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HENRY FROWDE, MJL
rUBUSHER TO THE UVIVERSITT OP OZFOKD
LONDON, EDINBURGH
NEW YORK
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PREFACE TO THE FOURTH
EDITION.
The present Volume consists of a collection of
passages of various difficulty, and in various styles,
for translation into Latin Prose, together with a
general Introduction upon the art of writing Con-
tinuous Prose. Every passage has been subjected
to a careful scrutiny, to make sure that no passage
should be admitted which was not specially suitable
for translation into Latin, both in style and matter,
and such as to bring out, fairly and squarely, the
essential points of difference between the two lan-
guages: and to secure this end, every piece of
English in this volume has been either actually
translated into Latin, or specially studied with that
view.
In addition, pains have been, taken to select pas-
sages that should be both interesting in themselves,
■< rj
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iv PREFACE,
and excellent as specimens of English style. If a
student is to acquire a good style in Latin, he must
have placed before him a sample of good style in
English ; both thought and language should be such
as to be worth the labour to be expended on them
in translation. The passages chosen may serve to
show how rich our literature is in forcible and
beautiful prose : how different is the English written
by our best writers from what often passes for
English nowadays. The titles prefixed to each
passage will, it is hoped, prove both helpful and
interesting to the student.
The aim of the Introduction is to put before the
student a general idea of the essential differences
between English and Latin tnodes of expression,
between English and Latin composition; and to
indicate the main principles on which he must
proceed in translating from the one language into
the other, if he would arrive at a satisfactory result
No attempt is made to supply a series of ' tips ' ;
or to suggest how a set of stock phrases may be
skilfully introduced so to give a veneer of Latin to
what is essentially a passage (^ English expressed
in Latin words. There are two main things which
a student has to be taught if he is to write good
Latin : the first is to appreciate the fundamental
differences between the two languages; the second
is to gain an understanding of the sort of process
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vi PREFACE.
contains 492 passages, teachers have an ample choice,
in selecting passages for translation, between those
included, and those not included, in the Versions.
With the exception of some necessary corrections,
the present Edition is an exact reprint of the Third.
G. G. RAMSAY.
University of Glasgow.
October If 1897.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
Introduction ix-lxxx\'iii
Easy Passages tor Translation . . . . i-iii
Narrative, Descriptive, and Historical Passages • 113- 177
Characters. 178-205
Reflective and Philosophical Passages • . . 206 262
Literary and Critical Passages .... 263-281
Oratorical Passages. ••.•.. 282 312
Epistolary Passages . 313-344
Index to First Lines of Passages .... 345-356
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X INTRODUCTION TO [55 8, 4.
to what goes before, and to what comes after; the
construction, the order of the words, the very words
and expressions used, may have to undergo change,
in order to fit the sentence into its place, as sense or
sound may direct Emphasis will demand some
changes ; variety will suggest others ; and the order
in which the sentences follow one another will
demand as much consideration as the order of the
words in any single sentence,
§ 3. We have seen (Vol. I., App., p. 237) that for
the writing of correct Latin Prose, three things are
needed :
(1) Each word must be put into its proper Con-
struction ;
(2) Appropriate words and expressions must be
used, so as to convey adequately the sense of the
English: that is, we must choose such terms and
modes of expression as a Roman might have used
to convey a similar meaning to Romans ;
(8) Each word must be placed in its proper Latin
Order.
No. (i) has been fully treated in Vol. L ; some
hints as to the differences between Latin and English
modes of expression (no. 2) will be found in the
Notes to the Exercises in that volume; and the
primary rules for Latin Order (no. 3) are given in
the Appendix, §§ 29 to 82. But both (2) and (3)
require to be considered more fully in relation to
Continuous Prose.
§ 4. We will suppose that the student has before
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xii INTRODUCTION TO [§§ e, 7.
wrap up his meaning in obscure generalities. Clear-
ness, directness, simplicity, order, symmetry: these
are the qualities in which Latin stands pre-eminent,
and on these all sound thinking and all clear writing
must be based.
§ 6. The first thing, then, that a student has to do
in writing Latin is to know exactly what he means to
say. This hint is by no means unnecessary. Modem
English writing is often so slip-shod that it may mean
several different things, or nothing at all : modem
readers read so quickly and so carelessly that they
seldom carry away more than general impressions
of what they read. The newspaper, the lecture,
and the sermon, all foster the growth of this im-
pressionist' school, which shirks the labour of con-
tinuous thought both in reading and in writing ; and
many a scholar has felt that he had never in his life
thought out connectedly the meaning of a difficult
piece of English, until taught to do so by the exigen-
cies of Latin Prose.
§ 7. So long as we confine ourselves to Simple
Sentences, and to ideas of the simplest and most
universal kind— the external objects, the common
incidents and actions, of every-daylife — the differences
between Latin and English thought do not appear.
A mere knowledge of Latin syntax will carry the
student pretty safely through Parts I. and IL of this
book. But the moment we step out of this simple
order of ideas, and have to do with man's inner
thoughts and feelings ; when we deal with such corn-
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xiv INTRODUCTION TO [§§ lo, ii.
English revels in the use of abstract terms where
concrete things are meant; Latin is severely con-
crete, and seldom uses abstract terms except to denote
abstract things. English is a complex language,
enriched by the experience of many civilised nations ;
Latin is a simple language, expressing in a plain
direct fashion the thoughts of a practical unimagina-
tive people, whose life was for centuries confined to
a single province of Italy. English abounds in meta-
phor of the most varied kind, much of it now
unconscious ; in Latin the metaphors are few, simple
and direct, and drawn from a very narrow circle of
ideas.
§10. To translate well, therefore, from English
into Latin, the student must perform an act of
imagination. He must think little of the words ; he
must go straight for the thought, of the original. He
must strip the expression of all that is non-essential,
redundant, or allusive, and put the actual thing
intended into its most simple and direct form. He
must eschew all so-called embellishments, using
nothing but plain natural metaphors, and regarding
purity and straightforwardness as the first great
ornaments of speech. These once secured, a little
practice, and a careful study of good model passages,
will train his ear to appreciate good rhythm, and feel
the beauty of that balance and harmony of sound
which marks the distinguished Latin style.
§ 11. It follows, from what has been said, that the
main object for a student to set before him is not to
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§12.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. xv
look out for special phrases or idioms, to borrow or
to imitate particular tricks of speech : he should seek
to reproduce the general character of the language as
a whole. As Dr. Potts well says\ ' The idiom of the
Latin language is to be logical, clear, distinct ; to be
intolerant of haze in thought or expression ; to be
rhythmical and sonorous in sound.*
Let the writer of Latin therefore before all things
bear in mind that he must aim at clearness. Bald-
ness, roughness, dulness, are pardonable faults : am-
biguity, obscurity, complexity, are unpardonable.
Variety, point, rhythm, are quaKties to be aimed at
ultimately: but the first indispensable quality of good
Latin is to be clear.
On the Choice of Words.
§ 12. As soon as the general sense and connection
of the passage have been mastered, the next thing to
do is to find the nearest Latin equivalents for the
separate ideas which it contains. Except in the case
of very simple objects and ideas, it is seldom that the
first Dictionary substitute, still more seldom that the
corresponding English term, will answer the purpose.
Do not be satisfied with finding a word in the English-
Latin Dictionary; look it up in the Latin-English
Dictionary, consult the passages there quoted, and
satisfy yourself that the word or the phrase is used
just in the sense wanted.
* Hints towards Latin Prosg Composition^ cap. v. p. 23.
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xvi INTRODUCTION TO [5 is.
§ 13. Cases in which the English word is the same as
the Latin word are very apt to mislead : a word adopted
from Latin into English has usually either worn off
some of its meaning; or added something to it, so
that it has come to represent something quite diffe-
rent, or carries with it quite different associations,
from the original Latin word. The following is a
short list of simple words which differ widely in
meaning, or in use, from the same or corresponding
words as used in English : —
abhorrere, *to shrink from,' *to be widely different
from ' : not ' to abhor ' {deiestari).
adhuc, * hitherto,' should only be used of present time,
* up to this moment ' : not as we use * hitherto,' of past
events (for which tunty ad id temfus^ etc. should be used).
adquirere, ' to gain in addition ' : not simply ' to acquire '
(parare, cansequi, etc.).
aestimare, 'to value,' *to appraise': not 'to esteem'
{fnagni, parvi, etc., aesHmare),
affectio, *a state,' * a condition ' : not 'affection,' Move'
{amor, benevoleniia, etc.).
alludere, *to play/ 'to joke' or 'do sportingly': not
'to allude to' {significare, designare, spectare ad, etc.).
anntius means ' that lasts a year,' as well as ' recurring
yearly.'
antiquitas, ' age,' ' antiquity ' : not » ' the ancients '
(aniiqui, veieres, etc.).
argumentmn, 'the subject' of a writing, 'the plot' of
a play, etc. ; not ' an argument ' {ratio, causa, res, dis-
ptiUUio, etc).
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xviii INTRODUCTION TO [|i8.
rise to/ 'involves': e. g. hdbet tuimiroHonem, terrorem,
etc.
historia, *a narrative/ *a story' : not 'History' as ■*
* recorded events' {res gestae, res ipsae, etc.).
honor, * a public office/ ' a public distinction/ ' repute ' :
not usually for 'honour' (Jama), or 'honour' as a per-
sonal quality (/ides).
instructio, 'a constructmg/ 'an arranging': not 'in-
struction ' (doctrtna),
libellus, ' a written document/ ' a petition ' : not ' a
libeP.
meritum, 'a kindness done to a person' : not 'a merit'
(laus, virtus, etc.).
momentum, 'a movement/ 'a turning point,' and so
' a cause ' or * influence ' : not ' a moment of time ' (punc-
turn temporis).
mundus, 'the world/ 'the universe/ 'the heavens':
but not ' the earth ' specially (orbis terrae or terrarum) ;
nor yet in the sense of ' mankind,' ' society/ 'life/ etc.
obnoxius, ' liable to/ 'subject to* : not 'objectionable
(molestus),
obtinere, 'to hold fast/ 'to retain': not 'to obtain'
(acquirere, parare) ; nor yet intrans. of a custom, opinion,
etc. (consuetudo est, valet opinio, etc.).
occasio, 'favourable occasion/ 'opportunity' (^Kaip6t)\
not merely * occasion.'
perdere, 'to destroy/ 'to squander': not merely 'to
lose ' (amittere, omittere),
persona, 'a part/ 'a character ' : not 'a person.'
regnare, 'to be king/ or 'to play the t3rrant': but
not metaphorically in the sense of * to prevail ' (esse or
valere ; e. g. ' silence reigned,' silenHumfuif),
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XX INTRODUCTION TO [§§ 15, le.
should at least have an idea of the general objects
to aim at in the conversion of literary English into
literary Latin.
§ 15. Dr. Potts tells us that the main features of
Latin expression, all more or less connected together,
are (i) Concreteness ; (2) Directness ; (3) Lucidity ;
(4) Realism ; and (5) Precision (in tenses, etc.). To
these we must add (6) Conciseness, a most marked
characteristic, which, however, occasionally interferes
with no. (3) {Lucidify), and is itself sometimes incom-
patible with no. (2) {Directness). Quality no. (4)
(Realism) is scarcely to be separated from no. (i)
(Concreteness) : it means a putting of ideas simply, as
they actually are, or as they appear primarily to the
mind or senses, rather than a describing of them
through the medium of other ideas, representations,
or associations imported by the mind itself.
§ 16. As said above, these qualities are not always
compatible ; one or another may have to be sacrificed.
Clearness demands that an idea or a thing must be
fully indicated; but there are many modem ideas
which were unknown to the ancients, and which
cannot be expressed fully by one word : a periphrasis
must be used. No one word could express a complex
idea like 'civilisation'; and a single English adjec-
tive may have to be expanded, for the sake of
clearness, into a whole relative clause. Directness
is analogous both to concreteness and to realism : it
means that a thing must be expressed at first hand,
as an object is reflected by a mirror, not indirectly by
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1 17.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. xxi
an allusion to something else. An English author
writes : ' How noble is Xenophon*s description of the
death of Socrates I He tells us how ihe philosopher
sat calmly amongst his friends/ etc. Here the words
the philosopher ^v^ an allusive description of Socrates :
if we were to translate by philosophus, some new
person, different from Socrates, would be indicated \
/ § 17. Clearness^ we have seen, is the most im-
portant end to aim at: yet it is often interfered
with by conciseness, and still more often by the
fact that on many subjects the Romans had not
thought out differences of meaning which are familiar
to us, and so allowed one word to stand for very dif-
ferent things. Thus words are sometimes used both
in an Active and a Passive sense: exspectatio may
mean 'a waiting for others,' or 'the being waited for
by others * ; caecus may mean ' blind ' or ' unseen ' ;
gnarus is both 'knowing' and 'known*; illacrinta-
bilis, 'incapable of weeping,' or 'of being wept for.*
In other cases no distinction is made between a thing
itself and the consciousness of that thing by the
mind; libertas may mean 'liberty,' or 'the love or
sentiment of liberty'; officium may mean 'external
acts of duty,* or ' the sense of duty in the mmd.* The
word memoria may mean three things: (i) 'The
faculty or act of memory * ; (2) ' The time to which the
recollection extends'; (3) 'An account of past events,'
*a narrative.* And a whole host of ideas may be repre-
^ But we might add, for e^m^ht^f phihsophus UU illusirissimits^
etc
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xxii INTRODUCTION TO [|5i8,io.
sented by such vague words as res^^ ratio, esse, habere,
agere, etc. For, as said above, Latin is a poor
language ; and it may often be better to use vague
words like the above, somewhat empty of meaning;
rather than run the risk of conveying a wrong
meaning.
§ 18. Preciseness and conciseness again are some-
times opposing qualities. Latin is very precise
m its use of tenses; preciseness often requires a
clause where we use a single wprd {id de quo agitur,
* the subject ' ; is cuius causa agitur, * the defendant * ;
id quod animo proposuit consecutus, ^having gained
his end ') ; rejoices in expanded phrases like ex quo
efficitur ui, quae cum ita sini, etc. ; or adds unneces-
sarily a defining word, as in causae rerum, * causes ' ;
natura rerum, 'nature'; angoranimi, 'distress.' On
the other hand, for the sake of shortness, pronouns,
personal or possessive, are constantly omitted ; verbs
are frequently omitted, as in quid plura F {sc. dicam);
nentultis (sc. utar)] quid, quod?] Sus Minervam (sc.
docef), = 'Teach your grandmother'; or substan-
tives, as iUud egregium (sc. dictum) Caionis ; Hectoris
Andromache (sc. uxor).
§ 19. We thus see that the qualities of lucidity,
concreteness, directness, realism, conciseness, though
sometimes incompatible, yet as a whole run into one
^ On the wide use of res see Dr. Postdate's Senno LaHnus,
p. 34 ; for both rts and esst see Dr. Potts' Hints, pp. 3a, 33. Dr.
Potts happily calls the word res ' a blank cheque, to be filled up
from the context'
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H ao, 21.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. xxiii
another, and are all the results of one tendency.
They may be summed up in the saying that Latin
always speaks the truth ; and loves, to speak it in a
plain simple way. It may not be possible always to
write so as to exhibit all these qualities; but, if
possibly let clearness never be sacrificed. Intelli-
gibility is the first requisite of all language ; it is
better to be clear than to be short, and better to be
inadequate than to be misleading.
§ 20. Let us next consider some of the main
peculiarities of English which would appear, to a
Roman mind, inconsistent with the above qualities :
what are the kinds of expression which, however
good in English, cannot be translated literally into
Latin without a sacrifice of them. We may then con-
sider what means Latin employs in such cases to
express the required meaning in its own way.
Use of Abstract Terms.
§ 2L A marked peculiarity of English, as of all
modem languages, is the constant use of abstract
terms where concrete things are meant It is impos-
sible to turn over a page of English without finding
such expressions as * Society is censorious *; * Litera-
ture is an exacting mistress'; 'Genius is always
sensitive * ; ' Public life had no attractions for him * ;
' Humanity demands it *; ' Old age is penurious'; etc.
In each of the above sentences an abstract term is
used, not in its proper sense to denote the abstract
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XXIV INTRODUCTION TO ft ss.
idea involved in each, but to denote things or persons.
As a rule, such expressions are to be carefully
avoided in Latin \ Say exactly and directly what
you mean ; do not express it indirectly through an
abstraction. All the above expressions refer to men
of some sort, and you must say so, with such qualifica-
tion as may be necessary. If * Society * means ' man-
kind at large,' say homines or plerique hamimim. If
it means 'Society' in the technical social senses qui
urbani et venusti sunt ; and so on. Think out in each
case what the thing actually meant is, and express
that. 'Honesty is the best policy' is an abstract
way of saying that ' Men succeed best by honesty,* or
that ' Honest men are prosperous.* 'Temperance £5
the best guarantee for health,* may be expressed
directly by saying 'Men preserve their health by
temperance * ; or * Temperate men are healthy.*
§ 22. We may take a few examples at random
from the English passages in this volume : —
{a) 'The excellence of his administration': Latin would
say quod rem bene gesserat^ 'the fact that he had governed
well;
(b) 'To give stability to his throne': ut imfienum
firmaret,
(c) * To prevent its abstraction ' : quod ne auferretur,
* There are exceptions, as iuvenhts, mandpium, etc., but they
are not numerous. Cicero uses Plural Abstract Nouns with
great boldness and beauty, as omnes honesfates civitatis. Pro
Sest. 51, § 109 ; fontium gelidas pemtniiaUs, De Nat ii. 39, § 98;
fitgM, HmidHateSy Pro Mil. 26, § 69. The force of the Plural is
to suggest the idea of various persons, places, or occasions.
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XXVI INTRODUCTION TO [j 28.
(2) An abstract term may be represented by an
Adjective, or a Participle, agreeing with a Noun ; as
^ The rising and setting of the sun make day and night,'
Sol otiens et occidens diem noctemque confidt;
* It was not liberality but levity which led Atticus to sup-
pose,' etc., AtHcus non h'beralis sed levis arbitrabahir^ etc. ;
* After the foundation of the city,' Post urbem conditam ;
'His presence was an inspiration,' Praesens animos
erigebat;
'The assassination of Caesar seemed to some a fine
deed,' Occistis Caesar aiiis pulcherrimum /acinus vide-
batur.
(8) By an Adjective in the Genitive :
* It would be madness to imitate such an example,'
Dementis esset talem hominem imitaru
(4) By a Finite Verb, as in the example above^
Praesens animos erigebat ;
' Knowledge is power,' Quoplura sdes, eopius vaiebis ;
'After the disastrous engagement of Cannae,' Cum
afud Cannas adverso Marte pugnatum esset
(6) By a Verb in the Infinitive :
' Self-command is nobler than empire,' Imperare sibi
quam aliis praestantius est;
'Drinking is more injurious than eating,' Pius nocet
bibere quam edere.
(e) By an Ablative Absolute :
'The assassination of Caesar left Antony master of the
State,' Occiso Caesare Antonius quasi dominus reipubiicae
imponebatur;
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V
1 24] CONTINUOUS PROSE. xxvii
* Under the leadership of Caesar/ Duc€ Caesan.
(7) By a Gerund or Gerundive :
' He cleared for himself a road by the assassination of
his enemies/ Viam sihi ad regnum inimicis interficiendis
paUfedt
(8) Sometimes by a whole Clause :
^ His popularity with the masses secured his unanimous
and enthusiastic election to the consulship/ Quod apud
f^bem gratiosus fuit^ ideo summo omnium studio consul
creatusesf;
* Having accomplished his design/ Quod animo pro-
posuerat consecutus ;
'Nothing but vain repentance remained/ Nihil ultra
quam utfrustra paeniieret restabat.
§ 24. Note especially that Latin keeps the form in
to and tas to denote the abstract idea, while English
uses them indifferently both as abstract and concrete.
In the sentence
* The institution of a new system requires care/
the word institution would properly be rendered by
institution which means ' the process of setting up/
But to translate
'At such times society rallies round any insHiutionyfbicYi
bears the marks of sovereignty/
neither societas nor institutio can be used. ' Society *
here means the individuals of whom the state is com-
posed; whereas societas means the state of being in
association. Institution means, not ' a setting up/ or
' instituting/ but ' sl something set up/ Here we must
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xxviii INTRODUCTION TO [§ 25.
use homines for * society>* institutum, not institutio, for
' institution/ Compare in the same way the difference
between inventio, * the discovery of a thing/ and in*
ventum, 'a thing discovered/ 'a discovery*; cogitatio
and cogitatufHj promissio and promissum ^ etc.
§ 25. On the same principle, Latin objects, as a rule,
to the abstract use of the . Singular to represent a
plurality of things, or a whole class of things. We
say 'the eye* gets accustomed to this, 'the ear*
appreciates that, and speak of 'day and night'; in
such cases Latin says oculi, aures, dies aique nocks,
etc., because the Plural is at once more true, and less
abstract, than the Singular. So where we say ' the
philosopher,* ' the poor man/ ' the melancholy man,*
using one person to represent a class of persons,
Latin says philosophi, pauperes, etc. There are a few
special exceptions to this rule, consecrated by philo-
sophic usage, such as avarus, sapiens, etc. ; similarly,
eques and pedes are used for ' cavalry * and ' infantry *;
and occasionally, in war operations, Romanus, Poenus,
etc., may stand collectively for the Roman or Car-
thaginian army. But the rule of Latin is to prefer
the Concrete Plural to the Abstract Singular : —
' The poor man's cottage,' Pauperum tabemae ;
' Some devoted themselves to music, some to poetry/
Tofos se alii adpoetas, alii ad tmisicos se dedere ;
' He was popular with the aristocracy,* Apud principes
(or opHmates) graHosusfuit,
, * See Berger, SiylisHqut Laiint, p. 74.
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XXX INTRODUCTION TO [§ 28.
grotesque, untrue, and therefore unmeaning, if repro-
duced literally in Latin, Many of such expressions
are founded on metaphors, to which modem life only
can supply the key ; but apart from metaphor, many of
our commonest modes of expression involve artificial
and indirect modes of regarding things which a
Roman would neither have appreciated nor under-
stood. One of the commonest examples of this is
the tendency to give life to inanimate things by
personification \ that is, by attributing to lifeless
things actions and qualities which are peculiar to
living agents. We see nothing odd in such expres-
sions as the following^:
(a) * Indolence kept him for six whole months at home ' ;
(^) * Neither fear nor favour could move him ' ;
(r) 'The perfidy of Napoleon made peace impossible * ;
(d) * If anything of disappointment depressed his spirits ';
(e) ' Our colder temperaments scarce enable us to con-
ceive';
(/) 'His presence might have averted this calamity';
(g) 'Caesar's rule promised order and security';
(h) 'His success in this scheme encouraged him to
attempt another*;
(i) 'An enquiry into these encroachments would have
stripped every Spanish nobleman of his estates' ;
(k) 'No pen can record the sufferings of a whole
people ' ;
{i) 'The prison-house at last brought him to his senses.'
* These examples are almost all taken from passages in this
volume.
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xxxii INTRODUCTION TO [§ so.
(/) * Had he been present, he could have averted ' ;
{j^ * Men expected that under Caesar (as) ruler they
would enjoy law and order * ;
ifi) * Which smce (it) had turned out well for him, he
determined to dare something further ' ;
(i) 'Concerning all which things had it been enquired
(impers.)» all the Spanish nobles would have been de-
prived of their estates ' ;
(U) 'By no letters can be described what a whole
people is able to endure ' ;
(/) 'Thrown into prison, he at length learnt how
things really held themselves.'
§ 30. In translating such figurative phrases into
Latin, we must in each case eliminate the unreal,
imaginative element, and ask ourselves how the thing
actually meant would be expressed by an unimagi-
native person of common sense, who knew perfectly
well what he had to say, but had not at hand, ready
to draw from (as we have), a fund of pictorial ex-
pressions, in forms consecrated by time. The
Roman used language which he understood; if
he said a thing, it was because he himself had
thought it. But the modem is perpetually using
figures of speech thought out by past generations, of
suggested by past modes of life, without any sense
of their proper original meaning. He uses repre-
sentative words and expressions as if they had never
denoted anything but the things for which they now
stand. Hence the incongruities and redundancies of
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§31.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. xxxiii
so much of our modern writing: in Cumberland,
Winder-mere lake, even DerwenUwater lake, are
common expressions, people forgetting what mere
or water mean. To such faults the writing of Latin
applies the best of correctives ; for to write it well we
must think out, at first hand, the exact meaning of
everything we have to say.
General Precision and Truthfulness
of Latin.
§ 3L The general precision of Latin, which re-
quires that things should be stated truthfully and
literally as they are, is further illustrated in the
following points :
(1) It is strictly correct in the use of Tenses. Thus
it will not permit the looseness of the English ' I shall
see you when / am in Rome,' ' I shall call on you
when I arrive in Rome.* Latin and logic alike re-
quire cum Romae ero, cum Romam pervenero. See
Vol. I, Pref. note to Ex. IV. ; Ex. VI. n. 9 ; Ex. VII.
n. 14, etc. ; and so with other tenses.
(2) Similarly, Latin Participles must be used in
their strict and proper meaning. The Present must
not be used for the Past Participle, as in the English
' Taking my passage by the quick steamer, I arrived
in ten days at Alexandria ' ; nor to denote a reason,
as in 'Seeing all hope was gone, I came away.* Nor
can the Present Part, be used (except in a strictly
limited number of cases) in lieu of an Adjective, as in
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xxxiv INTRODUCTION TO [§ 81.
the English 'a lying scoundrel/ 'a convincing speaker/
*an irritating answer/ 'a domineering woman.' The
Present Part, denotes that the act is actually going on
at the moment ; hence, to translate such phrases as
the above, we must use an adjective in ax (denoting
'with a tendency to*) if there is one, as mendaxy
atidax, pervicax, etc., or else an Adjectival Clause.
(See Vol. I. § 32.) Sometimes by a bold personifica-
tion, such epithets may be rendered by nouns :
exeratus victor, ' a conquering army'; animus CatUinae
cuiuslibet rei simulator ac dissimulator, Sail. Cat. 5. 4.
Sometimes, by a concreteness of expression peculiarly
Latin, the Genitive Plural of a Present Part, may be
used: 'encoursigingopimon,' comprobantium sententiae;
' disapproving murmurs ' (or ' murmurs of disappro-
val *), fremeniium voces.
(8) We say 'War was declared with France';
' Our relations with Russia are on the most friendly
footing.* Latin would say 'with the French,* 'with
the Russians,* which is what is meant.
(4) Truthfulness, again, as well as force, suggest
the frequent use of the figure Hendiadys {h bia bvolv),
that is, of two Substantives to take the place of what
we less correctly express by a Substantive and an
Adjective. Thus ratio et doctrina is equivalent to
'methodical instruction'; antiquissimae litterae et
monumenta (In Verr. IL 4. 48) to 'ancient written
records* ; vim et manus alicui adferre, ' to lay violent
hands on a person'; natura pudorque meus, 'my
natural modesty.* The same effect may be produced
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1 82.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. xxxv
by joining two Adverbs together, in the place of an
Abstract Noun with an Adjective : modice ac sapienter
rem agebat, * with a wise moderation/
(5) For the same reason, a Noun in the Genitive
will often take the place of an English Adjective :
' bodily pleasures * are corporis voluptates ; ' literary
pursuits/ studium litterarum ; ' universal joy/ omnium
gaudium ; and so on. It is obvious, speaking with
literal exactness, that joy cannot be ' universal,* nor
a pursuit be ' literary,* nor a pleasure ' bodily/ Nor
would truth permit us to say * a learned book,* ' a
strong argument,* ' a witty saying * ; Latin says what
is meant : liber doctissime scriptus or a dodo scriptus ;
facete dictum ; and so on.
§ 32. The following passage (No. CXC. in this
volume) affords a good example of the changes which
a simple piece of English may have to undergo in
being translated into Latin : —
When the masses at Athens^ had become more and
more preponderant*, the Areopagus was attacked' in the
following manner by Ephialtes, a man reputed incorrupt-
ible^ in his loyalty to democracy*, and ^ who had become
leader of the Commons. He first put to death many of its
members by impeaching them ' of offences committed ' in
their administration •. He then despoiled the Council of all
its recently-acquired attributes^®; and distributed these
amongst the Senate, the Assembly, and the Courts of Law.
In this work he had the co-operation of" Themistocles,
who, though himself an Areopagite, was expecting to be
accused of treasonable correspondence " with Persia **.
Desiring the ruin of the Council, Themistocles warned
c 2
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xxxvi INTRODUCTION TO [§ 82.
Ephialtes that it was going to imprison him ; and at the
same time told the Council that he would shew them a
band of traitors in the act of conspiring ^^ against the State.
Then, conducting ** a committee of their number to the
residence of Ephialtes, he shewed them the gang assem-
bling, and held them in conversation ^* on the spot ; Ephi-
altes fled panic-struck to the altar, clad in nothing but his
tunic, and sat there to the amazement of ^^ all beholders.
(i) 'The masses at Athens.' Instance of 'loose connection.'
Vol. L App. % 39 (o). If Athenis were used, the meaning would
be * When the masses had become preponderant at Athens.* Say
* The Athenian populace ' {plebs),
(a) * Had become more and more preponderant* Say 'were
by this time veiy powerful ' {tarn plurimum polltbafU)*
(3) 'Was attacked.' No single word for 'attack' will here
convey the exact meaning. What is meant is that Ephialtes
sought ' to diminish the power* of the Areopagus.
(4) ' Aman reputed incorruptible . . . oik/ who had become . . .'
To translate the 'omi/' in this sentence as it stands would be
incorrect in Latin. Say either ' reputed incorruptible . • . who
had etc.'; or else 'who was reputed . . . and who had . . .*
(5) 'Incorruptible in his loyalty to democracy.' Loose con-
nection. Say ' of uncorrupted loyalty towards the plebs,* placing
mpUb*m between mtorruptat atnd/UUi, to show the connection.
(6) ' Democracy' must of course be translated by ' people ' (pUU),
(7) ' He put to death many of its members by impeaching
them.* It would be absurd to say this in Latin. He did not put
them to death ' by impeachihg tkittu' They were impeached first,
and put to death afterwards.
(8) 'Offences committed etc' Clearness requires us to say
* offences which they had committed.'
(9) 'In their administration.' Too abstract for Latin. Say
'when they were magistrates,* or m magisiratu.
(io) ' Attributes.* Say more definitely ' powers.*
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xxxviii INTRODUCTION TO [« 84, 86.
only figuratively used. If he does not find it out
he is misled, and the figure fails in its purpose.
§ 34. The primary object of using either Simile
or Metaphor is to help a hearer or a reader to
form a clearer, more graphic conception of an idea
by comparing it to something better known, and
more familiar to him, than the thing compared.
Hence most metaphors are drawn from natural
external objects. The internal operations of the
mind are made clear and intelligible when compared
to some simple external act, as in the words 'to
comprehend,' 'to grasp,' ' to understand,* 'to reflect,'
'to suppose.' The first object of all such compari-
sons is to render a less familiar idea intelligible by
presenting it in the form of a known and familiar
idea ; and the comparison must be of the unfamiliar
to the familiar, of the unknown to the known. This
is what Quintilian means by saying that Necessity is
the first reason for employing Metaphor : language
would have been a mere catalogue of existing objects,
progress in thought would have been impossible, if
man had not possessed the power of representing
and vivifying new or unformed ideas as they arose —
especially all abstract and non-sensible ideas — by
expressing them in terms of acts or objects that were
already familiar to him.
§ 35. Thus the first object of all Metaphor is to
make the meaning clear; the second object, accord-
ing to Quintilian, is to make it forcible*; in other
^ On this point, see Dr. Potts, Hints, p. 115.
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xl INTRODUCTION TO [§ g?.
known to English. Again, Latin sometimes uses the
same figures that we do, but uses them in a different
way, as required by their original meaning: thus *to
propose,' 'to intend,' 'to conceive,* 'to object,' are
all phrases used in Latin, but are not used absolutely
as by us. We must say hoc mihi proposui, not
simply proposui] intendo animum, 'I stretch' or
' strain the mind,* not intendo alone ; concipere animo,
not concipere; haec mihi obiecit, 'he cast up these
things against me,* not obiecit absolutely. Latin pre*
serves the proper meanings of such phrases; we
have forgotten them.
§ 37. But there are many English metaphors
which are quite untranslateable. 'To beat time,' 'to
kill time,* ' to take time by the forelock,* ' to steal a
person's heart away,* 'to steal a march upon,' 'to be
the victim of circumstances,' 'to nurse one's wrath,'
' famine now stared them in the face ' — are a few out of
hundreds of common English metaphors which Latin
would decline to recognise in any form. In other
cases, even where the ideas drawn upon are com-
paratively simple, the modem mode of working out
the metaphor may be too complicated to adapt itself
to the simple realism of the Roman mind. The fol*
lowing are chance instances of common English meta-
phors taken from passages in this volume : —
(a) * France knew how to make atonement for the past';
{b) * The reign of political superstition had set in * ;
(c) * Revolutions send capacity to the front with vol-
canic force ' ;
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xlii INTRODUCTION TO \s 89.
the above, in which modern language abounds?
There are several resources open to us. We should
first scan the whole phrase carefully, and realise
exactly in what point or points its appropriateness as
an illustration consists. If it be a perfectly simple
and natural metaphor, and appeal to common familiar
experience, it may possibly be reproduced as it is in
Latin ; if it be complicated, or violent, or far-fetched,
or essentially modern in its character, we maybe sure
that it can not. Before using a metaphor, let a
student consult his Dictionary, and see whether the
particular metaphor was actually usedj and in what
form, by Latin writers. If no authority can be
found for the particular metaphor, let him seek
for some analogous figure actually used, of a more
simple universal kind, which will express the cen-
tral idea of the comparison, though perhaps by
different means. Thus in example (a) given above,
the idea of 'pardon' for past offences might be
substituted for 'atonement*; in (A), though 'super-
stition * could not be said 'to reign,* it might be said
' to seize * or even ' to invade * the minds of men ; in
(A), though writers could not 'render this tribute/
they might simply 'give this,* or 'concede this/ to
the fortune of conquerors.
§ 39. If a simplification of this kind is not to be
found, the student has two resources. If the metaphor
be altogether too strange to introduce satisfactorily
into Latin, he may drop the metaphor altogether, and
express in a plain straightforward way, without
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1 40.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. xliii
figure, the actual thing which the writer meant to
say. This would probably be the best mode of treat-
ing the metaphorical expressions quoted above, in
§ 87, (4 (/), {g), and (A) :-
(c) *In troubled times the most able men come forth
as leaders ' ; or ' as each man is most able, so he,' etc. ;
(/) *The characters of the persons in a play {quales
quisque sint) can only be learned from the play itself' ;
(g) * What was promised, that same thing was certainly
not done';
(A) ' Each man in reading Plato is proved, whether he
be of a shallow or a profound mind.'
§ 40. But there are other cases in which a meta-
phor may be too strong to be taken as it stands, and
yet the idea may be such as would be natural and
intelligible from a Roman point of view, if the mind
were prepared for it by some explanation or apology.
In such cases, the metaphor can be changed into a
simile, by prefacing it with some word of comparison,
such as ut, ceu, haud secus ac, etc., or it may be
apologised for by introducing quasij quidam, tanquam,
ve/ut, ut ita dicam, or some equivalent expression, to
shew that the phrase is not to be taken in its strict
literal sense. ^ We think it quite natural to talk of ' in-
cendiary language*; but Cicero, though the meta-
phor from a torch was a common one in Latin, thinks
it necessary to tone it down by prefixing quasi:
Hie cum Philippo quasi quasdam verborum faces ad-
movisset, de Or. III. i. § 4.
By similar means the metaphors in examples (d),
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xHv INTRODUCTION TO [§ «.
(^), and (i) as given above, might well be preserved.
Instead of
{d) * His wit needed an atmosphere of license in which
to move/
the Latin might say
' He was of that kind of wit («> erat ingenio) that he
desired all things to be free, as it were in the open air ' ;
{e) * The quiet peacefulness of a face which stirred not
even the veil behind which it worked,'
might be rendered by
* His face was so tranquil that it did not move even that
which like a veil was placed before it*
(i) 'Man's will is mysteriously linked to the long
chain of natural causes,'
might be rendered
'Man's will is in some strange way bound by that
chain, if I may so speak, by which the causes of things
are bound together.'
§ 41. Thus in Metaphor, as in all else, Latin
aims at the simple, the natural, the intelligible. Latin
metaphors are all of a simple kind ; they are usually
conveyed by a single word, not developed through
several points of likeness, as modem metaphors so
often are ; and that one word is more often a Verb
than a Noun. Dr. Potts supplies a list {Hints, pp.
1 16-124) of the sources from which the greater
number of Latin metaphors are derived. As might
be expected, they are largely drawn from the ordinary
sights and processes of nature: from rivers and
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1 42.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. xlv
fountains ; from the flowering, seeding, and fruiting
of plants ; from seas and storms and ships ; from
floods and fires ; from the members and actions of
the human body ; from animals ; from the simple arts
and processes of human life ; and especially from the
various institutions of Rome, whether social, legal,
military, political, or religious.
On Latin Order.
§ 42. One of the main difficulties in writing Latin
consists in placing the words of a sentence, whether
simple or compound, in their proper order. In the
matter of Order, Latin differs essentially from Eng^
lish. In English, as in all uninflected languages,
words follow one another in the order of the syntax ;
if we change that order, we change the sense also.
If we wish to change the order without changing
the sense, we must vary the construction, so as to
bring out the same sense in another way. In Latin,
the syntax, being determined by the inflection, is
independent of the order ; hence the order may be
varied to almost any extent, according as emphasis,
or variety, or harmony may suggest, without making
any fundamental change in the meaning. In the
English sentence ' Brutus stabbed Caesar,* no change
of order is possible without a change of sense ; but
in L^tin we may say Brutus intetfecit Caesarem,
Caesarem infeffectt Brutus, intetfecit Brutus Caesarem,
Caesarem Brutus interfecit, and so on, without any
change of sense : each sentence stating the same fact.
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xlvi INTRODUCTION TO [j 43.
only with a slight change of emphasis. To produce
any special emphasis in English we must vary the
construction : ' It was Caesar that Brutus killed '; 'It
was Brutus that killed Caesar,' or else reproduce in
writing, by means of the clumsy device of underlining
or of Italics, that emphasis which is given naturally
by the voice in speaking; and which the Romans were
able to indicate equally well in writing by the mere
order of the words \
§ 43. As then, in Latin, the general sense is deter-
mined by the construction, independently of the
order, a Latin writer is free to use the element of
order for three main purposes :
(1) To arrange his ideas in their natural logical
order, so as to add lucidity and intelligibility to his
statement of them ;
* The Dean of Norwich used to quote the following sentence
as an example of how the meaning of an English sentence may be
changed according as we lay the emphasis on one word or another :
'The Novum Oi^ganon of Bacon was not intended to supersede the
Organon of Aristotle.' It is apparent that various different mean-
ings can be extracted from the above sentence, according as we
lay the emphasis on the words Novum Organon^ Bacon, inUnded,
supersede, Organon, or Aristotle respectively. If we say * The
Novum Organon of Bacon,' etc., we imply that it was some other
work of Bacon*s that was intended, etc ; if we say ' The Novum
Organon of Bacon,^ etc. we imply that it was the Novum Organon
of some other author than Bacon that was intended, etc. ; if we
lay the stress on intended, we mean that it was not Bacon's inten-
tion to supersede, etc. ; if on supersede, that he meant to supple-
ment it, not to supersede it ; and so on. Latin would never leave
the main sense of a passage in such ambiguity.
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UNIV
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I 44.] CONTINUOUS PJiQMx i ^ : -_ . xlvii
(2) To mark any particular emphasis which he
wishes to add, as an indication of his own mind and
opinion upon the subject matter of his statement ; and
(8) To please the ear by giving a sense of variety,
of balance, and of harmony to the whole.
For sound has to be considered, as well as sense,
in the structure of a Latin sentence. We must
endeavour not only to express our meaning correctly,
clearly, and forcibly, but also in such words and
sentences as shall fall smoothly and melodiously on
the ear. Nor is this melodiousness or rhythm in the
sound a mere matter of ornament and pleasure : it
has an important bearing on the sense. The rhythm
should be so arranged that the emphasis in sound
should fall on the same words and syllables which are
important in the sense, so that the correct reading of
the passage should of itself give a key to the general
meaning of the whole. This subject will be treated
more fully below, in the sections on Rhythm.
§ 44. The main Rules for the order of words in
simple sentences have been laid down in Vol. I. App.
§§ 29-31. Let the student always bear in mind the
following points :
(1) As a rule, the Subject stands first in a sentence,
and the Principal Verb last. A Latin writer tells us
at once what he is going to talk about ; but he reserves
the most important idea, the idea which clinches the
sense for the whole, for the end.
(2) After the Subject, as a rule, come Adverbial
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xlviii INTRODUCTION TO [§ 44»
phrases of all kinds, oblique cases with or without
Prepositions, Ablatives Absolute, etc*
(8) Between these and the Verb come the In-
direct Object and the Direct Object, the former
usually preceding.
(4) All words, phrases, or clauses, explanatory of,
or specially connected with, the Subject, Object, ox
other Noun, will be placed in close connection with
such Noun.
(6) Adverbs go with the word which they qualify,
usually the Verb ; and closely before the Verb will
go any Prolate Infinitive which depends on it.
(6) As a rule. Adjectives (as also the Genitives of
Quality and Definition) stand after the Noun ; but if
the Adjective or Genitive contain the more important
or emphatic idea, it will stand first. And so with
Apposition. If I say Fabius consul fecit, I mean that
Fabius did it in his consulship, and Fabius is the
leading idea ; if I say Consul Fabius fecit, I mean that
the thing was done by the consul, the fact that Fabius
was that consul being of secondary importance.
Similarly, in the Ablative Absolute, the Participle
or Adjective usually stands first, because it contains
the operative part of the idea: amissis amtis periit,
'Having lost his arms he fled*; invaiido corpora
resistere diutius non potuit, * His weakness made it
impossible for him to resist any longer.'
(7) Negatives, Interrogatives, Demonstrative
words, and Adverbs of Time, stand at the very
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f44] CONTINUOUS PROSE. xHx
beginning of a Sentence, before the Subject. In all
Relative clauses the Relative must stand first.
(8) The natural order is often changed merely
with a view to variety. A good instance of variety
for variety's sake is supplied by the figure called
Chiasmus : if two (or more) pairs of ideas are com-
pared or contrasted, it is usual to change the order
in which the ideas are given, so that one pair may
be placed close to one another, the other pair apart.
Thus in translating
* This would merely expose our troops to be butchered
without inflicting a decisive defeat upon the enemy,'
we should arrange the ideas thus :
Hoc est tructdare nostras, non hostes debellart ;
Or again,
* A course of conduct which brought reputation to him-
self but disaster to his friends,'
In quofamam sibi, suis exitium praeparavit
See further instances in the passage quoted below
under § 70 (5).
(9) If there are two Pronouns in one sentence,
whether Personal or Possessive, they will usually be
found in immediate juxtaposition : ille mihi eadem ab-
stulit ; suum cuique ; hie mihi tuum reditum nuntiaviU
(10) Subordinate Clauses in a Period usually
follow one another in the natural order of the ideas
which they contain. Thus clauses denoting the
Time, the Cause, the Condition, usually come in
before the Principal Clause, because they necessarily
d
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1 INTRODUCTION TO [§ is.
precede in thought. In Comparative Clauses, for the
same reason, the ui Clause comes first, the sic Clause
afterwards. Final Clauses may come either before
or after the Principal Clause : as the motive is prior
to the act, they would naturally come first; but if
the end of the action be regarded, they would not
less naturally come last.
(11) On the other hand, Consecutive Clauses and
Indirect Questions come naturally after, not before,
the Verbs on which they depend.
(12) When a Noun is Subject, or Object, both to
a Subordinate and Principal Clause, it should be
placed, if possible, in the Principal Clause: Rex
Prusias, cum venenum btbisset, tnoriuus est.
§ 45. But though the above is the usual and
natural order, it is constantly departed from for
special reasons of emphasis, variety, or contrast.
The Verb frequently stands at the beginning; and
Substantive, Adjective, or Adverb may stand at the
end, if emphasis or sound require it. Where there is
a usual order, emphasis will be marked by any de-
parture from that order. The two most important
places in a sentence are the beginning and the end ;
hence any word, however insignificant, can be brought
into prominence by being placed in either of those
places. The reason why Subject and Verb are
usually placed at the beginning and the end respec-
tively, is that they usually contain the most important
ideas ; but if it happens that the construction or the
connection of a sentence is such that the really new
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Ill INTRODUCTION TO {%% 47-49.
§ 47. It thus appears that the order which is most
suitable for a sentence taken by itself, may not be
suitable, or even possible, when the same sentence is
combined with others so as to form a Period. This
leads us to consider one of the most marked charac-
teristics of Latin style, viz. its partiality for the periodic
structure.
The Period.
§ 48. The Latin Period is but an expansion upon
a large scale of the compactness and logical per-
fection of structure which are characteristic of the
language even in its simplest sentences. If a Roman
had several ideas to express, he preferred to state
them in their logical connection with one another.
Instead of expressing each idea in a sentence by
itself, with a principal Verb of its own, he preferred
to place several ideas in a single sentence, under one
principal Verb ; or to group together a number of
sentences into those continuous, and sometimes com-
plicated, passages which are known as Periods. Latin
is singularly rich in devices for furthering in either
of these ways the condensation of thought.
§ 49. Thus a single Latin sentence may contain
a meaning which has to be expressed by two or
more sentences in English, The Past or Present
Participle, the Ablative Absolute, the emphatic posi-
tion of a single word, may express a meaning which
would require in English a whole sentence with
a Finite Verb of its own. Compare carefully the
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i 60.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. liii
following Latin and English sentences, and note
how Latin economises its Finite Verbs, and avoids
the stringing together of several Co-ordinate Verbs
by means of the copula 'and/
Fugatus in casira se recepit hostis,
'The enemy was routed, and took refuge in his camp';
Orienie sole desertus a suis imperaior inierfectus est,
* As the day dawned, the general was deserted by his
men and slain ' ;
Fugatos Publius hostes usque ad urbem persecutus esty
'Publius routed the enemy and pursued them up to
the city gates ' ;
Comitiis habitis consul <ui urbem rediit,
'As soon as the elections were over, the consul returned
to the city';
Privato mihipopulus hunc hottorem detulit,
* The people conferred upon me this honour before I
had held any public office ' ;
Invalidus pede consul pugnam declinabat,
' The consul was averse to engage as he was wounded
in the foot'
§ 50. Passing on from the consideration of single
sentences, we find that Latin differs essentially from
English in two respects ;
(1) In its fondness for the Period ;
(2) In its desire to exhibit by express words the
logical connection between successive sentences, even
though they may have grammatically no connection
with each other.
These two features are closely connected. The
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liv INTRODUCTION TO \s 61.
Roman desired to find unity, continuity, logical con-
nection, in what he heard or read; he desired to
have one train of ideas carried on as long as possible
in a single line of thought, interrupted as little as
possible by sudden jerks and contrasts. Hence Latin
prefers to put a number of ideas into a single sen-
tence, keeping throughout a single Subject; to re-
serve the principal Verb or Verbs for the expression
of the main or central idea of the passage ; and to
group round that idea, expressing these in the form
of subordinate clauses, the various accessory and less
important ideas, each having its logical place in refer-
ence to the whole, and arranged in the order most
favourable to apprehension and continuous thought
A passage thus constructed is called a Period.
§ 51. A glance at any two pages of English and
Latin side by side will shew how many more Principal
Verbs, how many more full stops, there are in the
former than in the latter. The two passages quoted
below give a good example of the contrast between
the periodic style of Latin, and that more detached
abrupt style which is preferred by English writers.
Modem French authors often carry this detached
mode of writing to excess. Instead of using con-
tinuous sonorous periods, they will tell a story in a
series of short unconnected sentences, which suggest
the idea of a succession of explosions. To us the
Latin Period may sometimes appear cumbrous, in-
volved, and tedious; not so to the Roman. He
preferred to have the connection between his ideas
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1 52J CONTINUOUS PROSE. Iv
carefully elaborated, and to see them marshalled like
an army in review before him, because this was to
him the simplest, most intelligible, mode of presenting
them ; we prefer to have ideas thrown rapidly before
us, one after the other, and to trace the cohnection
for ourselves. But if we would write Latin, we
must adopt the Latin point of view ; and it is pre-
cisely because we cannot write Latin well without
logically thinking out the connection of a whole
passage — analysing rigorously each thought, and
assigning to it its due weight and place in relation to
the whole — that the practice of Latin Prose Com-
position forms so admirable a mental discipline.
§ 52. The following Period is from Tacitus, Ann.
I.a:
How Augustus gradually assumed imperial power,
Postquam Brute et Cassio caesis nulla iam publica
arma, Pompeius apud Siciliam oppressus, exutoque Le-
pido, interfecto Antonio, ne lulianis quidem partibus nisi
Caesar dux reliquus, posito triumviri nomine consulem
se ferens et ad tuendam plebem tribunicio iure contentum,
ubi militem donis, populum annona, cunctos dulcedine
otii pellexit, insurgere paulatim, munia senatus magis-
tratuum legum in se trahere, nullo adversante, cum fero-
cissiml per acies aut proscriptione cecidissent, ceteri
nobilium, quanto quis servitio promptior, opibus et honor-
ibus extollerentur, ac novis ex rebus aucti tuta et prae»
sentia quam vetera et periculosa mallent.
Three main points strike us in the above passage.
(1) There are at least seventeen distinct proposi
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Ivi INTRODUCTION TO [j 62.
tions contained in it, each of which, if stated separ-
ately, would need a Verb of its own : and yet there
are but two Principal Verbs in the whole passage, viz.
the Historical Infinitives insurgere and trahere. Five
of the propositions are expressed by Ablatives Abso-
lute ; one by a Participle Present, agreeing with the
Subject; the remainder are Subordinate Clauses,
three introduced by postquam, three by cum, one by
ubi, and one by the Relative word quanto.
(2) Complicated as the construction is, every single
idea is placed in its natural order : if an event, in the
chronological order of its occurrence ; if an idea, at
the point where the idea would be naturally raised in
the reader's mind. First comes the battle of Philippi,
and the Republic thereby left without an army —
Pompey's defeat, b. c. 36 — the deposition of Lepidus
soon afterwards — Augustus left sole head of the party.
He gives up the title of triumvir — assumes the
consulship combined with the tribunitian power —
plays on army and populace alike — and gathers
gradually all power into his own hands. This is
the central fact of the picture : the idea naturally
occurs. How was he permitted to do all this ? The
closing clauses describe the torpor or the connivance
of all that was best in Rome, and formulate in sting-
ing sentences Tacitus' indictment against the Empire.
The power and compactness of the historical sum-
mary, the logical completeness by which the estab-
lishment of monarchy is shewn to follow as a necessity
from the preceding chain of events, and the art by
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$ 53.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. Ivii
which the reader is led on to adopt as his own
Tacitus* view of the situation, are unapproachable.
(3) Observe the careful balance of the sentences.
The narrative clauses lead gradually up, by well-
marked stages, to the central idea, expressed by the
Principal Verb ; but instead of abruptly closing at
that point, the passage is prolonged through what
musicians would call a ' Coda,* which at once balances
the opening clauses, and though subordinate in form,
reserves the writer's most earnest reflections to the
end.
§ 53. The structure of this passage would be in-
tolerable in English. In translating it, we must
break it up into its constituent parts, somewhat as
follows :
' With the death of Brutus and Cassius, the Republic
had lost her last army. The defeat of Pompey in Sicily,
the deprivation of Lepidus, and the death of Antony, left
Caesar undisputed leader of the Julian party. Thereupon
he laid aside the title of Triumvir, proclaimed himself
Consul, and professed that he would be satisfied with the
tribunitian power, for the protection of the people. But
when he had won over the soldiery by donatives, the
populace by cheap com, and the whole world by the
sweets of peace, his pretensions gradually rose : one by
one he gathered into his own hands the functions of the
Senate, the magistrates, and the legislature. Opposition
there was none : for the most independent spirits had
fallen in battle or in the proscriptions, and the rest of
the nobles, advanced to wealth and office in proportion
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Iviii INTRODUCTION TO [§ 54-
to their servility, found profit in the change, preferring
the safety of the present to the dangers of the past'
In performing the reverse process of translating
from English into Latin it will often, conversely, be
advisable to combine several sentences into a single
period, in which the various parts shall stand in their
due logical relation to each other.
§ 54. Another example, of a strictly narrative cha*
racter, may be taken from Livy V. 47 :
Dum haec Veiis agebantur, interim arx Romae Capito-
liumque in ingenti periculo fuit. Namque Galli, seu ves-
tigio notato humano, qua nuntius a Veiis pervenerat, seu
sua sponte animadverso ad Carmentis saxorum adscensu
aequo, nocte sublustri, quum primo inermem, qui tentaret
viam, praemisissent, tradentes inde arma, ubi quid iniqui
esset, alterni innixi sublevantesque in vicem et trahentes
alii alios, prout postularet locus, tanto silentio in summum
evasere, ut non custodes solum fallerent, sed ne canes
quidem> soUicitum animal ad nocturnos strepitus, excita-
rent Anseres non fefellere, quibus sacris lunonis in
summa inopia cibi tamen abstinebatur. Quae res saluti
fuit ; namque clangore eorum alarumque crepitu excitus
M. Manlius, qui triennio ante consul fuerat, vir hello egre-
gius, armis arreptis, simul ad arma ceteros ciens vadit et,
dum ceteri trepidant, Galium, qui iam in summo const!-
terat, umbone ictum deturbat
Here note :
(1) The narrative begins with a short decisive
sentence to preface the whole; then falls into two
Periods.
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i 66.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. lix
(2) In both Periods, the exact order of the inci-
dents described is followed.
(8) In the first Period, we have some eleven distinct
circumstances, or steps in the narrative, expressed
in various ways, before we come to the main idea in
evasere ; the subject Colli having been placed at the
very beginning.
(4) The Period ends, not with the Verb of the
Principal Sentence, but with the Subordinate Con-
secutive Clause, «/.... exciiarent A Consecutive
Clause frequently occupies this position (see above,
§ 44. (ii) ), not only because it refers to a time
subsequent to that of the Principal Verb, but also
because it may contain the most important idea of
the passage.
(5) The second Period begins with yinseres, partly
for emphasis, partly to carry on the sense : the same
Subject however (Colli) is continued in fe/ellere, and
until we reach M. Monlius, the hero of the whole
story.
(e) The character and first acts of Manlius arc
rapidly described ; but not till we come to the very
last word {deturbat) do we learn of the decisive act of
Manlius, the words immediately preceding {umbone
ictum) telling us the means by which he performed it.
§ 55. Another good example of the periodic struc-
ture is furnished by Livy V. 41,42, where he describes
the scene in Rome after the massacre of the Senators
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Ix INTRODUCTION TO [5 56.
in the forum by the Gauls. He begins with three
rapid Historical Infinitives :
* Post Prindpum caedem nulli deinde mortalium parci,
diripi tecta, exhaustis iniici ignes/
He then launches into two long periods, the first, with
ignis for its Subject, descriptive of the conflagra-
tion ; the second, with Romani for its Subject, de-
scribes the horror of the scene as beheld from the
Capitol :
Ceterum, seu non omnibus delendi urbem libido erat,
seu ita placuerat principibus Gallorum, et ostentari quae-
dam incendia terroris causa, si compelli ad deditionem
caritate sedum suarum obsessi possent, et non omnia
concremari tecta, ut, quodcunque superesset urbis, id
pignus ad flectendos hostium animos haberent, nequa-
quam perinde atque in capta urbe prima die aut passim
aut late vagatus est ignis. Romani ex arce plenam hos-
tium urbem cernentes vagosque per vias omnes cursus,
quum alia atque alia parte nova aliqua clades oreretur,
non mentibus solum concipere, sed ne aunbus quidem
atque oculis satis constare poterant. Quocunque clamor
hostium, mulierum puerorumque ploratus, sonitus flammae
et fragor ruentium tectorum avertisset, paventes ad omnia
animos oraque et oculos flectebant, velut ad spectaculum
a fortuna positi occidentis patriae nee ullius rerum suarum
relicti praeterquam corporum vindices, tanto ante alios
miserandi magis, qui umquam obsessi sunt, quod inter-
clusi a patria obsidebantur, omnia sua cernentes in hos-
tium potestate.
§ 56. With passages such as these let us contrast
a narrative from Macaulay, in his sharp staccato
style :
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f 56.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. Ixi
William approaches the shore of England,
' When Sunday, the Fourth of November, dawned, the
cliffs of the Isle of Wight were full in view of the Dutch ar-
mament. That day was the anniversary both of William's
birth and of his marriage. Sail was slackened during
part of the morning : and divine service was performed
on board of the ships. In the afternoon and through the
night the fleet held on its course. Torbay was the place
where the Prince intended to land. But the morning of
Monday, the fifth of November, was hazy. The pilot of
the Brill could not discern the sea marks, and carried the
fleet too far to the west. The danger was great. To
return in the face of the wind was impossible. Plymouth
was the next port. But at Plymouth a garrison had been
posted imder the command of Lord Bath. The landing
might be opposed ; and a check might produce serious
consequences. There could be little doubt, moreover,
that by this time the royal fleet had got out of the Thames
and was hastening full sail down the Channel. Russell
saw the whole extent of the peril, and exclaimed to
Burnet, " You may go to prayers. Doctor. All is over."
At that moment the wind changed : a soft wind sprang
up from the south : the mist dispersed ; the sun shone
forth ; and, under the mild light of an autumnal noon,
the fleet turned back, passed through the lofty cape. of
Berry Head, and rode safe in the Harbour of Torbay.'
Macaulay,
In the whole of the above passage there are only
two Clauses that can be called Subordinate : there
are no less than twenty-seven Principal Verbs, in
independent or co-ordinate Clauses.
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Ixii INTRODUCTION TO \% 67.
§ 57. If we take another passage, of a more re-
flective character, we shall find the same sort of
structure.
WiUiam and the Coalition.
'No coalition of which history has preserved the
memory has had an abler chief than William. But even
William often contended in vain against those vices which
are inherent in the nature of all coalitions. No imdertaking
which requires the hearty and long-continued co-opera-
tion of many independent states is likely to prosper.
Jealousies inevitably spring up. Disputes engender dis-
putes. Every confederate is tempted to throw on others
some part of the burden which he ought himself to bear.
Scarcely one honestly furnishes the promised contingent.
Scarcely one exactly observes the appointed day. But
perhaps no coalition that ever existed was in such con-
stant danger of dissolution as the coalition which William
had with infinite difficulty formed. The long list of
potentates, who met in person of by their representa-
tives at the Hague, looked well in the Gazettes. The
crowd of princely equipages, attended by many coloured
guards and lacqueys, looked very well among the lime
trees of the Voorhout. But the very circumstances
which made the Congress more splendid than other con-
gresses made the league weaker than other leagues.
The more numerous the allies, the more numerous were
the dangers which threatened the alliance. It was im-
possible that twenty governments, divided by quarrels
about precedence, quarrels about territory, quarrels about
trade, quarrels about religion, could act long together in
perfect harmony. That they acted together during several
years in perfect harmony is to be ascribed to the wisdom,
patience, and firmness of William.* Macaulay.
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Ixiv INTRODUCTION TO [$ 50.
exitii fuit. Reliquae partes tribunatus principii similes.
Omnia perfecit, quae senatus salva re publica ne fieri
possent perfecerat. Cuius tamen scelus in scelere cog-
noscite.
And again his triumphant denunciation of Catiline
(Cat. II. I, § i) :
Tandem aliquando, Quirites, L. Catilinam, furentem
audacia, scelus anhelantem, pestem patriae nefarie mo-
lientem, vobis atque huic urbi ferro flammaque minitan-
tem ex urbe vel eiecimus vel emisimus vel ipsum egre-
dientem verbis prosecuti sumus. Abiit, excessit, evasit,
erupit Nulla iam pemicies a monstro illo atque prodigio
moenibus ipsis intra moenia comparabitur. Atque hunc
quidem unum huius belli domestici ducem sine contro-
versia vicimus : non enim iam inter latera nostra sica ilia
versabitur ; non in campo, non in foro, non in curia, non
denique intra domesticos parietes pertimescemus ; loco
ille motus est, cum est ex urbe depulsus. Palam iam cum
hoste nullo impediente bellum iustum geremus. Sine
dubio perdidimus hominem magnificeque vicimus, cum
ilium ex occultis insidiis in apertum latrocinium conie-
cimus.
In the former of the above passages there are thir-
teen Principal Verbs : in the latter there are fourteen.
Yet even with sentences short and independent as
these, the student will note how carefully the connec-
tion is maintained throughout, how often it is actually
expressed. (See below, §§ 61-04.)
§ 59. So Livy, when he desires to paint some vivid
scene, and give the idea of rapid action, can write
almost in the style of a Macaulay. Take IV. 37:
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Ixvi INTRODUCTION TO ' [§ CL
Clauses to express all ideas which are in sense sub-
ordinate to other ideas; and to make unity, order,
and continuity its first essentials.
On the Connection between Successive
Sentences.
§ 61. But it is not in the Period only that Latin
shews its preference for connected rather than de-
tached writing. The same principle is shewn in the
care which Latin writers take to link together the
successive sentences or periods of which a passage
is composed, and to make each successive sentence
exhibit on its face the nature of its connection with
that which has preceded.
Every logical sequence must be indicated, not left
to be supplied by the imagination. If there is a
relation of cause, it will be expressed by some causal
word, such as nam, namque, quia, quippe, enim, scilicet,
enimvero, etenim, etc.; if of effect, by ergo, itaque, ita,
quapropter, propterea, etc. ; if of contrast, by sed, at,
autem, verum, vera, etc. If there is a relation of Ume,
it will be indicated by some temporal word, as turn,
iant, mox, postea, deinde, etc. If there be no logical
relation at all, then a mere Demonstrative word —
hie, is, Hie, etc. — may suffice to carry on the train of
ideas from the last sentence. Most commonly of
all, the Relative Pronoun is used in some of its
various forms and meanings — qui, quare, quapropter,
quod, quod si, quae cum ita sint, etc. — ^with no other
purpose than to prevent a break in the sense, and to
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Ixviii INTRODUCTION TO [5 62.
graviter in condone esset invectus. Hie, ut saepe inter
homines sapientissimos constare vidi, quamquam hoc
Crasso, cum aliquid accuratius dixisset, semper fere
contigisset, ut numquam dixbse melius putaretur, tamen
omnium consensu sic esse tum iudicatum, ceteros a
Crasso semper omnes, illo autem die etiam ipsum a se
superatum. Deploravit enim casum atque orbitatem
senatusi cuius ordinis a consule, qui quasi parens bonus
aut tutor fidelis esse deberet, tamquam ab aliquo nefario
praedone diriperetur patrimonium dignitatis ; neque vero
esse mirandum, si, cum suis consiliis rempublicam pro-
fligasset, consilium senatus a republica repudiaret Hie
cum homini et vehementi et diserto et in primis forti ad
resistendum, Philippo, quasi quasdam verborum faces
admovisset, non tulit ille et graviter exarsit pignoribusque
ablatis Crassum instituit coercere. Quo quidem ipso in
loco multa a Crasso divinitus dicta efiferebantur, cum
sibi ilium consulem esse negaret, cui senator ipse non
esset . . . Permulta tum vehementissima contentione animi,
ingenii, virium ab eo dicta esse constabat, sententiamque
. eam, quam senatus frequens secutus est omatissimis et
gravissimis verbis, Ut populo Romano saUsfierety num-
quam senatus neque consilium reipublicae neque fidem de-
fuisse, ab eo dictam, et eumdem, id quod in auctoritatibus
praescriptis exstat, scribendo adfuisse. Ilia tamquam
cycnea fuit divini hominis vox et oratio, quam quasi ex«
spectantes post eius interitum veniebamus in curiam, ut
vestigium illud ipsum, in quo ille postremuni institisset,
contueremur. Namque tum latus ei dicenti condoluisse
sudoremque multum consecutum esse audiebamus; ex
quo cum cohorruisset, cum febri domum rediit dieque
septimo lateris dolore consumptus est. O fallacem homi-
num spem fragilemque fortunam et inanes nostras con-
tentiones ! quae in medio spatio saepe franguntur et
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$ 08.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. Ixix
comiunt aut ante in ipso cursu obruuntur, quam portum
conspicere potuerunt. Nam, quamdiu Crassi fuit ambi-
tionis labore vita districta, tamdiu privatis magis officiis
et ingenii laude floruit, quam fructu amplitudinis aut rei-
publicae dignitate. Qui autem ei annus primus ab hono-
nim perfunctione aditum omnium concessu ad summam
auctoritatem dabat, is eius omnem spem atque omnia
vitae consilia morte pervertit Fuit hoc luctuosum suis,
acerbum patriae, grave bonis omnibus ; sed ii tamen rei-
publicae casus secuti sunt, ut mihi non erepta L. Crasso
a diis immortalibus vita, sed donata mors videatur. Non
vidit flagrantem bello Italiam, non ardentem invidia sena-
tum, non sceleris nefarii principes civitatis reos, non
luctum filiae, non exsilium generi, non acerbissimam
C. Marii fugam, non illam post reditum eius caedem om-
liium crudelissimam, non denique in omni genere defor-
matam eam dvitatem, in qua ipse florentissima multum
omnibus gloria praestitisset
§ 63. In the two chapters given above, there are
seventeen sentences or periods which end with a full
stop. Exclusive of the first sentence, they begin re-
spectively as follows : (i) Nam ; (2) Ut enim ; (3) Ibi
cum ; (4) Hie . . . quamquam ; (5) Deploravit enim] (6)
Hie cum; (7) Quo quidem ipso in loco] (8) Permulta
tum] (9) lUa] (10) Namque tum] (11) O faUacem
hominum spem ... I (12) Quae ; (13) Nam quam-
diu ] (14) Qui autem ; (15) Fuit hoc ; (16) Non vidit
flagrantem bello Italiam, etc.
In only two cases (11 and 16) is there no distinct
word of connection ; and in both of these a sharp
contrast is intentionally made.
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Ixx INTRODUCTION TO [§§ 64, 65.
§ 64. Analysing chapters 3 and 4 in the same way^
we find the following beginnings : Et quoniam ; Quis
enim ; Tenemus enim ; lam M, Antoni; Neque vero;
Neque enim ; Non vidit (a rhetorical repetition) ; Ex
quibus; Sulpicius autem ; Ego vero; Nam tibt\
In every single instance the sentences begin with
an indication of their connection with what precedes.
Let the student study in the same way the composi-
tion of the other Latin passages quoted in this Intro-
duction.
On the Rhythm of Latin Prose.
§ 65. It remains to deal with the important but
difficult subject of rhythm. It is essential that we
should express our meaning fully, correctly, and
forcibly; but we should endeavour to do so in sen-
tences which shall fall pleasantly and gratefully on
the ear. There should be a proportion, and if possible
a sonorous ring, about our sentences. Each word
should have an importance of sound (or the reverse)
adequate to the idea which it represents, and should
come in where it will please the ear most from the
appropriateness or novelty of its position ; each sen-
tence should have a form and cadence fitted to the
place which it occupies in the sense. The less
important sentences should not attract attention; the
principal clauses should shew their importance in
sound as well as sense. For though it should be the
first maxim in writing 'to take care of the sense.
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Ixxii INTRODUCTION TO [§ 67.
to drink in the spirit of the language. Let him study
good passages closely, read them aloud, and learn
them oflF by heart ; but not seek to imitate them con-
sciously, to borrow particular phrases, or to reproduce
particular endings. Let the form and the sound of
good Latin gradually sink into him, and he will get
a better result than by combining all the purpuret
panni in creation.
§ 67. A few general principles, however, may be
stated, some of which have been to some extent
anticipated in the sections on Order.
(1) As the end of a period or a passage is the most
important place in sense, it should be important in
sound also. A passage should not end in an insig-
nificant way. It should end with some decisive full-
bodied word or words, on which the voice may rest,
as it were, in safe anchorage, after the ups and downs
of the passage. Hence no short, trivial word can
stand last ; a sonorous combination of two or three
important words, connected in meaning, will give
weight and dignity to the close. Thus the verb esse
scarcely ever ends a sentence, unless used emphati-
cally, or as part of the Perfect Passive. Towards
the end of a passage, long words and long syllables
tend to prevail over short ones, with enough short
ones between them to prevent a sense of heaviness.
Cicero's favourite ending is a double trochee {arbUrd-
i&r), or a trochee and molossus {v^bi ndhmSs), while
his fondness for the termination with a tribrach and
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§ 67.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. Ixxui
spondee in the phrase issi vIdiSiSr exposed him to
the ridicule of his critics.
(2) The beginning of a passage is, so to speak, its
business part : it has simply to introduce the subject,
and set out rapidly the main features of the situation.
For this, short decisive words, simply and tellingly
arranged, are the most suitable : seldom does a sen-
tence begin with a long-rolling word, unless in special
relation to one that has gone before.
(8) All tags of verses, whether beginnings or end-
ings of lines, are to be avoided, as giving a sense of
jingle : it is strange what pains are taken to avoid
the ending with a dactyl and spondee, which would
otherwise appear a natural and euphonious ending,
for no other reason than that they would suggest the
ending of a dactylic hexameter.
(4) As parts of verses must be avoided, so also
must care be taken to avoid anything like rhyme or
jingle, such as would be caused by a recurrence of the
same termination. Inflection gives great importance
and emphasis to the terminations: hence a repeti-
tion of the same ending is more offensive than in
English.
