign ftates too Kaftily put their fignatures to a treaty, fuffid- e:nly explicit indeed with refpect to themfelves, but too little provident of their accefTaries in the v/ar, whofe welfare and even fafety were no part .of the conditions'.
Moft of the fubordinate dates during the courfe Gf hoftilities, had at fometime wavered in their frith. -i — ioine had been marked by the mod
bloody
[ i"7 3
bloody perfidy, — fedition had r^ged irt all, and rhe rancour of party fuppreffed, but not fubdur- ed, was ready to take the lead anew, as invited by the opportunities of power: — how mould the confederate cities thus ftained with the crimes of treachery and cruelty, return without flipiir lated terms of oblivion and forgivenefs to their former, and now offended matters? Democra- cies had become oligarchies, and ariftocratic governments popular -t — were thefe dates to be lightly bartered, for the Athenian to depreis the nobles of the one, and the Spartans to raife thofe of the other, whilft private revenge of the aggrieved but now powerful party, on ei- ther fide finished the work of depopulation, which war had fo fuccefsfully begun ? The difTentient cities implored, and met with difre- gard •, they remonftrated, and met with evasi- ons; they threatened, — and Athens and Sparta determined againft further difpute between them- felves entered into an offenfive and defenfivc alliance, the very name of which they deemed fufficient to filence every murmur of the malecontents, and neceflitate them to a difcretionary fubmifilon : Argos and Corinth however taking the lead, formed a confederacy
where-
[ i88 ]
wfeerewith to oppofe the united powers and force them to fome conceflion in their fa- vor.
A fecond war was now liktly to break out, more bloody than the flrft. Athens was be- come Spartan, and Sparta Athenian, the fubor- <finates of either had broken their engagements, and embarked in a new caufe; all had chang- ed fides ; — hoftilities now leaned ffcill nearer to civil difcord; — the deluge again threatened the fields, but from a ftilj more envenomed fource; — well doth the poet fay-^r
n — " Alta fedent chilis vulnera dextreJ
Perhaps happily for the generality of Greece, though fatally for our republic, the ambition of an individual broke in upon thefe new compacts and roufed the old hereditary flame between Lar cedsemon and Athens. — * this, faid Alcibiades, this is the time to humble your old, your haugh- ty rivals *, — go head the Argive league, and foon you will be at the head of Greece.*' His eloquence abetted by falfehoods, and every art and mtrigue the orator's policy could fuggefr, at length prevailed with the affembly -t and the alliance with Argos was concluded on-: Argos
not
[ i89 ]
not long afterwards ceded to Sparta, but fooii again its oligarchy being overthrown, it return- ed to Its engagements and the eftablifhment of a popular government cemented its union with, Athens, who to other advantages accruing from this mighty acceffion of ftrength, might at length be laid to have a footing in the Pelopon- nefe.
CHA^|
t *$*'}
G " H A P. V,
f\ F the Various adventurers who migrated ^■^ into Attica, many (as we obferved) had failed from diftant coafts j and the feceffion from their native clime, originating from a fpirit of enterprize, and not being enforced by hoftility, a return was by no means precluded $ and the ' various motives of domeftic attachments, of love for the natal fpot, and of wants, and of necef- fities incident to a colony newly fixed in an un- cultivated domain, conduced to make the com- merce between the new and the mother countries frequent and continued : a knowledge of navi- gation was thus early introduced into Attica, and the influence it had through every channel, every vein, every the minuted duel of the political body was powerful, and big with confequence.. The practice of navigation fo much facilitated the intercourfe of diftant people, fo much there- in feemed a public bensfit, whilft it conduced to private intereft, fo much ferved the enjoyments
of
[ '91 1
of the wealthy, and the hopes of all •, that with common voice the powerful purfucd fatiety, and the indigent power in the furtherance of every incentive to a general and diffufive commerce.
The pirate and merchant were long fynoni- mous characters, but good fortune or ability having elevated fome traders to a fuperior emi- nence in the profeflion, they joined their ex- ample, to difcountenance, and power, to quell the violences and depredations of their fellows : it was then, that on the bafis of more general intelligence, of growing wealth and concomitant authority, the merchant's occupation became honorable ; — the Hate reaping fubfidy and popu- lation from its practices, modelled itfelf into a fyftem of patronage to its purfuits, and gra- dually the whole commonwealth became depen- dant on the fuccefs of its trade, and the prowefs «f its navy.
The minds of the Athenians opened by com- mercial intercourfe, re-operated on that com- merce, and aided it with fuch regulation as ex- perience might authorize, or forefight fugged : negotiation was to be foftered but by equality, the influence of the citizen over his neighbour might extend to the tranfactions of the mer- chant,
t 192 ]
chant, and diffidence corrode the very root of* credit and fair dealing ; — thus feemed ic necef- fary, that the ftate fhould tend to the demo- cratic fcale in flibferviency to the interests of* thofe, who gave it grandeur and opulence.
That a ftate fhculd, by degrees, mould to the fpirit of its individuals ; — that a humane and impartial legitimation tending to favor the occupa- tion of the citizen, ihould attract the foreigner 5 —that the public polity fhould profit of the concourfe, and encreafe in funds and popula- tion ; — that induftry mould lead to riches, and riches to authority ; — that each citizen ihould feek that channel through which his pride, his pleafures, his ambition^ his every paffion was
to be gratified; that in a word, from the
advantages of trade and navigation, a common- wealth fhould become powerful, and its confti-
tuents polifhed and opulent, is a fubject too
well underftood, to need any further detail :— but this over-nutritious flimulative to greatnefs, bears it not fomewhat poifonous and deftruclive in its confequences ? — Runs not fuch a ftate the career of a midnight revel, progreflive through the various fteps of civility, wir, and fpj.rit, to the conjoined we^knefs and hot paflion of
cbriety 3
f *93 1
ebriety; tiil grown drivelling and torpid* it is. opprefled without refiftance, and removed at pleafure ? In the moral, as in the phyfical world, the point of maturity is but that of a moment, whilft encrcafe and decreafe have their periods, and in general of reciprocal duration ; with the fame hafte a commercial nation ac- cedes to empire, it fpeeds to diiTolution, and the very circumftances which firft. opened the profped of fuccefs, prove the caufe of its down- fall.
Application and frugality the firft promoters of trade, finally become victims to the very fuc* cefs of the enterprize •, the importation of lux- uries gradually enervates the induftry that is in purfuitL of them ; the influx of money at once enhances the value of the manufacture, and renders its artificer indolent ; other nations not yet emerged from competency underfcll the articles of life •, — fome fubterfuge muft be found to evade the rivality, — the liberal arts have per- haps followed commerce to her elevation,
their afiiftance is now required, — invention is racked, and workmanfhip ftudied of the molt exquifitc, to allure the fenfe, and put the com-
parifon of price at a diftance i then too the
O mere
I J94 1
mere underling artificer grows idle and' mo-' neyed, and puts in his claim with the reft to- be diflblute and luxurious : thus the whole
community becomes corrupt, and begins to weigh light in the fcale of nations-, the laft re- fource from immediate ruin is the rcftriction of; what it actually pofleflTes, to domeftic circula- tion, nor can this preferve it long-, — a marine armament is its only defence, and fuch navy is> not to be fupported, but on the bafis of a com- mercial one.
Wealth, though the lead certain mark o£ happinefs is the furefi: object cf envy, avarice and impatience- of inferiority beget emulation and difcontent in the neighbouring ftates -, the pride of riches knows not to concede, — a pri- vate argument becomes a public quarrel; —
war is declared ! the fleets are found on the
decline, — the number of artizans is multiplied- tenfold, of failors decreafed ; — no longer invin- cible at fea, the commonwealth muft have forces too by land; — but whence are they to be drafted ? The felfifli citizen pleads occu- pation, the countrymen are but few; — merce- naries mult of force be every where collected ; ftill. the republic is wealthy, and under hireling
banners
[ 195 ]
banners it opens a campaign at leaft with fplen- dor; — but thefc troops fight not their own caufe, they are quickly difpirited by lofs, they are mutinous in fflccefs, they are unfupportable to the country, they are exhaufting to the ftate, and whether victorious or not, the war concludes in ruinous debt, and impoverifhed refources.
Such feems the natural career of every com- mercial ftate dependant on its navy for power and even fubfiftance ; without enumerating for- tuitous lofTes, a defective government, or evil adminiftration ; each of which concurred in the prefent crifis, to haften on the republic of Athens in its deftructive courfe, and accelerate the hour of diflblution. The town thronged with flaves, merchants, allies, and foreigners of all forts,— expofed not to immedi- ate view, the ravages which peftilence and war had made in the numbers of the citizens ; five thoufand were the moft that ever from this time afiembled on the moft general and impor- tant concern j but the ftreets wore the appear- ances of plenty and population, the common- alty were delighted with the view, and mad- dened with that elation which each demagogue for a private purpofe had artfully wrought up, and now coloured afrelh, with the new Argive O 2 treaty,
[ i96 ]
treaty, they gave ear to every flattery, and filled with the admiration of the fpeaker and of themfelves, harmonized their vanity with his ambition, and accorded to the moft extravagant projects of new and extenfive conqueft.
During the previous conteft with the Pelo- ponnefe, the Athenians had from time to time meddled in the difputes of Sicily, and relifhing the fweets of pillage, which that opulent coun- try afforded, chey bud become fo enamoured with this little fecondary war, in which, with- out hazard, they had acted the profitable pars of pyrates, rather than- the dangerous one o£ combatants-, — that on the conclufion of the peace at Camarina, they teftified their difap- probation of the treaty, by baniming or fin- ing every officer of theirs who had acceded to- il': another opportunity now offered of recom- mencing hoftilities there, when defpifing evert appearances, to interpoie between the petty ftates of Selinunte and Egefte, they voted arc armament of fuch mighty force, as could not- but be deftined for the reduction of the whole country ; and made their intentions the more evident, by commifiioning their leaders at any rate to puriue. the war, and on failure of other
pretext
t l97 1
pretext to rip up the old quarrel of Lentini and Syracufe, and make that a pretence for forth- with attacking the capitol of Sicily.
Weakly as this expedition was determined on, more foolifh yet was the ordination of the three leaders of the armament — Nicias, a very
dilatory, and very old man, Lamachus,
the Lepidus of the triumvirate — and Alcibiades the Antony — equally voluptuous, equally art- full, brave, and unprincipled : — this laft man however, was ftill more improper on other ac- counts-,— previous to the embarkment, he was charged with a crime that was even capital;
, without pardon, without trial, or even a
determined period of trial, the caufe on which his life was to depend, was left undecided, and he was permitted to depart, diitrufted by, and diftrufting the citizens, and at the head of a foldiery that to a man adored him.
Scarcely landed on the Sicilian fhorc, Aid- biades was fummoned to return, and appear before the aflembly, when all who might abet or fupport him, were abfent from the judicature ; —but he was aware of the policy of his adver- saries,— efcaped his conductors, and went over
to Sparta: -thus did the Athenians truft this
nun
[ 198 ]
man with power — enter into all his views, and with a vaft and expenfive force give action to his defigns, — and then ill ufed, and turned him loofe in the bitternefs of difguft and difappoint- ment to betray their policy, to counteract their fchemes, and inftruct the enemy of what was meant, and what meant to accomplifh it, what was ftrong, what weak, and where and how his country might be annoyed, and all its projects oppofed and baffled.
He mowed the Spartans, that the Sicilians if conquered, muft be conquered from want of experience and unanimity — that they had men fufficient, but that to make thefe men foldiers, and bring them properly to the field, they want- ed fome trufty veteran officer to inftruct, and lead them on. He told the Spartans that their own troops might be more profitably employed in Greece ; — that their frequent invalions of Attica, had not hitherto been fo effective as they could willi ; but that the reafon was obvioufly their omitting, their itrangely omitting to fortify and fecure fome ltrong hold in a province, when they were matters of it, and whence they might at leifure harrafs the country, intercept parties, and keep the capitol itfelf in conftant alarm. The Spartans on their next excurfion, flopt
to
. u
( *99 ]
to ftrengthen and garrifon the fortrefs of Dece« •lea, only twelve miles diftant from Athens,; and immediately they difpatched Gylippus with a fmall force to infpirit and command the Syra- •cufan armies.
The Athenian armament, of which Nicias now was the ible general, (ibr Lamachus was killed) was compleatly, and even -richly fitted out •, its equipment of arms and ftores, and its comple- ment of troops feemed adequate to the great bufi- nefs it was fent on \ — but at fuch a diftance from home, nothing but conftant fuccefs could find this army fupport, and even victory if fharply contefted, was fatal, whilft each death was irre- parable from the difficulties of recruiting, and the army gradually diminished and wafted a- way : Nicias indeed lent for fuccour to Etruria, and even Carthage, but little had his emifTaries to plead in favor of their requifition, and they met every where with flight or with reproof.
The Athenians at the firft onfet were irrefu- table, they fpeedily over-ran a large tracl: of country, feized on Catana, and inveftcd Syra- cufe : the citizens often fallied forth, and were as often beat ; the enemies fleetrode triumphantly in the very harbour •, and a circumvallation nearly
furrounde4
[ 20° ] furrounded the whole town ; at this moment of diftrefs, Gylippus arrived, but with fo fmall a. force, that even the wary, fuperftitious old Nicias treated the reinforcement with derifion, and no ways labored to prevent the difembark- ment •, loon however its importance appeared ; Gylippus took the lead of the Syracufans, ani- mated them with fpeeches,— — recovered fome fmall forts, elated them wi:h their prowefs -y — difciplined, formed, and directed them; and finally Ihowed that art and experience could finifh the work nature had begun^ and that not {he, but the military tutor is in fault, if every man is not to be made a foldier.
The Syracufans now often beat the Athenians on equal terms, and the force of the invaders from the fucceffive fkirmifhes, was fo wafted, that not even the reinforcement under Demof- thenes could enable it long to make head againft the more numerous, and now warlike Sicilians : Demofthencs and Nicias were foon neceflitated to act on the defennve ; — at length even a re- treat was cut off by the blockade of their fleet within the harbour ; — they attempted to force a padage, they were repulfed, — the fhipping de- iiroyed, and their condition was almoft hope.
lefs :
[ 201 3
lefs : — the forlorn alternative was now in agita- tion, of attempting a retreat by land, and feeking fome city, which the Athenian name might yet induce to relieve, and fupply them with the means of returning home: the Syracufans apriz- ed of the defign, awaited to attack them on their march, they harraffed, they furrounded them, and at length forced them to a difcretionary fur- render of their arms and perfons: Nicias and Demofthenes were put to death; — fome were made flaves of, and Tome difmifled.
