THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES 1,-Uf. Si/tf.ttrt //.'!!* f This vow had formerly been made to Mars by Aulus Ccrr and neglected. FABIUS MAXIMUS. 7 mountainous places. When they sat still, lie did the same ; when they were in motion, he shewed himself upon the heights, at such a distance as not to be obliged to fight against his inclination, and yet near enough to keep them in perpetual alarm, as if, amidst his arts to gain time, he in- tended every moment to give them battle. These dilatory proceedings exposed him to contempt among the Romans in general, and even in his own army. The enemy, too, excepting Hannibal thought him a man of no spirit. He alone was sensible of the keenness of Fa- bius, and of the manner in which he intended to carry on the war, and therefore was determined, if possible, either by stratagem or force, to bring him to a battle, concluding that otherwise the Carthaginians must be undone ; since they could not decide the matter in the field, where they had the advantage, but must gradually wear away, and be reduced to nothing, when the dispute was only who should be supe- rior in men and money. Hence it was that he exhausted the whole art of war, like a skilful wrestler, who watches every opportunity to lay hold of his adversary. Sometimes he advanced, and alarmed him with the apprehensions of an attack ; sometimes by marching and counter-marching he led him from place to place, hoping to draw him from his plan of caution.* But as he was fully persuaded of its uti- lity, he kept immoveable to his 'resolution. Alinucius, his general of horse, gave him, however, no small trouble by his unseasonable courage and heat, haranguing the ar- my, and filling them with a furious desire to come to ac- tion, and a vain confidence of success. Thus the soldiers were brought to despise Fabius, and by way of derision to call him the pedagogue of Hannibal,.f while they extolled Minucius as a great man, and one that acted up to the dig- nity of Rome. This led Minuciua to give a freer scope to his arrogance and pride, and to ridicule the dictator for en- camping constantly upon the mountains, ** As if he did it " on purpose that his men might more clearly behold Italy " laid waste with fire and sword." And he asked the friends of Fabius, " Whether he intended to take his army " up into heaven, as he had bid adieu to the world below, " or whether he would screen himself from the enemy with E*r!7< crse and five thousand foot. 14 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. began to shrink ; and he looked first upon one officer and then upon another, but not one of them durst stand his ground : they all betook themselves to flight, and the flight itself proved fatal ; for the Nymidians, now victo- rious, galloped round the plain, and killed those whom they found dispersed. Fabius wa& not ignorant of the danger of his countrymen; Foreseeing what would happen, he kept his forces under arms, and took care to be informed how the action went on : nor did he trust to the reports of others, but he himself looked out from an eminence not far from his camp. When he saw the army of his colleague surrounded and broken, and the cry reached him, not like that of men standing the charge, but of persons flying in great dismay,* he smote upon his thigh, and with a deep sigh said to his friends about him, " Ye gods ! how much sooner than I " expected^ and yet later than his ir. discreet proceedings " required, has Minucius ruined himself !'' Then having commanded the standard bearers to advance, and the whole army to follow, he addressed them i.n these words. " Now, my brave soldiers, if any one lias ?. regard for " Marcus Minucius, let him exert himself; for he deserve* " assistance for his valour and the love he bears his-coun- " try. If, in his haste to drive out the enemy, he has " committed any error, this is not a time to find fault with " him." The first sight of Fabius frightened away the Numidj- ans, who .were picking up stragglers in the field. Then he attacked those who were charging the Romans in the rear. Such as made resistance he slew ; but the greatest part re- treated to their own army, before the communication wa* cut off, lest they should themselves be surrounded in their turn. Hannibal, seeing this change of fortune, and finding that Fabius pushed on through the hottest of the battle, with a vigour above his years, to come up to Minucius upon the hill, put an end to the dispute, and having sound- ed a retreat, retired into ins carnp. The Romans, on their part, were not sorry when the action was over Hanni- bal, as he was drawing off, is reported K have said smart- ly to those that were by, " Did not 1 often tell )ou, that * Homer mentions the custom of smiting upon the thigh in time of trouble Ka< ^ncrx*-, T pupa ; and we learn from scripture, that it was practised in the east. Compare Horn. II. ft. v. 162, and this passage of Plutarch, with Jer. xxxi. 19, and Ezck. xxi. 1?. FABIUS MAXTMUS. 