(6) In this, as in everything else, variety must be
studied : in a Latin inscription, half the point and
elegance may depend upon a happy contrast of the
final syllables. Variety again forbids our placing
together a string of words of the same length, or
similarly accentuated, and especially of mono-
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Ixxiv INTRODUCTION TO [55 68, 69.
syllables: the marvellous force and beauty which
may be given in English to lines, and even stanzas,
composed wholly of monosyllables*, were utterly
unknown to Latin,
§ 68. Variety and proportion are indeed the two
main elements to consider with a view to a good
Prose Rhythm, just as order and emphasis are the
main factors in determining or aiding the sense. Just
as in the pronunciation of a polysyllabic word the
ear likes to hear one syllable accentuated, and the
other syllables but lightly indicated ; so the essence
of a good Prose Rhythm consists in a happy suc-
cession of emphatic and non-emphatic words. The
important places in the sense should be filled by
important full-sounding words; the less important
ideas, the less important parts of speech, should fill
the interspaces. Thus the whole will move on with
equal force and ease, emphatic but not ponderous,
bright but not trivial, the light and the shade mu-
tually relieving and setting off each other.
§ 69. Let us see what Cicero himself has to say
on the importance of writing numerose ; that is,
with a good rhythm, with a view to melodious and
rhythmical cadence. The passage itself (De Or, IIL
45 and 46) affords an admirable example of that
grace and beauty of style on which it is a com-
mentary : —
* As in Tennyson : see especially In Memoriam,
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S 69.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. Ixxv
Everything that has a use has beauty,
Quonam igitur modo tantum munus insistemus, ut
arbitremiir nos banc vim numerose dicendi consequi
posse ? Non est res tarn difBcilis, quam necessaria ; nihil
est enim tarn tenerum, neque tarn flexibile, neque quod
tarn facile sequatur, quocumque ducas, quam oratio: ex
hac versus, ex hac eadem dispares numeri confiduntur ;
ex hac baec etiam soluta variis modis multorumque gene*
mm oratio. Non enim sunt alia sermonis, alia conten-
tionis verba ; neque ex alio genere ad usum cotidianum,
alio ad scenam pompamque sumuntur ; sed ea nos cum
iacentia sustulimus e medio, sicut mollissimam ceram ad
nostrum arbitrium formamus et fingimus. Itaque tum
graves sumus, tum subtiles, tum medium quiddam tene-
mus ; sic institutam nostram sententiam sequitur oratio-
nis genus, idque ad omnem aurium voluptatem et animo-
rum motum mutatur et vertitur. Sed ut in plerisque
rebus incredibiliter hoc natura est ipsa fabricata ; sic in
oratione, ut ea, quae maximam utilitatem in se contine-
rent, plurimum eadem haberent vel dignitatis vel saepe
etiam venustatis. Incolumitatis ac salutis omnium caussa
videmus hunc statum esse huius totius mundi atque na*
turae, rotundum ut caelum, terraque ut media sit, eaque
sua vi nutuque teneatur ; sol ut circumferatur, ut accedat
ad brumale signum et inde sensim ascendat in diversam
partem; ut luna accessu et recessu suo solis lumen
accipiat; ut eadem spatia quinque stellae dispari motu
cursuque conficiant. Haec tantam habent vim, paullum ut
immutata cohaerere non possint, tantam pulcritudinem,
ut nulla species ne cogitari quidem possit ornatior. Re-
ferte nunc animum ad hominum vel etiam ceterarum
animantium formam et figuram : nullam partem corporis
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Ixxvi INTRODUCTION TO [§ 69.
sine aliqua necessitate affictam, totamque formam quasi
perfectam reperietis arte, non casu. Quid in arboribus,
in quibus non truncus, non rami, non folia sunt denique
nisi ad suam retinendam conservandamque naturam?
nusquam tamen est uUa pars nisi venusta« Linquamus
naturam artesque videamus : quid tarn in navigio neces-
sarium quam latera, quam cavemae, quam prora, quam
puppis, quam antennae, quam vela, quam mali ? quae
tamen banc habent in specie venustatem, ut non solum
salutis, sed etiam voluptatis caussa inventa esse videantur.
Columnae templa et porticus sustinent ; tamen habent
non plus utilitatis quam dignitatis. Capitolii fastigium
illud et ceterarum aedium non venustas, sed necessitas
ipsa fabricata est ; tamen, cum esset habita ratio, quem ad
modum ex utraque tecti parte aqua delaberetur, utili-
tatem templi fastigii dignitas consecuta est; ut, etiamsi
in caelo Capitolium statueretur, ubi imber esse non posset,
nullam sine fastigio dignitatem habiturum fuisse videa-
tur. Hoc in omnibus item partibus orationis evenit, ut
utilitatem ac prope necessitatem suavitas quaedam et
lepos consequatur. Clausulas enim atque interpuncta ver-
borum animae interclusio atque angustiae spiritus attu-
lerunt ; id inventum ita est suave, ut, si cui sit infinitus
spiritus datus, tamen eum perpetuare verba nolimus.
Id enim auribus nostris gratum est inventum, quod
hominum lateribus non tolerabile solum, sed etiam facile
esse posset
Study carefully the rh3rthm of the above passage,
and note especially:
(1) All the endings are emphatic and sonorous.
If we examine the important pauses, we shall find
that seven sentences end with a Double Trochee {it
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i 70.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. Ixxvii
figaram—dfgnlUaUs—fabricata est-^OnsMlta esi'-cOn-
siquatur-^attiUerunt^ess^ pOssif); five with a Trochee
followed by a Molossus {cOnsiqUi pdsse—pompamque
sumuniur—etiamvinUsUHis—arii ndn cOsU — vM qudm
mah— verba ndbmus)^ while we have issH vidWUr, issi
vtdi&niurf and the same rhythm in nutttqUi dniatHr,
pars nUi vhtUsta, QriesquS vidiamus\
(2) In three cases an idea is expanded without any
addition to the sense, merely to prevent a clause end-
ing too weakly with a single word standing alone :
formamus etfingimus—mutaturetvertitur—farmam et
figurant. This desire to secure a good balance of
sound is especially noticeable in Cicero, and fre-
quently leads him into redundancy.
(3) Observe the ease and smoothness with which
the whole passage runs. Every idea glides naturally
into its place, suggested by the one which has pre*
ceded : so skilful is the tunctura that, to borrow the
well-known Latin figure, the nail can scarce detect
the several pieces out of which the beautiful mosaic
is made up.
§ 70. Another passage, exquisite in rhythm and
beauty of expression, is to be found in the De Natura
Deorum II. 39 : —
^ Observe that this ending differs only from that of the dactylic
Hexameter (— v^ ^ | ) by the insertion of one short syllable
(— v^ w I w I ). It has exactly the same kind of stately ring :
the extra syllable redeemed it from being a verse-ending. See
above, § 67 (3).
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Ixxviii INTRODUCTION TO [570.
The Beauty of Earth and Sea.
Ac principio terra universa cematur, locata in media
sede mundi, solida et globosa et undique ipsa in sese
nutibus suis conglobata, vestita floribus, herbis, arbori-
bus, frugibus, quorum omnium incredibilis multitudo in-
satiabili varietate distinguitur. Adde hue fontium gelidas
perennitates, liquores perlucidos amnium, riparum vesti-
tus viridissimos, speluncarum concavas amplitudines,
saxorum asperitates, impendentium montium altitudines
immensitatesque camporum ; adde etiam reconditas auri
argentique venas infinitamque vim marmoris. Quae vero
et quam varia genera bestiarum vel cicurum vel fera-
rum ! qui volucrum lapsus atque cantus ! qui pecudum
pastus ! quae vita silvestrium ! Quid iam de hominum
genere dicam? qui quasi cultores terrae constituti non
patiuntur earn nee immanitate belluarum efFerari nee stir-
pium asperitate vastari : quorumque operibus agri, insulae
litoraque conlucent distincta tectis et urbibus. Quae si,
ut animis, sic oculis videre possemus, nemo cunctam
intuens terram de divina ratione dubitaret
At vero quanta maris est pulchritudo ! Quae species
universi ! Quae multitudo et varietas insularum 1 Quae
amoenitates orarum ac litorum ! Quot genera quamque
disparia partim submersarum, partim fluitantium et in-
nantium belluarum, partim ad saxa nativis testis inhaeren-
tium ! Ipsum autem mare sic terram appetens litoribus
alludit, ut una ex duabus naturis conflata videatur. Exim
mari finitimus aer die et nocte distinguitur, isque tum
fusus et extenuatus sublime fertur, tum autem concretus
in nubes cogitur umoremque colligens terram auget im-
bribus, tum effluens hue et illuc ventos efficit. Idem
annuas frigorum et calorum facit varietates, idemque et
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S70.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. Ixxix
volatus alitum sustinet et spiritu doctus alit et sustentat
animantes.
Various points call for notice in the above passage.
(1) In media mundi parte reconditas auri argentique
venas. Note the position of mundi and of auri argen-
tique : boxed up respectively between media SLXid parte,
and between reconditas and venas, they make the con-
nection unmistakeable. See what is said on ' Loose
Connection/ Vol. I. App. § 31 (o).
(2) Vestita floribus, herbis, arboribus. Mark the
force of the Asyndeton, When several nouns are
coupled together, the rule is to use the copula with
each noun, or with none.
(8) Quorum omnium. This is the usual order.
The relative almost invariably comes first.
(4) Fontium gelidas perennitates. . • . speluncarum
concavas altitudines, etc* Note the especial force and
beauty of these Abstract Plurals. The use of the
Plural is to suggest the various particular instances
of the thing mentioned ; hence it is more concrete
than the Singular, and used for that reason. Yet
we also have below immanitate belluarum, stirpium
vastitate, etc., where the qualities are, as it were,
poetically personified.
(6) Note especially the use of the figure Chiasmus.
Where two nouns are strung together, or contrasted,
each with an Adjective or other word qualif3dng it, it
is usual to put the corresponding words either next
to each other, or removed from each other, so as to
emphasise the antithesis. Thus montium altitudines
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Ixxx INTRODUCTION TO [j 71.
immmsitatesque camporum ; fontium gelidas perenni-
iates, liquores perlucidos amnium; nee immanitate
beUHarutn nee stirpium asperitate, etc.
(6) Quae si, ut animis, sic oculis, etc. : this is the
almost invariable order of 11/. . . . sic in comparisons.
The sic Clause comes last, because most important :
in English we usually prefer the reverse order.
§ 71. Another passage remarkable for its ease of
style, and perfection of rhythm, is to be found in Cic.
de Orat. I, caps. 35 and 36 : —
Haec cum Crassus dixisset, silentium est consecutum ;
sed quamquam satis iis, qui aderant, ad id, quod erat
propositum, dictum videbatur, tamen sentiebant celerius
esse multo, quam ipsi vellent, ab eo peroratum. Turn
Scaevola, * quid est, Cotta ? ' inquit, * quid tacetis ? Nihilne
vobis in mentem venit, quod praeterea ab Crasso re-
quiratis?' 'Immo id mehercule,' inquit, 4psum attendo:
tantus enim cursus verborum fuit, et sic evolavit oratio, ut
eiusvim et incitationem aspexerim, vestigia ingressumque
vix viderim, et tamquam in aliquam locupletem ac refer-
tam domum venerim, non explicata veste neque propo*
site argento neque tabulis et signis propalam conlocatis,
sed his omnibus multis magnificisque rebus constructis
ac reconditis : sic modo in oratione Crassi divitias atque
ornamenta eius ingenii per quaedam involucra atque
integumenta perspexi ; sed ea contemplari cum cuperem,
vix aspiciendi potestas fuit. Itaque neque hoc possum di-
cere, me omnino ignorare, quid possideat, neque plane
nosse atque vidisse.' *Quin tu igitur facis idem,* inquit
Scaevola, ^quod faceres, si in aliquam domum plenam
omamentorum villamve venisses : si ea seposita, ut dicis,
essent, tu, qui valde spectandi cupidus esses, non dubi-
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§ 71.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. Ixxxl
tares rogare dominum, ut profeni iuberet, praesertim si
esses familiaris. Similiter nunc petes a Crasso, ut illam
copiam omamentorum suorum, quam constructam nno in
loco quasi per transennam praetereuntes strictim aspexi-
mus, in lucem proferat et suo quidque in loco conlocet*
* Ego vero/ inquit Cotta, * a te peto, Scaevola : — ^me enim
et hunc Sulpicium impedit pudor ab homine oninium
gravissimo, qui genus huius modi disputationis semper
contempserit, haec, quae isti forsitan puerorum elementa
videantur, exquirere : — sed tu banc nobis veniam, Scae-
vola, da: perfice, ut Crassus haec, quae coarctavit et
peranguste refersit in oratione sua, dilatet nobis atque
explicet' ' Ego mehercule ' inquit Mudus ' antea vestra
magis hoc caussa volebam, quam mea. Neque enim tanto
opere banc a Crasso disputationem desiderabam, quanto
opere eius in caussis oratione delector ; nunc vero, Crasse,
mea quoque iam caussa rogo, ut, quoniam tantum babe-
mus otii, quantum iam diu nobis non contigit, ne graveris
exaedificare id opus, quod instituisti : formam enim totius
negotii opinione meliorem maioremque video, quam vehe-
menter probo/ * Enimvero * inquit Crassus * mirari satis
non queo etiam te haec, Scaevola, desiderare, quae neque
ego ita teneo, uti ii, qui docent ; neque sunt eius generis,
ut, si optime tenerem, digna essent ista sapientia ac tuis
auribus.' ' Ain tu ? * inquit ille : ^ si de istis conununibus
et pervagatis vix hiiic aetati audiendum putas, etiamne
ilia negligere possumus, quae tu oratori cognoscenda
esse dixisti, de naturis hominum, de moribus, de rationi*
bus eis, quibus hominum mentes et incitarentur et repri-
merentur, de historia, de antiquitate, de administratione
rei publicae, denique de nostro ipso iure civili? Hanc
enim ego omnem scientiam et copiam rerum in tua pru-
dentia sciebam inesse ; in oratoris vero instrumento tam
lautam supellectilem numquam videram.'
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Ixxxii INTRODUCTION TO [j 72.
§ 72. The examples hitherto given have been
taken from Cicero or Livy; but Caesar must not be
overlooked. For ease and grace, for fulness and
versatility of style, Cicero stands unrivalled. It was
Cicero who first brought out all the power, all the
resources, of the language. It was Cicero who first
shewed that the Latin tongue could grapple with the
whole field of human knowledge : could find expres-
sion for every problem, however profound, for every
distinction, however subtle, which was to be found in
the whole range of Greek thought and literature.
And what he did for the vocabulary of Latin, he did
for its form also : gifted with a fine ear for style,
trained in all the delicacies of Greek rhetoric, and
yet constrained by the necessities of the advocate
and the statesman to make these subservient to the
purposes of practical life, it was he who first took all
baldness, all stiffness and roughness, out of the lan-
guage, and proved that in every variety of style Latin
could exhibit a strength and a dignity all her own,
and at the same time a finish, a beauty, and an ease,
not inferior to those of the purest Greek models.
It was this mixture of theoretical and practical train*
ing, of literary and practical power, which raised
Cicero to his unique position as the fashioner of the
Latin language. His gifts, his training, and his ex-
perience were precisely of the kind fitted to make him
a consummate master of speech ; and he lived at the
very moment when Roman thought was maturing for
its highest efforts, and finding its need of an imple-
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1 73] CONTINUOUS PROSE. Ixxxui
ment more pliant, more rich, more susceptible of
artistic moulding, than Latin had hitherto shewn
itself to be. Thus everything conspired to give him
an influence over his native tongue more great and
lasting than was ever exercised over any language
by any single writer before or since.
§ 73 . The style of Caesar has merits of a very
different order. It represents the perfection of the
purely Roman style, and exhibits the great elemental
features of the Roman character. The product of a
great and busy mind engaged in great things, using
words for the immediate practical purpose in view,
and concerning itself not at all with literary or
rhetorical effect, Caesar*s style is simple, direct,
logical, severe, unconscious: he describes things
exactly as they occurred ; he speaks by facts, not by
imagination ; he lets each story tell its own tale,
writing with clear and rapid vision of the men whom
he has known, of the events which he has seen and
felt. Livy has much more art; he is frequently
elaborate, frequently poetic, both in his choice of
language and in his method of description : if he
describes such an event as the disaster of the
Caudine Forks, he throws himself into the spirit of
the scene, imagines himself a soldier looking round
powerless and speechless in dismay at the im-
pending catastrophe, and summons up every element
of horror and despair that can add colour to the
situation. He has always the effect in view; and
though he writes as a student in his closet, often
f2
J
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Ixxxiv INTRODUCTION TO [§ 74.
careless as to facts which he might easily have veri-
fied for himself, his whole work is warmed with the
glow of patriotic feeling. For specimens of this
feeling see the whole account of the fall of Rome
before the Gauls in Book V, cap. 32 sqq. ; the great
speech of Camillus in opposition to the proposal
to migrate from Rome to Veii, V. 51-54; or the
fine digression in Book IX, caps. 17-20, in which he
compares Alexander and Papirius, discusses the
probable event if Alexander had turned his arms
against Italy, and concludes that in commanders, in
soldiers, and in fortune, Rome would have risen
superior from the conflict. Such passages abound
in Livy, and give charm and warmth and colour to
his style.
§ 74. As a sample of the more sober and realistic
style of Caesar, as described above, we may take
the passage in the 5th book of the Gallic War,
in which he describes the only signal disaster
which befell his arms in Gaul, ending in the loss of
an entire legion. The disaster was similar in many
respects to that of the Caudine Forks : a comparison
of Livy's account of that event (IX. 2, 3) with the
following description of Caesar will give a good ex-
ample of the points of difference between the styles
of the two authors. The most striking part of
Caesar's narrative is contained in B. G. V., caps. 33
to 37 :—
Turn demum Titurius, qui nihil ante providisset, trepi-
dare et concursare cohortesque disponere, haec tamen
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S 74.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. Ixxxv
ipsa timide atque ut eum omnia deficere viderentur;
quod plerumque iis accidere consuevit, qui in ipso ne«
gotio consilium capere coguntur. At Cotta, qui cogitasset
faaec posse in itinere accidere atque ob eam causam pro-
fectionis auctor non fubset, nulla in re communi saluti
deerat, et in appellandis cohortandisque militibus impera-
toris et in pugna militis officia praestabat Cum propter
longitudinem agminis minus facile omnia per se obire et,
quid quoque loco faciendum esset, providere possent,
iusserunt pronuntiare, ut infipedimenta relinquerent atque
in orbem consisterent Quod consilium etsi in eiusmodi
casu reprehendendum non est, tamen incommode accidit :
nam et nostris militibus spem minuit et hostes ad pug*
nam alacriores effecit, quod non sine summo timore et
desperatione id factum videbatur. Praeterea accidit,
quod fieri necesse erat, ut volgo milites ab signis disce-
derent, quae quisque eorum carissima haberet, ab impe*
dimentis petere atque arripere properaret, clamore et fletu
omnia complerentur. At barbaris consilium non defuit.
Nam duces eorum tota acie pronuntiare iusserunt, ne quis
ab loco discederet : illorum esse praedam atque illis re-
servari, quaecumque Romani reliquissent : proinde omnia
in victoria p^sita existimarent. Erant et virtute et numero
pugnando pares nostri; tametsi ab duce et a fortuna
deserebantur, tamen omnem spem salutis in virtute pone-
bant et quotiens quaeque cohors procurrerat, ab ea parte
magnus numerus hostium cadebat. Qua re animadversa
Ambiorix pronuntiari iubet, ut procul tela coniciant neu
propius accedant et, quam in partem Romani impetum
fecerint, cedant (levitate armorum et cotidiana exercita-
tione nihil iis noceri posse), rursus se ad signa recipientes
insequantur. Quo praecepto ab iis diligentissime obser-
vato, cum quaepiam cohors ex orbe excesserat atque im-
petum fecerat, hostes velocissirae refugiebant Interim
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Ixxxvi INTRODUCTION TO [§ 74.
earn partem nudari necesse erat et ab latere aperto tela
redpi. Rursus, cum in eum locmn, unde erant egressi,
reverti coeperant, et ab iis, qui cesserant, et ab iis, qui
proximi steterant, circumveniebantur ; sin autem locum
tenere vellent, nee virtuti locus relinquebatur, neque ab
tanta multitudine coniecta tela conferti vitare poterant.
Tamen tot incommodis conflictati, multis vulneribus ac-
ceptis resistebant, et magna parte diei consumpta, cum a
prima luce ad horam octavam pugnaretur, nihil, quod ipsis
esset indignum, committebant Tum Tito Balventio, qui
superiore anno primum pilum duxerat, viro forti et mag-
nae auctoritatis, utrumque femur tragula traicitur ; Quin-
tus Lucanius, eiusdem ordinis, fortissime pugnans, dum
circumvento filio subvenit, interficitur; Lucius Cotta
legatus omnes cohortes ordinesque adhortans in adversum
OS funda vulneratur. His rebus permotus Quintus Titu-
rius, cum procul Ambiorigem suos cohortantem conspex-
isset, interpretem suum Gneum Pompeium ad eum mittit
rogatum, ut sibi militibusque parcat Ille appellatus re-
spondit : Si velit secum colloqui, licere ; sperare a multi-
tudine impetrari posse, quod ad militum salutem pertineat ;
ipsi vero nihil nocitum iri, inque eam rem se suam fidem
interponere. Ille cum Cotta saucio communicat, si videa*
tur, pugna ut excedant et cum Ambiorige una coUoquan-
tur : sperare ab eo de sua ac militum salute impetrari
posse. Cotta se ad armatum hostem iturum negat atque
in eo perseverat. Sabinus quos in praesentia tribunos
militum circum se habebat et primorum ordinum centu-
riones se sequi iubet et, cum propius Ambiorigem acces-
sisset, iussus anna abicere imperatum facit suisque, ut
idem fadant, imperat. Interim, dum de condidonibus
inter se agunt longiorque consulto ab Ambiorige instituitur
sermo, paulatim circumventus interficitur. Tum vero suo
more victoriam conclamant atque ululatum tollunt impe-
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f 76.] CONTINUOUS PROSE. Ixxxvii
tuque in nostros facto ordines perturbant Ibi Lucius
Cotta pugnans interficitur cum maxima parte militum.
Reliqui se in castra recipiunt, unde erant egressi. £x
quibus Lucius Petrosidius aquilifer, cum magna multitu-
dine hostium premeretur, aquilam intra vallum proiecit,
ipse pro castris fortissime pugnans ocdditur. Illi aegre
ad noctem oppugnationem sustinent; noctu ad unum
omnes desperata salute se ipsi interficiunt. Paud ex
proelio elapsi incertis itineribus per silvas ad Titum
Labienum legatum in hibema perveniunt atque eum de
rebus gestis certiorem fadunt.
§ 75. One hint and one caution in conclusion.
We have seen that the first fundamental quality of
good Latin is that it should be intelligible and per-
spicuous. Whatever other qualities a student may
fail in exhibiting, let him make sure of these. With
this end, if he have a passage to translate into Latin,
let him first read and re-read the English until he is
sure that he has grasped the essential meaning of the
whole, as well as the logical connection between its
parts. Having translated it into Latin as well as he
can, let him put by his version for a few days, then
take it up again and read it through, without refer-
ring to the English. If the meaning of the whole
appear clear and connected at the first reading, he
may be content : but if it appear difiicult or obscure,
or if he have to refer back to the English to make out
the exact meaning, he may be sure that there is
something wrong, and that he must re-cast the Latin
either in whole or part. Much has been said in this
Introduction about the higher qualities of style : but
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Ixxxviii INTRODUCTION. [§ 75.
let not the student aim at these until he has acquired
its fundamental elements. In writing Latin, as in
other things, it is well to aim high : but we must not
attempt to fly until we have learnt to crawl. Grace,
point, ease, beauty of expression, good rhythm, are
admirable and delightful : but correctness and clear-
ness are indispensable. Pure style, we have been
told, is colourless like water; and no criticism is
more just than that contained in the well-known
saying of Quintilian, that one of the greatest arts in
writing is to know how to be simple.
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FABT ni.
Ea4sry Passages for Translation into
Latin Prose. ^^ „ „ ,
^ or THf.
There once * lived in the city of* Sparta a man whose*
name was Lycm'gus. He belonged to^ a noble family,
and was the son of Eunomus, the brother of Polydectes
the Spartan king. Upon the death ° of the latter, his wife
promised • Lycurgus to kill her own son and obtain ' for
him the kingdom. To this proposal Lycurgus seemed at
first to consent : but fearing* treachery, he caused* the
child's life to be saved, and, slaying ^® the mother, handed
the kingdom over to her son.
* Note the two meanings of the English ' once : ' suntl means
' on a single occasion.' ' Use Apposition in all such cases.
• Use the Dative. * * belonged to ' : say ' was of.' ■ Use
the Abl. Abs. • Remember Verbs oi promising^ &c. take the
Fut. Infin. ^ ObHnert means ' to hold fast/ not ' to obtain.'
• What does 'fearing ' really mean ? See Vol. I. Pref. Wot© to
Bx. XXV. • *To cause to*: tfficert uU ." What does
'slaying ' really mean ? See VoL I. % 82, n. ♦
m B
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2 EASY PASSAGES : [Part m.
n.
The Laws of Lycurgus,
Lycurgus was the wisest of all men at that tune. In
order to make the Spartans more powerful than their
neighbours, he instituted laws by which the citizens were
prohibited from ^ possessing gold and silver. All the men
were engaged either in cultivating the fields or in mili-
tary exercises ; the women were not aUowed • to appear
in public, and were enjoined to remain at home, attending
to their children arid their households. On leaving' the
city for a time, that the people might not change his laws,
he bound * them by an oath that they would not alter
them during his absence*.
* Use quominus : see Vol. I, § 156. • Use Hcet • Say
' When he was leaving.' * Use devincio, • Say * while
he was away.'
ni.
Demetrius and StUpo.
Demetrius had taken the city of Megara*. Upon his
asking Sdlpo ', the philosopher, if' he had lost anything,
the other answered, *I have lost nothing; for all my
/property is still mine.* At this the monarch marvelled
much ; for his patrimony had been plundered, his sons
carried oflF, and his country conquered. No doubt the
philosopher meant Demetrius to understand ^ that he cared
nothing for* material possessions, and that no enemy
could deprive him of the possessions which alone he
valued, namely, those of* the mind.
* Use Apposition. • Say * when he had asked Stilpo.'
' Use numquid : remember this is an Indirect Question. * Say
* wished to signify to Demetrius.' * Say * valued at nothing.'
* < those ' not to be expressed : see VoL L Sx. XYXTV, n, ^
and App. § 12 (d).
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IV.
The Gauls besiege Clusium.
The Gauls were now besieging Clusium, a city of
Etruria K The Clusians applied to the Romans, entreating
them to send ambassadors and letters to the barbarians.
Accordingly they sent three illustrious persons of the
Fabian family, who had borne the highest offices of the
State. The Gauls received them • courteously, on account
of the name of Rome, and, putting a stop to their opera-
lions against the town, came to a conference. But when
the ambassadors told them that the Romans ordered them
to leave Italy and return to their own country, they re-
plied haughtily * that they knew of no master but their
own will, and that they deemed all countries their own
which they had conquered* with the sword.'
^ Use the Adj. ' Say ' whom when the Gauls had received.*
» Use the Subj. (Orat Obi).
V.
Hannibal Conquered.
After having ravaged Italy for many years and won
many victories over the Romans, Hannibal was at last
beaten by Scipio in the great battle of Zama, which was
fought in the year b. c. 201 \ After many wanderings, he
at last found refuge with ' Antiochus, King of Syria. Some
years afterwards, ambassadors were sent from Rome to
Antiochus to demand that Hannibal should be given up.
Amongst the number' was Scipio, who in conversation
asked Hannibal whom he thought to be the greatest
general. Hannibal replied that Alexander, King of
B2
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4 EASY PASSAGES .• [Part m.
Macedon, seemed to him to have been the greatest,
because with small forces he had routed ^ innumerable
armies.
* Say *in the year before Christ bom two-hundredth and
first/ ■ apud, • Say* in the number of whom.* * Use
the Subj., as ' routed * refers to the opinion expressed by Han-
nibal.
VI.
Appius wins a Sea-fight.
At six o'clock the enemy's fleet appeared in view.
Appius at once made up his mind to engage the enemy,
and gave the order to advance. No regular order was
observed. Each ship moved on as best it could, singled
out its own antagonist, and grappling at close quarters
engaged in a kind of land-fight. The battle was fought *
with the utmost obstinacy, and no quarter was given ' on
either side. The engagement lasted for four hours, and
ended in a complete victory for the Romans. A great
number of the enemy's ships were sunk or disabled.
' Use pugnar0 impersonally in the Pass. ' Say * and it was
spared to none.'
vn.
Regulus keeps his Oath.
Regulus was conquered by the Carthaginians under the
leadership of Xanthippus \ Only two thousand men re-
mained out of the whole Roman army. Regulus himself
was captured and thrown' into prison. He was after-
wards sent to Rome to consult about an exchange of
prisoners ', after giving an oath that he would return to
Carthage if he did not^ accomplish what he wished.
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When the Senate assembled, he advised them to reject
the terms of peace which had been offered, and bravely
set out from Rome, accompanied by a great crowd, know-
ing well ° that death and tortm-e awaited him on his return
to Carthage.
> Use AbL Abs. • Use one Finite Verb and one Past Part
' Say 'about exchanging prisoners.' * Use the Pluperf. : see
Vol. I. Ex. OrVy n. a. * Say < although he knew well'
vm.
A Panic in Rome.
Panic reigned throughout the city. No one knew
whom to believe. Some said a battle had been lost ;
others that the consuls were killed; the rest that the
army was in revolt, and on the march for Rome. Guards
were posted at the gates ; a new levy was ordered and
equipped ; an embassy was despatched, prepared for
either peace or war, and amid universal gloom ^ the day
came to a dose.
* Say either ' all grieving,' or ' amid the greatest grief of all.'
IX.
Before Thrasimene.
Then Hannibal crossed the Alps, and after laying waste
the plains of Etruria far and wide, encamped upon some
rising ground above the lake of Thrasimene. Seeing
Flaminius in hot pursuit, and knowing that if he entered
the defile between the mountain and the lake he could
surround him on every side, he halted his infantry on the
hill beyond the pass, led his cavalry and light armed troops
round the heights at the back, and having addressed a few
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words of exhortation to * the soldiers, awaited with con-
fidence the advance of the enemy.
' Say 'when he had exhorted his (men) with few words.'
■ Say ' the enemy advancing.'
After Thrasimene.
The news reached Rome at about six o'clock. It caused
immense excitement; and furious multitudes thronged
the streets. Some denounced the Senate. Others blamed
the consuls. Others believed that the anger of the Gods
had been aroused by the violation of the auspices. One
mother died of excitement on meeting her son unex-
pectedly at the gate, safe and sound ; another of sheer joy
at the appearance of her husband falsely reported as dead.
The Senate deliberated all through the night Every
senator was asked individually to give his opinion. After
considering every plan, within hearing of the mob outside,
the Senate resolved to resist to the last, and ordered the
consuls to see that the republic took no harm.
XI.
To be turned into Oratio Recta.
Samnites, concilio Etruscorum coacto, dicunt se multos
per annos cum Romanis dimicasse : petisse pacem, cum
bellum tolerare non possent : rebellasse, quod pax ser-
vientibus gravior, quam liberis bellum esset : unam sibi
spem reliquam in Etruscis restare. Samnitem illis exer-
citum paratum, instructum armis et stipendio, venisse :
statim secuturos, vel si ad ipsam Romam oppugnandam
ducant.
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XTT,
To b$ turned into Oratio Recta.
Turn Tribuni ; * quidnam id csset ? num veterum con-
tumelianim memoriam deponere posse? an quicquam
esse turpius ? reminisceretur plebs pristinae virtutis ; sed
nolle se vana loqui.'
To be turned into Oratio Obtiqua, after a
Past Tense.
Unus ego sum ex omni civitate qui adduci non potui
ut jurem, vel liberos tibi meos dedam. Ob banc rem ex
civitate profugi, quod solus neque jurejurando neque
obsidibus teneri volui. Si mihi veniam dederis, num-
quam, mehercule, aut te aut senatum paenitebit
xm.
After CanncB.
Of those that fought against Hannibal at Cannae, some
escaped by flight, others were taken prisoners. The latter
were very numerous ; but though Hannibal offered to re-
lease them for a small sum, the Senate refused it by a
decree, and left them to be sold or put to death. Those
that had fled were sent to Sicily, with orders not to return
to Italy until Hannibal should leave it. These came to
Marcellus, and begged to be admitted into the army ; but
though Marcellus was inclined to grant their request, the
Senate decreed ^ that the Commonwealth had no need of
cowards.'
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xnr.
Vespasian* s Dying Jest.
It is said that * the Emperor Vespasian on his death-bed
wished to comfort the friends who were weeping around
him, and exclaimed with a smile, ^ Methinks I am becom-
ing a god ! ' Although ' this jest now appears strange and
almost incredible, it was very appropriate then. For the
Romans were wont to render divine honours to theemperor
while he lived, and belieyed that when he died he straight-
way was nimibered among the gods. Nor was the emperor
himself ever displeased with' such honours. Tiberius
indeed once forbade a temple to be erected to himself;
not however, if Tacitus is to be trusted, because * he hated
flattery, but because he despised fame.
1 In such phrases use the Verb personally, 'Vespasian is said/
&c. ' Remember the distinction between ttsi, quamquam
(Indie.) and licet, ut, quamvis (Subj.). * 'displeased with':
turn the sentence Act * Non quod, or non quo, with Indie.
XV.
The Poet JEschylus.
The poet ^schylus was bom at Athens four hundred
and twenty-five years before the birth of Christ \ He
composed many tragedies, but unfortunately very few
have reached our age. Those, however, which are extant
to-day shew how worthy he is • to be ' reckoned among
the greatest poets. Besides, so far was he from being a
coward that ^ he was present at the battles of Marathon
and Salamis ', and displayed the utmost valour. In his old
age he went to Sicily, and while staying there perished by
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a strange chance. An eagle, having seized a tortoise, cast
it to the ground to break its shell, and struck the head of
the poet while he was walking by the sea. Thus he died,
and was buried at Gela.
1 See Passage V, n. i. ' Indirect Question. ' Use qui
with Subj. «< So far ... that' : see VoL X. § 115, Vote.
' Use Adjectives.
XVI.
Tiberius and T(icitus.
It is related in ^ Tacitus that the Emperor Tiberius was
gloomy, proud, and cruel, and that he loved no one and
was himself loved by none •. There are, however, persons
who say that these things are not true, and warn us not'
to believe false charges ; for, they say *, Tacitus hated the
emperor because he was * the overthrower of the old re-
public, and accepted idle rumours without • inquiring if
they were true. Perhaps however such persons err ; for
though'Tacitus hated Tiberius, still he was not the man
to^ state what he knew to be false.
1 Apudoxa, ■ Use Mque ullus. • * To warn not': momo
or sucuUo m, * * they say * to be omitted — use Or. Obi. • Virtual
Or. ObL • Say * nor enquired.' ' Use ia irai qui with
the Subj.
XVII.
Socrates.
Wise men often appear foolish to the unlearned ; and
the wiser they are, the more foolish * they appear. Who
has not heard of the philosopher Socrates, who when con-
demned to death * by the Athenians refused ' to escape
from the prison, although earnestly entreated by his
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friend Crito ? For he compared himself to a soldier on
guard {excubare\ and would not quit his post {staHoy
until God commanded hinu Therefore he remained in
the prison ; and during the whole of that day discoursed
beautifully about the immortality of the soul, and toward*
evening was put to death without fear or complaint
1 ' the wiser ... the more ' : qtto , , , to, ■ capiti (or capitis)
damnatus, * Use nolo, * Sub,
xvin.
Archimedes.
I shall give you another example of the folly of wise
men. While the city of Syracuse* was being besieged*
by the Romans, the philosopher Archimedes taught the
citizens many devices' by which to drive back the enemy
from the walls. At last the city was taken, and the citizens
plundered or butchered by the fierce Romans. But
meanwhile Archimedes was sitting at home intenf on his
studies, and not knowing what was being* done. He was
drawing lines on the sand, and when a soldier burst in,
he forgot his danger and^ cried out, ' Don't * confuse (/wr-
bare) my circles.'
• Use Apposition. ■ '</f<m'takesPreseiitIndic. : seeVol.1,
% 148, and Ex. OVI, n. 3. * artes. * Ind. Quest ' < forgot
. . . and ' : use Past Part * Use noU.
XIX.
•/ have found it! I have found it!*
But wise men appear not only foolish, but also some-
times ridiculous. The same Archimedes long pondered
on a very difficult and obscure question*, and could not
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Partm.] NARRATIVE AND HISTORICAL. II
understand it But one day it happened that while he
was bathing in the public bath he discovered by chance
what he had long been searching for. Straightway, for-
getting both where he was and what he was doing', he
rushed headlong out of doors and ran home through the
city naked, crying : ' I have found it ! I have found it ! '
Doubtless before' he reached home he moved many to
laughter *.
* res, • Ind. Quest • ' before ' is a Conjunction ■« ' be-
fore that* Priusquam takes the Perfect ; Vol. I» $ 148. * Say
* moved laughter to many.'
XX.
National Characteristics
Charles V. used to say, that the Portuguese * appeared to
be fools, and were so ; that the Spaniards appeared wise,
and were not so ; that the Italians seemed to be wise, and
were so ; and that the French seemed fools, and were
not so: that the Germans spoke like' carters', the
English like blockheads ^ the French like masters, and
the Spaniards like kings.
' LustianL ' Say * in speaking seemed to be.* • Use
cerdOf -onis, * StulH,
XXI.
We must all die once.
A poor Irishman, who was on his death-bed ^, and who
did not seem quite reconciled' to the long journey he
was going to take, was kindly consoled by a good-natured
friend with the commonplace reflection, that we must all
die once. 'Why, my dear, now,' answered the sick man.
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* that is the very thing that vexes me ; if I could die half-
a-dozen times, I should not mind it at all.'
^ Say ' was just about to die.' ' Use the Adj. mvUus.
xxn.
Scepticism.
The sceptics, who doubt of everything, and whomTer-
tullian calls professors of ignorance, do ^ affirm something
when they say we can affirm nothing, and admit that
something is certain when they maintain that nothing can
certainly be known.
* * do ' is emphatic : use re vem,
xxni.
The Big and the Little.
Alexander demanded of a pirate, whom he had taken,
by what right he infested^ the seas ? * By the same right,'
replied he boldly, ^ that you enslave the world. But I am
called a robber, because I have only one small vessel;
and you are styled a conqueror, because you command
great fleets and armies.'
^ Say infestum redden or habere,
xxnr.
A Happy Solution.
At a banquet, when solving enigmas was one of the
diversions \ Alexander the Great said to his courtiers",
' What is that which did not come last year, has not come
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PwfclH.] NARRATIVE AND HISTORICAL. 13
this year, and will not come next year?' A distressed
officer starting up, said, * It must certainly be our arrears '
of pay ! ' The king was so diverted that he conunanded
him to be paid up, and also increased his salary.
' Use the phrase *aimgmata ammi causa proponert^ ' co-
mites* * rtliqua.
XXV.
Land and Sea.
A countiyman once asked a sailor where his father had
died. The sailor replied that his father, his grandfather,
and his great-grandfather had all perished at sea. * Well,'
said the other, ^ are you not afraid to go to sea, lest you
should be drowned too?' *Not at all,' answered the
sailor ; ' but tell me, I pray you, how your father, your
grandfather, and your great-grandfather died ? ' 'In their
beds,' rejoined the rustic. 'Well, then,' said the sailor,
*are you not afraid to go to bed every night ?'
XXVI.
Conjugal Affection.
Vossius tells the following story of that great scholar,
Frederick Morel. Whilst he was employed in his edition
of Libanus one day, he was told that his wife was sud-
denly taken ilL * I have only two or three sentences to
translate,' he said, ' and then I will come and look at her.'
A second message informed him that she was dying ^.
*I have only three words to write, and I will be there as
soon as you,' replied the philosopher. At length, he was
told that his wife was dead. His only reply was : ' I am
very sorry for it indeed : she was a vety honest woman.*
* What does 'she was dying' exactly mean?
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14 EAS Y PASSAGES : [Part III
XXVII.
Home Once a Year.
Only once in the year is this visit to the home of our
fathers permitted ; we require* two of the longest days*
for our flight, and can remain here only eleven days,
during which time we fly oVer the large forest whence
we can see the palace in which we were bom, where
our father dwells, and the tower of the church in which
our mother was buried. Here even the trees and bushes
seem of kin to us ; here the wild horses still race over
the plains, as in the days of our childhood ; here the
charcoal-burner^ still sings the same old tunes to which
we used to dance in our youth ; hither we are still
attracted, and here we have found thee,
' Use opus est, * Say * two days when days are longest.'
' Carbonarius,
XXVIII.
Troy Besieged,
For nine years and more the Greeks had besieged the
city of Troy, and being" more numerous and better
ordered, and having very strong and valiant chiefs, they
had pressed the men of the city very hard, so that these
dared not go outside the walls. This being so', it was
the custom of the Greeks' to leave a part of their army
to watch the besieged city, and to send a part on ex-
peditions against such towns * in the country round about
as they knew to be friendly to the men of Troy, or as
they thought to contain good store of provision and
treasure. For having been away' from home now many
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PtrtHI.] NARRATIVE AND HISTORICAL. 15
years, they were in great want of things needful, nor did
they care much how they got them.
^ 'being' : say 'since they were.' * ' This being so ' : < quag
cum iia €sa$HiJ * Put < the Greeks' in the Dat * ' such
towns as ' : use is with the SubJ. * < having been away * : say
' since they had been away.'
The Trojan Horse.
At last the Greeks made as if they had given up the
siege, and sailed away. Then the Trojans issued from the
city and beheld with wonder a wooden horse which their
enemies had left behind. They long doubted what should
be done with it Many of them were anxious to dedicate
it to the gods as a token of gratitude for their deliver-
ance; but all the more prudent spirits advised them to
distrust an enemy's gift. Laocodn struck the side of the
horse with his spear ; but though the sound revealed that
the horse was hollow, the Trojans heeded not the warn-
ing. Then two serpents came up out of the sea, and slew
the unfortunate Laocodn with one of his sons in the sight
of all the people ; and this terrific spectacle, together with
the perfidious counsels of the traitor Sinon, induced the
Trojans to make a breach in their own walls, and to
drag the fatal horse with triumph and exultation into
their city.
XXX.
The Inquisitor^s Ears.
An Englishman who stopped at * Femey, on his way
to Italy, ofifered to Voltaire to bring him from Rome what-
ever he desired. * Good,' said the philosopher, * bring me
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the ears of the grand inquisitor.' The Englishman, in the
course of a familiar conversation with Clement XIV., re-
lated to him this piece of pleasantry. * Tell Voltaire from
me,' answered the Pope, laughing, * that our inquisitor is
no longer possessed of ears.'
' ' stopped at ' : use the phrase devtrii ad or apud.
XXXI.
To be turned into Oratio Obliqua.
Imperator, milites hortatus, * Instate ' inquit. * Cur nunc
hie moramur? Num hostis morabitur? Ne dubitate de
vestra virtute aut de mea vigilantia. Si ignavus fuissem,
vos deseruissem ; urbs enim, ut opinor, non facile capi-
etur, neque frigoris vis mitescet. Sed nolo ignavia vitam
emere. Quod imperatorem decuit id perfeci; quod si
pro patria moriar, mortem non invitus oppetanL*
XXXII.
A Detective Dog.
A Roman slave was murdered during the civil wars,
but no one knew by whom the crime was perpetrated.
His dog guarded the body, so that no one dared to touch
it King Pyrrhus, travelling that way, observed the
animal watching over the corpse, and learning that he
had been there three days without meat or drink, ordered
the body to be buried and the dog to be brought to him.
A few days afterwards every soldier had to march in
review past the king. The dog lay quietly for some time,
but on seeing the murderers of his late master pass by,
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he flew upon ^ them with great violence. This excited
the king's suspicion, and the men were seized. They
confessed the crime, and were immediately ordered for
execution.
* Use invihor m.
XXXIII.
The Ides of March,
The meeting of Senate took place in the Curia of
Pompey. Caesar had been advised to be on his guard
against the 15th of March ' ; on that morning his wife had
a dream which terrified her, and she begged him to stay
at home. But he went all the same: the conspirators
awaited him ; and when he came into the Senate house,
Tillius Cimber approached, and laying hold of his robe,
pretended that he had a favour to ask. Casca gave the
first blow ; the rest then fell on him ; and the great Caesar
fell, pierced by three and twenty wounds.
' *The 15th of March*: for the Roman method of dating see
V6L I, Fzef. Note to Ex. IiXXXVI.
XXXIV.
A Letter.
Old age, which renders others talkative, imposes silence
upon me. In my youth I wrote many and long letters, at
present I write very short ones, and those only to par-
ticular friends *. With respect to you, whom I have never
seen, whom I know litde but love much, I shall write only
this :— That your book pleases me, and that I am very
thankful for your good opinion. I know that I am un-
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worthy of your praises ; but you must indeed love virtue
much, if you value its shadow so highly. If you treat me
so generously, what kindness would you not show a man
who had in very truth proved himself to be virtuous?
^ 'particular friends' : use the Superl. ot amicus.
XXXV.
Where is Aristotle?
A Gascon officer, in the regiment of the Duke de
Roquelaure, dining one day with the Duke, the conversa-
tion turned on Aristotle. Some one maintained, that there
were a great many admirable things in Aristotle, which
were to be found nowhere else. * Well,' said the Duke,
turning to the Gascon, who was the butt ^ of the company,
* what do you think of the matter? ' * My opinion is,' re-
plied the Gascon, * that a great many people talk of having
been at Aristotle, who never were there in their lives.'
^ Ho be the butt of : ludibrio «ss#, inUr ludibria habm,
XXXVI.
Rape of Proserpine.
It chanced that Persephone was playing with the daugh-
ters of Oceanus in a flowery meadow, where they were
picking flowers and making garlands. She happened
to quit her companions for a moment to pluck a narcissus
which had caught her fancy : when ' suddenly the ground
opened at her feet, and Pluto, the god of the infernal
regions, appeared in a chariot drawn by snorting horses.
Swift as the wind he seized the terrified maiden, and in
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spite of all her struggles bore her oflf into the regions of
darkness before her companions were aware of what had
happened to her. When Demeter missed her darling
child, and none could tell where she had gone, she kindled
torches, and during many days and nights wandered in
anguish through all the countries of the earth, not even
resting for food or sleep.
1 Note here that ' when,* as frequently in English, introduces
the real apodosis of the sentence. In such cases, the ' when,' if
expressed, should be attached to what is, in sense, the subor^
dinate clause.
XXXVII.
Avarice.
When Dr. Franklin was asked why those who had
acquired more wealth than was sufficient for all the
purposes of comfort, should still desire to increase it,
he answered 'that avarice was the most natural and
common of all the human passions,' and illustrated his
assertion by giving to a child, then in the room, a large
apple. The moment ^ it had taken it he offered it another,
which it also took ; and before it could dispose of either,
he presented a third ; it vainly tried to hold it in its little
hands, and at last, in a passion of tears, threw itself and
the fruit on the floor.
* Say * as soon as.*
xxxvin.
Political Geese.
At the time of the revolution* in England, several
persons of rank, who had been zealously serviceable in
C2
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bringing about that event, but who, at the same time,
possessed no great abilities, applied for some of the most
considerable employments under the new government
The Earl of Halifax was consulted on the propriety of
admitting these claims. ' I remember/ said his lordship,
*to have read in history, that Rome was saved by geese;
but I do not recollect ever to have read that those geese
were made consuls.*
* Res novae would not be suitable here to express * revolution,*
the term used to denote the constitutional changes made at the ac-
cession of William and Mary. You might say post exactum lacdlmm,
or cum forma reipublicae commutata est, etc
xyyTx.
Athenian Courtesy.
The story runs* that once upon a time at Athens, during
the celebration of the games, an old gentleman, much
advanced in years, entered the theatre. Among his
countrymen who were present in that large assembly
no one offered him a place. So he turned to the Lacedae-
monians, who as ambassadors had a certain place allotted
to them. They rose in a body, and begged him to sit
amongst them. Loud shouts of applause arose from the
whole theatre ; whereupon it was remarked that the Athe-
nians knew their duty, but were slow to exemplify it in
their conduct
In translating stories like the above, consisting of many de-
tached sentences, the student should use the periodic structure,
putting the less important statements into subordinate clauses,
and reserving the principal clause or clauses for the leading ideas.
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XL.
A Conservative Voter.
A Liberal candidate applied to a yeoman of a certain
county for his vote, promising, if elected, to do all he could
to turn out the ministry^ and procure a fresh set*. 'Then
I won't vote for you,' cried the farmer. * Why not ?' said
the patriot, * I thought you were a friend to the people.*
* So I am,' replied the yeoman ; * and for that reason I am
not for a change in the ministry. I know well enough
how it is with my hogs ; when I buy them in lean, they
eat voraciously ; but when they have once got a little fat,
the keeping of them is not near so expensive. I am for
keeping the present set of ministers, as they will devour
much less than a new set.'
^ magistraius, * Use the phrase novos crmrt (magisiruttis).
XLI.
Alexander invades Egypt.
Alexander, in the three hundred -and -thirty -second
year * before the birth of Christ \ invaded Egypt, which
had long been subject to the Persians. While • he was
staying there, he founded the city of Alexandria, which at
one time he wished to be considered the metropolis of his
empire, and which to this day bears his name. Elated
with success, he now laid claim to divine honours, and
among the very priests there were found persons so base
as to flatter him in this, and make him believe he was the
son of Jupiter Ammon. Many of his soldiers died of
fatigue and thirst while marching to the temple of this
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imaginary god, which was distant a journey of seven days
from Alexandria.
1 For Roman counting, see Vol. I, Pref. Note to Ex. IiXXXV.
* Say * before Christ bom.' * For the Constr. of dunt, see
Vol. I, § 148, and Note.
XLII.
Diverging Paths.
It is related of Justice Holt, who had been very wild in
his youth, that one day when he was on the bench, a
fellow was tried for a robbery, and very narrowly
acquitted, whom his lordship recollected to be one of his
early dissipated companions. After the trial was over,
curiosity induced him ^ to send for the man in private, in
order to inquire the fortune of the cotemporaries with
whom he was once associated: he therefore asked the
fellow what was become of this one and that one, and the
rest of the party to which they belonged ? * Ah, my lord,*
said the fellow, * they are all hanged except your lordship
and myself.'
^ Carefully avoid in Latin such phrases as ' curiosity induced
him,' &c, which are so common in English. Latin avoids them
because too far removed from literal truth. They may usually be
turned Passively : e. g. it is better to say moius iru than ira movii.
Here say * since he wished to know, &c., he sent for the man.'
* < what was become of : quid factum essei, with the AbL
XLIII.
King Log.
The Frogs, living^ an easy free life everywhere among
the lakes and ponds, assembled together one day in a
very tumultuous manner, and petitioned Jupiter to let
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them have a king, who might inspect their morals and
punish all wrong doers. Jupiter, being at that time in a
good humour, was pleased' to laugh heartily at their
ridiculous request, and throwing a little log down into
the pool, cried, * There is a king for you.' The sudden
splash which this made by its fall into the water, at first
terrified* them so exceedingly that they were afraid to
come near it ; but in a little time, seeing ^ it lay still without
moving, they ventured by degrees to approach it; and at
last, finding ^ there was no danger, they leaped upon it,
and, in short, treated it as familiarly as they pleased.
1 Do not use the Pres. Part in any of these instances. ' Note
that the phrase ' was pleased to laugh,* does not imply pleasure ;
it only implies condescension. ' Do not say ' the splash terri-
fied them,' but rather that ' they were terrified by the splash.'
XLIV.
King Stork.
But they were not contented with so insipid a king as
this ^, so they sent deputies to ' petition again for another
sort of one, for this they neither did nor could like. Upon
that he sent them a stork, who, without any ceremony,
fell a-devouring and eating them up, one after another, as
fast as he could. Then they applied themselves privately
to Mercury, and begged him to speak to Jupiter in their
behalf, that he would be so good as to bless them again
with another king, or to restore them to their former state.
* No, no,' says he, * since it was their own choice, let the
obstinate wretches suffer the punishment due to their
folly.'
1 ' so insipid as this ' : use tam^ omitting * as this.' ' Tor
*to' denoting purpose, see Vol. I, App. § 6 (d).
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XI.V.
Perugian Eloquence.
The town of Perugia having sent deputies to Urban V.,
who was then at Avignon, they found this pontiff sick in
bed. The orator of the embassy made him a long speech,
without ^ paying any regard to his indisposition, and with-
out ' ever coming to the point When he had done, the
Pope asked the deputation • whether they had anything
else to state. Seeing that he was heartily tired, they said :
* Our instructions are, to declare to your Holiness, that if
you do not grant us what we ask, our orator will make
his speech again before we go.' The Pope granted the
demand instantly.
^ The English 'without* before a Participial Noun may be
rendered in various ways in Latin, but sine must never be used
except with a Substantive. Use here the Abl. Abs., 'no regard
having been paid to ' : 'to pay regard to anything * is tUicuius ret
rationem habere, ' Here use neque with a finite Verb. * In
such cases, as a rule, use the Concrete form, not the Abstract :
* deputation ' means * deputies.*
XIiVI,
Sophia's Pet,
Of this bird Sophia, then about thirteen years old, was
so extremely fond that her chief business was to feed and
tend it, and her chief pleasure to play with it. By these
means little Tommy, for so the bird was called, was
become so tame that it would ^ feed out of the hand of its
mistress, would ^ perch upon her finger, and lie contented
in her bosom, where it seemed almost sensible of its own
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happiness ; though she always kept a small string about
its leg, nor would ever trust it with the liberty of flying
away.
1 * would * here only denotes habit
xiivn.
Congreve,
Congreve, the English dramatist *, spoke of his works
as trifles, upon which he placed no great account ; which
was beneath him. Voltaire, when he was in England, paid
him a visit*. Congreve, during the first conversation,
made him understand that he wished himself to be
looked upon in no other light than as a gentleman ' who
led an easy and simple life. To this announcement Vol-
taire answered drily : * Had you been so unfortunate as
to be nothing more than a gentleman, I should not have
given myself the trouble to wait upon you.'
^ Poeta scenicus, ovfabularum scriptor, ' to visit : salutandi
causa adire or visere, ' Use urbanus*
xiivm.
A Sly Dog.
A dog, that was kept constantly on the chain, found
that he could withdraw his head from it when he pleased.
Thinking, however, that if he did this when his master
saw him, his chain would be made tighter, he never
drew his head through it during the day, but waited till
night. He would ^ then run off and roam through the
fields, which were stocked with sheep and lambs, many
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of which he either wounded or killed. To wash oflf the
marks of blood, he would go to a neighbouring stream,
and then return home before daybreak. He then slipped
into his chain again, and lay down as if he had been at
home all night
^ 'would' denotes habit
XLIX.
Janus.
Among the most important gods of the Romans was
the celebrated Janus, a deity quite unknown to the
Greeks, He was god of the light and of the sun, like
the Greek Apollo, and thus became the god of all begin-
nings ; New Year's Day * was his most important festival.
Now the Romans had a superstitious belief^ in the im-
portance ' of a good beginning for everything, concluding
that this had a great influence on the good or evil result
of every undertaking. So neither in public nor in private
life did they ever undertake anything of importance with-
out first confiding* the beginning to the protection of
Janus. When the youth of the city marched out to war,
an ofiering was made to the god by the departing general,
and the temple, or rather gateway, sacred to the god, was
left open during the continuance of the war, as a sign
that the god had departed with the troops and had them
under his protection.
1 Say * the Kalends of Januaiy.' See Vol. I, Pret Note to Ex.
IjXXXVI. ' ' A superstitious belief or ' custom ' is religio,
' <in the importance of: use the phrase plurimum interesse,
* 'without confiding': say 'unless they had previously con-
fided.'
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I..
An Honest Philosopher.
A follower of Pythagoras had bought a pair* of shoes
from a cobbler, for which he promised ' to pay him on a
futm-e day. He went with his money on the day ap-
pointed, but found that the cobbler had in the interval
departed this life. Without' saying anything of his errand,
he withdrew secretly, rejoicing at the opportunity thus
unexpectedly afforded him of gaining^ a pair of shoes
for nothing. His conscience, however, says Seneca,
would not suffer him to remain quiet under such an act
of injustice ; so, taking up the money, he returned to the
cobbler's shop, and, casting in the money, said, ' Go thy
ways, for though he is dead to all the world besides, yet
he is aUve to me/
* For *a pair' use bifii, • Note the Constr. of Verbs of
profnising. ' Do not use sine, * Use {sibi) parare or com-
parart.
LI.
Socrates and the Thirty Tyrants.
While* Athens was governed by the thirty tyrants,
Socrates, the philosopher, was summoned to the Senate
House. He was there ordered by them to go with some
other persons, whom they named, to seize one Leon,
a man of rank and fortune, whom they determined to
put out of the way, that they might enjoy his estate.
This commission Socrates positively refused to execute.
'I will not willingly,' said he, 'assist in an unjust act.'
Charicles sharply replied, *Dost thou think, Socrates,
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to talk in this high tone and not to suffer ? ' * Far from
it \ replied he, * I expect to suffer a thousand ills, but
none so great as to do unjustly.*
^ Dum here takes the Present : see Vol. I, § 143, Note. ' Immo,
LII.
Poms and his Elephant.
King Poms, in a battle with Alexander the Great,
being severely wounded, fell from the back of his ele-
phant. Supposing him dead, the Macedonian soldiers
pushed forward, in order to despoil him of his rich
clothing and accoutrements; but the faithful elephant,
standing over the body of his master, boldly repelled
every one who dared to approach, and while the enemy
stood at bay ^, took the bleeding Porus up on his trunk,
and placed him again on his back. By this time^ the
troops of Porus had come to his relief, and the king was
saved ; but the elephant died of the wounds which it had
received in the heroic defence of its master.
1 * stood at bay* : use consto or cunctor. ' * By this time*
is always Mm, which (as distinguished from nunc) has reference
to past time, impl3ring that * a time has (or had) arrived when.*
LIU.
The Grasshopper and the Ants.
In the winter season a commonwealth of ants was
busily employed in the management and preservation of
their com, which they arranged in heaps round about
their little habitation. A grasshopper, who had chanced
to outUve the summer, and was ready to starve with cold
and hunger, implored them to relieve his necessity with
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one grain of wheat One of the ants asked him how
he had disposed of his time in summer, that he had not ^
taken pains, and laid in a stock as they had done. * Alas !
gentlemen,' says he, * I passed the time merrily in drink-
ing, singing, and dancing, and never once thought of
winter.' * If that be the case,' replied the ant, laughing,
' all I have to say is, that they who drink, sing, and dance
in the summer, must starve in winter.'
^ * that he had not ' : use quod non with the Indie.
LIV.
Sixtus V,
Pope Sixtus V. was so poor when he came to Rome,
that he was obliged to ask alms. Having at last saved
a small pittance, he deliberated with himself for a long
time whether he should lay it out in the purchase of
something to allay his hunger, or of a pair of shoes, of
which he was in extreme want; and his countenance
expressed the deep interest he felt in this consultation.
A merchant, seeing his embarrassment, asked him the
cause, which he ingenuously confessed to him ; and did
so in a manner so agreeable, that the merchant, perceiv-
ing him to be a man of talent, took him home with him
to dinner, and thus settled the question. When Sixtus
became Pope, he did not forget his old friend the mer-
chant, but repaid as a prince the service he had received
as a beggar.
LV.
Sabinus and his Dog.
After the execution of Sabinus, the Roman general,
who suffered death for his attachment * to the family of
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Germanicus, his body was exposed to public view upon
the Gemonian stairs, as a warning to all who should
dare to befriend the house of Germanicus. No friend
had courage to approach the body; one only remained
true— his faithful dog. For three days the animal con-
tinued to watch the body ; his pathetic bowlings awaken-
ing the sympathy of every heart Food was at last
brought him ; but on taking the bread, instead of obeying
the impulse of hunger, he fondly laid it on his master's
mouth, and renewed his lamentations : days thus passed,
nor did he for a moment quit the body.
* Say * to whom the attachment to (Jides in) the family, &c.,
was for a destructioxL*
LVI.
Atys and the Boar,
When a boar of huge size was destroying the cattle
on Mount Olympus, and likewise many of the country
people, persons were sent to implore the assistance of
the King. Atys, one of the King's sons, a youth of
high spirit, urged his father to let him go, and assist
in killing the boar. The King, remembering a dream,
in which he saw his son perish by a spear, refused at
first to permit him to go; reflecting, however, that the
tooth of a wild beast was not to be dreaded so much
as the pointed spear, he consented. The youth accord-
ingly set out, and while all of them were eagerly intent
on slaying the boar, a spear thrown by one of the country
people pierced the heart of the young Atys, and thus
realised his father's dream.
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i.vn.
Every Man for Himself,
Two friends were travelling together on the same road,
when they were met by * a bear. The one, in great fear,
climbed up a tree, and hid himself among the branches,
thinking only of himself The other, seeing that he had
no chance single-handed against the bear, threw himself
on the ground, and feigned to be dead. He did this be-
cause he had heard that the bear will never touch a dead
body. As he thus lay, the bear came up to his head,
smelling his nose and ears, but the man held his breath,
and the beast, supposing him to be dead, walked away.
When the bear was out of sight, the other man came
down out of the tree, and asked what it was that the bear
had whispered to him ; * for,' said he, ' I observed he put
his mouth very close to your ear.' 'Well,' replied his
companion, ' he only bade me never again keep company
with those who, when any danger threatens, look after
their own safety, and leave their friends in the lurch.'
* * were met by * : turn this Act
Lvin.
True Poverty.
One of the officers of Artaxerxes, King of Persia, of
the name of Artibarzanes, solicited his majesty to confer
a favour upon him, which, if granted, would be an act
of injustice. The king, learning that the promise of a
considerable sum of money was the only motive that in-
duced the officer to make such an unreasonable request.
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ordered his treasurer to give him thirty thousand dariuses,
being a present of equal value with that which he was
to have received. * Here,' says the king, giving him an
order for the money, * take this token of my friendship
for you ; a gift of this nature cannot make me poor, but
complying with your request would render me poor in-
deed, since it would make me unjust.'
LIX.
An Honest Rogue,
The Dukes of Ossuna had the privilege of visiting the
galleys once a year, and releasing any slave who might
appear to be the least criminal. So Ferdinando, going
on board ^ for that purpose, demanded of each the nature
of his crime. They all protested they were entirely
innocent, and had been imprisoned from the malice and
corruption of their accusers and judges, except one man,
who said that, impelled by extreme distress, he had
robbed a person of his money, and merited the rigour
of his sentence. The Duke, striking him over the back
with his cane, ordered him to quit the galley immediately,
observing that * he was too great a rogue to live among
so many honest people.'
* * To go on board ' is navem or in navem conscendert,
LX.
The Shield of Mars.
As King Numa one morning raised his hands in prayer
to Jove, from the ancient palace at the foot of the Palatine,
beseeching his protection and favour for the infant state
of Rome, the god let fall from heaven, as a mark of his
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favour, an oblong brazen shield. At the same time a
voice was heard declaring that Rome should endure as
long as this shield was preserved. Numa caused the
sacred shield, which was believed to be that of Mars,
to be carefully preserved. The better to prevent its
abstraction, he ordered eleven others to be made exactly
similar, and instituted for their protection the college of
the Salii, twelve in number, who were selected from the
noblest families in Rome.
LXI.
The Daughters of Servius.
The two daughters of Servius were married to their
cousins, the two young Tarquins. The fierce Tullia was
the wife of the gentle Aruns Tarquin ; the gentle Tullia
had married the proud Lucius Tarquin. Aruns' wife tried
to persuade her husband to seize the throne that had
belonged to^ his father, and when he would not listen
to her, she agreed with his brother Lucius that, while'
he murdered her sister, she should kill his brother, and
then that they should marry. The horrid deed was
carried out, and old Servius, seeing what a wicked pair
were likely to come after him, began to consider with
the Senate whether it would not be better to have two
consuls or magistrates chosen every year than a king.
* For 'to belong to 'say* to be of.' " Note that •while 'here
does not refer to time.
iixn.
Tullia and Tarquin,
This made* Lucius Tarquin the more furious, and, going
to the Senate, where the patricians hated the king as the
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Iriend of the plebeians, he stood upon the throne, and was
beginning to tell the patricians that this would be the ruin
of their greatness, when* Servius came in and, standing
on the steps of the doorway, ordered him to come down.
Tarquin' sprang on the old man and hurled him back-
wards, so that the fall killed hini, and his body was left in
the street The wicked Tullia, wanting to know how her
husband had si>ed, came out in her chariot on the road.
The horses started back before the corpse. She asked
what' was in their way; the slave who drove her told
her it was the king's body. * Drive on,' she said. The
horrid deed caused the street to be known ever after as
*Scelerata,' or *the wicked street'
^ 'This made Lucius': turn this Passively. In this way a
change of Subject will be avoided. Note especially that Latin,
unlike English, objects to a frequent change of Subject : make it
a rule to change your Subject as seldom as possible. ' Note
that ' when ' here marks the real apodosis, introducing the most
important Verb of the passage. • Before 'Tarquin sprang'
insert Turn or Turn vero. Make it a rule in Latin, wherever you
can, to introduce some words or phrase at the beginning of each
fresh sentence to indicate the connection with the preceding sen-
tence. This may be a word indicating Time, or logical connection,
or a Relative, or any Particle or Conjunction which serves to
carry on the mind naturally from one sentence to another. Latin
abhors a gap.
LXIII.
• Character of the Scottish People.
I am in great hopes, through God's mercy, we shall be
able this winter to give the people such an understanding
of the justness of our cause, and our desires for the just
liberties of the people, that the better sort of them^ will
be satisfied therewith ; although I must confess, hitherto
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Pwtm.] NARRATIVE AND HISTORICAL. 35
they continue obstinate. I thought I should have found
in Scotland a conscientious people, and a barren country :
about Edinburgh, it is as fertile for com as any part of
England ; but the people generally are so given to the
most impudent lying, and frequent swearing, as is in-
credible to be believed. I rest your Lordship's most
humble servant, Oliver Cromwell.
^ ' The better sort of them ' : say opHtnus quisqug,
Lxrv,
Sir Thomas More.
The greatest of men are sometimes seized with strange
fancies at the very moment when one would suppose
they had ceased to be occupied with the things of this
world. Sir Thomas More, at his execution *, having laid
his head upon the block, and perceiving that his beard
was extended in such a manner that it would be cut
through by the stroke of the executioner, asked him to
adjust it properly upon the block ; and when the execu-"
tioner told him he need not trouble himself about his
beard, when his head was about to be cut off, ' It is of
little consequence to me,' said Sir Thomas, * but it is a
matter of some importance to you, that you should under-
stand your profession', and not cut through my beard,
when you had orders only to cut off my head.'
* The proper phrase for * to behead * is stcuriferire or percuUn,
* Say 'art'
IiXV.
A Loyal Son.
Titus Manlius was the son of a sour and imperious
father, who banished him from his house as a blockhead
D3
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and a scandal ^ to the family. This Manlius, hearing that
his father's life was in question, and a day named for his
trial, went to the tribune who had undertaken the cause,
and discoursed with him about it The tribune told him
the appointed time, and withal that his cruelty to his son
would be part of the charge. Upon this, Manlius took
the tribune aside, and presenting a poniard to his breast,
* Swear,' said he, ' that you will let this cause drop, or you
shall have this dagger in your heart ; it is now in your
choice which way my father shall be saved.' The tribune
swore, and kept his word ; and made a fair report of the
whole matter to the bench.
^ ' To be a scandal to ' : dedecori or cpprobrio essi,
LXVI,
Oracular ambiguity.
A person who had some dangerous enemies, whom he
believed capable of attempting anything against him, con-
sulted an oracle to know whether he should leave the
country. The answer he obtained was, 'Domine, stes
secunts ; ' a reply which led him to believe he might safely
remain at home. Some days afterwards, his enemies set
fire to his house, and it was with great difficulty that he
escaped with his life. On recollecting the words of the
Oracle, he perceived, when too late, that he had divided
the words wrongly, and that the oracular sentence ought
to have been read thus : Domi ne stes securus,
Lxvn.
Pyrrhus admires his Enemies.
Pyrrhus was unwilling to fight till his allies arrived.
After a few days, the armies met on the banks of the
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river, and the battle commenced. One wing of the Roman
army was victorious, but the other was driven back to
the camp by the elephants of Pyrrhus. The Romans
fought very bravely, but were unable to withstand the
second charge of the enemy. They took to flight, and on
that account have been accused of cowardice. Pyrrhus
gained a complete victory, and took the enemy's camp
without resistance. On the following day he visited the
field of battle, and, seeing the bodies of the Romans
turned towards the enemy, he pronounced them brave
men. Having delayed a few days, he returned to Ta-
rentum.
LXVIII*
Battle of Lake Regillus.
Now they knew at Rome that the armies had joined
battle, and as the day wore away all men longed for
tidings. And the sun went down, and suddenly there
were seen in the forum two horsemen, taller and fairer
than the tallest and fairest of men, and they rode on white
horses, and they were as men just come from the battle,
and their horses were all bathed in foam. They alighted
by the Temple of Vesta, where a spring of water bubbles
up from the ground, and fills a small deep pool Here
they washed away the stains of the battle, and when men
crowded round them, and asked for tidings, they told
them how the battle had been fought, and how it was
won. Then they mounted their horses, and rode from
the forum, and were seen no more, and men sought for
them in every place, but found them not
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LXIX.