Thus concluded this fatal expedition, in which, JElhn fay?, the Athenians loft forty thoufand of their beft troops, and a fleet of two hundred and forty fail, fhips of war, tranfports, znd others.
CHAP,
{ 202 J
C HAP, VL
/"^ H A R I T Y covers not more fins in reli- ^~^ gion, than affability in worldly intercourfe; an attentive complacency is a refined fort of flat- tery that none can refill ; nor is it wonderful that every man Ihould be in good humour with the poiTefibr of a talent, which puts every man in good humour with himfelf, There is no one who practifes affiduoufly the art of railing the felf-importance of thofe he may accoft, but reaps a good profit in proportion to the dexterity of his addrefs -, but extra-advantages have belonged to many both ancient and modern profeflbrs of this difFufive and delicate fpecies of practical adulation, — advantages for which they were in- debted to the cafualties of nature or of fortune, and which no affiduity can hope to emulate i— - the man of learning who liftens refpectfully to a quotation, the man of fcience to a fyftem, the man of wit to an opinion, and the man of wealth and power who liftens refpedtfully to any thing,
will,
r 2°3 ]
will, thereby, give a felf-confequence to the fpeaker, who will heartily repay the dortor with a degree of gatitude proportionate to his own unworthincfs ; which unworthinefs, as few have in any extenfive fenfe, learning, fcience, wit, wealth, or power,— mult be the lot of the mul- titude, and of courfe, the favor attending the complaifance of the wife, and particularly the great, be much, and almoft univerfal.
From thtfe reflections I have often been in- duced to take much from the flock of virtues, allowed in great conciliating characters, and to return them whence they originated, — on the bounty of mankind •, which for every point of lordly dignity given up, is ready to lavifh all its powers cf eulogy, and elevate to the fkies every king who condeicends to walk the earth, however lamely he may walk it, with his fellow- creatures.
We hence eafily can refolve the wonder of Cornelius Nepos, that Alcibiades exceeded Thrafybulus fo much in renown, whilft Thra- fybulus was his companion, and acceflary to each glorious exploit, and had, befides, engaged in fo noble and excentric a one, in which Alcibi- ades bore no part: Alcibiades, of noble de-
fcent,
[204 ]
cont, of immoderate wealth, of fome wit, and fome learning, and much military fpirit, was, perhaps, one of thofe heroes, who have enjoyed many of their more extaordinary qualities from the generous retribution of their cotemporaries ; whoever will admire the man whofe admiration is creditable, and feems to be placed on them.
Imitation of manners is, perhaps, the mod
fuperior fort of this fuperior flattery ; had Al-
cibiades eat but one mefs of black broath, his aufterity would have been noted and enlarged upon at Sparta-, had he uttered two meta- phors, and drank two quarts in Perfia, his abi- lities therein, from this fmall flock might have fweiled to a fame, that mould rival the hyber- boles of the Magi, or the fepulchral infcription of the fat Artaxerxes : I think therefore the verfatility of this genius fo ftrongly and fo much infilled on, may have been nothing extraordi- nary, but that merely he had the art, not fo common in thofe days, of polite and ailiduous infincerity,
Alcibiades ill repayed the hofpitality of Agis, by an adultery with his queen ; and this, and other circumflances, obliged him to quit Spar- ta : at the conclufion of the Sicilian war he
had
t 205 ]
had taken refuge with Tifaphernes, and was now ingratiating himfelf by profefiing the inte- refts of the Perfian, and giving information and advice, ruinous to the liberties of his country: his arguments finally influenced the Satrap to take part in the Grecian diflurbances, and to make a treaty with the Spartans, by which they gained a considerable acceffion of what they fo much wanted, and what perhaps alone they
had hitherto been deficient in, money and
/hipping : Syracufe too, grateful to her de- liverers, lifted under their banner, and afiifted with her fleets to humble thole who had fo wan- tonly been her aggreflbrs.
The total lofs of the army in Sicily, the vafl preparations making againft them, and the fuc- ceflive defection of their allies and tributaries, filled the minds of the Athenians with confter- nation ; every other refource feemed exhaufted, and for a laft and defpondent exertion, they voted the employment of the ten thoufand ta- lents fet apart for the immediate defence of A- thens, and a fleet equipped with its laft fad re- lids of opulence and authority, again took the feas.
This republic that fo little while agone had haughtily menaced the united powers of the Pelo-
ponnefe
[ 2o6 }
ponnefe and Sicily, was now ceccfntated to fe- condary expeditions in fupport of fome little town, or for the recovery of fome fmall ifland, during the attempt on which, another, and another, went over to the enemy, and fpite of perfeverance, its empire was mutilated, and the itrength of each part decayed.
The revolt of Rhodes was announced, that of Eubsea hourly expected j— what comfort, what' hopes in this diftrefs ! " perhaps, faid one, Al- cibiades might be perfuaded to return ; Alcibt- ades is in ftricl amity with TiHaphernes, and his intereft might bring over the Perfian to our affiflance : the idea was with eagernefs em- braced, and the temper and inclinations of his countrymen were immediately hinted to the ex- iled chief; but now aware of the fluctuating fa- vor of a corrupted populace, Alcibiades would not truft to this momentary good-will ; he would return, and boafted he would bring with him all the force of Perfia, but it mould be on condition that the democracy was abolifhed, and the government vefted in a few, among whom he was to be, and probably to be the chief.
On the promulgation of thefe propofals, the Athenian aflembly broke into a variety of fac- tions,
[ 207 J
tions, each adopting fuch fentiments, party, or plan, as fuited with his temper and circum- ftances •, each thinking for himfelf, and none for the commonwealth. In every other ftate the inteftine commotions being kept up by only two parties ; by thofe who favored the nobles* and thofe who fupported the pretenfions of the people, fubfided quickly on the fuperiority of the one or of the other fide, and the bloodlhed of a few principals warned away the dregs of fe- dition ;. but the anarchy of the Athenian aflem- bly admitted not of fo eafy a fettlemcnt : every citizen almoft was a party ; one man prefered one, and another another form of government y fbme fet up for thcmfelves, and fome abetted the pretenfions of any one whom they had a little- known, or much heard of;, many yet ftickled for the commonwealth, and a few remembered the old fafhioned conduct of their anceftors, faid that the duty of a freeman was to bequeath the fame freedom to his fon ; and talked of dying for their liberties and country ; but the word, and not the leaft numerous fet of men were thofe who without principle or fcheme, merely fought to keep up or encreafe commo- tion, with a view of bettering themfelvcsj as
the
[ 208 ]
the incendiary who firfl: lights, then to pillage from the fire.
A coalition of four hundred of the moft pow- erful citizens, at length with the murder of the few virtuous advocates of the old republic, bore down the other factions, and by a vote diiTolving the former compact of govern- ment, exifted a felf-created fenate, arbitrary and fupieme over every other department, whe- ther civil or military.
To filence the clamours of the difcontented, they decreed the adjunction of five thoufand more to their number, but this conciliatory pro- mife they never accomplifhcd, and the power Was actually and folely veiled in the four hun- dred who had firft arrogated authority.
At leaft a moiety of the Athenian denizens were aboard the fleet at Samos •, — thofe who in the extreme exigency of the republic, had en- lifted in its armies, the fervice of which from the diftreflfes and diminution of the ftate, was become more frequent and more dangerous, af- furedly could not be deemed the worft of the citizens i at any rare military difcipline muft have given them habits very different from that It- centioufnefs which the turbulency of the afiem-
blies,
[ 2o9 ]
blies, the arts of a demagogue, and examples of vice and inftances of impunity produced at home ; — their diffention- from the innovations at Athens was thus lo be expected ;— and, in- deed,— without recurring to more extraordinary reafons than the one fo common and fo well known, — that they had no part in the tranfac- tion, and that men are not generally apt to ac- quiefce in the work of others, and implicitly approve what they think themfelves much con- cerned and little confulted in.
The army difpatched a meiTenger to Alcibi- ades, and putting him at their head, fet. up for reformers of the commonwealth, in oppofitiort to the faction at home, who had difiblved it : this altercation of army and fenate ended in the fubmifiion of the latter •, their decrees were an* nulled, and the prior conftitution in fome mea- fure reftored : Alcibiades recalled and lupport- ed by the republican party, could not at this time openly propofe his favourite oligarchy, but yet apprehenfive of that ficklenefs of difpofition he had fo much experienced, and had once fo nearly fallen a victim to ; he was determined to effect fuch alteration, at lead, in the govern- ment, as fhould enfurc it to the hands of thofe, P who,
[ 210 ]
who, from wealth, good fenfe, or other fbun-- dation of felf-confequence, might not be expof- cd to waver to the breath of every noify de- claimer, and compliment his oratory with a fa- crifice of whomever he mould demand from private envy, diffike, or rival'fhip : Alcibiades had the addrefs to gain his point by ftill preferv- ing the forms of the ancient conftitution, but confining the number of leg.il citizens to fire thoufand, which from his intereft in the choice1 of the majority of, he thought to make a party of rather than a ftate j and to mold and direct at pleafure.
Courage is generally fuppofed to be conflitu- tional, or a quality primarily inherent in the connected foul and body ; but like all other fa- culties or virtues bellowed upon us, it is- not fo remarkable in the firft inftance, as in the powers
v/e have of encreafing, or adding to it ; as
the flrongeft natural underftanding will yield to a weak one, well taught and well methodized, — or as the beft natural memory will not retain fo well as that of a practiced actor ; fo the fierceft fpirit from birth will not act with the intrepi- dity of a veteran, whom difcipline or ufe, or a particular caufe, or a particular general, or many
•the.?
[ U* ]
other cafualties will at times induce to face the moft eminent peril, with more than natural cou- rage : valour means felf-confidence ; — that con- fidence as it flies from inftinct to opinion, not only more eafily finds fupport, but from the conflux of paffions flowing in to its aid, that fup^ port too is ftronger •, — again it is more uncertain whilft the cement of theie afcititious emotions is extra-dependant on feafon and circumftance; and it readily vanifhes or returns, as it is urged or repreiTed by the mind in fluctuation, from rea- fons of hope, to reafons of fear.
Nothing inftills a more undaunted fpirit into the bread of foldiers, than an (often moft ca- pricious; notion of, and favor for, fome parti- cular leader : — with what courage did the name of Charles infpire the Swedes ? — what foldier could fhrink, when backed with the clamour of " Csfar and his fortune ?''--As ftrong an inftance now occurs of military fpirit towering to the very heavens from a fimilar bafis, and fo idly built, that the fabric was fitted to no other founda- tion : the name of Alcibiades had caught wich the foldiery, and the ardour awakened by the magic of this mere name, infpirited the whole army to that degree, that from their ftate of
abafe-
[ 212 ]
abafement and humiliation, the Athenians orics again affumed the airs of victory, — they won the day at Cynoceme, at Cyzicum, at Byzantium y
they talked of nought but conqueft, and
previoufly to the next defeat of the Spartans, they arrogantly pafTed a vote to cut off the right hand of every prifoner they Ihould take : with Alcibiades fuccefs was not be doubted ! — Alci- biades left his fleet with his lieutenant Anti- ochus ; the hour of engagement was an- nounced,— Alcibiades was wanting-, — " Where is our commander {" was afked with an air of anxiety, — the queftion echoed from veffel to veffeU — the defpondency was infectious, every heart drooped j — at the fea-fight off the river iEgos, not a warrior combated with half the nerve or finew he would have fought, had Al* cibiades been prefent !
The Athenian navy was in this laft conflict
totally deftroyed, a multitude (lain, and three
thoufand Athenians who were taken, adjudged to death •, the plea for this feverity was the cruel defign adopted of mutilating the Spartan captives, had their enemies been victorious -y thus horrid as this ma fiacre feems, it carried an air of jultice. The clalTical reader will hereon
witk
[ 213 ]
with indignation remember, that the dement Csefar practifed a fimilar but more atrocious cruelty on the capture of Uxeliodunum, when (as himfelf tells us) he cut off the right hand of every Gaul who had been guilty of the love of liberty and of his countty!
This laft overthrow was decifive, and Athens prepared for fubmiffion : the Lacedsemonian general Lyfander purpofely fpun out the negoti- ation refpecting the4 terms of capitulation, till the famine and confequent diftrefs within the town became fo great, that the people finally opened their gates, on fuch conditions as feemed equivalent to a difcretionary furrender : — the fhipping was to be given up, or destroyed ;— the treafury to be at the difpofal of the conque- ror-,— the walls of this noble city to be levelled with the ground; — and laftly, its common- wealth to be fubverted, and the odious oli- garchy impofed, the oligarchy which the
Athenians lb detefted, and had fpent fo much blood and treafure to overturn in every other town of Greece.
Sparta detached a guard to protect the new governors, who moreover bribed to their intereft, three thoufand of the refufe of the people,
the'
t 2I4 ]
the more fecurely to fport with the lives and property of the reft.
Under the tyranny of thirty of the moft rapa- cious and mercilefs men that ancient or modern annals have deigned to name, we now behold this once free and flourifhing people ! — It were eafy in fancy to give a lively colouring to a pic- ture of defpotic oppreflion ; let the reader's
imagination take up the pencil! — unlefs he think with me, — that the polifh and lenity of the mo- dern age have rendered fuch fubject unneceflfary and uninterefting.
C H A »
[ 2i5 ]
CHAP. VIL
HP HOUGH it feems little connected with the historical difquifition I profefied to be the fubject of my pen, yet am I tempted to in- troduce into this already mifcellaneous train of eflays fome fhort investigation of the Anabyfisof Xenophon. Xenophon was an Athenian- it is poor excufe for digrefiion ! — but it may be no incurious refearch, to follow the Greeks to PerGa, and to mark their conduct and courage in that country whence in former times, inva- •fion came upon them in fo monftrous and formidable a fhape; — to think of the glorious refinance made to fo tremendous an attack by fo fmall a number, and then to confider the fortitude and perfeverance of as fmall a number of the fame country, and exerted with fimilar fuccefs in the very centre of that empire which had been the original aggreflbr.