15 " this cloud would one day burst upon us from the moun- " tains with all the fury of a storm ?" After the battle, Fabius having collected the spoils of such Carthaginians as were left dead upon the field return- ed to his post ; nor did he let fall one haughty or ^ngry word against his colleague,. As for Minucius. having call- ed his men together, he thus expressed himself. " Friends *' and fellow- soldiers, not to err at all iii the management *' of great affairs, is above the wisdom of men ; but it is " the part of a prudent and good man, to learn, from his " errors and miscarriages, to correct himself for the fu- " ture. For my part, I confess, that though fortune has " frowned upon me a little, I have much to thank her " for. For what I could not be brought to be sensible " of in so long a time, I have learned in the small com- " pass of one day, that I know not how to command, but " have need to be under the direction of another ; and " from this moment I bid adieu to the ambition of get- " ting the better of a man whom it is an honour to be " foiled by. In all other respects the dictator shall be ' your commander ; but in the due expression* of grati- " tude to him, 1 will be your leader still, by being the first " to shew an example of obedience and submission." He then ordered the ensigns to advance with the eagleSj and the troops to follow, himself marching at their head, to the camp of Fabius. Being admitted, he went directly to his tent. The whole army waited with impatience for the event. Wheii Fabius came out, Minucius fixed his standard before him, and with a loud voice saluted him by the name of Fatktr ; at the same time his soldiers called those of Fabius their Patrons, an appellation which freed- men gave to those that enfranchise them. These respects being paid, and silence taken place, Minucius thus address- ed himself to the dictator. " You have this day, Fabius, " obtained two victories, one over the enemy by your va- " lour, the other over your colleague by your prudence " and humanity. By the former you saved us, by the " latter you have instructed us ; and Hannibal's victory " over us, is not more disgraceful than yours is honour- " able and salutary to us. I call you bat fie,' , not know- 4< ing a more honourable m.me, aud am more indebted to " yuu than to my real father. To him I owe my oeing, " but to you the preservation of my life, and the lives of " all these brave men.'* After this, he threw himself 16 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. into the arms of Fabius, and the soldiers of each army em- braced one another, with every expression of tenderness, and with tears of joy. Not long after this, Fabius laid down the dictatorship, and consuls were created.* The first of these kept to the plan which Fabius had laid down. He took care not to come to a pitched battle with Hannibal, but sent succour to the allies of Rome, and prevented any revolt in their cities. But when Terentius Varro,-{- a man of obscure birth, and remarkable only for his temerity and servile complaisance to the people, rose to the consulship, it soon appeared that his boldness and inexperience would bring him to risk the very being of the commonwealth ; for he loudly insisted in the assemblies of the people, that the war stood still whilst it was under the conduct of the Fabii ; but for his part he would take but one day to get sight of the enemy, and to beat him. With these promises he so prevailed on the multitude, that he raised greater forces than Rome had ever had on foot before in her most dan- gerous wars ; for he mustered J no fewer than eighty-eight thousand men. Hereupon Fabius, and other wise and experienced persons among the Romans, were greatly alarmed ; because they saw no resource for the state, if such a number of their youth should be cut off. They addressed themselves, therefore, to the other consul, Pan- lus ./Emilius, a man of great experience in war, but dis- agreeable to the people, and at the same time afraid of them, for they had formerly set a considerable fine upon him. Fabius, however, encouraged him to withstand the temerity of his colleague, telling him, '* That the dispute " he had to support for his country was not so much with * According to Livy, Fabius, after the six months of his dictator- ship were expired, resigned the army to the consuls of that year, Servilius and Attilius ; the latter having been appointed in the room of Flaminius, who was killed in battle. But Plutarch follows Poly- faius, who says, that as the time for the election of new consul* ap- proached, the Romans named L. JEmilius Paulus and Terentius Varro consuls, after which the dictators resigned their charge. f Varro v/as the son of a butcher, and hud followed his father's profession in his youth ; but, growing rich, he had forsaken that mean callin.. ; and, by the favour of the people, procured by support- ing the most turbulent of their tribunes, he obtained the consulate. It was usual with the Romans to muster every year four le- gions, which consisting, in difficult times, each of five thousand Ro- man foot, and three hundred horse, and a battalion of Latins equal to that number, amounted in the whole to 42,400. But this year- instead of four Jegions, they raised eight. PABIUS MAXIMUS. lj u Hannibal as with Varro. The latter," said he, " will " hasten to an engagement,* because he kncnvs not his ** own strength ; and the former because he knows his " own weakness. But, believe me, jEmilius, I deserve *' more attention than Varro, with respect to the affairs of ' Hannibal ; and I do assure you, that if the Romans " come to no battle with him this year, he will either be " undone by his stay in Italy, or else be obliged to quit " it. Even now, when he seems to be