A Cold Shoulder.
The Prince de Cond6 once thought himself offended
by the Abb6 de Voisenon : Voisenon heard this, and went
to court to exculpate himself. As soon as the Prince saw
him, he turned away from him. * Thank God ! ' said Voi-
senon, * I have been misinformed, Sir ; your Highness
does not treat me as if I was an enemy.' * How do you
see that, Mr. Abb6 ? ' said his Highness, coldly, over his
shoulder. * Because, Sir,' answered the Abb6, * your High-
ness never turns your back upon an enemy.' * My dear
Abb6,' exclaimed the Prince, turning round and taking
him by the hand, * it is quite impossible^ for any man to be
angry with you ; ' and so ended his Highnesses animosity.
^ ' It is imposs3>le that' : nonJiiripoUsi ttt
LXX.
Piety*
Papirius was encamped over against the Samnites ; and
perceiving that, if he fought, victory was certain, he de-
sired the omens to be taken. The fowls refused to peck ;
but the chief soothsayer, observing the eagerness of the
soldiers to fight, reported to the consul that the auspices
were favourable. But some among the soothsayers di-
vulged to certain of the soldiers that the fowls had not
pecked. This was told to Spurius Papirius, who reported
it to the consul ; but the latter straightway bade him mind
his own business, for that so far as he himself and the
army were concerned, the auspices were fair. It so
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chanced that, as they advanced against the enemy, the
chief soothsayer was killed by a spear thrown by a Roman
soldier; when the consul heard this, he said, 'All goes
well ; for by the death of this liar the army is purged of
blame.'
TiXXT,
Impiety.
But an opposite course was taken by Appius Pulcher,
in Sicily, in the first Carthaginian war. For desiring to
join battle, he bade the soothsayers take the auspices, and
on their announcing that the fowls refused to feed, he
answered, ' Let us see, then, whether they will drink ; *
and, so saying, caused them to be thrown into the sea.
After which he fought and was defeated. For this ht
was condemned at Rome, while Papirius was honoured ;
not so much because the one had gained while the other
had lost a battle, as because in their treatment of the
auspices the one had behaved discreetly, the other with
rashness*
T.XXTI,
Newton and his Dog.
Sir Isaac Newton, the great philosopher, was so dis-
tinguished for his cool and even temper, that he remained
calm and undisturbed under the greatest provocation.
The following story is told of him. He had a favourite
little dog, which he called Diamond. Being one evening
called out of his study into the next room, the dog was
left behind. The philosopher, on returning after a few
minutes' absence, had the mortification to^ find that
Diamond had overturned a lighted candle among some
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papers, the nearly finished labours of many years, which
were now reduced to ashes. Instead' of getting into a
rage, however, and punishing the dog, he restrained his
anger, and said in a sorrowful but quiet tone : ' O Dia-
mond, Diamond, little do you know the mischief you
have done!'
^ ' had the mortificatioii ' : say cum magna stto dolon, ' ' In*
stead of : say ' yet did not he . • • but*
iiXxm*
A good old Tory.
Cato was unfortunate enough to live at a time when
avarice, luxury, and ambition prevailed at Rome, when
religion and the laws were disregarded, and when the
whole appearance of the state was so changed and dis-
figured that if one of the former generation had risen
from the dead he would hardly have recognised the Roman
people. Cato was one of a few who supported the cause
of virtue, who could neither be allured by promises nor
terrified by threats, and who would not flatter the great
at the expense of the truth. Though his countrymen
were too depraved to be influenced by his example, they
could not do otherwise than admire him in their hearts.
IiXXIV,
The Caudine Forks.
Two years later the two consuls, Titus Veturius and
Spurius Posthumius, were marching into Campania, when
the Samnite commander, Pontius, sent forth people dis-
guised as shepherds to entice them into a narrow moun-
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tain pass near the city of Caudium, with only one way
out, which the Samnites blocked up with trunks of trees.
As soon as the Romans were within this place, the other
end was blocked in the same way, and thus they were all
closed up at the mercy of their enemies* What was to be
done with them ? asked the Samnites ; and they went
to consult old Herennius, the wisest man in the nation.
* Either kill them all,' said he, 'or let them all go free.'
Asked to explain what he meant, he said that to release
them generously would be to make them friends and allies
for ever; but if the war was to go on, the best thing for
Samnium would be to destroy such a number of enemies
at a blow.
LXXV.
The Romans pass under the Yoke.
Pontius placed two spears in the ground and laid a
third across them. Under this * yoke ' the Roman army
was led with its two consuls, four legates, and twelve
tribunes. But when the messengers reached Rome, the
whole people was moved with anger and shame. The
senate declared that they, who alone had power to make
treaties, had had no part in the transaction. The consuls
were afraid to assume their insignia. Twice was a dictator
nominated, and twice the augurs refused their assent.
Nothing was done until the interrex named Cursor and
Philo for the consulship. Then Postumius begged the
people to reject the treaty which he himself had made :
but he added that the leader who had erred must be
surrendered to the Samnites. Accordingly, when he had
been led by heralds into the enemy's camp, he struck
one of them on the head, and exclaimed, 'I am no longer
a Roman but a Samnite.'
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LXXVI.
Eloquence of Cicero.
Ligarius, a Roman citizen, had attached himself to the
interests and fortimes of Pompey, and after his death had
retired, with Scipio, into Africa. He did everything in his
power against Caesar, who was informed of the whole by
Tubero, and who, in consequence, conceived so great an
aversion against Ligarius, that he thought only of revenge.
Cicero undertook the defence of Ligarius ; and although
Caesar at first absolutely refused to listen to him, the
other, who was not to be disconcerted by the first rebuff,
at last prevailed on him to listen to his justification. Caesar,
in fact, entertained no doubt that he would be able to prove
his guilt by undoubted documents, and that Cicero would
be unable to make any reply. But before Cicero had
finished his defence of Ligarius, the letters and memorials
had insensibly dropped from the hand of Caesar; he
changed his colour, his resolution, as if he had been under
the influence of some charm, and not only granted a free
pardon to Ligarius, but admitted him into the list of his
particular friends.
TiXXVUL
Ccesar approaches Britain. ''
From his ship Caesar perceived the rocks covered with
armed men. At this spot the sea was so close to the
clifis that a dart thrown from the heights could reach the
beach. The place appeared to him in no respect con-
venient for landing. Caesar cast anchor, and waited in
vain till the ninth hour for the arrival of the vessels which
were delayed. In the interval he called together his lieu-
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tenants and the tribunes of the soldiers, communicated to
them his plan, as well as the information brought by
Volusenus, and urged upon them the execution of h^
orders instantaneously, on a simple sign, as maritime war
required, in which the manoeuvres must be as rapid as
they are varied. It is probable that Caesar had till then
kept secret the point of landing.
Lxxvin.
A Head of Gold.
Turgot came one day to visit Voltaire in the house of
the Marquis de Villette, when he was so much tormented
by the gout that he had not the free use of his limbs.
* Ah, M. Turgot,' said Voltaire, addressing him, * how do
you do ? ' * I can scarcely walk for pain.' * Gentlemen,'
cried Voltaire, with enthusiasm, * I never see M. Turgot
but I think I see Nebuchadnezzar's image.' *Yes,' an-
swered the Minister, 'feet of clay.' 'And the head of
gold, the head of gold ! ' replied Voltaire.
LXXIX.
A Noble Roman Matron.
This tardy gratitude consoled Cornelia, who retained in
a distant retirement the memory of the greatness both of
her parents and her offspring. In her dwelling on the
promontory of Misenum, surrounded by the envoys of
kings and the representatives of Grecian literature, she
rejoiced in recounting to her admiring visitors the life and
death of her noble children, without shedding a tear, but
speaking calmly of them, as heroes of ancient days. Only
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she would conclude her account of her father Africanus
with the words : * The grandchildren of this great man
were my sons. They perished in the temples and groves
of the gods. They deserved to fall in those holy spots,
for they gave their lives for the noblest end, the happiness
of the people.'
LXXX,
A Multitude without a Head.
When Virginia died by her father's hand, the com-
mons of Rome withdrew under arms to the Sacred HilL
Whereupon the senate sent messengers to demand by
what sanction they had deserted their commanders and
assembled there in arms. And in such reverence was the '^
authority of the senate held, that the commons, lacking
leaders, durst make no reply. * Not,' says Titus Livius,
* that they were at a loss what to answer, but because
they had none to answer for them ; ' words which clearly
show how helpless a thing is the multitude when without
ahead.
LXXXT.
Johnson on Scottish Scenery.
Mr. Ogilvie was unlucky enough to choose for the topic
of his conversation the praises of his native country. He
began with saying that there was very rich land around
Edinburgh. Goldsmith, who had studied physic there,
contradicted this, very untruly, with a sneering laugh.
Disconcerted a little by this, Mr. Ogilvie then took a new
ground, where he probably thought himself perfectly safe ; >^
for he observed that Scotland had a great many noble
wild prospects. * I believe, sir,' said Johnson, * you have
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a great many ; Norway, too, has noble wild prospects ;
and Lapland is remarkable for prodigious noble wild
prospects ; but, sir, let me tell you, the noblest prospect
which a Scotchman ever sees is the high road that leads
him to England.'
LXXXII.
WomatCs Love.
Queen Elizabeth loved the Earl of Essex so dearly,
that in a tender moment she gave him a ring, telling him,
that if he ever should be guilty of undertaking anything
against the state worthy of death, he had only to send to
her that ring in order to ensure his pardon. The Earl of
Essex some time afterward fell in love with another lady,
engaged in treasonable practices, and was condemned to
death. In the last extremity, he intrusted the ring to this
lady to be conveyed to Elizabeth. As the lady knew the
secret connected with the ring, she preferred keeping it
and allowing her lover to be beheaded/ to running the
risk of seeing him unfaithful.
TiXXXTII,
Why should not Plebeians be Consuls F
To such language as this the tribunes might have re-
plied by denying that its principle was applicable to the
particular point at issue ; they might have urged that the
admission of the commons to the consulship was not
against the original and unalterable laws of the Romans,'
inasmuch as strangers had been admitted even to be
kings at Rome; and the good king Servius, whose
memory was so fondly cherished by the people, was,
according to one tradition, not only a stranger by birth.
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but a slave. And further, they might have answered that
the law of intermarriage between the patricians and
commons was a breaking down of the distinction of
orders, and implied that there was no such difference
between them as to make it profane in either to exercise
the functions of the other.
LXXXIV.
Exploit of P. Deems Mus.
In this almost hopeless danger, one of the military tri-
bunes, Publius Decius Mus, discovered a little hill above
the enemy's camp, and asked leave to lead a small body
of men to seize it, since he would be likely thus to draw
off the Samnites, and while they were destroying him,
as he fully expected, the Romans could get out of the
valley. Hidden by the wood, he gained the hill, and
there the Samnites saw him, to their great amazement ;
and while they were considering whether to attack him,
the other Romans were able to march out of the valley.
Finding he was not attacked, Decius set guards, and,
when night came on, marched down again as quietly as
possible to join the army, who were now on the other
side of the Samnite camp.
LXXXV.
A Fair Exchange.
Brebeuf, when young, had no taste for any author but
Horace. One of his friends, named Gautier, on the con-
trary, liked nothing but Lucan. This preference was the
cause of frequent disputes. To put an end to these, at
last they agreed that each should read the poem which
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his companion preferred, examine it, and estimate its
merits impartially. This was done: and the consequence
was that Gautier, having read Horace, was so delighted
with him that he scarcely ever left him ; while Brebeuf,
enchanted with Lucan, gave himself up so wholly to the
study of his manner, that he carried it to a greater extent
than Lucan himself, as is evident from the translation of
that poem which he has left us in French verse.
IiXZXVI.
Hannibal receives a check.
Day dawned ; the main army broke up from its camp,
and began to enter the defile ; while the natives, finding
their positions occupied by the enemy, at first looked on
quietly, and offered no disturbance to the march. But
when they saw the long narrow line of the Carthaginian
army winding along the steep mountain side, and the
cavalry and baggage-cattle struggling, at every step, with
the difficulties of the road, the temptation to plunder was
too strong to be resisted ; and from many points of the
mountain, above the road, they rushed down upon the
Carthaginians. The confusion was terrible; for the
track was so narrow, that the least crowding or disorder
pushed the heavily-loaded baggage-cattle down the steep
below ; and the horses, wounded by the barbarians' mis-
siles, and plunging about wildly in their pain and terror,
increased the mischief.
LXXXVII.
Louis the Just.
When Louis the XIL was raised to the throne, and many
were apprehensive of punishment for the outrages they
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had committed against him mider the government of La
Dame de Beaujeu, when he was Duke of Orleans, he
declared, 'That the King of France did not remember
the injuries of the Duke of Orleans.' This was assuredly
a noble sentiment, and worthy of a king, whose virtues
deservedly acquired him the surname of the Just, and
the title of Father of his Country. But it has not, I think,
been observed, that the Emperor Hadrian had said nearly
the same thing, though not in the same words. Shortly
after his elevation* he met with one who had been among
his chief enemies while a subject, and said, * Fellow, you
are safe, for I am Emperor.*
> 'after his elevation * : say * after he was made emperor.'
LXXXVIIL
The Tall Poppies.
Rome was at war with the city of Gabii, and as the city
was not to be subdued by force, Tarquin tried treachery.
His eldest son, Sextus Tarquinus, fled to Gabii, com-
plaining of ill-usage by his father, and showing marks of
a severe scourging. The Gabians believed him, and he
was soon so much trusted by them as to have the whole
command of the army, and manage everjrthing in the
city. Then he sent a messenger to his father to ask
what he was to do next. When the messenger arrived,
it chanced that Tarquin was walking through a corn-
field. He made no answer in words, but with a switch
cut off the heads of all the poppies and taller stalks of
com, and bade the messenger tell Sextus what he had
seen. Sextus understood, and contrived to get all the
chief men of Gabii exiled or put to death, and without
them the city fell an easy prey to the Romans.
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T.XXXTX.
Ccesar refuses a Diadem.
Caesar was in his chair, in his consular purple, wearing
a wreath of bay, wrought in gold. The honour of the
wreath was the only distinction which he had accepted
from the Senate with pleasure. He retained a remnant
of youthful vanity, and the twisted leaves concealed his
baldness. Antony, his colleague in the consulship, ap*
proached with a diadem, and placed it on Caesar's head,
saying, 'The people give you this by my hand.' He
answered in a loud voice 'that the Romans had no king
but God,* and ordered that the diadem should be taken
to the Capitol and placed on the statue of Jupiter. The
crowd burst into an enthusiastic cheer ; and an inscrip-
tion on a brass tablet recorded that the Roman people
had offered Caesar the crown by the hands of the consul,
and that Caesar had refused it
XO.
Proposed to migrate to Veit.
When Veii fell, the commons of Rome took up the
notion that it would be to the advantage of their city
were half their number to go and dwell there. For they
argued that ^ as Veii lay in a fertile country and was a well-
built city, a moiety of the Roman people might in this way
be enriched ; while, by reason of its vicinity to Rome, the
management of civil affairs would in no degree be affected.
To the senate, however, and the wiser among the citizens,
the scheme appeared so rash and mischievous that they
publicly declared that they would die sooner than consent
to it The controversy continuing, the commons grew
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so inflamed against the senate that violence and blood-
shed must have ensued, had not the senate for their
protection put forward certain old and esteemed citizens,
respect for whom restrained the populace and put a stop
to their violence.
^ Omit 'they argued that/ and simply put the passage into
Oratio Obliqua,
XCI.
Superiority of the Roman Infantry.
By many arguments and instances it can be clearly
established that in their military enterprises the Romans
set far more store on ^ their infantry than on their cavalry,
and trusted to the former to carry out all the chief objects
which their armies were meant to effect Among many
other examples of this, we may notice the great battle
which they fought with the Latins near the lake Regillus,
where to steady their wavering ranks they made their
horsemen dismount, and renewing the combat on foot
obtained a victory. Here we see plainly that the Romans
had more confidence in themselves when they fought
on foot than when they fought on horseback The same
expedient was resorted to by them in many of their other
battles, and dlways in their sorest need they found it their
surest stay.
^ For 'set more store on ' say * estimated at a higher value.'
xcn.
A Traitor Schoolmaster.
While the Romans were besieging the city of Falerii,
a schoolmaster contrived to lead the children of the
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principal men of the city into the Roman camp. The
novelty of such baseness smprised the Roman com-
mander, and he so much abhorred it, that he immediately
ordered the arms of the traitor to be tied, and giving each
of the scholars a whip, bade them whip their master back
to the city, and then return to their parents. The bo3rs
executed their task so well in this instance, that the wretch
died under their blows as they entered the city. The
generosity of the Romans touched the Faliscans so
sensibly, that the next day they submitted themselves to
the Romans on honourable terms.
XCIII.
The Retort Pointed,
One of the most pointed and severe satires that per-
haps ever was uttered, was made by Professor Porson,
a short time before his death. He was in a mixed
company, among which were many eminent literary
characters. A certain poet, who had a very high opinion
of his own talents, was one of the company, and when
the conversation turned on some of his productions, he
began, as usual, to extol their merits. * I will tell you,
sir,* said Mr. Porson, *what I think of your poetical
works : they will be read when Shakespeare's and
Milton's are forgotten (at this every eye was instantly
upon the Professor) ; but not till then /'
XCIV.
Barest thou kill Caius Marius?
Then the council decided on his death, and sent a
soldier to kill him ; but the fierce old man stood glaring at
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him and said, 'Darest thou kill Caius Marius?' The
man was so frightened that he ran away, crying out, ' I
cannot kill Caius Marius.' The Senate of Mintumae took
this as an omen, and remembered besides that he had
been a good friend to the Italians, so they conducted him
through a sacred grove to the sea, and sent him off to
Africa. On landing, he sent his son to ask shelter from
one of the Numidian princes, and, while waiting for an
answer, received a message from a Roman officer of low
rank, forbidding his presence in Africa. He made no
reply till the messenger pressed to know what to say to
his master. Then the old man looked up, and sternly an-
swered, ' Say that thou hast seen Caius Marius sitting in
the ruins of Carthage.'
xcv.
Idleness breeds Corruption.
It is related that the Romans, after defeating on two
different occasions armies of the Samnites sent to succour
the Capuans, being desirous to return to Rome, left
behind two legions to defend the Capuans, that the latter
might not, from being altogether deprived of protection,
once more become a prey to the Samnites. But these
two legions, rotting in idleness, began to take such delight
therein, that, forgetful of their country and the reverence
due to the senate, they resolved to seize by violence the
city they were bound to guard. For to them it seemed
that the citizens of Capua were unworthy to enjoy ad-
vantages which they knew not how to defend. The
Romans, however, getting timely notice of this design, at
once met and defeated it
Macftiawlli,
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XOVI.
Wotnen in their right plaa.
When the battle had come to a standstill, and Romans
and Sabines were facing each other and ready to begin
the battle afresh, behold, the Sabine women rushed
between the combatants, praying their fathers and
brothers on the one side, and their husbands on the
other, to end the bloody strife or to turn their arms
against themselves, the cause of the slaughter. Then the
chiefs on each side came forward and consulted together
and made peace ; and to put an end to all disputes they
decided to make one people of the Romans and Sabines,
and to live peaceably together as citizens <^ one town.
Thus the Sabines remained in Rome, and the city was
doubled in size and in the number of its inhabitants,
and Titus Tatius, the Sabine king, reigned jointly with
Romulus.
xcvn.
A Conscientious Boy.
A certain king, while walking to the city with one of
his noblemen, happened to meet a boy who was collecting
some sticks from the trees which grew here and there
on the road-side. The king asked him why he hesitated
to go into the neighbouring forest, where he would find
abundance of wood. The boy replied that it was the
king's forest, and that a proclamation had been made
by the king that no one was to enter the wood either to
collect wood or for any other purpose. The king laughed,
and said that was of little consequence : no one would
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know whether he entered the wood or no. At this the
boy marvelled, thinkmg the other must be a bad man for
advising him to break the law. He therefore refused to
act upon the suggestion made to him ; and added, ' Be
ashapied of having attempted to make a poor boy do
wrong/ The good-natured monarch was so far from being
angry at the boy's impertinence that he sent for him the
next day, and handsomely rewarded Imn.
xcvm.
A Strict Father.
The following year, Manlius, in order to restore military
discipline, ordered that no one should leave his station to
fight By chance his son had approached the camp of
the enemy ; and the commander of the Latin cavalry, on
recognising the consul's son, said ' Will you fight with me
to show how much a Latin horseman excels a Roman ? '
Forgetful of the general's order, the youth rushes to the
conflict, and slays the Latin. Having collected the spoils,
he returns to his father. The consul at once sununons
the troops, and addresses his son as follows : ' Since thou,
my son, hast not obeyed the order of the consul, it behoves
you to restore discipline by punishment Go, lictor, bind
him to the stake.' His head was then cut off by the lictor
with an axe.
XCIX.
' Hannibal encourages his Men;
When Hannibal had arrived at the foot of the Alps, and
saw that the soldiers feared the exceedingly difficult and
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dangerous march, he summoned an assembly and ad-
dressed it as follows (use Oratio Redd) : ' It has grieved
me to see that your hearts are not filled with the courage
of my own, otherwise they would not be thus paralysed
by a sudden terror; hearts, too, ever before undaunted.
For twenty years you have served victoriously ; you did
not leave Spain imtil all the countries embraced by the
two seas belonged to the Carthaginians : then, in indigna-
tion at the Roman demand that all who had besieged
Saguntum should be delivered up to them, you crossed
the Ebro, in order to blot out the Roman name from the
face of the earth, and to restore freedom to the world.'
and bids them not fear the Alps.
* For what are the Alps but exceedingly high moun-
tains ? There is no spot on earth that reaches up to the
sky, or Is impassable to human daring and endurance. The
Alps are inhabited; they produce and support living
creatures ; being passable to individuals, why do you
deem them impassable for an army? To the soldier,
who carries with him only implements of war, nothing is
insurmountable. How great the danger, how infinite the
exertions you endured for eight months, in the struggle
to take Saguntum ! If you had had no more patience
then than you show now, you would never have taken
that city. Yield then the palm of courage to the Gauls
and Romans, or else resolve that the Tiber only shall be
the goal of your march. Once across the Alps and you
are in Italy. Will you go forward, my men, or will you
not?'
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CI.
The Language of Diplomacy,
During the war between England and Spain, in the
time of Queen Elizabeth, commissioners on both sides
were appointed to treat for peace. The Spanish Com-
missioners proposed that the negotiations should be
carried on in the French tongue*, observing sarcastically
that * the gentlemen of England could not be ignorant of
the language of their fellow-subjects, their Queen being
Queen of France as well as England.' *Nay, in faith,
gentlemen,' replied one of the English Commissioners,
* the French is too vulgar for a business of this import-
ance; we will therefore, if you please, rather treat in
Hebrew, for since your master styles himself King of
Jerusalem, you must of course be as well skilled in
Hebrew as we are in French.'
* 'To speak Latin, Greek,* &c. is Latim^ Gnm$j ioqtti.
cn.
From Saguntum to Cannas.
Hannibal marched from Spain with a large army into
Italy across the Alps. When he had defeated the Romans
at the river Trebia, he passed into Etruria. Flaminius,
having been made consul by the Romans, thought that
his soldiers would be cowards if they should allow Han-
nibal to do injury to the allies. Therefore having followed
Hannibal, Flaminius was deceived by an ambush and
perished with all his soldiers at Lake Thrasymenus. But
the Romans, although alarmed by the victories of the
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Carthaginians, were still desirous of figftthtg^^an^ having
despised the advice of Fabius, they made Varro general,
a man of foolish rashness, but beloved by the common
people.
era,
CcBsar crosses the Rhine.
Having finished the German War, Caesar resolved for
many reasons that he must cross the Rhine, a very broad,
deep, and rapid river, which divides Gaul from Germany.
His strongest reason was that, seeing the Germans were
so easily induced to make inroads into Gaul, he wished to
show them that the Romans hath both the power and the
courage to carry the war into their country. Accordingly,
he made the necessary preparations, and, considering it
neither safe, nor suitable to his own dignity and that of the
Roman people, to make the passage in boats, he caused a
bridge to be constructed over the river, by which to trans-
p>ort his troops. Having placed a strong guard at either
end of the bridge, he marched the rest of his army with all
possible spetd into the territories of the Sygambri.
CIV.
What is an Enemy?
A Chinese emperor was told that his enemies had
raised an insurrection against him in one of his distant
provinces. *Come, then, my friends,' said he, 'follow
me, and I promise you that I will quickly destroy them.'
He marched against his rebellious subjects, but they sub-
mitted on his approach. All now expected that he would
take the most signal revenge upon them. Instead of
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doing so, however, the captives were treated with mild-
ness and humanity. ' How is this ? * exclaimed his chief
minister ; * you gave your royal word that your enemies
should be destroyed ; and, behold, you have pardoned
them all, and even bestowed favours upon some of them.'
*I promised,' replied the emperor, *to destroy my
enemies, and I have kept my word ; for see, they are
enemies no longer : I have made friends of them.'
CV.
Stratagem of Septimuleius.
After the Romans had nearly exhausted themselves
in fruitless efforts to break through the barbarian line,
their leader Septimuleius bethought himself of a stratagem
which seemed to offer a last hope of safety. He com-
manded a soldier to set fire to the baggage, in order to
excite the cupidity of the Germans and distract their at-
tention from the battle. The night was already approach-
ing, and no sooner did the barbarians behold the rapidly
spreading blaze, than they feared that the rich boo^
would be torn from their grasp. They began therefore to
be less eager for the fight ; whole ranks soon abandoned
the unprofitable toil of conflict, and rushed to the burning
pile. Hermann sought first by threats and then by
prayers to restrain his men. Let them only endure, he
said, a little longer : within an hour every man of the
hated race would meet with the death which he had
deserved, while they themselves would win eternal fame ;
nor was it right that at such a moment they should think
of gain, while battling for the freedom of their father-
land.
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CVI.
War with Veiu
Violent dissensions breaking out in Rome between the
commons and the nobles, it appeared to the Veientines
and Etruscans that now was their time to deal a fatal blow
to the Roman supremacy. Accordingly, they assembled
an army and invaded the territories of Rome. The senate
sent Caius Manlius and Marcus Fabius to meet them,
whose forces encamping close by the Veientines, the latter
ceased not to reproach and vilify the Roman name with
every sort of taunt and abuse, and so incensed the Romans
by their unmeasured insolence that from being divided
they became reconciled, and giving the enemy battle,
broke and defeated them. The Veientines imagined that
they could conquer the Romans by attacking them while
they were at feud among themselves ; but this very attack
reunited the Romans and brought ruin on their assailants.
ovn.
A Consul insulted at Tarentum.
Now there were two towns close to one another in that
part of the country, and it happened that a quarrel broke
out amongst the inhabitants of one of them, called Taren-
tum. This furnished the excuse which the Romans
wanted to conquer the country; so Postumius, having
been elected to the consulship, was at once despatched
by the senate with orders to complain of any wrong done
to Roman citizens. Upon his arrival, he at once pro-
ceeded to the senate-house, and would have made a
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speech : but the people laughed at his bad Greek, asked ',
him who it was that had brought him there, and told him j
to go home again. Having endured this patiently for a |
long time, he was just going away when a rude fellow
threw some dirt on him ; whereat the people only
laughed the more. Then Postumius, holding up his
white gown stained with dirt for all to see, cried out in
rage : * Laugh on now, Tarentines, but you will soon have
to weep : I tell you that this dirt will be washed white in
your blood'
cvin.
The Tarentines call in Pyrrhus.
The Romans were reluctant to engage in another war
at this time ; but, when they heard how Postumius had
been treated by the people of Tarentum, they were so I
enraged that they resolved to take vengeance on that un-
fortunate city. Accordingly, next year, one of thex:onsuls
marched against the Tarentines with a large army. The
better classes were eager to save the city by timely sub-
mission ; but the mass of the people, hating the Romans,
were ready to do or suffer anything rather than yield.
After considering what was the best course to pursue in
such perilous circumstances, it was finally decided by the
citizens of Tarentum to summon to their assistance
Pyrrhus, the celebrated King of Epirus. This prince, i
who was not only an excellent general but also a bold H
and experienced ruler, had recently failed in his attempt
to make himself master of Macedonia, and he gladly
acceded to the request of the Tarentines, in the hope that, ^
having defeated the Romans, he might conquer the whole
of Italy.
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crx.
Death of Pompey.
A great part of the voyage was accomplished, when
the deathlike silence which reigned in the ship began to
fill Pompey with uneasiness ; he attempted however to
conceal his fear by talking. So turning to Septimius, he
said, * If I mistake not, my friend, your face is known to
me ; were we not once comrades in the field ? ' Septi-
mius nodded without speaking ; and the same silence as
before prevailed, until they reached the shore. The
moment Pompey took the hand of his freedman Philip-
pus, in order to rise with the greater ease, Septimius ran
him through the body with his sword from behind. See-
ing that he could not save his life, Pompey drew his toga
over his face, and endured every stab that was inflicted
upon him with the greatest fortitude, until he fell lifeless
on the shore.
Presence of Mind.
The orator Domitius was once in great danger from an
inscription which he had put upon a statue erected by
him in honour of Caligula, wherein he had declared that
that prince was a second time consul at the age of twenty-
seven. This he intended as an encomium ; but Caligula,
taking it as a sarcasm upon his youth, and his infringe-
ment of the laws, raised a process against him, and pleaded
himself in person. Instead of making a defence, Domitius
repeated part of the emperor's speech with the highest
marks of admiration, after which he fell upon his knees,
and begging pardon, declared that he dreaded more the
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eloquence of Caligula than his imperial power. This
piece of flattery succeeded so well, that the emperor not
only pardoned, but also raised him to the consulship.
CXI*
March to Mount Algidus.
Then the master of the people and the master of the
horse went together into the forum, and bade every man
to shut up his booth, and stopped all causes at law, and
gave an order that none should look to his own affairs
till the consul and his army were delivered from the
enemy. They ordered also that every man who was of
military age should be ready in the Field of Mars before
sunset, bringing with him victuals for five days, and
twelve stakes ; and the older men dressed the victuals
for the soldiers, whilst the soldiers cut their stakes
where they would, without any hindrance. So the army
was ready at the time appointed, and they marched forth
with such haste, that ere the night was half spent they
came to Algidus.
CXIL
Hanno^s Prudent Advice.
After routing the Romans at Cannae, Hannibal sent
messengers to Carthage to announce his victory, and to
ask support A debate arising in the Carthaginian senate
as to what was to be done, Hanno, an aged and wise
citizen, advised that they should prudently take advantage
of their victory to make peace with the Romans, while as
conquerors they might have it on favourable terms, and
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not wait to make it after a defeat ; they should show the
Romans that they were strong enough to fight them, but
not to peril the victory they had won in the hope of win-
ning a greater. This advice was not followed by the
Carthaginian senate, but its wisdom was well seen later,
when the opportunity to act upon it was gone.
cxm.
Coriolanus in ExSe.
Coriolanus, having left Rome, retired to the country of
the Volsd. Here Attius Tullius, a distinguished man and
bitter enemy to the Romans, received him kindly into his
house, and formed a strong friendship with him. The
Volsdans hoped that he would assist them in their wars.
Not long afterwards, war was declared between them and
the Romans, and having divided their army into two
parts, they gave one to Coriolanus, and the other to
Attius. Coriolanus got possession of many cities, some
of which belonged to the Romans, and some to the Latins.
At length he approached Rome, and pitched his camp
five miles from the city. The plebeians were unwilling
to take up arms, and the senate sent ambassadors to the
camp to sue for peace.
CXIV*
p. Decius Mus devotes himself.
Decius, having resolved to devote himself, called out to
Manlius with a loud voice, and demanded of him how to
devote himself and what form of words he should use.
By his directions, therefore, being clothed in a long robe,
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his head covered, and his arms stretched forward, standing
upon a javelin, he devoted himself to the gods for the
safety of Rome. Then arming himself, and mounting his
horse, he rode furiously into the midst of the enemy,
striking terror wherever he came, till he fell covered with
wounds. The Roman army considered this deed as an
omen of success ; and having put the Latins to flight,
they pursued them with so great slaughter that scarcely
a fourth part of them escaped.
cxv.
C Fabrtdus and the Elephant.
The Romans wanted to treat about the prisoners
Pjrrrhus had taken, so they sent Caius Fabricius to the
Greek camp for the purpose. Kineas reported him to be
a man of no wealth, but esteemed as a good soldier and
an honest man. Pyrrhus tried to make him take large
presents, but nothing would Fabricius touch; then, in
the hope of alarming him, in the middle of a conversation
one side of the tent suddenly fell, and disclosed the
biggest of all the elephants, who waved his trunk over
Fabricius and trumpeted frightfully. The Roman quietly
turned round and smiled, as he said to the king, * I am
no more moved by your great beast than by your gold.'
At supper there was a conversation on Greek philosophy,
of which the Romans as yet knew nothing. When the
doctrine of Epicurus was mentioned, that man's life was
given to be spent in the pursuit of joy, Fabricius greatly
amused the company by crying out, * O Hercules ! grant
that the Greeks may be heartily of this mind so long as
we have to fight with them.'
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CXVI.
A Consul leads the Opposition.
Thereupon the consul declared that he, for one, would
never consent to the passing of such a measure. The
question was too important to be disposed of in so sum-
mary a manner. If the object of the measure was no
greater than could be inferred from the speeches of its
supporters, why did they not limit its operation to the
particular circumstances of time and place in which the
abuses complained of had occurred ? If the bill were
passed in its present shape, it would be impossible for
any man engaged in the most ordinary mercantile trans-
action to secure himself from a charge of fraud.
cxvn.
Pythias and Damon.
It was during the reign of Dionysius of Syracuse, when
all the noblest spirits were imprisoned or put to death,
that a certain Pythagorean philosopher, called Pythias,
amongst others, incurred the tyrant's resentment Sen-
tenced to death, and having large properties in Greece,
he entreated to be allowed to return thither to arrange
his affairs. Upon the tyrant's laughing his request to
scorn, Pythias told him he had a friend called Damon
who would stand surety for him, and who had promised
he would die in his stead should he himself not return.
Dionysius at last consented ; time went on ; no Pythias
appeared ; but Damon continued serene and content, his
trust in his friend so perfect that he did not even grieve
because he had to die for a faithless friend. At length the
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fatal hour arrived: a few minutes more, and Damon
would without doubt have been executed, had not Pythias
appeared at that very moment, and embraced his friend,
expressing great joy that he had arrived in time.
cxvm.
Trajan the Just.
The emperor Trajan would never suffer any one to be
condemned upon suspicion, however strong and well
grounded ; saying it was better that a thousand criminals
should escape unpunished, than that one innocent person
be condemned. When he appointed Subarranus Captain
of his Guards, and presented him according to custom
with a drawn sword, the badge of his office, he used these
memorable words : * Employ this sword for me, but if
I deserve it, turn it against me.' Nor would he allow his
freedmen any share in the administration. Some persons
having a suit with one of them of the name of Euryth-
mus, seemed to fear the influence of the imperial freed-
man ; but Trajan assured them that the cause should be
decided according to the strictest law of justice, adding,
* For neither is he Polycletus, nor I Nero.* Polycletus, it
will be recollected, was the freedman of Nero, and as
infamous as his master for rapine and injustice.
CXIX,
Alexandria founded.
When Alexander the Great thought to add to his
renown by founding a city, Dinocrates the architect
advised him to build it on Mount Athos ; which not only
offered a strong position, but could be so handled that
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the city built there might present the semblance of the
human form, which would be a thing strange and striking,
and worthy of so great a monarch. But on Alexander
asking how the inhabitants were to live, Dinocrates
answered that he had not thought of that Whereupon
Alexander laughed, and leaving Mount Athos as it stood,
built Alexandria ; where the fruitfulness of the soil, and
the vicinity of the Nile and the sea, might attract many
to take up their abode.
cxx.
Ccesar crushes the Veneti.
The naval battle between the forces of Caesar and the
Veneti lasted from the fourth hour till sundown, and
although the barbarians showed the greatest possible
valour, the superior skill of the Romans won the day.
Having lost their bravest warriors and all their ships, the
Veneti were so completely crushed that they were un-
able to resist any longer, and they surrendered themselves
and their possessions to Caesar. He was by nature of a
merciful disposition, and he would have been willing to
pardon the Veneti, if they had not shown themselves to
be cruel and treacherous. On this occasion he deemed
it advisable to use severity, in order that the barbarians
might learn for the future not to injure the ambassadors
of the Roman people. Accordingly the whole of the
senate was put to death, and the rest of the tribe sold
into slavery.
CXXT.
After Hastings.
Meanwhile Duke William went back to Hastings, leav-
ing a garrison in the fort which he had built there. He
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waited there some days thinking that men would come
in and bow to him, but none came. So he set out to win
the land bit by bit First he went to Ronmey. It seems
that some of his people had been there already ; perhaps
one or more of the ships had gone astray and got on
shore there. At all events there had been a fight between
some of his men and the men of Romney, in which many
were killed on both sides, but in the end the English had
driven the Frenchmen away. So Duke William now, we
are told, took from the men of Romney what penalty or
satisfaction he chose for the men whom they had killed,
as if he had been making them pay a fine. I suppose this
means that he put them all to death.
CXXTL
How to get a majority.
Gearchus, tyrant of Heraclea, being in exile, it so hap-
pened that on a feud arising between the commons and
the nobles of that city, the latter, perceiving they were
weaker than their adversaries, began to look with favour
on Clearchus, and conspiring with him, in opposition to
the popular voice, recalled him to Heraclea and deprived
the people of their freedom. Clearchus, finding himself
thus placed between the arrogance of the nobles, whom he
could in no way either satisfy or correct, and the fury of
the people, who could not put up with the loss of their
freedom, resolved to rid himself at one stroke of the
harassment of the nobles, and recommend himself to the
people. Wherefore, watching his opportunity, he caused
all the nobles to be put to death, and thus satisfied the
popular desire for vengeance.
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CXXTTT,
A True General.
His influence over his men was supreme. He knew
just what his troops could do, and would do, and when.
He led them frequently in person and they never failed
to follow. Everyone remembers the occasion when he
changed the whole course of a battle by his single pre-
sence. But he possessed the same power with indivi-
duals as with masses. A soldier, wounded under his
eyes, stumbled, and was falling to the rear, but the
General cried : ' Never mind, my man, there '» no harm
done ; ' and the soldier went on till he drop[>ed dead on
the field.
CXXIV.
The Dangers of Peac$.
After subduing Africa and Asia, and reducing nearly
the whole of Greece to submission, the Romans became
perfectly assured of their freedom, and seemed to them-
selves no longer to have any enemy to fear. But this
security and the weakness of their adversaries led them,
in conferring the consulship, no longer to look to merit,
but only to favour, selecting for the office those who
knew best how to pay court to them, not those who knew
best how to vanquish their enemies. And afterwards,
instead of selecting those who were best liked, they came
to select those who had most influence ; and in this way,
from the imperfection of their institutions, good men
came to be wholly excluded.
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cxxv.
Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee.
Dundee was obliged continually to shift his quarters
by prodigious marches, in order to avoid or harass his
enemas army, or to obtain provisions ; the first mes-
senger of his approach was generally his army in sight :
the first intelligence of his retreat brought accounts that
he was already out of the enemy's reach. If any good
thing was brought him to eat, he sent it to a faint or sick
soldier ; if a soldier was weary, he would offer to carry
his arms. It was one of his maxims, that no general
should fight with an irregular army unless he was ac-
quainted with every man he commanded. Yet, with these
habits of familiarity, the severity of his discipline was
dreadful; the only punishment he inflicted was death.
* All other punishments,' he said, * disgraced a gentleman,
and all who were with him were of that rank ; but death
was a relief from the consciousness of crimes.'
CXXVI.
Harolcts rash Advance.
Harold hastened by quick marches to reach this new
invader; but though he was reinforced at London and
other places with fresh troops, he found himself also
weakened by the desertion of his old soldiers, who from
fatigue, and discontent at Harold's refusing to divide the
Norwegian spoil among them, secretly withdrew from
their colours. His brother Gurth, a man of bravery and
conduct, began to entertain apprehensions of the event,
and remonstrated with the king that it would be better
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policy to prolong the war ; urging that, if the enemy were
harassed with small skirmishes, straitened in provisions^
and fatigued with the bad weather and deep roads during
the winter season, which was approaching, they must fall
an easy and a bloodless prey.
CXXVll.
How a Philosopher uses Victory.
When Dio had seized the town of Syracuse, and his
friends exhorted him to give the persons and property of
his enemies over to the fury of the soldiery, he answered
as follows {Oraiio Obliqua) : ' All other generals care for
nothing but the business of war and the practice of arms :
I have devoted myself for many years to the study of
philosophy, and think more of conquering anger, hatred,
and revenge than of vanquishing an enemy. This is a
victory which is won not by a courteous attitude towards
friends, but by a spirit of forgiveness and gentleness
towards one's enemies. I believe I shall gain more by
mercy than by rigour.'
CXXVIII.
A Candid Courtier.
It is said that Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, was a
fluent writer of verse, and that he prided himself more on
his literary achievements than on his military successes.
The poet Philoxenus, however, who had heard some of
these verses read aloud, frankly avowed that he enter-
tained a poor opinion of them. The result was that he
was ordered off to the stone quarries, which served as a
kind of public prison at Syracuse. He was subsequently
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pardoned, and again admitted to the king's table. The
tyrant once more read a trifle which he had composed
to Philoxenus, and handing him the poem asked him to
give his opinion of it * Surely/ he thought, * the fear
of the prison will make him give me a word of praise.'
Philoxenus made no answer, but calling the officers, re-
quested them to take him straight off to the stone quarries.
Nor did his wit and courage meet with punishment.
Francis I, surprises Italy.
When Francis I. of France in the year 1515 resolved
on invading Italy in order to recover the province of
Lombardy, those hostile to his attempt looked mainly to
the Swiss, who it was hoped would stop him in passing
through their mountains. But this hope was disappointed
by the event For leaving on one side two or three de-
files which were guarded by the Swiss, the king advanced
by another unknown pass, and was in Italy and upon
his enemies before they knew. Whereupon they fled
terror-stricken into Milan ; while the whole population of
Lombardy, finding themselves deceived in their expecta-
tion that the French would be detained in the mountains,
went over to their side.
cxxx.
An Infallible Storm-Gauge.
A Jesuit, who had been particularly recommended to the
captain of a vessel, was sailing from France to America.
The captain, who saw that a storm was approaching, said
to himi ' Father, you are not accustomed to the rolling of
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a vessel, you had better get down as fast as possible into
the hold. As long as you hear the sailors swearing and
blaspheming, you may be assured that there are good
hopes : but if you should hear them embracing and re-
conciling themselves to each other, you may make up
your accounts with heaven.' As the storm increased, the
Jesuit, from time to time, dispatched his companion to
the hatchway to see how matters went on deck. ' Alas !
Father,' said he, returning, ' all is lost, the sailors are
swearing like demoniacs; their very blasphemies are
enough to sink the vesseL'— ^Ohl heaven be praised,'
said the Jesuit, ' then all is welL'
CXXXL
Leather Money,
Lycurgus, the founder of the Spartan Republic, did
all he could to prevent intercourse with strangers ; with
which object, besides refusing these the right to marry,
the right of citizenship, and all such other social rights
as induce men to become members of a community, he
ordained that in this republic of his the only money
current should be of leather, so that none might be
tempted to repair thither to trade or to carry on any art
Under such circumstances the number of the inhabitants
of that State could never much increase. For as all our
actions imitate nature, and it is not possible that a puny
stem should carry a great branch, so a small republic can-
not assume control over cities or countries stronger than
herself; or, doing so, will resemble the tree whose boughs
being greater than its trunk, are supported with difficulty,
and snapped by every gust of wind.
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OXXXII.
Murder will out.
In the dead of night his friend appeared to him in his
sleep and begged him for help against the host, who was
about to murder him. He rose, but seeing nothing, lay
down again. Again the vision of his friend presented
itself, praying him that, since he had not come to his aid
while alive, he should at any rate not suffer his death to
be unavenged : he related that he had been murdered by
the host and cast upon a cart, and that his body had
been covered with manure. He besought him to be pre-
sent next morning early at the city gate, before the cart
left the town. Deeply agitated by the vision, he did as he
was bidden, and on seeing a cart there asked the driver
what was in it ; the latter fled in terror, and beneath the
heap of manure the dead body was discovered.
cxxxm.
A Sentinel surprised.
On the night after the dreadful battle of Areola, Buona-
parte disguised himself in the dress of an inferior officer,
and traversed the camp. In the course of his round
he discovered a sentinel leaning on the butt end of his
musket, in a profound sleep. Buonaparte, taking the
musket from under him, placed his head gently on the
ground and kept watch for two hours in his stead ; at the
end of which the regular guard came to relieve him. On
awakening, the soldier was at first astonished ; but when
he recognised the commander-in-chief, his astonishment
was converted into terror. * The General 1 ' he exclaimed ;
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* I am then undone.' Buonaparte, with the utmost gentle-
nesSy replied, *Not so, fellow soldier; recover yourself ;
after so much fatigue, a brave man like you may be
allowed for a while to sleep ; but, in future, choose your
time better.'
CX3CXIV.
Military Discipline.
In the course of a war against Austria, Frederick the
Great, afraid lest his place of encampment should be
discovered to the enemy, had ordered that every light
should be put out by a certain hour. Anyone disobeying
the order was to be put to death. To find out whether
commands were being obeyed, the king one night passed
all through the camp ; and on seeing a light burning in
one of the tents, he pushed aside the curtain which served
for a door, and went in. He there found an officer seated
at a table, about to seal a letter which he had just written.
The king sternly asked why he had disobeyed his order :
the officer replied that he had been writing a short letter,
in anticipation of next day's battle, to his wife. ' By
all means despatch your letter,' said the King ; * but before
closing it, add the following words : " By the time you
receive this letter, I shall be put to death for disobeying
the king's commands." '
cxxxv.
Trajan the Just.
As Trajan was once setting out for Rome, at the head
of a numerous army, to make war in Wallachia, he was
suddenly accosted by a woman, who called out in a
pathetic but bold tone, * To Trajan I appeal for justice ! '
Although the emperor was pressed by the affairs of a most
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urgent war, he instantly stopped, and alighting fh)m his
horse, heard the suppliant state the cause of her com-
plaint. She was a poor widow, and had been left with
an only son, who had been foully murdered ; she had sued
for justice on his murderers, but had been unable to obtain
it Trajan, having satisfied himself of the truth of her
statements, decreed her on the spot the satisfaction which
she demanded, and sent the mourner away comforted. So
much was this action admired, that it was afterwards
represented on the pillar erected to Trajan's memory, as
one of the most resplendent instances of his goodness.
OXXXVI.
Wealth is not always Strength.
We are told that Croesus, king of Lydia, after showing
Solon the Athenian much besides, at last displayed to
him the boundless riches of his treasiu-e-house, and asked
him what he thought of his power. Whereupon Solon
answered that he thought him no whit more powerful in
respect of these treasures, for as war is made with iron
and not with gold, another coming with more iron might
carry oflF his gold. Again, we hear how, after the death
of Alexander the Great, a tribe of Gauls, passing through
Greece on their way into Asia, sent envoys to the King of
Macedonia to treat for terms of accord ; when the king, to
dismay them by a display of his resources, showed them
great store of gold and silver. But these barbarians,
when they saw all this wealth, were so anxious to possess
it, that though before they had looked on peace as settled,
they broke oflF the negotiations ; and thus the king was
ruined by those very treasures he had amassed for his
defence.
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CXXXVIL
The King hears of Beckefs Death.
The king had gone to an upland town called Argenton.
The night before the news arrived (so ran the story), an
aged inhabitant of Argenton was startled in his sleep by
a scream rising as if from the ground, and forming itself
into these portentous words : ' Behold, my blood cries
from the earth more loudly than the blood of righteous
Abel, who was killed at the beginning of the world.' The
old man, on the following day, was discussing with his
friend what this could mean, when suddenly the tidings
arrived that Becket had been slain at Canterbury. When
the King heard it, he instantly shut himself up for three
days, refused all food except milk, vented his grief in
frantic lamentations, and csdled God to witness that he
was in no way responsible for the Archbishop's death,
tmless that he loved him too little. He continued in this
solitude for five weeks, neither riding nor transacting
public business, but exclaiming again and again, ' Alas !
alas ! that it ever happened !'
cxxxvin.
WaUenstein.
Wallenstein had no suspicion of the conspiracy which
was being formed against his life. In the full confidence
that his indulgence and benevolence had won over all his
enemies, he had dismissed his body-guard and retired to
the privacy of the BQrgermeister's house, where he spent a
short time in peace and quiet. But his energetic spirit
could not rest content with the eminence which his
successful career had already reached; he therefore
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determined, in his eagerness to have a hand in some
great and important enterprise, to renew the war on his
own account; and commenced making the necessary
preparations. He sent sixteen thousand men into Saxony,
and took all means to secure his position in Austria during
his absence. His friends, convinced that he was aiming
at the throne, thought that an opportunity had now come
of gaining it for him.
CXXXIX.
The Child Father to the Man.
Wordsworth says that * the child is father to the man ; '
and the following anecdote of Peter Gassendi, the great
French astronomer, shews that in his case at least the
saying came true. Even in his childhood he was fond of
watching the movements of the heavenly bodies ; he
would often rise out of his bed by night to see the moon
and stars moving across the sky. One evening, when
Peter was walking with two or three companions about
the same age as himself, the full moon was shining in
the sky, and a great many thin clouds were drifting
before the wind. The other boys argued that it was the
clouds that stood still, and that it was the moon that
moved. Young Peter insisted that it was not the moon
that moved, but that the clouds were being driven by the
wind. The dispute was kept up for a good while. At
last Peter took his companions under a tree, and bade
them look up at the moon through the branches. They
now saw that the moon seemed to stand still between
the same leaves and branches, while the clouds passed
quickly over the tree and disappeared from their view.
They thus saw that Peter was in the right, and that they
were entirely in the wrong.
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CXL.
A Navy buUt in Sixty Days.
The quinquereme was not merely twice as large as a
trireme, but was of a different build and construction. It
was necessary, therefore, to obtain either shipwrights or a
model from some nation to which such moving castles had
been long familiar. Here chance was on the side of the
Romans. A Carthaginian quinquereme had run ashore
on the coast of Bruttium two or three years before, and
had fallen into the hands of the Romans. This served as
a model ; and it is asserted by more than one writer that
within sixty days a growing wood was felled and trans-
formed into a fleet of a hundred ships of the line and
twenty triremes. The next difficulty was to find men for
the fleet, and when they had been found, to train them for
their duties.
CXLI.
Defeat turned into Victory.
The battle raged with great fury, and victory was
already doubtful, when the R^ja of Anhalwdra arrived
with a strong reinforcement to the Hindtis. This unex-
pected addition to their enemies so dispirited the Mussul-
mans that they began to waver, when Mahmud, who had
prostrated himself to implore the divine assistance, leaped
upon his horse, and cheered his troops with such energy,
that, ashamed to abandon a king under whom they had
so often fought and bled, they, with one accord, gave a
loud shout, and rushed forwards with an impetuosity
which could no longer be withstood. Five thousand
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Hindtis lay dead after the charge ; and so complete was
the rout of their army, that the garrison gave up all hopes
of further defence, and, breaking out to the number of
four thousand men, made their way to their boats ; and,
though not without considerable loss, succeeded in es-
caping by sea.
OXLII.
Cross Questions.
Frederick the Great, king of Prussia, paid so much
attention to his regiments of guards, that he knew per-
sonally every one of his soldiers. Whenever he saw a
new face in the ranks, he invariably put the following
three questions, generally in the same order : ' How old
are you?' *How long have you been in the army?'
* Have you received your pay and your arms ? ' It hap-
pened that a young Frenchman, who did not understand
German, enlisted into the Prussian service. The com-
rades of the young recruit taught him the answers, in
case he should be asked the questions. A few days after,
Frederick discovered the novice, and proceeded to ques-
tion him. Unfortunately, on this occasion, he began with
the second question: 'How long have you been in the
army ? ' * Twenty-one years, sire ! * replied the French-
man. The king continued: 'How old are you, then?*
* Six months, sire ! * was the reply. * Upon my word,'
said Frederick, * either you or I must be a fool.' ' Both
regularly, sire ! ' replied the soldier. The king saw the
man's mistake at once ; and only advised him to learn
German as quickly as possible.
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oxLin.
Either Side better than no Side.
After Hieronymus, the Syracusan tyrant, was put to
death, there being at that time a great war between the
Romans and the Carthaginians, the citizens of Syracuse
fell to disputing among themselves with which nation they
should take part And so fierce grew the controversy,
that no course could be agreed on, and they took part
with neither ; until ApoUonides, one of the foremost of
the Syracusan citizens, told them in a speech replete with
wisdom, that neither those who inclined to hold by the
Romans, nor those who chose rather to side with the
Carthaginians, were deserving of blame ; but that what
was utterly to be condemned was doubt and delay in
taking one side or other. For from such uncertainty he
clearly foresaw the ruin of their republic; whereas, by
taking a decided course, whatever it might be, some good
might come.
CXLIV.
Cicero* s proudest Moment.
He descended into the Forum, and returned to his own
house. The people thronged round him with acclaiming
shouts, and it was perhaps then that Cato, as we are told
by Appian, hailed him father of his country. * A bright
light,' says Plutarch, * shone through the streets from the
lamps and torches set up at the doors, and the women
showed lights from the tops of the houses in honour of
Cicero, and to behold him returning with a splendid
train of the principal citizens.* He always looked back
to this as the proudest moment of his life, and yet it was
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the beginning of infinite sorrow and trouble to him, for,
as we shall see, his exile from Rome and the ruin of his
fortunes may be distinctly traced to his conduct on this
day. He had put to death Roman citizens without a trial ;
and this was the accusation which was henceforth to be
the watchword of his enemies, and to overshadow the rest
of his life.
OXLV.
The English rally after Defeat.
Night was now coming on, and, under cover of the
darkness, the light-armed took to flight. Some fled on
foot, some on the horses which had carried the fallen
leaders to the battle. The Normans pursued, and, as in
an earlier stage of the day, the fleeing English found means
to take their revenge on their conquerors. On the north
side of the hill the descent is steep, almost precipitous, the
ground is irregular and marshy. No place could be less
suited for horsemen unaccustomed to the country to
pursue, even by daylight, Hght-armed foot, to many of
whom every step of ground was familiar. In the darkness
or imperfect light of the evening, their case was still more
hopeless than in the similar case, earlier in the day. In
the ardour of pursuit horse and man fell head foremost
over the steep, where they were crushed by the fall,
smothered in the morass, or slain outright by the swords
and clubs of the English.
CXLVI.
Raleigh and Queen Elizabeth.
The people mourned bitterly over their beloved prince.
They thought that he had been poisoned. Suspicions
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were entertained against different men about the court,
and these were even shared by the queen. The queen
seems still to have remained Raleigh's friend, but could do
nothing for him. He had addressed her a letter before,
asking her to exert herself to obtain his liberation, that
he might assist in the plantation of his former colony of
Virginia. He had heard with interest of the new attempt
to plant this colony, and of the difficulties through which
it had to struggle, till at last it was placed on a secure
footing. He must have longed to be able to aid in carry-
ing on the work which he had himself first begun. * I do
still humbly beseech your majesty,' he writes to the queen,
* that I may rather die in serving my queen and my country
than perish here.'
cxLvn.
Scythian Diplomacy.
The Scythian princes despatched a herald to the Persian
camp with presents for the king. These were a bird, a
mouse, a frog, and five arrows. The Persians asked the
bearer to tell them what these gifts might mean ; but he
made answer that he had no orders save to deliver them
and to return again with all speed. If the Persians were
wise, he added, they would find out the meaning for
themselves. So when they heard this, they held a council
to consider the matter. Darius gave it as his opinion that
the Scythians intended a surrender of themselves and all
their country, both land and water, into his hands. This
he conceived to be the meaning of the gifts, because the
mouse is an inhabitant of the earth and eats the same food
as man, while the frog passes his life in the water ; the
bird bears a great resemblance to the horse, and the five
arrows might signify the surrender of all their power.
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To the explanation of Darius, Gobryas offered another,
which was as follows : * Unless, Persians, ye can turn
into birds, and fly up into the sky, or become mice and
burrow underground, or make yourselves frogs and take
refuge in the fens, ye will never make your escape from
this land, but die pierced by our arrows.'
oxLvm.
Death of Caracalla.
The Emperor Caracalla, being with his armies in Meso-
potamia, had with him Macrinus, who was more of a
statesman than a soldier, as his prefect. But because
princes who are not themselves good are always afraid
lest others treat them as they deserve, Caracalla wrote
to his friend Matemianus in Rome to learn from the
astrologers whether any man had ambitious designs upon
the empire, and to send him word. Matemianus, accord-
ingly, wrote back that such designs were entertained by
Macrinus. But this letter, ere it reached the emperor,
fell into the hands of Macrinus, who, seeing when he
read it that he must either put Caracalla to death before
further letters arrived from Rome, or else die himself,
committed the business to a centurion, named Martialis,
whom he trusted, and whose brother had been slain by
Caracalla a few days before, who succeeded in killing
the emperor.
OXLIX.
Alexander succeeds to Empire.
Alexander, the son of Philip, was just twenty years of
age at the death of his father ; and those who had admired
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the talents of the father believed that his great projects
would die with him. At Athens the news awakened the
wildest delight : Demosthenes appeared in the assembly,
crowned with flowers. But the fHends of liberty and of
Greece cherished empty hopes. There is an idle story
that the temple of Diana at Ephesus was burned to the
ground on the very day that Alexander was bom, and
although the story is clearly false, and invented to reflect
glory on the hero (a man named Erostratus having
kindled the fire), it shows how far the son of Philip rose
above his sure. Alexander, the pupil of Aristotle, surpassed
perhaps every one that ever existed in the endowments
that fit a man to be a conqueror.
CL.
Thermopylce.
Having advanced thus far without hindrance, Xerxes
now heard with surprise that a handful of Greeks made a
show as if they thought of intercepting his march. He
waited at the opening of the mountains four days, to give
them time to recover their senses. But in vain ; he then
sent a message to Leonidas, commanding him to quit the
post he had chosen, and deliver up his arms ; to which
Leonidas with Spartan brevity replied, ' Come and take
them.' Xerxes at last became convinced that nothing
but force would move this heroic band. He believed,
however, that a show of force would be sufficient for the
purpose, and ordered the Medes to go and bring the
defenders of the pass, with Leonidas their chief, alive into
his presence. The Medes met with a diff'erent reception
from what their sovereign expected, and were driven back
with disgrace.
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OLI.
Hannibal in Italy.
From farthest Spain he had come into Italy, he had
wasted the whole country of the Romans and their allies
with fire and sword for more than six years, had slain
more of their citizens than were now alive to bear arms
against him, and at last he was shutting them up within
their city, and riding freely under their walls, while none
dared meet him in the field. If anything of disappoint-
ment depressed his mind at that instant ; if he felt that
Rome's strength was not broken, nor the spirit of her
people quelled, that his own fortune was wavering, and
that his last effort had been made, and made in vain ; yet
thinking where he was, and of the shame and loss which
his presence was causing to his enemies, he must have
wished that his father could have lived to see that day, and
must have thanked the gods of his country that they had
enabled him so fully to perform his vow,
AmokU
CLII.
Napoleon against the World,
On the Rhine had Napoleon paused, facing the waves
of avenging hosts. He had lifted up his finger, like King
Canute of old, and he had said : *Thus far and no far-
ther.' Yet the waves still roared, and the tide still rose.
Would he be submerged ? Would his evil genius fail him
at last ? These were the supreme questions of that au-
tumn. The whole world was against him ; nay, the world.
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and the sea, and the sky ! Yet he had overcome these
before ; he might overcome them again. His word was
still a power, his presence an inspiration. He might
emerge again, and then ? There was little left for the
stabbed and bleeding earth but to die; for, alasl she
could bear no more.
CLIII.
How Law began.
These diversities in the form of Government spring up
among men by chance. For in the beginning of the
world, its inhabitants, being few in number, for a time
lived scattered after the fashion of beasts ; but afterwards,
as they increased and multiplied, gathered themselves into
societies, and, the better to protect themselves, began to
seek who among them was the strongest and of the
highest courage, to whom, making him their head, they
rendered obedience. Next arose the knowledge of such
things as are honourable and good, as opposed to those
which are bad and shameful For observing that when a
man wronged his benefactor, hatred was universally felt
for the one and sympathy for the other, and reflecting
that the wrongs they saw done to others might be done
to themselves, they resorted to making laws and fixing
punishments against any who should transgress them;
and in this way grew the recognition of Justice. Whence
it came that afterwards, in choosing their rulers, men no
longer looked about for the strongest, but for him who
was the most prudent and the most just
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CLIV.
How Argyle was taken.
All thought of prosecuting the war was at an end ; the
chiefs of the expedition took flight in different directions.
Hume reached the Continent in safety. Argyle hoped
to find a secure asylum under the roof of one of his old
servants, who lived near Kilpatrick. But this hope was
disappointed, and he was forced to cross the Clyde.
Assuming the dress of a peasant, he journeyed, with a
single trusted friend, as far as Inchinnan. At this point
two streams, the Black and the White Cart, mingle before
they join the Clyde. The ford was guarded by a party of
soldiers. Some questions were asked: Argyle's com-
panion tried to draw suspicion on himself to save his
friend. But the questioners, not believing that Argyle
was only a simple peasant, laid hands upon him. He
broke loose, and sprang into the water. He was instantly
chased. After standing at bay for a short time against
five assailants, he was struck down with a broad-sword
and secured.
OLV.
Argyll s Last Sleep.
So completely had religious faith composed his spirits,
that on the very day on which he was to die he dined
with appetite, and lay down afterwards, as was his wont,
to take a few hours of peaceful slumber, in order that his
mind and body might be in full vigour when the fatal
moment should arrive. Just then, one of the nobles who
had formerly been Argyle's friend came to the castle, and
asked whether he could be allowed to see the earl. He
was informed that he was asleep. Believing this to be a
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subterfuge, he forced his way in : the door was opened,
and there lay Argyle on the bed, sleeping, in his irons,
the sleep of infancy. He turned away sick at heart, fled
from the castle, and rushing to his own house, flung him-
self on a couch. His wife thought that he was ill, and
begged him to take some wine. ^ No, no,' he cried, *■ that
will do me no good.' She then prayed him to tell her
what had disturbed him : * I have seen Argyle,' he said,
' within an hour of his death sleeping as sweetly as a
chOd.'
CLVI.
The True Policy for Princes.
Any one, therefore, who undertakes to control a people,
either as their prince or as the head of a commonwealth,
and does not make sure work with all who are hostile to
his new institutions, founds a government which cannot
last long. Undoubtedly those princes are to be reckoned
unhappy, who, to secure their position, are forced to ad-
vance by unusual and irregular paths, and with the people
for their enemies. For while he who has to deal with a
' few adversaries only, can easily and without much or
serious difficulty secure himself, he who has an entire
people against him can never feel safe ; and the greater
the severity he uses, the weaker his authority becomes ;
80 that his best course is to strive to make the people his
friends.
CLvn.
*The Ides of March are come;*
The house was full. The conspirators were in their
places with their daggers ready. Attendants came in to
remove Caesar's chair. It was announced that he was
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not coming. Delay might be fatal. They conjectured
that he already suspected something. A day's respite, and
all might be discovered. Decimus Brutus, whom it was
impossible for him to distrust, went to entreat his attend-
ance, giving reasons to which he knew that Caesar would
listen, unless the plot had been actually betrayed. It was
now eleven in the forenoon. Caesar shook off his uneasi-
ness, and rose to go. As he crossed the hall, his statue
fell, and shivered on the stones. As he still passed on, a
stranger thrust a scroll into his hand, and begged him to
read it on the spot It contained a list of the conspirators,
with a clear account of the plot He supposed it to be a
petition, and placed it carelessly among his other papers.
The fate of the Empire hung upon a thread, but the thread
was not yet broken.
cLvm.
*But they are not passed!
As he was carried to the senate house in a litter, a
man gave him a writing and begged him to read it in-
stantly ; but he kept it rolled in his hand without looking.
As he went up the steps he said to the augur Spurius,
* The Ides of March are come.' * Yes, Caesar,' was the
answer, * but they are not passed.* A few steps further on,
one of the conspirators met him with a petition, and the
others joined in it, clinging to his robe and his neck, till
another caught his toga, and pulled it over his arms, and
then the first blow was struck with a dagger. Caesar
struggled at first as all fifteen tried to strike at him, but
when he saw the hand uplifted of his treacherous friend
Decimus, he exclaimed, * Et tu, Brute ! ' drew his toga
over his head, and fell dead at the foot of the statue of
Pompeius.
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CLIX.
Consternation at the Murder of Caesar.
Waving his dagger dripping with Caesar's blood, Brutus
shouted to Cicero by name, congratulating him that liberty
was restored. The Senate rose with shrieks and con-
fusion, and rushed into the Forum. The crowd outside
caught the words that Caesar was dead, and scattered to
their houses. Antony, guessing that those who had killed
Caesar would not spare himself, hurried off into conceal-
ment. The murderers, bleeding some of them from
wounds which they had given one another in their eager-
ness, followed, crying that the tyrant was dead, and that
Rome was free ; and the body of the great Caesar was
left alone in the house where a few weeks before Cicero
told him that he was so necessary to his country that
every senator would die before harm could reach him !
CLX.
Pitt as a War Minister.
Pitt came in to conduct a war, and this time a necessary
war ; for the perfidy and rapine of Bonaparte made peace
impossible, and the struggle with him was a struggle for
the independence of all nations against the disciplined
hordes of a conqueror as cruel as Attila. If utter selfish-
ness, if the reckless sacrifice of humanity to your own
interest and passions be vileness, history has no viler
name. We may look with pride upon the fortitude and
constancy which England displayed in the contest with
the universal tyrant The position in which it left her at
its close was fairly won : though she must now be con-
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tent to retire from this temporary supremacy, and fall }
back into her place as one of the community of nations.
But Pitt was still destined to fail as a war minister ; and '
Trafalgar was soon cancelled by Austerlitz. 'How I
leave my country ! ' Such, it seems, is the correct ver-
sion of Pittas last words. Those words are perhaps his
truest epitaph. They express the anguish of a patriot
who had wrecked his country.
Goldmn Smithy
CLXI.
Pitt breathes his last.
Pitt ceased to breathe on the morning of the 2Qrd of
January, 1806. It was said that he died exclaiming, ' O
my country.' This is a fable ; but it is true that his last
words referred to the alarming state of public affairs. He
was in his 47th year. For nineteen years he had been un-
disputed chief of the administration. No English statesman
has held supreme power so long. It was proposed that
Pitt should be honoured with a public funeral and a monu-
ment. This proposal was opposed by Fox. His speech
was a model of good taste and good feeling. The task
was a difficult one. Fox performed it with humanity and
delicacy. The motion was carried in spite of the speech,
and the 22nd of February was fixed for the ceremony.
CLXII.
The ihree first Kings of Rome.
When we contemplate the excellent qualities of Romu-
lus, Numa, and Tullus, the first three kings of Rome,
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and note the methods which they followed^ we recognise
the extreme good fortmie of that city in having her first
king fierce and warlike, her second peacefiil and religiouSy
and her third, like the first, of a high spirit and more dis-
posed to war than to peace. For it was essential for
Rome that almost at the outset of her career, a ruler
should be found to lay the foundations of her civil life ;
but, after that had been done, it was necessary that her
rulers should return to the virtues of Romulus, since
otherwise the city must have grown feeble, and become a
prey to her enemies.
CTiXTTT,
The Dictatorship.
Those citizens who first devised a dictatorship for Rome
have been blamed by certain writers, as though this had
been the cause of the tyranny afterwards established there.
For these authors allege that the first tyrant of Rome
governed it with the title of Dictator, and that, but for the
existence of that office, Caesar could never have cloaked
his usurpation under a constitutional name. He who first
took up this opinion had not well considered the matter,
and his conclusion has been accepted without good ground.
For it was not the name or office of Dictator which
brought Rome to servitude, but the influence which certain
of her citizens were able to assume from the prolongation
of their term of power ; so that even had the name of
Dictator been wanting in Rome, some other had been
found to serve their ends, since power may readily give
titles, but not titles power.
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CLXIV.
After Cannce.
It was reported afterwards, that some of the young
nobles at Canusium, headed by a Metellus, had formed a
plan to fly from Italy, and offer their services to some
foreign prince ; that young P. Scipio, now about nineteen
years old, had gone instantly to the house of Metellus,
and standing over him with drawn sword had made him
swear neither to desert the Republic himself, nor to allow
others to do so ; and that to support the noble conduct of
Scipio, Varro had himself moved his headquarters to
Canusium, and had used all his efforts to collect the
remains of the defeated army. Having given up his
command to Marcellus, Varro set out for Rome. As he
drew near to the city, the Senate and people went out to
meet him, and publicly thanked him that he had not
despaired of the Republic. History presents no nobler
spectacle than this. Had he been a Carthaginian general,
he would have been crucified.
CLXV.
The Power of Good Looks.
The duke was indeed a very extraordinary person : and
never any man in any age, nor, I believe, in any coimtry or
nation, rose in so short a time to so much greatness of
honour, fame, and fortune, upon no other advantage or
recommendation, than that of the beauty and gracefulness
and becomingness of his person. And I have not the least
purpose of undervaluing his good parts and qualities, of
(
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which there will be occasion shortly to give some testi-
mony, when I say that his first introduction into favour
was purely from the handsomeness of his person.