No where hath Voltaire difplayed more levity of criticifm, than in his ftri&ures on this expe- dition ;
[ 2l6 ]
dition ; — fhall wc fay that he was deficient in, judgment, or that he wantonly facrifked it to the vanity of being eccentric, or to a fportive fancy ; when we obferve — that he hath ra- ther chofen to defcant on the mercenary at- tack, than on the glorious and indefatigable retreat,— ^that he hath been a frivolous cenfurer of a day's march in fo flupendous an under- taking, and without argument, and with mere paultry furmife, hath attempted to reprobate the truth of the very writer, who was the very leader of fo fmall a body of men, through fo vail a tract of defolate or inhofpitable domain ;
Voltaire hath juftly indeed obferved, that
Xenophon was never appointed to the com- mand in chief, but we find his advice always given, and as conflantly followed, and though not the general, yet may he, not improperly, be termed the leader of the ten thoufand.— More fingular yet is the Frenchman's account of Cyrus — He lightly talks of him, as of a mere driveling drunkard, notices fome obfcure anec- dotes, and forgets that our author, in the very particular delineation, himfelf has given of the character of that prince, hath veiled him with fo bright a ferics of royal accomplifhments,
that
l ul
[ 2i7 1
fhat we regard with wonder, the pi&ure fq ftrongly portraited with authentic marks of ve- rity, as to force on us a belief of what almolt tranfcends our ideas of excellence, and power* of praife.
When a Spirtan army is led forth by a ve- teran king, flufhed with conqueft, and actuated py refentment, it may be preconceived that fuccefs will await the enterprize, even when directed againit. the molt numerous tribes of the populous, but enervate Perfia : I can read of, and yet not wonder at, the vi&ories of Age- fiiaus.
But that a number of men, collected from, diftant parts, driven by misfortune or crime irom their paternal hearth, much alienated from patriot fentiments, and long difufed to their national virtues, mould under the predi- cament of cafual connexion, recal to mind the focial fpirit and unanimity which diftinguilhed their once loved homes, and form a brotherhood jn their diftrefs, faithful in its internal confti- tution, and brave and united in its exterior ef- forts i— that all fhould fo fuddenly lofe fight of mercenary views, and of foreign habits, and in a moment recover the fpirit of old Greece,
and
[ *** ]
and affumc the deportment of its independant foldiery of yore — all this furely proves how deeply was rooted, and of how pure a nature was the germe of martial virtue born of repu- blican principles and practice, which no
feafon could corrupt, no difficulties apal, and no time obliviate.
— Cyrus muttered his army at Sardis, and collecting together the Greeks thereof, entrust- ed them to the generalfhip of Clearchus the Spartan: in mere fportive evolution this body of men (fays Xenophon) difplayed a firmnefs and impetuofity that terrified the fpectators, and even army to which they were auxiliary ; thence Cyrus had a happy prefage of fuccefs, and from that moment mowed the utmoft deference to every foldier of fortune who could plead the merits of a Grecian birth : this favourite band was during the whole tedious march from the coafts of the iEgean to AfTyria, enticed, flat- tered, promifed, its wantonnefs excufed, its wildeit pretenfions heard, and its moft extrava- gant demands acquiefced in j— even when tra- versing the vaft and defolate deferts of Afia, its provifion was well fupplied, and of good qua- lity, and the famifhed Perfian eyed the Greek
foldier
[ 2i9 1
fbldier vigorous from plenty, and even ruddy with excefs : thefe circumftanees mould be re- membered when we come to confider them forfaken of profperity, and yet retaining the elation of fpirit, the pride of worth, the con- tempt of arrogant authority, and all the haugh- tinefs, eafc and power could give, and pre- ferving thefe qualities of the happy, when op- preffed by the leaden hand of adverfe fortune !
The hoftile brothers, Gyrus and Artaxerxes, at length met to enter into decifive conflict for the crown : the Greeks performed the part af- fjgned to them with conduct and courage i— they charged with a fury and difciplinc that nothing could refift, they broke through whole phalanxes of Afiatics, and were victors on the firft onfet, with only one man wounded by a random arrow, nor through the whole day of battle did they meet with a viciflitude of fupe- riority, but retired from the field without any lofs of confequence to damp the joys of con-, queft with a tear of regret.
The oppofite army confifting of twelve hun- dred thoufand combatants covered a vaft extent of ground, and victory on the right, implied no certitude of the general fortune of the day;
thp
[ 220 ]
tfce Greeks remained under arms the whole night without refrefhment, and anxious for the fate of the general ; on the next morning came an account of the death of Cyrus, and of the rout and overthrow of all his forces excepting their own, fingly-unbroken band ; without hefitati- on the Greeks then fent to the Satrap Ari- seus, who was lieutenant to, and had rallied the fugitives, and recovered fome remnant of the army of Cyrus i and they offered to fupport any claim he might make to the Perfian dia- dem ; but Ariaeus deemed it madnefs to think of dethroning an hereditary king at the head of more than a million of foldiers, animated with conqueit.
Artaxerxes fent to them to deliver up their arms-, — we want them (anfwered Clearehus) whether as friends, or as enemies, — whether to. ferve him ro to defend ourfelves: they af- terwards replied in a haughtier ftrain, and re- fufed to even treat until fupplied with provifions and every other necefiary.
The mighty Perfian army feared the necef- fity of coping with the defperation of thefe few brave men ; the refrefhment was granted ; it ^yas deemed advifeable to fubflitute treachery
for
t *?* 1
for force, and to circumvent, and not to com- bat with them •, nearly were they victims to this mean policy of the Perfian, Ciearchus and their feveral otl.er captains being on fome amicable pretext allured to the tent of Tifiaphernes and there perfidioufly put to the fword.
It was now that the virtue and perfeverance of the Greeks were put to a hardy trial ; thofe were (lain whom habit had taught them to liften to, and to obey -9 there were none whofe long preheminence in council or in action might war- rant attention in thofe around j Xenophon him- felf was little known among the troops; — "I have heard (faid Cherifophus) that one Xeno- phon an Athenian was with the army, but tcr the hour of this necefiitous debate, I knew nor of his particular fortitude and wifdom : the tale of the malTacre was unfolded-, — the warmth of refcntment flumed each private foldier, and with unanimity all breathed the voice of defiance
to the cruel and infidious Perfian :■ the loft
captains were immediately replaced with thofe the moil experienced, and moft confided in, by the troops i and the firmnefs of fpirit, and na- tional attachment of the foldiery was fo great, that diftrefied and endangered as was this little
army,
t 2ii ]
army of ten thoufand men but three hundred Thracians under MiltOcythes, and twenty others under one Nicarchus were found bafe enough to defert their fellow-fufferers and except the proffers of Artaxerxes. Cleanor (the chief in command) fummoned a general council, and the refult of the debate, was a determination to force a retreat towards their native country: nor was it in ignorance of its difficulties that
they refolved on this expedition: to induce
them to a difcretionary fubmifilon the rapid rivers, and the mountains and deferts they were to pafs, the excelTes of climate and fa- mine they were to bear up againft, and fe- rocious nations they were every where, and
conftantly to cope with, repeatedly had
been .urged to them, and the account blackened with every horror the extravagance of eaftern eloquence could beflow.
Scarcely had the Greeks {truck their tents, when a large detachment under Tiffaphernes ap- peared hovering on their rear ; when they began to march, the Perfian horfe infefted them on all fides, they were galled with their darts and javelins, and being withour cavalry to purfue, relied in pafiive torment, the fport of an enemy
wantonly
E 223 1
wantonly brave in the fecurity of his fpeed : CO repel thefe incurfions they gave up their bag- gage, mounted a choice number of foldiers on the horfes ; and the next onfet, rufhing impe- tuoufly from within the hollow fquare, they
chaced back the Perfian cavalry with confufion from the field. The Perfians truly kept them in conftant watchfulnefs, harrafled them with flings and darts, cut off their provender, and
intercepted their road ; but it was an enemy
they had been fo ufed to conquer, that each foldier was invincible in the confidence built on paft experiment ; but nature threatened their
relblution with a feverer trial ; they faw the
Tigris pouring a valt and rapid torrent, in- tercepting their journey to the weft ; and Northward, whither the only remaining path conducted, appeared the towering mountains of the Carduchi, — a bold and untamed nation, favage in its courage, and of a ftrength and agility fuited to the rugged country it was to defend : Seven whole days were tha Greeks in their paflage through this inhofpitable diftricT, ilruggling with every obftacle which, from the the face of the country, and belligerant difpofi-
tion
t 224 ]
tiori of its inhabitants, might juftly be appre- hended : rocks were rolled inceflantly down the precipices, and arrows were (hot from each co- vert, of fuch a length and firmnefs as to ferve the Greeks inftead of javelins ; and they were lent from the bow with a force that broke the
ftrongeft fhield : -fuch was the foe they were
t6 combat with, to diflodge from heights, td break through in parTes, and every where to fight at odds !
Defcending from thefe mountains, at the foot* flowed the river Centrites, on the oppofite bank was a mighty army, and with it a body of the warlike Chaldaei, under the Satrap Orontes ; and flill on their backs poured the arrows of the Cardnchi : — 'but the rich plains of Armenia courted the foldier's eye ; he watf told that the palling of this dream was his kft and only difficulty, and that he Was to revel in the delightful fields before him, and repay him- felf for every pari: trouble with unremitted pil- lage of the effeminate pofieffors. Enured to danger, and enflamed with hope, the Greeks paffed a rapid and dangerous ftream, in the face of a numerous enemy, and followed by another* whole favage force aiKl intrepidity
were
[ "5 3
vere a match for fupcrior numbers, or for any- thing, lave the habitual, cool, valour of
difcipline, and high ipirit of national honor, which made this fmall body of Greeks fo boldly -undertake, and fo fuc.ceisfully purfue their ftu- pendous defign ! Having repelled the moun- taineers, having crofied the river, having beat the adverfe army, having paffed beyond the fountain of the Tigris, — other and new dangers awaited them ; — Teribazus entered into treaty with, merely to betray them, but they difco- vered the treacherous defign previous to the am- bufcade, and revenged themfclvcs with a bloody animofity the perfidy might warrant.
Nor bold nor infidious hoftility, nor the na- tural difficulties accruing from a defcrt or broken country, had apalled the Greek valour and per-
feverance j but from the heavens a fiercer
foe came on, and to whom they nearly had yielded ; Winter with all the feverities inci- dent to the feafon in a vaft continental tract, threatened them with cold and famine : — conti- nued mows obftrucled their march ; the con- ftant white glare deprived many of their fighr, during the night their bodies were covered with fieakes, ifieles hung from their very fiefh, their Q fandala
[ 226 ]
fandals were*frozen to their feet, and their toes and fingers mortified ; many loft th£ ufe of their limbs, fome had even their fenfes buried in a ge- neral numbpefs and torpidity, and were only by- force of torment brought back to life ; — many too died : dearth and cold kept pace together, there was no refrefhment to elate the fpirits, and fortify thefalood againft the bite of the froft •, — defpondency caft a gloom around, and melan- choly revibrated from face to face, and from mind to mind, — till all v/as horror and defpair ! , A body of the enemy at this moment ap- proached,—" If we are to die, (faid Xenophon)
f let us die fword in hand [V few could be
perfuaded to follow him ; thofe few, however, were vi&orious, and animated with fuccefs, re- turned to roufe and encourage their defpairing
brethren ; they exhorted or compelled them
%o march, and fortunately foon arriving at fome rich villages, the army was prefer ved : The troops being refrefhed, with their fljength re- covered their wonted fortitude ; the fmall towns
s
to which they were indebted for a few days plen- tiful fupport, not being of extent to fuftain them for a Jonger period, they were neceffitated $o proceed. Other rivers, other fandy plains,
t 227 ]
other mountainous panes remained, and other barbarous warriours to defend them ; the Cha- iybes, die Taochi, the Phafiani, were fuccef- fively worded, and the whole country, as it were, fought through with unremitting bravery, till about nine thoufand of the thirteen thoufand Greeks who enlilted under Cyrus, arrived on the iummit of mount Theches, whence difcover- ing the Euxine fea, they rended the air with ac- clamations of joy ! Here they paufed to facri- fice to their gods, to recapitulate their troubles, b'.efs the divine favor, — and fomewhat too exult in the courage and conduct which had extri- cated them from each difficulty. If ever the
fun fhone on any multitude, happy without al- loy, it was when its ray gilded the armour of t-he Greeks, contending in the ring, the race, and other fportive games, — rejoicing in the un- wonted celebration, and reminding each other of the appendant ufages in their native Greece,— and what was fhowy and what neceflary, — and what might be omitted, — and what was forgot- ten ; whilft the view of the fea gladdened
each eye that cafually turned from the fports, and the anticipation of an eafy, and no longer toilfome pafTage homewards warranted their mirth, and enhanced the felicity of the icene. <i 2 Here
[ 228 ]
Here the retreat may not improperly be con- cluded, for here its particular hardfhips were at an end : other dangers and difficulties here- after indeed attended them, hut moftly they were the confequence of their own ill conduct : inftead of Greeks awakened to fraternal fenti- ments by the rude call of adverfity, we behold men fecure, and infolent from fuccefs : profpe- rity quickly tranfmuted the patriot foldier, in- to the mutinous mercenary : They divided ;-— they rejoined, they feparated in fearch of pil- lage, and whole detachments were cwt off; they ordained, and they depofed their lead- ers ; they entered into alliance, with the Mofy- nseci ; and into fervice, with Seinhes. Private worth may be tutored into excellence by a lef- fon of mifery and ill fuccefs, but it too hath other refling place in the natural difpofition, and in reafon, and in habit \— public virtue is the child of, and exifts but in adverfity :-— the flock croud together beneath the ftorm ; and when the day brightens,^-feparate, and quarrel for a weed !