victorious, and to " carry all before him, not one of his enemies has quitted " the Roman interest, and not a third part of the forces " remains, which he brought from home with him." To this ^Emilius is said to have answered, " My friend, when '* I consider myself only, I conclude it better for me to " fall upon the weapons of the enemy than by the sentence ** of my own countrymen. However, since the state of " public affairs is so critical, I will endeavour to approve " myself a good general, and had rather appear such to " you than to all who oppose you, and who would drnw *' me, willing or unwilling, to their party." With these sentiments JEmilius began his operations. But Varro, having brought his colleague to agree,f that they should command alternately each his day, when his turn came, took post over against Hannibal, on the banks of the Aufidus, near the village of Cannae. As soon as it was light he gave the signal for battle, which is a red mantle set up over the general's tent. The Carthaginians were a little disheartened at first, when they saw how daring the consul was, and that his army was more than twice their number. But Hannibal having ordered them to arm, himself, with a few others, rode up to an eminence, to take * The best dependence of Varro was, undoubtedly, to prolong the war, that Hannibal, who was already weakened, might wear himself out by degrees ; and, for the same reason, it was Hanni- bal's business to tight. f- It was a fixed rule with the Romans, that the consuls, when they went upon the same service, should have the command of the army by turns. J Canrue, according to Livy, Appian, and Florus, was only a poor village, which afterwards became famous on account of the buttle fought year it ; but Polybius, who lived near the time of the se- cond Punic war, styles Cannae a city ; and adds, that it had been razed a year before the defeat of the Roman army. Silius Italians agrees with Pclybius. It was afterwards rebuilt ; for Pliny ranks it among the cities of Apulia. The ruins of Cannae are still tw be wen in the territory of Bari. 18 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. a view of the enemy now drawn up for battle. One Giseo> that accompanied him, a man of his own rank, happening to 8ay, '* The numbers of the enemy appeared to him " surprising,'' Hannibal re; lied, with a serious counte- nance, " There is another thing which has escaped your *' observation, much more surprising than that." Upon, his asking what it was, " It is," said he, " that among " such numbers, not one of them is named Gisco.'' The whole company were diverted with the humour of his observation ; and as they returned to the camp, they told the jest to those they met. so that the laugh became uni- versal. At sight of this the Carthaginians took courage, thinking it must proceed from the great contempt in which their general held the Romans, that he could jest and laugh, in the face of danger. In this battle Hannibal gave great proofs of generalship- In the first place, he took advantage of the ground, to post his men with their backs to the wind, which was then very violent and scorching, and drove from the dry plains, over the heads of the Carthaginians, clouds of sand and dust into the eyes and nostrils of the Romans, so that they were obliged to turn away their faces, and break their ranks. In the next place, his troops were drawn up with superior art. He placed the flower of them in the wings, and those upon whom he had less dependence in the main corps, which was considerably more advanced than the wings. Then he commanded those in the wings, that when the enemy had charged, and vigorously pushed that advanced body, which he knew would give way, and open a passage for them to the very centre, and when the Romans by this means should be far enough engaged within the two wings, they should both on the right and left take them in flank, and endeavour to surround them.* This was the principal cause of the great carnage that followed ; for the enemy pressing upon Hannibal's front, which gave ground, the form of his army was changed into a half moon ; and the officers of the select troops caused the two points of the wings to join behind the Romans. Thus they were exposed to the attacks of the Carthaginians on all sides ; an incre- dible slaughter followed ; nor did any escape but the few that retreated before the main body was enclosed. * Five hundred Numidians pretended to desert to the Romans ; but in the heat of the battle turned against them, and atiackvd them in the rear. FAHIUS MAXIMUS* 1ff.n>9S $ Cicero, in his treatise on old age, speaks in high terms, both of Fabius and this oration of his : " Many extraordinary things have I " known in that man, but nothing more admirable than the manner ' in which he bore the death of his son, a person of great merit and 14 of consular dignity. His eulogium is in our hands; and while we read it, do we not look down on the best of th philosophers . ? " FABIUS MAXIMUS.- 2<) .'ikely to dissuade his countrymen from embracing the pro- posal. With the senate he- carried his point.