CLXVI.
The Normans and the English.
The safety of his soldiers, he said, and the honour of
their country, were in their own hands : defeated, they
had no hope and no retreat ; conquerors, the glory of
victory and the spoils of England lay before them. But
of victory there could be no doubt : God would fight for
those who fought for the righteous cause, and what people
could ever withstand the Normans in war? They were
the descendants of the men who had won Neustria from
the Franks, and who had reduced Frankish kings to sub-
mit to the most humiliating of treaties. Were they to
yield to the felon English, never renowned in war, whose
country had been over and over again harried and subdued
by the invading Dane ? Let them lift up their banners and
march on ; let them spare no man in the hostile ranks ;
they were marching on to certain victory, and the fame
of their exploits would resound from one end of heaven
to the other.
CIiXVII.
The Protector's End.
And now the Protector's foot was on the threshold of
success. His glory, the excellence of his administration,
his personal dignity and virtues, were founding his govern-
ment in the allegiance of the people. The friends of order
were beginning to perceive that their best chance of order
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lay in giving stability to his throne. Some of the great
families, acting on this view, had connected themselves by
marriage with his house. His finances were embarrassed ;
but he was about again to meet a Parliament which would
probably have voted him supplies, and concurred with him
in settling the constitution. His foot was on the threshold
of success; but on the threshold of success stood Death.
It was death in a strange form for him : for after all his
battles and storms, and all the plots of assassins against
his life, this terrible chief died of grief at the loss of his
favourite daughter, and of watching at her side.
GoldtvtH Smith,
CLXVIII.
Nothing New under the Sun.
Any one comparing the present with the past will soon
perceive that in all cities and in all nations there prevail
the same desires and passions as always have prevailed ;
for which reason it should be an easy matter for him who
carefully examines past events, to foresee those which are
about to happen in any republic, and to apply such
remedies as the ancients have used in like cases ; or,
finding none which have been used by them, to strike
out new ones, such as they might have used in similar
circumstances. But these lessons being neglected or not
understood by readers, or, if understood by them, being
unknown to rulers, it follows that the same disorders are
common to all times.
CLXTX.
AU great Calamities are foretold.
Whence it happens I know not, but it is seen, from
examples both ancient and recent, that no grave calamity
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has ever befallen any city or country which has not been
foretold by vision, by augury, by portent, or by some
other Heaven-sent sign. And not to travel too far afield
for evidence of this, every one knows that long before the
invasion of Italy by Charles VIII. of France, his coming
was foretold by the friar Girolamo Savonarola ; and how,
throughout the whole of Tuscany, the rumour ran that
over Arezzo horsemen had been seen fighting in the air.
And who is there who has not heard that before the
death of the elder Lorenzo de' Medici, the highest pin-
nacle of the cathedral was rent by a thunderbolt, to the
great injury of the building ?
CLXX.
Medicine and Doctors.
Medicine has been defined to be the art or science of
amusing a sick man with frivolous speculations about his
disorder, and of temporising ingeniously till nature either
kills or cureB him. A young man intending to study
medicine, communicated his design to Voltaire. * What
is that you propose doing ? ' said he, laughing ; * you are
going to put drugs, of which you know nothing, into
bodies, of which you know still less.' On another day
speaking warmly in praise of the famous physician
Haller, in presence of a flatterer who was living in his
house, * Ah, sir,' said this person, * if Mr. Haller would
but speak of your works as you speak of his ! ' Voltaire
answered, ' Possibly we are both mistaken.'
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CLXXI.
Battle of Hastings.
Gradually, after so many brave warriors had fallen,
resistance grew fainter ; but still even now the fate of the
battle seemed doubtful. While Harold lived, while the
horse and the rider still fell beneath his axe, the heart of
England failed not, the hope of England had not wholly
died away. Around the two-fold ensigns the war was
still fiercely raging, and to that point every eye and every
arm in the Norman host was directed. The battle had
raged ever since nine in the morning, and evening was
now drawing in. New efforts, new devices were needed
to overcome the resistance of the English, diminbhed as
were their numbers, and wearied as they were with the
livelong toil of that awful day. The Duke ordered his
archers to shoot in the air, that their arrows might, as it
were, fall straight from heaven. The effect was immediate
and fearful. No other device of the wily Duke that day
did such frightful execution.
CLXxn.
Burial of Pitt.
The corpse was borne to Westminster Abbey with great
pomp. A splendid train of princes, nobles, bishops, and
councillors followed. The grave of Pitt had been made
near to the spot where his great father lay ; it was also
near to the spot where his great rival was soon to lie.
The sadness of the assistants was beyond that of or-
dinary mourners; for Pitt had died of sorrows and
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anxieties in which they had a share Wilberforce, who
carried the banner, describes the ceremony with deep
feeling. As the coffin descended into the earth, he says,
the eagle face of Chatham from above seemed to look
down with consternation into the dark house which was
receiving all that remained of so much power and glory.
CLxxm.
An Approaching Election.
But, gentlemen, though the summer is fast approaching,
we shall not, I fancy, be found indulging in ease and
indolence, but on the contrary entering upon a new and
arduous field of activity. Our labours will no longer be
confined to the walls of this house; the battle will be
fought out in the heat and in the dust, in full armour and
before the face of the world ; we shall have to meet the
enemies of the State ; we shall have to meet the deter-
mined onslaught of the enemies of the Church, and to
meet them with a bold heart ; our weapons will be public
speeches and literature. And let us not forget that it will
behove us to be eloquent as Ulysses, cunning as Mercury,
and deft as Vulcan.
cLxxnr.
An Exhortation before Battle.
On receiving the intelligence that their ally, the King of
Sweden, was dead, the general addressed his soldiers and
exhorted them not to lose heart Heaven, he said, would
smile upon them and their cause, inasmuch as they had
been true to their oath ; while their enemies would be
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found to have incurred the displeasure of the powers
above, for having held their vows so cheap. Let them
only remember their ancestors, who with small armies had
often defeated immense forces arrayed against them ; let
them not show themselves unworthy of such a lineage.
It was only a few days since they had won a victory
against overwhelming odds, and victory, moreover, that
involved the annihilation of their enemy, a victory won in
a battle fought for a cause not their own.
CLXXV.
The Bench and the Bar.
In legal procedure, the duties of the judge and advocate
are opposed in every point to each other. The judge
labours to discover the truth, the advocate to conceal or
disguise it The judge seeks the golden mean, which is
the seat of equity ; the advocate the extremes. The judge
must be rigid, inflexible ; the advocate ought to be supple,
pliant, accommodating, entering into the views of his
client, and espousing his interests. The judge should be
constant, uniform, invariable, walking always in the same
path ; the advocate should assume all shapes. The judge
ought to be passionless ; the advocate labours to excite
the passions, and to appear impassioned even in a cause
in which he feels but a slender interest The judge
should hold the balance in equilibrium; the advocate
throws into it the weight which makes his own side pre-
ponderate. The judge is armed with the sword of the
law ; the advocate seeks to disarm him.
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CLXXVl.
Man and Woman.
Now their separate characters are briefly these. The
man's power is active, progressive, defensive. He is
eminently the doer, the creator, the discoverer, the de-
fender. His intellect is for speculation and invention ;
his energy for adventure, for war, and for conquest, where-
ever war is just, wherever conquest necessary. But the
woman's power is for rule, not for battle, — ^and her in-
tellect is not for invention or creation, but for sweet
ordering, arrangement, and decision. She sees the
qualities of things, their claims, and their places. Her
great function is praise : she enters into no contest, but
infallibly adjudges the crown of contest
Rusktn,
CLXXVII.
Abdication of ViteUius.
He issued from the palace, clothed in black, his family
in mourning around him. His infant child was borne in a
litter. The procession might have been taken for a
funeraL The people applauded compassionately, but the
soldiers frowned in silence. ViteUius made a short
harangue in the Forum, and then, taking his dagger from
his side, as the ensign of power, tendered it to the consul
Csecilius. The soldiers murmured aloud, and the consul,
in pity or from fear, declined to accept it He then
turned towards the temple of Concord, meaning there to
leave the symbols of imperial office, and retire to the
house of his brother. But the soldiers now interposed.
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They would not suffer him to hide himself in a private
dwelling, but compelled him to retrace his steps to the
palace, which he entered once more, hardly conscious
whether he were still emperor or not.
cLxxvin.
A Brush with Antony.
As soon as we got through the woods, we drew up the
twelve cohorts in order of battle. The other two legions
had not yet come up. Antony immediately brought all
his troops out of the village, ranged likewise in order of
battle, and without delay engaged us. At first they fought
so briskly on both sides that nothing could possibly be
fiercer ; though the right wing, in which I was, with eight
cohorts of the MartisJ legion, put Antony's thirty-fifth
legion to flight at the first onset, and pursued it above
five hundred paces from the place where the action began.
Wherefore, observing the enemy's horse attempting to
surround our wing, I began to retreat, and ordered the
light-armed troops to make head against them, and prevent
their coming upon us from behind
CLXXIX.
The Black Hole of Calcutta.
There was an apartment which had been sometimes
used as a prison. It was eighteen feet square, and fit for
two or three persons in such a climate as that of Calcutta.
It was above ground and had two windows. It was not
like a dungeon or black hole, but it will be called the
' Black Hole ' as long as language lasts. One hundred
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and forty-six prisoners were ordered into this apartment
When it was full they were driven in. There they were
kept through the summer night No cries for air availed :
the viceroy was asleep, he must not be disturbed. While
he was asleep, the prisoners were dying fast When the
door was opened in the morning, twenty-three were alive.
They looked so ghastly thiit their own friends did not
know them.
CT.XXX,
Freedom of Thought at Aihens.
About twenty years before a similar charge had been
brought against Protagoras for having treated the same
question in too speculative a manner. For in the beginning
of one of his books he had said that, * whether the Gods did
or did not exist, was a question which he could not either
affirm or deny : for the life of man was too short for the
solution of such a problem.' But it was intolerable to
the Athenians that such a question should be a subject of
doubt ; so ordering all persons who had any copies of this
book to bring them to the magistrates, they caused them
all to be burned in the market-place : and had not Prota-
goras himself taken quickly to flight, he would in all pro-
bability have been put to death.
CLXXXI.
A War should be Great and Short,
Whosoever makes war, whether from policy or ambi-
tion, means to acquire and to hold what he acquires, and
to carry on the war he has undertaken in such a manner
that it shall enrich and not impoverish his native country
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and state. It is necessary, therefore, whether for acquiring
or holding, to consider how cost may be avoided, and
everything done^^most advantageously for the public
welfare. But whoever would effect all this, must take the
course and follow the methods of the Romans ; which
consisted, first of all, in making their wars, as the French
say, great and short. For, entering the field with strong
armies, they brought to a speedy conclusion whatever
wars they had with the Latins^ the Sanmites, or the
Etruscans.
cLxxxn.
The Valour of Rome.
But, be this as it may, certain it is that in every
country of the world, even the least considerable, the
Romans found a league of well-armed republics, most
resolute in the defence of their freedom, whom it is clear
they never could have subdued had they not been endowed
with the rarest and most astonishing valour. To cite a
single instance, I shall take the case of the Samnites, who,
strange as it may now seem, were, on the admission of
Titus Livius himself, so powerful and so steadfast in arms,
as to be able to withstand the Romans down to the consul-
ship of Papirius Cursor, son to the first Papirius, a period
of six and forty years, in spite of numerous defeats, the loss
of many of their towns, and the great slaughter which over-
took them everywhere throughout their country. And this
is the more remarkable when we see that country, which
once contained so many noble cities, and supported so
great a population, now almost uninhabited.
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ciixxxm.
Ulysses welcomed in Phceacia.
She, admiring to hear such complimentary words pro-
ceed out of the mouth of one whose outside looked so
rough and imcompromising, made answer: 'Stranger, I
discern neither sloth nor folly in you ; and yet I see that
you are poor and wretched: from which I gather that
neither wisdom nor industry can secure felicity; only
Jove bestows it upon whomsoever he pleases. He, per-
haps, has reduced you to this plight. However, since your
wanderings have brought you so near to our city, it lies in
our duty to supply your wants. Clothes, and what else
a human hand should give to one so suppliant, and so
tamed with calamity, you shall not want. We will show you
our city, and tell you the name of our people. This is the
land of the Phaeacians, of which my father, Alcinous, is
king.* charU9 Lamb.
cLxxxnr.
The first Battle inside Rome.
The Senate believed that now at length the moment for
action had arrived. They implored Marius the consul to
place himself at their head, and having hastily armed and
collected all the bravest of their own order, and all such
equites as were opposed to mob ascendency, they marched
into the Forum to do battle with the populace. Here a
hand-to-hand conflict took place 5 and Roman annalists
have recorded that this was the first battle ever fought
within the walls of the city. The battle resulted in the
defeat and flight of the insurgents : they took refuge in
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the Capitol, where they were besieged, and their supplies
of water being cut off, they were compelled to surrender.
Marius hoped to be able to save some of his former asso-
ciates, and with this object he shut them up in the Senate-
house. But some of the assailants climbed up on to the
roof, uncovered it, and pelting the defenceless prisoners
with javelins from above, put every one of them to death.
CLXXXV.
Characteristics of Roman Families.
Manners and institutions, differing in different cities,
seem here to produce a harder and there a softer race ;
and a like difference may also be discerned in the character
of different families in the same city. And while this holds
good of all cities, we have many instances of it in reading
the history of Rome. For we find the Manlii always stem
and stubborn ; the Valerii kindly and courteous ; the Clau-
dii haughty and ambitious ; and many families besides
similarly distinguished from one another by their peculiar
qualities. These qualities we cannot refer wholly to the
blood, for that must change as a result of repeated inter-
marriages, but must ascribe rather to the different training
and education given in different families. For much turns
on whether a child of tender years hears a thing well or
ill spoken of, since this must needs make an impression on
him whereby his whole conduct in after-life will be in-
fluenced.
CLXXXVI.
The Brave Sir Andrew.
He was in the Highlands with a small body of followers,
when the King of England suddenly came on him. Being
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about to hear mass, he would not permit his devotions to
be interrupted. That done, his people pressed him to re-
treat But Murray still said there was no heed for haste.
At length his horse was brought out, and all thought that
the army would now retreat. Murray, however, observed
that a strap in his armour had given way, and he would
not move until he had with his own hand cut and fitted
the strap which he wanted. Then at last he gave the word
for retreat : and though at the time the delay seemed end-
less to his followers, they became steady and composed
from beholding the confidence of their leaden
CLXXXVII.
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.
The virtue of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was of a
severer and more laborious kind. It was the well-earned
harvest of many a learned conference, of many a patient
lecture, and many a midnight lucubration. At the age of
twelve years, he embraced the rigid system of the Stoics,
which taught him to submit his body to his mind, his
passions to his reason ; to consider virtue as the only good,
vice as the only evil, all things external as things indif-
ferent. His meditations, composed in the tumult of a camp,
are still extant ; and he even condescended to give lessons
of philosophy in a more public manner than was perhaps
consistent with the modesty of a sage, or the dignity of an
emperor. But his life was the noblest commentary on the
precepts of Zeno, He was severe to himself, indulgent to
the imperfections of others, just and beneficent to all man-
^^^' Gibbon.
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CLxxxvin.
March of Nero to the Metaurus.
Nero's determination was soon taken. Legally he had
no power to quit this part of Italy, but in this emergency
he resolved to set all laws at defiance. He picked out
6000 foot and 1000 horse, the flower of his army, and gave
out that he would march at nightfall into Lucania. As
soon as it was dark, he set out, but the soldiers soon
perceived that Lucania was not their destination. They
were marching northwards towards Picenum, and they
found that provisions and beasts of burthen were ready
for them all along the road by the Consul's orders. As
soon as he was well advanced upon his march, he addressed
his men and told them that * in a few days they would
join their countrymen under Livius in his camp in Umbria ;
that combined they would intercept Hasdrubal and his
army ; that victory was certain ; that the chief share of the
glory would be theirs.* The men answered such an ad-
dress as soldiers should, and everywhere as they passed,
the inhabitants came out to meet them, offering them all
that they could want. LiddtU.
CLXXXIX.
Philip and Velasquez.
*Some of the painters tell me,' said Philip to Velasquez
one day, * that your pictures are imequal, and that you only
pdnt heads well.' 'They are mistaken. Sire,' replied
Velasquez : * no one paints heads really well.' The most
important painting he ever executed, and by some con-
sidered his masterpiece, was a large group known as * The
Maids of Honour.' Into this painting Velasquez intro-
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Partni.] NARRATIVE AND HISTORICAL. 109
duced a picture of himself. King Philip was mightily
interested in this picture, and came daily to watch its
progress. At length Velasquez declared the painting
finished. ' Not quite/ said the king ; ' one detail is
lacking.' With that he took up the brush and sketched
rapidly on the breast of the painter's portrait the cross of
the Order of Santiago, one of the highest honours which
it was in his power to bestow.
CXC. -i \']- ^'^
A Dirty Trick.
When the masses at Athens had become more and
more preponderant, the Areopagus was attacked in the
following manner by Ephialtes, a man reputed incor-
ruptible in his loyalty to democracy, and who had become
leader of the Commons. He first put to death many of its
members by impeaching them of offences committed in
their administration. He then despoiled the Council of all
its recently-acquired attributes ; and distributed these
amongst the Senate, the Assembly, and the Courts of Law.
In this work he had the co-operation of Themistocles, who,
though himself an Areopagite, was expecting to be accused
of treasonable correspondence with Persia. Desiring the
ruin of the Council, Themistocles warned Ephialtes that it
was going to imprison him ; and at the same time told the
Council that he would shew them a band of traitors in the
act of conspiring against the State. Then, conducting a
committee of their number to the residence of Ephialtes,
he shewed them the gang assembling, and held them in
conversation on the spot ; Ephialtes fled panic-struck to
the altar, clad in nothing but his tunic^ and sat there to
the amazement of all beholders. AHstotle,
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CXCI.
A Beloved Ass.
La Fleur offered him money. The mourner said he did
not want it It was not the value of the ass but the
loss of him. The ass, he said, he was assured loved him,
and upon this told them a long story of a mischance
upon their passage over the Pyrenean mountains which
had separated them from each other three days; during
which time the ass had sought him as much as he had
sought the ass, and that they had scarce either eat or drank
till they met. *Thou hast one comfort, fiiend,* said I,
*at least, in the loss of thy poor beast; Tm sure thou
hast been a merciful master to him.' ' Alas ! ' said the
mourner, * I thought so, when he was alive ; but now that
he is dead I think otherwise. I fear the weight of
myself and my afflictions together have been too much for
him, they have shortened the poor creature's days, and
I fear I have them to answer for.' * Shame on the
world!' said I to myself; 'did we love each other as
this poor soul but loved his ass, it would be something.'
cxcn.
Orders Happily Disobeyed.
The winter's day was not far advanced when the rear-
ward columns of the republican army were descried in
the distance. Making a selection of some six htmdred
picked cavalry, with a thousand infantry, Don John
ordered them to hang on the rear of the enemy, and to do
him all the damage possible consistent with the possibility
of avoiding a general engagement The orders were at
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first strictly obeyed. But at last Gonzaga, the commander^
observing that a spirited cavalry officer had advanced too
far, sent hastily to recall him. The order was flatly dis-
obeyed. • Tell Gonzaga/ said the officer, * that I have never
turned my back upon the enemy, and that I shall not begin
now. And besides, retreat is impossible.' At this juncture
Alexander of Parma rode up to reconnoitre. He saw that
the enemy was marching unsteadily to avoid a deep ravine
into which they were being forced. Seizing the oppor-
tunity, h© dashed forward with these words: 'Tell Don
John of Austria that Alexander of Parma has plunged into
the abyss, to perish there or come forth victorious.'
CXCIII.
Pompeians defeated.
The Pompeians were too much dispirited to make any
resistance; shivered once more at the first onset, they
poured in broken masses over hill and plain. But Csesar
was not yet satisfied. Allowing a part of his troops only
to return to the camp, he led four legions in hot pursuit
by a shorter or better road, and drew them up at a dis-
tance of six miles fi'om the field of battle. The fiigitives
finding their retreat intercepted halted on an eminence
overhanging a stream. Caesar set his men immediately
to throw up intrenchments and cut off* their approach to
the water. This last labour was accomplished before
nightfall, and when the Pompeians perceived that their
means of watering were intercepted, they listened to the
summons of the heralds who required their surrender^
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PART IV.
More difficult Passages for Translation
into Latin Prose.
cxciv.
Second Year of the Crimean War.
If the ardour, never great, of France for the war had
somewhat abated, such was not the case with England.
She was more than ever bent upon pursuing it to an
effective close. All her energies had been devoted to
strengthening herself for the task. She was determined
to show that, if her system had brought suffering and
disaster on her soldiers, she knew how to make atone-
ment for the past by a future, in which their endurance
and their valour should be put to no unfair trial through
want of due provision for the contingencies of warfare.
Our dockyards and arsenals were busily adding to the
already overwhelming strength of our fleet, and the
country provided with lavish hands whatever funds were
necessary to enable its generals to lead their troops
wherever they determined that the enemy might be
assailed with the best assurance of success.
Prince Consort,
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cxcv.
The Northern Pirates.
A letter which a Roman provincial, Sidonius Apol-
linaris, wrote in warning to a friend who had embarked
as an officer in the fleet, gives us a glimpse of these free-
booters as they appeared to the civilised world of the
fifth century. 'When you see their rowers,* says he,
'you may make up your mind that every one of them
is an arch -pirate, with such wonderful unanimity do all
of them at once command, obey, teach, and learn their
business of brigandage. This is why I have to warn
you to be more than ever on your guard in this warfare.
Your foe is of all foes the fiercest. He attacks unex-
pectedly; if you expect him, he makes his escape ; he
despises those who seek to block his path; he over-
throws those who are off" their guard ; he cuts oflF any
enemy whom he follows ; while, for himself, he never
fails to escape when he is forced to fly. These men
know the dangers of the deep like men who are every
day in contact with them ; for since a storm throws those
whom they wish to attack oflF their guard, while it hinders
their own coming onset from being seen from afar, they
gladly risk themselves in the midst of wrecks and sea-
beaten rocks, in the hope of making profit out of the very
tempest' y. Crem.
CXCVI.
The Vicar in Prison.
After reading I entered upon my exhortation, which
was rather calculated at first to amuse them than to
reprove. I previously observed that no other motive but
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 1 1 5
their welfare could induce me to this ; that I was their
fellow-prisoner, and now got nothing by preaching. I
was sorry, I said, to hear them so very profane ; because
they got nothing by it, but might lose a great deal ; *for
be assured, my friends,* cried I, * — for you are my friends,
however the world may disclaim your friendship, — ^though
you swore twelve thousand oaths in a day, it would not
put one penny in your purse. Then what signifies calling
every moment upon the devil, and courting bis friendship,
since you find how scurvily he uses you ? He has given
you nothing here, you find, but a mouthful of oaths and
an empty belly ; and, by the best accounts I have of him,
he will give you nothing that's good hereafter.'
GoldsmUh.
cxcvn.
The News of Thrasimene.
But her spirit was invincible. When the tidings of the
disaster of Thrasymenus reached the city, the people
crowded to the forum and called upon the magistrates to
tell them the whole truth. The praetor peregrinus, M,
Pomponius Matho, ascended the rostra, and said to the
assembled multitude, 'We have been beaten in a great
battle; our army is destroyed; and C. Flaminius, the
consul, is killed.' Our colder temperaments scarcely
enable us to conceive the effect of such tidings on the
lively feelings of the people of the south, or to image to
ourselves the cries, the tears, the hands uplifted in prayer,
or clenched in rage, the confused sound of ten thousand
vx)ices giving utterance with breathless rapidity to their
feelings of eager interest, of terror, of grief, or of fury.
All the northern gates of the city were beset with crowds^
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of wives and mothers, imploring every fresh fugitive
from the fatal field for some tidings of those most dear
to them. Arnold.
cxcvni.
Death of Leo X.
Strange and delusive destiny of man ! The pope was
at his villa of Malliana when he received intelligence
that his party had triumphantly entered Milan : he aban-
doned himself to the exultation arising naturally from the
successful completion of an important enterprise, and
looked cheerfully on at the festivities his people were
preparing on the occasion. He paced backwards and
forwards till deep in the night, between the window and
a blazing hearth— it was the month of November. Some-
what exhausted, but still in high spirits, he arrived at
Rome, and the rejoicings there celebrated for his triumph
were not yet concluded when he was attacked by a
mortal disease. * Pray for me,* said he to his servants,
* that I may yet make you all happy.* We see that he
loved life ; but his hour was come, he had not time to
receive the viaticum nor extreme unction. So suddenly,
so prematurely, and surrounded by hopes so bright, he
died—as the poppy fadetb. Ranlu,
CXCIX.
X^an Friends disagree?
A question was started, how far people who disagree
in a capital point can live in friendship together : Johnson
said they might. Goldsmith said they could not, as they
had not the 'idem velle atque idem nolle,* the same
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 117
likings and the same aversions. Johnson : * Why, sir,
you must shun the subject as to which you disagree.
For instance, I can live very well with Burke ; I love
his knowledge, his genius, his diffusion, and affluence
of conversation ; but I would not talk to him of the Rock-
ingham party.* Goldsmith : * But, sir, when people live
together who have something as to which they disagree,
and which they want to shun, they will be in the situation
mentioned in the story of Bluebeard. You may look into
all the chambers but one. But we should have the
greatest inclination to look into that chamber, to talk
of that subject.* Johnson (with a loud voice) : * Sir, I
am not saying that you could live in friendship with
a man from whom you differ as to some point, I am only
saying that I could do it You put me in mind of Sappho
in Ovid.' BoswdL
CO.
The Empire in its Iron Age.
The worst kind of government is that which is regarded
by its subjects as divine, and at the same time is really
weak. Such was the government of Constantius, of
Honorius, of Valentinian III ; imbecile, and at the same
time despotic, plaguing the world like an angry deity,
and misgoverning it like an angry child. But these were
exceptional cases. Government during this period was
commonly at a higher level. It was Asiatic, but it was
commonly able. Compared with Asiatic governments
it was good. If the emperor was regarded as a divinity,
at least he earned his deification for the most part by
merit. He was not such a deity as those which Egypt
worshipped, a sacred ape or cat, but rather a Hercules or
Quirinus, who had risen by superhuman labours to divine
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honours. But compared with the government of the
Antonines, it was barbaric. The empire has fallen into
a lower class of states. Reason and simplicity have dis-
appeared from it. Subjects have lost all rights, and
government all responsibility. The reign of political
superstition has set in. Abject fear paralyses the people,
and those that rule are intoxicated with insolence and
cruelty. It is an Iron Age. Seeley,
CCI.
Know your oTvn place.
Our family had now made several attempts to be fine ;
but some unforeseen disaster demolished each as soon as
projected. I endeavoured to take the advantage of every
disappointment to improve their good sense, in propor-
tion as they were frustrated in ambition. * You see, my
children,' cried I, * how little is to be got by attempts to
impose upon the world in coping with our betters. Such
as are poor, and will associate with none but the rich, are
hated by those they avoid, and despised by those they
follow. Unequal combinations are always disadvantageous
to the weaker side, the rich having the pleasure, and the
poor the inconveniences, that result from them. But,
come Dick, my boy, and repeat the fable you were
reading toKlay, for the good of the company.'
Goldstmih,
ecu.
Death of Theodoric.
After the mutual and repeated discharge of missile
weapons, in which the archers of Scythia might signalize
their superior dexterity, the cavalry and infantry of the
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 1 1 9
two armies were furiously mingled in closer combat
The Huns, who fought under the eyes of their king,
pierced through the doubtful and feeble centre of the
allies, separated their wings from each other, and wheel-
ing with a rapid effort to the left, directed theu: whole
force against the Visigoths, As Theodoric rode along
the ranks, to animate his troops, he received a mortal
wound from the javelin of Andages, a noble Ostrogoth,
and immediately fell from his horse. The wounded king
was oppressed in the general disorder, and trampled
under the feet of his own cavalry ; and this important
death served to explain the ambiguous answer of the
haruspices. g^^^
coin.
Return from the Caudine Forks.
In far different plight, and with far other feelings than
those with which they had entered the pass of Caudium,
did the Roman army issue out from it again upon the
plain of Campania. Defeated and disarmed, they knew
not what reception they might meet with from their
Campanian allies ; it was possible that Capua might shut
her gates against them, and go over to the victorious
enemy. But the Campanians behaved faithfully and
generously ; they sent supplies of arms, of clothing, and
of provisions, to meet the Romans even before they ar-
rived at Capua ; they sent new cloaks, and the lictors and
fasces of their own magistrates, to enable the consuls to
resume their fitting state ; and when the army approached
their city, the Senate and people went out to meet them,
and welcomed them both individually and publicly with
the greatest kindness. No attentions, however, could
soothe the wounded pride of the Romans : they could
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not bear to raise their eyes from the ground, nor to speak
to anyone. Full of shame they continued their march to
Rome ; when they came near to it, all those soldiers who
had a home in the country dispersed, and escaped to their
several homes singly and silently : whilst those who lived
in Rome lingered without the walls till the sun was set,
and stole to their homes under cover of the darkness.
Arnold,
CCIV.
A Speech by Scipio.
Scipio having assembled the troops together, exhorted
them not to be disheartened by the loss which they had
sustained. That their defeat was by no means to be as-
cribed to the superior courage of the Carthaginians ; but
was occasioned only by the treachery of the Spaniards,
and the imprudent division which the generals, reposing
too great a confidence in the alliance of that people, had
made of their forces : that the Carthaginians themselves
were now in the same condition with respect to both
these circumstances ; for besides that they were divided
into separate camps they had also alienated by injurious
treatment the affections of their allies, and had rendered
them their enemies; that from thence it had happened
that one part of the Spaniards had already sent deputies
to the Romans ; and that the rest, as soon as the Romans
should have passed the river, would hasten with alacrity
to join them ; not so much indeed from any motive of
affection, as from a desire to revenge the insults which
they had suffered from the Carthaginians. With all
these advantages in prospect, they should now, therefore,
pass the river with the greatest confidence, and leave to
himself, and to the rest of the commanders, the whole
care of what was afterwards to be done.
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tart IV.] AND HISTORICAL. lai
ccv.
Monarchy a Law of Nature.
Where was there ever such peace, such tranquillity,
such justice, such honours paid to virtue, such rewards
distributed to the good and punishments to the bad;
when was ever the state so wisely guided, as in the time
when the world had obtained one head, and that head
Rome ? the very time wherein God deigned to be bom
of a Virgin, and to dwell upon earth. To every single
body there has been given a head ; the whole world
therefore also, which is called by the poet a great body,
ought to be content with one temporal head. For every
two-headed animal is monstrous ; how much more hor-
rible and hideous a portent must be a creature with a
thousand different heads, biting and fighting against one
another ! If, however, it is necessary that there be more
heads than one, it is nevertheless evident that there ought
to be one to restrain all and preside over all, so that the
peace of the whole body may abide unshaken. Assuredly
both in heaven and in earth the sovereignty of one has
always been best.
CCVI.
Unfortunate Great Men.
The vigilant Peter the Headstrong was not to be de-
ceived. Sending privately for the commander-in-chief of
all the armies, and having heard all his story with the
customary pious oaths, protestations, and ejaculations,
* Harkee, comrade,' cried he, * though by your own ac-
count you are the most brave, upright, and honourable
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122 NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, [Part IV.
man in the whole province, yet do you lie under the mis-
fortune of being traduced and immeasurably despised.
Now, though it is certainly hard to punish a man for his
misfortunes, I cannot consent to venture my armies with
a commander whom they despise, or to trust the welfare
of my people to a champion whom they distrust Retire,
therefore, my friend, from the irksome cares and toils of
public life with this comforting reflection — that if guilty,
you are but enjo3dng your just reward ; and if innocent,
you are not the first great and good man who has most
wrongfully been slandered and maltreated in this wicked
world, doubtless to be better treated in another world,
where there shall be neither error nor calumny nor per-
secution. In the meantime, let me never see your face
again, for I have a horrible antipathy to the countenances
of unfortunate great men like yourself.'
Washington Irving,
ccvn.
Haw we got the Town.
The town is most pleasantly seated, having a very
good wall with round and square bulwarks, after the old
manner of fortifications. We came thither in the nighty
and indeed were very much distressed by sore and tem-»
pestuous wind and rain. After a long march, we kneW
not well how to dispose of ourselves ; but finding an old
abbey in the suburbs, and some cabins and poor houses,
we got into them, and had opportunity to send the gar-
rison a summons. They shot at my trumpeter, and
would not listen to him for an hour's space ; but having
some officers in our party whom they knew, I sent them
to let them know I was there with a good part of the
army. We shot not a shot at them ; but they were very
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 123
angry, and fired very earnestly upon us, telling us it was
not a time of night to send a summons. But yet in the
end the governor was willing to send out two eommis-
sioners, — I think rather to see whether there was a force
sufficient to force him, than to any other end. After
almost a whole night spent in treaty, the town was de-
livered to me the next morning, upon terms which we
usually call honourable; which I was the willinger to
give, because I had little above two hiindrexi foot, arid
neither ladders nor guns, nor anything else to force them.
CrofttweU,
CCVIII.
Before Hastings.
On the morning the Duke called together the most
considerable of his chieftains and made them a speech
suitable to the occasion. He represented to them that
the event which they and he had long wished for was
approaching, and the whole fortune of war now depended
on their sword, and would be decided in a single action.
That never army had greater motives for exerting a
vigorous courage, whether they considered the prize that
would attend their victory, or the inevitable destruction
that must ensue on their discomfiture. That if once their
martial and veteran bands could break those raw soldiers
who had rashly dared to approach them, they conquered
a kingdom at one blow, and were justly entitled to all
their possessions as the reward of their prosperous valour;
that on the contrary, if they remitted in the least their
wonted prowess, an enraged enemy hung upon their
rear, the sea met them in their retreat, and an ignomini-
ous death was the certain punishment of their cowardice.
He then ordered the signal of battle to sound, and the
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whole army, moving at once and singing the hymn of
Roland the famous peer of Charlemagne, advanced in
Cider and with alacrity against the enemy.
Hume,
CCIX.
Life like a Sparrow's Flight
Another of the king's chief men, approving of his
words and exhortations, presently added : * The present
life of man, O king, seems to me, in comparison of that
time which is unknown to us, like to the swift flight of a
sparrow through the room wherein you sit at supper in
winter with your commanders and ministers, and a good
fire in the midst, whilst the storms of rain and snow pre-
vail abroad ; the sparrow, I say, flying in at one door,
and immediately out at another, whilst he is within, is
safe from the wintry storm ; but after a short space of
fair weather, he immediately vanishes out of your sight,
into the dark winter from which he had emerged. So
this life of man appears for a short space, but of what
went before, or what is to follow, we are utterly ignorant
If, therefore, this new doctrine contains something more
certain, it seems justly to deserve to be followed.' The
other elders and king's counsellors, by Divine inspira-
tion, spoke to the same effect. j^ Green.
OCX.
St. Paul approaches Rome.
In such a time as this, did the prince of the Apostles
advance towards the heathen city, where, under divine
guidance, he was to fix his seat He toiled along the
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Pwtrv.] AND HISTORICAL. 125
stately road which led him straight onwards to the capital
of the world. He passed under the high gate, and wan-
dered on amid high palaces and colmnned temples ; he
met processions of heathen priests and ministers in
honour of their idols ; he met the wealthy lady, borne on
her litter by her slaves; he met the stem legionaries
who had been the ' massive iron hammers ' of the whole
earth ; he met the busy politician and the orator return-
ing home surrounded by his young admirers and his
grateful or hopeful clients. He saw about him a vigorous
power, formed and matured in its religion, its laws, its
civil tradition, its imperial extension through the history
of many centuries ^ and what was he but a poor, feeble,
aged, stranger, in nothing dififerent from the multitude
of men, an Egyptian, or a Chaldean, or perhaps a Jew,
some Eastern or other, as passers-by would guess accord-
ing to their knowledge of human kind, carelessly looking
at him, as we might turn our eyes upon a Hindu or a
gipsy, as they met us, without the shadow of a thought
that such a one was destined then to commence an age
of religious sovereignty, in which the heathen state might
live twice over, and not see its end. Farrar.
CCXI.
Approach of the Crimean War.
Looking back upon the troubles which ended in the
outbreak of war, one sees the nations at first swaying
backward and forward like a throng so vast as to be
helpless, but afterwards falling slowly into warlike array.
And when one begins to search for the man or the men
whose volition was governing the crowd, the eye falls
upon the towering form of the Emperor Nicholas. He
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was not single-minded, and therefore his will was un-
stable, but it had a huge force ; and, since he was armed
with the whole authority of his Empire, it seemed plain
that it was this man— and only he— who was bringing
danger from the north. And at first, too, it seemed that
within his range of action there was none who could be
his equal : but in a little while the looks of men were
turned to the Bosphorus, for thither his ancient adversary
was slowly bending his way. To fit him for the en-
counter, the Englishman was clothed with little authority
except what he could draw from the resources of his own
mind, and from the strength of his own wilful nature.
Yet it was presently seen that those who were near him
fell under his dominion, and did as he bid them, and that
the circle of deference to his will was always increasing
around him ; and soon it appeared that, though he moved
gently, he began to have mastery over a foe who was
consuming his strength in mere anger. When he had
conquered, he stood as it were with folded arms, and
seemed willing to desist from strife. Layard,
CCXII.
A New Arcadia,
With these discourses they went on their way, until
they arrived at the veiy spot where they had been
trampled upon by the bulls. Don Quixote knew it again,
and said to Sancho, 'This is the meadow where we
alighted on the gay shepherdesses and gallant shepherds,
who intended to revive in it and knitate the pastoral
Arcadia ; in imitation of which, if you approve it, I could
wish, O Sancho, we might turn shepherds, at least for
the time I must live retired. I will buy sheep and all
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. I a;
other materials necessary for the pastoral employment ;
we will range the mountams, and woods, and the meadows,
singing here, and complaining there, drinking the liquid
crystal of the fountains, of the limpid brooks, or of the
mighty rivers. The oaks with a plentiful hand shall give
their sweetest fruit ; the trunks of the hardest cork-trees
shall afford us seats; the willows shall furnish shade,
and. the roses scent ; the spacious meadow shall yield us
carpets of a thousand colours ; the air, clear and pure,
shall supply breath, the moon and stars afford light;
singing shall furnish pleasure, and complaining yield
delight ; Apollo shall provide verses and love-conceits ;
with which we shall make ourselves famous and im-
mortal, not only in the present but in future ages.'
Don QmxoU.
CCXIII.
William enters Exeter^
The road, all down the long descent, and through the
plain to the banks of the river, was lined, mile after mile,
with spectators. From the West Gate to the Cathedral
Close the pressing and shouting on each side was such as
reminded Londoners of the crowds on the Lord Mayor's
Day. Doors, windows, balconies, and roofs were thronged
with gazers. An eye accustomed to the pomp of war
would have found much to criticise in the spectacle. For
several toilsome marches in the rain, through roads where
one who travelled on foot sank at every step up to the
ancles in clay, had not improved the appearance of men
or their accoutrements. But the people of Devonshire,
altogether unused to the splendour of well-ordered camps,
were overwhelmed with delight and awe. Descriptions
of the martial pageant were circulated all over the king*
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128 NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, [Part IV.
dom. They contained much that was well-fitted to gratify
the vulgar appetite for the marvellous. For the Dutch
army, composed of men who had been bom in various
climates, and had served under various standards, pre-
sented an aspect at once grotesque, gorgeous, and terrible
to islanders, who had, in general, a very indistinct notion
of foreign countries. Macaulay,
CCXIV.
A Candidate for a Greek Chair.
I set boldly forward the next morning. Every day
lessened the burden of my moveables, like ^sop and his
basket of bread ; for I paid them for my lodgings to the
Dutch, as I travelled on. When I came to Louvain I
was resolved not to go to the lower professors, but openly
tendered my talents to the Prindpal himself. I went,
had admittance, and offered him my service as a master
of the Greek language, which I had been told was a
desideratum in his University. The Principal seemed
at first to doubt of my abilities ; but of these I ofiered to
convince him, by turning a part of any Greek author into
Latin. Finding me perfectly earnest in my proposal, he
addressed me thus : ' You see me, young man ; I never
learned Greek, and I dont find that I have ever missed
it I have had a doctor's cap and gown without Greek ;
I eat heartily without Greek ; and, in short,' continued
he, * as I don't know Greek, I do not believe there is any
good in it/ Goldsmith.
ccxv.
Pompey returns to the Optimates.
Nature had destined Pompeius, if ever any one, to
be a member of an aristocracy; and nothing but selfish
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 129
motives had carried him over as a deserter to the demo-
cratic camp. That he should now revert to his Sullan
traditions, accorded alike with his character and his
interest. Perhaps the majority, at any rate the flower
of the citizens, belonged to the constitutional party : it
wanted nothing but a leader. Marcus Cato, its present
head, did the duty as he understood it, of its leader
amidst daily peril to his life, and perhaps without hope
of success ; his fidelity to duty deserves respect, but more
than this is required of a commander. If, instead of this
man, who knew not how to act either as party chief, or
as general, a man of the political and military mark of
Pompeius should raise the banner of the existing con-
stitution, the free townsmen of Italy would necessarily
flock towards it in crowds, that under it they might help
to fight, if not for the kingship of Pompeius, at any rate
against the kingship of Caesar.
Adapted from Mommsen,
CCXVI.
The Relief of Derry.
Meantime the tide was rising fast The Mountjoy
began to move, and soon passed safe through the broken
stakes and floating spars. But her brave master was no
more. A shot from one of the batteries had struck him ;
and he died by the most enviable of all deaths, in sight of
the city which was his birthplace, which was his home,
and which had just been saved by his courage and self-
devotion from the most frightful form of destruction.
The night had closed in before the conflict at the boom
began; but the flash of guns was seen, and the noise
heard, by the lean and ghastly multitude which covered
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the walls of the dty. When the Mountjoy grounded^ and
when the shout of triumph rose from the Iri^ on both
sides of the river, the hearts of the besieged died within
them. Even after the barricade had been passed, there
was a terrible hour of suspense. It was ten o'clock be-
fore the ships arrived at the quay* The whole population
was there to welcome them. Macaulay.
ccxvn.
Reforms of Ximenes.
His success in this scheme for reducing the power of
the nobility encouraged him to attempt a diminution of
theur possessions, which were no less exorbitant. During
the contest and disorder inseparable from the feudal
government, the nobles, ever attentive to their own in-
terests, and taking advantage of the weakness and dis-
tress of their monarchs, had seized some parts of the
royal demesne, obtained grants of others, and having
gradually wrested almost the whole out of the hands of
the princes, had annexed them to their own estates. The
titles by which most of the grandees held their lands
were extremely defective : it was from some successful
usurpation, which the crown had been too feeble to dis-
pute, that many derived their only claim to possession.
An inquiry carried back to the origin of these encroach-
ments, which were almost coeval with the feudal system,
was impracticable ; as it would have stripped every
nobleman in Spain of great part of his lands, it must
have excited a general revolt Robertson,
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 131
ooxvin.
Reforms of Ximenes {continued).
Such a step was too bold even for the enterprising
sph^lt of Ximenes. He confined himself to the reign of
Ferdinand.' and beginning with the pensions granted
during that time, refused to make any further payment,
because all right to them expired with his life. He then
called to account such as had acquired crown-lands
under the administration of that monarch, and at once
resumed whatever he had alienated : the effects of this
revocation extended to many persons of high rank, for,
though Ferdinand was a prince of little generosity, yet he
and Isabella having been raised to the throne of Castile
by a powerful faction of the nobles, they were obliged to
reward the zeal of their adherents with great liberality,
and the royal demesnes were thehr only fund for that
purpose. Robtrtson,
CCXIX.
Execution of Hippolytus.
Hippolytus issued from the prison, looking more like
a young martyr than a criminal. He was now perfectly
quiet, and a sort of unnatursd glow had risen into his
cheeks, the result of the enthusiasm and conscious self-
sacrifice into which he had worked himself during the
night. He had only prayed, as a last favour, that he
might be taken through the street in which the house of
the Metelli stood ; for he had lived, he said, as everybody
knew, in great hostility with that family, and he now
felt none any longer, and wished to bless their house as
he passed it. The magistrates, for more reasons than one,
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13a NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, [PwtlV.
had no objection ; the old priest, with tears in his eyes,
said that the dear boy would stiU be an honour to his
family, as surely as he would be a saint in heaven ; and
the procession moved on. The main feeling of the crowd,
as usual, was one of curiosity ; but there were few indeed
in whom it was not mixed with pity, and many women
found the sight so intolerable that they were seen moving
away down the streets, weeping bitterly, and unable to
answer the questions of those they met
CCX3L
The Virginian Colony.
After his departure everything tended to the wildest
anarchy. Faction and discontent had often risen so high
among the old settlers that they could hardly be kept
within bounds. The spirit of the new-comers was too
ungovernable to bear any restraint. Several among them
of better rank were such dissipated, hopeless young men
as their friends were glad to send out in quest of what-
ever fortune might betide them in a foreign land. Of the
lower order, many were so profligate or desperate, that
their country was happy to throw them out as nuisances
to society. Such persons were little capable of the regu-
lar subordination, the strict economy, and persevering
industry, which their situation required. The Indians,
observing their misconduct, and that every precaution for
sustenance or safety was neglected, not only withheld the
supplies of provisions which they were accustomed to
furnish, but also harassed them with continual hostilities.
All their subsistence was derived from the stores which
they had brought from England : these were soon con-
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 133
sumed ; then the domestic animals sent out to breed in
the country were devoured ; and by this inconsiderate
waste they were reduced to such extremity of famine, as
not only to eat the most nauseous and unwholesome roots
and berries, but to feed on the bodies of the Indians
whom they slew, and even on those of their copipanions
who sank under the oppression of such complicated dis-
tresses. In less than six months, of five hundred persons
whom Smith left in Virginia, only sixty remained : and
they so feeble and dejected that they could not have
survived for ten days if succour had not arrived from a
quarter whence they did not expect it. RobirtsoH.
CCXXT.
The Roman Exercises.
It is not the purpose of this work to enter into any
minute descriptions of the Roman exercises. We shall
only remark that they comprehended whatever could add
strength to the body, activity to the limbs, or grace to the
motions. The soldiers were diligently instructed to march,
to run, to leap, to swim, to carry heavy burdens, to handle
every species of arms that was used either for offence or
for defence, either in distant engagement or in a closer
onset : to form a variety of evolutions ; and to move to
the sound of flutes, in the Pyrrhic or martial dance. In
the midst of peape, the Roman troops familiarised them-
selves with the practice of war; and it is prettily remarked
by an ancient historian who had fought against them, that
the efiiision of blood was the only circumstance which
distinguished a field of battle from a field of exercise.
Gibbon.
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CCXXTI.
Cupid.
But, before wc acquaint you with the purport of her
speech, we must premise, that in the land of Lycia, which
was at that tin^e pagan, above all their other gods the
inhabitants did in an especial manner adore the deity
who was supposed tp have influence in the disposing of
people's affections in love. This god, by the name of
Cupid, they feigned to be a beautiful boy, and winged ;
as indeed, between young persons, these frantic passions
are usually least under constraint ; while the wings might
signify the haste with which these ill-judged attachments
are conunonly dissolved; and they painted him blind-
folded, because these silly affections of lovers make them
blind to the defects of the beloved object, which every
one is quick-sighted enough to discover but themselves ;
Of because loye is for the most part led blindly, rather
than directed by the open eye of the judgment, in the
hasty choice of a mate, C Latnb,
ccxxin.
Periods of Prolonged Misery,
But the prospect at home was not over-clouded merelyj
it was the very deepest darkness of misery. It has been
well said that long periods of general suffering make
far less impression on om- minds, than the short sharp
struggle in which a few distinguished individuals perish ;
not that we over-estimate the horror and the guilt of
times of open blood-shedding, but we are much too patient
of the greater misery and greater sin of periods of quiet
legalised oppression ; of that most deadly of aU evils,
when law, and even religion herself, are false to their
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P«rtIV.] AND HISTORICAL. 135
divine origin and purpose, and their voice is no longer
the voice of God, but of his enemy. In such cases the
evil derives advantage, in a manner, from the very amount
of its own enormity. No pen can record, no volume can
contain, the details of the daily and hourly sufferings of
a whole people, endured without intermission, through
the whole life of man, from the cradle to the grave. The
mind itself can scarcely comprehend the wide range of
the mischief. Arnold.
CCXXIV.
Need for Monarchy.
At such times, society, distracted by the conflict of in-
dividual wills, and unable to attain by their free concur-
rence to a general will, which might unite and hold them
in subjection, feels an ardent desire for a sovereign
power, to which all individuals must submit ; and as soon
as any institution presents itself which bears any of the
characteristics of legitimate sovereignty, society rallies
round it with eagerness ; as people under proscription
take refuge in the sanctuary of a church. This is what
has taken place in the wild and disorderly youth of
nations, such as those we have just described. Monarchy
is wonderfully suited to those times of strong and fruitful
anarchy, if I may so speak, in which society is striving to
form and regulate itself, but is unable to do so by the free
concurrence of individual wills. There are other times
when monarchy, though from a contrary cause, has the
same merit. Why did the Roman world, so near disso-
lution at the end of the republic, still subsist for more
than fifteen centuries under the name of an empire,
which, after all, was nothing but a lingering decay, a pro-
tracted death-struggle? Monarchy only could produce
such an effect
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ccxxv.
Difficulties of Velasquez.
In this embarrassing situation he formed the chimerical
scheme, not only of achieving great exploits by a deputy,
but of securing to himself the glory of conquests which
were to be made by another. In the execution of this
plan, he fondly aimed at reconciling contradictions. He
was solicitous to choose a commander of intrepid resolu-
tion, and of superior abilities, because he knew these to
be requisite in order to secure success ; but, at the same
time, from the jealousy natural to little minds, he wished
this person to be of a spirit so tame and obsequious, as
to be entirely dependent on his wilL But when he came
to apply those ideas in forming an opinion concerning
the several officers who occurred to his thoughts as
worthy of being intrusted with the command, he soon
perceived that it was impossible to find such incompatible
qualities united in one character. Such as were distin-
guished for courage and talents were too high-spirited
to be passive instruments in his hands. Those who
appeared more gentle and tractable were destitute of
capacity, and unequal to the charge. This augmented his
perplexity and his fears. Robertson,
CCXXVI.
Public Liberty.
Many politicians of our time are in the habit of laying
h down as a self-evident proposition that no people ought
to be free till they are fit to use their freedom. The
maxim is worthy of the fool in the old story, who resolved
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 137
not to go into the water until he had learned to swim.
If men are to wait for liberty till they become wise and
good in slavery, they may indeed wait for ever. There-
fore it is that we decidedly approve of the conduct of
Milton and the other wise and good men, who, in spite
of much that was ridiculous and hateful in the conduct
of their associates, stood firmly by the cause of public
liberty. We are not aware that the poet has been charged
with personal participation in any of the blameable ex-
cesses of his time. Macmitay,
ccxxvn.
WiUianCs Perplexities.
He felt that it would be madness in him to imitate the
example of Monmouth, to cross the sea with a few British
adventurers, and to trust to a general rising of the popu-
lation. It was necessary, and it was pronounced necessary
by all those who invited him over, that he should carry
an army with him. Yet who could answer for the effect
which the appearance of such an army might produce ?
The government was indeed justly odious. But would
the English people, altogether unaccustomed to the in-
terference of continental powers in English disputes, be
inclined to look with favour oh a deliverer who was sur-
rounded by foreign soldiers ? If any part of the royal
forces resolutely withstood the invaders, would not that
part soon have on its side the patriotic sympathy of
millions ? A defeat would be fatal to the whole under-
taking. A bloody victory gained in the heart of the island
by the mercenaries of the States General over the Cold-
stream Guards and the Buffs would be almost as great a
calamity as a defeat Such a victory would be the most
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138 NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, [Part IV.
cruel wound ever inflicted on the national pride of one of
the proudest of nations. The crown so won would never
be worn in peace or security. Many, who had hitherto
contemplated the power of France with dread and loath^
ing, would say that, if a foreign yoke must be borne, there
was less ignominy in submitting to France Chan in sub<-
mitting to Holland. Macaulay.
ccxxvni.
The Blues and the Greens.
Their first complaints were respectful and modest;
they accused the subordinate ministers of oppression, and
proclaimed their wishes for the long life and victory of the
emperor. * Be patient and attentive, ye insolent railens ! '
exclaimed Justinian ; * be mute, ye Jews, Samaritan?, and
Manichaeans i' The greens still attempted to awaken his
compassion. ^We are poor, we are innocent, we are
injured, we dare not pass through the streets : a general
persecution is exercised against our name and colour.
Let us die, O emperor I but let us die by your command,
and for your service I ' But the repetition of partial and
passionate invectives degraded, in their eyes, the majesty
of the purple ; they renounced allegiance to the prince
who refused justice to his people; lamented that the
father of Justinian had been born ; and branded his son
with the opprobrious names of an homicide, an ass, and a
perjured tyrant * Do you despise your lives ?' cried the
indignant monarch : the blues rose with fury from thdr
seats ; their hostile clamours thundered in the hippo*
drome ; and their adversaries, deserting the unequal
contest, spread terror and despair through the streets of
Constantinople. Gibbon,
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PwtlV.] AND HISTORICAL. 139
CCZXIX.
Weighs Magistrates.
The burgomasters were generally chosen by weight.
It is a maxim observed in all honest plain-thinking cities
that an alderman should be fat, and the wisdom of this
can be proved to a certainty. A lean, spare, diminutive
body b generally accompanied by a petulant, restless,
meddling mind, whereas your round sleek unwieldy
periphery is ever accompanied by a mind like itself,
tranquil, torpid, and at ease. Who ever hears of fdSi men
leading a riot, or herding together in turi}ulent mobs ?
Wiishingkm Irving,
OOYYX.
Siege of Harlem.
The tidings of despair created a terrible commotion in
the starving city. There was no hope either in submis-
sion or ivsistance. Massacre or starvation were the only
alternative. But if there was no hope within the walls,
mthout there was still a soldier's death. For a moment
the garrison and the able-bodied citizens resojved to ad-
vance from the gates in a solid column, to cut their way
through the enemy^s camp, or to perish on the field, It
was thought that the helpless and the infirm, who would
alone be left in the city, might be treated with indulgence
after the fighting men had all been slain. At any rate, by
remaining, the strong could neither protect nor comfort
them. As soon, however, as this resolve was known,
there was such wailing and outcry of women and children
as pierced the hearts of the soldiers and burghers, and
caused them to forego the project* They felt that It was
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I40 NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, [Part IV.
cowardly not to die in their presence. It was then deter-
mined to form all the females, the sick, the aged, and the
children, into a square, to surround them with all the
able-bodied men who still remained, and thus arrayed to
fight their way forth from the gates, and to conquer by
the strength of despair, or at least to perish aU together.
CCXXXI.
From Morte d Arthur.
Then they lightly avoided their horses, and put their
shields afore them and drew their swords and ran together
like two fierce lions, and either gave other such buffets
upon their helms that they reeled both backwards two
strides, and then they recovered both and hewed great
pieces from their harness and their shields that a great
part fell in the fields. And thus they fought till it was
past noon and would not stint till at last they both lacked
wind, and then they stood wagging, staggering, panting,
blowing and bleeding, so that all those that beheld them
for the most part wept for pity. And when they had
rested them a while they went to battle again trasing,
rasing, and foyning, as two boars, and sometime they ran
the one against the other as it had been two wild rams, and
hurtled so together that they fell to the ground grovelling :
and sometime they were so amazed that either took other's
swords in stead of their own. Thus they endured till
even-song time, that there was none that there beheld
them might know whether was likliest to win the battle,
and their armour was so sore hewn that men might see
their naked sides, and in other places they were naked
but ever the naked places they defended. And thus by
assent of them both they granted each other to rest a
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Part nr.] AND HISTORICAL. 141
while, aad so they set them down upon two mole hills
there beside the fighting place, and each of them unlaced
his helm and took the cold wind, for either of their pages
were fiast by them to come when they called for them to
unlace their harness. MaUny.
CCXXXTT.
Wateriod.
When the renmant of the Old Guard gave way, and
Bulow's Prussians marched up from the valley to the
chauss^e, they found the main body of the French flying
in utter disorder along the road and across the fields.
The great high road was choked up by the fugitives ; the
very efforts of the pursuers were obstructed by the chaos
into which they plunged. Arms were thrown down,
packs cast off, guns abandoned. The British and the
Prussians, converging upon the Charleroi road between
La Belle Alliance and Rossomme, forced all they did not
take or slay into the fields or the main road. Darkness
had settled over the field ; the masses, moving through
the obscurity, hurtled against each other, and more than
once friends were mistaken fbr foes. But in the gloom
of that summer evening, lighted only by a rising moon,
there was such exultation as men can feel only when, by
fortitude and skill, they have snatched a brilliant victory
from the very jaws of destruction. As the Prussians
came up from the bloodstained village of Plancheroit,
their bands played *God save the King,Vand the heroic
British infantry in the van answered with true British
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1411 NARRATIVE^ DESCRIPTIVE, [P«t IV.
cczxxm.
Revolt and Blockade of MytUenti
The beginning of the following year saw the revolt of
Mytilene. The news was received at first with incredu-
lity by the Athenians who were all but crushed by the
recent plague and harassed by the repeated invasions
of the Spartans. But when confirmation of the tidings
left no room for doubt that the state was threatened by a
new and unexpected danger, a blaze of indignation en-
sued. Athens had never subjected Mytilene to harsh or
overbearing rule : when almost every other state in the
confederacy had been reduced to a position of dependence,
Mytilene had enjoyed equal rights and had been treated
with marked distinction, paying no tribute and retaining
its fortifications and its navy. Now on the flimsy pretext
that they had no assurance of safety in the future, and
were unwilling to go hand in hand with the Athenians in
their schemes for the subjugation of the whole of Greece,
their allies had seized tbe moment when they fancied
Athens was tottering to its fall to revolt to the enemy.
If this example were followed, if Athens were stripped
one by one of the supports on which it leant, what hope
of success remained ? How could the state continue the
struggle against overwhelming odds when it was already
plunged in such difiiculties? Exasperated as much by
the insolence as by the treachery of their ally, the Athe-
nians determined to prove that their power was not at so
low an ebb as was imagined, and accordingly equipped a
powerful fleet and despatched it to blockade Mytilene.
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 143
ccxxxrv.
MytiUne sues for Pardon.
Disappoiilted at length in their hopes of assistance from
the Spartans, and reduced to utter despair by the growing
pressure of famine, the Mytilenaean authorities deter-
mined on arming the populace and making a sortie against
the blockading force. But the result of this step was dif-
ferent from their expectations. The starving citizens who
had never been in sympathy with the revolt no sooner
found themselves possessed of weapons than they de-
clined to face so perilous an enterprise. Secret complaint
and discontent changed to open menace and abuse of
their masters. The cry was raised, invariable at such
a moment, that the authorities had stored up great quan-
tities of food which they shared with the rich, while the
poor were dying of starvation. Unless they brought the
contents of their granaries into the light of day and distri-
buted them at large, immediate surrender was threatened.
Well aware that this meant their own certain destruction,
the magistrates preferred themselves to take the initiative
in this movement, and opened negotiations with the Athe-
nian general, the result being that the town was condition-
ally made over to him, while an embassy was despatched
to Athens to sue for pardon.
ccxxxv.
Crud Decree of the Athenians.
The exultation at Athens was unbounded. At last the
opportunity had come for wreaking vengeance on the
Mitylenseans. In the blind resentment of the moment
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144 NARRA TIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, [Part IV.
all prayers for mercy were rejected, and it was resolved
to put to death the whole male population of military age,
and to sell the women and children as slaves. This
frightful decision was taken mainly on the advice of
Cleon, a man of low extraction, who at that time com-
manded most influence with the populace. But hardly
had the assembly broken up before the citizens began to
repent of their headlong haste. Reflexion showed them
that it was a piece of monstrous cruelty to cut ofif a whole
population at a blow : their anger would fall on innocent
and guilty alike^ and the honour of Athens would be
seriously compromised. In this state of public feeling,
Diodotus and others who were advocates of milder mea-
sures succeeded with httle difficulty in getting the magis-
trates to call a second meeting on the morrow for the
purpose of giving the whole question fresh consideration.
CCXXXVI.
Second meeting: the Decree reversed.
Next day in the assembly Cleon violently attacked the
populace for the inconstancy they had displayed, warning
them at the same time that it was the height of madness
for a people with such imperial responsibilities as theirs
to give way to unwise tenderness of heart The Myti-
lenaeans had inflicted on them grievous injury without
provocation, and unless stem justice were meted out,
there would be fresh outbreaks of these troubles in the
not distant future. They ought to adhere to their former
decision and turn a deaf ear to politicians whose prime
aim was not the commonwealth but self. On the other
hand Diodotus argued the folly of deciding a matter of
such moment under the influence of strong passion.
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Pwtnr.] AND HISTORICAL. 145
Even if considerations of expediency weighed more with
them than those of honour, some mitigation of their harsh
sentences was called for. It would not prevent any other
of the allied states from revolting if a fair chance of suc-
cess appeared : and beyond all question a revolted ally
would resort to the most desperate measures rather than
fall into the hands of so pitiless a foe. Happily for Mity-
lene the party of mercy carried the day, and messengers
were at once dispatched with orders for the Athenian
general to spare die vanquished city.
Adapted from GroU,
ccxxxvn.
An Incident in the Mutiny.
Meantime a flag of truce arrived from the enemy invit-
ing us to a conference outside the fort, and professing
that they had a communication to make which they hoped
would put an end to hostilities. On one of our officers
being ordered out, the Rajah assured him that in attacking
our cantonments he had not acted on his own will or
judgment, but under compulsion from his people ; that,
though nominally commander, his authority over his
soldiers was hardly equal to that which they exercised
over himself. He was not, he added, so ignorant as to
believe that his forces could defy the power of England ;
but he had found it impossible to resist the general rising
of his nation. Now that he had discharged the duties of
a patriot, he earnestly warned the general to save himself
and his soldiers. He oflfered his solemn oath to guide
them in safety through his own territory to the next can-
tonments. In doing this he should, he said, both serve
his own countrymen, and show substantial gratitude for
L
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146 NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, [Part IV.
past favours to his English friends. Only let there be no
delay or hesitation. Before three days were over the
insurgents would be largely reinforced, and all hope of
safety would have disappeared. After Orme.
ccxxxym.
A Veritable Ghost
A late very pious but very credulous bishop was relating
a strange story of a demon, that haunted a girl in Loth-
bury, to a company of gentlemen in the City, when one
of them told his lordship the following adventure :—
* As I was one night reading in bed, as my custom is,
and all my family were at rest, I heard a foot deliberately
ascending the stairs, and as it came nearer I heard some-
thing breathe. While I was musing what it should be,
three hollow knocks at* my door made me ask who was
there, and instantly the door blew open/ *AhI sir,
and pray what did you see ? ' * My lord, 111 tell you. A
tall thin figure stood before me, with withered hair, and
an earthly aspect; he was covered with a long sooty
garment, that descended to his ankles, and his waist was
clasped close within a broad leathern girdle. In one hand
he held a black staff taller than himself, and in the other
a round body of pale light, which shone feebly every
way.* 'That's remarkable! pray, sir, go on.' *It
beckoned to me, and I followed it downstairs, and there
it left me, and made a hideous noise in the street* *This
is really odd and surprising ; but, pray now, did it give
you no notice what it might particularly seek or aim at ? '
' Yes, my lord, it was the watchman, who came to show
me that my servants had left all my doors open.'
Researches of a Psychical Society*
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL, 147
CCXXXIX.
The Giant Tree-Creeper,
The Blacks ascend the trees by the aid of a ring formed
of a stout piece of the stem of a creeper, which is ex-
cessively strong and supple ; one end is tied into a loop,
and the other thrown round the tree is passed through
the loop and bent back : the end being secured forms a
ready and perfectly safe ring, which the operator passes
over his waist The stumps of the fallen leaves form
projections which very much assist him in getting up the
tree. This is done by taking hold of the ring with each
hand, and by a succession of jerks the climber is soon up
at the top, with his empty gourds hung round his neck.
With a pointed instrument he taps the tree at the crown,
and attaches the mouth of a gourd to the aperture, or
he takes advantage of the grooved stem of a leaf cut off
short to use as a channel for the sap to flow into the
gourd suspended below. Monteiro,
CCXL,
The Giant Tree-Creeper {continued).
Its stem is sometimes as thick as a man's thigh, and in
the dense woods at Quiballa I have seen a considerable
extent of forest festooned down to the ground, from tree
to tree, in all directions with its thick stems, like great
hawsers ; above, the trees were nearly hidden by its large,
bright, dark-green leaves, and studded with beautiful
branches of pure white star-like flowers, moet sweetly
scented. Its fruit is the size of a large orange, of a yellow
colour when ripe, and perfectly round, with a hard brittle
shell ; inside it is full of a soft reddish pulp in which the
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148 NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, [Part IV.
seeds are contained. This pulp is of a very agreeable
acid flavour, and is much liked by the natives. The ripe
fruit, when cleaned, out, is employed by them to contain
small quantities of oil, &c. It is not always easy to obtain
ripe seeds, as this creeper is the favourite resort of a
villainous, semi-transparent, long-legged red ant— with a
stinging bite, like a red-hot needle— which is very fond
of the pulp and seeds. Monidro.
CCXLI.
Kosciusko,
In the invasion of France, many years after, some
Polish regiments in the service of Russia, passed through
the village where this exiled patriot then lived. Some
pillaging of the inhabitants brought Kosciusko from his
cottage. *When I was a Polish soldier,' said he, ad-
dressing the plunderers, * the property of the peaceful
citizen was respected.' *And who art thou?' said an
officer, * who addresses us with a tone of authority ? ' * I
am Kosciusko.' There was magic in the word. It ran
from corps to corps. The march was suspended. They
gathered round him, and gazed with astonishment and
awe upon the mighty ruin he presented. * Could it indeed
be their hero, whose fame was identified with that of
their country?' A thousand interesting reflections burst
upon their minds ; they remembered his patriotism, his
devotion to liberty, his triumphs, and his glorious fall
Their iron hearts were softened ; the tears trickled down
their faces as they grieved in idle indignation over their
country's shameful doom, nor is it difficult to conceive
what would be the feelings of the hero himself in such
a scene. p^^ Anecdotes,
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 149
OGXLn.
Columbus and the Eclipse.
By his skfll in Astronomy he knew that there was
shortly to be an eclipse of the moon. He assembled all
the principal persons of the district aroimd him on the
day before it happened, and, after reproaching them for
their fickleness in withdrawing their affection and assist-
ance jfrom men whom they had lately revered, he told
them that the Spaniards were serviants of the Great
Spirit who dwells in heaven, who made and governs the
World J that he, offended 9i their refusing to support men
who were the objects of his peculiar favour, wds pre-
paring to punish this crime with signal severity, and that
very night the moon should vnthhold her light, and
appear of a bloody hue, us a sign of the divine wrath
and of the vengeance ready to fall upon them. To this
marvellous prediction some of them listened with the
careless indifference peculiar to the people of America ;
others, with the credulity natural to barbarians. But
when the moon began gradually to be darkened, and at
length ^ypeared of a red colour, all were struck with
terror. They ran with constemati<Hi to their houses, and
returning instantly to Columbus loaded with provisions,
threw them at his feet, conjuring him to intercede with
the Great Spirit to avert tiie destruction with whidi they
were threatened Roberison.
oczLin.
James /. repents his Rashness.
No sooner was the king alcme, than his temper, more
cautious than sanguine, suggested very different views of
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I50 NARRA TIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, [Part IV.
the matter, and represented every difficulty and danger
which could occur. He reflected that, however the
world might pardon this folly of youth in the prince, they
would never forgive himself, who, at his years, and after
his experience, could entrust his only son, the heir of his
crown, the prop of his age, to the discretion of foreigners,
without so much as providing the frail security of a safe
conduct in his favour ; that if the Spanish monarch were
sincere in his professions, a few months must finish the
treaty of marriage, and bring the Infanta into England ;
if he were not sincere, the folly was still more egregious
of committing the prince into his hands; that Philip,
when possessed of so invaluable a pledge, might well rise
in his demands, and impose harder conditions of treaty ;
and that the temerity of the enterprize was so apparent,
that the event, how prosperous soever, could not justify
it ; and if disastrous, it would render himself infamous to
his people, and ridiculous to all posterity, Htmu,
Aeolus wrecks an Armada.
It was now broad day; the hurricane had abated
nothing of its violence, and the sea appeared agitated
with all the rage of which that destructive element is
capable ; all the ships on which alone the whole army
knew that their safety and subsistence depended were
driven from their anchors, some dashing against each
other, some beat to pieces on the rocks, many forced
ashore, and not a few sinking in the waves. In less than
an hour, fifteen ships of war, and one hundred and forty
transports with eight thousand men perished : and such
of the unhappy crews as escaped the fury of the sea, were
murdered without mercy by the Arabs, as soon as they
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 151
reached land. The Emperor stood in silent anguish and
astonishment, beholding the fatal event which at once
blasted all his hopes of success, and buried in the depths
the vast stores which he had provided as well for annoy-
ing the enemy as for subsisting his own troops ... At
last the wind began to fall and to give some hopes that
as many ships might escape as would be sufficient to save
the army from perishing by famine and transport them
back to Europe. But these were only hopes : the ap-
proach of evening covered the sea with darkness ; and it
being impossible for the officers aboard the ships which
had outlived the storm, to send any intelligence to their
companions who were ashore, they remained during the
night in all the anguish of suspense and uncertainty.