Whatever fuperiority may be allowed to the Greeks in every other branch of literature, it cannot be deemed a very hardy afienion to (ay
that
[ 229 J
that in hiflory, they are inferior to the Latins j — the loofe and digrefiive tales of Herodotus will bear no comparifon with the firft books of Liyy > nor will the more authentic parts of his work relative to the Perfian invafion, raife him to an equal pitch with the writer of the fecond mod memorable decad of the Punic war;— » Salluft, rather than Tacitus, I think a proper parallel to Thucydides, and I hefitate not to prefer him over the Greek ; nor will the con- fufed compilations of the Sicilian, nor will Xe- hophon's fable of Cyrus, or the narrative which
he calls his hiftories, at all afiift the Grecian
caufe ; — Tacitus alone were an hoft againft fuch opponents •, — Tacitus, Jopine (and with others I may be permitted an opinion) is the belt of all ancient hiftorians •, — nor do I think that D'Avila (perhaps equal to any modern) can well enter into competition with him for the palm.
The military memoirs of Casfarand ofXeno- phon may be confidered as a diftinct, and fe- parate branch of literature, and may afford a new fubjefr. for conteft and for criticifm ; the pretenfions of the Roman and of the Greek are refpeclively ftrong, and their different merits
may
t 230 I
may afford good fubject to the advocate of die ©ne, or of the other language and writer.
I mean not to enter into a minute enquiry %■ but as a key to fuch difquifition mall obferve, — that in the Latin work, we have the com- mentaries of a general vefted with a legitimate command; — in the Greek, the journal of an- officer, chofen by, and dependant on his troops^ the fpeeches of the one, are replete with impe- ratorial dignity; of the other, delivered with the conciliatory arts of argument and conde-- fcenfion •, the oratory put into the mouth of others, is by either author happily introduced, and explanatory with refpect to party and cir- cumftance-, (with exception however to the fpeech of Cyrus in the memoirs of Xenophonr who though in queft of the defpotic crown of. 1?erfia, is made to harrangue for Greece and li- berty:) accounts of th face of the country, o£ the characters of the inhabitants, and even of very families were collected, and tranfmitted to> the great leader in chief, and thence from Csefar we have a curious and well authenticated de- tail relative to the Gauls, the Britons, and eve- ry other enemy ; — Xenophon is fuperficial with refpect to any peculiarities of the nations he
paffed;
[ Hi J
paffed through, —his mind was abforbed in the
care of thofe under his command, but thence
we are better acquainted with the Greek army, than with that of Csefar's ; Csefar's attention was ever on thofe he was to attack, to counteract, or to oppofe-, Xenophon's on thofe he was to conduct ; Csefar is often very circumftantial, but never diffufe; Xenophon, 'were he lefs eloquent, I (hould call prolix, without being particular ; Caefar gives the characters of men, in a difplay of their actions^ and of their Speeches j it became not the dignity of the great Roman general, to minutely canvafs the private merits or demerits of an individual -t — but Xe- nophon might properly defcant thereon, with the nice obfervation of a bye-dander, following the bent of philofophic enquiry ; the character of Cyrus were indeed worthy the pen of Csfar, but a detail of the virtues of JProxenas, and vices of Menon were a more proper fuhject for the morV private writer: in his portraiture of thefe men, and in that of Clcarchus, Xeno- phon hath mown the moft nervous and pointed eloquence •, the energy of which, is a fine con- trail to the eafy rhetoi ie of the fceeches, and elegant fimplicity of dictiun in the narrative
which
[ 232 J
^Hicli fo fingularly charafterife thefe mod beau^ tiful memoirs. It may be obferved, that Xe~ nophon too, hath artfully interfperfed every circumftance which might conduce to the giv- ing a favourable idea of his own character j— one Phalinus is introduced deriding him for his virtue and his philofophy ; his happy tem- per and moderation is hinted at in the obferva- tion, that he never had a difpute with any other captain faving once, (and that a trivial one) with Cherifophus ; the general idea of his bra- very, his religion, and his eloquence is ftrongly
marked throughout ; every fpeech himiclf
makes (if I rightly remember) is evincive and
effectual : the rig Bsvotyuv ACr^ccicg is thus in
fucccffion veiled with every accomplifhrnent ;; and through the well-wrought veil of modelt phraie, is at length difcoverable the arrcgancs of a brave and virtuous, but vain man(j
CHAP.
t 333 J
CHAP. VIII.
T S goodnefs no part of wifdom, that whilftwe feek to be wifer, we neglect to be better ? — Is it well that the ftudy of virtue is profcribed the fchools of philofophy ; and philofophy re- ftricled to the experimenter of phyfics, to the vi- fionary fyftematic, or to the idle hoarder of ihells and prodigies ? were it not right whilft we inftruct the intellect to meliorate the mind r" —and as we elevate the human underftanding, and fit it for ferious and deep difquifition, would it not be ufeful to direct that fpirit of refearch
to objects that belong to focial humanity,
to the love of the neighbour, the refped: of
law, and the adoration of God ? to teach
the man the duties of each relative fituation, and make him know more, but to the purpofe of his more duly fullfilling the end of his being here on earth ? Is the academic difcourfe of no ufe, but to give food to vanity, — to afford the Jifciple means of becoming arrogant in learning,
and
L 234 1
and from the very perfection of his accomplim- merits,— fecluded from that philanthropy huma- nity prefcribes, — too proud for that deference fo-? ciety demands, — and difqualified for that humi- lity his religion inculcates ?
As the fpirit of the enquirifts into nature hath foared to the heavens, and left the terrertriai
globe lefs accurately explored ; fo do we give
up the ftudy of ourfelves, for that of the things of the world ; and become knowing, in what is known with little ufe^ and furely with much detriment, whiMt the hour hath been lightly parled, in which the Cofiftitution of reafon and pafiion fhould have been given its proper habits,- and the mind have been, when enlarged, at the fame time formed to a moral iitnefs, under every cafualty of feafon and cifcumftance.
Are we not afhamed when pofftfled of the ag- gregate experience of fo many ages, to be lefs happy in ourfelves, and lefs beneficial to our fel- low creatures, than many of lefs enlightened times ? — Are we not doubly afhamed, when with the advantages of a fupcrior moral,- and of more authentic rules of conduct, we demean ourfelves with lefs virtue here, and lefs fortitude on our paffage to hereafter,— -lefs virtue in life, and lefs
fortitude
t 235 ]
fortitude in death ! For who of this degene*
rate age hath lived, or fhall die, like Socrates ?
The fages of the higher antiquity had been attentive to nature, and fome had been vifionary, and fome fubtile ; — fome bad been inquifitive, and had difcovered fomething; and all had been, arrogant, and boafled much j they pretended to intuition, rather than to reafoning ;^-ftated an infcrtion, pFefumed an hypothefis, delivered a moral apothegm, — and were fanctified to pofte- rity : — but it was not extravagance of fancy, or hardyhood of enquiry, or quaintncfs of pofition that feemed laudable in the judgment of Socra- tes ; — " Wander not (faid he) into what is fo- ** reign to thy being, but learn to know thyfelf ; •' and to deferve well of thoie, with whom you " live, and of him, by whom you were placed •* here on earth/' »
The memoirs wrote by Xenophon are, per* haps, the moft valuable and fterling little work antiquity hath bequeathed us : the pointed par- ticularity of the dialogue, the fentiment, die con- fiftency throughout — all concur to authenticate- the relation ; and therein, what a portraiture of Socrates ! We find him not indeed as in Plato,, tmployed in the inveftigation of abftract beauty,
or
t 236 I
or other vilionary fpeculation, but we behold him attending to the duties of a good man,; Even in the Phasdon we have not the character of Socrates rendered aimable and captivating •, — ■ the manner in which Xantippe is difmifTed, and the churlilh reproof to Cebes on his pre- fuming to object to a pofition of his mailer, mow him in the light, of a furly cynic, rather than in that, of a philanthropic, modeft in his afTertions, though confident in his hopes : Xe- nophon hath given us a picture of the gentle and virtuous friend to mankind 5 he hath fhown him not only cftablifhing a proper fentiment of religion and morality, and laying down principles of what is juft and what is good, and what our duty under each known, and each cafual ref- lation ; but his little offices of humanity too are particularized, and the narrative authenti- cated by the very names of thcfe, whofe diftrefs was alleviated, or vices eradicated by his leflbns of prudence and virtue : Lamprocles is gent- ly reproved for his want of filial piety4 and in- duced to alk forgivenefs of his mother •, — Chse- recrates is prevailed on to cherifh his brother's virtues, forget his frailties, and bury all un- kindnefs in the tender recollection , of the paft
joys
[ 337 ]
joys of fraternal amity ; — the good old Eutherus is advifed and fupported by him ; the rich Crito is perfuaded to take the poor but honeft Ar- chidemus, and to prefer him in his fervice ; and Diodorus is engaged to honour with his friend- ship, and fupport the good but penurious Her- mogenes ; vice he chaftiles, and folly he de- rides : he fatirizes the fop, and he even conde- fcends to reclaim the Jloven Epigenes •,— every difciple comes from the intercourfe a wifer, or a better man.
When the accufation of Melitus was impend- ing over Socrates, and yet he prepared net any
written or ftudied defence; *' wherefore
(faid Hermogenes) do you trifle away the preci- ous hour in defultory difcourfe, and not think of fome anfwer to the arguments of your accu- fer, or fome plea to the favor of your judges? — H that anfwer (replied Socrates) hsth been the:
bufinefs of my whole life, of a long life
throughout, llriclly conformable to juftice and piety !•' — to this idea he firmly adhered, confided in his virtue, and fubmitted to the event with a refignation which could proceed from nought but a found faith in the being and goodrefs of the great and ever *fuper-intending God.
Though
* ®jor nnui>.(>v^t*i>r» Plat. F#xd.
[ *3» ]
Though the dialogue with Crito probably never patted, yet the offer of Crito was pro- bably made; though the long detail of
Phasdon to Echecrates is doubtlefsly not au- thentic with refpect to the argumentative part, (for nor was Plato prefent, nor could even Plato (if prefent) have claffed and related at fecond hand fo prolix and fubtile a courfe of argument) yet is the effay in many parts curious from the anecdotes interfperfed, and through the notoriety of which, Plato probably thought to give a genuine ftamp to the philofophi- cal parts of his treatife; — among thefe may be remarked — ' the obfervation of Socrates with refpect to pleafure and pain, when his fetters were knocked off;' — ' his verification of the fable of iEfop -,' — ' the facrifice to iEfculapius,' and many other circumftances, among which ought never to be forgotten, the kind fmile and blcfling he bellowed on his executioner, whofe lowering eye could not refrain a tear, when he held forth the deadly cup to fo good and wife a man.
" To me (exclaims Xenophon) his death f6 itfelf feems a demonftration of how much he f€ was beloved of the Gods ! who cut off the ic few remaining burthenfome hours of life,
v and
[ 239 !
■'• and on the eve of decrepitude, granted hira " the eafieft of deaths !
" Such was the wiidom, and iuch die mag- ** nanimky of this man, that I ever mull re- " member, and remembering, ever laud it; " and if, in future times, any who are friends " to virtue, and to the virtuous mail boaft ac- " quaintance with a better and with a more " ufefttl member of fociety, than was Socrates^ *.' — I hefitate not to pronounce him the firft; ff and moft blefh of mortals.
CHAP.
*"'-*•"' *-
[ ^40 J j
CHAP. IX.
|N the prior times of the republic, in order to **■ fpeak impartially, I fpoke but little of in- dividuals;—nay, — I teftificd my difapprobation of the writer who mould degrade a commu- nity, by a ftlected inftance, — and drawing the attention of his reader from the characteriftcs of a great nation, to the character of a great man, feem to bid him remark tranfcendant virtue as an exception, and not a rule : — refpecting thofe times, I think I was right.-, — the whole people during the Perfian wars, feemed fo united in their purfuit of what Was good, and what was great, that to praife one, Teemed injuftice to all ^ — but this galaxy ©f bright and excellent quali- ties, wherein to diftinguilh, and fix on, any one more bright and more excellent than the reft, was fo difficult fcr the eye, gradually loft its indifcriminate luitre, and became a conftel- lation of lefTer and of greater Mars, which in proportion to the dimnefs of the whole, have fhone out confpicuous to the view, and have
attrac ted
[ 241 ]
attracted our attention to their preheminence : — - thus my regard (I perceive) hath of late unwa- rily been drawn from a consideration of the whole, to its more particular and luminous fpots : looking back on my comment, I find it from time to time, attending more and more to individual names and to characters •, — the further I proceed, the more, 1 foreiee, I fhall thus deviate from the principle I at firft laid down; — but this deviation, originates it not in the progreflive, and inevitably changeable courfe of my fubject ?
We left Athens to rue its pall crimes and fol- lies under the tyranny of the Oligarchy ; cruel- ty and oppreffion had foon profcribed or driven into exile the bell: of the citizens ; and fcattered through the neighbouring Hates, they were
idly bewailing their lofs of the country : " In
thefe times, fays Nepos, (and I think he might have faid it of all times) — good men were more inclinable to harangue, than to fight for liberty :" fuch converfation however is not with- out its confequence ; the mind is thereby moved from its paffive Hate, and may thence forward be more cafily directed to a particular action, if there is any ore to impel or lead it on. ,
R Thrafybulus,
[ 242 ]
Thrafybulus, a captain of fome renown in the latter period of the Peloponnefian war, was among thofe who had taken refuge in Thebes ; — (for Thebes and every other ftate of importance was willing to receive and cherim the Athenian fu- gitives) the extirpation of a people who had ib long balanced the empire of Greece, feemed a prelude to the uncontroulable dominion of the oppofue party;, the apprehenfion of any further encroachments of Sparta gained favor to thofe "who alone had feemed equal to the oppofing her pretenfions •, — thus others, betides its baniflied citizens, wifhed, and fome were ready to abet, the refloration of the republic, and once again fct it up in hoflile rivalfhip to the power of the Peloponnefe.
The temper of men was in that ftate, that nothing but a firft mover feemed wanting •,— Thrafybulus had the dexterity to engage, and courage to lead forth ieventy followers on a- fudden and defperate expedition -, and the firft wheel being thus touched, the whole machine was quickly in motion : this frnall party ifTuing out in the depth of winter, furprized a fortrefs in the vicinity of Athens, from the fevcrity ©f the firafon^ot ilrlsftly guarded or attended to;
~-thc
[ 243 1
-^the fame of fuccefs encreafcd their numbers ;
' — they marched on to the Pirseeus : feized
Munychia j— met, and defeated the mercenary forces of the Oligarchy ; — flew two of the chiefs, and clofely laid feige to the remainder, who diftrufting their venal army fent for fuccour to Lacedasmon.