* But the people believed that his opposition to Scipio proceeded either from envy of his success, or from a secret fear, that if this young hero should perform some signal exploit, put an end to the war, or even remove it out of Italy, his own slow proceedings through the course of so many years might he imputed to indolence or timidity. To me Fabius seems at first to have opposed the mea- sures of Scipio, from an excess of caution and prudence, and to have really thought the danger attending his pro- ject great ; but in the progress of the opposition I think he went too great lengths, misled by ambition and a jea- lousy of Scipio's- rising glory ; for he applied to Crassus, the colleague of Scipio, a;id endeavoured to persuade him not to yield that province to Scipio, but, if he thought it proper to conduct the war in that manner, to go hi: iself against Carthage. f Nay, he even hindeied the raising of money, for that expedition ; so that Scipio was obliged to find the supplies as he could: 'and he effected it through his iiiterest with the cities of Hetruria, which were wholly- devoted to him .J As for Crassus, he stayed at home, partly induced to it by his disposition, which was mild and peaceful, and partly by the care of religion, which was entrusted to him as high priest. Fabius, therefore, took another method to traverse the design. He endeavoured to prevent the young men, who offered to go volunteers, from giving in their names, and loudly declared, both in the senate and joiuin, " That Sct- " pio did not only himself avoid Hannibal, but intended " to carry away with him the remaining strength of Italy, '* persuading the young men to abandon their parents* '* their wives, and native city, whilst an unsubdued and " potent enemy was still at their doors.'' With these as- * See the debates in the senate on that occasion, in Livy, lib. xxviii. f This Crassus could not do; for being Pontifex Maximvs, it was necessary that he should remain in Italy. $ Scipio was empowered to ask of the allies all things necessary for building and equipping a new fleet. And many of the provinces and cities voluntarily taxed themselves to furnish him with corn, iron, timber, cloth for sails, &c. so that in forty days after the cut- ting of the timber, he was in a condition to set sail .with a fleet of thirty new galleys, besides the thirty he had before. There went with him about seven thousand volunteers. C 3 30 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. aertions he so terrified the people, that they allowed Scipfo to take with him_only the legions that were in Sicily, and three hundred of those men who had served him with so much fidelity in Spain. In this particular Fabius seems to have followed the dictates of his own cautious temper. After Scipio was gone over into Africa, an account was soon brought to Rome of his glorious and wonderful achievements. This account was followed by rich spoils, which confirmed it. A Numidian king was taken pri- soner ; two camps were burnt and destroyed, and in them a vast number of men, arms, and horses ; and the Cartha- ginians seat orders to Hannibal to quit his fruitless hopes in Italy, and return home to defend his own country. Whilst every tongue was applauding these exploits of Sci- pio, Fabius proposed that his successor should be appoint- ed, without any shadow of reason for it, except what this well-known maxim implies, viz. " That it is dangerous to " trust affairs of such importance to the fortune of one man, " because it is not likely that he will always be sr.cceesful.'' 1 By this he offended the people, who now considered him as a captious and envious man ; or as one whose courage and hopes were lost in the dregs of years, and who there- fore looked upon Hannibal as much more formidable than he really was. Nay, even when Hannibal embarked his army, and quitted Italy, Fabius ceased not to disturb the general joy, and to damp the spirits of Rome. For he took the liberty to affirm, " That the commonwealth was now " come to her last and worst trial ; that she had the most " reason to dread the efforts of Hannibal when he should tc arrive in Africa, and attack her sons under the walls of " Carthage ; that Scipio would have to de with an army *' yet warm with the blood of so many Roman generals, *' dictators, and consuls." The city was alarmed with these declamations ; and though the war was removed into Afri- ca, the danger seemed to approach nearer Rome than ever. However, soon after, Scipio defeated Hannibal in a pitched battle, pulled down the pride ef Carthage, and trode it under foot. This afforded the Romans a pleasure beyond all their hopes, and restored a firmness to their empire, which had been shaken with so many tempests. But Fabius Maximus did not live to the end of the war, to hear of the overthrow of Hannibal, or to see the pros- perity of his country re-established ; for about the time that Hannibal left Italy, he fell sick and died. \V PERICLES AND FABIUS MAXIMTS COMPARED. 31 assured, that Epaminondas died so poor, that the Thebans buried him at the public charge ; for at his death nothing was found in his house but an iron spit.