Robertson,
CCXIiV.
Cicerds Tusculan Villa.
From the hill on which this villa stood the spectator
surveyed a wide and various prospect, rich at once in
natural beauty and historic associations. The plain at his
feet was the battle-field of the Roman kings and of the
infant commonwealth ; it was strewn with the marble
sepulchres of patricians and consulars : across it stretched
the long straight lines of the military ways which trans-
ported the ensigns of conquest to Parthia and Arabia.
On the right over meadow and woodland, lucid with rivu-
lets, he beheld the white turrets of Tibur, iEsula, Prae-
neste, strung like a row of pearls on the bosom of the
Sabine mountains; on the left, the glistening waves of
Alba sunk in their green crater, the towering cone of the
Latin Jupiter, the oaks of Arida and the pines of Lauren-
tum, and the sea bearing sails of every nation to the strand
ofOstia. Mitivali.
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I5« NARRA TIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, [Part IV.
COXLVL
The Campagna.
Perhaps there is no more impressive scene on earth
than the solitary extent of the Campagna of Rome under
evening light. Let the reader imagine himself for a
moment withdrawn from the somids and motions of the
living world, and sent forth alone into this wild and
wasted plain. The earth yields and crumbles beneath
his foot, tread he never so lightly, for its substance is
white, hollow and carious, like the dusty wreck of the
bones of men. The long knotted grass waves and tosses
feebly in the evening wind, and the shadows of its motion
shake feverishly along the banks of rivers that lift them-
selves to the sunlight Hillocks of mouldering earth
heave around him, as if the dead beneath were struggling
in their sleep ; scattered blocks of black stone, foursquare,
remnants of mighty edifices, not one left upon another, lie
upon them to keep them down« A dull purple poisonous
haze stretches level along the desert, veiling its spectral
wrecks of mossy ruins, on whose rents the red light rests
like dying fire on defiled altars. The blue ridge of the
Alban Mount lifts itself against a solemn space of green
clear quiet sky. Watch-towers of dark clouds stand
steadfastly along the promontories of the Apennines.
From the plain to the mountains, the shattered aque-
ducts, pier beyond pier, melt into the darkness, like
shadowy and countless troops of funeral mourners,
passing from a nation's grave. R$4skm.
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 153
ccxLvn.
Young St. Giles.
Some time after, the people discovered their sentiments
in such a manner as was sufficient to prognosticate to the
priests the fate which was awaiting them. It was usual
on the festival of St Giles, the tutelar saint of Edinburgh,
to carry in procession the image of that saint ; but the
Protestants, in order to prevent the ceremony, found
means, on the eve of the festival, to purloin the statue
from the church; and they pleased themselves with
imagining the surprise and disappointment of his
votaries. The clergy, however, framed hastily a new
image, which, in derision, was called by the people
young St Giles ; and they carried it through the streets,
attended by all the ecclesiastics in the town and neigh-
bourhood. The multitude abstained from violence so
long as the queen-regent continued a spectator, but the
moment she retired, they invaded the idol, threw it in
the mire, and broke it in pieces. The flight and terror of
the priests and friars, who, it was remarked, deserted, in
his greatest distress, the object of their worship, was the
source of universal mockery and laughtdn Hunu.
ccxLVin.
The Hardy North.
These northern people were distinguished by tall
stature, blue eyes, red hair and beards. They were in-
defatigable in war, but indolent in sedentary labours.
They endured hunger more patiently than thirst, and
cold than the heat of the meridian sim. They disdained
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154 NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, [Part IV.
towns as the refuge of a timorous, and the hiding-places
of a thievish populace. They burnt them in the countries
which they conquered, or suffered them to fall into
decay; and centuries elapsed before they surrounded
their villages with walls. Their huts, dispersed like those
of the Alpine people, were placed on the banks of rivu-
lets, or near fountains, or in woods, or in the midst of
fields. Every farm constituted a distinct centre round
which the herds of the owner wandered, or where, among
agricultural tribes, the women and slaves tilled the land.
The Germans used very little clothing, for the habit of
enduring cold served them in its stead. The hides of
beasts, the spoils of the chase, hung from the shoulders
of the warriors; and the women wore woollen coats
ornamented with feathers, or with patches of skins which
they selected for their splendid and various tints. The
use of clothes which, fitting accurately the different
parts of the body, covered the whole of it, was intro-
duced many ages afterwards, and was looked upon even
then as a signal corruption of manners. Burk$.
CCXLIX
Julian and his Army.
As soon as the approach of the troops was announced,
the Cflesar went out to meet them, and ascended his
tribunal, which had been erected in a plain before the
gates of the city. After distinguishing the officers and
soldiers who by their rank or merit deserved a peculiar
attention, Julian addressed himself in a studied oration
to the surrounding multitude: he celebrated their ex-
ploits with grateful applause ; encouraged them to accept,
with alacrity, the honour of serving under the eyes of a
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 155
powerful and liberal monarch; and admonished them
that the commands of Augustus required an instant and
cheerful obedience. The soldiers, who were apprehensive
of offending their general by an indecent clamour, or of
belying their sentiments by false and venal acclamations,
maintained an obstinate silence ; and after a short pause
were dismissed to their quarters. The principal officers
were entertained by the Caesar, who professed, in the
warmest language of friendship, his desire and inability
to reward, according to their deserts, the brave com«
panions of his victories. They retired from the feast
full of grief and perplexity; and lamented the hard-
ship of their fate, which tore them from their beloved
general and their native country. The only expedient
which could prevent their separation was boldly agitated
and approved; the popular resentment was insensibly
moulded into a regular conspiracy; their just reasons
of complaint were heightened by passion, and their
passions were inflamed by wine, as on the eve of their
departure the troops were indulged in licentious festivity.
CGL.
The House of Cornelia.
On the promontory of Misenus is yet standing the
mansion of Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi; and,
whether firom the reverence of her virtues and exalted
name, or that the gods preserve it as a monument of
womanhood, its exterior is yet unchanged. Here she
resided many years, and never would be induced to
revisit Rome afler the murder of her younger son. She
cultivated a variety of flowers, and naturalised several
plants, and brought together trees from vale and moun-
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1 56 NARRA TIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, part IV.
tain, trees unproductive of fruit but affording her in their
superintendence and management a tranqtiil and tx-
pectant pleasure. We read that the Babylonians and
Persians were formerly much addicted to similar placed
qH recreation. I have no knowledge in these tnatters ;
and the first time I went thither I asked many questions
of the gardener's boy, a child about nine years old. He
thought me still more ignorant than I was, and said
among other such remarks, * I do not know what they
call this plant at Rome, or whether they have it there \
but it is among the commonest here, beautiful as it isy
and we call it cytisus.' * Thank you, child,' said I smiling ;
and pointing towards t«ro cypresses, * pray what do you
call these high and gloomy trees, at the extremity of the
avenue, just above the precipice ? ' * Others like them,*
replied he, 'are called cypresses ; but these, I know not
why, have always been called Tiberius and Caius.'
Landor,
COM.
The CHician Pirates,
The pirates called themselves Cilicians; in fact their
vessels were the rendezvous of desperadoes and adven-
turers from all countries— discharged mercenaries from
the recruiting-grounds of Crete, burgesses from the de-
stroyed townships of Italy^ Spain, and Asia, soldiers and
officers from the armies of Fimbria and Sertorius, hi a
word the ruined men of all nations, the hunted refugees
of all vanquished parties, every one that was wretched
and daring— and where was there not misery and violence
in this unhappy age ? It was no Icmger a gang of robbers
who had flocked together, but a compact soldier-state, in
which the freemasonry of exile and crime took the place
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 157
of nationality, and within which crime redeemed itself, as
it so often does in its own eyes, by displaying the most
generous public spirit If the banner of this state was
inscribed with vengeance against the civil society which,
rightly or wrongly, had ejected its members, it might be
1^ question whether this device was much worse than
those of the Italian oligarchy and the Oriental sultanship
which seemed in the course of dividing the world between
^^ Momntsen,
ccLn.
Hyder Alt bursts upon the Camattc.
He resolved in the gloomy recesses of a mind capadons
of such things to leave the whole Camatic an everlasting
monument of vengeance, and to put perpetual desolation
as a barrier between him and those against whom the
faith which holds the moral elements of the world to-
gether was no protection. He became at length so con-
fident of his force, so collected in his might that he
made no secret whatever of his dreadful resolution.
Having terminated his dispute with every enemy and
every rival, who buried their mutual animosities in their
common detestation against the creditors of the Nabob
of Arcot, he drew from every quarter whatever a savage
ferocity could add to his new rudiments in the arts of
destruction ; and, compounding all the materials of fury,
havoc, and desolation into one black cloud he hung for
a while on the declivities of the mountains ; whilst the
authors of all these evils were idly and stupidly gazing
on the menacing meteor which blackened all their horizon,
it suddenly burst and poured down the whole of its con-
tents upon the plains of the Carnatic Then ensued a
scene of woe, the like of which no eye had seen, no heart
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158 NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, [Part IV.
conceived, and which no tongue can adequately tell. All
the horrors of war before known or heard of were mercy
to that new havoc. A storm of universal fire blasted
every field, consumed every house, destroyed every
temple. The miserable inhabitants flying from the flam-
ing villages in part were slaughtered; others, without
regard to sex, to age, to the respect of rank or the sacred-
ness of function— fathers torn from children, husbands
■ from wives, enveloped in a whirlwind of cavalry, and
amidst the goading spears of drivers and the trampling
of pursuing horses— were swept into a captivity in an
unknown and hostile land. Those who were able to
avoid this tempest fled to the walled cities ; but escaping
from fire, sword, and exile, they fell into the jaws of
famine. Burk$.
ccLni.
Tropical Africa.
Into the heart of this mysterious Africa I wish to
take you with me now. And let me magnify my sub-
ject by saying at once that it is a wonderful thing to
see. It is a wonderful thing to start from the civiliza-
tion of Europe, pass up these mighty rivers and woric
your way dnto that unknown land, — work your way
alone and on feet, mile afler mile, month afler month,
among strange birds and beasts and plants and insects,
meeting tribes which have no name, speaking tongues
which no man can interpret, till you have reached its
secret heart and stood where white man has never trod
before. It is a wonderful thing to look at this weird
world of human beings— half animal, half children, wholly
savage and wholly heathen ; and to* turn and come back
again to civilization before the impressions have had time
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 159
to faint and while the myriad problems of so strange a
spectacle are still seething in the mind. It is an educa-
tion to see this sight, an education in the meaning and
history of man. To have been here is to have lived
before Menes. It is to have watched the dawn of evolu-
tion. It is to have the great moral and social problems
of life, of anthropology, of ethnology and even of theo-
logy, brought home to the imagination in the new and
startling light Drmnmond.
CCLIV.
Augustus and Charles IV.
If we annihilate the interval of time and space between
Augustus and Charles, strong and striking will be the
contrast between the two Caesars ; the Bohemian, who
concealed his weakness under the mask of ostentation,
and the Roman, who disguised his strength under the
semblance of modesty. At the head of his victorious
legions, in his reign over the sea and land, from the Nile
and Euphrates to the Atlantic ocean, Augustus professed
himself the servant of the senate and the equal of his
fellow citizens. The conqueror of Rome and her pro-
vinces assumed the popular and legal form of the censor,
a consul, and a tribune. His will was the law of man-
kind, but in the declaration of his laws he borrowed the
voice of the senate and people ; and, from their decrees,
their master accepted and received his tempor^ com-
mission, to administer to the republic. In his dress,
his domestics, his titles, in all the offices of social life,
Augustus maintained the character of a private Roman ;
and his most artful flatterers respected the secret of abso-
lute and perpetual monarchy. Gibbon,
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CCLV.
Two Armies of Martyrs.
Here, therefore, we are to enter upon one of the grand
scenes of history; a solemn battle fought out to the
death, yet fought without ferocity, by the champi(ms of
rival principles^ Heroic men had fallen, and were still
fast falling, for what was called heresy ; and now those
who had inflicted death on others were called upon to
bear the same witness to their own sincerity. England
became the theatre of a war between two armies of
martyrs, to be waged, not upon the open field, in open
action, but on the stake and on the scaffold, with the
nobler weapons of passive endurance. Each party were
ready to give their own blood ; each party were ready to
shed the blood of their antagonists ; and the sword was
to single out its victims in the rival ranks, not, as in
peace, among those whose crimes made them dangerous
to society, but as on the field of battle, where the most
conspicuous courage most challenges the aim of the
enemy. It was war though under the form erf" peace ;
and if we would understand the true spirit of the time,
we must regard Catholics and Protestants as gallant
soldiers, whose deaths, when they fall, are not painful,
but glorious ; and whose devotion we are equally able
to admire, even where we cannot equally approve their
cause. Froud€.
CCLVI.
The Libertine Destroyed.
This calls to my mind a thing that really happened
not many years ago. A young fellow of some rank and
fortune, just let loose from the university, resolved, in
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order to make a figure in the world, to assume the
shining character of what he called a rake. By way of
learning the rudiments of his intended profession, he
frequented the theatres, where he was often drunk and
always noisy. Being one night at the representation of
that most absurd play, Th€ Libertine Destrcyed^ he was so
charmed with the profligacy of the hero of the piece,
that, to the edification of the audience, he swore many
oaths that he would be the libertine destroyed. A dis-
creet friend of his, who sat. by him, kindly represented
to him that to be the libertine was a laudable design
which he greatly approved of; but that to be the liber-
tine destroyed seemed to him an unnecessary part of his
plan, and rather rash. He persisted, however, in his
first resolution, and insisted upon being the libertine and
destroyed. Probably he was so ; at least the presumption
is in his favour. There are, I am persuaded, so many
cases of this nature, that for my own part I would desire
no greater step towards the reformation of manners for
the next twenty years, than that our people should have
no vices but their own. ChesUrfiM,
ccLvn.
Rome under Valentinian.
As early as the time of Cicero and Varro it was the
opinion of the Roman augurs that the twelve vultures
which Romulus had seen represented the twelve cen-
turies assigned for the fatal period of his city. This
prophecy, disregarded perhaps in the season of health
and prosperity, inspired the people with gloomy appre-
hensions when the twelfth century, clouded with disgrace
and misfortune, was almost elapsed ; and even posterity
must acknowledge with some surprise that the arbitrary
M
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interpretation of an accidental or fabulous circumstance
has been seriously verified in the downfall of the Western
Empire. But its fall was announced by a clearer omen
than the flight of vultures : the Roman Government
appeared every day less formidable to its enemies, more
odious and oppressive to its subjects. The 'taxes were
multiplied with the public distress; economy was neg-
lected in proportion as it became necessary; and the
injustice of the rich shifted the unequal burden from
themselves to the people^ Whom they defrauded of the
indulgences that might sometimes have alleviated their
misery. The severe inquisition, which confiscated their
goods and tortured their persons, compelled the subjects
of Valentinian to prefer the more simple tyranny of the
barbarians, to fly to the woods and mountains, or to
embrace the vile and abject condition of mercenary ser-
vants. They abjured and abhorred the name of Roman
citizen, which had formerly excited the ambition of man-
kind. ... If all the barbarian conquerors had been anni-
hilated in the same hour, their total destruction would
not have restored the empire of the West ; and if Rome
still survived, she survived the loss of freedom, of virtue,
and of honour. Gibbon,
coLvm.
Second Invasion of Attica, B.C. 430.
Over and above the raging epidemic, they had just gone
over Attica and ascertained the devastations committed
throughout all the territory (except the Marathonian
Tetrapolis and Dekeleia districts spared, as we are told,
through indulgence founded on an ancient legendary
sympathy) during their long stay of forty days. The rich
had found their comfortable mansions and farms, the poor
their modest cottages, in the various demes, torn and
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 163
ruined. Death, sickness, loss of property, and despair of
the future, now rendered the Athenians angry and in-
tractable to the last degree ; and they vented their feelings
against Pericles, as the cause, not merely of the war, but
also of all that they were now enduring. Either with or
without his consent, they sent envoys to Sparta to open
negotiations for peace, but the Spartans turned a deaf ear
to the proposition. This new disappointment rendered
them still more furious against Pericles, whose long-
standing political enemies now doubtless found strong
sympathy in their denunciations of his character and
policy. That unshaken and majestic firmness which
ranked first among his many eminent qualities, was
never more imperiously required and never more effec-
tively manifested. q^i^^
cctrx.
Slow Decay of Rome.
It was scarcely possible that the eyes of contempo-
raries should discover in the public felicity the latent
causes of decay. This long peace and the uniform
government of the Romans introduced a slow and secret
poison into the vitals of the empire. The minds of men
were gradually reduced to the same level, the fire of
genius was extinguished, and even the military spirit
evaporated. The natives of Europe were brave and
robust ; Spain, Gaul, Britain, and Illyricum supplied the
legions with excellent soldiers, and constituted the real
strength of the monarchy. Their personal valour re-
mained, but they no longer possessed that public courage
which is nourished by the love of independence, the
presence of danger, and the habit of command. They
received laws and governors from the will of their sove-
reign, and trusted for their defence to a mercenary army.
M 2
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The posterity of their boldest leaders was contented with
the rank of citizens and subjects. The most aspiring
spirits resorted to the court or standard of the emperors ;
and the deserted provinces, deprived of political strength
or union, insensibly sunk into the languid indififer«nce of
private life. Gibbon,
CCLX.
Assassination of President Lincoln.
I mourn for Mr. Lincoln, as man should mourn the
fate of man, when it is sudden and supreme. I hate
regicide as I do populicide — deeply, if frenzied; more
deeply, if deliberate. But my wonder is in remembering
the tone of the English people and press respecting this
man during his life, and in comparing it with their sayings
of him in his death. They caricatured him and reviled
him when his cause was poised in deadly balance ; when
their praise would have been grateful to him and their
help priceless. They now declare his cause to have been
just, when it needs no aid ; and his purposes to have been
noble, when all human thoughts of them have become
vanity ; and will never so much as mix their murmurs in
his ears with the sentence of the Tribunal which has sum-
moned him to receive a juster praise and tenderer blame
than ours. RusJAn.
CCLXI.
Pitt's Devotion to Parliament
The details of the childhood of great men are apt to be
petty and cloying. But, in the case of Pitt, those details
are doubly important. They alone explain that political
precocity and that long parliamentary ascendancy, which
still puzzle posterity. For he went into the House of
Commons as an heir enters his home ; he breathed in it
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 165
his native atmosphere — he had indeed breathed no
other; in the nursery, in the schoolroom, at the Uni-
versity, he lived in its temperature ; it had been, so to
speak, made over to him as a bequest by its unquestioned
master. Throughout his life, from the cradle to the grave,
he may be said to have known no wider existence. The
objects and amusements, that other men seek in a thou-
sand ways, were for him, all concentrated there. It was
his mistress, his stud, his dice-box, his gam^ preserve ; it
was his ambition, his library, his creed. For it, and for it
alone, had the consummate Chatham trained him from
his birth, Ko young HannibaT was ever more solemnly
devoted to his country than Pitt to Parliament And the
austerity of his political consecration lends additional
interest to the records of his childhood ; for they furnish
almost the only gleams of ease and nature that play on
his life. He was destined, at one bound, to attain that
supreme but isolated position, the first necessity of which
is self-control ; and, behind the imperious mask of power,
he all but concealed the softer emotions of his earlier
years. From the time that he went to Cambridge, as
a boy of fourteen with his tutor and his nurse, he seems,
with one short interval, to have left youth and gaiety
behind- Lord Rosebety.
CCLXII.
A Patriot King.
What spectacle can be presented to the eye of the mind
so rare, so nearly divine, as a king possessed of absolute
power, neither usurped by fraud, nor maintained by force,
but the genuine effect of esteem, of confidence, and affec-
tion; the free gift of liberty, who finds her greatest
security in this power, and would desire no other, if the
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prince on the throne could be, what his people wish him
to be, immortal? Civil fury will have no place in this
draught : or, if the monster is seen, he must be seen sub-
dued, bound, chained, and deprived entirely of power to
do hurt In his place concord will appear, brooding peace
and prosperity on the happy land : joy sitting in every
face, content in every heart ; a people unoppressed, un-
disturbed, unalarmed; busy to improve their private
property and the public stock ; fleets covering the ocean,
bringing home wealth by the returns of industry, carrying
assistance or terror abroad by the direction of wisdom,
and asserting triumphantly the right and the honour
of Great Britain, as far as waters roll, and as winds can
waft them. BoHnbrokt.
ccLxm.
Pitt on the Slave Trade,
It was in 1792 that Pitt set an imperishable seal on his
advocacy of the question, by the delivery of a speech
which all authorities concur in placing before any other
effort of his genius ; and certainly no recorded utterance
of his touches the imaginative flight of the peroration.
He rose exhausted, and immediately before rising was
obliged to take medicine to enable him to speak. But his
prolonged and powerful oration showed no signs of dis-
ability ; indeed, for the last twenty minutes he seemed,
said shrewd critics, to be nothing less than inspired. He
burst, as it were, into a prophetic vision of the civilization
that shall dawn upon Africa, and recalled the not less
than African barbarism of heathen Britain; exclaiming,
as the first beams of the morning sun pierced the win-
dows of Parliament, and appeared to suggest the quota-
tion —
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 167
Nos nbi primus equis Oriens afflavit anheUs^
lUic sera rultens accendit lumina Vesper.
Fox was loud in his generous admiration. Windham,
an even more hostile critic, avowed that, for the first
time, he understood the possible compass of human
eloquence. Sheridan, most hostile of all, was even pas-
sionate in his praise. Grey, who ceded to none in the
bitterness and expression of his enmity, ceded also to
none in his enthusiasm of eulogy. To those who consider
Pitt a sublime parliamentary hack, greedy of power and
careful only of what might conduce to power, his course
on the Slave Trade, where he had no interest to gain,
and could only offend powerful supporters, may well be
commended. Lord Roseb^ty.
CCLXTV.
Mary dedares War against France.
That he might work on these with greater facility and
more certain success, he set out for England. The Queen
who during her husband's absence had languished in per-
petual dejection, resumed fresh spirits on his arrival : and
without paying the least attention either to the interests
or the inclinations of her people, entered warmly into all
his schemes. In vain did the Privy Council remonstrate
against the imprudence as well as the danger of involving
the nation in unnecessary war ; in vain did they put her
in mind of the solemn treaties subsisting between Eng-
land and France, which the conduct of that nation had
afforded her no pretext to violate. Mary, soothed by
Philip's caresses, or intimidated by the threats which his
ascendancy over her emboldened him at some times to
throw out, was deaf to everything that could be lu-ged in
opposition to his sentiments, and insisted with the greatest
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vehemence on an immediate declaration of war against
France. The Council, though all Philip's address and
Mary's authority were employed to gain or overthrow
them, after struggling long, yielded at last, not from con-
viction, but merely from deference to the will of their
sovereign. War was declared against France, the only
one perhaps against that kingdom into which the English
ever entered with reluctance. RobtrisoH.
CCLXV.
Roman Noses.
Among the ancient Romans the great offices of state
were all elective, which obliged them to be very observant
of the shape of the noses of those persons to whom they
were to apply for votes. Horace tells us that a sharp
nose was an indication of satirical wit and humour ; for
when speaking of his friend Virgil, though he says, * At
est bonus, ut melior non alius quisquam,' yet he allows
he was no joker, and not a fit match at the sneer for
those of his companions who had sharper noses than
his own. They also looked upon short noses, with a
little inflection at the end tending upwards, as a mark
of the owner's being addicted to jibing; for the same
author, talking of Maecenas, says that though he was
bom of an ancient family, yet was he not apt to turn
persons of low birth into ridicule, which he expresses by
saying that * he had not a turn-up nose.* Martial, in one
of his epigrams, calls this kind of nose the rhinocerotic
nose, and says that everyone in his time afifected this
kind of snout, as an indication of his being master of ihi
talent of humour. j^^^^ j^^jj^^
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CCLXVI.
Genius not Hereditary.
Cicero, in order to accomplish his son in that sort of
learning which he designed him for, sent him to the most
celebrated academy of that time in the world, where a
vast concourse out of the most polite nations could not
but furnish the young gentleman with a multitude of
great examples and accidents which might insensibly
have instructed him in his designed studies. He placed
him under the care of Cratippus who was one of the
greatest philosophers of the age, and, as if all the books
which were then written were not sufficient for his use,
he composed others on purpose for him. Notwithstand-
ing all this, history informs us that Marcus proved a mere
blockhead and that Nature, who it seems was even with
the son for her prodigality to the father, rendered him
incapable of improving by all the rules of eloquence,
precepts of philosophy, his own endeavours, and the
most refined conversation of Athens.
CCLXVII.
A King on Politicians.
Neither do I say this with the least intention to detract
from the many virtues of that excellent king, whose
character, I am sensible, will, on this account, be very
much lessened in the opinion of an English reader ; but,
I take this defect among them to have arisen from their
ignorance, by not having hitherto reduced politics into a
science, as the more acute wits of Europe have done.
For, I remember very well, in a discourse one day with
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the king, when I happened to say, * there were several
thousand books among us written upon the art of govern-
ment,* it gave him (directly contrary to my intention) a
very mean opinion of our understandings. He professed
both to abominate and despise all mystery, refinement,
and intrigue, either in a prince or in a minister. He
could not tell what I meant by secrets of state, where an
enemy, or some rival nation, were not in the case. He
confined the knowledge of governing within very narrow
bounds, to common sense and reason, to justice and
lenity, to the speedy determination of civil and criminal
causes ; with some other obvious topics, which are not
worth considering. And he gave it for his opinion:
*That whoever could make two ears of com, or two
blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where
only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind,
and do more essential service to his country, than the
whole race of politicians put together.' Swift.
ccLxvm.
Political Causation.
In most cases where a permanent change has been
effected in the government and in the modes of political
thinking of a country, this has been mainly because the
nation has become ripe for it through the action of general
causes. A doctrine which had long been fervently held,
and which was interwoven with the social fabric, is sapped
by intellectual scepticism, loses its hold on the affections
of the people, and becomes unrealised, obsolete and in-
credible. An institution which was once useful and
honoured has become unsuited to the altered conditions
of society. The functions it once discharged are no
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 171
longer needed, or are discharged more efficiently in
other ways, and as modes of thought and life grow up
that are not in harmony with it, the reverence that
consecrates it slowly ebbs away. Social and economical
causes change the relative importance of classes and
professions till the old political arrangements no longer
reflect with any fidelity the real disposition of j)ower.
Causes of this kind undermine institutions and prepare
great changes, and it is only when they have finally done
their work that the men arise who strike the final blow
and whose names are associated with the catastrophe. So
eminently is this the case that some distinguished writers
have maintained that the action of special circumstances
and of individual genius, efforts, and peculiarities counts
for nothing in the great march of human affairs, and that
every successful revolution must be attributed solely to
the long train of intellectual influences that prepared and
necessitated its triumph. Ltcky.
CCIXSX.
Union or Separation.
The soundest and healthiest bonds which can unite
people are old traditions and a common history, provided
always that the connection is voluntary. Pedants or
fanatics who would disturb it, reviving antipathies that
slumber or creating them where they had never existed,
unsettling the minds of the young with their crude
theories and fiirnishing pretexts to scheming politicians,
are the pests of modem civilization. Where incurable
antipathy does exist, however it has been brought about,
whether by real wrongs inflicted and endured or by the
evil activity of literary vermin, disruption had better take
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place. An3rthing for peace. Anything rather than this
prolonged military hubbub which throws back civiHzation
and postpones the dawn of the new era in which the
working men of Europe shall come by their own. But
to my mind it is a nobler spectacle when men of different
blood and various speech can consent to live together
under one polity subordinating the barbarous prejudices
of race to the common ends of civil association.
CCLXX
The CcBsars.
Such, amidst the superhuman grandeur and hallowed
privileges of the Roman emperor's office, were the extra-
ordinary perils which menaced the individual officer.
The office rose by its grandeur to a region above the
clouds and vapours of earth : the officer might find his
personal security as unsubstantial as those wandering
vapours. Nor is it possible that these circumstances of
violent opposition can be better illustrated than in this
tale of Herodian. Whilst the emperor's mighty arms
were stretched out to arrest some potentate in the heart
of Asia, a poor slave is silently and stealthily creeping
round the base of the Alps, with the purpose of winning
his way as a murderer to the imperial bed-chamber;
Caesar is watching some potent rebel of the Orient, at a
distance of two thousand leagues, and he overlooks the
dagger which is within three stealthy steps, and one
tiger's leap, of his own heart. All the heights and depths
which belong to man's frailty, all the contrasts of glory
and meanness, the extremities of what is highest and
lowest in human casualties, meeting in the station of the
Roman Caesar Semper Augustus — have combined to
call him into high marble relief, and to make him the
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 173
most interesting study of all whom history has em-
blazoned with colours of fire and blood, or has crowned
most lavishly with diadems of cypress and laurel
Dt Qumcty.
cciaua.
Ancient Republics.
The austere frugality of the ancient republicans, their
carelessness about the possession and the pleasures of
wealth, the strict regard for law among the people, its
universal steadfast loyalty during the happy centuries
when the constitution, after the pretensions of the aris-
tocracy had been curbed, was flourishing in its full per-
fections, — the sound feeling which never amid internal
discord allowed of an appeal to foreign interference,— the
absolute empire of the laws and customs and the steadi-
ness with which nevertheless whatever in them was no
longer expedient was amended, the wisdom of the consti-
tution and of the laws,— the ideal perfection of fortitude
realised in the citizens and in the state,— all these quali-
ties unquestionably excite a feeling of reverence, which
cannot be awakened equally by the contemplation of any
other people. Yet afler all, if we bring those ages vividly
before our minds, something of horror will mingle with
our admiration. For those virtues from the earliest times
were leagued and compromised with the most fearfiil
vices ; insatiable ambition, unprincipled contempt for the
rights of foreigners, unfeeling indiflference for their suflfer-
ings, avarice, even while rapine was yet a stranger, and,
as a consequence of the severance of ranks, inhuman
hard-heartedness, not only toward slaves or foreigners,
but even toward fellow-citizens. Those very virtues pre-
pared the way for all these vices to get the mastery, and
so were themselves swallowed up.
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1 74 NARRA TIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, [Part IV.
ccLxxn.
The Gods of Rome.
What the religion of Greece was to philosophy and art,
that the Roman religion may be said to have been to
political and social life. It was the religion of the family:
the religion also of the empire of the world. Beginning
in rustic simplicity, the traces of which it ever afterwards
retained, it grew with the power of the Roman state, and
became one with its laws. No fancy or poetry moulded
the forms of the Roman gods : they are wanting in cha-
racter, and hardly distinguishable from one another. Not
what they were, but their worship is the point of interest
about them. Those inanimate beings occasionally said
a patriotic word at some critical juncture of the Roman
affairs, but they had no attributes or qualities : they are
the mere impersonation of the needs of the state.
CCLXXIII.
Large States and Small.
On the whole comparison there can be little doubt that
the balance of advantage lies in favour of the modem
system of large states. The small republic indeed de-
velops its individual citizens to a pitch which in the large
kingdom is utterly impossible. But it so develops them
at the cost of bitter political strife within, and of almost
constant warfare without It may even be doubted whether
the highest form of the city-commonwealth does not re-
quire slavery as a condition of its most perfect develop-
ment. The days of glory of such a commonwealth are
indeed glorious beyond comparison ; but it is a glory
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. ITS
which is too brilliant to last, and in proportion to the
short splendour of its prime is too often the unutterable
wretchedness of its long old age. The republics of Greece
seem to have been shown to the world for a moment, like
some model of glorified humanity, from which all may
draw the highest of lessons, but which none may hope to
reproduce in its perfection. As the literature of Greece is
the groundwork of all later literature, as the art of Greece
is the groundwork of all later art, so in the great democracy
of Athens we recognise the parent state of law and justice
and freedom, the wonder and the example of every later
age. But it is an example which we can no more repro-
duce than we can call back again the inspiration of the
Homeric singer, the more than human skill of Pheidias,
or the untaught and inborn wisdom of Thucydides. We
can never be like them, if only because they have gone
before.
GCLXXIV.
Political Gamblers.
Such will be the impotent condition of those men of
great hereditary estates who indeed dislike the designs
that are carried on, but whose dislike is rather that of
spectators than of parties that may be concerned in the
catastrophe of the piece. But riches do not in all cases
secure an inert and passive resistance. There are always
in that description men whose fortunes, when their minds
are once vibrated by passion or evil principle, are by no
means a security from their actually taking their part
against the public tranquillity. We see to what low and
despicable passions of all kinds many men in that class
are ready to sacrifice the patrimonial estates, which might
be perpetuated in their families, with splendour and with
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476 NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, [Part IV.
the fame of hereditary benefactors of mankmd, from
generation to generation. Do we not see how lightly
people treat their fortunes^ when under the influence of
the passion of gaming ? The game of ambition or resent-
ment will be played by many of the rich and great as
desperately and with as much blindness to the conse-
quences as any other game.
CCIiXXV.
The British Monarchy.
We all feel that our old, limited, hereditary monarchy
is a blessing to the country, if it be only on account of the
quiet and good order which its principle of succession
ensures, compared with the mischief which would follow,
if the post of chief magistrate among us were to be in-
trigued for by the ringleaders of clubs, or fought for by
ambitious soldiers. It is, of course, impossible to secure
a succession of good and wise princes ; nor can human
foresight calculate when a Marcus Aurelius will be fol-
lowed by a Commodus. Hence, our constitution is rightly
cautious and restrictive. It is framed not for a single
generation, or with reference to the personal qualities of
a particular ruler ; but it is the fhiit of the experience of
many ages, and is designed for duration and permanence.
It therefore provides checks and securities against the
ambition, and passions, and weaknesses of human nature ;
it fixes limitations sufficient to secure a large amount
of good government, and to protect liberty, even under
a bad prince. But it leaves open a wide field for the
exercise of the virtues of a good one. The constitutional
sovereigns of England who understand and act up to
their true political duties; who also employ the high
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Part IV.] AND HISTORICAL. 1 77
influence of their station and example for the encourage*
ment of social and domestic virtue, for the advancement
of learning, and the well-judged patronage of art, earn
nobly the gratitude of the people : and that debt would
be paid honestly, if requisite, in act as well as in feeling.
CCIiXXVI.
Punishment for Political Crime.
In the great lottery of civil war the prizes are enormous,
and when such prizes may be obtained by a course of
action which is profoundly injurious to the State, the
deterrent influence of severe penalties is especially neces-
sary. In the great majority of cases, the broad distinction
which it is now the fashion to draw between political and
other crimes, is both pernicious and untrue. There is no
sphere in which the worst passions of human nature may
operate more easily or more dangerously than in the
sphere of politics. There is no criminal of a deeper dye
than the adventurer who is gambling for power with the
lives of men. There are no crimes which produce vaster
and more enduring sufierings than those which sap the
great pillars of order in the State, and destroy that respect
for life, for property, and for law, on which all true pro-
gress depends. So far the rebellion had been not only
severely but mercilessly suppressed. Scores of wretched
peasants, who were much more deserving of pity than of
blame, had been shot down. Over great tracts of country
every rebel's cottage had been burnt to cinders. Men
had been hanged who, although they had been compelled
or induced to take a leading part in the rebelJion, had so
comported themselves as to establish the strongest claims
to the clemency of the Government. But what inconsist-
N
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178 CHARACTERS OF [Part IV.
ency, what injustice, it was asked, could be more flagrant,
than at this time to select as special objects of that
clemency, the very men who were the authors and the
organizers of the rebellion— the very men who, if it had
succeeded, would have reaped its greatest rewards ?
Licfy.
CCLXXVn,
CcBsar.
Far as the greatness of his genius raised Caesar above
the level of ordinary men, he was nevertheless prone to
certain weaknesses, to which those are often found to suc-
cumb, who are attended in life by unvarying success and
good fortune. Caesar's luck in all the chances and changes
of his life, the flattering encomiums with which he w^s
everywhere received, and the distinguished offices which
the Roman people conferred upon him, gradually filled
hun with such a degree of pride, that he took little pains
to disguise the contempt with which he regarded the mass
of his fellow citizens. It is true that after winning a
complete victory over his opponents, he took steps to win
over and enlist on his side the favour and affection of
Rome. But, none the less, he was so far from hiding his
arrogant pride, that he was considered a tjrrant rather than
a merciful victor, and many patriotic Romans lamented
the overthrow and decay of freedom, and sought to
avenge it p^^^^^
ccLxxvin,
Cicero and Ccesar. '
Literature was a neutral ground on which he could
approach his political enemy without too open discredit,
and he courted eagerly the approval of a critic whose
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PartlVO EMINENT MEN. 179
literary genius he esteemed as highly as his own. Men of
genuine ability are rarely vain of what they can do really
well. Cicero admired himself as a statesman with the
most unbounded enthusiasm. He was proud of his verses,
which were hopelessly commonplace. In the art in which
he was without a rival he was modest and diffident. He
sent his various writings for Caesar's judgment * Like the
traveller who has overslept himself/ he said, ' yet by ex-
traordinary exertions reaches his goal sooner than if he
had been earlier on the road, I will follow your advice and
court this man. I have been asleep too long. I will
correct my slowness with my speed ; and as you say he
approves my verses, I shall travel not with a common
carriage, but with a four-in-hand of poetry.' Froudt,
CCLXXIX.
Ccesar as a General.
He was rash, but with a calculated rashness, which the
event never failed to justify. His greatest successes were
due to the rapidity of his movements, which brought him
on the enemy before they heard of his approach. He
travelled sometimes a hundred miles a day, reading or
writing in his carriage, through countries without roads,
and crossing rivers without bridges. In battle he some-
times rode ; but he was more often on foot, bareheaded,
and in a conspicuous dress, that he might be seen and
recognised. Again iand again by his own efforts he re-
covered a day that was half-lost. He once seized a panic-
stricken standard-bearer, turned him roimd, and told him
that he had mistaken the direction of the enemy. He never
misled his army as to an enemy's strength, or, if he mis-
stated their numbers, it was only to exaggerate. FroucU,
N 2
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l8o CHARACTERS OF [Part IV,
GCLXXX.
Cromwell,
Of his genius there is little question. Clarendon him-
self could not be blind to the fact that such a presence as
that of this Puritan soldier had seldom been felt upon the
scene of history. Necessity, who will have the man and
not the shadow, had chosen him from among his fellows
and placed her crown upon his brow. I say again let us
never glorify revolution ; let us not love the earthquake
and the storm more than the regular and beneficent course
of nature. Yet revolutions send capacity to the front
with volcanic force across all the obstacles of envy and
of class. It was long before law-loving England could
forgive one who seemed to have set his foot on law ; but
there never perhaps was a time when she was not at heart
proud of his glory, when she did not feel safer beneath
the aegis of his victorious name. As often as danger
threatens us, the thought returns that the race which pro-
duced Cromwell, may, at its need, produce his peer, and
that the spirit of the Great Usurper may once more stand
forth in arms. Goldwin Stmih.
CCLXXXI.
Cromwell the Offspring of his Age.
To whatever age they may belong, the greatest, the most
god-like of men, are men, not gods. They are the off-
spring, though the highest offspring, of their age. They
would be nothing without their fellow-men. Did Crom-
well escape the intoxication of power which has turned the
brains of other favourites of fortune, and bear himself
always as one who held the government as a trust from
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Part IV.] EMINENT MEN. l8l
God ? It was because he was one of a religious people.
Did he, amidst the temptations of arbitrary rule, preserve
his reverence for law, and his desire to reign under
it ? It was because he was one of a law-loving people.
Did he, in spite of fearful provocation, show on the whole
remarkable humanity ? It was because he was one of a
brave and humane people. A somewhat larger share of
the common qualities— this, and this alone it was which,
circumstances calling him to a great trust, had raised him
above his fellows. GMwm Smith.
ccTixyyTL
Augustus.
Yet the secret of his power escaped perhaps the eyes
of Augustus himself, blinded as they doubtless were by
the fumes of national incense. Cool, shrewd, and subtle,
the youth of nineteen had suflfered neither interest nor
vanity to warp the correctness of his judgments. The
accomplishment of his designs was marred by no wan-
dering imaginations. His struggle for power was sup-
ported by no belief in a great destiny, but simply by
observation of circumstances, and a close calculation of
his means. As he was a man of no absorbing tastes or
fervid impulses, so he was also free from all illusions.
The young Octavius commenced his career as a narrow-
minded aspirant for material power. But his intellect
expanded with his fortunes, and his soul grew with his
intellect. The emperor was not less magnanimous than
he was magnificent. With the world at his feet, he be-
gan to conceive the real grandeur of his position. He
became the greatest of Stoic philosophers, inspired with
the strongest enthusiasm, impressed the most deeply
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1 82 CHARACTERS OF [Part IV.
with a consciousness of divinity within him. He acknow-
ledged, not less than a Cato or a Brutus, that the man-God
must suffer as well as act divinely ; and though his human
weakness still allowed some meannesses and trivialities
to creep to light, his self-possession both in triumphs and
reverses was consistently dignified and imposing.
MerivaU,
CCLXXXIII.
The Prince Consort.
His countenance never had a nobler aspect than in the
last years of his life. The character is written in the face :
here were none of those fatal lines which indicate craft or
insincerity, greed or sensuality. All was clear, open,
pure-minded, honest. He was patient in bearing criticism
and contradiction. He delighted in wit and humour.
Few men had a greater love of freedom in its deepest,
and in its widest sense, than the prince. As all know,
he was a man of many pursuits and various accomplish-
ments, with an ardent admiration for the beautiful, both
in nature and in art. There was one very rare quality to
be noticed in him : he had the greatest delight in anybody
else saying a fine thing, or doing a great deed. He de-
lighted in humanity doing welL We meet with people
who can say fine sayings, and do noble actions, but who
do not like to speak of the great sayings and noble deeds
of other persons. It is said there might be some great
and peculiar moral derived from the life of any man, if
we knew it intimately. I think I can see the moral to be
derived from a study of the prince's life. It is one which
applies to a few amongst the highest natures : he cared
too much about too many things. And everything in
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Part IV.] EMINENT MEN. 1 83
which he was concerned must be done supremely well
to please and satisfy him. The great German poet,
Goethe, had the same defect, or rather the same super-
abundance. He took great pains in writing a short note,
that it should be admirably written. He did not under-
stand the merit of second best Everythmg that was
done must be done perfectly. It was thus with the
prince. Theodore MarHn,
CCLXXXIV.
Henry VIII.
Instead of a monarch, jealous, severe, and avaricious,
who, in proportion as he advanced in years, was sinking
still deeper in these unpopular vices, a young prince of
eighteen had succeeded to the throne, who even in the
eyes of men of sense gave promising hopes of his future
conduct, much more in those of the people, always en-
chanted with novelty, youth, and royal dignity. The
beauty and vigour of his person, accompanied with dex-
terity in every manly exercise, were further adorned with
a blooming and ruddy countenance, with a lively air, with
the appearance of spirit and activity in all his demeanour.
His father, in order to remove him from the knowledge
of public business, had hitherto occupied him entirely in
the pursuits of literature, and the proficiency which he
made gave no bad prognostic of his parts and capacity.
Even the vices of vehemence, ardour, and impatience, to
which he was subject, and which afterwards degenerated
into tyranny, were considered only as faults incident to
unguarded youth, which would be corrected when time
had brought him to greater moderation and maturity.
Hume.
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184 CHARACTERS OF [Part IV.
CCLXXXV.
Shakespeare,
Shakespeare was the man, who, of all modern, and
perhaps ancient poets, had the largest and most compre-
hensive souL All the images of nature were present to
him; and he drew them not laboriously but luckily.
When he describes anything, you more than see it, you
feel it Those who accuse him to have wanted learning,
give him the greater commendation. He was naturally
learned ; he needed not books to read nature ; he looked
inwards and he found her there. I cannot say he is
everywhere alike ; but he is always great when some
great occasion is presented to him. No man can say he
ever had a fit subject for his wit, and did not then raise
* himself high above the rest of poets. Dtydm.
CGLXXXVI.
Louis XVI,
The unhappy Louis XVI was a man of the best inten-
tions that probably ever reigned. He was by no means
deficient in talents. He had a most laudable desire to
supply, by general reading, and even by the acquisition
of elemental knowledge, an education in all points origi-
nally defective ; but nobody told him (and it was no
wonder he should not himself divine it) that the world
of which he read, and the world in which he lived, were
no longer the same. Desirous of doing everything for
the best, fearful of cabal, distrusting his own judgment,
he sought his ministers of all kinds upon public testi-
mony. But as courts are the field for caballers, the public
is the theatre for mountebanks and imposters. The cure
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Pwtrv.] EMINENT MEN, 185
for both these evils is in the discernment of the prince.
But an accurate and penetrating discernment is what in a
young prince could not be expected.
CCLXXXVIL
Hannibal.
If the character of men be estimated according to the
steadiness with which they have followed the true prin-
ciple of action, we cannot assign a high place to Hannibal.
But if patriotism were indeed the greatest of virtues, and
a resolute devotion to the interests of his country were
all the duty that a public man can be expected to fulfil, he
would then deserve the most lavish praise. Nothing can
be more unjust than the ridicule with which Juvenal has
treated his motives, as if he had been actuated merely by
a romantic desire of glory. On the contrary, his whole
conduct displays the loftiest genius, and the boldest spirit
of enterprise, happily subdued and directed by a cool
judgment, to the furtherance of the honour and interests
of his country; and his sacrifice of selfish pride and
passion, when after the battle of Zama, he urged the
acceptance of peace, and lived to support the disgrace of
Carthage, with the patient hope of one day repairing it,
affords a strong contrast to the cowardly despair with
which some of the best of the Romans deprived their
country of their services by suicide. Of the extent of his
abilities, the history of his life is the best evidence ; as a
general, his conduct remains uncharged by a single error ;
for the idle censure which Livy presumes to pass on him
for not marching to Rome after the battle of Cannae, is
founded on such mere ignorance, that it does not deserve
any serious notice. AmoUL
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l86 CHARACTERS OF [Part IV.
ccLxxxvin.
Dryden,
Dryden began to write about the time of the Restora-
tion, and continued long in his literary career. He
brought to the study of his native tongue a vigorous mind
fraught with various knowledge. There is a richness in
his diction, a copiousness, ease, and variety in his ex-
pression, which have never been surpassed by any of
those who have succeeded him. His clauses are never
balanced, nor his periods modelled; every word seems
to drop by chance, though it falls into its proper place ;
nothing is cold or languid ; the whole is airy, animated,
and vigorous; what is little is gay; what is great is
splendid. Though all is easy, nothing is feeble : though
all seems careless, there is nothing harsh ; and though^
since the publication of his works, more than a century
has elapsed, yet they have nothing uncouth or obsolete.
Johnson.
CCLXXXIX.
Cato of Utica.
There was one contemporary figure, the most famous
Stoic of the age, the younger Cato, who shows us in a
striking form the strength and weakness of the standard
by which he ruled his life. No one had more than he
the courage to avow his principles and act up to his con-
victions ; in an age of political corruption there was no
stain upon his honour; and his moral influence, when
once exerted to check the bribery of candidates for office,
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Part IV.] EMINENT MEN. 1 87
did more, we are told, than all the laws and penal sanc-
tions which enforced them. In the worst crisis of the
revolution, when the spirits of other men were soured,
and the party cries grew fiercer, his temper seemed to
become gentler, and to forebode the miseries of civil war.
Inflexible before, he pleaded for concessions to avert the
storm ; and when they were refused, he raised his voice
still for moderate counsels, and spoke to imwilling ears of
the claims of humanity and mercy.
ccxo.
PiU.
The memory of Pitt has been assailed times innumer-
able, often justly, often unjustly ; but it has suffered much
less from his assailants than from his eulogists. For,
during many years, his name was the rallying cry of a
class of men with whom at one of those terrible conjunc-
tures which confound all ordinary distinctions, he was
accidentally and temporarily connected, but to whom, on
almost all great questions of principle, he was diametri-
cally opposed History will vindicate the real man
from calumny under the semblance of adulation, and will
exhibit him as what he was, a minister of great talents
and honest intentions, pre-eminently qualified intellec-
tually and morally for the part of a parliamentary leader,
and capable of administering with prudence and modera-
tion the government of a prosperous and tranquil country,
but unequal to surprising and terrible emergencies, and
liable, in such emergencies, to err grievously both on the
side of weakness and on the side of violence.
Macaulay.
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1 88 CHARACTERS OF [Part IV.
CCXOI.
Voltaire.
Voltaire's wits came to their maturity twenty years
sooner than the wits of other men, and remained in full
vigour thirty years longer. The charm which our style
in general gets from our ideas, his ideas got from his style.
Voltaire is sometimes afflicted, sometimes strongly
moved ; but serious he never is. His very graces have
an effrontery about them. He had correctness of judg-
ment, liveliness of imagination, nimble wits, quick taste,
and a moral sense in ruins. He is the most debauched
of spirits, and the worst of him is that one gets debauched
along with him. If he had been a wise man, and had had
the self-discipline of wisdom, beyond a doubt half his wit
would have been gone; it needed an atmosphere of
license in order to play freely. Those people who read
him every day, create for themselves, by an invincible
law, the necessity for liking him. But those people who,
having given up reading him, gaze steadily down upon
the influences which his spirit has shed abroad, find
themselves in simple justice and duty compelled to de-
test him. It is impossible to be satisfied with him, and
impossible not to be fascinated by him. ^^ Arnold,
ccxon.
Lord Rockingham.
He is gone, my friend, my munificent patron, and not
less the benefactor of my intellect ! He who, beyond all
other men known to me, added a fine and ever-wakeful
sense of beauty to the most patient accuracy in experi-
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Partrv.] EMINENT MEN. 189
mental philosophy and the profounder researches of meta-
physical science ; he who united all the play and spring of
fancy with the subtlest discrimination and an inexorable
judgment; and who controlled an almost painful ex-
quisiteness of taste by a warmth of heart which, in the
practical relations of life, made allowance for faults as
quickly as the moral taste detected them : a warmth of
heart which was indeed noble and pre-eminent, for alas !
the genial feelings of health contributed no spark towards
it. Were it but for the remembrance of him alone, and
of his lot here below, the disbelief of a future state would
sadden the earth around me, and blight the very grass in
the field. Burki.
CCXOIII.
Darnley.
Darnley's external accomplishments had excited that
sudden and violent passion which raised him to the
throne. But the qualities of his mind corresponded ill
with the beauty of his person. Of a weak understanding,
and without experience, conceited at the same time of his
own abilities, he ascribed his extraordinary success entirely
to his distinguished merit. All the queen's favours made
no impression on such a temper. All her gentleness
could not bridle his imperious and ungovernable spirit.
All her attention to place about him persons capable of
directing his conduct, could not preserve him from rash
and imprudent actions. Fond of all amusements, and
ever prone to all the vices of youth, he became by degrees
careless of her person and a stranger to her company.
To a woman, and a queen, such behaviom- was intolerable*
The lower she had stooped in order to raise him, his
behaviour appeared the more ungenerous and criminal ;
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190 CHARACTERS OF [Part IV.
and in proportion to the strength of her first affection,
was the violence with which her disappointed passion
operated. Robertsofu
CCXCIV.
The Earl of Peterborough.
He was pronounced guilty of the act of which he had
in the most solemn manner protested he was innocent ;
he was sent to the Tower : he was turned out of all his
places, and his name was struck out of the Council Book.
It might well have been thought that the ruin of his fame
and of his fortunes was irreparable. But there was about
his nature an elasticity which nothing could subdue. In
his prison, indeed, he was as violent as a falcon just
caged, and would, if he had been long detained, have
died of mere impatience. His only solace was to con-
trive wild and romantic schemes for extricating himself
from his difficulties and avenging himself on his enemies.
When he regained his liberty, he stood alone in the world,
a dishonoured man, more hated by the Whigs than any
Tory, and by the Tories than any Whig, and reduced to
such poverty that he talked of retiring to the coimtry,
living like a farmer and putting his Countess into the
dairy to chum and to make cheeses. Yet, even afler this
fail, that mounting spirit rose again, and rose higher than
ever. When he next appeared before the world, he had
inherited the earldom of the head of his family : he had
ceased to be called by the tarnished name of Monmouth ;
and he soon added new lustre to the name of Peter-
borough. He was still all air and fire. His ready wit
and his dauntless courage made him formidable: some
amiable qualities which contrasted strangely with his
vices, and some great exploits of which the effect was
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Partrv.] EMINENT MEN. 191
heightened by the careless levity with which they were
performed, made him popular ; and his countrymen were
willing to forget that a hero of whose achievements they
were proud, and who was not more distinguished by parts
and valour than by courtesy and generosity, had stooped
to tricks worthy of the pillory. Macault^,
coxcv.
Marcus Aurelius.
Of the outward life and circumstances of Marcus Aure-
lius, beyond these notices which he has himself supplied,
there are few of much interest and importance. There is
the fine anecdote of his speech when he heard of the
assassination of the revolted Avidius Cassius, against whom
he was marching : he was sorry, he said, to be deprived of
the pleasure of pardoning him. And there are one or two
more anecdotes of him which show the same spirit But
the great record for the outward life of a man who has left
such a record of his lofty inward aspirations as that which
Marcus Aurelius has left, is the clear consenting voice of
all his contemporaries, — high and low, friend and enemy,
pagan and Christian, — in praise of his sincerity, justice,
and goodness. The world's charity does not err on the
side of excess, yet the world was obliged to declare that he
walked worthily of his profession. Long after his death,
his bust was to be seen in the houses of private men
through the wide Roman empire ; these busts of Marcus
Aurelius, in the homes of Gaul, Britain, and Italy, bore
witness, not to the inmates* frivolous curiosity about
princes and palaces, but to their reverential memory of
the passage of a great man upon the earth, jif. Arnold.
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19a CHARACTERS OF [PartlV^
CCXCVI.
The Emperor Frederick 11.
Through the mist of calumny and fable it is but dimly
that the truth of the man can be discerned, and the out-
lines that appear serve to quicken rather than appease the
curiosity with which we regard one of the most extra-
ordinary personages in history. A sensualist, yet also
a warrior and a politician ; a profound lawgiver and an
impassioned poet ; in his youth, fired by crusading fervour,
in later life, persecuting heretics, while himself accused of
blasphemy and unbelief; ofwinning manners, and ardently
beloved by his followers, but with the stain of more than
one cruel deed upon his name, he was the marvel of his
own generation, and succeeding ages looked back with
awe, not unmingled with pity, upon the inscrutable figure
of the last Emperor who had braved all the terrors of the
Church, and died beneath her ban, the last who had ruled
from the sands of the ocean to the shores of the Sicilian
sea. But while they pitied they condemned. The undy-
ing hatred of the Papacy threw round his memory a
lurid light ; him and him alone of all the imperial line,
Dante, the worshipper of the Empire, must perforce
deliver to the fiames of hell. Bfyce.
CCXCVII.
A Model Advocate.
He was a man of personage proper, inclined to tallness,
in his youth valiant and active, towards his latter age full
and corpulent, of a full face and clear complexion, with an
erected forehead, and a large grey eye bright and quick.
Sound and sure he was of his words, true and faithful to
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Part IV.] EMINENT MEN. 193
his friends, somewhat choleric, yet apt to forgive, cheer-
ful in his journeys or at his meals, of a sound and deep
judgment, with a strong memory, both which were much
beautified with his well-composed language and graceful
delivery. He was somewhat prodigally inclined in his
youth, and generously thrifty in his age, giving good
example to hb greatest neighbours by his constant
hospitality. Earnest he was and sincere in the rightful
cause oif his client, pitiful in the relief of the distressed,
and merciful to the poor. y^,,,^ Howd.
ccxovm.
A Trimmer.
Our Trimmer, therefore, inspired by this divine virtue,
thinks fit to conclude with these assertions, that our
climate is a Trimmer, between that part of the world
where men are roasted, and the other where they are
frozen : That our church is a Trimmer, between the frenzy
of platonic visions, and the lethargic ignorance of popish
dreams : That our laws are Trimmers, between the ex-
cess of unbounded power, and the extravagance of Hberty
not enough restrained : That true virtue hath ever been
thought a Trimmer, and to have its dwelling in the middle
between the two extremes : That even God Almighty
himself is divided between His two great attributes, His
Mercy and His Justice. HaUfax.
GCXCIX.
Falldand,
He had a courage of the most clear and keen temper,
and so far from fear, that he seemed not without some
appetite of danger ; and therefore, upon any occasion of
o
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194 CHARACTERS OF [Fartnr.
action, he always engaged his person in those troopsy
which he thought, by the forwardness of the commanders,
to be the most like to be &rthest engaged; and in all
such encounters he had about him an extraordinaiy
cheerfulness, without at all affecting the execution that
usually attended them, in "which he took no delight, but
took pains to prevent it, when it was not, by resistance,
made necessary; insomuch that at Edgehill, when the
enemy was routed, he was like to have incurred great
peril, by interposing to save those who had thrown away
their arms, and against whom, it may be, others were
more fierce for their having thrown them away: so that
a man might think he came into the field chiefly out of
curiosity to see the face of danger^ and charity to prevent
the shedding of blood. Oamukm.
COO.
Facility of Charles II.
It is creditable to Charles's temper that, ill as he
thought of his species, he never became a misanthrope.
He saw little in man bat what was hateful Yet he did
not hate them. Nay, he was so far humane that it was
highly disagreeable to him to see their sufferings, or
to hear their complaints. This, however, is a sort of
humanity which, though amiable and laudable in a private
man, whose power to help or hurt is bounded by a narrow
circle, has in princes often been rather a vice than a
virtue. More than one well-disposed ruler has given up
whole provinces to rapine and oppression, merely from
a wish to see none but happy faces round his own board
and his own walks. No man is fit to govern great
societies who hesitates about disobliging the few who
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Part IV.] EMINENT MEN. 1 95
have access to him for the sake of the many whom he
will never see. The facility of Charles was such as per-
haps has never been found in any man of equal sense.
Macaulay.
0001.
Antony and Cleopatra.
Though her own security had been the first object, and
her ambition the second, the inspirer of so many licentious
passions was at last ensdaved hersdf. She might disdain
the fear of a rival potentate, and defy the indignation of
Octavius, but h^ anxiety about his sister was the instinct
of the woman, rather than of the queen. She could not
forget that a wife's legitimate influence had once detained
her lover from her side for more than two whole years :
she might still apprdierfd the awakening of his reason,
and his renunciation of an alliance which at times he felt,
she well knew, to be bitterly degrading. To retain her
grasp of her admirer, as well as her seat upon the throne
of the Ptolemies, she must drown his scruples in volup-
tuous oblivion, and invent new charms to revive and
amuse his jaded passion. MmvaU,
OCOIL
Modesty without Diffidence.
The modesty which made him so slow to advance and
easy to be repulsed, was certainly no suspicion of de-
ficient merit, or unconsciousness of his own value : he
appears to have known in its whole extent the dignity of
his own character, and to have set a very high value on
his own powers and performances. He probably did
02
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196 CHARACTERS OF [Part IV.
not ofifer his conversation because he expected it to be
solicited ; and he retired from a cold reception not sub-
missive but indignant, with such def<»*ence of his own
greatness as made him unwilling to expose it to neglect
or violation. His modesty was by no means inconsistent
with ostentatiousness ; he is diligent enough to remind
the world of his merit, and expresses with very little
scruple his high opinion of his own powers ; but his self-
commendations are read without scorn or indignation;
we allow his claims and love his frankness. He has been
described as magisterially presiding over the younger
writers, and assuming the distribution of poetic fame ;
but he who excels has a right to teach, and he whose
judgment is incontestable may without usurpation ex-
amine and decide.
cccra.
Queen Elizabeth.
A warm concern for the interest and honour of the
nation, a tenderness for her people, and a confidence in
their affections were appearances that ran through her
whole public conduct, and gave life and colour to it She
did great things, and she knew how to set them off ac-
cording to their full value, by her manner of doing them.
In her private behaviour she showed great afiability, she
descended even to familiarly; but her familiarity was
such as could not be imputed to her weakness, and was,
therefore, most justly ascribed to her goodness. Though
a woman, she hid all that was womanish about her : and
if a few equivocal marks of coquetry appeared on some
occasions, they passed like flashes of lightning, vanished
as soon as they were discerned, and imprinted no blot
on her character. She had private friendships, she 'had
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Part IV.] EMINENT MEN. 197
favourites : but she never suffered her friends to forget
she was their queen ; and when her (avourites did, she
made them feel that she was sa Bolmbraig,
CCCIV.
Character of a Divine*
He had that general curiosity to which no kind of
knowledge is indifferent or superfluous ; and that general
benevolence by which no order of men is hated or de-
spised. His principles both of thought and action were
great and comprehensive. By a solicitous examination
of objections and judicious comparison of opposite argu-
ments, he attained what inquiry never gives but to in-
dustry and perspicuity, a firm and unshaken settlement
of conviction. But his firmness was without asperity ;
for knowing with how much difSculty truth is sometimes
found, he did not wonder that many missed it. His
delivery, though unconstrained, was not negligent, and,
though forcible, was not turbulent; disdaining anxious
nicety of emphasis, and laboured artifice of action, it
captivated the hearer by its natural dignity ; it roused
the sluggish and fixed the volatile, and detained the mind
upon the subject without directing it to the speaker.
.S. Johnson,
cccv.
Savonarola.
Perhaps, while no preacher ever had a more massive
influence than Savonarola, no preacher ever had more
heterogeneous materials to work upon. And one secret
of the massive influence lay in the highly mixed character
of his preaching. Baldassarre, wrought into an ecstasy of.
self-mastering revenge, was only an extreme case among
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198 CHARACTERS OF [Part IV.
the partial and narrow sympathies of that audience. In
Savonarola's preaching there were strains that appealed
to the very finest susceptibilities of men's natures, and
there were elements that gratified low egoism, tickled
gossiping curiosity, and fascinated timorous superstition.
His need of personal predominance, his labyrinthine
allegorical interpretations of the Scriptures, his enigmatic
visions, and his false certitude about the Divine inten-
tions, never ceased, in his own large soul, to be ennobled
by that fervid piety, that passionate sehse of the infinite,
that active sympathy, that clear-sighted demand for the
subjection of selfish interests to the general good, which
he had in common with the greatest of mankind. But
for the mass of his audience all the pregnancy of his
preaching lay in his strong assertion of supernatural
claims, in his denunciatory visions, in the false certitude
which gave his sermons the interest of a political bulletin ;
and having once held that audience in his mastery, it
was necessary to his nature— it was necessary for thdr
welfare— that he should keep the mastery.
Gtorg§ ElUoi.
CCCVI. .
Alexander Severus.
Alexander rose early ; the first moments of the day
were consecrated to private devotion, and his domestic
chapel was filled with the images of those heroes, who,
by improving or reforming human life, had deserved the
gratefbl reverence of posterity. But, as he deemed the
service of mankind the most acceptable worship of the
gods, the greatest part of his morning hours was em<*
ployed in his council, where he discussed public afiairs,
and determined private causes, with a patience and dis-
cretion above his years. The dryness of business was
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Part IV.] EMINENT MEN. 199
relieved by the charms of literature; and a portion of
time was always set apart for his favourite studies of
poetry, history, and philosophy. The works of Virgil
and Horace, the Republics of Plato and Cicero, formed
his taste, enlarged his understanding, and gave him the
noblest ideas of man and government The exercises of
the body succeeded to those of the mind; and Alexander,
who was tall, active, and robust, surpassed most of his
equals in the gymnastic arts. His table was served with
the most frugal simplicity; and whenever he was at
liberty to consult his own inclination, the company con-
sisted of a few select friends, men of learning and virtue,
amongst whom Ulpian was constantly invited.
cccvn.
Goethe and the Court
As we familiarise ourselves with the details of this
episode, there appears less and less plausibility in the
often iterated declamation against Goethe on the charge
of his having 'sacrificed his genius to the Court.* It be-
comes indeed a singularly foolish display of rhetoric
Let us for a moment consider the charge. He had to
choose a career. That of poet was then, as it is still,
terribly delusive; verses could create fame, but no money;
fanta and fames w^ere then, as now, in terrible contiguity.
No sooner is the necessity for a career admitted than
much objection falls to the ground ; for those who re-
proach him with having wasted his time on court festivi-
ties and the duties of government, which others could
have done as well, must ask whether he would have
saved that time had he followed the career of jurispru-
dence, and jostled lawyers through the courts at Frank-
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aoo CHARACTERS OF [Partur.
fort ? Or would they prefer seeing him reduced to the
condition of poor Schiller, wasting so much of his precious
life in literary * hackwork,' translating French books for a
miserable pittance ? Time, in any case, would have been
claimed; in return for that given to Karl August, he
received, as he confesses in the poem addressed to the
Duke, *what the great seldom bestow—afifection, leisure,
confidence, garden, and house. No one have I had to
thank but him ; and much have I wanted, who as a poet
ill understood the arts of gain. If Europe praised me,
what has Europe done for me ? Nothing. Even my
works have been an expense to me.* Uwes.
ocovhl
Sir John Moore.
Thus ended the career of Sir John Moore, a man whose
uncommon capacity was sustained by the purest virtue,
and governed by a disinterested patriotism more in keep-
ing with the primitive than the luxurious age of a great
nation. His tall graceful person, his dark searching eyes,
strongly defined forehead, a singularly expressive mouth,
indicated a noble disposition and a refined understanding.
The lofly sentiments of honour habitual to his mind,
adorned by a subtle playful wit, gave him in conversa-
tion an ascendancy that he could well preserve by the
decisive vigour of his actions. He maintained the right
with a vehemence bordering upon fierceness, and every
important transaction in which he was engaged increased
his reputation for talent, and confirmed his character as a
stem enemy to vice, a stedfast friend to merit, a just and
faithful servant of his country. The honest loved him,
the dishonest feared him ; for while he lived, he did not
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Part IV.] EMINENT MEN. aoi
shun, but scorned and spumed the base, and, with cha-
racteristic propriety, they spumed at him when he was
dead. Napier.
CCCIX.
My own Life.
I am, or rather was,— for that is the style I must now
use in speaking of myself, which emboldens me the more
to speak my sentiments ; — I was, I say, a man of mild
dispositions, of command of temper, of an open, social,
and cheerful humour, capable of attachment, but little
susceptible of enmity, and of great moderation in all my
passions. Even my love of literary fame, my ruling
passion, never soured my temper, notwithstanding my
frequent disappointments. My company was not unac-
ceptable to the young and careless as well as to the
studious and literary ; and as I took a particular pleasure
in the company of modest women, I had no reason to be
displeased with the reception I met with from them. In
a word, though most men anywise eminent have found
reason to complain of calumny, I never was touched, or
even attacked by her baleful tooth : and though I wantonly
exposed myself to the rage of both civil and religious
factions, they seemed to be disarmed in my behalf of
their wonted fury. My friends never had occasion to
vindicate any one circumstance of my character and con-
duct: not but that the zealots, we may well suppose,
would have been glad to invent and propagate any story
to my disadvantage, but they could never find any which
they thought would wear the face of probability. I can-
not say there is no vanity in making this funeral oration
of myself, but I hope it is not a misplaced one ; and this
is a matter of fact which is easily cleared and ascertained.
Huntg.
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a02 CHARACTERS OF t^artlT.
occx
Richard, Earl of Scarborough.
He joined to the noblest and strictest principles of
honour and generosity the tend^est sentiments of be-
nevolence and compassion; and as he was naturally
warm, he could not even hear of an injustice or a base-
ness without a sudden indignation, nor of the misfortunes
or miseries of a fellow-creature without melting into soft-
ness, and endeavouring to relieve them. This part of his
character was so universally knowui that our best and
most satirical English poet says ;
'Wh€H I confess^ therms on$ who feels for fame^
And melts to goodness^ Scarborough need I name?*
He had not the least pride of birth and rank, that
conmion narrow notion of little minds, that wretched
mistaken succedaneum of merit ; but he was jealous to
anxiety of his character, as all men are who deserve a
good one. And such was his diffidence upon that sub-
ject, that he never could be persuaded that mankind
really thought of him as they did. For surely never
man had a higher reputation, and never man enjoyed a
more universal esteem. Even knaves respected him;
and fools thought they loved him. If he had any ene-
mies, for I protest I never knew one, they could only be
such as were weaiy of always hearing of Aristides the
J"S^ Ch^Urfidd,
CCCXL
Tiberius.
At the same time with all his frugality Tiberius ob-
tained the rare praise of personal indifference to money,
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Part IV.] EMINENT MEN. 203
and forbearance in claiming even his legitimate dues.
In many cases in which the law enriched the emperor
with the property of a condemned criminal, he waived
his right and allowed it to descend to the heir. He
frequently refused to accept inheritajices bequeathed him
by persons who were not actually related to him, and
checked the base subservience of a death-bed flattery.
With all these generous merits towards the common-
wealth he was not blind to the advantage he might derive
from pretending to another virtue which ranked high in
the estimation of the Romans, but to which he had no
real claim. From the commencement of his principate
he affected the most obsequ^ipus deference to the State as
represented by the Senate, the presumed exponent of its
will. His first care was to make it appear to the world
that his own pre-eminence was thrust upon him by that
body alone which could lawfully invest him with it We
have seen under what disguises, and by what circuitous
processes, he had gradually drawn into his own hands
the powers by which he seemed only seeking to enrich
the Senate at the expense of every oth«r order in the
commonwealth. MirivdU.
CCCXII.
WiUiam III.
Such situations bewilder and unnerve the weak, but
call forth all the strength of the strong. Surrounded by
snares in which an ordinary youth would have perished,
William learned to tread at once warily and firmly.