The incertitude and vanity of our moft general and favourite maxims, appears on every refearch into, and long inveftigation of fucceffive and
dependant events: what opinion appears lb
inconteftable, as that the variance of leading men, whether of ftate or army, is of the moft fatal tendency to thofe under their command ! Lyfander fet out with an adequate force to re- pel the party of Thrafybulus, and replace the Oligarchy in a firmer, and more defpotic fove- reignty ; Paufanias the king of Sparta, envied the renown, and feared the growing authority of Lyfanier, and going forth, as he pretended, to reinforce, and aflift the prior detachment, he took the lead in the expedition, and from de- fire of counteracting, and vexing his rival* withheld the fword, treated with the exiles, and permitted the reinftation of the commonwealth. —What Spartan at that period did not think R 2 the
[ *44 J
$& interefts of his country betrayed by the ant- mofity of the generals ?— but pofterity obferves, -^-within a few years from the epoch, when: the ftate of Sparta was borne down, and menaced with utter deft-ruction by the Theban, that it owed its fafety to the interpofition of Athens,, — whofe power to fave, and good will to inter-
pofe, had never been, but for the difientions
of Paufanias and Lyfander !
The republic was now, like a convalefcent, purged indeed of many grofs and noxious hu- mours, but as yet of a weak and tremulous frame; adverfity, that beft preceptor, had be- llowed no unprofitable leflbn $ penury had broken the habits of difiipation, and dangers, and the heavy hand of poverty, had enured the courage, and humbled the arrogance of the citizens ; they fat out anew without partialities for any demagogue to lead them alb-ay, and without wealth to corrupt them; but then,, their former empire was mutilated, or rather gone ; their arms, — their very ihipping was de- ftroyed, and they had nought to truft to for their elevation, but the never failing, and ene- gic fpirit of their government, — the genius of the democracy!--— -this however could not be
the
( 245 1
die work of a moment : — the firft we hear of the Athenians, after the expulfion of the Oligar- chy ; is, that they followed the Spartan, an humble and dependant ally to the Elean war.
Leoty chides, the fon of the queen Timsea, was fufpected to be the fruit of her intimacy with Alcibiades, and with the help of a few oracles newly vamped up, and well explained, was il- legitimated in favor of his uncle Agefilaus ; who confcious of the doubtful right by which he held the crown, fought by an animated condud, to draw the attention of men from his title, to his
merits ; and make not, wbyt but how he
wielded the fceptre of Sparta, the fcope of ob- fervation: Lyfander had anticipated the crop of laurels from . Greece j but Afia feem- ed a frefh and inexhauflible field of renown ; and thither he djrecled the war. The Satraps in the maritime governments of Perfia, defirous of diverting the Itorm, fent forth emiflaries to intrigue with every Grecian city of importance, and to incite them to hoftilities with Sparta : It was a favorable crifis for (haking off the dominion of that haughty ftate; — a rupture was pleaded for with all the force of oratory, and that oratory backed with more perfuafive gold :
Thebes,
[ H6 ]
Thebes, and many other ftates received the adr vice and money of Perfia with approbation j Athens had at this period re-adopted fome no- tions of the patriot virtues of her anceflry, and admitted not the arch-briber of Rhodes within her walls ; but the opportunity of raifing herfelf, with all Afia, as it were, to help her, and in her turn to fet her foot on the neck of tbofe who had treated her fo harfhly in her mo- ment of diftrefs, flattered too much her ambi- tious hopes, and ardour for revenge, for her to refill the invitation : an honorable pretext for intermeddling was eafily found j — Thebes had opened her gates to the Athenians in exile, and the Athenians from gratitude voted an offenfivc and defenfive alliance with Thebes, who was connected offenfively and defenfively with the Perfian.
Various other ftates were bribed or perfuaded into fimilar meafures, till the focial league be- came of fo great extent, and importance, that Sparta, to oppofe its progrefs, was neceflitated to recall its troops from Afia; Agefilaus with
regret obeyed the fummons ; he had done
enough to irritate the king of Perfia, and had
not done enough to benefit the c;:ufe of his
« country^
[ 247 ]
country ; — he had merely made, and left an eae- Eiy •, — and his expedition had the effect of a mi- ciitry, to conciliate the Afiatics with Athens j rather than that of an armament, to humble them to Sparta.
•Conon profited of the juncture to connect himfelf with Pharnabazus ; he had not feen his country fince the reftoration of the democracy,; Jhis behaviour in the laft fea-fight with Lyfander, had rendered his integrity or courage fufpecled, and under thefe circumftances he thought pro- per to delay his return, till a favorable oppor- tunity Ihould occur, of recovering the good favor of the people, and revifiting his natal fpot with advantage and glory •, he had fo far ingratiated himfelf with Pharnabazus, that he entrufted him with the command of the Ionian, and other provincial detachments of the Perfian fleet ; off the city Cnidus, a .city of the Cariaa Doris, nearly oppofite to Rhodes, lay the united .naval force of the Spartans j Conon came up with, attacked, defeated, and deftroyed, or dif-
abled the belt of the [hipping j Honor once
naain took poft by the Athenian flag, and Fame acrain trumpeted from the prow, the ftories of Mycale and of Salamis.
On
[ 248 1
On land too the republic was once more taught to vaunt the prowefs of its foldiery, under the generalihip of Iphicrates : Seven and twenty long years of almoft continued civil war, had lhown that mere Herculean force might be coun- teracted by dexterity, — (hat, in a word, there were arts of war \ and this ingenious people feem to be the firft who turned this, as well as, every other art, to its proper account. Iphi- crates had fo difciplined, fo armed, and fo in- structed every foldier of his army, that the citi- zen who had feen fervice under his command was valued thereon, and thereafter received an ad- vanced pay, under the title of an Iphicratenfis :_. Chabrias too was another great mafter of evolu- tion, and every other military fcience, and once in this war, by a fimple, new, and unexpected manoeuvre, put a flop to the career of Agefilaus at the head 'of the whole Spartan army, elated with vidtory, and in the heat of purfuir.
The Athenians, under thefe generals, were d&ilily gaining ground : when in company with their allies, they had, indeed, been beaten by Dercyllidas ; but in feparate detachment had under their fkilful leaders, every where met with fuccefs j they had been victorious in the coun- tries
[ H9 ]
tries of Arcadia, and of the Phliafii, and they had furprized and put to the fword a large body of Spartans at Lychasum.
Conon arriving with the money and fleets of Perfia at this period rebuilt the walls of Athens ; from that moment Sparta ceded fomewhat of her pretenfions, and condefcended to treat on equal and equitable terms : after much negotiation the general peace called that of Antalcidas took place; and Perfia, the Peloponnefe, and its oppofir.es, univerfally agreed to conditions of amity, never long, or much attended to.
The weight of the fierce, and almoft continued, civil broil in Greece had fallen moft heavily on Sparta and Athens, and on fnch petty cities as were not of fufficient confequence to be treated with deference and care by the great mafter-re- publics : another, an intervening rank of ftates, whofe alliance was furHciently important to exact confideration, and whofe ftrength was fnch as to enfure fafe and honorable capitulations — fuch fat- tened on the war ; and as the expence of wealth and men gradually weakened and impoverished the contending and principal parties, thefe fecond- ary republics fucceflively ftartcd up, and each a
while
[ 250 J
While figured on the theatre of hiftory in fome chief and leading part.
Olynthus in Thrace was among thofe which had grown fo heavy of late in the balance of fovereignty ; all the cities of the vicinity were within its jurifdiction ; and Amyntas complained to Greece, that half his Macedonia and even its capitol Pella, had yielded to the forces or in- trigues of this encroaching neighbour : A con- fiderable army was fent from Sparta under the conduct of Eudamidas, to equipoize the fcale of power in thofe parts ; — this he effected j — but icarcely was this new excrefcence lopt, when from the very blow another hydra-head (hot forth, and breathed defiance, and even menaced deftruction to the afTailant.
Phaebidas in his march to reinforce Eudamidas in Thrace, flopt on his way to profit of a com- motion in Thebes and afiift and eftablifh the oligarchic party, and he left a detatchment to protect the ufurpation. The enterprize of Pelo- pidas, who furprized and malTacred the Spartan guard, recovered the citadel, and reftored the com- monwealth,— embroiled his country with the lordly conquerors of Athens •,— -unexpectedly it proved equal to the conqueft ; and Sparta, in.
her
[ *& 3
he turn was to tremble for her dominion, fop her country, for her very fafety, and even ex> iftence.
The Athenians were defirous of fetting quie; fpectators of the contention, but the foolifh outr rage of Sphodrias who treacheroufly but vainly made an attack on the haven of Athens, in- fringing the treaty with the Lacedaemonian forced the Athenians into a feparate treaty with Thebes, and they prepared to join in a vigorous attack on the common aggreflbr.
Now once sgain, a fleet was equipped from the Piraseus ; Chabrias and Timotheus its commanders were every where fuccefsful -, the one drove the enemy from the feas, the latter recovered Samos and took Corcyra, and coafting the peninfula, at various defcents defpoiled its cities and laid wafte the country.
The Theban however reaping all the advan- tages of the war, and throwing more than the proportional weight thereof on the allies, Athens in difguil feemed inclinable to treat, and giving up a conteft which fhe had entered into but from neceflity, to recur to a tranquil purfuit of population, of arts, and of the recovery of that commerce which had once rendered her fo rich
and
[ *$* ]
and powerful : Iphicrates was recalled from Acarnania, where he was dailiJy acquiring credit and advantage, and a treaty was commenced and feparate conditions of peace agreed to between Athens and Sparta.
Thebes left alone to profecute the war, was for a time difpirited, till in the field of Leuc- tra, that great and (more than great that) good citizen Epaminondas by a fage and valiant con- duel: routed and compleatly vanquilhed the Spartans with an army lefs numerous than their own ; — elated with fo noble a victory over a
people ufed to defpife all odds, and afk not
how many, but, where their enemy were, — crown- ed with fo bright a conqueft, the Theban pro- claimed it with exultation throughout Greece, and invited each city to partake in the humili- ation of the haughty difciples of Lycurgus, and join in the abafement of thofe who had fo long and fo tyrannically played the lord and mafter. Athens gave the herald of fuccefs but a cool reception : it was matter of debate, not whe- ther Sparta mould be attacked, but whether Thebes oppofed ; the difmemberment of Sparta and acceffion of its territories to Thebes, fo much encreafing its power, might fwell the cur- rent,
[ 253 J
rent, already full to its bank, till it burft in in- undation over the vicinities, and lay all around under the flood ; it feemed time to draw off fome of the ftream, or at leaft to place a dam to its further encroachment j Athens had already beheld the power of Sparta fpread over her countries, and over the face of Greece, and not even with the deftru&ion of Sparta would me hazard from another quarter fuch another def- lation of the liberties, of the arts, of the free in- tercourfe, and of every other blemng of fociety f In a full afombly, it was concluded necefTary to obviate the growing power of Thebes, and now when no other city was willing to engage in to diitrefsful an alliance Athens voluntarily pro- fered friendfliip and fuccour to the Lacedemo- nians, and Iphicrates accordingly was fent forth with an army to their aftiftance.
Not long after, in the famous battle of Mantinea with the heroe Epaminondas fell the grearnefs of his newly ambitious countrymen : The Thebans, by the advice of their dying ge- neral forewent the hopes of empire for a well timed and honorable peace which generally was come into, and with a particular readinefs by Athens, as the equal power and freedom me
fought
[ 254 \
fought for, feemed virtually fecured by rM very armiftice.
Each great and leading ftate of Greece had,, in its turn, known the viciffitude from power1 to humiliation, each had dearly rued a fhort- lived triumph with the lofs of its treafure, and of the flower of its citizens -, every fpeech abho- rent of war, was echoed by the groans of the widow or the orphan ; the peace might now, therefore, beprefumed permanent, whilft the pub- lic ruin and private misfortunes gave every argu- ment for it, its full weight, and a rrioft favor- able hearing. Peace, however, like a feail long untafted, and then gluttoned on to excefs, brought on grofs corruption, and a whole train of diforders : Men, becaufe difguffed with war, feemed to think that their fervice in war was never again to be required \ they gave themfelves up to habits that incapacitated them for future labor •, the fund kt apart to any unforfeen ex- igencies of the public, was voted for public dif* fipation, and their late brave and fuccefsful ge- nerals, difregarded by the people, and carped at by the demagogues, fled from envy and dii- grace, and fettled in diftant parts ; — Conon in Cyprus, Ip hie rates in Thrace, Tirr.otheus at
LefboSy
[ *w ]
Lffbos, and Chares in Sigaeum. Little was it eonfidered that a warlike mien, and an attentive and firm policy were the belt fureties for the con- tinuance of that (late of tranquillity fo much and (o ill enjoyed ; the reft of Greece feemed too much enraptured with the fame indolence, or too much exhaufted to attend and profit of the weak- nefs which fupinenefs or luxury mould produce among others; and it was not pre-conceived that a petty northern prince might, as he did, break through the obftacles that oppofed him, and come with a force irrefiftable to the enervate dedans, and in a fhort time attain that fove- reignty, which had fo long and fo fharply been contefted.
Our Athens was in particular lulled into the mod fupine fecurity ; attack was fo little thought of, that every provifion for even defence was diverted to fome other channel ; their generals, as we obferved, lived in a fort of voluntary ex- ile j their army and Ihipping were left to wreck and ruin, and the funds applicable to their fup- pcrt, wafted on fcenery and a&ors.
Nor were other great cities lefs votaries of cor- ruptive eafe •,— nor was even Sparta without infec- tion i~ Lyfandcr had brought home the gold of
Perfia,
[ aS6 ]
Pern" a, and fpoils of Athens ;— .Antalcidas their ambaffador to Perfia, on the late peace, to di- vert the great king, danced a faraband, — and buffooned the heroifm of Leonidas. — Can we •wonder at the fuecefles of Philip !