* The expence of Fabius's funeral was not indeed defrayed out of the Roman treasury, but every citizen contributed a small piece of money towards it : not that he died without ef- fects, but that they might bury him as the father of the people, and that the honours paid him at his death might be suitable to the dignity of his life. PERICLES AND FABIUS MAXIMUS COMPARED. SUCH were the lives of those two persons, so illustrious and worthy of imitation, both in their civil and military capacity.f We shall first compare their talents for war. And here it strikes us at once, that Pericles came into power at a time when the Athenians were at the height of prosperity, great in themselves, and respectable to their neighbours ; so that in the very strength of the republic, with only common success, he was secure from taking any disgraceful step. But as Fabius came to the helm, when Rome experienced the worst and most mortifying turn of fortune, he had not to preserve the well-established prosperity of a flourishing state, but to draw his country from an abyss of misery, and raise it to happiness. Be- sides, the successes of Cimon, the victories of Myronides and Leocrates, and the many great achievements of Tol- mides, rather furnished occasion to Pericles, during his ad- ministration, to entertain the city with feasts and games, than to make new acquisitions, or to defend the old ones by arms. On the other hand, Fabius had the frightful objects before his eyes, of defeats and disgraces, of Roman consuls and generals slain, of lakes, fields, and forests, full of the dead carcases of whole armies, and of rivers flow- * Xylander is of opinion, that the word OZ&urxo; in this place does not signify a spit, but a piece nf ni'inci/ ; and he shews, from a passage in the life of Lysander, that money anciently was made in a pyramidical form. But he did not consider that iron money was not; in use at Thebes, and Plutarch says that this obeliscus was of iron. C 4 32 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. ing with blood down to the very sea. In this tottering and decayed condition of the commonwealth, he was to support it by his councils and his vigour, and to keep it from falling into absolute ruin, to which it was brought so near by the errors of former commanders. It may seem, indeed, a less arduous performance to ma- nage the tempers of a people humbled by calamities, and Compelled by necessity to listen to reason, than to restrain the wildnebs and insolence of a city elated with success, and wanton with power, such as Athens was whea Pericles held the reins of government. But then, undauntedly to keep to his first resolutions, and not to be dibcon-^osed by the vast weight of misfortunes with which Rome was then oppressed, discovers in Fabius an admirable firmness and dignity of mind. Against the taking of Samos by Pericles, we may set the retaking of Tarentum by Fabius ; and with Eubcea we may put in balance the towns of Campania. As for Capua, it was recovered afterwards by the consuls Furius and Appius. Fabius -indeed gained but one set battle, for which he had his first triumph ; whereas Pericles erect- ed nine trophies, for as many victories won by land and sea. But none of the victories of Pericles can be com- pared with that memorable rescue of Minucius, by which Fabius redeemed him and his whole army from utter de- struction ; an action truly great, a;,d in which you find at once the bright assemblage of valour, of prudence, and humanity. Nor can Pericles, on the other hand, be said ever to have committed such an error as that of Fabius, when he suffered himself to be imposed on by Hannibal's stra- tagem of the oxen ; let his enemy slip in the night through those straits in which he had been entangled by accident, and where he could not possibly have forced hn way out ; and as soon as it was day, saw himself repulsed by the man who was so lately at his mercy. If it is the part of a good general, not only to make a proper use of the present, but also to form the best judg- ment of things to come, it must be allowed that Pericles both foresaw and foretold what success the Athenians would have in the war, namely, that they would ruin themselves by grasping at too much. But it was entirely against the opi- nion of Fabius, that the Romans sent Scipio into Africa, and yet they were victorious there, not by the favour of fortune, but by the courage and conduct of their general. PERICLES AN'D FABIUS MAXIMUS COMPARED. 33 So that the misfortunes of his country bore witness to the sagacity of Pericles, and from the glorious success of the Romans it appeared that Fabius was utterly mistaken ; and, indeed, it is an equal fault in a commander in chief to lose an advantage through diffidence, and to fall into danger for want of foresight ; for it is the same want of judgment and skill,* that sometimes produces too much confidence, and sometimes leaves too little. Thus far concerning their abilities in war. And if we consider them in their political capacity, we shall find that the greatest fault laid to the charge of Pe- ricles was, that he caused the Peloponnesian war, through opposition to the Lacedaemonians, which made him unwill- ing to give up the least point to them. I do not suppose that Fabius Maximus would have given up any point to the Carthaginians, but that he would generously have run the last risk to maintain the dignity of Rome. The mild and moderate behaviour of Fabius to Minu- cius, sets in a very disadvantageous light the conduct of Pericles, in his implacable persecution of Cimon and Thu- cydides, valuable men, and friends to the aristocracy, and yet banished by his practices and intrigues. Bes'd"s, the power of Pericles was much greater than that of Fabuis ; and therefore he did not suffer any mis- fortune to be brought upon Athens by the wrong measures of other generals. Tolmides only carried it against him