Long before he reached manhood he knew how to keep
secrets, how to bafiQe curiosity by dry and guarded
answers, how to conceal all passions under the same
show of grave tranquillity. Meanwhile he made but little
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204 CHARACTERS OF [PftrtlV.
proficiency in fashionable and literary accomplishments.
The manners of the Dutch nobility of that age wanted
the grace which was found in the highest perfection
among the gentlemen of France, and which, in an in-
ferior degree, embellished the court of England ; and his
manners were altogether Dutch. Even his countrymen
thought him blunt To foreigners he often seemed
churlish. In his intercourse with the worid in general
he appeared ignorant or negligent of those arts which
double the value of a favour^ and take away the sting of
a refusal Macaulay.
cccxm.
Essex.
Nothing in the political conduct of Essex entitles him
* to esteem ; and the pity with which we regard his early
and terrible end is diminished by the consideration, that
he put to hazard the lives and fortunes of his most
attached friends, and endeavoured to throw the whole
country into confusion, for objects purely personal.
Still it is impossible not to be deeply interested for a
man so brave, high spirited, and generous; for a man
who, while he conducted himself towards his Sovereign
with a boldness such as was then found in no other sub-
ject, conducted himself towards his dependents with a
delicacy such as has been rarely found in any other
patron. Unlike the vulgar herd of benefactors, he
desired to inspire not gratitude, but affection. He tried
to make those whom he befriended feel towards him as
an equal. His mind— ardent, susceptible, naturally dis-
posed to admiration of all that is great and beautiful —
was fascinated by the genius and accomplishments of
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Part IV.] EMINENT MEN 205
Bacon. A close friendship was soon formed between
them, a friendship destined to have a dark, a momnful,
a shameful end. Macatday,
cccxnr.
The Regent Murray.
There is no person in that age about whom historians
have been more divided, or'whose character has been
drawn in such opposite colours. Personal intrepidity,
mihtary skill, sagacity, and vigour in the administration
of civil affairs, are virtues which even his enemies allow
him to have possessed in an eminent degree. His moral
qualities are more dubious, and ought neither to be
praised nor censured without great reserve, and many
distinctions. In a fierce age he was capable of using
victory with humanity, and of treating the vanquished
with moderation ; a patron of learning, which, among
martial nobles, was either unknown or despised ; zealous
for religion, to a degree which distinguished him, even at
a time when professions of that kind were not uncommon.
His confidence in his friends was extreme, and inferior
only to his liberality towards them, \yhich knew no
bounds. A distinguished passion for the liberty of his
country prompted him to oppose the pernicious system
which the Princes of Lorraine had obliged the Queen-
mother to pursue. On Mary's return into Scotland, he
served her with a zeal and affection to which he sacrificed
the friendship of those who were most attached to his
person. But, on the other hand, his ambition was im-
moderate ; and events happened that opened to him vast
projects which allured his enterprising genius, and led
him to actions inconsistent with the duty of a subject
His treatment of the Queen, to whose bounty he was so
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ac6 REFLECTIVE AND [PwrfclV.
much indebted, was unbrotherly and ungrateful. The
dependence on Elizabeth, under which he brought Scot-
land, was disgraceful to the nation. He deceived and
betrayed Norfolk with a baseness unworthy of a man of
honour. Robniso$t.
cooxv.
Th4 Hardships of ike Scholar.
I say, then, that the hardships of the scholar are these :
In the first place, poverty : not that they are all poor, but
I would put the case in the strongest manner possible ;
and when I have said that he endures poverty, methinks
no more need be said to show his misery; for he who is
poor is destitute of everything. But notwithstanding all
this, it is not so great but that he still eats, though some-
what later than usual, either of the rich man's scraps or
leavings, or, which is the scholar's greatest misery, by
going a-begging. Neither do they always want a fire-side
or chimney-comer of some other person, which, if i^ does
not quite warm them, at least abates their extreme cold ;
and lastly, at night they sleep somewhere under cover.
By this painful way they arrive to the degree they desire ;
which being attained, we have seen many who, from a
chair, command and govern the world; their hunger
converted into fulness, their pinching cold into refresh-
ing coolness, their nakedness into embroidery, and their
sleeping on a mat to reposing in fine linen and damask.
Don Quixoti.
COCXVI.
The Hardships of the Warrior.
But their hardships fall far ^hort of those of the warrior,
as I shall presently show. Since in speaking of the
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fmuv.j philosophical. 207
scholar, we began with his poverty, let us see whether
the soldier be richer; and we shall find that poverty itself
is not poorer: for he depends on his ^^etched pay, which
comes late, or perhaps never; or else on what he can
pilfer, with great peril of his life and conscience. And
sometimes his nakedness is such, that his laced-jacket
serves him both for finery and shirt ; and, in the midst of
winter, being in the open field, he has nothing to warm
him but the breath of his mouth, which, issuing from an
empty place, must needs come out cold. But let us wait
until night, and see whether his bed will make amends
for these inconveniences ; and that, if it be not his own
iault, will never ofiend in point of narrowness ; for he
may measure out as many feet of earth as he pleases, and
roll himself thereon at pleasure, without fear of rumpling
the sheets. d^h QuixoU.
occocvn.
The Warrior* s Reward.
Suppose, now, the day and hour come of taking the
degree of his profession,^! say, suppose the day of battle
come, and then his academical cap will be of lint, to cure
some wound made by a musket-shot which, perhaps, has
gone through his temples, or lamed him a leg or an arm.
And though this should not happen, but he should escape
unhurt, he shall remain, perhaps, in the same poverty as
before : and there must happen a second and a third en-
gagement, and battle after battle, and he must come ofi*
victor from them all, to get anything considerable by it.
But these miracles are seldom seen. And tell me, gentle-
men, how much fewer are they who are rewarded for
their services in war, than those who have perished in it ?
The dead cannot be reckoned up, whereas those who live^
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ao8 REFLECTIVE AND [Part IV.
and are rewarded/ may be numbered right easily. All
this is quite otherwise with scholars, who are all hand-
somely provided for. Thus, though the hardships of the
soldier are greater, his reward is less. j)^^ QmxoU.
cocxvni.
Evil Communications.
The old proverb holds true : *Tell me the company you
keep, and I will tell you what you are.* The first com-
pany to which a young man really attaches himself often
fixes his career. This, however, he often falls into at
random, or more frequently has not decision of character
to cast ofif when detected. Among many things which
render bad company poisonous, one of the saddest is the
extreme difficulty of getting rid of a deceitful friend. In
the position which I occupy I am constantly observing
that this or that youth is held down by the weight of evil
comrades. To shake them ofif is a Herculean task; the
ill attachment -sticks like the coat of Nessus. Indeed,
solitary amendment is often easier than disentangling
oneself from corrupting alliance.
CCCXIX.
The Contemplation of Death.
There is a sort of delight which is alternately mixed
with terror and sorrow, in the contemplation of death. The
soul has its curiosity more than ordinarily awakened when
it turns its thoughts upon the subject of such as have
behaved themselves with an equal, a resigned, a cheeHul,
a generousi or heroic temper in that extremity. We are
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Part IV.] PHILOSOPHICAL. ao9
affected with these respective mariners of behaviour, as we
secretly believe the part of the dying person imitable by
ourselves, or such as we imagine ourselves more particu-
larly capable of. Men with exalted minds march before
us like princes, and are, to the ordinary race of mankind,
rather subjects for their admiration than example.
cocxz.
What we get from Literature.
Why should we ever treat of any dead authors but the
fomous ones ? Mainly for this reason : because, from
these famous personages, home or foreign, whom we all
know so well, and of whom so much has been said, the
amount of stimulus which they contain for us has been in
a great measure disengaged ; people have formed their
opinion about them, and do not readily change it One
may write of them afresh, combat received opinions
about them, even interest one's readers in so doing ; but
the interest one's readers receive has to do, in general,
rather with the treatment than with the subject ; they are
susceptible of a lively impression rather of the course
of the discussion itself,— its turns, vivacity, and novelty,
— than of the genius of the author who is the occasion
of it. And yet what Is really precious and inspiring, in
all that we get from literature, except this sense of an
immediate contact with genius itself, and the stimulus
towards what is true and excellent which we derive
from it? ^ jif, Antold,
CCCXXI.
Use what qualtty you have.
'Thou'sayest, ''Men cannot admire, the sharpness of
thy wits." Be it so ; but there are many other things of
p
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210 REFLECTIVE AND [FirtlV.
which thou canst not say, '' I am not formed for them by
nature." Show those qualities, then, which are altogether
in thy power,— sincerity, gravity, endurance of labour,
aversion to pleasure, contentment with thy portion and
with few things, benevolence, frankness, no love of super-
fluity, freedom from trifling, magnanimity. Dost thou
not see how many qualities thou art at once able to
exhibit, as to which there is no excuse of natural inca-
pacity and unfitness, and yet thou still remainest volun-
tarily below the mark ? Or art thou compelled, through
being defectively furnished by nature, to murmur, and to
be mean, and to flatter, and to find fault with thy poor
body, and to try to please men, and to make great
display, and to be so restless in thy mind ? No, indeed ;
but thou mightest have been delivered from these things
long ago.' M, Arnold.
OOOXXIL
The Perfect Character.
The mere philosopher is a character which is commonly
but little acceptable in the world, as being supposed to
contribute little either to the advantage or pleasure of
society ; while he lives remote from communication with
mankind, and is wrapped up in principles and notions
equally remote from their comprehension. On the other
hand, the mere ignorant is still more despised; nor is
anything deemed a surer sign of an illiberal genius in an
age sgid nation where the sciences flourish, than to be
entirely destitute of all relish for those noble entertain-
ments. The most perfect character is supposed to be
between those extremes : retaining an equal ability and
taste for books, company, and business ; preserving in
conversation that discernment and delicacy which arise
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Part IV.] PHILOSOPHICAL. 211
from polite letters; and in business that probity and
accuracy which are the natural result of a just philosophy.
In order to diffuse and cultivate so accomplished a
character, nothing can be more useful than compositions
of easy style and manner which draw not too much from
life, require no deep application or retreat to be com-
prehended, and send back a student among mankind full
of noble sentiments and wise precepts, applicable to every
exigence of human life. By means of such compositions
virtue becomes amiable, science agreeable, company in-
structive, and retirement entertaining. Hutng,
cccxxm.
Why we commend the Past
Men dp always, but not always with reason, commend
the past and condenm the present, and are so much the
partisans of what has been, as not merely to cry up those
times Which are known to them only from the records left
by historians, but also, when they grow old, to extol the
days in which they remember their youth to have been
spent And although this preference of theirs be in most
instances a mistaken one, I can see that there are many
causes to account for it ; chief of which I take to be that
in respect of things long gone by we perceive not the
whole truth, those circumstances that would detract from
the credit of the past being for the most part hidden from
us, while all that gives it lustre is magnified and embel-
lished. For the generality of writers render this tribute
to the good fortune of conquerors, that they not merely
exaggerate the great things they have done, but also lend
such a colour to the actions of their enemies, that any
one born afterwards has cause to marvel at these men and
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these times, and is constrained to praise and love them
beyond all others.
OCGXXIV.
The Epicureans.
The Epioirean school professes, in the first instance, to
be founded on the senses and the feeling, to be based on
reality, as popularly understood. It appeals to our im-
mediate perception and feeling, and declares that these
must never be recklessly set aside. What we immediately
feel and perceive, that is true ; what we directly find our-
selves to be, that is what we ought to do. Act what
thou art is its motto, and sense and feeling tell thee with
sufiicient distinctness what thou art But the promise
thus held out is certainly not kept to the letter. What
we supposed to be our feelings and sensations turn out
to be less trustworthy than we had been, up to this point,
led to suppose. The greater number of our beliefs and
opinions are due to hasty and erroneous inferences.
What seemed to be po-ception was really reasoning.
We must, therefore, get back to our original perceptions.
We were told originally that we must believe nothing for
which we have not the evidence of the senses and the
feeling. It becomes apparent that that evidence does not
go so far as we had supposed. Our senses and our feel-
ings seem to mislead, and yet, if we reject all sense and
feeling^ knowledge is made impracticable.
ocoxxv.
The Stoics.
The wise man alone is fi*ee, the Stoics said, for he can
make himself independent of the whims of fortune, can
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rise superior to so-called troubles, guard himself alike
from care and fear and passionate desire, and enjoy the
bliss of an unruffled calm. It is true that in another
sense he is not free, has indeed less sense of freedom
than the careless crowd, for he can recognise the general
law of destiny within which all things revolve. His will,
he knows, is mysteriously linked to the long chain of
natural causes, but he seems free in that he can willingly
obey the dictates of his nature without being helplessly
determined by things external to himself. He decides on
that which reason points to, and he acts under no sense
of constraint or irksome pressure, for his will and universal
intellect are one.
OCCXKVI.
Knowledge of Languages.
It is scarcely possible that the translation of a book of
the highest class can be equal to the original But though
much may be lost in the copy, the great outline must
remain. So the genius of Homer is seen in the poorest
version of the Iliad. Let it not be supposed that I wish
to dissuade any person from studying either the ancient
languages or those of modem Europe. Far from it ! I
prize most highly those keys of knowledge. I always
much admired a saying of the Emperor Charles V.
'When I learn a new language,' he said, 'I feel as if
I had got a new soul.' But I would console those who
have not time to make themselves linguists by assuring
them that by means of their own mother-tongue they may
obtain access to vast intellectual treasures, treasures such
as might have been envied in the age of Charles the Fifth,
surpassing those which were possessed by Aldus, by Eras-
mus, by Melanchthon. Brougham,
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cccxxvn.
Wisdom and Virtue.
If it be true that the understanding and the will are the
two eminent faculties of the reasonable soul, it follows
necessarily that wisdom and virtue, which are the best
improvement of those two faculties, must be the perfection
also of our reasonable being, and, therefore, the undeni-
able foundation of a happy life. There is not any duty to
which Providence has not annexed a blessing ; not any
institution of Heaven, which even in this life we may not
be the better for ; nor any temptation, either of fortune or
of appetite, that is not subject to our reason ; not any
passion or affliction, for which virtue has not provided
a remedy. So that it is our own fault, if we either fear
or hope for anything terrestrial ; and these two affections
are at the root of all our miseries.
CCCXXVIII.
Passion for Money-getting.
One very common and at the same time the most ab-
surd ambition that ever showed itself in human nature is
that which comes upon man with experience and old age,
the season when it might be expected he should be the
wisest, and therefore cannot receive any of those lessen-
ing circumstances which do in some measure excuse the
disorderly ferments of youthful blood ; I mean the passion
for getting money, exclusive of the character of the provi-
dent father, the affectionate husband, or the generous
friend. It may be remarked for the comfort of honest
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poverty, that thisr desire reigns most in those who have
but few qualities to recommend them. This is a weed
that will grow in a barren soil. Humanity, good nature,
and the advantage of a liberal education are incompatible
with avarice. Tis strange to see how. suddenly this ab-
ject passion kills all the noble sentiments and generous
ambitions that adorn human nature ; it renders the man
who is overrun with it a peevish and cruel master, a
severe parent, an unsociable husband, a distant and mis-
trustful friend. But it is more to the present purpose to
consider it as an absurd passion of the heart rather than
as a vicious affection of the mind. As there are frequent
instances to be met with of a proud humility, so this
passion, contrary to most others, affects applause by
avoiding all show and appearance; for this it will not
sometimes endure even the decencies of apparel.
Spictator.
CCCXTmL
Natural Religion.
But the hopes and fears of man are not limited to this
short life, and to this visible world. He finds himself
surrounded by the signs of a power and wisdom higher
than his own ; and, in all ages and nations, men of all
orders of intellect, from Bacon and Newton, down to the
rudest tribes of cannibals, have believed in the existence
of some superior mind. Thus far the voice of mankind
is almost unanimous. But whether there be one God,
or many, what may be his natural and what his moral
attributes, in what relation his creatures stand to him,
whether he have ever disclosed himself to us by any other
revelation than that which is written in all the parts of
the glorious and well-ordered world which he has made,
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whether his revelation be contained in any permanent
record, how that record should be interpreted, and
whether it have pleased him to appoint any unerring
interpreter on earth, these are questions respecting which
there exists the widest diversity of opinion, and respect-
ing which a large part of our race has, ever since the
dawn of regular history, been deplorably in error*
OCCXXX.
Common Indifference to Truth.
Though it is scarcely possible to avoid judging, in some
way or other, of almost everything which offers itself to
one's thoughts ; yet it is certain, that many persons, from
diflferent causes, never exercise their judgment upon what
comes before them, in the way of determining whether it
be conclusive, and holds. They are perhaps entertained
with some things, not so with others ; they like, and they
dislike ; but whether that which is proposed to be made
out be really made out or not ; whether a matter be stated
according to the real truth of the case, seems to the
generality of people merely a circumstance of no con-
sideration at alL Arguments are often wanted for some
accidental purpose ; but proof, as such, is what they never
want for themselves, for their own satisfaction of mind, or
conduct in life. Not to mention the multitude who read
merely for the sake of talking, or to qualify themselves
for the world, or some such kind of reasons ; there are,
even of the few who read for their own entertainment,
and have a real curiosity to see what is said, several,
which is prodigious, who have no sort of curiosity to see
what is true. q^^^^^
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CCCXXXT.
Socrates on Immoriality.
I have often observed a passage in Socrates' behaviour
at his death, in a light wherein none of the critics have
considered it That excellent man, entertaining his
friends a little before he drank the bowl of poison, with a
discourse on the immortality of the soul, at his entering
upon it, says, that he does not believe any of the most
comic genius can censure him for talking upon such a
subject at such a time. This passage, I think, evidently
glances upon Aristophanes, who writ a comedy on purpose
to ridicule the discourses of that divine philosopher. It
has been observed by many writers, that Socrates was
so little moved at this piece of buffoonery, that he was
several times present at its being acted on the stage, and
never expressed the least resentment of it But with
submission, I think the remark I have here made shows
us that this unworthy treatment made an impression upon
his mind, though he had been too wise to discover it
Spectator,
occxxxn.
The Soul after Death.
The soul after death takes its way to the regions below,
and there stands unveiled before the bar of judgment, and
nothing can possibly hinder the judges from searching all
its secrets. Men's souls contract sores and ulcers from
the vices they have committed in this life. The judges
again mark closely the nature of the sores, and judge
whether the sores are curable or not If so, they are
chastised and corrected by punishment and healed.
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When incurable, they are tortured for ever and ever with
the direst agony, from which they themselves derive no
benefit, but are held out as examples for others. Those
who have remained their whole life through free from
spot,, pass into the islands of the blessed, and there live
an undying life of bliss. I believe then this tale, dear
Callicles, and have ever deemed it my supreme duty to
present myself before my judge with the healthiest of
souls; and I entreat you to keep yourself chaste and
pure, and to dismiss all vain pursuits. Otherwise when
you come to the judgment seat below, you will be
wracked with pain, may be, and will hesitate, and be at
your wits' end for excuses, and be visited with the utmost
contumely. piato,
cccxxxin.
Insincerity in Conversation.
Amongst too many instances of the great corruption
and degeneracy of the age in which we live, the great
and general want of sincerity in conversation is not the
least. The world is grown so full of dissimulation and
compliment, that men's words are hardly any signification
of their thoughts ; and if any man measure his words by
his heart, and speak as he thinks, and do not express
more kindness to every man, than men usually have for
any man, he can hardly escape the censure of breeding.
The old English plainness and sincerity, that generous
integrity of nature, and honesty of disposition, which
always argue true greatness of mind, and are usually
accompanied with undaunted courage and resolution, are
in a great measure lost amongst us; there has been a
long endeavour to transform us into foreign manners and
fashions, and to bring us to a servile imitation of none of
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the best of our neighbours in some of the worst of their
qualities. The dialect of conversation is now-a-days so
swelled with vanity and compliment, and so surfeited, as
I may say, of expressions of kindness and respect, that
if a man that lived an age or two ago should return into
the world again, he would really want a dictionary to
help him to understand his own language, and to know
the true intrinsic value of the phrase in fashion, and
would hardly at first believe at what a low rate the
highest strains and expressions of kindness imaginable
do commonly pass in common payment; and when he
should come to understand, it would be a great while
before he could bring himself with a good countenance
and a good conscience to converse with men upon equal
terms and in their own way. Spectator.
occxxxry.
Epicurus and Pleasure.
Were it possible for you to have spent an hour with
Epicurus, you would have been delighted with him, for
his nature was like the better part of yours. He who
shows us how fear may be reasoned with and purified,
how death may be disarmed of terrors, how pleasure
may be imited with innocence and constancy; he who
persuades us that vice is painful and vindictive, and that
ambition, deemed the most manly of our desires, is the
most childish and illusory, deserves our gratitude. If you
must quarrel with Epicurus on the principal good, take
my idea. The happy man is he who distinguishes the
boundary between desire and delight, and stands firmly
on the higher ground ; he who knows that pleasure not
only is not possession, but is often to be lost and always
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to be endangered by it. In life, as in those prospects
which if the sun were above the horizon we would see
from hence, the objects covered with the softest light,
and offering the most beautiful forms in the distance, are
wearisome to attain and barren.
occxxxv.
Work and Play.
With every power that we have we can do two things :
we can work, and we can play. Every power that we
have is at the same time useful to us and delightfUl to us.
Even when we are applying them to the furtherance
of our personal objects, the activity of them gives us
pleasure ; and when we have no useful end to which to
apply them, it is still pleasant to us to use them ; the
activity of them gives us pleasure for its own sake. There
is no motion of our body or mind which we use in work,
which we do not also use in play or amusement. If we
walk in order to arrive at the place where our interest
requires us to be, we also walk about the fields for eiyoy-
ment. If we apply our combining and analysing powers
to solve the problems of mathematics, we use them some-
times also in solving double acrostics. ^^ AmM.
CGCXXXVI.
Tardy Resolves.
The ambassador being present in the council when
these matters were being discussed, told them < that he
thought it of far greater moment for them to consider
what they were to do than what they were to say ; for
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when their resolves were formed, it would be easy to
clothe them in fit words.' Now this was sound advice,
and such as every prince and people should lay to heart
But not less mischievous than doubtful resolves are those
which are late and tardy, especially when they have to
be made on behalf of a friend. For from their lateness
they help none, and hurt ourselves. Tardy resolves are
due to want of spirit or want of strength, or to the per-
versity of those who have to determine, who being moved
by a secret desire to overthrow the government, or to
carry out some selfish purpose of their own, suffer no
decision to be come to, but only thwart and hinder.
Whereas, good citizens, even when they see the popular
mind to be bent on dangerous courses, will never oppose
the adoption of a fixed plan, more particularly in matters
which do not brook delay.
ocoxzxvn.
The Limits of Time.
Men are £^t enough of themselves to fall into the most
astonishing delusions about the opportunities which time
affords, but they are even more deluded by the talk of
the people about them. When children hear that a new
carriage has been ordered of the builder, they expect to
see it driven up to the door in a fortnight, with the paint
quite dry on the panels. All people are children in this
respect, except the workman, who knows the endless
details of production ; and the workman himself, notwith-
standing the lessons of experience, makes light of the
fiiture task. What gigantic plans we scheme, and how
little we advance in the labour of a day I If there is one
lesson which experience teaches, surely it is this, to make
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plans that are strictly limited, and to arrange our work
in a practicable way within the limits that we must
accept HanmUm.
cccxxxvm.
True Affectum.
There are wonders in true affection; it is a body of
enigmas, mysteries, and riddles, wherein two so become
one as they both become two ; I love my friend befoi^
myself, and yet methinks, I do not love him enough. Some
few months hence, my multiplied affection will make me
believe I have not loved him at alL When I am from him,
I am dead till I am with him. United souls are not
satisfied with embraces, but desire to be truly each other,
which being impossible, these desires are infinite^ and
must proceed without a possibility of satisfaction. Another
misery there is in affection, that whom we truly love like
our own selves, we forget their looks, nor can our memory
retain the idea of their faces ; and it is no wonder, for
they are ourselves, and our affections make their looks
our own. This noble affection falls not on vulgar and
common constitutions, but on such as are marked for
virtue. He that can love his friend with this noble ardour
will, in a competent degree^ affect all.
Sir Thomas Browiu,
CCCXXXIX.
The Duty of Silence.
Silence is a privilege of the grave, a right of the de-
parted: let him, therefore, who infringes that right by
speaking publicly of, for, or against, those who cannot
speak for themselves, take heed that he opens not his
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mouth without a sufficient sanction. Only to philosophy
enlightened by the affections does it belong justly to esti-
mate the claims of the deceased on the one hand, and of
the present age and future generations on the other, and
to strike a balance between them. Such philosophy runs
a risk of becoming extinct among us, if the coarse in-
trusions into the recesses, the gross breaches into the
sanctities, of domestic life, to which we hare lately been
more and more accustomed, are to be regarded as indica-
tions of a vigorous state of public feeling. The wise and
good respect, as one of the noblest characteristics of
Englishmen, that jealousy of familiar approach, which,
while it contributes to the maintenance of private dignity,
is one of the most efficacious guardians of rational public
freedom.
CCCXL.
Plato, thou reasonest well.
It might very well be thought serious trifling to tell my
readers that the greatest men had ever a high esteem for
Plato ; whose writings are the touchstone of a hasty and
shallow mind ; whose philosophy has been the admiration
of ages;, which supplied patriots, magistrates, and law-
givers to the most flourishing States, as well as Fathers to
the Church, and doctors to the schools. Albeit in these
days the depths of that old learning are rarely fathomed ;
and yet it were happy for these lands if our young nobility
and gentry, instead of modem maxims, would imbibe the
notions of the great men of antiquity. It may be modestly
presumed there are not many among us, even of those
who are called the better sort, who have more sense,
virtue, and love of their country than Cicero, who, in a
letter to Atticus, could not forbear exclaiming, 'O Socrates,
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et Socratici viri ! nunquam vobis gratiam referam.' Would
to God many of our countrymen had the same obligations
to those Socratic writers ! (Certainly, where the people are
well educated, the art of piloting a State is best learned
from the writings of Plato. But among bad men, void of
discipline and education, Plato, Pythagoras, and Aristotle
themselveSi were they living, could do but little good.
CCCXLI.
The Popular Verdict.
When I travelled I took a particular delight in hearing
the songs and fables that are come from father to son,
and are most in vogue among the common people of the
countries through which I passed ; for it is impossible
that anything should be universally tasted and approved
by a multitude, though they are only the rabble of a
nation, which hath not in it some peculiar aptness to
please and gratify the mind of man. Human nature is
the same in all reasonable creatures ; and whatever falls
in with it will meet with admirers amongst readers of all
qualities and conditions. Moli^re, as we are told by M.
Boileau, used to read all his comedies to an old woman
who was his housekeeper, as she sate with him at her
work by the chimney corner ; and foretell the success ot
his play at the theatre from the reception it met at his
fireside, for he tells us the audience always followed the
old woman, and never failed to laugh in the same place*
cccxi.li.
The Passion for Glory.
One of the strongest incitements to excel in such arts
and accomplishments as are in the highest esteem among
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men, is the natural passion for glory which the mind of
man has : which, though it may be faulty in the excess
of it, ought by no means to be discouraged. Perhaps
some moralists are too severe in beating down this prin-
ciple, which seems to be a spring implanted by nature to
give motion to all the latent powers of the soul, and is
always observed to exert itself with the greatest force in
the most generous dispositions. The men whose char-
acters have shone brightest among the ancient Romans
appear to have been strongly animated by this passion.
Cicero, whose learning and services to his country are so
well known, was inflamed by it to an extravagant degree,
and warmly presses Lucceius, who was composing a
history of those times, to be very particular and zealous
in relating the story of his consulship ; and to execute it
speedily, that he might have the pleasure of enjoying in
his lifetime some part of the honour which he foresaw
would be paid to his memory. This was the ambition of
a great mind, but he is faulty in the degree of it, and can-
not refrain from soliciting the historian, upon this occa-
sion, to neglect the strict laws of history, and in praising
him, even to exceed the strict bounds of truth. The
younger Pliny appears to have had the same passion
for fame, but accompanied with greater chasteness and
modesty. ^ Spectator,
cccxLni.
The Supreme Rank of Poetry.
But among all the arts it is only poetry that can confer
this supreme kind of fame, because speech is the only
mirror in which the whole universe can be reflected.
With colours or in marble we can express only what we
see, but there is nothing that the mind can think which
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cannot be uttered in speech. And therefore, in the
poetry of all ages we possess, as it were, a shifting view
of the universe as it has appeared to successive genera-
tions of men. According to the predominant inclination
of the human mind in each age is the poetry ^f that age.
At one time it is busy with the brave deeds of the hero,
the contest and the laurel wreath : at another time with
mere enjoyment, with wine and love. Then it describes
the struggle of man against destiny, heroic fortitude and
endurance in the midst of little hope ; at another time it
pictures man as in probation, purified in adversity, and
having a hope beyond the grave. At one time it becomes
idyllic, delights in country life, simple pleasures, simple
loves, a wholesome and peaceful existence ; at another
time it loves cities, and deals in refinements, courtesies,
gallantries, gaieties. And sometimes it takes a philo-
sophical tone, delights in the grandeur of eternal laws,
aspires to communion with the soul of the world, or en-
deavours to discover, in the construction of things, the
traces of a beneficent plan. Std^*
CCOXLIV.
Ancient Hatred of Foreigners.
That system of morality, even in the times when it was
powerful and in many respects beneficial, had made it
almost as much a duty to hate foreigners as to love
fellow-citizens. Plato congratulates the Athenians on
having shown in their relations to Persia, beyond all the
other Greeks, * a pure and heartfelt hatred of the foreign
nature.' Instead of opposing, it had sanctioned and con-
secrated the savage instinct which leads us to hate what-
ever is strange or unintelligible ; to distrust those who
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live on the farther side of a rJver ; to suppose that those
whom we hear talking together in a foreign tongue must
be plotting some mischief against ourselves. The lapse
of time and the fusion of races doubtless diminished this
antipathy considerably, but at the utmost it could but be
transformed into an icy indifference, for no cause was in
operation to convert it into kindness. On the other hand,
the closeness of the bond which united fellow-citizens
was considerably relaxed. Common interests and
common dangers had drawn it close ; these in the wide
security of the Roman Empire had no longer a place.
It had depended upon an imagined blood-relationship ;
fellow-citizens could now no longer feel themselves to
be united by the tie of blood. Every town was full of
resident aliens and emancipated slaves, persons between
whom and the citizens nature had established no con-
nection, and whose presence in the city had originally
been barely tolerated from motives of expediency. The
selfishness of modern times exists in defiance of morality;
in ancient times it was approved, sheltered, and even in
part enjoined by morality.
CCCXLV.
Plutocracy.
It is the curse of our species that the great and wealthy
seldom or never pursue this straight and righteous path
to dominion. They insist upon governing mankind with-
out taking the trouble to acquire those qualities which
make mankind willing to be governed by them. They
choose to rule by mere dint of naked wealth and station,
unallied with those beneficent ingredients which bestow
upon rulers an empire over human hearts as well as over
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228 REFLECTIVE AND [Part IV.
human persons. Then come the strain and tug to make
the influence of wealth alone in worthless and ungifted
hands equal to that of wealth and mental excellence
united. Wealth in itself, apart from all personal merit,
insures the power of conferring favours and inflicting in-
juries. It enables a man to deal out bribes, open or dis-
guised, with one hand, and blows with the other. It will
not indeed obtain for him the heartfelt esteem of a willing
public, but it serves as a two-edged sword to compel
delusive indications of it. It will steal away simulated
demonstrations of esteem, and extort those votes which
he has not virtue enough to earn»
CCCXIiVI.
Brahmin Cosmogony.
The Brahmins assert that the world arose from an infi-
nite spider, who spun this whole complicated mass from
his bowels, and annihilates afterwards the whole, or any
part of it, by absorbing it again, and resolving it into his
own essence. Here is a theory which appears to us
ridiculous ; because a spider is a little contemptible ani-
mal, whose operations we are never likely to take for
a model of the whole universe. But still it is in keep-
ing with what goes on in Qur globe. And were there
a world wholly inhabited by spiders (which is very
possible) this theory would there appear as natural and
irrefragable as that which in our planet ascribes the
origin of all things to design and intelligence, as explained
by Cleanthes. Why an orderly system may not be spun
from the belly, as well as from the brain, it will be difficult
for him to give a satisfactory reason.
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CCCXLVII.
Human Nature Narrow rather than Heartless.
It is constantly said that human nature is heartless.
Do not believe it. Human nature is kind and generous ;
but it is narrow and blind, and can only with difficulty
conceive anything but what it immediately sees and feels.
People would instantly care for others as well as them-
selves if only they could imagine others as well as them-
selves. Let a child fall into the river before the roughest
man's eyes ;— he will usually do what he can to get it out,
even at some risk to himself; and all the town will triumph
in the saving of one little life. Let the same man be
shown that hundreds of children are dying of fever for
want of some sanitary measure which it will cost him
trouble to urge, and he will make no effort ; and probably
all the town would resist him if he did. So also the lives
of many deserving women are passed in a succession of
petty anxieties about themselves, and gleaning of minute
interests and mean pleasures in their immediate circle,
because they are never taught to make any effort to look
beyond it, or to know anything about the mighty world
in which their lives are fading, like blades of bitter grass
in fruitless fields. Ruskin,
cccxiivm.
The True Aristocracy.
Will you go and gossip with your housemaid, or your
stable boy, when you may talk with queens and kings ; or
flatter yourselves that it is with any worthy consciousness
of your own claims to respect, that you jostle with the
hungry and common crowd for entr^ here, and audience
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130 REFLECTIVE AND [Part IV.
there, when all the while this eternal court is open to you,
with its society, wide as the world, multitudinous as its
days, the chosen and the mighty of every place and time ?
Into that you may enter always ; in that you may take
fellowship and rank according to your wish ; from that,
once entered into it, you can never be an outcast but by
your own fault ; by your aristocracy of companionship
there, your own inherent aristocracy will be assuredly
tested, and the motives with which you strive to take
high place in the society of the living, measured, as to all
the truth and sincerity that are in them, by the place you
desire to take in this company of the Dead. Ruskin,
CCCXLIX.
Rarity of True Friendship,
When Socrates was building himself a house at Athens,
being asked by one that observed the littleness of the
design, why a man so eminent would not have an abode
more suitable to his dignity ? he replied, that he should
think himself sufficiently accommodated, if he could see
that narrow habitation filled with real friends. Such was
the opinion of this great master of human life concerning
the infrequency of such an union of minds as might de-
serve the name of friendship, that among the multitudes
whom vanity or curiosity, civility or veneration, crowded
about him, he did not expect that very spacious apart-
ments would be necessary to contain all that should regard
him with sincere kindness, or adhere to him with steady
fidelity. So many qualities are indeed requisite to the
possibility of friendship, and so many accidents must
concur to its rise and its continuance, that the greatest
part of mankind content themselves without it, and supply
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Part IV.] PHILOSOPHICAL. I3I
its place as they can, with interest and dependence. Multi-
tudes are unqualified for a constant and warm reciproca-
tion of benevolence, as they are incapacitated for any
other elevated excellence, by perpetual attention to th«ir
interest, and unresisting subjection to their passions.
Long habits may superinduce inability to deny any
desire, or repress, by superior motives, the importunities
of any immediate gratification, and an inveterate selfish-
ness will imagine all advantages diminished in proportion
as they are communicated.
CCCL.
Truth Overdone.
It is difficult to think too highly of the merits and
delights of truth ; but there is often in men's minds an
exaggerated notion of some bit of truth, which proves a
great assistance to falsehood. For instance, the shame of
finding that he has in some special case been led into
falsehood becomes a bugbear which scares a man into a'
career of false dealing. He has begun making a furrow
a little out of the line, and he ploughs on in it, to try and
give some consistency and meaning to it. He wants'
almost to persuade himself that it was not wrong, and
entirely to hide the wrongness from others. This is a
tribute to the majesty of truth : also to the world's opinion
about truth. It proceeds, too, upon the notion that all
falsehoods are equal, which is not the case, or on some
fond craving for a show of perfection, which is sometimes
very inimical to the reality. The practical, as well as the
high-minded, view in such cases, is for a man to think how
he can be true now. To attain that, it may, even for this
world, be worth while for a man to admit that he has been
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23^ REFLECTIVE AND [Part IV.
inconsistent, and even that he has been untrue. His
hearers, did they know anything of themselves, would be
fully aware that he was not singular, except in the courage
of owning his insincerity, SptcMw.
CCCLI.
The Fear of Deailu
I have often thought upon death, and I find it the least
of evils. All that which is past is as a dream ; and he
that hopes or depends upon time coming dreams waking.
So much of our life as we have discovered is already dead,
and all those hours which we share, even from the breast
of our mother, until we return to our grandmother the
earth, are part of our dying day ; whereof even this is
one, and those that succeed are of the same nature ; for
we die daily, and as others have given place to us, so
we must in the end give way to ofhers. Physicians in
the name of death include all sorrow, anguish, disease,
calamity, or whatsoever can fall in the life of man, either
grievous or unwelcome: but these things are familiar
unto us, and we suffer them every hour ; therefore we
die daily, and I am older since I affirmed it. I know
many wise men that fear to die ; for the change is bitter,
and flesh would refuse to prove it : besides the expecta-
tion brings terror, and that exceeds in eviL But I do not
believe that any man fears to be dead, but only the stroke
of death: and such are my hopes that if Heaven be
pleased, and nature renew but my lease for twenty-one
years more, without asking longer days, I shall be strong
enough to acknowledge without mourning that I was
begotten mortal.
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Part IV.] PHILOSOPHICAL. ^33
CCCLII.
Two Theories on Land.
There are two theories on the subject of land now
abroad, and in contention ; both false. The first is that,
by Heavenly law, there have always existed, and must
continue to exist, a certain number of hereditarily sacred
persons, to whom the earth, air, and water of ihe world
belong, as personal property ; of which, earth, air, and
water, these persons may, at their pleasure, permit, or
forbid, the rest of the human race to eat, to breathe, or to
drink. This theory is not for many years longer tenable.
The adverse theory is that a division of the land of the
world among the mob of the world would immediately
elevate the said mob into sacred personages; that
houses would then build themselves, and corn grow of
itself; and that everybody would be able to live, with-
out doing any work for his living. This theory would
also be found highly untenable in practice. Ruskm.
CCCLIII.
Satire without Stittg.
I often apply this rule to myself; and when I hear
of a satirical speech or writing that is aimed at me, I
examine my own heart, whether I deserve it or not
If I bring in a verdict against myself, I endeavour to
rectify my conduct for the future in those particulars
which have drawn the censure upon me; but if the
whole invective be grounded upon a falsehood, I trouble
myself no further about it, and look upon my name at
the head of it to signify no more than one of those
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234 REFLECTIVE AND [Part IV.
fictitious names made use of by an author to introduce
an imaginary character. Why should a man be sensible
of the sting of a reproach, who is a stranger to the guilt
that is implied in it ? or subject himself to the penalty,
when he knows he has never committed the crime?
This is a piece of fortitude, which every one owes to
his own innocence, and without which it is impossible
for a man of any merit or figure to live at peace with
himself in a country that abounds with wit and liberty.
CCCLIV.
Self-Sacrifice,
It is noble to be capable of resigning entirely one's
own portion of happiness, or chances of it : but after all
this self-sacrifice must be for some end ; it is not its own
end ; and if we are told that its end is not happiness, but
virtue which is better than happiness, I ask, Would the
sacrifice be made if the hero or martyr did not believe
that it would earn for others immunity from similar
sacrifices^' Would it be made if he thought that his
renunciation of happiness for himself would produce no
fruit for any of his fellow-creatures, but to make their
lot like his, and place them also in the condition of
persons who have renounced happiness? All honour
to those who can abnegate for themselves the personal
enjoyment of life, when by such renunciation they con-
tribute worthily to increase the amount of happiness in
the world; but he who does it, or professes to do it,
for any other purpose, is no more deserving of admira-
tion than the ascetic mounted on his pillar. He may
be an inspiring proof of what men can do, but assuredly
is not an example of what they should. j^ 5, j/^^
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Pftrtiv.] pb/losophicAl.^^'^ c \ , ^^5
CCCLV.
Men have their Exits.
The end of a man's life is often compared to the
winding-up of a well-written play, where the principal
persons still act in character, whatever the fate is they
undergo. There is scarce a great person in the Grecian
or Roman history, whose death has not been remarked
upon by some writer or other, and censured or applauded
according to the genius or principles of the person
who has descanted upon it. Monsieur de St. Evremont
is very particular in setting forth the constancy and
courage of Petronius Arbiter during his last moments,
and thinks he discovers in them a greater firmness of
mind and resolution than in the death of Seneca, Cato, or
Socrates. There is no question but this polite author's
affectation of appearing singular in his remarks, and
making discoveries which had escaped the observation
of others, threw him into this course of reflexion. It was
Petronius' merit that he died in the same gaiety of temper
in which he lived ; but as his life was altogether loose
and dissolute, the indifference which he showed at the
close of it is to be looked upon as a piece of natural care-
lessness and levity, rather than fortitude. The resolution
of Socrates proceeded from very different motives, the
consciousness of a well-spent life, and a prospect of a
happy eternity. If the ingenious author above-mentioned
was so pleased with gaiety of humour in a dying man, he
might have found a much nobler instance of it in our
countryman Sir Thomas More,
Addison,
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^jfi REFLECTIVE AND [Part IV.
CCCLVI.
The Errors of the Illustrious Dead.
UndQubtedly we ought to look at ancient transactions
by the light of modern knowledge. Undoubtedly it is
among the first duties of a historian to point out the faults
of the eminent men of former generations. There are no
errors which are so likely to be drawn into precedent,
and therefore none which it is so necessary to expose, as
the errors of persons who have a just title to the grati-
tude and admiration of posterity. In politics, as in re-
ligion, there are devotees who show their reverence for a
departed saint by converting his tomb into a sanctuary
for crime. Receptacles for wickedness are suffered to
remain undisturbed in the neighbourhood of the church
which glories in the relics of some martyred apostle.
Because he was merciful, his bones give security to
assassins. Because he was chaste, the precinct of his
temple is filled with licensed stews. Privileges of an
equally absurd kind have been set up against the juris-
diction of political philosophy. Vile abuses cluster thick
round every glorious event, round every venerable name;
and this evil assuredly calls for vigorous measures of
literary police. But the proper course is to abate the
nuisance without defacing the shrine, to drive out the
gangs of thieves and prostitutes without doing foul and
cowardly wrong to the ashes of the illustrious dead.
MtKaulay.
CCCLVII.
All is Vanity.
The highest gratification we receive here below is
mirth, which at the best is but a fluttering unquiet
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Part IV.] PHILOSOPHICAL. 237
motion that beats about the breast for a few moments,
and after leaves it void and empty. So little is there in
the thing we so much talk of, and so much magnify—
keeping good company. Even the best is but a less
shameful act of losing time. What we call science here,
and study, is little better. The greater number of arts to
which we apply ourselves are mere groping in the dark ;
and even the search of our most important concerns in a
future being, is but a needless, anxious, and uncertain
haste to be knowing sooner than we can, what without
all this solicitude, we shall know a little afler. We are
but curious impertinents in the case of futurity. It is not
our business to be guessing what the state of souls is, but
to be doing what may make our own happy. We cannot
be knowing, but we can be virtuous. p^p^
occLvm.
How to deal with Passion.
When passion, whether in the political body or in the
individual, is once roused, it is vain, during the paroxysm,
to combat it with the weapons of reason. A man in love
is proverbially inaccessible to argument, and a nation
heated in the pursuit of political power is as incapable of
listening either to the deductions of the understanding,
or the lessons of experience. The only way in such
times of averting the evil is by presenting some new
object of pursuit which is attractive not only to the think-
ing few, but to the unthinking many ; by counteracting
one passion by the growth of another, and summoning to
the support of truth not only the armour of reason but
the fire of imagination. ^, Alison,
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^38 REFLECTIVE AND [Part IV.
CCCLIX.
The Legal Profession.
'I see/ cries my friend, 'that you are for a speedy
administration of justice ; but all the world will grant,
that the more time there is taken up in considering any
subject, the better will it be understood. Besides, it is the
boast of an Englishman, that his property is secure, and
all the world will grant that a deliberate administration of
justice is the best way to secure his property. Why have
we so many lawyers, but to secure our property ? Why
so many formalities, but to secure our property ? Not
less than one hundred thousand families live in opulence
merely by securing our property.* ... * But, bless me,*
returned I, 'what numbers do I see here — all in black —
how is it possible that half this multitude find employ-
ment?' 'Nothing so easily conceived,* returned my
companion, 'they live by watching each other. For
instance, the catch-pole watches the man in debt, the
attorney watches the catch-pole, the counsellor watches
the attorney, the solicitor the counsellor, and all find
sufficient employment.* ' I conceive you,' interrupted I,
'they watch each other: but it is the client that pays
them all for watching.' citwn ofih* fVorid.
CCCLX.
0/ Causes in Politics,
Not to lose ourselves in the infinite void of the conjec-
tural world, our business is with what is likely to be
affected for the better or the worse, by the wisdom or
weakness of our plans. In all speculations upon men and
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Part IV,] PHILOSOPHICAL. 239
human affairs, it is of no small moment to distinguish
things of accident from permanent causes, and from effects
that cannot be altered. It is not every irregularity in our
movement that is a total deviation from our course. I am
not quite of the mind of those speculators, who seem
assured, that necessarily, and by the constitution of things,
all states have the same periods of infancy, manhood, and
decrepitude, that are found in the individuals who com-
pose them. Parallels of this sort rather furnish similitudes
to illustrate or to adorn, than supply analogies from
whence to reason. The objects which are attempted to
be forced into an analogy are not found in the same
classes of existence. Individuals are physical beings,
subject to laws universal and invariable. The immediate
cause acting in these laws may be obscure : the general
results are subjects of certain calculation. But common-
wealths are not physical but moral essences. They are
artificial combinations ; and in their proximate efficient
cause, the arbitrary productions of the human mind. We
are not yet acquainted with the laws which necessarily
influence the stability of that kind of work made by that
kind of agent. There is not in the physical order (with
which they do not appear to hold any assignable con-
nexion) a distinct cause by which any of those fabrics
must necessarily grow, flourish, or decay; nor, in my
opinion, does the moral world produce anything more
determinate on that subject, than what may serve as an
amusement (liberal indeed, and ingenious, but still only an
amusement) for speculative men. I doubt whether the
history of mankind is yet complete enough, if ever it can
be so, to furnish grounds for a sure theory on the internal
causes which necessarily affect the fortune of a State. I
am far from denying the operation of such causes : but
they are infinitely uncertain, and much more obscure.
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240 REFLECTIVE AND [Part IV.
and much more difficult to trace, than the foreign causes
that tend to raise, to depress, and sometimes to over-
whelm a community. Addismu
OCCLXI.
Political Necessities.
Let us take for granted that what has been desired,
what has been held good and useful by all the enlightened
men of a country, without variation, during a succession
of years of various governments, is a necessity of the
time. Such, gentlemen, is the liberty of the Press. . . .
I do not say that governments ought to hasten to recog-
nise these new necessities. But when they have been
recognised, to take back what was given, or— which
comes to the same thing— to suspend it indefinitely, that
is a rashness which, more than any one, I hope may not
bring a sad repentance to those who have conceived the
convenient but pitiful thought. You must never com-
promise the good faith of a government. In our days it
is not easy to deceive for a long time. There is some one
who has more sense than Voltaire, more sense than
Bonaparte, more than any Director, more than any
Minister, past, present, or to come. That is, everybody.
To undertake, or even to persist in a controversy where
all the world is interested against you is a fault ; and to-
day all political faults are dangerous. Talleyrand,
cccLxn.
A Frenchman on the Discovery of America.
Frenchmen, brought to the colonies on military expedi-
tions, came home with glowing descriptions of the wealth
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Part IV.] PHILOSOPHICAL. ^41
contained in the New World. America was on everylip.
* What should we be were it not for America ? ' everybody
wanted to know. *She gives us a navy/ stated M.
Malouet, *she extends our trade,' the Abb6 Raynal pro-
claimed ; * she gives work to our overcrowded popula-
tions/ repeated the administrators of the day; *she
welcomes all restless spirits/ said the ministers ; * she is
the refuge of all dissenters/ remarked the philosophers.
Nothing more useful, nothing more pacific, in appearance.
There was no topic of conversation but the glory attached
to the discovery of America. And yet, let us sift matters
to the bpttom. What has been the result of all our com-
munications with the New World ? Do we see less
misery around us ? Have all our disorganisers dis-
appeared? Have not the longing looks we have cast
abroad lessened our love for fatherland? These newly
discovered parts of the world having given England and
France additional points of irritation, are not wars more
frequent, longer, of greater extent, and more costly ? The
history of mankind supplies this sad conclusion : that the
spirit of strife rushes to every spot on earth to which
communication is opened. TaU^and,
CCCLXIII.
O Mighty Opium.
The town of L. represented the earth, with its sorrows
and its graves left behind, yet not out of sight, nor wholly
forgotten. The ocean in everlasting but gentle agitation,
and brooded over by a dove-like calm, might not unfitly
typify the mind and the mood which then swayed it.
For it seemed to me«s if then first I stood at a distance
and aloof from the uproar of life ; as if the tumult, the
R
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241 REFLECTIVE AND [Pwt IV.
fever and the strife were suspended ; or respite granted
from the secret burthens of the heart ; a sabbath of
repose, a resting from human labours. Here were the
hopes which blossom in the paths of life reconciled with
the peace which is in the grave; motions of the in-
tellect as unwearied as the heavens, yet for all anxieties
a halcyon calm, a tranquility that seemed no product
of inertia, but as if resulting from mighty and equal
antagonisms; infinite activities, infinite repose. Oh,
just, subtle, and mighty opium ! that to the hearts of
poor and rich alike for the wounds that will never heal,
and for * the pangs that tempt the spirit to rebel,' bringest
an assuaging balm ; eloquent opium I that with thy potent
rhetoric stealest away the purposes of wrath ; and to the
guilty man for one night givest back the hopes of his
youth and hands washed pure from blood ; . . . . that
summonest to the chancery of dreams, for the triumphs
of suffering innocence, false witnesses ; and confoundest
perjury, and dost reverse the sentences of unrighteous
judges, j9^ Quiticey.
OCCLXIV.
The Landed and Moneyed Men.
The landed men are the true owners of our political
vessel : the moneyed men, as such, are no more than
passengers in it. To the first, therefore, all exhortations
to assume this spirit of disinterestedness should be ad-
dressed. It is their part to set the example : and when
they do so, they have a right to expect that the passen-
gers should contribute their proportion to save the vessel.
If they should prove refractory, they must be told that
there is a law in behalf of the public, more sacred and
more ancient too, for it is as ancient as political society,
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than all those under the terms of which they would
exempt themselves from any reduction of interest and
consequently from any reimbursement of their principal ;
though this reduction and this reimbursement be abso-
lutely necessary to restore the prosperity of the nation
and to provide for her security in the meantime. The
law I mean, is that which nature and reason dictate and
which declares the preservation of the commonwealth to
be superior to all other laws. BoUnbrvkg,
CCCLXV.
By Him were all things made.
All we see, hear, and touch, the remote sidereal firma-
ment, as well as our own sea and land, and the elements
which compose them and the ordinances they obey, are
His. The primary atoms of matter, their properties, their
mutual -action, their disposition and collocation, electricity,
magnetism, gravitation, light, and whatever other subtle
principles or operations the wit of man is detecting or
shall detect, are the work of his hands. From Him has
been every movement which has convulsed and re-
fashioned the surface of the earth. The most insignifi-
cant or unsightly insect is from Him, and good in its
kind ; the ever-teeming, inexhaustible swarms of animal-
culae, the myriads of living motes invisible to the naked
eye, the restless ever-spreading vegetation which creeps
like a garment over the whole earth, the lofly cedar, the
umbrageous banana are His. His are the tribes and
families of birds and beasts, their graceful formSi their
wild gestures, and their passionate cries.
/. H. Ntwrnan.
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a44 REFLECTIVE AND [PftrtlV.
CCCLXVI.
What has Philosophy done?
In a word, from the time that Athens was the Uni-
versity of the world, what has Philosophy taught men,
but to promise without practising, and to aspire without
attaining ? What has the deep and lofty thought of its
disciples ended in but eloquent words ? Nay, what has
its teaching ever meditated, when it was boldest in its
remedies for human ill, beyond charming us to sleep by
its lessons, that we might feel nothing at all ? like some
melodious air, or rather like those strong perfumes,
which at first spread their sweetness over ever3rthing
they touch, but in a little while do but offend in propor-
tion as they once pleased us. Did Philosophy support
Cicero under the disfavour of the fickle populace, or
nerve Seneca to oppose an imperial tyrant? It aban-
doned Brutus, as he sorrowfully confessed, in his greatest
need, and it forced Cato, as his panegyrist strangely
boasts, into the false position of defying heaven.
/. H, Newman,
CCCLXVII.
The Virtue of Restraint.
And this necessity of restraint, remember, is just as j
honourable to man as the necessity of labour. You hear
every day greater numbers of foolish people speaking
about liberty, as if it were such an honourable thing : so
far from being that, it is, on the whole, and in the broadest
sense, dishonourable, and an attribute of the lower
creatures. No human being, however great or power-
ful, was ever sp free as a fish. There is always some-
thing that he must or must not do ; while the fish may do
I
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Part rv.] PHILOSOPHICAL. 245
whatever he likes. All the kingdoms of the world put
together are not half so large as the sea ; and all the rail-
roads and wheels that ever were, or will be, invented are
not so easy as fins. You will find, on fairly thinking of it,
that it is his restraint which is honourable to man, not his
liberty; and, what is more, it is restraint which is honour-
able even in the lower animals. A butterfly is much
more free than a bee ; but you honour the bee more, just
because it is subject to certain laws which fit it for orderly
function in bee society. And throughout the world, of the
two abstract things, liberty and restraint, restraint is
always the more honourable. It is true, indeed, that in
these and all other matters you never can reason finally
from the abstraction, for both liberty and restraint are
good when they are nobly chosen, and both are bad when
they are basely chosen ; but of the two, I repeat, it is
restraint which characterises the higher creature and
betters the lower creature ; and, from the ministering of
the archangel to the labour of the insect,— from the pois-
ing of the planets to the gravitation of a grain of dust, —
the power and glory of all creatures and all matter consist
in their obedience, not in their freedom. The sun has no
liberty— a dead leaf has much. The dust of which you
are formed has no liberty. Its liberty will come— with its
corruption. /e«sy&w.
CCCLXVIII.
Broken Friendships.
But fiarther questions arise in consequence of the
changes of feeling to which human nature is liable : first,
whether it is our duty to resist such changes as much as
we can ; and secondly, whether if this effort fails, and
love diminishes or departs, we ought still to maintain a
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246 DEFLECTIVE AND [Part IV.
disposition to render services corresponding to our past
affection. And on these points there does not seem to be
agreement among moral and refined persons. For, on
the one hand, it is natural to us to admire fidelity in
fi-iendship and stability of affections, and we commonly
regard these as most important excellences of character :
and so it seems strange if we are not to aim at these as at
all other excellences, as none more naturally stir us to
imitation. And hence many would be prepared to lay
down that we ought not to withdraw affection once given,
unless the friend behaves ill : while some would say that
even in this case we ought not to break the friendship
unless the crime is very great Yet, on the other hand,
we feel that such affection as is produced by deliberate
effort of will is but a poor substitute for that which springs
spontaneously, and most refined persons would reject such
a boon : while, again, to conceal the change of feeling seems
insincere and hypocritical. I have noticed that some extend
this latter view so far, that they would have us follow
the spontaneous course of feeling even in the domestic
relationships: and if common sense rejects this, and
it seems a duty so far to force our feelings to flow in legal
and customary channels, we should perhaps all the more
avoid constraint as regards other affections, and let them
flow in old or new courses as nature inclines. Still, all
would recognise some limit to this : for it seems too in-
human to treat as a stranger one who has been a friend,
unless he has deserved severe punishment.
CCCLXIX.
The Stoics.
They knew nothing of God or the gods, but they had
something in themselves which n^ade sensuality nauseat-
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Part IV.] PHILOSOPHICAL. 247
ing instead of pleasant to them. They had an austere
sense of the meaning of the word * duty.' They could
distinguish and reverence the nobler possibilities of their
nature. They disdained what was base and effeminate,
and, though religion failed them, they constructed out of
philosophy a rule which would serve to live by. Stoicism
is a not unnatural refuge of thoughtful men in confused
and sceptical ages. It adheres rigidly to morality. It •
offers no easy Epicurean explanation of the origin of man,
which resolves him into an organization of particles, and
dismisses him again into nothingness. It recognises only
that men who are the slaves of their passions are miser-
able and impotent, and insists that personal inclinations
shall be subordinated to conscience. It prescribes plain-
ness of life, that the number of our necessities may be as
few as possible ; and in placing the business of life in
intellectual and moral action it destroys the temptation to
sensual gratifications. It teaches a contempt of death so
complete that it can be encountered without a flutter of the
pulse ; and while it raises men above the suffering which
makes others miserable, generates a proud submissiveness
to sorrow which noblest natures feel most keenly, by
representing this huge scene and the shows which it
presents as the work of some unknown but irresistible
force, against which it is vain to struggle and childish to
repme. /^,„^^
OOCLXX.
Human Inconsistency.
I oflen consider mankind as wholly inconsistent with
itself. Though we seem grieved at the shortness of life
in general, we are wishing every period of it at an end.
The minor longs to be at age, then to be a man of business,
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248 REFLECTIVE AND [Part IV.
then to make up an estate, then to arrive at honours, then
to retire. Thus, although the whole of life is allowed by
every one to be short, the several divisions of it appear
long and tedious. We are for lengthening our span in
general, but would fain contract the parts of which it
is composed. The usurer would be very well satisfied
to have all the time annihilated that lies between the
present moment and next quarter-day. The lover would
be glad to strike out of his existence all the moments
that are to pass away before the happy meeting. Thus,
as fast as our time runs, we should be very glad in most
parts of our lives that it ran much faster than it does.
Several hours of the day hang upon our hands, nay, we
wish away whole years ; and travel through time as through
a country filled with many wild and empty wastes, which
we would fain hurry over, that we may arrive at those
several little settlements or imaginarypointsof rest which
are dispersed up and down in it Spectator.
CCCLXXI.
Plainness of Speech.
A second property of the ability of speech, conferred
by Christ upon his apostles, was its unafiected plainness
and simplicity : it was to be easy, obvious, and familiar ;
with nothing in it strained or far-fetched : no affected
scheme, or airy fancies, above the reach or relish of an
ordinary apprehension ; no, nothing of all this ; but their
grand subject was truth, and consequently above all these
petit arts and poor additions, as not being capable of any
greater lustre or advantage than to appear just as it is.
For there is a certain majesty in plainness, as the pro-
clamation of a prince never frisks it in tropes or fine
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Part IV.] PHILOSOPHICAL. 249
conceits, in numerous and well turned periods, but com-
mands in sober, natural expressions. A substantial
beauty, as it comes out of the hands of nature, needs
neither paint nor patch ; things never made to adorn, but
to cover something that would be hid. It is with expres-
sion, and the clothing of a man*s conceptions, as with the
clothing of a man's body. Gaudery is a pitiful and mean
thing, not extending farther than the surface of the body;
but indeed there may be great need of an outside, when
there is little or nothing within. Swth,
cccLxxn.
Progressive Civilisation.
History, again, tells us of successive civilisations which
have been bom, have for a space thriven exceedingly,
and have then miserably perished. And as it shows us
samples of death and decay so it shows us samples of
growth arrested, and, as far as we can tell, permanently
arrested, at a particular stage of development. What is
-there in all this to indicate that a nation or group of
nations which happens to be under observation during its
period of energetic growth is either itself to be an excep-
tion to this common law, or is of necessity to find in some
other race an heir charged with the task of carrying on
its work ? Progressive civilisation is no form of inde-
structible energy which if repressed here must needs
break out there, if refused embodiment in one shape
must needs show itself in another. It is a plant of
tender growth, difficult to propagate, not difficult to de-
stroy, that refuses to flourish except in a soil which is
not to be found everywhere, nor at all times, nor even,
so far as we can see, necessarily to be found at all.
A. J. Balfour,
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250 REFLECTIVE AND [Part IV.
CCCLXXIII.
Progress.
In one generation an institution is unassailable, in the
next bold men may assail it, and in the third only bold
men defend it At one time the most conclusive argu-
ments are advanced against it in vain, if indeed they are
allowed utterance at all ; at another time the most child-
ish sophistry is enough to secure its condemnation. In
the first case the institution, though probably indefensible
by pure reason, was congruous with the unconscious
habits and modes of thought of the community. In the
second these had changed from causes which the acutest
analysis would probably fail to explain, and a breath suf-
ficed to topple over the sapped structure. Progress is a
misnomer for secular change. All that we can really say
is that change is going on, but whether the nation is on
the ascending or descending limb of the curve, which all
nations seem to trace, can hardly be positively decided
by contemporaries. Happily, such considerations as
these, while they may chasten pride and sober temerity,
cast no doubt upon the plain duties that lie before us.
We can build our houses without knowing the nature of
gravitation or the construction of the universe, and we
need no complete scheme of statecraft to enable us to do
our duty as good citizens. 7%^ Times,
CCCLXXIV.
Conversation on Amusements.
Society talks, by preference, about amusements ; it
does so because when people meet for recreation they
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Part IV.] PHILOSOPHICAL. 251
wish to relieve their minds from serious cares, and also
for the practical reason that society must talk about what
its members have in common, and their amusements are
more in conunon than their work. As M. Thiers recom-
mended the republican form of government in France on
the ground that it was the form which divided his coun-
trymen least, so a polite and highly civilised society
chooses for the subject of general conversation the topic
which is least likely to separate the different people who
are present. It almost always happens that the best
topic having this recommendation is some species of
amusement ; since amusements are easily learnt outside
the business of life, and we are all initiated into them in
youth,
CCCLXXV.
True Courage.
There be those who confound the foresight of death
with a fearfulness of death, and talk of meeting death like
brave men; and there be institutions in human society
which seem made on purpose to hinder the thoughts of
death from coming timeously before the deliberation of
the mind. And they who die in war, be they ever so
dissipated, abandoned, and wretched, have oft a halo of
everlasting glory arrayed by poetry and music around
their heads ; and the forlorn hope of any enterprise goeth
to their terrible post amidst the applauding shouts of all
their comrades. And * to die game ' is a brutal form of
speech which they are now proud to apply to men. And
our prize-fights, where they go plunging upon the edge
of eternity, and often plunge through, are applauded by
tens of thousaiids, just in proportion as the bull-dog
quality of the human greatur^ carries it over every other.
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252 REFLECTIVE AND [Part IV.
And to run hair-breadth escapes, to graze the grass that
skirts the grave, and escape the yawning pit, the impious,
the daring wretches call cheating the devil; and the
watchword of your dissolute, debauched people is, * a
short life, and a merry one/ All which tribes of reck-
less, godless people lift loud the laugh against the saints,
as a sickly, timorous crew, who have no upright gait
in life, but are always cringing under apprehensions of
death and the devil. Edward Irving,
CCCLXXVI.
The Death of the Righteous.
How much soever men differ in the course of life they
prefer, and in their ways of palhating and excusing their
vices to themselves ; yet all agree in the one thing, de-
siring to * die the death of the righteous.' This is surely
remarkable. The observation may be extended further,
and put thus: Even without determining what that is
which we call guilt or innocence, there is no man but
would choose, after having had the pleasure or advantage
of a vicious action, to be free of the guilt of it, to be in
the state of an innocent man. This shows at least the
disturbance and implicit dissatisfaction in vice. If we
inquire into the grounds of it, we shall find it proceeds
partly from an immediate sense of having done evil ; and
partly from an apprehension that this inward sense shall,
one time or other, be seconded by a higher judgment,
upon which our whole being depends. Now, to suspend
and drown this sense, and these apprehensions, be it by
the hurry of business or of pleasure, or by superstition,
or moral equivocations, this is in a manner one and the
same, and makes no alteration at all in the nature of our
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Part IV.] PHILOSOPHICAL 253
case. Things and actions are what they are, and the
consequences of them will be what they will be ; why
then should we desire to be deceived ? y; ButUr,
CCCLXXVII.
NuUtus Addictus.
It is a good rule to examine well before we addict our-
selves to any sect ; but I think it is a better rule to addict
ourselves to none. Let us hear them all, with a perfect
indifferency on which side the truth lies ; and, when we
come to determine, let nothing appear so venerable to us
as our own understandings. Let us gratefully accept the
help of every one who has endeavoured to correct the
viceSj and strengthen the minds of men; but let us choose
for ourselves, and yield universal assent to none. Thus,
that I may instance the sect already mentioned, when we
have laid aside the wonderful and surprising sentences,
and all the paradoxes of the Portique, we shall find in
that school such doctrines as our unprejudiced reason
submits to with pleasure, as nature dictates, and as ex-
perience confirms. Without this precaution, we run the
risk of becoming imaginary kings and real slaves. With
it, we may learn to assert our native freedom, and live
independent on fortune. BoUnbrokg,
CCCLXXVIII.
The Power of Death.
It was death, which, opening the conscience of Charles
the Fifth, made him enjoin his son Philip to restore
Navarre ; and King Francis the First of France to com-
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254 REFLECTIVE AND part IV.
mand that justice should be done upon the murderers
of the Protestants in Merindol and Cabriferes, which till
then he neglected. It is therefore death alone that can
suddenly make man to know himself. He tells the proud
and insolent that they are but abjects, and humbles them
at the instant ; makes them cry, complain, and repent ;
yea, even to hate their fore-passed happiness. He takes
the account of the rich, and proves him a beggar ; a
naked beggar, which hath interest in nothing but in the
gravel that fills his mouth. He holds a glass before the
eyes of the most beautiful, and makes them see therein
their deformity and rottenness, and they acknowledge it.
O eloquent, just and mighty death ! whom none could
advise, Uiou hast persuaded ; what none hath dared, thou
hast done ; and whom all the world hath flattered, thou
only hast cast out of the world and despised : thou hast
drawn together all the far stretched greatness, all the
pride, cruelty, and ambition of men, and covered it all
over with these two narrow words, Hie jacet.
Sir WaUer Raleigh.
CCCLXXIX.
The Screech-owls of Mankind,
These screech-owls seem to be settled in an opinion
that the great business of life is to complain, and that
they were bom for no other purpose than to disturb
the happiness of others, to lessen the little comforts and
shorten the short pleasures of our condition by painful
remembrances of the past, or melancholy prognostics
of the future; their only care is to crush the rising
hope, to damp the kindling transport, and alloy the
golden hours of gaiety with the hateful dross of grief
and suspicion.
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Partrv.] PHILOSOPHICAL. 255
I have known Suspirius, the screech-owl, fifty-eight
years and four months, and have never passed an hour
with him in which he has not made some attack on my
quiet. When we were first acquainted, his great topic
was the misery of youth without riches ; and whenever
we walked out together, he solaced me with a long
enumeration of pleasures, which, as they were beyond
the reach of my fortune, were without the verge of my
desires, and which I should never have considered as
the objects of a wish, had not his unreasonable repre-
sentations placed them in my sight.
Whenever my evil star brings us together he never
fails to represent to me the folly of my pursuits, and
informs me we are much older than when we began
our acquaintance ; that the infirmities of decrepitude are
coming fast upon me ; that whatever I now get I shall
enjoy but a little time : that fame is to a man tottering
on the edge of the grave of very little importance ; and
that the time is at hand when I ought to look for no
other pleasures than a good dinner and an easy chair.
Dr. Johnson.
CCCLXXX.
On^s own Master.
To be absolute master of one's own time and actions
is an instance of liberty which is not found but in solitude.
A man that lives in a crowd is a slave, even though all
that are about him fawn upon him and give him the
upper-hand. They call him master, or lord, and treat
him as such ; but as they hinder him from doing what
he otherwise would, the title and homage which they
pay him is flattery and contradiction.
I ever loved retirement, and detested crowds ; I would
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%^6 REFLECTIVE AND ' [Pwt IV:
rather pass an afternoon amongst a herd of deer, than
half an hour at a coronation ; and sooner eat a piece of
apple-pie in a cottage, than dine with a judge on circuit.
To lodge a night by myself in a cave would not grieve
me so much as living half a day in a fair. It will look
a little odd when I own that I have missed many a good
sermon for no other reason but that many others were
to hear it as well as myself. I have neither disliked
the man, nor his principles, nor his congregation, singly ;
but altogether I could not abide them.
I am, therefore, exceedingly happy in the solitude
which I am now enjoying. L frequently stand under a
tree, and with great humanity pity one half of the world
and with equal contempt laugh at the other half. I shun
the company of men, and seek that of oxen, and sheep,
and deer, and bushes ; and when I can hide myself for
the moiety of a day from the sight of every creature but
those that are dumb, I consider myself as monarch of all
that I see or tread upon, and fancy that Nature smiles
and the sun shines for my sake only. Hutmrnrisi,
CCCLXXXI.
Words and Gold.
The same weakness, or defect in the mind, from
whence pedantry takes its rise, does likewise give birth
to avarice. Words and money are both to be regarded
as only marks of things ; and as the knowledge of the
one, so the possession of the other, is of no use, unless
directed to a farther end. A mutual commerce could not
be carried on among men, if some common standard had
not been agreed upon, to which the value of all the
various productions of art and nature were reducible.