CHAP.
t m 1
CHAP. Xj
r I ^ H E people of Athens, from the inacli- **■ vity of the neighbouring ftates, drew a falfe conclufion favorable at once to their love of eafe, and to their ambition of power : as the the moment of ebriety gives a tranfttory force, and even to the worn-out rake affords a fenfa- tion of vigour not much diflimilar to that of a robuft and healthful conftitution, or if difcri- minate, yet differing only in a mow of fupericr heat and impetuofity ; fo, the Athenians inflated with luxurious and unmolefted enjoyment, af- fumed the haughty deportment of high and in- vincible authority* and treated their dependants with fuch indignity and opprefTion, as drove them to a defiance, and to a trial of that force which had fo wantonly been cxercifed upon them, whilft in pafTive fubmiflion.
The city of Byzantium, and ifles of Chios, Cos, Rhodes, and various other place?, confpired to humble the arrogance, and prefcribe fome li-
S in its
[ *5» ]
mits to the jurifdiction, of the fover'eign repub- lic : this, commonly called the focial war, was but of fhort duration ; Chares fent to chaf- tife the iilaads, tranigrefied the authority of his commifiion, by making a defcent on the coafts of Ionia, and affifting the rebel Satrap Artaba- zus, againft the king of Perfia ; who irritated by the unprovoked attack, menaced Attica, with an invafion, the more formidable, as it was at this period at variance with the better, namely with the naval, part of its common tributaries : the threats of the Perfian king brought on an immediate treaty between Athens and its depen- dencies, and the peace foon after concluded, gave them unprecedented rights and privileges, eftablifhed on the neceffities and fears of the mafter-ftate.
Other circumftances too influenced the Athe- nians to put an end to this war at any rate » Chabrias, their moft experienced commander,, had fallen at the attack of Chios ; and the de- figns of Philip hitherto conducted with the moft wary policy, and covered with every art of in- trigue and negotiation, were now fufficiently opening to view, for even the blinded to have foroe glimmering of the fcor^c to which they di- rected,
C 259 ]
reeled, and fome apprehenfion of the ruin that muft enfue : Athens more particularly had rea- fon to take alarm j fome of the few relitts of her once powerful empire were fcattercd on the confines of Macedon, and its kings firft objecl: was the feizure of thefe feveral frontiers of his dominion, to fecure, as well as to enlarge his own territories, previous to an avowal of his more ambitious purpofes ; unfortunately it might have turned out for him, that many of thefe barrier towns were appendant to the fove-
reignty of Athens ; unfortunately I fay, •
for had that degenerate (late, inftead of feeking arguments for its lafcivious indolence, been ma- turely watchful over the motions of Philip; awakened by his attack on its own particular rights had it interpofed, and given a timely fup- port to its cities j or at firft) had it accepted the proffered alliance of Olynthus, this plotting monarch checked on his firft outfet, had not thenceforward dared to meditate his extenfive fchemes of conquefl and command. The Athe- nians amufal and lulled into a fond fecurity by the intrigues of Philip, and Toothed by his pro- tections at the very time he was mutilating their empire, and undermining their dcarcft in- S 2 tcrefts*
t 360 3
tercftsy are a curious inftance, of in how ftiort" a time a vicious luxury can abafe the under- Handing as well as fpirit of a brave and enlight-^ ened people !
Amphipolis was one of tfrofe cities which A- thens had loft during the Peloponnefian war, and which from the clofe of that coriteft, had refufed to recognize its precenfions •, with the repofieflion of this city Philip Hill foothed" and cajoled tli'ern ; he promifed it them in exchange for Pydna, and they rejected the friendfhip of the Olynthians ; he himfelf then entered into a compact with the Olynthians, and feizing Pyd- na, and Potidsea, made a prefent of them to his new allies •, ftill he found means to conciliate
the Athenian afiembly j finally he inverted
Amphipolis, and had the addrefs. to perfuadc the people, or rather they had the ftupidity to be perluaded, that the expence and dangers of this fiege, were incurred merely on their account* and that the fruits of its fucceis were to be theirs : his attack at length on the Cherlbnefe admitted not of prevarication •, and Chares with a fmall force was fent to oppofe his progrefs iry thofe parts ; Ccrfoblcptes the rightful fovereign, gave up his pretentions thereto, in favor of A-
thens 3;
{ *5i ]
thens ; but Cardia its capitol, hoifted -on its citadel theenfigns of Philip, who having worfted Argaeus, his competitor for the throne of Ma- cedon, and having been victorious in Illyria, in Thefialy, and in Thrace, doubted not with this footing place in the Cherfonefe, of foon matter- ing too the reft of that peninfula.
Methone was befieged by this enterprizing and politic warriour j— Athens debated, — and
voted afliftance j the time fpent in debate
fhould have been the hour of action ; the aflift- ance came, — but it came too late.
Pagazre was inverted ; — a°:ain Athens voted fuccour; — and again from its dilatory prQgreis, that fuccour was fruitlefs.
An account arrived, that Herjeum, the key- to the city of Byzantium, whence their commer- cial riches, whence their very neceflaries and and provifions flowed, was attacked atid reduced to the laft extremity •, — the Athenians in the ut- moft alarm, voted -fubfidy, ordered levies, and on the news of Philip's falling fick, coun- termanded thofe fubfidies and thofe levies, and fell back in their priftine lethargy.
However flattering the munificence of Philip toad been to the Olynthians, that people could
not,
f 262 1
not, without apprchenfion, behold this growing power, flep by ftep, encircling their whole terri- tory •, their immunities feemed dependant on his generofity, — their very city, exifting from mere fufFerance : it was deemed fitting in time to fecure fome potent and interefted ally to obviate the danger, which the now confpicuoiis ambition of their encroaching neighbours feemed to warn them of the approach of-, Philip apprized of their policy, anticipated the attack, with a declaration—" That he would have Olynthus, or lofe Macedon :'' — ; to Athens this people then a fecond time fent an embaJTy, to proffer their friendfhip, to plead their common interefts, and roufe the people to a juft fenfe of their own loffes, and future dan- ger " * Well, (faid Demofthenes) there is
" no
* Of late it hath been as uflul to load a work with au- thorities, as a minifter with credentials ; — a cuflom I never «ould fee the ufe of, (except to catch the eye) — for thofe ■who arc deeply learned, will readily difcover the error, ignorance, or filflflcation of the author, and thofe who are not, would be little wifer, were the margin to be crouded with a whole claffic catalogue. In this chapter, however, I have pointed out the fparfim excerpta from Demofthenes, as the reader deflrou9 of recurring to the beauties of the original, might have fome trouble from the
paf.
[ 263 ]
** no further excufe for procraftinating the pub-
** lie weal-, — long, — long have ye murmured;
" oh that the Olynthians were but detached from
" Philip ! the very event hath occurred;—. par-tJ i
<c nay, even exceeded your fondeft wilhes ; for JS7°'
" had they taken up arms at our inftigation, feft. 9.
" they would have been, (they thcmfelves
" know it) they would have been but wavering " allies; but fmce it is inveteracy rooted in " their own difiatisfactions, which engages them ** in this war, the compact with us will be the " more firm, as ftrengthened by their own " private fuffcrings or apprehenfions. --
■If he mall meet with un-
" interrupted fuccefs, what is to prevent his lead- ** ing his forces into Greece ? The Thebans ! « — (pardon the feverity of the thought) they ., f_ «' will rather afTift him ; — but the Phocians ! — 35. " a nation which for its fecurity, its very exii- *' tence is dependant on your friend (hip and pro- " tection. — Some ether alliance ! — or perhaps " he will not make the attempt ?— oh moft ab- " furd,— that the intention which even in incer-
" titude,
paffag* being quottcd witli fo little regard to order,— cvt» ihok of the lame oration.
[ *«4 ]
" titudc, he manifefts •, in power, he fhould not " execute !"
To alarm the Athenians into an early and expeditious vigilance, with what force doth the orator follow the velocity of their enemy's ca- reer ?^~" Confider, O Athenians, from what a/i U humble and infignificant ftate, Philip hath ari- " fen to this pitch of greatnefs ! — It was firft *' feizing Amphipoiis, afterwards Potutea and " Methone ; — then turning to Thefialy, he *' over ran the counties of Phera, of Pagafse, W and Magnefia t — thence rulhing into Thrace, " he fubverted fome, he exalted other ftates ;— n " he fell fick •, — fcarcely convalefcent, he left " not his fword a moment to ruft in (loth, but *' wielded it againft Olynthus : I have not men- " tioned his expeditions againft the Jllryrians^ u the Psconians, and Arymbas-, — and indeed *« where have they not efiayed !"
This fpeech had weight with the aflembly, and they determined on an immediate aid to Olynthus ; which, according to the ufual fate of their decrees was too late for its purpofe, and Philip got pofTefHon of the town and leveled its walls with the ground: the military levies how- ever were net without their ufe ; they fcrved to
keep
[ *S 3
keep up a balance in Eubasa, whither Philip's in- trigues had already penetrated •, and they re- garded the Macedonians entrance into Greece, giving him a timely repulfe at the ftraits of Thermopylae.
I mean not in the quotations I may make from the orations of Demofthemes to give a juft idea of the fpirit and energy of his eloquence, or of the art and cautious ikill with which he curbs or directs ks feemingly wild and impetuous courfe, — like an Alexander making docile his fiery Buce» phalus : the rhetoric of Demofthenes, no more than the poetry of Pindar, is to be known from modern tranflation j but the prefent temper of the people whofe genius and hiftory I inveftigate, are no where fo ftrongly marked as in the fpeeches of this orator, — and to an elucidation of this fubject I employ jthe fubfequent extracts.
The rich and poorer men of the ftate may be fuppofed combating with all the virulence of ar- rogance and envy — " I think (fays Demoft- " henes) it may be of fome fervice to the commu- " nity, to plead the caufe of the wealthier againft " the meanerdenizons, and reciprocally that of the •J poorer againft therich :" — we find the opulent aviricioufly witholding the dues of the com- mon-
[ 266 ]
mon-wealth 5 — "at a time that the annual tri- " butes of this ftate amounted but to one hun- " dred and thirty talents, no one whofe income " was adequate to the charge, refufed the ex- *6 pence of Trierarch ; the vefTels were properly " fitted out ; — the monies paid in -, — every office " difcharged : enriched, as is now the republic, *c fhall we fet blaming and bickering at one ano- M ther, and in our very quarrels feek and plead " excufe for procraftinating our payments and " neglecting our duty ?" We then behold the populace rapacious and inflamed againft the rich •, — " the balance of the common-wealth '* (continues the orator) is to be duly and equably *' held j as the wealthier part of the people con- *c tribute much, and hazard moft, in the exigen- M cies of the ftate, fa are they entitled under its " fhelter to unmolefted pohjeffion of what is ** juftly theirs -, and, as what juftly may be " demanded by the community, they have no " right to retain •, fo, on the refidue of their pro- *' perty none have a right to trefpafs."
How evident is the degradation of the com- mon-wealih, when we hear that — " neither to Me- 4< non the Pharfalian who had given a volunta- tc ry fuccour to the ftate of twelve talents, and *' had joined their army with two hundred horfe-
men \
t 267 ]
W men-, nor even to Perdicc2S the king of Ma- w cedon who aided to dcftroy the Perfians at " Platasa, — in reward for fuch generous fervice " did our anceftors decree the fall rights of citi- *e zenfhip, but deemed them iufRciently honored, tf when admitted to a mere freedom of their " city j — the name of their then virtuous and %< enobled country, they thought a gift tran- ** fccnding the moft exalted merits or fervices !— " but new, O Athenians, we make citizens of the " moft abjeft and profligate, — of very flaves, " born in fervitude, — of all, who can buy our " franchiiement — put up to fale, like a mere " and common vendible." — And in another
oration, " from the very mcaneft flocks have
" fuddenly arifen men who eclipfe our moft re- *c nowned, and opulent families ; they have ** houfes that tower above our public edifices ; " and the more ruinous the condition of the re-
" public, the more fiourifhing feems theirs -
" whence comes all this ? — whence the di£er- " ence between thefe times and thofe of yore ? — Ci when the citizens themfelves boldly went forth " to war, they had a confequence which ren- " dered them lords over their own ma^i-
D
" ftracies -9 what properly JbwJd be, icw under
" their
[ 2U ]
<s their controul, and the candidates condefcend- *e ed to receive all office, and all honours, at " their hands and option ; — now, the magistrates, u- independant mafters of your wealth and pow- " er, tranfact all bufinefs as their own ; and ye,— " an enervate people — crouch to them like fer- " vants, for your pay, and thank them if they " allow ye (what is your own) — a paltry flipend <{ wherewith to bask it in the theater I" How pathetically doth the fpeaker than remark the declenfu n of the grandeur of Athens concomi- tant to the depredation of its citizens !— " A no- *' ble harbour, temples, edifices, every ornament " that could enoble this city we have, bequeath- c< ed to us by our anceftors, and of a magnifi- " cence winch pofterity hath by no means rival- *i ed •, — look yonder at that naval key, — that '«' Fortico, — and thofe ftructures all around ye ! c* but then the private houfes of the moft illuf- " trious citizens correfponded with the equa- " Jiry which is the hoaft of our conflitution i let •5 any one find out the houfe of Themiftocles, •f of Cymon, of Ariftides, or of Miltiades, — " it is not better than his neighbours -, — now " we think it enough, to mend a road, direct *? a water fpout, incruft a wall, or to effedi
" fome
[ 269 ]
" fome eq-ually trivial work; — but from the pu- •* blic pillage many have built them houfes " that o'ertop our noblcft temples."
The reader will naturally fuppofe that a lux- urious people may be proud, though indolent;
and talk highly though aft meanly : '
" Whenever (fays Demofthenes) your debates
** comprize thofe particulars wherein Philip hath fe<a. u
" infringed his engagements, I obferve every
" oration to appear candid and equitable,—
** every fpeaker to feem fagacious and perti-
•* nenr,. in proportion to his allegations and ran-
•c cour againft Piiilip j — yet noconfequent afli-
%i on, — no efficacy marking the utility of fuch
" difcourfe!"
The few fpirited decrees they made, — how tardy the execution thereof ! fays our orator— " If you hear Philip is in the Cherfonefe, you con- " fider — and fent a reinforcement to the Cherlo- ffcft- 55* " nefe; — isheatPyh-E? Why then the army is tob^ H fent to Pyhej — or any where elfe ? — this way or " that way ye are after him, following him as •' if ye were his mercenaries, rather than his
" enemy. ' — Philip- is fallen flck! — or
"Philip is dead! — It would fignify not ; your f'^V'a •' prefent idlenefs and vices would foon raifc •* another Philip; for it is not from his own in-
44 trinfic
t 270 ]
<e trinfic ftfength and means, but from your fii* <c pine weaknefs that this man is become fd «' great."