for attacking the Boeotians, and in doing it he was defeated and slain. All the vest adhered to his party, and submit- ted to his opinion, on account of his superior authority ; whereas Kabius, whose measures were salutary and safe, as far as they depended upon himself, appears only to have fallen short by his inability to prevent the miscarriages of ethers. For the Romans would not have had so many misfortunes to deplore, if the power of Fabius had been a; great in Rome, as that of Pericles in Athens. As to their liberality and public spirit, Pericles shewed if in refusing the sums that were offered him, and Fabius in ransoming his soldiers with his own money. This, indeed, was no great expence, being only about six talents. -j- But * This cnriifia. signifies, as well as inexperience. Fabius had as much experience as Pericles, and yet was not equally happy in his conjectures with regard to future events. \ Probably this is an error of the transcribers. For Fabius was to pay two hundred and fifty drachmas for each prisoner, and he ran- C 5 34 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. it is not easy to jay what a treasure Pericles might have amassed from the allies, and from kings who made their court to him, on account of his great authority ; yet no man ever kept himself more free from corruption. As for the temples, the public edifices, and other works, with which Pericles adorned Athens, all the structures of that kind in Rome put together, until the times of the Cae- sars, deserved not to be compared with them, either in the greatness of the design, or the excellence of the execution. ALCIBIADES. THOSE that have searched into the pedigree of Alcibiades say, that Eurysaces, the son of Ajax, was founder of the family ; and that by his mother's side he was descended from Alcmaeon ; for Dinomache, his mother, was the daughter of Megacles, who was of that line. His father Clinias gained great honour in the sea-fight of Artemisium, where he fought in a galley fitted out at his own expence, and afterwards was slain in the battle of Coronie, where the Boeotians won the day. Pericles and Ariphron, the sons of Xanthippus, and near relations to Alcibiades, were his guardians. It is said, and not without reason, that the affection and attachment of Socrates contributed much to his fame. For Nicias, Demosthenes, Lamachus, Phor- mio, Thrasybulus, Theramenes, were illustrious persons, and his contemporaries, yet we do not so much as know the name of the mother of either of them ; whereas we know even the nurse of Alcibiades, that she was of Lacedaemon, and that her name was Amycla ; as well as that Zopyrus was his schoolmaster ; the one being recorded by Antis- thenes, and the other by Plato. As to the beauty of Alcibiades, it may be sufficient to say, that it retained its charms through the several stages of childhood, youth, and manhood. For it is not univer- sally true what Euripides says, The very autumn of a form once fine Retains its beauties. soraed two hundred and forty-seven, which would stand him sixty - one thousand seven hundred and fifty drachmas, that is, more than ten talents ; a very considerable expence to FaUius, which he could not answer without selling his estate. ALCIBIADES. 35 Yet this was the case of Alcibiades, amongst a few others, by reason of his natural vigour and happy constitution. He had a lisping in his speech, which became him, and gave a grace and persuasive turn to his discourse. Aris- tophanes, in those verses wherein he ridicules Theorus, takes notice, that Alcibiades lisped, for instead of calling him Corax, Raven, he called him Colax, Flatterer; from whence the poet takes occasion to observe, that the term in that lisping pronunciation, too, was very applicable to him. With> this agrees the satirical description which Archippus gives of the son of Alcibiades. With saunt'ring step, to imitate his father, The vain youth moves ; his loose robe wildly floats ; He bends the neck ; he lisps. His manners were far from being uniform ; nor is it strange, that they varied according to the many vicissitudes and won- derful turns of his fortune. He was naturally a man of strong passions ; but his ruling passion was an ambition to contend and overcome. This appears from what is related of his sayings when a boy. When hard pressed in wrestling, to prevent his being thrown, he bit the hands of his anta- gonist ; who let go his hold, and said, " You bite, Alci- " biades, like a woman." " No," says he, " like a lion." One day he was playing at dice with other boys in the street ; and when it came to his turn to throw, a loaded waggon came up. At first he called to the driver to stop, because he was to throw in the way over which the wag- gon was to pass. The rustic disregarding him and dri. on, the other boys broke away ; but Alcibiades threw him- self upon his face directly before the waggon, and stretch- ing himself out, bade the fellow drive on if he pleased. Upon this he was so startled, that he stopped his horses, while those that saw it ran up to him with terror.' In the course of his education, he willingly took the lessons of his other masters/ bjjt refused learning Jo .piay upon the flute, which he looked upon as a mean art, unbecoming a gentleman. " The use of the plectrum upon ' the lyre, he would say, has nothing in it that disorders the ' features or form, but a man is hardly to be known by ' his most intimate friends when he plays upon the flute. * Besides, the lyre does not hinder the performer from 1 speaking or accompanying it with a song, whereas the " flute ao engages the mouth and the breath, that it leaves C 6 36 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. ' no possibility of speaking. Therefore, let the" Thebati ' youth pipe, who know not how to discourse : but we ' Athenians, according to the account of our ancestors, ' have Minerva for our patroness, and Apollo for our ' protector, one of whom threw away the flute, and the ' other stripped off the man's skin who played upon it.