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Part IV.] PHILOSOPHICAL. 257
and which might be of the same use in the conveyance
of property as words are in that of ideas. Gold, by its
beauty, scarceness, and durable nature, seems designed
by Providence to a purpose so excellent and advantageous
to mankind. Upon these considerations, that metal came
first into esteem. But such who cannot see beyond what
is nearest in the pursuit, beholding mankind touched with
an affection for gold, and, being ignorant of the true reason
that introduced this odd passion into human nature,
imagine some intrinsic worth in the metal to be the cause
of it Hence the same men who, had they been turned
towards learning, would have employed themselves in
laying up words in their memory, are by a different
application employed to as much purpose in treasuring
up gold in their coffers. They differ only in the object ;
the principle on which they act, and the inward frame
of mind, is the same in the critic and the miser.
Dt. G, Berkeley,
CCCLXXXII.
Virtue not Happiness.
It was true then, it is infinitely more true now, that
what is called virtue in the common sense of the word,
still more, that nobleness, godliness, or heroism of
character in any form whatsoever, have nothing to do
with this or that man's prosperity or even happiness.
The thoroughly vicious man is no doubt wretched
enough ; but the worldly, prudent, self-restraining man,
with his five senses, which he understands how to gratify
with tempered indulgence, with a conscience satisfied
with the hack routine of what is called respectability —
such a man feels no wretchedness ; no inward uneasiness
disturbs him, no desires which he cannot gratify; and
s
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258 REFLECTIVE AND [Part IV.
this though he be the basest and most contemptible slave
of his own selfishness. Providence will not interfere to
punish him. Let him obey the laws under which pros-
perity is obtainable, and he will obtain it, let him never
fear. He will obtain it, be he base or noble. . . . And
again it is not true, as optimists would persuade us,
that such prosperity brings no real pleasure. A man
with no high aspirations, who thrives and makes money,
and envelopes himself in comforts, is as happy as such
a nature can be. If unbroken satisfaction be the most
blessed state for a man (and this certainly is the practical
notion of happiness) he b the happiest of men. Nor are
those idle phrases any truer, that the good man's good-
ness is a never ceasing sunshine ; that virtue is its own
reward, &c., &c. If men truly virtuous care to be re-
warded for it, their virtue b but a poor investment of
their moral capital Fvoude,
GCCLXXXm.
The Goddess Fortune.
In order to which great end, it is necessary that we
stand watchful, as sentinels, to discover the secret wiles
and open attacks of this capricious goddess before they
reach us. Where she falls upon us unexpected, it is hard
to resist ; but those who wait for her will repel her with
ease. The sudden invasion of an enemy overthrows such
as are not on their guard ; but they who foresee the war,
and prepare themselves for it before it breaks out, stand,
without difficulty, the first and the fiercest onset. I
learned this important lesson long ago, and never trusted
to fortune even while she seemed at peace with me.
The riches, the honours, the reputation, and all the
advantages which her treacherous indulgence poured
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Part rv.] PHILOSOPHICAL, 259
upon me, I placed so that she might snatch them away
without giving me any disturbance. I kept a great in-
terval between me and them. She took them, but she
could not tear them from me. Bolinbrokt,
cccLxxxrvr.
The Sea.
The sea d6sei*ved to be hated by the old aristocracies
as it has been the mightiest instrument in the civilisation
of mankind. In the depth of winter, when the sky is
covered with clouds, and the land presents one cold and
blank and lifeless surface of snows, how refreshing it is
to the spirits to walk upon the shore, and to enjoy the
eternal freshness and liveliness of ocean. Even so, in
the deepest winter of the human race, when the earth
was but one chilling expanse of inactivity, life was stirring
in the waters. There began that spirit whose genial
influence has now reached the land, has broken the
chains of winter, and covered the face of the earth with
beauty. Arnold.
CCCIiXZXV.
Taxation.
I heard a very warm debate between two professors,
about the most commodious and effectual ways and means
of raising money, without grieving the subject. The first
affirmed, * the justest method would be to lay a certain
tax upon vices and folly ; and the sum fixed upon every
man to be rated, after the fairest manner, by a jury of his
neighbours.' The second was of an opinion directly con-
trary; *To tax those qualities of mind and body, for
which chiefly men value themselves ; the rate to be more
s 2
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a6o REFLECTIVE AND [P«rtIV.
or less, according to the degrees of excelling ; the decision
whereof should be left entirely to their own breast* . . . Wit,
valour, and politeness, were likewise proposed to be
largely taxed, and collected in the same manner, by every
person's giving his own word for the quantum of what he
possessed. But as to honour, justice, wisdom, and learn-
ing, they should not be taxed at all ; because they are
qualifications of so singular a kind, that no man will either
allow them in his neighbour or value them in himself.
CCOLXXXVi.
Ill-natured Wit.
There is nothing that more betrays a base ungenerous
spirit than the giving of secret stabs to a man's reputa-
tion. Lampoons and satires, that are written with wit
and spirit, are like poisoned darts, which not only inflict
a wound, but make it incurable. For this reason I am
very much troubled when I see the talents of humour
and ridicule in the possession of an ill-natured man.
There cannot be a greater gratification to a barbarous
and inhuman wit than to stir up sorrow in the heart of a
private person, to raise uneasiness among near relations,
and to expose whole families to derision, at the same
time that he remains unseen and undiscovered. If, be-
sides the accomplishments of being witty and ill-natured,
a man is vicious into the bargain, he is one of the most
mischievous creatures that can enter into a civil society.
His satire will then chiefly fall upon those who ought
to be the most exempt from it. Virtue, merit, and every-
thing that is praiseworthy, will be made the subject of
ridicule and buflfoonery. Addison,
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Part IV.] PHILOSOPHICAL. %t\
CCCLXXXVII.
Obedience the Law of Nature.
Now if Nature should intermit her course and leave
altogether, though it were only for a while, the observa-
tion of her own laws ; if those principal and mother ele-
ments of the world, whereof all things in this lower
world are made, should lose the qualities which now they
have ; if the frame of that heavenly arch erected over
our heads should loosen and dissolve itself; if celestial
spheres should forget their wonted motion, and by
irregular volubility turn themselves any way as it might
happen ; if the prince of the lights of heaven, which now
as a giant doth run his unwearied course, should as it
were through a languishing faintness begin to stand and
to rest himself; if the moon should wander from her
beaten way ; the times and seasons of the year blend
themselves by disordered and confused mixture; the
winds breathe out their last gasp, the clouds 3aeld no
rain, and the earth be defeated by heavenly influence ;
the fruits of the earth pine away as children at the
withered breasts of their mother, no longer able to give
them relief. What would become of man himself, whom
these things now do all serve ? See we not plainly that
the obedience of creatures to the law of nature is the stay
of the whole world ? Hooktr.
ccciaxxxvni.
Man helpless in his own Nature.
This writer went through all the usual topics of moral-
ists, showing how diminutive, contemptible, and helpless
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262 REFLECTIVE AND PHILOSOPHICAL. [Part IV.
an animal was man in his own nature; how unable to
defend himself from the inclemencies of the air or the
fury of wild beasts ; how much he was excelled by one
creature in strength, by another in speed, by a third in
foresight, by a fourth in industry. He added that Nature
was degenerated in these latter declining ages of the
world, and would now produce only small abortive births
in comparison of those in ancient times. He said it was
very reasonable to think not only that the species of men
were originally much larger, but also that there must
have been giants in former ages ; which as it is asserted
by history and tradition, so it hath been confirmed by
huge bones and skulls, casually dug up in several parts
of the kingdom, far exceeding the common dwindled race
of man in our days. He argued that the very laws of
nature absolutely required we should have been made in
the beginning of a size more large and robust, not so
liable to destruction from every little accident of a tile
falling from a house, or a stone cast from the hand of a
boy, or being drowned in a little brook. From this way
of reasoning the author drew several moral applications
useful in the conduct of life, but needless here to repeat
CCCLXXXnL
The Honourable Profession of the Law.
There is a society of men among us, bred up fcova their
youth in the art of proving, by words multiplied for the
purpose, that white is black, and black is white, according
as they are paid. To this society all the rest of the
people are slaves. For example, if my neighbour has a
mind to my cow, he has a lawyer to prove that he ought
to have my cow from me. I must then hire another to
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Part IV.] UTERARY AND CRITICAL. 263
defend my right, it being against all rules of law that any
man should be allowed to speak for himself. Now, in
this case, I, who am the right owner, lie under two great
disadvantages : first, my lawyer, being practised almost
from his cradle in defending falsehood, is quite out of his
element when he would be an advocate for justice, which
is an unnatural office he always attempts with great
awkwardness, if not with ill will. The second disadvan-
tage is, that my lawyer must proceed with great caution,
or else he will be reprimanded by the judges, and ab-
horred by his brethren, as one that would lessen the
practice of the law. And therefore I have but two
methods to preserve my cow. The first is, to gain over
my adversary's lawyer with a double fee, who will then
betray his client, by insinuating that he has justice on his
side. The second way is, for my lawyer to make my
cause appear as unjust as he can, by allowing the cow to
belong to my adversary, and this, if it be skilfully done
will certainly bespeak die favour of the bench.
cocxc.
A Cultivated Woman.
Thus a cultivated woman is like a good old-fashioned
Scotch garden. Inside, somewhat screened from view,
are all the products of what our English friends call the
kitchen-garden: the homely vegetables which feed the
family kail-pot; the native fruits of which the winter
preserves are made : but there is thyme and lavender in
it, as well as carrots, turnips, and potatoes ; roses are not
wanting; and it is set all round with bright sweet-
scented perennial flowers, which grow sweeter and richer
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264 UTERARY AND CRITICAL. [Part IV.
as they grow older. Yet even a garden may be over-
cultivated ; and a too ambitious sowing may but betray
the poverty of the soil. q q j^
CCCXCI.
The Power of Common Words.
It is by means of familiar words that style takes hold of
the reader and gets possession of him. It is by means
of these that great thoughts get currency and pass for
true metal, like gold and silver which have had a recog-
nised stamp put upon them. They beget confidence in
the man who, in order to make his thoughts more clearly
perceived, uses them ; for people feel that such an em-
ployment of the language of common human life betokens
a man who knows that life and its concerns, and who
keeps himself in contact with them. Besides, these words
make a style frank and easy. They show that an author
has long made the thought or the feeling expressed his
mental food ; that he has so assimilated them and fami-
liarised them, that the most common expressions suffice
him in order to express ideas which have become every-
day ideas to him by the length of time they have been in
his mind. And lastly, what one says in such words looks
more true ; for, of all the words in use, none are so clear
as those which we call common words ; and clearness is
so eminently one of the characteristics of truth, that often
it even passes for truth itself. j^ Arnold,
CCCXCIl.
spots on the Sun.
We must take men as we find them. No man can live
up to the best which is in him. To expect a human crea-
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Part IV.] LITERARY AND CRITICAL. 265
ture to .be all genius, all intellect, all virtue, all dignity,
would be as absurd as to expect that midnight should be
all stars. Curiosity in the lives of great men is to a certain
degree legitimate, and even profitable ; but there is perhaps
a danger of it being carried too far. To find the great on
a level with ourselves may gratify our vanity, but it may
sometimes lead to very erroneous results. Mr. Hookham
Frere once related the following anecdote about Canning :
' I remember one day going to consult Canning on a matter
of great importance to me, when he was staying at En-
field. We walked into the woods. As we passed some
ponds I was surprised to find that it was new to him that
tadpoles turn into frogs. " Now, don't you," he added, " go
and tell that story to the next fool you meet." Canning
could rule, and did rule, a great nation ; but people are
apt to think that a man who does not know the natural
history of frogs must be an imbecile in the treatment
of men.*
cccxcin.
Fiction more true than History.
What do we look for in studying the history of a past
age ? Is it to learn the political transactions and charac-
ters of the leading public men ? Is it to make ourselves
acquainted with the life and being of the time ? If we set
out with the former grave purpose, where is the truth, and
who believes that he has it entire ? As we read in these
delightful volumes of the Spectator, the past age returns,
the England of oiu* ancestors is revivified. The May-
pole rises in the Strand again in London, the churches
are thronged with daily worshippers, the beaux are gather-
ing in the coffee-houses, the gentry are going to the
drawing-room, the ladies are thronging to the toy-shops.
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7,66 LITERARY AND CRITICAL. [Part IV.
the chairmen are jostling in the streets, the footmen are
running with links before the chariots or fighting round
the theatre. I say the fiction carries a greater amount of
truth in solution than the volume which purports to be all
true. Out of the fictitious book I get the expression of
the life of the time ; of the manners, of the movement, the
dress, the pleasiures, the laughter, the ridicule of society —
the old times live again, and I travel in the old country of
England. Thackeray.
cccxcrv.
Machines.
Take of deities, male and female, as many as you can
use. Separate them into two equal parts, and keep
Jupiter in the middle. Let Juno put him in a ferment,
and Venus mollify him. Remember on all occasions to
make use of volatile Mercury. If you have need of devils,
draw them out of Milton's Paradise, and extract your
spirits from Tasso. The use of these machines is evident ;
for since no epic poem can possibly subsist without them,
the wisest way is to reserve them for your greatest
necessities. When you cannot extricate your hero by any
human means, or yourself by your own wit, seek relief
from heaven, and the gods will do your business very
readily. This is according to the direct prescription of
Horace in his Art of Poetry :
Nee Deus intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus
Incident —
Never presume to make a God appear
But for a business worthy of a God.-^Roscommon.
That is to say, a poet should never call upon the gods for
their assistance, but when he is in great perplexity.
A, Pope,
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cccxcv.
Poetry and Music,
I know very well that many, who pretend to be wise
by the forms of being grave, are apt to despise both
poetry and music as toys and trifles too light for the use
or entertainment of serious men : but whoever find
themselves wholly insensible to these charms, would, I
think, do well to keep their own counsel, for fear of
reproaching their own temper, and bringing the good-
ness of their natures, if not of their understandings, into
question : it may be thought at least an ill sign, if not an
ill constitution, since some of the fathers went so far as
to esteem the love of music a sign of predestination, as a
thing divine and reserved for the felicities of heaven it-
self. While this world lasts, I doubt not but the pleasure
and requests of these two entertainments will do so too :
and happy those that content themselves with these, or
any other so easy and so innocent, and do not trouble the
world, or other men, because they cannot be quiet them-
selves though nobody hurts them !
When all is done, human life is, at the greatest and
the best, but like a froward child, that must be played
with and humoured a little to keep it quiet till it falls
asleep, and then the care is over. sir IViUiam TimpU.
COCXCVI.
Preface to Hammonds Elegies.
The author composed them ten years ago, before he
was twenty-two years old, an age when fancy and imagi-
nation commonly riot at the expense of judgment and
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a68 LITERARY AND CRITICAL. [Pwrt IV.
correctness, neither of which seem wanting here ; but
sincere in his love as in his friendship, he wrote to his
mistresses as he spoke to his friends, nothing but the true
genuine sentiments of his heart He sat down to write
what he thought, not to think what he should write ; it
was nature and sentiment only that dictated to a real
mistress, not youthful and poetic fancy to an imaginary
one. Elegy, therefore, speaks here her own proper
native language, the unaffected plaintive language of the
tender passions. The true elegiac dignity and simplicity
are preserved and united, the one without pride, the
other without meanness. Tibullus seems to have been
the model our author judiciously preferred to Ovid, the
former writing directly from the heart to the heart, the
latter too often yielding and addressing himself to the
imagination. Lord OusUrfidd,
cocxcvn.
Time mellows all.
Time mellows ideas as it mellows wine. Things in
themselves indifferent acquire a certain tenderness in
recollection ; and the scenes of our youth, though re-
markable neither for elegance nor feeling, rise up to our
memory dignified at the same time and endeared. As
countrymen in a distant land acknowledge one another as
friends, so objects, to which when present we give but
little attention, are nourished in distant remembrance
with a cordial regard. If in their own nature of a tender
kind, the ties which they had on the heart are drawn still
closer, and we recall them with an enthusiasm of feeling
which the same objects of the immediate time are unable
to excite. The ghosts of our departed affections are seen
through that softening medium, which, though it dims
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Part IV.] UTERARY AND CRITICAL. 269
their brightness, does not impair their attraction ; like the
shade of Dido, appearing to Aeneas,
Demisit hcrimas, duicique affatus amore est.
The hum of a little tune, to which in our infancy we have
often listened, the course of a brook which in our child-
hood we have frequently raced, the ruins of an ancient
building which we remember almost entire : these re-
membrances sweep over the mind with an enchanting
power of tenderness and melancholy, at whose bidding
the pleasures, the business, the ambition of the present
moment fade and disappear.
cccxcvni.
Preface to Endyntion.
Knowing within myself the manner in which this
poem has been produced, it is not without a feeling of
regret that I make it public. What manner I mean will
be quite clear to the reader, who must soon perceive
great inexperience, immaturity, and every error denoting
a feverish attempt, rather than a deed accomplished.
The two first books, and indeed the two last, I feel sen-
sible are not of such completion as to warrant their
passing the press ; nor should they, if I thought a year*s
castigation would do them any good ; — it will not : the
foundations are too sandy. It is just that the youngster
should die away : a sad thought for me, if I had not some
hope that while it is dwindling I may be plotting and
fitting myself for verses fit to live. This may be speak-
ing too presumptuously and may deserve a punishment :
but no feeling man would be forward to inflict it : he
will leave me alone with the conviction that there is
no fiercer torment than the failure in a great object.
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This is not written with the least atom of purpose to fore-
stall criticisms, but from the desire I have to conciliate
men who are competent to look, and who do look, with a
jealous eye to the honour of English literature. The
imagination of a boy is healthy, and the mature imagina-
tion of a man is healthy, but there is a space of life
between, in which the soul is in a ferment, the character
undecided, the way of life uncertain, the ambition thick-
sighted : thence proceeds mawkishness, and all the
thousand bitters which those men I speak of must
necessarily taste in going over the following pages. I
hope I have not in too late a day touched the beautiful
mythology of Greece and dulled its brightness, for I wish
to try once more before I bid it farewell. Ktats,
COCXOIX.
Statuary, Painting and Description.
Among the different kinds of representation, statuary
is the most natural, and shows us something likest the
object that is represented. To make use of a common
instance, let one who is born blind take an image in his
hands, and trace out with his fingers the different furrows
and impressions of the chisel, and he will easily conceive
how the shape of a man or beast may be represented by
it ; but should he draw his hand over a picture where all
is smooth and uniform, he would never be able to imagine
how the several prominences and depressions of a human
body could be shown on a plain piece of canvas, that has
in it no unevenness or irregularity. Description runs
yet further from the thing it represents than painting ; for
a picture bears a real resemblance to its original, which
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Part IV.] LITERARY AND CRITICAL. %^\
letters and syllables are wholly void of. Colours speak
all languages, but words are understood only by such a
people or nation. We are told that in America, when
the Spaniards first arrived there, expresses were sent
to the Emperor of Mexico in paint, and the news of his
country delineated by the strokes of a pencil, which was
a more natural way than that of writing, though at the
same time much more imperfect, because it is impossible
to draw the little connexions of speech, or to give the
picture of a conjunction or an adverb.
COCO*
Ovid.
I have now gone through the whole of Ovid's works,
and heartily tired I am of him and them. Yet he is a
wonderfully clever man. But he has two insupportable
faults. The one is that he will always be clever; the
other that he never knows when to have done. He is
rather a rhetorician than a poet There is little feeling
in his poems ; even in those which were written during
his exile. The pathetic effect of his supplications and
lamentations is injured by the iiigenious turns of expres-
sion, and by the learned allusions, with which he sets off
his sorrow. He seems to have been a very good fellow :
rather too fond of women ; a flatterer and a coward ; but
kind and generous, and free from envy, though a man
of letters, and though sufficiently vain of his literary per-
formances. The Art of Love, which ruined poor Ovid,
is, in my opinion, decidedly his best work.
Macaulay,
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CCOCI.
Thucydides* Set Speeches.
* Set speeches,' says Voltaire, * are a sort of oratorical
lie, which the historian used to allow himself in old times.
He used to make his heroes say what they might have
said. ... At the present day these fictions are no longer
tolerated. If one put into the mouth of a prince a speech
which he had never made, the historian would be re-
garded as a rhetorician.* How did it happen that Thucy-
dides allowed himself this ' oratorical lie,* — ^Thucydides,
whose strongest characteristic is devotion to the truth,
impatience of every inroad which fiction makes into the
province of history, laborious persistence in the task of
separating fact from fable; Thucydides, who was not
constrained, like later writers of the old world, by an
established literary tradition ; who had no Greek pre-
decessors in the field of history, except those chroniclers
whom he despised precisely because they sacrificed truth
to effect ? Thucydides might rather have been expected
to express himself on this wise : * The chroniclers have
sometimes pleased their hearers by reporting the very
words spoken. But, as I could not give the words, I
have been content to give the substance, when I could
learn it.* R,C.JM.
cccon.
The Classical Languages.
But in the great t3rpical qualities which are the basis of
all language: in logical symmetry and simplicity; in
obedience to great cardinal principles, of which the letter
may sometimes apparently be violated, but the spirit
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Part IV.] LITERARY AND CRITICAL. aJS
never; in that inexorable demand for accuracy which
inflection produces, and which makes it impossible for an
error or a confusion of thought to pass undetected : in
these points the Classical languages are incomparable.
In addition, they exhibit all the qualities that make up
style: simplicity, directness, truth, force, point, terse-
ness, euphony— all the points in which modern language,
modem English especially. Is so deficient. The same
great typical qualities distinguish the literature, the
history, the philosophy, the art of antiquity. All is
monumental, great, original ; displaying the fundamental
faculties of man as developed in two marvellously
gifted races; man first risen to his strength, and exer-
cising it on a fresh world, in which the ever-recurring
problems of humanity presented themselves in clear and
simple forms, unclouded by centuries of confused tra-
dition, unencumbered by the chaos of details, the maze of
interlocking causes, which make modem life so complex,
modem books so innumerable, the formulating of great
principles about modem affairs so difficult, originality of
thought and language in dealing with them well-nigh
impossible. q^ q^ j^^
coccin.
Danger of reading Latin and Greek Books.
And as to Rebellion in particular against Monarchy, one
of the most frequent causes of it, is the Reading of the
books of Policy, and Histories of the antient Greeks, and
Romans ; from which, young men, and all others that are
unprovided of the antidotes of solid Reason, receiving a
strong, and delightful impression, of the great exploits
of warre, atchieved by the Conductors of their Armies,
receive withall a pleasing Idea of all they have done
T
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274 UTERARY AND CRITICAL. [Part IV.
besides ; and imagine their great prosperity, not to have
proceeded from the aemulation of particular men, but
from the vertue of their popular forme of government :
Not considering the frequent Seditions, and Civill Warres,
produced by the imperfection of their Policy. From the
reading, I say, of such books, men have undertaken to
kill their Kings, because the Greek and Latine writers,
in their books, and discourses of Policy, make it lawfully
and laudable, for any man so to do ; provided, before he
do it, he call him a tyrant Hobbis.
CCCCIV.
Protestant and Jesuit Learning in the Seventeenth
Century.
It may often happen that Scaliger is wrong, and
Petavius right But single-eyed devotion to truth is an
intellectual quality, the absence of which is fatal to the
value of any investigation. Jesuit learning is a sham
learning, got up with great ingenuity in imitation of the
genuine, in the service of the church. It is related of the
Chinese that when they first, in the war of 1841, saw the
effect of our steam vessels, they set up a funnel and made
a smoke with straw on the deck of one of their junks in
imitation, while the paddles were turned by men be-
low. Such a mimicry of the philology of Scaliger and
Casaubon was the philology of the Jesuit It was
vitiated by his arrOre-pens^, The search of truth was
fabified by its interested motive, the interest not of an
individual but of a party. It was that caricature of the
good and great and true, which the good and great and
true invariably calls into being ; a phantom which sidles
up against the reality, mouths its favourite words as a
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Part IV.] LITERARY AND CRITICAL. 275
third-rate actor does a great part, undermimics its wis-
dom, overacts its folly, is by half the world taken for it,
goes some way to suppress it in its own time, and lives
for it in history. jif, Pattison,
cccov.
The use of French Terms.
I have often wished that, as in our constitution there
are several persons whose business it is to watch over
our laws, our liberties and commerce, certain men might
be set apart as superintendents of oiu* language, to hinder
any words of a foreign coin from passing among us, and
in particular to prohibit any French phrases from being
current in this kingdom, when those of our own stamp
are altogether as valuable. The present war has so
adulterated our tongue with strange words, that it would
be impossible for one of our great grandfathers to know
what his posterity have been doing, were he to read their
exploits in a modern newspaper. Our warriors are very
industrious in propagating the French language, at the
same time that they are so gloriously successful in beat-
ing down their power. Our soldiers are men of strong
heads for action, and perform such feats as they are not
able to express. They want words in their own tongue
to tell us what it is they achieve, and therefore send us
over accounts of their performances in a jargon of
phrases, which they learn among their conquered ene-
mies. They ought, however, to be provided with secre-
taries, and assisted by our foreign ministers, to tell their
stories for them in plain English, and to let us know in
our mother-tongue what it is our brave countrymen are
about. Addison.
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276 LITERARY AND CRITICAL. [Part IV.
CCCCVI.
Character and Culture.
It is common to hear remarks on the frequent divorce
between culture and character, and to infer from this
that culture is a mere varnish, and that character only
deserves any serious attention. No error can be more
fatal. Culture without character is, no doubt, something
frivolous, vain, and weak ; but character without culture is,
on the other hand, something raw, blind, and dangerous.
The most interesting, the most truly glorious peoples, are
those in which the alliance of the two has been effected
most successfully, and its result spread most widely.
This is why the spectacle of ancient Athens has such
profound interest for a rational man, that it is the spec-
tacle of the culture of a people. It is not an aristocracy,
leavening with its own high spirit the multitude which
it wields, but leaving it the unformed multitude still ; it
is not a democracy, acute and energetic, but tasteless,
narrow-minded, and ignoble ; it is the middle and lower
classes in the highest development of their humanity that
these classes have yet reached. It was the many who
relished those arts, who were not satisfied with less than
those monuments. In the conversations recorded by
Plato, or even by the matter-of-fact Xenophon, which for
the free yet refined discussion of ideas have set the tone
for the whole cultivated world, shopkeepers and trades-
men of Athens mingle. For any one but a pedant, this
is why a handful of Athenians of two thousand years ago
are more interesting than the millions of most nations
our contemporaries. j^ Arnold,
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Part IV.] LITERARY AND CRITICAL. 277
coocvn.
Books without Reading.
The whole course of things being thus entirely changed
between us and the ancients, and the modems wisely
sensible of it, we of this age have discovered a shorter
and more prudent method to become scholars and wits,
without the fatigue of reading or of thinking. The most
accomplished way of using books at present is two-fold :
either, first, to serve them as some men do lords, learn
their titles exactly, and then brag of their acquaintance ;
or, secondly, which is indeed the choicer, the profounder,
and politer method, to get a thorough insight into the
index, by which the whole book is governed and turned,
like fishes by the tail. For to enter the palace of learning
at the great gate requires an expense of time and forms ;
therefore men of much haste and little ceremony are
content to get in by the back-door. Thus are the sciences
found, like Hercules's oxen, by tracing them backwards.
Thus are old sciences unravelled, like old stockings, by
beginning at the foot Besides all this, the army of the
sciences has been of late, with a world of martial dis-
cipline, drawn into its close order, so that a view or
muster may be taken of it with abundance of expedition.
For this great blessing we are wholly indebted to systems
and abstracts, in which the modem fathers of learning,
like prudent usurers, spent their labom* for the ease of
us their children. For labour is the seed of idleness, and
it is the peculiar happiness of our noble age to gather
the fruit. swifu
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278 LITERARY AND CRITICAL. [PartlV.
ccoovm.
Favourite Writers,
A great writer is the friend and bene£actor of his
readers; and they cannot but judge of him under the
deluding influence of friendship and gratitude. We all
know how unwilling we are to admit the truth of any
disgraceful story about a person whose society we like,
and from whom we have received favours ; how long we
struggle against evidence; how fondly, when the facts
cannot be disputed, we cling to the hope that there may
be some explanation or extenuating circumstance with
which we are unacquainted. Just such is the feeling
which a man of hberal education naturally entertains
towards the great minds of former ages. The debt which
he owes to them is incalctdable. They have guided him
to truth. They have filled his mind with noble and
graceful images. They have stood by him in all vicis-
situdes, comforters in sorrow, nurses in sickness, com-
panions in solitude. These friendships are exposed to no
danger from the occurrences by which other attachments
are weakened or dissolved. Time glides on ; fortune is
inconstant; tempers are soured; bonds which seemed
indissoluble are daily sundered by interest, by emulation,
or by caprice. But no such cause can afifect the silent
converse which we hold with the highest of human
intellects. That placid intercourse is disturbed by no
jealousies or resentments. These are the old friends
who are never seen with new faces, who are the same in
wealth and in poverty, in glory and in obscurity.
Macatday.
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Part IV.] LITERARY AND CRITICAL. 279
CCCCIX.
The Temper for Right Taste.
The temper, therefore, by which right taste is formed,
is characteristically patient It dwells upon what is sub-
mitted to it It does not trample upon it, lest it should
be pearls, even though it look like husks. It is a good
ground, soft, penetrable, retentive; it does not send up
thorns of unkind thoughts, to choke the weak seed ; it is
hungry and thirsty too, and drinks all the dew that falls
on it. It is an honest and good heart, that shows no
too ready springing before the sun be up, but fails not
afterwards ; it is distrustful of itself, so as to be ready to
believe and to try all things, and yet so trustful of itself
that it will neither quit what it has tried, nor take any-
thing without trying. And the pleasure which it has in
things that it finds true and good is so great, that it cannot
possibly be led aside by any tricks of fashion, or diseases
of vanity; it cannot be cramped in its conclusions by
partialities and hypocrisies ; its visions and its delights
are too penetrating, too living, for any whitewashed ob-
ject or shallow fountain long to endure or supply. . . . The
conclusions of this disposition are sure to be eventually
right; more and more right according to the general
maturity of all the powers ; but it is sure to come right
at last, because its operation is in analogy to, and in
harmony with, the whole spirit of the Christian moral
system, and must ultimately love and rest in the great
sources of happiness common to all the human race, and
based on the relations they hold to their Creator.
Rtiskm.
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ccocx.
Beatrice and Benedick.
D, Pedro. The lady Beatrice hath a quarrel to you ;
the gentleman that danced with her told her she is much
wronged by you.
Benedick. O, she misused me past the endurance of a
block ! an oak but with one green leaf on it would have
answered her ; my very visor began to assume life and
scold with her : she told me, not thinking I had been
myself, that I was the prince's jester : that I was duller
than a great thaw ; huddling jest upon jest with such im-
possible conveyance upon me, that I stood like a man at
a mark, with a whole army shooting at me ; she speaks
poniards, and every word stabs ; if her breath were as
terrible as her terminations there were no living near
her, she would infect to the north star. I would not
marry her, though she were endowed with all Adam had
left him before he transgressed; she would have made
Hercules have turned spit ; yea, and have cleft his club
to make the fire too. Come, talk not of her ; you shall
find her the infernal Ate in good apparel. I would to
God some scholar would conjure her ; for certainly while
she is here a man may live as quiet in hell as in a sanc-
tuary ; and people sin upon purpose, because they would
go thither : so indeed all disquiet, horror, and perturba-
tion follow her. Shakespeare.
CCCOXI.
The False Ideal.
Of this final baseness of the false ideal, its miserable
waste of the time, strength, and available intellect of man.
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Part IV.] LITERARY AND CRITICAL. a8l
by turning, as I have said above, innocence of pastime
into seriousness of occupation, it is of course hardly
possible to sketch out even so much as the leading mani-
festations. The vain and haughty projects of youth for
future life; the giddy reveries of insatiable self-exaltation;
the discontented dreams of what might have been or
should be, instead of the thankful understanding of what
is ; the casting about for sources of interest in senseless
fiction, instead of the real human histories of the people
round us ; the prolongation from age to age of romantic
historical deception instead of sifted truth ; the pleasures
taken in fanciful portraits of rural or romantic life in
poetry and on the stage, without the smallest effort to
rescue the living rural population of the world from its
ignorance or misery ; the excitement of the feelings by
laboured imagination of spirits, fairies, monsters, and
demons, issuing in total blindness of heart and sight to
the true presences of beneficent or destructive spiritual
powers around us; in fine, the constant abandonment
of all the straightforward paths of sense and duty, for
fear of losing some of the enticement of ghostly joys, or
trampling somewhat ^ sopra lor vanity, eke par persona' ;
all these forms of false idealism have so entangled the
modem mind, often called, I suppose ironically, practical,
that I truly believe there never yet was idolatry of stock
or staff so utterly unholy as this our idolatry of shadows.
Rtiskin,
ccocxn.
The Drama.
By what has been said of the manners, it will be easy
for a reasonable man to judge, whether the characters be
truly or falsely drawn in a tragedy: for if there be no
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28a ORATORICAL [PartlV.
manners appearing in the characters, no concernment for
the persons can be raised, no pity or honor can be moved
but by vice or virtue ; therefore without them, no person
can have any business in the play. If the inclinations be
obscure, it is a sign the poet is in the dark, and knows
not what manner of man he presents to you ; and conse-
quently you can have no idea, or very imperfect, of that
man, nor can judge what resolutions he ought to take, or
what words or actions are proper for him. Most come-
dies, made up of accidents or adventures, are liable to
fall into this error, and tragedies with many turns are
subject to it; for the manners can never be evident where
the surprises of fortune take up all the business of the
stage, and where the poet is more in pain to tell you
what happened to such a man than what he was. It is
one of the excellencies of Shakespeare that the manners
of his persons are generally apparent, and you see their
bent and inclination. Dtyden,
ooooxm.
Supereniinence of the Athenians.
As a nation, Athens is the school of Greece ; and her
individual citizens are the most accomplished specimens
of the human race. Nor is this idle boasting; for experi-
ence and reality are its warrants. The powers and pro-
tection of Athens are felt in every land ; and the fears
or gratitude of mankind are the noblest evidence of her
greatness. And such a country well deserves that her
children should die for her. They have died for her, and
her praise is theirs. My task is then mostly completed :
yet it may be added that their glorious and beautiful lives
have been crowned by a most glorious death. Enjoying
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Part IV.] PASSAGES. 283
and enjoyed as has been their life, it never tempted them
to seek by unworthy fear to lengthen it To repel their
country's enemies was dearer to them than the fairest
prospect that added years could offer them ; having
gained this they were content to die ; and their last field
witnessed their brightest glory, undimmed by a single
thought of weakness. Pericles.
CCCCXIV.
Ministers the true Innovators.
These are maxims so old and so trite, that no man
cares to dwell on them, for fear of being told that he is
repeating what he learned of his nurse. But they are
not the less true for being trite ; and when men suffer
themselves to be hurried away by a set of new-fangled
notions diametrically opposite, they cannot be repeated
too often. If we persist in the other course, we must go
on increasing our debt till the burden of our taxes be-
comes intolerable. That boasted constitution, which we
are daily impairing, the people will estimate not by what
it once has been, or is still asserted to be in the declama-
tions against anarchy, but by its practical effects; and
we shall hardly escape the very extreme we are so
anxiously desirous of shunning. The old government
of France was surely provided with sufiScient checks
against the licentiousness of the people ; but of what
avail were those checks when the ambition and prodi-
gality of the Government had exhausted every resource
by which established governments can be supported?
Ministers attempt to fix upon others the charge of inno-
vation, while they themselves are, every session, making
greater innovations than that which they now call the
most dreadful of all, namely, a reform in the representa-
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tion in parliament But it is the infatuation of the day
that, while fixing all our attention upon France, we
almost consider the very name of liberty as odious:
nothing of the opposite tendency gives us the least
alarm.
ccccxv.
/ die Content.
Detesting the corrupt and destructive maxims of des-
potism, I have considered the happiness of the people as
the end of government. Submitting my actions to the
laws of prudence, of justice, and of moderation, I have
trusted the event to the care of Providence. Peace was
the object of my counsels as long as peace was consistent
with the public welfare ; but when the imperious voice
of my country summoned me to arms, I exposed my
person to the dangers of war, with the clear foreknow-
ledge (which I had acquired from the art of divination)
that I was destined to fall by the sword. I now offer
my tribute of gratitude to the Eternal Being, who has
not suffered me to perish by the cruelty of a tyrant, by
the secret dagger of conspiracy, or by the slow tortures
of lingering disease.
CCCCXVI.
Improvement in Surgery.
The highest orders in England will always be able to
procure the best medical assistance. Who suffers by
the bad state of the Russian schopl of surgery? The
Emperor Nicholas ? By no means ! The whole evil
falls on the peasantry. If the education of a surgeon
should become very expensive, if his fees should conse-
quently rise, if the supply of regular surgeons should
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Part IV.] PASSAGES. 285
diminish, the sufferers would be, not the rich, but the
poor in our villages, who would again be left to barbers
and old women. The honourable gentleman speaks of
sacrificing the interests of humanity to those of science.
This is not a mere question of science ; it is a question
between health and sickness, between ease and torment,
between life and death. Does the honourable gentleman
know from what cruel sufferings the improvement of
surgery has rescued our species ? I will tell him a story,
the first that comes into my head. He may have heard
of Leopold, Duke of Austria, the same who imprisoned
our Richard Coeur de Lion. Leopold's horse fell under
him, and crushed his leg. The doctors said the limb
must be amputated, but none of them knew how to do it.
Leopold — in his agony— laid a hatchet on his thigh, and
ordered his servant to strike with a mallet. The leg was
cut off, and the Duke died of the loss of blood. Such
was the end of that powerful prince ! There is now no
labouring man who falls from a ladder in England who
cannot obtain better assistance than the sovereign of
Austria in the thirteenth century.
Macatilay,
CCCCXVII.
Return from the Crimea.
'Officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers! I
wish personally to convey through you, to the regiments
assembled here this day, my hearty welcome on their
return to England in health and full efficiency. Say to
them, that I have watched anxiously over the difficulties
and hardships which' they have so nobly borne, that I
have mourned with deep sorrow for the brave men who
have fallen in their country's cause, and that I have felt
proud of that valour, which, with their gallant allies, they
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have displayed on every field. I thank God that your
dangers are over, while the glory of your deeds remains ;
but I know, that should your services be again required,
you will be animated with the same devotion, which in
the Crimea has rendered you invincible.'
TTuPfina CcnsorU
ccccxvm.
Liberty or Death.
I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and
that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of
judging the future but by the past And, judging by the
past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct
of the British Ministry to justify those hopes with which
gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves? Is
it that insidious smile with which our petition has been
lately received ? Trust it not, sir ; it will prove a snare
to your feet Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with
a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception com-
ports with those warlike preparations which cover our
waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies
necessary to a work of love and reconciliation ? These
are the implements of war and subjugation, the last argu-
ments to which kings resort. Our chains are forged.
Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston.
The war is inevitable, and let it come. Gentlemen may
cry, peace, peace— but there is no peace. The next gale
that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the
clash of resounding arms. Is life so dear, or peace so
sweet, as to be purchased at the cost of chains and
slavery? Forbid it. Almighty God! I know not what
course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty
or give me death. p^^^ ^^^
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Part IV.] PASSAGES. aSy
CCCCXIX
True Freedom.
I call that mind free which protects itself against the
usurpations of society, which does not cower to human
opinion, which feels itself accountable to a higher tribunal
than man's, which respects a higher law than fashion,
which respects itself too much to be the slave or tool
of the many or the few. I call that mind free which,
through confidence in God and in the power of virtue,
has cast off all fear but that of wrong-doing, which no
menace or peril can enthral, which is calm in the midst
of tumults, and possesses itself though all else be lost,
I call that mind free which resists the bondage of habit,
which does not mechanically repeat itself and copy the
past, which does not live on its old virtues, which does
not enslave itself to precise rules, but which forgets what
is behind, listens for new and higher monitions of con-
science, and rejoices to pour itself forth in fresh and
higher exertions. I call that mind free which is jealous
of its own freedom, which guards itself from being merged
in others, which guards its empire over itself as nobler
than the empire of the world. ChanmHg,
ccccxx.
Safety a Benefit
It is a truth, Mr. Speaker, and a familiar truth, that
safety and preservation are to be preferred before benefit
or increase, inasmuch as those coimsels which tend to
preservation seem to be attended with necessity; whereas,
those deliberations which tend to benefit, seem only ac-
companied with persuasion. And it is ever gain and no
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loss, when at the foot of the account there remains the
purchase of safety. The prints of this are everywhere
to be found : the patient will ever part with some of his
blood to save and clear the rest ; the sea-faring man will,
in a storm, cast over some of his goods to save and assure
the rest: the husbandman will afford some foot of ground
for his hedge and ditch, to fortify and defend the rest.
Why, Mr. Speaker, the disputer will, if he be wise and
cunning, grant somewhat that seemeth to make against
him, because he will keep himself within the strength of
his opinion, and the better maintain the rest.
CCCCXXI.
Safety in Distance.
« No, sir,' replied I, * I am for liberty I that attribute
of God's ! Glorious liberty 1 that theme of modern de-
clamation ! I would have all men kings : I would be a
king myself. We have all naturally an equal right to the
throne : we are all originally equal. This is my opinion,
and was once the opinion of a set of honest men who
were called Levellers. They tried to erect themselves
into a community, where all should be equally free.
But, alas ! It would never answer ; for there were some
among them stronger and some more cunning than others,
and these became masters of the rest; for, as sure as your
groom rides your horses, because he is a cunninger animal
than they, so surely will the animal that is cunninger or
stronger than he, sit upon his shoulders in turn. Since,
then, some are born to command and others to obey, the
question is, as there must be tyrants, whether it is better
to have them in the same house with us, or in the same
village, or, still further off in the metropolis.' Goldsmith,
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PirtlV.] PASSAGES. a89
ccccxzn.
Liberty of Speech.
This government holds a man responsible for every
thought that an indiscreet or an incautious friend, or a
concealed enemy, or a tool of power, reveals. If it suc-
ceeds in this attempt, it will not rest satisfied with this
victory over the remnant of our freedom. It is not in the
nature of things that it should. A government that will
not tolerate censure must forbid discussion. You are
now asked to put down writing. When that has been
done conversation will be attacked. Paris will resemble
Rome under the successors of Augustus : already the
suppression of the press has produced a malaise which I
never felt or observed before. What will be the feelings
of the nation when all that is around it is concealed,
when every avenue by which h'ght could penetrate is
stopped, when we are exposed to all the undefined
terrors and exaggerated dangers that accompany utter
darkness? Cuieot
CCCCXXTTT,
noXf/iovixev W tlfyqvriv iytaiiev.
It is true, my lords, that I have, perhaps more than
any other man in this country, struggled to maintain a
state of peace. I have done so, because I thought it a
duty to the people of this country, a duty to God and
man, first to exhaust every possible measure to obtain
peace before we engaged in war. I may own, though I
trust my conscience acquits me ot not having done the
utmost, that I only regret not having done enough, or
U
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lest I may have lost some possible means of averting what
I consider the greatest calamity that can befall a country.
It has been said that my desire for peace unfits me to
make war ; but how and why do I wish to make war ? I
wish to make war in order to obtain peace, and no
weapon that can be used in war can make the attainment
of peace so sure and speedy, as to make that war with
the utmost vigour and determination.
OCCCXXIV.
A Tribune of the Plebs.
I am not unaware how vast are the resources at the
command of that nobility whom I, single-handed, power-
less, with nothing but the empty semblance of office, am
undertaking to dislodge from tiieir supremacy ; I know
lull well with how much more safety a guilty faction can
act, than innocence when unsupported. But over and
above the good hope which I have of your assistance — a
hope which has conquered fear— I have come to the
settled conviction that it is better for a brave man to fight
and fail for freedom's sake, than not to fight at all. Yet
so it is that all others, who hav6 been elected to maintain
your rights, have turned against you all the weight and
influence of their high positions, and cotmt it better to
im for gain, than to do right for nothing. And, accord-
ingly, all have now given way to the tyranny of a few
who have seized upon the treasury, upon armies, king'-
d<^d, and provinces : while you, the commonalty, yield
yourselves up, like cattle, to individuals for their posses-
sion and profit, stripped of all that heritage which your
ancestors bequeathed to you.
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PartlVO PASSAGES. 291
ccccxxv.
speech jn the American Senate.
Sir, does he suppose it in his power to exhibit a Caro-
lina name so bright as to produce envy in my bosom?
No, sir, increased gratification and delight rather. I
thank God that if I am gifted with little of the spirit which
is able to raise mortals to the skies> I have yet none, as I
trust, of that other spirit which would drag angels down.
When I shall be found, sir, in my place here in the
Senate, or elsewhere, to sneer at public merit, because it
happens to spring up beyond the little limits of my own
State or neighbourhood; when I refuse for any such
cause, or for any cause, the homage due to American
talent or elevated patriotism, to sincere devotion to
liberty and the country; or if I see an uncommon
endowment of Heaven, if I see extraordinary capacity
and virtue in any son of the south, and if, moved by local
prejudice or gangrened by State jealousy, I get up here
to abate the tithe of a hair from his just character and
just fame, may my tongue cleave to the roof of my
mouth I Calhoun.
CCCCXXVI.
Death a Gain.
I have great hopes, O my judges, that it is infinitely to
my advantage that I am sent to death ; for it must of
necessity be that one of these two things must be the
consequence : death must take away all these senses, or
convey me to another life. If all sense is to be taken
away, and death is no more than that profound sle^p
without dreams in which we are sometimes buried, O
u 2
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heavens, how desirable is it to die ? How many days do
we know in this life preferable to such a state ? But if
it be true that death is but a passage to places which
they who lived before us do now inhabit, how much still
happier is it to go from those who call themselves judges
to appear before those who are really such, and to meet
men who have lived with justice and truth? Do you
think it nothing to speak with Orpheus, Musaeus, Homer,
and Hesiod ? I would indeed suffer many deaths to enjoy
these things.- Plaio,
ccccxxvn.
Appeal to the French Assembly.
I am grieved, gentlemen, if I offend you ; though many
of you are older in years than I am, not one probably is
so old in public life. I may be addressing you for the
last time, and I feel that my last words ought to contain
all the warnings that I think may be useful to you. This
Assembly will soon end as all its predecessors have
ended ; its acts, its legislation, may perish with it, but
its reputation, its fame for good or for evil, will survive.
Within a few minutes you will do an act by which that
reputation will be seriously affected, by which it may be
raised, by which it may be deeply, perhaps irrecoverably,
sunk. Your vote to-night will show whether you possess
freedom, and whether you deserve it As for myself, I
care but little, a few months or even years of imprison-
ment are among the risks which every public man who
does his duty in revolutionary times must encounter, and
which the most important men of the country have
incurred, either at the outset of their career or at its
close.
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Part rv.] PASSAGES. 293
CCCCXXVIII.
Our Great Men.
And, sir, if he who now addresses you finds some
work to do in life, it is because he belongs to a land
which men like these have raised to fame, to power, to
greatness ; not least of all because he practises, to the
utmost limits of his strength, qualities in which they
stood pre-eminent— fair dealing, industry, self-control,
the protection of the distressed, the detestation of the
bad— an affinity of habits scarcely, I imagine, less close
than that of which noble lords can boast, community of
blood and identity of name.
CCCCXXIX.
Loyalty without Flattery.
I am sensible that our happiness depends on the
security of his Majesty's title, and the preservation of
the present government upon those principles which
established them at the late glorious revolution; and
which, I hope, will continue to actuate the conduct of
Britons to the latest generations. These have always
been my principles ; and whoever will give himself the
trouble of looking over the course of these papers, will
be convinced that they have been my guide ; but I am a
blunt plain-dealing old man, who am not afraid to speak
the truth ; and as I have no relish for flattery myself, I
scorn to bestow it on others. I have not, however, been
sparing of just praise, nor slipped any reasonable oppor-
tunity to distinguish the royal virtues of their present
Majesties. More than this I cannot do ; and more than
this will not, I hope, be expected. Some of my expres-
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sions, perhaps, may have been thought too rough and
unpolished for the climate of a court ; but they flowed
purely from the sincerity of my heart ; and the freedom
of my writings has proceeded from my zeal for the
interest of my king and country.
ccccxxz.
Conscience before Popularity.
I defy the noble lord to point out a single action of my
life in which the popularity of the times ever had the
smallest influence on my determinations, I thank God,
I have a more permanent and steady rule for my con-
duct,— the dictates of my own breast Those who have
forgone that pleasing adviser, and given up their mind to
be the slave of every popular impulse, I sincerely pity ; I
pity them still more, if their vanity leads them to mistake
the shouts of a mob for the trumpet of fame. Experience
might inform them that many who have been saluted
with the huzzas of a crowd one day, have received their
execrations the next ; and many, who by the popularity
of their times have been held up as spotless patriots, have
nevertheless appeared upon the historian's page, when
truth has triumphed over delusion, the assassins of liberty.
Why then the noble lord can think I am ambitious of
present popularity, that echo of folly and shadow of re-
nown, I am at a loss to determine.
COCCXXXI.
A Horrible Crime.
Gentlemen, it is a most extraordinary case This
bloody drama excited no suddenly^ex^ted, ungovernable
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rage. The actors in it were not surprised by a lion-like
temptation springing upon their virtue, and overcoming it
before resistance could begin. Nor did they do the deed
to glut savage vengeance or satiate long-settled or deadly
hate. It was a cool, calculating, money-making murder.
It was all hire and salary, not revenge. It was the
weighing of money against life ; the counting out of so
many pieces of silver against so many ounces of blood.
The circumstance now clearly in evidence spread out the
whole scene before us. A healthful old man, to whom
sleep was sweet, the first sound slumbers of the night
held him in their soft but strong embrace. The assassin
enters through the window already prepared, with noise-
less foot he paces the lonely hall, winds up the stairs to
the door of the chamber, moves the lock till it turns on
its hinges without noise : the beams of the moon resting
on the gray locks show him where to strike. The victim
passes without a struggle to the repose of death. His
assassin retraces his steps to the window and escapes.
No eye has seen him, no ear has heard him. The secret
is his own, and it is safe ! Ah ! gentlemen, that was a
dreadful mistake, such secrets of guilt are never safe
from detection even by men. IVibsUr.
ccccxxxn.
A Traitor to the Union.
Even then and there men condemned such deeds,
although they were not wholly without excuse. But now,
when tens of thousands of brave souls have gone up to
God under the shadow of the flag, when thousands more,
maimed and shattered in the contest, are sadly awaiting
the deliverance of death, now when three years of ter-
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rific warfare have raged over us, when our armies have
pushed the rebellion back over mountains and rivers, and
crowded it into narrow limits, until a- wall of fire girds
it : now, when the uplifted hand of a majestic people is
about to hurl the bolts of its conquering power upon
the rebellion ; now, in the quiet of this Hall, hatched in
the lowest depths of a simUar dark treason, there rises a
Benedict Arnold, and proposes to surrender all, body and
spirit, the nation and the flag, its genius and its honour,
once and for ever, to the accursed traitors of our country.
And that proposition comes— God forgive and pity my be-
loved Stated-it comes from a citizen of the time-honoured
and loyal commonwealth of Ohio ! I implore you, brethren
in this House, to believe that not many births ever gave
pangs to my mother-state such as she suffered when that
traitor was bom. I beg you not to believe that on the
soil: of that State another such growth deforms the &ce
of nature and darkens the light of God's day.
ccccxxxm.
Is there no Danger?
Does a design against the constitution of this country
exist ? If it does, and if it is carried on with increasing
vigour and activity by a restless faction, and if it receives
countenance by the most ardent and enthusiastic ap-
plauses of its object, in the great council of this kingdom,
by men of the first parts, which this kingdom produces,
perhaps by the first it has ever produced, can I think that
there is no danger ? If there be danger, must there be no
precaution at all against it? If you ask whether I think
the danger urgent and immediate, I answer, thank God,
I do not The body of the people is yet sound, the
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constitution is still in their heart, while wicked men are
endeavouring to put another into their heads. But if I see
the very same beginnings, which have commonly ended
in great calamities, I ought to act as if they might produce
the very same effects. Early and provident fear is the
mother of safety ; because in that state of things the mind
is firm and collected, and the judgment unembarrassed.
But when the fear, and the evil feared, come on together,
press at once upon us, deliberation itself is ruinous, which
saves upon all other occasions ; because when perils are
instant, it delays decision, the man is in a flutter, and in
a hurry, and his judgment is gone.
CCCCXXXIV.
An Appeal to the King.
You ascended the throne with a declared, and, I doubt
not, a sincere resolution of giving universal satisfaction to
your subjects. You found them pleased with the novelty
of a prince whose countenance pronused even more than
his words, and loyal to you not only fi-om principle but
passion. It was not a cold profession of allegiance to the
first magistrate, but a partial, animated attachment to a
favourite prince, the native of their country. They did not
wait to examine your conduct, nor to be determined by
experience, but gave you a generous credit for the future
blessings of your reign, and paid you in advance the
dearest tribute of their affections. Such, sir, was once the
disposition of a people who now surround your throne
witli reproaches and complaints. Do justice to yourself.
Banish from your mind those unworthy opinions with
which some interested persons have laboured to possess
you. Distrust the men who tell you that the English are
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naturally light and inconstant, that they complain widiout
a cause. Withdraw your confidence equally fit>m all
parties— from ministers, favourites, and relations; and
let' there be one moment in your life in which you have
consulted your own understanding. Jwthft.
cccoxxxv.
No Liberty without Lam.
Laws must not only be made, they must be enforced*
Peisistratus enforced Solon's laws. He insisted on peace
and order in the city. He stopped by main force the
perpetual political agitation which is the ruin of any
commonwealth. Let the reader remember that without
sound intellectual culture all political training is and must
be simply mischievous. A free constitution is perfectly
absurd, if the opinion of the majority is incompetent. I
fear it is almost hopeless to persuade English minds that
a despotism may in some cases be better for a nation than
a more advanced constitution. And yet no students of
history can fail to observe that even yet very few nations
in the world are fit for diffused political privileges. The
nations that are fit are so manifestly the greatest and
best, and consequently the most prosperous, that inferior
races keep imitating their institutions, instead of feeling
that these institutions are the result and not the cause
of true national greatness. In the case of the Irish the
English nation has in vain given them its laws, and even
done something to enforce them. I believe the harshest
despotism would be more successful, and perhaps in the
end more humane.
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CCCCXXXVI.
Pride in our Indian Empire.
If I thought that our power in India had originated
in crime and was maintained by brute force, it would have
no interest for me. In that case I should turn my atten-
tion to other matters and leave a hopeless system to reach
its natural end by its own road. I feel, however, that such
a view is utterly false, and that we, the English nation, can
hardly degrade ourselves more deeply than by repudiat-
ing the achievements of our ancestors, apologising for acts
of which we ought to feel as proud as the inheritors of
great names and splendid titles must feel of the deeds by
which they were won, and evading like cowards and slug-
gards the arduous responsibilities which have devolved
upon us. I say, let us acknowledge them with pride.
Let us grapple with them like men. That will enable our
sons to praise us for something more manly than reviling
our fathers. Let them praise us, not for atoning for the
misdeeds, but for following the examples of Clive and
Hastings, and the two Wellesleys, and Dalhousie, and
Canning, and Henry Lawrence, and Havelock, and
others, whon\ I do not mention because they still live,
and because I have the honour to call some of them my
friends. I deny that ambition and conquest are crimes ;
I say that ambition is the greatest incentive to every
manly virtue, and that conquest is the process by which
every state in the world has been built up.
ccccxxxvn.
Pariiamentary Reform.
Two centuries ago the people of this country were
engaged in a fearful conflict with the Crown. A despotic
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and treacherous monarch assumed to himself the right to
levy taxes without the consent of Parliament and the
people. That assumption was resisted. This fair island
became a battlefield, the kingdom was convulsed, and an
ancient throne overturned. And if our forefathers two
hundred years ago resisted that attempt, if they refused
to be the bondmen of a king, shall we be the bom thralls of
an aristocracy like ours ? Shall we, who struck the lion
down, pay homage to the wolf? Or shall we not by a
manly and united expression of public opinion at once and
for ever put an end to this giant wrong ? Our cause is at
least as good as theirs. We stand on higher vantage-
ground ; we have larger numbers at our back ; we have
men of wealth, intelligence, and union, and we understand
better the rights and true interests of the country ; and,
what is more than all this, we have a constitutional
weapon which we intend to wield, and by means of which
we are sure to conquer, our laurels being gained, not in
bloody fields, but upon the election hustings, and in
courts of law. y, Bri^.
ccccxxxvm.
Robespierr^s Murderers.
But who gave Robespierre the power of being a tyrant ?
And who were the instruments of his tyranny ? The
present virtuous constitution-mongers. He was a tyrant,
they were his satellites and his hangmen. Their sole
merit is in the murder of their colleagues. They have
expiated their other murders by a new murder. It has
always been the case among this banditti: they have
always had the knife at each other's throats, after they
had almost blunted it at the throat of every honest man.
These people thought that in the commerce of murder.
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he was like to have the better of the bargain if any time
was lost ; they therefore took one of their short revolu-
tionary methods, and massacred him in a manner so per-
fidious and cruel as would shock all humanity if the stroke
was not struck by the present rulers on one of their
associates. But this last act of infidelity and murder is
to expiate all the rest, and to qualify them for the amity
of a humane and virtuous sovereign and civilised people*
Burkg,
ccccxxxix.
Should we Tax America.
Sir, I think you must perceive that I am resolved this
day to have nothing at all to do with the question of the
right of taxation. Some gentlemen startle,— but it is true;
I put it totally out of the question. It is less than nothing
in my consideration. The question with me is, not whether
you have a right to render your people miserable, but
whether it is not your interest to make them happy. It
is not what a lawyer tells me I may do, but what humanity,
reason, and justice tell me I ought to do. Is a pohtic act
the worse for being a generous one I Is no concession
proper, but that which is made from your want of right to
keep what you grant? Or does it lessen the grace or
dignity of relaxing in the exercise of an odious claim,
because you have your evidence-room full of titles, and
your magazines stuffed with arms to enforce them ? What
signify all those titles and all those arms ? Of what avail
are they, when the reason of the thing tells me that the
assertion of my title is the loss of my suit ; and that I
could do nothing but wound myself by the use of my own
weapons? Burki,
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OGCOZIi.
Speech of Sir John ElioU
The Rhodians had a story of their island, he said, tiiat
when Jupiter, who ruled them, was delivered of Pallas, it
rained there gold in abundance; and this, after their
foshion, they moralised Pallas, so bom, they held to
signify both prowess and policy, martial worth and wis-
dom : wisdom too, both human and divine, implying not
only instruction for the afiairs of men but in tiie service
and worship of the gods. The fable, Eliot thought, might
have just application to members of that house, and some
instruction for their purpose. Aforetime might their
island have been taken for a Rhodes, the proper seat of
gods, wherein, when action had been added unto counsel,
and counsel joined to action, when religion and resolution
had come together, there wanted nothing of the felicity or
blessing that wealth and honour could impart Wisdom
and valour singly had availed not ; Apollo had not satis-
fied, Mars had been too weak; but both their virtues
meeting with religion, and concurring in that centre— as
in the person of their Pallas, their Minerva, their last
great queen !— never had those failed in their chronicles
and stories to give both riches and reputation, the true
showers of gold mentioned in the fable. y, FosUr,
ccccxu.
The Goddess Criticism.
Momus, having thus delivered himself, staid not for an
answer, but left the goddess to her own resentment. Up
she rose in a rage, and, as it is the form upon such
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occasions, began a soliloquy. 'It is 1/ said she, ^who
gave vdsdom to infants and idiots ; by me children grew
wiser than their parents, by me beaux became poli-
ticians, and schoolboys judges of philosophy; by me
sophisters debate, and conclude upon the depths of
knowledge ; and coffee-house wits, instinct by me, can
correct an author's style, and display his minutest errors
without understanding a syllable of his matter or his
language; by me striplings spend their judgement, as
they do their estate, before it comes into their hands. It
is I who have deposed wit and knowledge from their
empire over poetry, and advanced myself in their stead.
And shall a few upstart ancients dare to oppose me ?'
* Swift.
CCCCXXaU.
A United Empire.
Hence that unexampled unanimity which distinguishes
the present season. In other wars we have been a
divided people ; the effect of our external operations has
been in some measure weakened by intestine dissension.
When peace has returned, the breach has widened,
while parties have been formed on the merits of par-
ticular men, or of particular measures. These have all
disappeared : we have buried our mutual animosities in
a regard to the common safety. The sentiment of self-
preservation, the first law which nature has impressed,
has absorbed every other feeling ; and the fire of liberty
has melted down the discordant sentiments and minds of
the British Empire into one mass, and propelled them in
one direction. Partial interests and feelings are sus-
pended, the spirits of the body are collected at the heart,
and we are awaiting with anxiety, but without dismay.
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the discharge of that mighty tempest which hangs upon
the skirts of the horizon, and to which the eyes of Europe
and of the world are turned in silent and awful expectation.
While we feel solicitude, let us not betray dejection, nor
be alarmed at the past successes of our enemy, since they
have raised him from obscurity to an elevation which has
made him giddy, and tempted him to suppose everything
within his power. The intoxication of his success is the
omen of his fall Robert HalL
ccccxLin.
To the Bristol Electors, 1780.
And now, gentlemen, on this serious day, when I
come, as it were, to make up my account with you, let
me take to myself some degree of honest pride on the
nature of the charges that are against me. I do not
here stand before you accused of venality or of neglect
of duty. It is not said that, in the long period of my
service, I have in a single instance sacrificed the slightest
of your interests to my ambition or to my fortune. It is
not alleged that to gratify any anger or revenge of my
own, or of my party, I have had a share in wronging or
oppressing any description of men, or any one man in
any description. No ! the charges against me are all of
one kind— that I have pushed the principles of general
justice and benevolence too far ; further than a cautious
policy would warrant ; and further than the opinions of
many would go along with me. In every accident which
may happen through life, in pain, iii sorrow, in depres-
sion and distress, I will call to mind this accusation, and
be comforted. Burke.
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Paptrv.] ' PASSAGES. 305
CCCCXLIV.
British Responsibility for India.
But again let me ask what are your hearts doing?
These millions, 180 millions— for I cannot too often
remind you that we have here to answer for about a fifth
portion of the earth's inhabitants, men like yourselves,
where are your hearts when your eyes fall on them, and
see them at the foot of your armies and governed by
your own sons, brothers, countrymen? Soldiers flow
into the country and give up their lives in war to duty
when it calls them, and even in peace to the more
terrible demands of a climate which wears them out, and
to disease, which occasionally breaks out in fierceness
and cuts them off by tens and hundreds in a day.
Civilians flow in also, eager for employment, until now
the stream is checked because it is superabounding.
Merchants and men of business add themselves to the
gathering waters, peopling the Presidential towns and
directing the whole course of trade, which in remote
corners of the land feels everywhere their presiding
influence. Barristers and solicitors succeed and reap
from a litigious people harvests of gold, which after a few
years of strenuous work, they carry back with them to
their native soil, there in comfort and in rest to end their
days. Engineers and artisans follow, making locomotion
easy and distributing with swiftness and precision the
produce which the land yields and the intelligence which
interests all nations. We rule the land ; upon .the whole
unselfishly and wisely. We restrain such evil as an
honest love of right and truth can put down, by instru-
ments far from perfect, but the best which the land
furnishes. Bishop Douglas of Bombay.
X
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COOOXLV.
PdiUcal Responsibilify,
In this crisis I must hold my tongue, or I must speak
with freedom. Falsehood and delusion are allowed in no
case whatever ; but, as in the exercise of all the virtues,
there is an economy of truth. It is a sort of temperance
by which a man speaks truth with measure that he may
speak it the longer. But as the same rules do not hold in
all cases, what would be right for you, who may presume
on a series of years before you, would have no sense for
me, who cannot, without absurdity, count on six months
of life. What I say, I must say at once. Whatever I
write is in its nature testamentary. It may have the
weakness, but it has the sincerity of a dying declaration.
For the few days I have to linger here, I am removed
completely from the busy scene of the world ; but I hold
myself to be still responsible for everything that I have
done whilst I continued in the place of action. If the
rawest tyro in politics has been influenced by the authority
of my grey hairs, and led by anjrthing in my speeches or
my writings to approve this war, he has a right to call
upon me to know why I have changed my opinions, or
why, when those I voted with have adopted better notions,
I persevere in exploded error.
CCCCXLVI.
Conciliation with America.
The last cause of this disobedient spirit in the colonies
is hardly less powerful than the rest, as it is not merely
moral, but laid deep in the natural constitution of things.
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Three thousand miles of ocean lie between you and them.
No contrivance can prevent the effect of this distance in
weakening government Seas roll, and months pass,
between the order and the execution ; and the want of a
speedy explanation of a single point is enough to defeat a
whole system. You have, indeed, winged ministers of
vengeance, who carry your bolts in their pounces to the
remotest verge of the sea. But there a power steps in
that limits the arrogance of raging passions and furious
elements, and says * So far shalt thou go and no farther.*
Who are you that should fret and rage, and bite the chains
of nature ? Nothing worse happens to you than does to all
nations who have extensive empire ; and it happens in
all the forms into which empire can be thrown. In large
bodies, the circulation of power must be less vigorous at
the extremities. Nature has said it. The. Turk cannot
govern Egypt and Arabia and Kurdistan as he governs
Thrace ; nor has he the same dominion in Crimea and
Algiers which he has at Brusa and Sm3n*na. Despotism
itself is obliged to truck and huckster. The Sultan gets
such obedience as he can. He governs with a loose rein,
that he may govern at all, and the whole of the force and
vigour of his authority in the centre is derived from a
prudent relaxation in his borders. Spain in her provinces
is perhaps not so well obeyed as you are in yours. She
complies too, she submits, she watches times. This is the
immutable condition, the eternal law of extensive and
detached empkes. Burki, 1775.
CCCCXLVII.
Burke on the Hustings.
But if I profess all this impolitic stubbornness, I may
chance never to be elected into Parliament. It is certainly
X 2
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not pleasing to be put out of the public service. But I
wish to be a member of Parliament to have my share d[
doing good and resisting evil It would therefore be
absurd to renounce my objects in order to obtain my
seat I deceive myself indeed most grossly if I had not
much rather pass the remainder of my life hidden in the
recesses of the deepest obscurity, feeding my mind even
with the visions and imaginations of such things, than to
be placed on the most splendid throne in the universe,
tantalised with a denial of the practice of all which can
make the greatest situation any other than the greatest
curse. Gentlemen, I have had my day. I can never
sufficiently express my gratitude to you for having set
me in a place wherein I could lend the slightest help to
great and laudable designs. If by my vote I have aided
in securing to families the best possession, peace ; if I
have joined in reconciling kings to their subjects and sub-
jects to their prince ; if I have thus taken part with the
best of men in the best of their actions, I can shut the
book. I might wish to read a page or two more ; but this
is enough for my measure,— I have not lived in vain.
Burht.
CCCCXLVin.
Defence of Thomas Hardy.
Driven from the accusation upon the subject of pikes,
and even from the very colour of accusation, and knowing
that nothing was to be done without the proof of arms, we
have got this miserable, solitary knife, held up to us as
the engine which was to destroy the constitution of this
country ; and Mr. Groves, an Old Bailey solicitor, em-
ployed as a spy upon the occasion, has been selected to
give probability to this monstrous absurdity by his re-
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spectable evidence. I understand that this same gentle-
man has carried his system of spying to such a pitch as to
practice it since this unfortunate man has been standing a
prisoner before you^ professing himself as a friend to the
committee preparing his defence, that he might discover
to the Crown the materials by which he meant to defend
his life. I state this only from report, and I hope in God
I am mistaken ; for human nature starts back appalled
from such atrocity, and shrinks and trembles at the very
statement of it But as to the perjury of this miscreant, it
will appear palpable beyond all question, and he shall
answer for it in due season. He tells you he attended at
Chalk Farm; and that there, forsooth, amongst about
seven or eight thousand people he saw two or three
persons with knives. He mighti I should think, have
seen many more, as hardly any man goes without a knife
of some sort in his pocket He asked, however, it seems,
where they got these knives, and was directed to Green,
a hairdresser, who deals besides in cutleiy ; and accord-
ingly this notable Mr. Groves went (as he told us) to
Green's, and asked to purchase a knife, when Green, in
answer to him, said, ' Speak low, for my wife is a damned
aristocrat' This answer was sworn to by this wretch, to
give you the idea that Green, who had his knives to sell,
was conscious that he kept them for an illegal and wicked
purpose, and that they were not to be sold in public.
LordEnktHi, 1794.
CCCCXLIX.
Irish Emigration.
No one has deplored in more emphatic terms than
myself the circumstances which compel so many noble-
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hearted Irishmen to leave the land of their birth. But to
lament an emigration you are unable to arrest, and which
is composed of those you cannot employ, is a useless waste
of feeling. There are few human passions with which I
have greater sympathy, or which I can better under-
stand, than the love of home. But in this life no one can
arrange his destiny altogether to his taste ; and to sally
forth and battle with the world is one of the most uni-
versal conditions of existence. It is all very well to talk
pathetically of the hardship endured by the Irish peasant
in quitting the home of his childhood, but to dwell for
ever in the home of one*s childhood is almost the rarest
earthly luxury which can be mentioned ; not one man in
ten thousand expects to enjoy it ; no woman desires it.
Law in France, custom in America, discourage such per-
manent arrangements, while in England they are only
within the reach of a comparatively small minority.
GCCCL.
Bribery and Corruption.
Our shame stalks abroad in the open face of day; it is
become too common even to excite surprise. We treat it
as a matter of small importance that some of the electors
of Great Britain have added treason to their corruption,
and have traitorously sold their votes to foreign Powers ;
that some of the members of our Senate are at the com-
mand of a distant tyrant ; that our Senators are no longer
the representatives of British virtue, but the vices and
pollutions of the East 1^, P^/,
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GCCCLI.