Thofe who act not when they ought, will of courfe envy the fuccefs and cry down the merit of thofe whofe vigorous and timely exertion brings fhame on their indolence 5 this obfervation is ve- rified from the oration in defence of Diopithes* who had attack'd the rebel cities of the Cherfo- nefe. — " We neither contribute to the public " exigencies, nor enter on military fervice, nor " even abftain from diverting to improper ufes the " funds of the republic j — but we can abftain " from affording due fubfidies to Diopithes, or " from the praife which his diligence hath me. cc rited ; we can cavil at his exploits, and en- " vioufly blame his pad, or idly fpeculate on " his future conduct."
Like an overheated drunkard the ftate was vain- glorious and conceited, and to humiliate and bring the people to a proper fenfe of their perilous fi- tuation, we obferve this fage counfellor in various pafTages, and particularly in the firft Olynthiac above-cited, raifing their fears and humbling their arrogance •, but the vitiated temper of this people was, as might be pre-conceived, fubjecl:
to
[ 271 ]
to vicifiitudes of terror and defpondency ;— *we find the orator, in his fecond Olynthiac, flat- tering and confoling them, depreciating every refource of Maccdon, and every great quality of its king : — of all paft virtues, their reprefen- tative pride was the only relict to which he could make an effectual appeal •, his oratory therefore teems with references to the exploits of their an- ceftrv, and with remembrance of their former em- °*w9* *• pire and fpirit ;— " Philip (lays he) will never befa- &c. fpar- ** tisfied with fubduing,— he muft deftroy, — he " muft fubvert the very foundations of this city ; *c f©r he knows that ye could not endure a itate n??**?* "of iervitude ; or if ye would, that ye could 41 not •, — for ye have ever been accuftomed to * command :" the fhame too the Athenians will incur throughout Greece is likewife painted in
animated colours; nor this, nor every Tft„ w
other argument, nor the remonftrances he J»*f»»~
made ule of, — nor even a recapitulation of the juftice of his paft reafoning and predictions could Tg "!**£ recover the aflembly from its blindnefs, its in- re1- dolence, its avarice, and ganeral depravity.
The above tranflations from Demofthenes I have adduced to prepare the reader,- for the fub- verfion of all that has rendered the hiftory of this
republic
[ 272 ]
republic fo interefting to our notice-Jts extenfiv* power, and internal conftitution, — from the re- proofs of their good and fage advifer difcovering the ruinous manners and temper of this great corrupted nation ; — with pride enough to de- precate fhame, and without virtue to avoid it j — often elated without reafon, and defpondent with as little caufe ; — magnificent and luxurious in their private, and mean in their public capa- city ;— at variance for trifles with one another, and palTively fubmitting to every foreign tranf-
greffion •, bold in their decrees, and dilatory
in action ; ■ vainly glorious of the fame of their anceftry, and neglectful of their own ; — and envious even of the virtue that fervcd them* as affording too ftriking a contrail with their own demerits.
CHAP.
f 273 ]
CHAP. XL
'AYS our poet Shakefpeare-^
-O Confpiracjr,
Sham'ft thou to (how thy dangerous brow by nightj When evils are moft free ? Oh— then by day Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough To mafic thy monftrous vifage ? — feek none — Conspiracy, Hide it in /miles and affability/
*— — .So calumny traduces in the voice of can-* dour •, — fo feduclion pleads in the tone of vir- tuous love -, — fo the interefted under the cloak of friend(hip, ruin the fortunes or peace of the unwary liftener to their proteilations j — fo every vice deftroys under the mafk of fome virtue—
Whilft if it put its native femblanc* on,
Not Erebus itfelf were dim enough To hide it from prevention 1
The miferies which are entailed upon us by
Cur love of, and thence our faith in, apparent
X virtue.
t 274 ] virtue, belong neceffarily (as we are told) to- our fyftem, in which good and evil exift but fronv relation, and in which (as philoibphers incul- cate) the change of what we fuppofe bad, might be attended with a privation of what is beft :< —
well ! — be it fo — as being for the beft ! But
ihould experience then tutor us into diftruft? — Should we obviate deceit, by tales of fatality incident to good faith, and give up our huma- nity for the knowledge of mankind ? — Or Ihould we go further — trade on the fame rules — meet hypocriiy with hypocrify — and, not fatisfied with being adepts, become trickfters at the
game of life ? Gr laftly, fliould we give
into the reality of every appearance, and impli- citly train our judgment to a liftlefs acquief- cence in whatever is mown, or told us ? — Is there no alternative in this buftling world, but to think for ourfelves, and be mifanthropes ; — or with others, and be dupes? — I hope (as much as many may believe) that the know- ledge and love of the world may be eafily re- conciled i-*-eafy however as it rr,;-y be, I own myfelf unequal to the ta(k -t — I proceed there- fore to the fecond confideration.
fir
t 275 J
In a private fituation, an ignorance of the fchemes and machinations employed by men to gratify their appetites, at the expence of their fellow creatures, is afTuredly preferable to the molt accurate inveftigation of human morals, a too near acquaintance with which, can ferve but to cloud the feafon of fociety, and alloy the chearfullnefs of hofpitality wiih mental referva- tion : in the narrow circle, deceit may have too little opportunity, or too little effect for the evil confequenccs thereof to balance the
evil confequences of preparing againft them, ,
the lofs of internal peace of mind, and of good- will towards man.
As far then as relates to his own domeftic fociality, it is not only allowable, but praife- worthy, for an individual not to embitter his mind by a too nice refearch into the motives of human words and actions j which, as it con- vinces him of the depravity of others, is likely" to render him too fomewhat depraved -, or at beft to depreciate, with the merits of his afib- ciates, the happinefs of his life.
As a moral being, he may be permitted (I think) an ignorance of the craftyhood, and wiles around him j but as a beii.g, making. T 2 pare
r & j
part of a (late or civil fociety, he mould Be well apprized of the fnares that lay in wait for him as fuch -, his own independant welfare and peace which in the prior cafe bore the molt weight of argument become of little confidera^ tion, and. he is under indifpenfable' obligation. to acquire all fuch knowledge as may be necef- fary to the making him a good and fervicable citizen y he mould be often told,, and have much thought, of how many tyrants have gained a firft footing on the necks of the peo- ple, by bellowing for liberty ! — \ — how many have clamoured for freedom, and have over- turned the freed of conftitutions ! — how often patriotifm hath been but a name ! — he fhould well Have confidered what ravages have been committed under the mafk of piety; and ob- ferve in the annals of mankind, that zealotifm is no fign but of madnefs, proteftation no proof of holy fervour, and grimace no part of reli- gion : he mould have in view the mafTacres fuperftition hath occafioned-, and the ravages which ambition hath perpetrated under the cloak of fan&ity.
So far the ftudy of mankind is the duty of each member of the ftate, who for the fecu-
rity>
( 277 1
rrty, and many other blefiings he enjoys under the fhelter of government, owes his mite to- wards the obviating every evil which may tend to the fubverfion or annoyance of the focial cftablimment that protects him.
To awaken the attention of the reader to eadi lefibn recondite in the hiftory I have undertaken to inveftigate is the purpofe of this book ; and 1 hope the various eflays interwoven with the eventful narrative will not be looked upon as idle, impertinent, or digreffive; but as aper- taining, and even neceflary to the treatife, — — as working out its chief — its moral intent.
^We are now to have in view a holy war, rendered acceflary to the fchemes of ambition ; — from zeal and fuperftition, made horridly deflruclive to private perfons and property ; — from a -crafty fimulation of piety, made ruinous to the rights and liberties of a whole country. The fuccefs of arms gave to each ftate with ac- cefiion of territory, new confequence and afcen- dancy in the common aflTembly of Greece, call- ed the Amphyclionic Council ; and that fuperior intereft therein 'as well may be imagined of a people degenerate from the juftice and patriot- virtues of their anceftry) was often employed to
fclfifh
[ 278 ]
feJfifh ends, to ferve the purpofes of ambition, or heats of national animofity.
The Thebans from their late courfe of con- queft under Pelopidas and Epaminondas, had acquired a weight fnfficient to influence the majority of votes, and in the fpirit of revenge they turned the tide of power on their heredi- tary foes, the Spartans and the Phocians •, they managed, on a frivolous pretence, to get a de- cree pad, impofing fo heavy a fine, that the refpective funds of thefe (tares were inadequate to the difcharge of it, and thereby they were driven to the odious neceffity of warring with the prefcriptive fupremacy of the great Grecian council: Phocis, frpm fituation lay readieft for attack, and from national weaknels was hopelefs of defence; its general Philomelus, confeious of the poor refources, whether of men or of monies that his country could boaft, to remedy the evil called in an army of merce* naries-, and to have wherewithall to pay and fupport them, defperately laid hands on the treafures of the Delphic temple, the care and priefthood of which were ever entrufled to the Phocians: the nature of the conteft was now fxjianged, and the name of rebellion, hateful
enough
I 279 3
enough in itfelf, was branded with the epithet* of facrilegious and profane.
Human nature under a fimilarity of circum- stances hath been every where, and in eVery age the fame ; the horrors of the facred war in Greece may be depicted with the like colouring, as the vehement and bloody contefts with which che holy madnefs of zeal, and vanities cf herefy have from time to time flained the sera of the mod merciful of religions.
The mind deeply employed on what it never can attain, and deeply interefted in what it never
can be aflured of, recurs for afiiftance to
the univerfality of opinion, which in proportion to its extenr gives comfort and hope to thofe who unwilling to doubt and unable to believe, reft their fecurky on the belief of others : when any portion of this univerfality is withdrawn, it muft affect each part of the communion, on the totality of which refts the ftrength of good faith whence each individual mind draws its confola- tory peace : in itfelf, the mind hath found no certitude ; in general acquicfcence, it hath pre- fumedonei and a privatation of that proof (vifi- onary as it is) of what it hath been taught to wim, and thence to imagine, threatens it with a
ftate
[ *8p ]
date of doubt, horror, and defpondency, which to avoid, it fancies itfclf into enthufiafm, ort deviates into zealotifm and fuperftition, and at any rate rages againft all, who fubtracting their authority, have diminifhed its original refources, and have driven it to frenzy and difcoqtent : this religious fury once awakened, deprives the
foul of all happinefs but in its madnefs j to
think, were to difpel that particular prophetic dream of life which habit and hope have made fo necefiary, and to this the zealot prefers his
delirium, fights blindful, and tilts at all, — -
who, the bandage from their eyes, are victims to the rage they vainly feek to calm, inftead of to oppofe.
Religious fury as it is cruel, fo is it implaca^ ble, whilft it knows not remorfe, or miltakins the workings of confcience, blindly feeks peace in the reiterated perpetration of the very crimes that imperceptibly have been the ruin of it.
The very numerous examples of the invetera- py attending religious diflentjons, have been, many too recent, and all much too frequent, to render a detail of its fpirit of maflacre and persecution any longer neceffary ; and I (ha\\
proceed
[ aii ]
proceed to the more public confequences of the Phocian holy war.
The ambitious Philip (as to every other neighbouring ftate) had made pretentions like- wife to Theflaly j but Lycophron ftill fupport- ed a competition with him for the crown, and having acquaintance with the Phocian Onomar- chus, he proffered him a reinforcement of Theflalian horfe, provided that he would reci- procally aid him with his mercenaries, if attack- ed by the Macedonian : the entcrprizing activi- ty of Philip foon brought on the expected exi- gency, and Onomarchus fuccefsfully backed the pretenfions of Lycophron and drove his rival from the field : Philip with a quick eye faw the profit that might be made of this defeat ; hither- to the nature of his quarrel with Lycophron had borne the afpedt of ufurpation, but his enemy connected with the Phocians was now ftain'd with the odium of their caufe, and might juflly be purfued with all the rancour of piety ; — tak- ing the part of the Amphyclions, he was at the fame time conquering his rival, gaining an efta- blilhment in Greece, and a fuperior intereft in its determinations and councils ; with alacrity there- fore he urged the war, forwaded his levies to the
field.
field, and attacked the Phocian army, his foi~ diers hymning the name, and wearing each a Jaurel fprig in honor, of the Delphic Apollo ^ Philip gaining an eafy victory fent to Thebes to demand the pleafure of that flate relative to the treatment of his prifoners, the punifhment of whom he left to them as avengers of the profane and facrilegious depredations on the mod holy of Temples : the Thebans flattered by the conde- fcenfion, and elated with the hopes of alliance with, fo powerful a prince, blindly entered into his views by an impolitic folieitation of his fur- ther friendfhip and affiftance.
It was at this time that the aflembly of Athens was haranguing fo haughtily, and acting fo re- mifsly with refpect to the feveral enterprizes of Philip : in truth befides the indolent and lafci- vious temper of the times, much concurred to flatter or to argue the Athenians into an idlenefs of oppofition, that bore, almoft the mien of neutrality.