*" Thus, partly by faillery, and partly by argument, Alci- biades kept both himself and others from learning to play upon the flute : for it soon became the talk among the young men of condition, that Alcibiades was right in hold- ing that art in abomination, and ridiculing those that prac- tised it. Thus it lost its place in the number of liberal ac- complishments, and was universally exploded. In the invective which Antipho wrote against Alcibi- ades, one story is, that when a boy, he ran away from his guardians to one of his friends named Democrates ; and that Ariphron would have had proclamation made for him, had not Pericles diverted him from it, by saying, " If he " is dead, we shall only find him one day the sooner for " it ; if he is safe, it will be a reproach to him as long as " he lives." Another story is, that he killed one of his servants with a stroke of his stick, in Sibyrtius's place of exercise. But, perhaps, we should not give entire credit to these things, which were professedly written by an enemy to defame him. Many persons of rank made their court to Alcibiades ; but it is evident that they were charmed and attracted by the beauty of his person. Socrates was the only one whose regards were fixed upon the mind, and bore witness to the young man's virtue and ingenuity ; the rays of which he could distinguish through his fine form : and fearing lest the pride of riches and high rank, and the crowd of flat- terers, both Athenians and strangers, should corrupt him, he used his best endeavours to prevent it, and took care that so hopeful a plant should not lose its fruit, and pe- rish in the very flower. Tf ever fortune so enclosed and fortified a man with what are called her goods, as to ren* der him f inaccessible to the incision-knife of philosophy, and the searching-probe of free advice, surely it was Alci- * Marsyas. f Plutarch's exprr'-sion here is not exactly the same with that of the translation, but it is couched in figures which tend the same way, art fi'^oftfius yinffSai, xa.i h'.ytii *f}fira xst^mxi xxt ALCIBIADES. 37 biades. From the first, he was surrounded with pleasure, and a multitude of admirers, determined to say nothing but what they thought would please, and to keep him from all admo- nition and reproof; yet, by his native penetration, he distin- guished the value of Socrates, and attached himself to him, rejecting, the rich and great, who sued for his regard. With Socrates he soon entered into the closest intimacy ; and finding that he did not, like the rest of the unmanly crew, want improper favours, but that he studied to correct the errors of his heart, and to cure him of his empty and foolish arrogance, Then his crest fell, and all his pride was gone. He droop'd the conquer'd wing. In Fact, he considered the discipline of Socratts ns a provi- sion from heaven for the preservation and benefit of youth. Thus despising himself, admiring his friend, adoring his wisdom, and revering his virtue, he insensibly formed iu his heart the image of love, or rather came under the in- fluence of that power, who, as Plato says, secures his vo- taries from vicious love. It surprised all the world to see him constantly sup with Socrates, take with him the exer- cise of wrestling, lodge in the same tent with him ; while to his other admirers he was reserved and rough. Nay, to some he behaved with great insolence, to Anytus (for in- stance) the son of Anthemion. Anytus was very fond of him, and happening to make an entertainment for some strangers, he desired Alcibiades to give him his company. Alcibiades would not accept of the invitation; but having drunk deep with some of his acquaintance at his own house, he went thither to play some frolic. The frolic was this : He stood at the door of the room where the guests were entertained, and seeing a great number of gold and silver cups upon the table, he ordered his servants to take half of them, and carry them to his own house}* and then, not vouchsafing so much as to enter into the room himself, as soon as he had done this, he went away. The company resented the affront, and said he had behaved very rudely and insolently to Anytus. " Not at all," said Anytus, 44 but rather kindly, since he has left us half, when he ** knew it was in his power to take the whole." * Athenaeus says, he did not keep them himself, but having taken them from this man, who was rich, gave them t to Thrasylus, wh-,, was poor. 38 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. He behaved in the same manner to his other admirers, except only one stranger. This man (they tell us) was but in indifferent circumstances ; for when he had sold all, he could make up no more than the siim of one hundred sta- ters;* which he carried to Alcibiades, and