American Address to Trinity Cottege, Dublin^
July 7, 1892.
To the plaudits Bf British and Continental scholars the
Americans add their tributes of grateful reverence. We
bring you salutations from the New World, a barren
wilderness when Trinity College was founded, now a
vigorous forest where acorns of British oaks have taken
root and grown. We have come to greet living friends, in
whose companionship our scholars walk through the fields
of ancient and modem literature, survey the heavens,
enter the abstract realms of mathematics and philosophy,
and dwell in the earthly paradise of science and art At
the stately portal of Trinity College we have been met by
your Goldsmith, and ours, and we have heard him say,
in the phrases of the immortal Vicar ; here is a college
to be preferred, • as I chose my wife, as she chose her
wedding gown, not for a fine glossy surface, but for such
qualities as would wear well'; and when we turned to
salute the other guardian of the threshold, we heard the
clarion voice of Edmund Burke, our Burke as well as
yours, defending the cause of American freedom, and
were set to musing whether, if his warnings had been
heeded, we should now be present as freemen of the
United Kingdom, and not as citizens of the United States.
Therefore to-day, before these scholars assembled from
every land of Christendom, the Americans do homage to
the University of Dublini for its present, and for its past.
Z>. C. GUmoH,
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312 ORATORICAL PASSAGES. [Part IV.
CCCOLn.
Rhetorical Blandishments.
My Lords, I should be ashamed if at this moment I
attempted to use any sort of rhetorical blandishments
whatever. Such artifices would neither be suitable to the
body that I represent, to the cause which I sustain, or to
my own individual disposition upon such an occasion.
My Lords, we know very well what these fallacious
blandishments too frequently are. We know that they
are used to captivate the benevolence of the court, and to
conciliate the affections of the tribunal rather to the per-
son than to the cause. We know that they are used to
stifle the remonstrances of conscience in the judge and to
reconcile it to the violation of his duty, and that thus
all parties are induced to separate in a kind of good
humour as if they had nothing more than a verbal dis-
pute to settle, or a slight quarrel over a table to com-
promise : while nations, whole suffering nations, are left
to beat the empty air with cries of suffering and anguish,
and to cast forth to an offended heaven the imprecations
of disappointment and despair. Rurkg
ccccLm.
Protection in America.
Ours is not a destructive party. We are not at enmity
with the rights of any of our fellow-citizens. We are not
recklessly heedless of any American interests, nor will
we abandon our regard for them, but, invoking the love,
fairness, and justice which belong to true Americanism,
and upon which the Constitution rests, we insist that no
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Partrv.] EPISTOLARY PASSAGES. 313
plan of tariff legislation shall be tolerated which has for
its object and purpose a forced contribution from the
earnings and income of the masses of our citizens to
swell directly the accumulations of a favoured few, nor
will we permit pretended solicitude for American labour
or any other specious pretext of benevolent care for
others to blind the eyes of the people to the selfish
schemes of those who seek, through the aid of unequal
tariff laws, to gain unearned and unreasonable advantages
at the expense of their fellows. Mr, GivtUuuL
CCCCIiTV.
Self- Depreciation.
But that which makes me wonder most of all is, how it
could occur to you that you can no longer be of any use
to your country or your friends, and therefore that you
have no motive for desiring to live. I will say no more,
nor will I attempt to express what I think on this subject,
further than this, which I declare and will maintain as
long as I live, that I have derived more advantage from
my acquaintance with you, than from all the time I have
spent on my travels. This is enough for the present
But, my dear Hubert, do not think it is either arrogance,
which I hope is not one of my faults, nor mere loquacity,
which, however, Xenophon thought no fault in young
Cyrus, but an inclination, or rather impulse of my mind
that has moved me to write thus much to you : I was
desirous to do v^at I could to relieve you from that
distress, which I perceived was somewhat disturbing
you; and yet I readily allow that all this comes under
the proverb, Sus Minervam.
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314 EPISTOLARY PASSAGES. [Part IV.
CCCCLV.
Humbled^ but not humiliated.
Had it pleased God to continue to me the hopes of
succession, I should have been according to my medio-
crity, and the mediocrity of the age I live in, a sort of
founder of a family : I should have left a son, who, in all
the points in which personal merit can be viewed, would
not have shown himself inferior to the Duke, or to any of
those whom he traces in his line. But a Disposer whose
power we are little able to resist, and whose wisdom it
behoves us not at all to dispute, has ordained it in
another manner, and, whatever my querulous weakness
might suggest, a far better. The storm has gone over
me. I am stripped of all my honours, I am torn up by '
the roots, and lie prostrate H>n the earth ! There, and
prostrate there, I most unfeignedly recognise the divine
justice, and in some degree submit to it But whilst I
humble myself before God, I do not know that it is for-
bidden to repel the attacks of unjust and inconsiderate
men. The patience of Job is proverbial. After some of
the convulsive struggles of our irritable nature, he sub-
mitted himself, and repented in dust and ashes. But
even so, I do not find him blamed for reprehending, and
with a considerable degree of verbal asperity, those ill-
natured neighbours of his, who visited his dunghill to
read moral, political, and economical lectures on his
misery. I am alone. I have none to meet my enemies
in the gate. Indeed, my lord, I greatly deceive myseli
if, in this hard season, I would give a peck of refuse
wheat for all that is called fame and honour in the
^vorld. ^^^^
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CCCCLVI.
A Letter of Condolence.
My dear friend,— I received a letter from Mrs. Damer a
few days ago, informing me of the melancholy event that
has taken place with you ; and I have seen her since and
learnt the particulars concerning it I sympathise with
you and your sister most truly : for I know well that the
advanced age of a parent, which makes such a loss
expected, and for which we ought to be prepared, does
not, therefore, make it less afflicting. That he has lived
to a great age, in health and comfort far beyond what
most old people enjoy, and that your society and aflfection
have so greatly contributed to it, is pleasing to remember;
but long habits broken up, and the removal of the object
of those habits, who bore to you affection of a nature
which no other can bear, makes for a time a sad blank in
the heart, which will not be comforted by reason. I am
glad for your sakes that your father had recovered from
all the fatigue of travelling before he was taken ill, and I
am glad both for your sake and his own, that his illness
was so short and his end without suffering.
CCCCLVn.
InteUedual Companionship.
We have shared together many hours of study, and
you have been willing, at the cost of much patient labour,
to cheer the difficult paths of intellectual toil by the
unfailing sweetness of your beloved companionship. It
seems to me that all those things which we have learned
together are doubly my own ; whilst those other studies
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which I have pursued in solitude have never yielded me
more than a maimed and imperfect satisfaction. The
dream of my life would he to associate you with all I do if
that were possible ; but since the ideal can never be wholly
realised, let me at least rejoice that we have been so little
separated, and that the subtle influence of your finer
taste and more delicate perception is ever, like some
penetrating perfume, in the whole atmosphere around
ccccLvni.
Incorrupta fides nudaque Veritas.
Even your expostulations are pleasing to me ; for
though they show you angry, yet they are not without
many expressions of your kindness ; and therefore I am
proud to be so chidden. Yet I cannot so far abandon
my own defence, as to confess any idleness or forgetful-
ness on my part What has hindered me from writing
to you was neither ill-health nor a worse thing, ingrati-
tude, but a flood of little businesses, which yet are
necessary to my subsistence, and of which I hoped to
have given you a good account before this time : but the
court rather speaks kindly of me than does anything for
me, though they promise largely; and perhaps they
think I will advance as they go backward, in which they
will be much deceived; for I can never go an inch
beyond my conscience and my honour. If they will
consider me as a man who has done my best to improve
the language and especially the poetry of my country^
and will be content with my acquiescence under the
present government, and forbearing satire on it, that I
can promise, because I can perform it ; but I can neither
take the oaths nor forsake my religion. . . . Truth is but
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Part IV.] EPISTOLARY PASSAGES. 317
one ; and they who have once heard of it can plead no
excuse if they do not embrace it But these are things too
serious for a trifling letter.
COOCI.IX.
A Shiftless Brother.
Dear Brother, — I should have answered your letter
sooner, but in truth I am not fond of thinking of the
necessity of those I love, when it is so very little in my
power to help them. I am sorry to find you are still
every way unprovided for ; and what adds to my uneasi*
ness is, that I have received a letter from my sister
Johnson, by which I learn that she is pretty much in the
same circumstances. As to myself, I believe I could get
both you and my poor brother-in-law something like that
which you desire, but I ain determined never to ask for
little things, nor exhaust any little interest I may have,
until I can serve you, him, and myself more effectually.
As yet no opportunity has offered, but I believe you are
pretty well convinced that I will not be remiss when it
arrives. The king has lately been pleased to make me
Professor of Ancient History in a Royal Academy of
Painting, which he has just established, but there is no
salary annexed ; and I took it rather as a compliment to
the institution, than any benefit to myself. Honours to
one in my situation are something like ruffles to a man
that wants a shut. Goldsmith.
CCCCLX.
Reform or Revolution.
London, Sept 13, 1831.
My dear Sister, — I am in high spirits at the thought of
soon seeing you all in London, and being again one of
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a family which I love so much. It b well that one has
something to love in private life ; for the aspect of public
affairs is very menacing ; fearful, I think, beyond what
people in general imagine. Three weeks, however, will
probably settle the whole, and bring to an issue the
question, Reform or Revolution. One or the other I am
certain that we must and shall have. I assure you that
the violence of the people, the bigotry of the Lords, and
the stupidity and weakness of the Ministers alarm me so
much, that even my rest is disturbed by vexation and
uneasy forebodings ; not for myself, for I may gain and
cannot lose, but for this noble country, which seems
likely to be ruined without the miserable consolation of
being ruined by great men. UaetuOay.
COCCLXI.
Pleasing the People.
No man carries further than I do the policy of making
government pleasing to the people. But the widest
range of this politic complaisance is confined within the
limits of justice. I would not only consult the interests of
the people, but I would cheerfully gratify their humours.
We are all a sort of children that must be soothed and
managed. I think I am not austere or formal in my
nature. I would bear, I would even myself play my
part in any innocent buffooneries, to divert them. But
I never vAW act the tyrant for their amusement. If they
will mix malice in their sports, I shall never consent to
throw them any living, sentient creature whatsoever, no,
not so mijch as a kitJing, to torment
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ccccLxn.
Sdf'Knowledge.
In the various objects of knowledge, which I have had
the pleasure of seeing you study under my care, as well
as those which you have acquired under the various
teachers who have hitherto instructed you, the most
material branch of information which it imports a human
being to know, has been entirely overlooked ; I mean,
the knowledge of yom^elf. There are indeed very few
persons who possess at once the capability and the dis-
position to give you this instruction. Your parents, who
alone are perhaps sufficiently acquainted with you for
the purpose, are usually disqualified for the task, by the
very affection and partiality which would prompt them
to undertake it Your masters, who probably labour
under no such prejudices, have seldom either sufficient
opportunities of knowing your character, or are so much
interested in your welfare, as to undertake an employ-
ment so unpleasant and laborious. GMsmiik.
CCCCLXIII.
Self-Knowledge {continued).
You are as yet too young and inexperienced to perform
this important office for yourself, or indeed to be sensible
of its very great consequence to your happiness. The
ardent hopes and the extreme vanity natural to early
youth blind you at once to everything within and every-
thing without, and make you see both yourself and the
world in false colours. This illusion, it is true, will
gradually wear away as your reason matures and your
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experience increases ; but the question is, What is to be
done in the meantime ? Evidently there is no plan for
you to adopt but to make use of the reason and expe-
rience of those who are qualified to direct you. Of this,
however, I can assure you, both from my own expe-
rience and from the opinions of all those whose opinions
deserve to be valued, that if you aim at any sort of
eminence or respectability in the eyes of the world, or
in those of your friends ; if you have any ambition to be
distinguished in your future career for your virtues, or
talents, or accomplishments, this self-knowledge of which
I am speaking is above all things requisite. It b there*
fore my intention, in this letter, to offer you a few hints
on this most important subject GoldsmUk.
cocciixrv.
The King's Party.
The mention of this man has moved me from my
natural moderation. Let me return to your Grace. You
are the pillowupon which I am determined to rest all my
resentments. What idea can the best of sovereigns form
to himself of his own government ? In what repute can
he conceive that he stands with his people, when he sees
beyond the possibility of a doubt that, whatever be the
office, the suspicion of his favour is fatal to the candidate,
and that, when the party he wishes well to has the fairest
prospect ot success, if his royal inclination should unfor-
tunately be discovered, it drops like an acid, and turns the
election. This event, among others,' may perhaps con-
tribute to open his Majesty's eyes to his real honour and
interest In spite of all your Grace's ingenuity, he may
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at last perceive the inconvenience of selecting, with such
a curious felicity, every villain in the nation to fill the
various departments of his government. Yet I should be
sorry to confine him in the choice either of his footmen
or his friends. Junius,
CCCCLXV.
Family Life.
It is quite high time that I should write to you, for
weeks and months go by, and it is quite startling to think
how little communication I hold with many of those whom
I love most dearly. And yet these are times when I am
least of all disposed to loosen the links which bind me to
my oldest and dearest friends, for I imagine we shall all
want the union of all the good men we can get together ;
and the want of sympathy which I cannot but feel towards
so many of those whom I meet with, makes me think how
delightful it would be to have daily intercourse with those
with whom I ever feel it thoroughly. What men do in
middle life without a wife and children to turn to I cannot
imagine ; for I think the affections must be sadly checked
and chilled, even in the best men, by their intercourse
with people, such as one usually finds them in the world.
I do not mean that one does not meet with good and
sensible people; but then their minds are set, and our
minds are set, and they will not, in mature age, grow into
each other. But with a home filled with those whom we
entirely love and sympathize with, and with some old
friends, to whom one can open one's heart fully from time
to time, the world's society has rather a bracing influence
to make one shake off mere dreams of delight
Y
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OCCCLXVI.
Work Without power to work,
I covet rest neither for my friends nor yet for myself,
so long as we are able to work ; but, when age or weak-
ness comes on, and hard labour becomes an unendurable
burthen, then the necessity of work is deeply painful,
and it seems to me to imply an evil state of society
wherever such a necessity generally exists. One's age
should be tranquil as one's childhood should be playful :
hard work at eithef extremity of human existence seems
to me out of place ; the morning and the evening should
be alike cool and peaceful ; at mid-day the sun may bum,
and men may labour mider it
COCCLXVJJL.
Damnum reparabile.
I am heartily sensible of your loss, which yet admits of
alleviation, not only from the common motives which
have been repeated every day for upwards of five
thousand years, but also from your own peculiar know-
ledge of the world and the variety of distresses which
occur in all ranks from the highest to the lowest : I may
add too from the peculiar times in which we live, which
seem to threaten still more Wretched and unhappy times
to come. Nor is it a small advantage that you have a
peculiar resource against distress from the gaiety of your
own temper. Such is the h3rpochondriac melancholy
complexion of us Islanders, that we seem made of butter,
every accident makes such a deep impression upon us ;
but those elastic spirits, which are your birthright, cause
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PartlV.l EPISTOLARY PASSAGES, 32^
the strokes of fortune to rebound without leaving a trace
behind them ; though, for a time, there is and will be a
gloom, which, I agree with your friends, is best dispelled
at the court and metropolis, amidst a variety of faces »ad
amusements.
cccciixvin.
Ne sutor ultra crepidam.
Sir, — I think I have been more congratulated on my
Egyptian appointment than on any other of the offices
which I have ever held ; the reason of this is that people
have supposed that I could terminate the long protracted
troubles in Egypt in a manner not inconsistent with the
dignity of the British nation. I hope that Heaven has
approved the appointment, and will continue to stand by
me when the time for action conies. One thing I have
no hesitation in saying, that I will try my best to give the
nation no cause to be disappointed in me. Do you, on
your part, believe only what I write to the Government
or yourself, and refuse to give countenance to unau-
thorised rumours by believing in them. It is a common
experience, but I have verified it in the present war, that
no one is so entirely superior to common report as not to
be influenced by it in his action. In every social gather-
ing, and— Heaven save the mark— at every dinner party,
there are gentlemen to be found, who, in their own
opinion, are capable of conducting an Egyptian campaign,
who know where the camp should be pitched, at what
time and by what route the country should be entered,
where the magazines should be located, what is the right
moment to commence action, and when to desist from
action. Nor do they merely lay down the law as to the
right course of action ; but if anything is done in a
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manner which does not accord with their Rat, they accuse
the general as if he were on his trial. All this is a great
source of difficulty to practical men. It is not given to
every one to be as unflinching and resolute in the face of
hostile criticism as Wellington, who deliberately pre-
ferred to have his power curtailed by the lightheadedness
of the people, to discharging his duties less well for
gaining a reputation. I am not one of those who think
that generals should not receive advice : on the contrary,
I think that the man who relies entirely upon his own
unaided judgment is a coxcomb rather than a wise man.
What then is my drift ? Advice should be tendered in
the first instance by practical men, who have had special
experience in military affairs; in the second place, by
such as are present on the spot, who know the ground
and the enemy, and are watching for the right moment,
who row in the same boat and share the same perils. If,
then, there is any one who is sure that he can advise me
to the public advantage in the war on which I am about
to enter, let him not refuse to help, but let him come out
with me to Egypt : I will place a steamer, a camel, and a
tent at his disposal, and will pay his expenses. If he is
afraid to do this, and prefers an armchair at his club to
service in the field, then, say I, let him not try to steer
the ship from the shore. There is enough gossip in
town ; let him confine his powers of talk to this area, and
rest assured that I shall be satisfied with the counsel
of military men,
CCCCliXIX.
Rest well earned,
I know not when I have been more delighted by any
letter, than by that which I lately received from you. It
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contains a picture of your present state which is truly a
cause for thankfulness, and, speaking afler the manner of
men, it is an intense gratification to my sense of justice,
as well as to my personal regard for you, to see a life of
hard and insufficiently paid labour well performed, now,
before its decline, rewarded with comparative rest and
with comfort. I rejoiced in the picture which you gave
of your house and fields and neighbourhood ; there was
a freshness and a quietness about it which always goes
very much to my heart, and which at times, if I indulged
the feeling, could half make me discontented with the
perpetual turmoil of my own life. I sometimes look at
the mountains which bound our valley, and think how
content I could be never to wander beyond them any
more, and to take rest in a place which I love so dearly.
But whilst my health is so entire, and I feel my spirits
still so youthful, I feel ashamed of the wish, and I trust
that I can sincerely rejoice in being engaged in so active
a life, and in having such constant intercourse with
others.
CCCCLXX.
Putting out to sea.
We are going to leave this place, if all be well, on
Monday; and I confess that it makes me rather sad to
see the preparations for our departure, for it is like going
out of a very quiet cove into a very rough sea ; and I am
every year approaching nearer to that time of life when
rest is more welcome than exertion. Yet, when I think
of what is at stake on that rough sea, I feel that I have
no right to lie in harbour idly; and indeed I do yearn
more than I can say to be able to render some service
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326 EPISTOLARY PASSAGES. [Part IV.
where service is so greatly needed. It is when I indulge
such wishes most keenly, and only then, that strong
political differences between my friends and myself are
really painful; because I feel that not only could we
not act together, but there would be no sympathy the
moment I were to express anything beyond a general
sense of anxiety and apprehension^ in which I suppose
all good men must share.
COCCIJCXI.
Party Enthusiasm.
You are now embracing the cause full of enthusiasm
and zeal, and this is very well ; how else could we run
out the race, unless we began with some little fire ? But
this will not last, and unless you are warned, you may
be offended and fall away. When you have lived longer
in this world and outlived the enthusiastic and pleasing
illusions of youth, you will find your love and pity for
the race increase tenfold, your admiration and attach-
ment to any particular party fall away altogether. You
will not find the royal cause perfect any more than any
other, nor those embarked in it free from mean and
sordid motives, though you think now that all of them
act from the noblest. This is the most important lesson
that a man can learn— that all men are really alike ; that
all creeds and opinions are nothing but the mere result
of chance and temperament; that no party is on the
whole better than another; that no creed does more
than shadow imperfectly forth some one side of truth ;
and it is only when you begin to see this that you can
feel that pity for mankind, that sympathy with its dis-
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appointments and follies, and its natural human hopes,
which have such a little time of growth, and such a sure
season of decay. Shorihoum.
occoLxxn.
An Apology.
My dear Walter, — I know that you are too reasonable
a man to expect anything like punctuality of correspond-
ence from a translator of Homer, especially from one
who is a doer also of many other things at the same
time ; for I labour hard not only to acquire a little fame
for myself, but to win it also for others, men of whom I
know nothing, not even their names, who send me their
poetry, that, by translating it out of prose into verse, I
may make it more like poetry than it was. Having heard
all this, you will feel yourself not only inclined to pardon
my long silence, but to pity me also for the cause of it.
You may, if you please, believe likewise, for it is true,
that I have a faculty of remembering my friends even
when I do not write to them, and of loving them not one
jot the less, though I leave them to starve for want of a
letter from me. And now, I think, you have an apology
both as to style, matter, and manner, altogether un-
exceptionable, jjr cwvpir.
COCCLXXIIL
A Letter of Sympathy.
I cannot let this night close without offering a few lines
of reply to your kind, sad letter just received. It truly
grieves me that you write in so desponding a style of
your health, but I trust that very great deduction must
be made on the score of morbid feeUng. I have known
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you at other times less apprehensive of the same com-
plaint. Any thoughts of your being a traveller at this
season I had, I may say, given up before; and in
truth, when I found your complaint so obstinate, my
wish was that you should consult your feelings and
nurse yourself. I am unwilling, however, to give up
I the hope so long cherished of seeing you here at some
time. And in spring, so far as it is right and lawful,
I trust we shall meet
CCCCLXXIV.
John Wilkes to H, C.
Paris, January ao.
But I am to await the event of these two trials ; and
Philips can never persuade me that some risk is not run.
I have in my own case experienced the fickleness of the
people. I was almost adored one week; the next,
neglected, abused, and despised. With all the fine
things said and wrote of me, have not the public, till
this moment, left me in the lurch, as to the expenses of
so great a variety of law-suits ? Can I trust, likewise, a
rascally Court, who bribe my own servants to steal out
of my house ? Which of the Opposition, likewise, can
call on me and expect my services? I hold no obliga-
tion to any of them, but to Lord Temple ; who is really
a superior being. It appears, then, that there is no call
of honour. I will now go on to the public cause, that
of every man — liberty. Is there then any one point
behind to be tried? I think not. The two important
decisions have secured for ever an Englishman's liberty
and property. They have grown out of my firmness,
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Part IV.] EPISTOLARY PASSAGES. 329
and the affair of the North Briton : but m this case neither
are we nor our posterity concerned whether John Wilkes,
or some one else, wrote and published the North Briton.
CCCCLXXV,
Literature or Politics F
But that a man before whom the two paths of literature
and politics lie open, and who might hope for eminence
in either, should choose politics, and quit literature, seems
to me madness. On the one side is health, leisure, peace
of mind, the search after truth, and all the enjoyments of
friendship and conversation. On the other side is almost
certain ruin to the constitution, constant labour, constant
anxiety. Every friendship which a man may have, be-
comes precarious as soon as he engages in politics. As
to abuse, men soon become callous to it, but the discipline
which makes them callous is very severe. And for what
is it that a man who might, if he chose, rise and lie down
at his own hour, engage in any study, enjoy any amuse-
ment, and visit any place, consents to make himself as
much a prisoner as if he were within the rules of the
Fleet ; to be tethered during eleven months of the year
within the circle of half a mile round Charing Cross ; to
sit or stand night after night for ten or twelve hours, in-
haling a noisome atmosphere, and listening to harangues
of which nine-tenths are far below the level of a leading
article in a newspaper ? Is it for fame ? Who would
compare the fame of Charles Townshend to that of
Hume? Who can look back on the life of Burke, and
not regret that the years which he passed in ruining
his health and temper by political exertions were not
passed in the composition of some great and durable
work? But these, as I have said, are meditations in a
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330 EPISTOLARY PASSAGES. [P*rt IV.
quiet garden, situated far beyond the contagious influ-
ence of English fisurtion. What I might feel if I again
saw Downing Street and Palace Yard, is another question.
I tell you sincerely my present feelings.
CCCCLXXVI.
From Columbus.
* I could have supported this evil fortune with less grief,'
Columbus wrote, * had my person alone been in jeopardy,
since I am a debtor for my life to the Supreme Power,
and have at other times been within a step of death. But
it was a cause of infinite sorrow and trouble to think that,
after having been illuminated with faith and certainty
to undertake this enterprise, after having victoriously
achieved it, and when on the point of convincing my
opponents, and securing to your highnesses avast increase
of dominion, the divine majesty should be pleased to
defeat all by my death. It would have been more sup-
portable, also, had I not been accompanied by others who
had been drawn on by my persuasions, and who in their
distress cursed not only the hour of their coming, but the
fear inspired by my words, which prevented their turning
back, as they had repeatedly determined. My grief was
doubled when I thought of my two sons, whom I had left
at school in Spain, destitute, in a strange land, without
any testimony of services rendered by their father, which
might have induced your highnesses to befriend theuL And
although I was comforted by faith that the Deity would
not permit a work of such exaltation, wrought through so
many troubles and contradictions, to remain imperfect,
yet I reflected on my own faults and failures, which
might with perfect justice deprive me of the glory that
was almost resting on my brow.*
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CCCCLXXVTL
John Shallow to Mr. Spectator.
Mr. Spectator,
The night before I left London I went to see a play
called the Humorous Lieutenant. Upon the rising of
the curtain I was very much surprised with the great
concert of cat-calls which was exhibited that evening, and
began to think with myself that I had made a mistake,
and gone to a music meeting instead of the playhouse.
It appeared indeed a little odd to me, to see so many
persons of quality, of both sexes, assembled together at a
kind of caterwauling ; for I cannot look upon that per-
formance to have been anything better, whatever the
musicians themselves might think of it. As I had no
acquaintance in the house to ask questions of, and was
forced to go out of town early the next morning, I could
not learn the secret of this matter. What I would there-
fore desire of you, is, to give me some account of this
strange instrument, which I found the company called a
cat-call ; and particularly to let me know whether it be a
piece of music lately come from Italy. For my own part,
to be free with you, I would rather hear an English fiddle:
though I durst not shew my dislike whilst I was in the
playhouse, it being my chance to sit the very next man
to one of the performers.
I am. Sir,
Your most affectionate friend and servant,
John Shallow, Esq.
Addison,
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33« EPISTOLARY PASSAGES. [Part IV.
ccccLxxvni,
To a Friend.
WESTOV,ApraS.
Your entertaining and pleasant letter, resembling in
that respect all that I receive from you, deserved a more
expeditious answer ; and should have had what it so well
deserved, had it not reached me at a time when, deeply
in debt to all my correspondents, I had letters to write
without number. Like 'autumnal leaves that strew the
brooks in Vallombrosa,' the unanswered farrago lay
before me. If I quote at all, you must expect me hence-
forth to quote none but Milton, since for a long time to
come I shall be occupied with him only.
I was much pleased with the extract you gave me from
your sister Eliza's letter ; she writes very elegantly, and
(if I might say it without seeming to flatter you) I should
say much in the manner of her brother. I rejoice that
you are so well with the learned Bishop of Sarum, and
well remember how he ferreted the vermin Lauder out of
all his hidings, when I was a boy at Westminster.
What letter of the loth of December is that which you
say you have not yet answered ? Consider, it is April
now, and I never remember anything that I write half so
long. But perhaps it relates to Calchas, for I do remem-
ber that you have not yet furnished me with the secret
history of him and his family, which I demanded from
you.
Adieu, Yours most sincerely,
W. C0WP£R«
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CCCCLXXIX.
RaleigWs Last Letter.
Most sorry I am (as God knows) that being thus sur-
prised by death, I can leave you no better estate. God is
my witness, I meant you all my office of wines, or that I
could have purchased by selling it ; half my stuff, and all
my jewels, but some one for the boy ; but God hath pre-
vented all my resolutions, even that great God that
worketh all in all ; but if you live free from want, care
for no more, for the rest is but vanity; love God, and
begin betimes to repose your trust in Him ; therein shall
you find true and lasting riches, and endless comfort.
For the rest, when you have travailed and wearied your
thoughts over all sorts of worldly cogitation, you shall but
sit down by sorrow in the end. . . . Remember your
poor child for his father's sake, who chose you and loved
you in his happiest time. Get those letters (if it be
possible), which I writ to the lords, wherein I sued for my
life. God is my witness, it was for you and your's that I
desired life ; but it is true that I disdain myself for
begging it, for know (dear wife) that your son is the son
of a true man, and one who in his own respect despiseth
death, and all his misshapen and ugly forms. I cannot
write much, God He knoweth how hardly I steal this
time while others sleep ; and it is also high time that I
should separate my thoughts from the world. Beg my
dead body, which living was denied thee, and either lay
it at Sherborne (if the land continue) or in Exeter church
by my father and mother ; I can say no more, time and
death call me away. sir W. Raleigh,
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334 EPISTOLARY PASSAGES. [Part IV.
CCCCLXXX.
Paris under the First Consul.
Nothing else (but ill health) should have detained me
so long at Paris, a place which in cold weadier I think
excessively disagreeable and peculiarly unwholesome.
In fine weather, when a stranger can visit the various
works of art which the tempest has assembled here from
every quarter of the globe, it is highly interesting ; and it
is encircled by so many delightful gardens, that one may
pass the summer here without feeling one's absence from
the country. Yet I have never seen a spot where I
should more grieve at fixing my residence* nor a nation
with which I should find it so difficult to coalesce. A
revolution does not seem to be favourable to the morals
of a people. In the upper classes I have seen nothing
but the most ardent pursuit afler sensual or frivolous
pleasures, and the most unqualified egotism, with a
devotion to the shrines of luxury and vanity unknown at
any former period. The lower ranks are chiefly marked
by a total want of probity, and an earnestness for the gain
of to-day, though purchased by the sacrifice of that char-
acter which might ensure them ten-fold advantage on the
morrow. You must not think me infected with national
prejudice. I speak from the narrow circle of my own
observation and that of my friends, and I do not include
the suffering parts of the nation, who have little inter-
course with strangers, and who form a society apart I
have been presented to Bonaparte and his wife, who
receive with great state, ceremony, and magnificence.
His manner is very good, but the expression of his coun-
tenance is not attractive. j^^rs. R. Trench.
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CCCCLXXXI.
Polished Plums.
I know that the ears of modem verse-writers are
delicate to an excess, and their readers are troubled with
the same squeamishness as themselves. So that if a line
do not run as smooth as quicksilver they are offended.
A critic of the present day serves a poem as a cook does
a dead turkey, when she fastens the legs of it to a post
and draws out all the sinews, for this we may thank
Pope ; but unless We could imitate him in the closeness
and compactness of his expression, as well as in the
smoothness of his numbers, we had better drop the
imitation, which serves no other purpose than to emas-
culate and weaken all we write. Give me a manly rough
line, with a deal of meaning in it, rather than a whole
poem full of musical periods, that have nothing but their
oily smoothness to recommend them.
I have said thus much, as I hinted in the beginning,
because I have just finished a much longer poem than
the last ; which our common friend will receive by the
same messenger that has the charge of this letter. In
that poem there are many lines which an ear so nice
as the gentleman's who made the above-mentioned
alteration would undoubtedly condemn ; and yet (if I may
be permitted to say it) they cannot be made smoother
without being the worse for it.
There is a roughness on a plum, which nobody that
understands fruit would rub off, though the plum would
be much more polished without it. Cowper,
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33^ EPISTOLARY PASSAGES. [Part IV.
CCCCLXXXII.
A coat of many colours.
Mt dear Randolph,
I must confess if s rather hard on you that afler your
wholesale slaughter of wild lions {sic) in S. Africa, you
should have made so little impression on your return
upon the tame cats. I mean, of course, y* constituents
at Paddington. On the other hand (pardon a little brag)
it's wonderful how popular IVe lately become with the
Tories. I wish you had heard my speech on the Local
Government Bill for Ireland the other night in the House.
'Queen and Constitution,' * the Emerald Isle,' *the Union
of hearts,' &c. &c. Rounds of applause followed my loyal
sentiments. We're on the eve of a dissolution. The
G. O. M. is, alas, as fresh as ever. Still I really felt a
bit of the old love for him when he harangued the other
night on ' Disestablishment of the Welsh and Scotch
Churches,' * One man one vote,' and * Reconstruction of
the House of Lords.* These were once my principles,
you know.
Are they still ? you will ask. Well, to tell you the truth
I hardly know myself.
Yours ever,
Joseph.
CCCCLXXXIII. ^^ ^'^'''''•
A Letter.
My dear Hunt, Florence, Nov. 33, 1819.
Why don't you write to us ? I was preparing to send
you something for your 'Indicator,' but I have been a
drone instead of a bee in this business, thinking that,
perhaps, as you did not acknowledge any of my late
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enclosures, it would not be welcome to you, whatever
I might send.
What a state England is in ! But you will never write
politics. I dont wonder; but I wish, then, that you
would write a paper in the ' Examiner ' on the actual
state of the country, and what, under all circumstances
of the conflicting passions and interests of men, we are
to expect. Not what we ought to expect, nor what, if so
and so were to happen, we might expect ;— but what, as
things arc, there is reason to believe will come ;— and
send it to me for my information. Every word a man
has to say is valuable to the public now ; and thus you
will at once gratify your friend, nay instruct, and either
exhilarate him or force him to be resigned, and awaken
the minds of the people.
I have no spirits to write what I do not know whether
you will care much about ; I know well that if I were in
great misery, poverty, &c., you would think of nothing
else but how to amuse and relieve me. You omit me if
I am prosperous.
I could laugh, if I found a joke, in order to put you in
good-humour with me after my scolding; in good-humour
enough to write to us. . . . Affectionate love to and from
alL This ought not only to be the Vale of a letter, but a
superscription over the gate of life.
Your sincere friend,
P. B. Shelley.
CCCCLXXXIV.
To the Master of Pembroke College.
Sm, Oetobtr^^ 1773.
Apprehensions of gout, about this season, forbid my
undertaking a journey to Cambridge with my son. t
z
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regret this more particularly, as it deprives me of an
occasion of being introduced to your personal accquaint-
ance, and that of the gentlemen of your society ; a loss,
I shall much wish to repair, at some other time. Mr.
Wilson, whose admirable instruction and affectionate
care have brought my son, early, to receive such further
advantages, as he cannot fail to find, under your eye,
will present him to you. He is of a tender age, and of
a health not yet firm enough to be indulged, to the full,
in the strong desire he has to accquire useful knowledge.
An ingenuous mind and docility of temper will, I know,
render him conformable to your discipline, in all points.
Too young for the irregularities of a man, I trust, he will
not, on the other hand, prove troublesome by the puerile
sallies of a boy. Such as he is, I am happy to place
him at Pembroke ; and I need not say, how much of his
parents' hearts goes along with him. I am, with great
esteem and regard, Sir, your most faithful and most
obedient humble servant,
Chatham.
CCCCLXXXV.
A Rearmed Character.
^^g' X5, 1758.
I have already given my landlady orders for an entire
reform in the state of my finances. I declaim against
hot suppers, drink less sugar in my tea, and check my
grate with brickbats. Instead of hanging my room with
pictures I intend to adorn it with maxims of frugality.
These will make pretty furniture enough, and wont be
a bit too expensive ; for I shall draw them all out with
my own hands, and my landlady's daughter shall frame
them with the parings of my black waistcoat. Each
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maxim is to be inscribed on a sheet of clear paper, and
wrote with my best pen ; of which the following will
serve as a specimen. ' Look sharp ' ; ' Mind the main
chance * ; * Money is money now' ; ' If you have a thousand
pound, you can put your hands by your sides and say you
are worth a thousand pounds every day of the year * ;
' Take a farthing from an hundred pound, and it will be
an hundred pound no longer.' Thus, whichever way I
turn my eyes, they are sure to meet one of those friendly
monitors ; and as we are told of an actor who hung his
room round with looking-glasses to correct the defects of
his person, my apartment shall be furnished in a peculiar
manner to correct the errors of my mind.
Goldsmiih.
CCCCLXXXVI.
Who wrote Ossian ?
Mr. James Macpherson,
I received your foolish and impudent letter. Any vio-
lence offered me I shall do my best to repel ; and what
I cannot do for myself, the law shall do for me. I hope
I shall never be deterred from detecting what I think a
cheat, by the menaces of a ruffian.
What would you have me retract? I thought your
book an imposture ; I think it an imposture still. In this
opinion I have given my reasons to the publick, which I
here dare you to refute. Your rage I defy. Your abilities,
since your Homer, are not so formidable ; and what I
hear of your morals inclines me to pay regard not to what
you shall say, but to what you shall prove. You may
print this if you will
Sam. Johnson.
za
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340 EPISTOLARY PASSAGES. [Part IV.
ccccLxxxvn.
A New Householder.
I shaU exult and triumph to you a little that I have now
at last, being turned of forty, to my own honour, to that
of learning, and to that of the present age, arrived at the
dignity of being a householder 1 About seven months
ago I got a house of my own and completed a regular
family ; consisting of a head, viz. myself, and two inferior
members, a maid and a cat My sister has since joined
me, and keeps me company. With frugality I can reach,
I find, cleanliness, warmth, light, plenty, and contentment
What would you have more ? Independence ? I have it
in a supreme degree. Honour? That is not altogether
wanting. Grace ? That will come in time. A wife ? That
is none of the indispensable requisites of life. Books ?
That IS one of them, and I have more than I can use.
In short I cannot find any blessing of consequence which
I am not possessed of in a greater or less degree : and
without any great effort of philosophy I may be easy and
satisfied. ff^^^
ccccLxxxvin.
To a Noble Lord.
I have, through life, been willing to give everything to
others ; and to reserve nothing for myself, but the inward
conscience, that I had omitted no pains to discover, to
animate, to discipline, to direct the abilities of the country
for its service, and to place them in the best light to im-
prove their age, or to adorn it. This conscience I have.
I have never suppressed any man ; never checked him
for a moment in his course, by any jealousy, or by any
policy. I was always ready, to the height of my means.
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4
Part IV.] EPISTOLARY PASSAGES. 341
and they were always infinitely below my desires, to
forward those abilities which overpowered my own. In
that period of difficulty and danger, more especially, I
consulted, and sincerely co-operated with, men of all
parties, who seemed disposed to the same ends, or to any
main part of them. Nothing to prevent disorder was
omitted : when it appeared, nothing to subdue it was left
uncounselled, nor unexecuted, as far as I could prevail.
At the time I speak of, and having a momentary lead, so
aided and so encouraged, and as a feeble instrument in a
mighty hand— I do not say I saved my country; I am
sure I did my country important service. Burkt,
CCCCLXXXIX.
Letter to Bonstetten.
I must not close my letter without giving you one
principal event of my history; which was that, in the
course of my late tour, I set out one morning before five
o'clock, the moon shining through a dark and misty
autumnal air, and got to the sea-coast time enough to be
at the sun's levee. I saw the clouds and dark vapours
open gradually to right and left, rolling over one another
in great smol^ wreaths, and the tide, as it flowed gently
in upon the sands, first whitening, then slightly tinged
with gold and blue ; and all at once a little line of in-
sufferable brightness that, before I can write these five
words, was grown to half an orb, and now to a whole
one, too glorious to be distinctly seen. It is very odd it
makes no figure on paper; yet I shall remember it as
long as the sun, or at least as I endure. I wonder
whether anybody ever saw it before ; I hardly believe it
T, Gray.
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34a EPISTOLARY PASSAGES. [Part IV.
ccccxo.
To Mr. Spectator.
Mr. Spectator,
Now, Sir, the thing is this ; Mr. Shapely is the prettiest
gentleman about town. He is very tall, but not too tall
neither. He dances like an angeL His mouth is made
I do not know how, but it is the prettiest that I ever
saw in my life. He is always laughing, for he has an
infinite deal of wit. If yoii did but see how he rolls his
stockings 1 He has a thousand pretty fancies, and I am
sure, if you saw him, you would like him. He is a very
good scholar, and can talk Latin as fast as English. I
wish you could but see him dance. Now you must under-
stand poor Mr. Shapely has no estate ; but how can he
help that, you know ? and yet my friends are so unreason-
able as to be always teasing me about him, because he has
no estate ; but I am sure he has that that is better than an
estate ; for he is a good-natured, ingenious, modest, civil,
tall, well-bred, handsome, man ; and I am obliged to him
for his civilities ever since I saw him. I forgot to tell you
that he has black eyes, and looks upon me now and then
as if he had tears in them. And yet my friends are so
unreasonable, that they would have me be uncivil to
him. I have a good position which they cannot hinder
me of, and I shall be fourteen on the 29th day of August
next, and am therefore willing to settle in the world as
soon as I can, and so is Mr. Shapely. But everybody I
advise with here is poor Mr. Shapely's enemy. I desire,
therefore, you will give me your advice, for I know
you are a wise man ; and if you advise me well, I am
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Part IV.] EPISTOLARY PASSAGES. 343
resolved to follow it. I heartily wish you could see him
dance, and am,
Sir,
Your most humble servant,
B D
P.S.— He loves your Spectators mightily.
Spectator,
CCCCXCI,
A Family Letter,
Your two letters, my dear John, were very acceptable,
and it gives me great pleasure to find your situation so
agreeable, with a prospect also of its being so advan-
tageous with respect to your improvement. I miss you
exceedingly, but the reflection and the hope that you will
profit by it reconciles me to the separation : and you may
be assured I am much more happy with such prospects
in view, than I should be if you were with me and with-
out them. But, my dear John, mental advantages are not
all that are to be considered : you should also have
regard to your health, for without health there can be no
enjoyment Do not neglect to pay proper attention to
that, and spare nothing that will continue to preserve it ;
and if anything should at any time ail you, do not neglect
to attend to it in time. It certainly would be my wish to
have me with you, if your improvement would be pro-
moted by it ; but when that cannot be, I must and do
endeavour to reconcile myself to the separation with
cheerfulness, and I am the better enabled to do this when
I remember that you have, in addition to the other
advantages of your situation, the (I may say) maternal
care and kindness of the worthy Mrs. Knox. Indeed, I
feel great regard for her on account of her attention to
you, and wish with you that her situation was more
suited to her merits.
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344 EPISTOLAR Y PASSAGES. [Part IV.
CCCCXCII.
A Remarkable Woman.
On the 24th of this month passed away a woman
remarkable both for herself and her associations . . . She
was a woman of really rare gifts, though, as with her
husband, these did not carry her into the light of public
fame. Her memory was exact; her knowledge of
Scottish literature well-nigh inexhaustible. She had a
bright, keen humour of her own, and could turn out
epigrams and quatrains with as much facility as smart-
ness. In her youth she sang Scottish songs with great
sweetness and spirit, in her maturer age she was an
inimitable story-teller, and her fund of anecdote and
quotation was as a cruse of oil that never failed. No one
enjoyed a good story more than she, and no one passed
it on with more gusto. In her private life she was famous
for her friendships and her generosities. Staunch,
hospitable, sincere, she gathered round her a circle of
admirers to whom she never proved either false or cold.
She was the trusted confidant of both young and old,
and no one who went to her for sympathy was dis-
appointed, nor was her counsel ever other than that of
the highest morality and truest practical wisdom. After
an illness of over ten months . . . she peacefully slept
unto death, and her friends, who are legion, mourn her
as a unique figure gone from their world— one impossible
to replace for wit, humour, sympathy and good judgment,
combined with boundless hospitality and strong personal
affection. ^ X,. Lushrngtm.
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INDEX TO SELECTED PASSAGES.
1/0. oJExercisi*
Firtt Words.
XCVIL .
A certain king, while walking ,
CIV.
A Chinese emperor was .
XXV. .
A countryman once .
XLVIII. .
A dog, that was kept
A follower of Pythagoras .
L.
XXXV. .
A Gascon officer
CIX.
A great part of the voyage
CCCCVIII.
A great writer is the friend
cxxx. .
A Jesuit, who had been •
CCXXXVIII. .
A late very pious but
CXCV. .
A letter which a Roman .
XL.
A Liberal candidate .
LXVI. .
A person who had •
XXI. .
A poor Irishman
CXCIX. .
A question was started
A Roman slave was .
XXXII. .
CCCLXXL
A second property of the .
A warm concern for the .
CCCIII. .
CLXXX..
About twenty years before .
V.
After having ravaged Italy
CXLIII. .
After Hieronymus .
CCXX. .
After his departure . •
CXCVI. .
After reading I entered •
CXII. .
After routing the Romans •
CXXIV. .
After subduing Africa
LV»
After the execution of Sabinus
ecu. .
After the mutual and repeated
cv.
After the Romans had nearly
XXIII. .
Alexander demanded
XLI.
Alexander, in the three hundred
CCCVI. .
Alexander rose early
55
57
n
a7
18
61
878
146
"4
ai
8«
II
XI6
16
^t
3
81
^\^
02
69
118
58
la
ai
198
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346 INDEX TO SELECTED PASSAGES.
N0, ffBxtreiu.
First Words.
Pagis.
CXUX. .
Alexander, the son of Philip .
. 84
CUV. .
All thonght of prosecuting
All we see^ hear, and toudi
88
CCCLXV.
: \^
CCLXV. .
Among the ancient Romans
CCCXCIX.
Among the different kinds
. 370
XLIX. .
Among the most important . •
36
CCCXXXIII. .
Amongst too many mstances .
An Englishman who
. 318
XXX. • •
15
CCCCIII.
And as to Rebellion • . • •
. 373
CCCCXLIII. .
And now, gentlemen, on this .
And now the Protector's foot .
. 304
CLXVII. .
95
CCCCXXVIII. .
And, sir, if he who now .
• 293
CCCLXVII. .
And this necessity ....
Another of the kmg's chief men .
• 344
CCIX. .
CLXVIII.
Any one comparing the present .
CLVI. .
Any one, therefore, who undertakes .
• 89
CCCCXIII.
As a nation, Athens
. 382
CCLVII. .
As early as the time ....
. 161
CLVIII. .
As he was carried to the senate •
90
LX.
As King Numa one morning • . ,
3a
ccxux.
As soon as the approach . • . .
154
CLXXVIII.
As soon as we got through • • .
103
cxxxv.
As Trajan was once setting out .
75
CCCVII. .
As we familiarise ourselves
. 199
XXIV. .
At a banquet, when • • . • <
13
XXIX. .
At last the Greeks
15
VI.
At six o'clock the enemy*8 fleet . •
4
CCXXIV.
At such times, society
135
CCCXI. .
At the same time with all
303
XXXVIII.
At the time of the . • . .
19
LXXXV..
Brebeuf, when young •
. 46
CCCCXLIV. .
But again let me ask what
305
CCCXLIII.
But among all the arts • • • «
335
LXXI. .
But an opposite course was • • ,
39
CLXXXII.
But, be this as it may • • •
. 104
CCXXII.
But, before we acquaint • • • «
134
CCCLXVIII. .
But further questions arise . . • «
• 345
CLXXIII.
But, gentlemen, though the summer . «
99
CXCVII.
But her spirit was invincible . • ,
"5
CCCCLXXIV. .
But I am to await the event . . .
338
CCCCXLVII. .
But if I profess all this
. 307
CCCCII. .
But in the great typical . . • ,
373
CCCCLXXV. .
But that a man before whom .
339
CCCCLIV.
Bat that which makes me .
313
CCCXXIX.
But the hopes and fears . • • .
315
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INDEX TO SELECTED PASSAGES. 347
N0, o/Extftiu,
First Wordt,
Pagg*
CCXXIII.
But the prospect at home .
: \U
CCCXVI.
But their hardships • . • .
XLIV. .
But they were not contented
n
CCCCXXXVIII.
But who g^ave Robespierre •
► 300
XIX.
But wise men appear . • • <
» 10
CCXLII .
By his skill in astronomy . • •
. 149
XCI. .
By many arguments ....
50
CCCCXII.
By what has been said . • •
. aSi
LXXXIX.
Caesar was in his chair
49
LXXIII. .
Cato was unfortunate enough * .
40
XX.
Charles V. used to say .
II
CCLXVL
Cicero, in order to accomplish .
169
CXXII. •
Cleardius, tyrant of Heradea .
68
XLVII. .
Congreve, the £nglish dramatist .
H
CXIII. .
Coriolanns; having left Rome . .
63
CCXCIII.
Damley's external accomplishments .
189
LXXXVI.
Day dawned ; the main army .
. 47
CCCCUX.
Dear Brother,— I should have .
• 3^7
CXIV. .
Decius, having resolved . • •
Demetrius had taken the city .
. 63
III.
3
ccccxv.
Detesting the corrupt • • . ,
a84
CCXXXIV.
Disappointed at length
143
ccccx. .
D. Pedro. The lady Beatrice .
a8o
CCCCXXXIII. .
Does a design against . • . «
296
CCCCXLVIII. .
Driven from the accusation •
308
CCLXXXVIIL .
Dryden began to write . . . ,
186
cxxv. .
Dundee was obliged
70
CI.
During the war between . . . ,
56
CCCCXXXII. .
Even Uien and there . • • • ,
395
CCCCLVIII. .
Even your expostulations . • • .
316
CCLXXVII. ,
Far as the greatness of his genius . 1
178
XXVIIL .
For nine years«and more . . . «
14
c.
For what are the Alps . • . ,
55
CXLII. .
Frederick the Great
80
CCCLXII.
Frenchmen, brought to the . . ,
340
CLI.
From farthest Spain
86
LXXVII.
From his ship Caesar . . . ,
From the hill on which • . . ,
4a
CCXLV. ,
> 151
CCCCXXXI. •
Gentlemen, it is a most . • • .
1^
CI.XXI. .
Gradually, after so many . • . ,
Had it pleased God to . . . .
CCCCLV.
'\t
CII.
Hannibal marched from Spain .
CXXVI. .
Harold hastened by quick .
70
CL.
Having advanced thus far .
85
cm. •
Having finished the German • .
57
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348 INDEX TO SELECTED PASSAGES.
CXLIV. .
CCXXVII.
CCXCIX.
CCCIV. .
CCXCIL .
CLXXVII.
cccx. • •
CCUI. .
CCXCVII, •
CLXXXVL
CCXCIV.
CCLXXIX.
CCCCXUL •
CCLV. .
CCXIX. .
CCLXXXIII. •
CXXIII. •
CCXVII. .
CCCLXXII. .
CCCLXXVL .
CCCCXXVII. .
CCCCLXVII. .
LXIII. .
COCCXXIV. .
CCCIX. .
CCCCXXIX. •
CCCCXIX.
CCCCLXXIIL •
CCCCLXXVI. .
CCCCLXVI. .
CCCCXXX.
CCCCLXXXV. .
CCCCXVIIL .
CCCCXXVI. .
cccc. ,
CCCXXXI.
CCCLI. .
ccccv. .
CCCCLXXXVIII.
CCCLXXXV. .
CCCCLXIX. •
CCCCLXXXI. .
cccxcv.
CCLX. .
CCCCLXXXIX.
riniW^fd;
ph^
He demnded into the Fonun . . . 8i
He felt that it woald be .
• XS7
He bad a cotirage •
. I9S
He had that general .
► 197
He is gone, my friend
. i88
He issoed from the palace.
He joined to the noblest .
lOl
• aoa
He resolved in the gloomy
. 157
He was a man of personage
. 19a
He was in the Highlands •
106
He was prononnc^ gnilty
He was rash, bat with
. 190
179
Hence that unexampled .
. 303
Here, therefore, we aie .
160
Hippolytns issued front .
131
His countenance nerer had
18a
His inflnence orer his n^en
69
His success in this scheme
130
History, again, tells us
. S49
How much soever men differ
asa
a9a
I am heartily sensible
3aa
I am in great hopes • . ,
S4
I am not unaware •
«90
I am, or rather was •
aoT
I am sensible that our happinesi
393
I call that mind free .
a87
I cannot let this night dose
337
I could have supported •
I covet rest neiUier for my friend
330
Is \
3^3
I defy the noble lord.
394
I have already given my •
I have but one uunp . •
338
a86
I have great hopes •
a9X
1 have now gone through *
a7i
I have often observed
ai7
I have often thought upon death
a3a
I have often wish^ that •
a75
I have, through life, been .
340
I heard a very warm debate
359
I know not when I have been ,
334
I know that the cars .
335
I know very well that many
567
1 mourn for Mr. Lincoln .
164
I must not close my letter .
34*
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INDEX TO SELECTED PASSAGES. 349
K§, ^Exercise
First U^ffrds.
P-srr.
CCCLIII.
I often apply this rule
. 333
CCCLXX.
I often consider mankind .
. 347
CCCXV. .
I say, then, that the hardships •
206
CCCLIX.
I see, cries my friend.
' ^38
CCXIV. .
I set boldly forward . , . . .
ia8
CCCCLXXXVII
I shall exult and triumph .
. 340
XVIII. .
I shall give you another .
10
CCCCXXXVI.
If I thought that our power
»99
CCCXXVII.
If it be true that the
ai4
CXCIV. .
If the ardour, never great . . . .
"3
CCLXXXVII. ,
If the character of men . . . ,
185
CCLIV. .
If we annihilate ....
. 159
XXXI. .
Imperator, milites hortatus
16
CCCLXVI.
. In a word, from the time .
844
CCIII. .
In far different plight
119
CLXXV. .
In legal procedure ....
100
CCLXVIII.
In most cases where ....
. 170
CCCLXXIII.
In one generation ....
950
CCCLXXXIII.
In order to which great end
In such a time as this . • . .
. 358
CCX. .
134
CCLXXXIV. ,
Instead of a monarch . • . .
183
CXXXIV.
In the course of a war • • . .
75
CXXXII.
In the dead of night
74
CCLXXVI.
. In the great lottery
, In the mvasion of France .
177
CCXLI. .
148
CCCCLXII.
In the various objects • • . .
519
LIII.
In the winter season • • • . .
38
LXXXIV.
In this almost hopeless danger .
^5
CCCCXLV.
In this crisis I must hold .
306
ccxxv. .
. In this embarrassing situation •
136
CCLIII. .
, Into the heart of this
158
XXXVI. ,
It chanced that Persephone
18
CCCLXXVII.
It is a good rule • • • •
• «§3
ccccxx.
» It is a truth, Mr. Speaker .
387
CCCXCI.
It is by means of familiar . • . .
a
CCCCVI.
It is common to hear remarks .
CCCXLVII.
It is constantly said • . • •
339
ccc.
, It is creditable to Charles's temper .
. 194
CCCL. .
. It is difficult to think. . . • .
331
CCCLIV.
It is noble to be capable • . • <
934
CCXXI. .
It is not the purpose
► 133
ccccLxy.
It is quite high time
331
XVI. .
It is related in Tacitus
9
XUI. .
It is related of Justice Holt
93
xcv. .
It is related that the Romans . •
. $2
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350 INDEX TO SELECTED PASSAGES.
N0, ^ExtrcUi, Firti Wordu
CXXVilI. It is Mid that Dionysint .
XIV. . . It is said that the Emperor
CCCXXVI. . It is scarcely possible
CCCXLV. • It is the carse of our species
ccccxziIT. • It is trae, my lords .
CCCCiv. . It may often happen .
CCCXL. . . It might very well be thought
CCCLXXVIII. . It was death, which .
cxyii. . . It was during the reign
CCLXIII. . It was in 179a that Pitt .
CCXLIV, • It was now broad day
CLXIV. . . It was reported afterwards
ccux. . It was scarcely possible
cccxxxxii. . It was tme then, it is
CCXL. . • Its stem is sometimes
Lil. . . King Poms, in a battle
cccxcviii. . Knowing within myself .
cxci. . . La Flenr offered him money
ccccxxxv. . Laws must not only be made
CCCLXI. Let us take for granted
LXXVI. . . Ligarius, a Roman .
CCLXXVllI. . Literature was a neutral •
ccxi. . . Looking back upon the troubles
cxxxi. . • Lycurgus, the founder
II. . • Lycurgus was the wisest .
CLXXXV. Manners and institutions .
ccxxvi. . Many politicians of our time
ccxxxvil. . Meantime a flag of truce .
ccxvi. . . Meantime the tide was rising
cxxi. . . Meanwhile Duke William.
CLXX. . . Medicine has been defined .
cccxxxvii. . Men are apt enough .
cccxxiii. « Men do always, but not always ,
CCCCXLI. . Momus having thus .
CCCCLXXix. . Most sorry I am
CCCCLXXXVI. Mr. James Macpherson
Lxxxi. . . Mr. Ogilvie was unlucky .
CCCCXC. . Mr. Spectetor, Now, Sir, the thing
CCCCLXXVII. . Mr. Spectator, The night before
CCCCLVI. , My dear friend, — I received .
CCCCLXXXIII. My dear Hunt .
cccCLXXXii. . My dear Randolph .
CCCCLX. . My dear Sister, — I am in high
CCCCLXXII. . My dear Walter
ccccui. . My Lords, I should be .
«I3
227
289
a74
23$
353
166
163
38
869
no
398
340
178
73
2
106
136
145
139
67
97
331
311
303
333
339
44
34a
331
315
33$
33^
317
337
313
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INDEX TO SELECTED PASSAGES. 351
II0, ^Extrctse,
CCXV. .
CCLXVII.
CLXXXVIII. .
CCXXXVI.
CXLV. ,
CCCCLXI.
CCCCXLIX. .
CCCCXXI.
CCXLIII.
CCCLX. .
CCCCLXXX. .
CCCXIII.
CCCLXXXVII.
CLXXVI.
CVII. .
LXVIII. •
CCLXXX.
CCXCV. .
XLVI. .
CCCCXl.
XIII. .
CCCCXVII. .
XXXIV. .
CLXXIV.
CCVIII. •
CXXXIII.
CCL. • •
CLII. .
CCCCXCII.
CCLXXIII.
XCIII. .
LVIII. .
CCCXLII.
CCCXXVIII. .
XXVII. •
CCI.
CCCCL. . •
CCXCVIII.
CCCCLIII. •
CCLVIII.
VIII. • •
LXX. .
CCXLVI.
CCCV. .
CLX. .
First Wonls.
Page.
Nature had destined Pompeias . • • ia8
Neither do I say this .
. 169
Nero's determination .
. 108
Next day in the assembly .
: r.
Night was now coming on . •
No man carries further
318
No one has deplored . . . ,
« No, sir/ replied I, * I am for liberty
• l^
No sooner was the king alone .
> 149
Not to lose ourselves .
. 338
Nothing else (but ill health) .
. 334
Nothing in the political .
. ao4
Now if Nature should intermit .
. a6i
Now their separate characters •
lOI
Now there were two towns
59
Now they knew at Rome .
37
Of his genius there is little.
180
Of the outward life •
. 191
Of this bird Sophia ....
24
Of this final baseness .
a8o
Of those that fought against . ,
7
Officers, non-commissioned o£Qcers
385
Old age, which renders .
17
On receiving the intelligence
99
On the morning the Duke .
On the night after the
. 123
74
On the promontory of Misenus .
On the Rhine had Napoleon
. 155
86
On the a4th of this month .
• 344
On the whole comparison •
174
One of the most pointed .
51
One of the officers of Artaxerxes
31
One of the strongest incitements.
aa4
One very common . •
. ai4
Only once in the year.
14
Our family had now made.
118
Our shame stalks abroad •
310
Our Trimmer, therefore .
193
Ours is not a destructive .
31a
Over and above the raging
. i6a
Panic reigned . . .
5
Paph-ius was encamped .
38
Perhaps there is no more .
15a
Perhaps^ while no preacher
197
Pitt came in to conduct
91
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' 35« iNDEX TO SELECTED PASSAGES.
N0. ^Extrcite.
PirH Words. P^it.
CLXI. .
Pitt cemsed to breathe • . • . 9a
LXXV. •
Pontius placed two spears .
41
LIT.
Pope Siztns V. was so poor
ao
LXVII. .
Pyrrhos was unwilling
36
LXXXII.
Queen Elisabeth loved .
45
VIL
Regains was conquered by.
4
LXXXVIII. .
Rome was at war
48
XI.
Samnites, concilio Etmscorum «
6
CCIV. .
Sdpio having assembled .
lao
CCCCI. .
Set speeches, says Voltaire
a7a
CCLXXXV. .
Shakespeare was the man .
She, admiring to hear
. 184
CLXXXIII. .
105
CCCXXXIX. .
Silence is a privilege .
. aaa
CCCCLXXXIV.
Sir, — Apprehensions of gout
Sir, does he suppose it
337
ccccxxv. .
. api
LXXIL .
Sir Isaac Newton
39
CCCCLXVIII. .
Sir,~I thmk I have been .
* 333
CCCCXXXIX. .
Sir, I think you must perceive •
301
CCCLXXIV. .
Society talks, by preference
So completely had religious
Some of the painters tell me
no
CLV. .
88
CLXXXIX. .
108
CCXLVII.
Some time after, the people
153
CXCVIII.
Strange and delusive .
116
CCLXX. .
Such, amidst the superhuman
. 17a
CCXVIII.
Such a step was too bold .
131
CCCXII. .
Such situations bewilder •
. ao3
CCLXXIV.
Such will be the impotent .
* 175
CCCXVII.
Suppose, now, the day
Take of deities, male and ,
ao7
OCCXCIV.
. a66
CCLXIV.
That he might work on these
. 167
CCCXLIV.
That system of morality •
. aa6
CCCXXXVI. •
The ambassador being present ,
aap
CCLXXI.
The austere frugality .
. 173
CCCXCVL
The author composed them
The battle raged with great fur)
. a67
CXLI. . •
79
CCXXXIIL .
The beginning of the
• 143
CCXXXIX.
The Blacks ascend the trees
. 147
CCCXLVI.
The Brahnuns assert ,
. aa8
CCXXIX.
The burgomasters were •
. 139
CLXXIL .
The corpse was borne
. 98
CCLXI. .
The details of the childhood
. 164
LIX.
The Dukes of Ossuna
3a
CLXV. .
The duke was indeed
94
, CXLVIII.
The Emperor Caracalla .
: H
CXVIII. .
The Emperor Trajan
I
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INDEX TO SELECTED PASSAGES. 353
Nc, ffExerctt*.
First Wprdu Prngt,
CCCLV.
The end of a man's life • . • • 335
CCCXXIV.
The Epicurean school professes
aia
CCXXXV.
The exultation at Athens .
» M3
XCVIII. .
The following year, Manilas
54
XT.III. •
The Frogs, living an easy free 1
ife
aa
IV. - .
The Gaids were now besieging
3
LXIV. .
The greatest of men
The highest gratification .
35
CCCLVII.
336
CCCCXVI.
The highest orders in England
. a84
CLVII. .
The house was full .
. 89
CXXXVII.
The king had gone to an .
77
CCCLXIV.
The landed men are the .
a4a
CCCCXLVI. .
The last cause of this
306
XXXIII. .
The meeting of Senate
17
ccxc. .
The memory of Pitt .
. 187
CCCCLXIV. .
The mention of this man .
320
CCCXXII.
The mere philosopher
aio
CCCII. .
The modesty which made him
195
cxx. .
The naval batUe between .
67
X. .
The news reached Rome .
g
CCCXVIII.
The old proverb holds true
. ao8
ex.
The orator Domitius.
61
CXLVL .
The people mourned bitterly
83
CCLI. .
The pirates called themselves
i5<5
XV.
The poet iEschylus .
The Pompeians were too much
8
CXCIII. .
III
LXIX. .
The Prince de Cond^
► 38
CXL. .
The quinquereme was not .
The Rhodians had a story
79
CCCCXL.
30a
CCXIII. .
The road, all down the long
137
cxv. .
The Romans wanted to treat
64
CVIII. .
The Romans were reluctant
60
CLXVi. .
The safety of his soldiers . .
95
CCCLXXXI. .
The same weakness .
. 356
XXII. .
The sceptics, who doubt •
13
CXLVII. .
The Scythian princes
. 83
CCCLXXXIV. .
The sea deserved to be .
359
CLXXXIV.
The Senate believed .
105
CCCXXXII. .
The soul after death takes .
317
CCLXIX.
The soundest and healthiest
171
XXXIX. .
The story runs that once .
30
CCCCIX.
The temper, therefore, by whicb
379
ccxxx.
The tidings of despair
139
CCVII. .
The town is most pleasantly
133
CCCLXIII.
The town of L. represented
341
A a
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354 INDEX TO SELECTED PASSAGES.
NcifKxmim.
Firti ir^rdt.
i>-ir«.
XLV. .
The town of Perugia • • . ,
34
LXI.
The two danghteis of Servint .
3S
CCLXXXVI. .
The imhappy Louis XVI. .
. 184
CCVI. .
The vigilant Peter the Headstrong .
131
CLXXXVII. .
The yiitue of Marcus Aurelius .
107
CCCCVIL
The whole course of things
377
CXCTI. .
The winter's day was not . • •
no
CCCXXV.
The wi8e man alone is free
ai2
ca
The worst kind of government .
117
CCXXVIII. .
Their first complaints were
Then Hannibal crossed the
138
IX.
5
XCIV. .
Then the council decided . . . .
51
CXI.
Then the master of the people .
6a
CCXXXL
Then they lightly avoided
. 140
CCCLII. .
There are two theories
- ^33
CCCXXXVIII. .
There are wonders in true . . . ,
323
CCCLXXV. .
There be those who confound •
. 25T
CCCLXXXIX. .
There is a society of men .
There is a sort of delight .
. 2§3
CCCXIX.
ao8
CCCXIV.
There is no person in that age .
There is nothing that more
205
CCCLXXXVL .
. 265
I. .
There once lived in the city
I
CLXXIX.
There was an apartment . . . .
102
CCLXXXIX. .
There was one contemporary .
186
CXVI. .
Thereupon the consul . . . ,
65
CCCCXIV.
These are maxims so old .
« 3S3
CLIII. .
These diversities in the form .
87
CCXLVIII.
These northern people
. 153
CCCLXXIX.
These screech-owls seem .
: lit
CCCLXIX.
They knew nothing of God
CCLVI. .
This calls to my mind
. 160
CCCCXXII. ,
This government holds . • •
. 389
LXII. .
This made Lucius Tarquin
33
LXXIX. .
This tardy gratitude
. .n
CCCLXXXVIII.
This writer went through .
CLXIII. .
Those citizens who first ,
93
CCCXXI.
Thou sayest, Men cannot . . • ,
. 209
CCCI. .
Though her own security .
. 195
cccxxx.
Though it is scarcely possible .
316
CCXCVI. •
Through the mist of calumny .
193
cccxc.
Thus a cultivated woman .
. 263
CCCTIII.
Thus ended the career of Sir John Moore
200
CCCXCVII. .
Time mellows ideas ....
. 268
LXV.
Titus Manlius was the son.
35
CCCLXXX.
To be absolute master
^55
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INDEX TO SELECTED PASSAGES. 355
N0.0fExtrtU€.
First Wordt,
Fag€.
LXXXIII.
To such language as this . • • .
45
CCCCU.
To the plaudits of British . . . ,
3"
CCLXXXI. .
To whatever age they may belong •
180
XII.
TumTribuni
7
LXXVIII.
Turgot came one day
43
CCCCXXXVII. .
Two centuries ago . • • •
299
LVIL .
Two friends were travelling
31
LXXIV. .
Two years later the two consuls .
40
CCCLVI.
Undoubtedly we ou£ht
Violent dissensions breaking
. 236
CVI. •
59
CCXCI. .
Voltaire's wits came to their
188
XXVL .
Vossius tells the following .
13
CXXXVIII, .
Wallenstein had no suspicion •
77
cux. .
Waving his dagger . . • • ^
91
CCLXXV.
We all feel that our old . • .
. 176
CCCCLXX. .
We are going to leave • .
. 335
CXXXVI.
We are told that Croesus •
. 76
ccccLvn. •
We have shared together • • • .
• 315
CCCXCII.
We must take men . • • •
. 264
CCCXXXIV. .
Were it possible for yon •
219
cccxcni. .
What do we look for.
► 365
CCLXIL .
What spectacle can be
What the religion of Greece .
. 165
CCLXXII.
• 174
LVI.
When a boar of huge size .
30
CXIX. .
When Alexander the Great
. 66
CXXVIL.
When Dio had seized . .
71
XXXVH.
When Dr. Franklm . . • .
19
CXXIX. .
When Francis L of France •
. 72
XCIX. •
When Hannibal had arrived •
54
CCCXLI.
When I travelled I took . . .
. 324
LXXXVII.
When Louis the XII. . . .
47
CCCLVIIL
When passion, whether in • • •
When Socrates was buildhig .
• 337
CCCXLIX.
. 330
XCVI. .
When the battle had come
53
cxa •
When the masses at Athens
. 109
CCXXXII.
When the remnant • • • .
141
xc.
When Veil fell
49
LXXX, .
When Virgmia died ....
44
CLXII. .
When we contemplate . . •
92
CLXIX. .
Whence it happens I know
.
ccv. .
Where was there ever such
131
LI.
While Athens was governed • •
a7
XCII. .
While the Romans were besieging .
50
CLXXXI.
Whosoever makes war
. 103
CCCXX. .
Why should we ever . • . •
. 309
A a 2
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Google
356 INDEX TO SELECTED PASSAGES.
N0.^Ex€mu.
Firti Words, Pag*.
CCCXLVIII. .
Will you go and gossip . • • • 339
XVIL .
Wise men often appear
9
CCCXXXV. .
With ercry power
With these discourses
333
CCXU. .
136
Wordsworth says that . .
78
CCLXXXII. .
Yet the secret of his power.
. iSi
CCCCLXIII. .
Yon are as yet too young .
319
CCCCLXXI. .
You are now embracing .
. 3^6
CCCCXXXIV. .
You ascended the throne .
. 397
CCCCLXXVllI.
Your entertaining and pleasant
. 333
CCCCXCL
Your two letters, my dear John
343
i UN
UN!Vr'
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