Ariftodemus and Neoptolemus fent to pry into the real defigns of Philip, received with the moft generous affability returned to plead the caufe of their benefactor •, thefe men belonged to the theater, but the reader muft not fuppofe,
that
f =83 ]
jthat this their profeflion any ways affected the authority of their mifiion, or of their report ; — Livy, fpeaking of the public merits of the actor Arifto, " fays — " nee ars, quia nihil tale apud Grcccos pudori ejl, ea deformabat : two likewife of the moil noble of the citizens, Phrynon and Ctefiphon,vi firing the court of Pellaon their own private concerns, came from Macedon with much proof of the munificence, and of courfe with niany tales of the juftice and goodnefs, of the King ; and Phocion, at the head of the moft virtuous and independant party of the (late, deem'd it in this degenerate age mod expedient to temporize, and not expofe his country to a conteft which the public corruption and the vices of its conftituents rendered it moft inadequate to: when we are told that fixty of the prime ci- tizens (like Boccacio's mirthful fecefllon from the plague of Florence) had totally withdrawn from the aflemblies, and had formed a fociety of wit and merriment, the chief rule cf which, was, never to think of what concerned the ftate ; — when we are told that fuch an alTociation was, was known, and was permitted, we mud agree with Phocion and the other good and free citi- 2ens, that to be fuch by fuflferance was their
bed,
t 284 ]
Iseft, and indeed only hope: they ufed the fame addrefs to conciliate Philip, as Philip to deceive them ; in this very momentous crifis they ftili had an eye to peace, and when the more fpirited or lefs confederate patriots were bellowing for war, they pleaded for a mediocrity of mcafurcs; they reprobated thefe too great {ticklers for old virtues and old manners. — and with reafon : — Cicero was right, when he faid of Cato — nocei interdum reipublkte, dicens, tanqttam in Platonis UoXiJBicCi non tanquam in Romuli f<ece, jententi- am : this moderate party once again prevailed on the affembly to poftpone ail hoftile prepara- tions, and to depute a more refpeetable embafiy of ten of the principal men of the ftate to de- mand a categorical anfwer from Philip, and to c-et a clear view into his defigns, and into the ftrength of his kingdom : what is wifhed, is readily believed; and Philip defirous of not em- broiling himfelf too prematurely with a republic Hill molt populous and wealthy, took advantage of their defires of peace, to deceive the people into a fecurity of it, by the moft fpecious lan- guage, and molt ingratiating behaviour to their minifters : thefe ten men were of the belt fa- milies of Athens, all of much afcendancy, and
all
I 281
all cf different characters -, for the courteous, he had affability ; for the proud, honourable atten- tion ; money for the avaricious, and liberality to all ; — another and another embaffy fueceeded from which the delegates returned, or deceived: themfelves, or to deceive their countrymen, and to accufe, and bicker with, one another.
Thefe miniftries, during which fomething like a peace was botched up, ferved but to give Phi- lip time to proceed on his great defign, and to feed the flames of diffention and animofity which long had wafted the ft length of Athens : how- ever this compact confined the meafures of the republic, it was no bar to the progrefs of its in- fidious enemy ; — having liftencd to the felicita- tions of the Thebans, having joined forces vith them on the confines of Phocis, obliged its in- habitants to a difcretionary furrender, maflfacrecl or enflaved the people, burnt, or difmantled the towns, and having in reward for thefe fer- vices under the Amphyctionic banner, gained
a feat in its councils, he was preparing to
turn all thefe events to account, and on this footirg-place to fix the machine that was to make the univerfe,— to mafter Greece, and with
Greece to conquer Afia 1
Demoft*
f i86 ]
Demoflhenes now once again attempted tS awaken his fellow-citizens to an apprehenfion of the fehemes of Philip ; and Chares, and after- wards Phocion, were fent at the head of fmall detachments to watch over the interefts of the republic, and the latter proved fome obftacle to the fuccefs of the Macedonian arms ; but the Locrians now falling under the fame imputation,-
as heretofore the Phocians, the Greeks, as
if rivals for fervitude, with the fame heat they were emulous of empire, preMed Philip to fet forth at the head of the Amphyclionic army, to chaflife the delinquents ; and thus thefe exer- tions of Athens as late, were in vain j for Phi- lip now by invitation, marched into Greece, and and with great fhow of veneration and piety, ac- cepted the command -, whilft favoring oracles dailily proceeded from the venal tripod, as texts for each traiterous demagogue to dilcant on, and blind the eafy fuperftitious citizens : too foon, and moftfatally they were undeceived, when Philip, at the head of a mighty army, inftead of employ- ing it to the religious purpofe, for which he had been permitted, without oppofition to penetrate thus far, fuddenly turned, furprized, fortified, and garrifoned Elatea, a city lying between,
and
[ z87 ]
and commanding the territories on one fide, of Thebes ; on the other, of Athens.
Necefilty now held the place of virtue ; the people were for a moment frightened out of their vices and indolence, and haflily pafled a- decree that teemed with the fpirit of their ancient vigour and conftitution ; a manifeilo was expe- dited to the chief ftates of Greece ♦, and a chofen embafly fent to plead their common cauie with Thebes } in vain Philip employed every artifice and intrigue to fecure the amity of this people 5. —the allied armies of the Thebans and the Athenians joined to- fight for the liberties of the common country.
The battle of Chceronea quickly decided the
contell j and Greece, whofe firft heroes have
been the favorites of poetry, — whofe mature and patriotic vigour againft the Perfian was the or- nament of eloquence, whofe ftruggles in, and
convalescence from, inteftine commotion, have been the pride of hiftory,— lofing its fpirit, its freedom, and its policy, was funk beneath the arms or intrigues of an ambitious king, and lefc indebted for its every privilege, to his good- will and furTerance.
CHAP,
[ z&8 J
CHAP. xir.
' \ FUNERAL oration in honour of thofe* •£* flain at the battle of Chseronea, was fpoken by Demofthenes j the authenticity of the declama- tion extant, hath been difputed by the fcholiaft, as not being replete with that fublime eloquence which characterize his other fpeeches •, but furely on fuch an occafion even a Demofthenes might be allowed to fail; all his views had been fruf- trated ; — every refource of force, or policy ex- haufted ; — Philip, it was not fafe to irritate ; — the Athenians, it were cruel to deprefs ; and the two-iburces of invective and fympathy were thus diverted from the particular field of genius, they were the bed fuited to enrich .* every cir- cumftance was delicately to be conducted be- tween the power on one ffde, and the miferies on the other ; and might not too the fpeaker be fuppofed embarrafied with fo touching, fodiftrefs-
ful a fubject ! to the declamation of Pericles
every Athenian pulfe beat full and high ; — to
repeat
[ 289 }
repeat the honors of the dead, brought no fliame on the living ; — their lofs, no ruin on the re- public ; and the orator had victory for his
theme, and the victorious for his audience ! Is no allowance to be made for the difference of the
times, or for the feelings of a fpeaker, who
was to (land up and deliver to a hopelefs circle, the funeral oration of their fuccefflefs fri«i d> ; —of their liberties ; — of their country !
It hath not been unufual to clofe the hiftory of Greece, at this period ; had I undertaken to trace the general hiftory of Greece, I fhould think myieif now approaching to the mod inte- relling part of my work •, I mould look with a curious eye into the tranfactions and conftitution of the Achaean league •, I mould bufy myfelf with the ^Etolians ; I mould pry into the vari- ous declenfion of each republic; and build walls to Lacedsemon : even the fingle ftate of Athens, I cannot fo readily quit, with the fim- pie affertion, — " That the liberties of Greece pe-
rifhed at the field of Cheronsea :" that they
did, mould be manifefted.
Philip, to found the temper of the Greeks,
and to prepare them for the Afiatic expedition,
called a meeting of their delegates to Corinth,
U anj
[ 29o ]
and Athens, and every other city (excepting Spaf- ta) obeyed the fummons, and in general council coincided with the views of Philip, and acknow- ledged his title to the command in chief.
Philip lived not to profit of his conquefts ; his death was deemed favorable to the recovery of liberty and of power ; Demofthenes on the news thereof, appeared in the affembly with a chaplet on his head, and exhorted the people to new ftruggles and oppofition ; but the bold and vi- gilant genius of Alexander gave not this fpirrt time to blaze ; — he quickly raifed and appeared •with a powerful force, and reduced the Athe- nians to an acquiefcence in the terms granted them by his father ; and then at the head of his veteran army, went forth, to work out under Providence the great revolution of the Eafl.
The twelve years that Alexander was purfu- ing his victories in Afia, were a golden period for Greece ♦, a man of a polifhed and erudite mind could not imagine to himfelf happier times, — times when flourilhed philofophy, art, and every requifite to adorn a life of Attic eafe : — the vifionary might find fellow-dreamers in the. groves of Plato ; — the fubtile might converfc with Ariftotle j— the grave with Zenoj—the
more
[ 291 }
more cheerful moralift might walk the gardens of Epicurus ; — and the votary of elegant fenfu- ality might loiter away his noon at the academy of Phidias, and his evening at the table of the witty and luxurious Demades.
It is a curious circumftance that Xerxes, who had yielded to the ftrcngth of the republic, from the pillage of the city, carried into Afia with him the ftatues of Ariftogeiton and Harmodius; and that Alexander, who had mattered the re- public, fcnt from Afia, and replaced thefe very ftatues of the firft afiertors of that liberty, he had deltroyed. This remark might feem preg- nant with little more than conceit, did it not not lead to an obfervation on the ill -policy of Alexander, who, furely was little confiderate of the peace and fecurity of his government, when he fent to Athens this inflammatory prefent, — being ever before their eyes a memorial of their paft honors, and prefent ignominy ; — ever reproaching them with their abject acquiefcence in a fervitude, lhameful, however light, and ever with this pafiive temper ftrongly contracting the fpirit of their ancient martyrs to freedom.
The conqueror's ill-timed generofity may be prefumed, I think, to have had fome fuch ef- fect
[ 292 ]
feci j for in the laft book of Arrian, remarking a general embafify of the Greeks addrefling Alex- ander as a deity, at the fame time I remember an exception (mentioned in the twelfth chapter of the fifth book of iElianJ with refpect to the Athenians, who roufed from their fervile com- placency, fined the orator Demades for a mere propofal of his apotheofis •, and when the heroic king fent his mandate to Greece, ordering each 'dry to receive back its exiles, we find Athens then too (and almofl: fingly) oppofing the con- queror^ good will and pleafure; and Alexander a little before his death, had collected a mighty force, — (fays Juitin) ad delendas Athenas j — but he was cut off in his career of victory, and the Athenians had time to make warlike prepara- tions, wherewith to difpute the fovereignty of his fuccefTors.
The vaft empire of Alexander, hereditary and acquired, being divided amongft his captains ; Macedon, and Greece as its appendant, fell to, the (hare of Antipater •, who immediately pro- ceeded to chaftife his refractory fubjects of JEto- lia and Athens : Leofthenes chofen general of the united forces of the ftates, gained a fignal yictory over the new ufurper, and drove him to
a re-
[ 293 ]
% refuge, and clofely befieged him, in the city of Lamia : this laft ftruggle of the Athenians was for a time bravely fupported -, though Leof- thenes had fallen in a fkirmith before the gates, yet his army was not difpirited, but ftill clofely inverted the place, and in a fet engagement of the cavalry of the two powers again carried off the palm of victory : Antipater no longer think- ing himfclf fafe within the town, fecretly with- drew ; but foon again was heard of at the
Jiead of the formidable fleets of Macedon ; the Athenians vigoroufly then prepared to beat him too from the feas, and quickly they had a fleet of an hundred and feventy fail boldly in queft pf their enemy.
Looking back a few years to the inactive and remifs conduct of this people towards Philip, I could not with- hold my aftonifbment at the fudden change from diflention and fupine weak- nefs, to this prefent fpirit of unanimous and vigorous exertion : to account for the vicifii- tude, I muft attribute it to the effects of the times, when Alexander roved from kingdom to kingdom, through Afia, and left Greece to
enjoy (what I mould call) the liberal Age:
in the various fchools, politics were reduced to a fcience, and morals to a fyftem ; philofophy
gave
r 294 ]
gave strength, and the polite arts gave eafe, and the general activity of the mind gave to it vigour and fpirit ; the theory of what men ought to do was becoming difFufive, and from its novelties, not yet tedious ; and it had at- tained refinement enough to attach, and had fimplicity enough not to elude, the attention : the Athenians proud of the diftinctions which accrued to them from the Portico and the Academe, gave readily and generally into the amufernents and ftudies that ennobled their hour of peace, and from thefe fludies, the citizens ei ay be liippofed to have acquired fomething like, what in modern language is called, * Point cf Honour; a fentiment which internally for- bids a too eafy ceffion of any pretenfion made whether to juftice, to valour, to wildom, to virtue, or (in a word) to any rare and admTed
quality : The Athenians curioufly invefti-
gating the duties of a man, and of a citizen, In fome degree the practice thereof enfued, — talking and writing of the fpirit of their repu- blican conititution, they leemed the more bound
to its fuppor: ■, a fortunate fuccefs on the
6rft outfet encouraged the people to go on, and had they finally been victorious in the con- te#, perhaps JVkmtefquieu had been obliged
•10
[ 295 1
to wave his ingenious fyftem, and acknowledge the exigence of a free and well constituted democracy, whofe principle was — Honour.
Perdiccas reinforcing the fleets of Antipater, they overpowered and deftroyed the whole Athe- nian armament, and appearing triumphant be- fore Athens, compelled the citizens to a dis- cretionary Surrender, and making fome change in the commonwealth, left Demetrius gover- nor over it, at the head of a numerous garrifon : Antipater on his entrance into Athens immedi- ately banifhed twenty two thoufand from the city •, Thefe, fays Diodorus, were only thofe who had not the cenfus neceiTary to the confti- tuting a citizen according to the new regulati- ons ; but we may be certain, I think, that Antipater loll nos the opportunity of fecuring his government by banifhingall, whofe great and leading qualities might gain the afcendant over
his innovations ; it is probable that the old
intimacy of virtue and poverty was not broken,.
. that the good and indigent went together
into exile, — and that to be abjecl, as well as to be wealthy, was fome title to favour ; we may therefore pronounce it glorious (and it was the Lift glory of this republic) — on fuch an occa- £on to have loft fo many citizens.
lz
C 296 ]
It may be alked «' did not Demetrius
Poliorcctes fometime afterwards drive the PhaJ lerean from his government, and reftore liberty
to Athens?" Liberty, I anfwer, it was then
incapable ot receiving : for the truth of this,
recur to the lives of Plutarch, behold this
refufe of the citizens, with a fervility that dis- claims the name of gratitude, enrolling this de- liverer with their gods, —decreeing him the
honors of Ceres and Bacchus, making an
oracle of him, carrying their devotion to fo
fulfome a pitch, that Demetrius himfelf, at length, deeming them unworthy of further tendernefs or management, taxed them at once two hundred and fifty taltnts, and in the very prefence of the minifters who brought it, threw it into the lap of his harlot Lamia.
It was mightily the falhion of Alexander's captains, to be ver/ bountiful— —0/ liberty to
Greece-, Telefphorus came with it from An-
tigonus, and Polypcrchon fent it from the Pe- loponnefe •, but to clofe my book, and ob- viate further objection with the authority of Li-
vy [civitas] — ea autcm in Uberiate efi ■pcfitay
qua Juts Ji at viribus, ncn ex alieno arhilrto ptrtdet.
FINIS.
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