begged of him to accept it. Alcibiades was pleased at the thing, and, smiling, invited him to supper. After a kind reception and entertainment, he gave him the gold again, but re- quired him to be present next day when the public reve- nues were to be offered to farm, and to be sure to be the highest bidder. The man endeavouring to excuse himself, because the rent would be many talents, Alcibiades, who had a private pique against the old farmers, threatened to have him beaten if he refused. Next morning, therefore, the stranger appeared in the market-place, and offered a talent more than the former rent. The farmers, uneasy and angry at this, called upon him to name his security, supposing that he could not find any. The poor man was indeed much startled, and going to retire with shame, when Alcibiades, who stood at some distance, cried out to the magistrates, " Set down my name, he is my friend, and " I will be his security." When the old farmers of the re- venue heard this, they were much perplexed ; for their way was, with the profits of the present year to pay the rent of the preceding ; so that, seeing no other way to extricate themselves out of the difficulty, they applied to the stranger in an humble strain, and offered him money. But Alci- biades would not suffer him to take less than a talent, which accordingly was paid. Having done him this service, he told him he might relinquish his bargain. Though Socrates had many rivals, yet he kept possession of Alcibiades's heart by the excellence of his genius, and the pathetic turn of his conversation, which often drew tears from his young companion ; and though sometimes he gave Socrates the slip, and was drawn away by his flat- " The stater was a coin which weighed four Attic drachmas, and .ther of gold or silver. The silver was worth about two shil- lings and sixpence sterling ; the staler daricus, a gold coin, was worth twelve shillings and threepence halfpenny ; but the Attic stater of gold must be worth much more, if we reckon the proportion of gold to silver only at ten to one, as it was then ; whereas now it is about sixteen to one. Dacier, then, is greatly mistaken, when he says the ttater here mentioned by Plutarch was worth only forty French soisj for Plutarch says expressly, that these staters were of gold. ALCIBIADES 30 terers, who exhausted all the art of pleasure for that pur- pose, yet the philosopher took care to hunt out his fugi- tive, who feared and respected none but him ; the rest he held in great contempt. Hence that saying of Cleanthes, " Socrates gains Alcibiades by the ear, and leaves to his " rivals other parts of his body, with which he scorns to " meddle." In fact, Alcibiades was very capable of being led by the allurements of pleasure ; and what Thucydides says concerning his excesses in his way of living, gives occasion to believe so. Those who endeavoured to corrupt, him, attacked him on a still weaker side, his vanity and love of distinction, and led him into vast designs and unseasonable projects; persuading him, that as soon as he. should apply himself to the management of public affairs, he should not only eclipse the other generals and orators, but surpass even Pericles himself, in point of reputation, as well as in- terest with the powers of Greece. But as iron, when soft- ened by the fire, is soon hardened again, and brought to a proper temper by cold water j so when Alcibiades was enervated by luxury, or swoln with pride, Socrates cor- rected and brought him to himself by his discourses ; for from them he learned the number of his defects, and the im- perfection of his virtue. When he was past his childhood, happening to go into a grammar-school, he asked the master for a volume of Homer ; and upon his making answer that he had nothing of Homer's, he gave him a box on the ear, and so left him. Another schoolmaster telling him he had Homer corrected by himself : " How!" said Alcibiades, " and do you em- " ploy your time in teaching children to read ? you, who " are able to correct Homer, might seem to be lit to in- *' struct men!" One day, wanting to speak to Pericles, he went to his house, and being told there that he was busied in consi- dering how to give in his accounts to the people, and therefore not at leisure, he said as he went away, " He " had better consider how to avoid giving in any account " at all." While he was yet a youth, he made the campaign at Potidaea, where Socrates lodged in the same tent with him, and was his companion in every engagement. In the prin- cipal battle, they both behaved with great gallantry ; but Alcibiades at last falling d_wn wounded, Socrates advanced to defend him, which he did effectually, in the sight of the 40 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. whole army, saving both him and his arms. For this thfe prize of valour was certainly due to Socrates, yet the ge- nerals inclined to give it to Alcibiades, on account of his quality ; and Socrates, willing to encourage his thirst after true glory, was the first who gave his suffrage for him, and pressed them to adjudge him the crown, and the com- plete suit of armour. On the other hand, at the battle of Delium, where the Athenians were routed,* and Socrates, with a few others, was retreating on foot, Alcibiades ob- serving it, did not pass him, but covered his retreat, and brought him safe off, though the enemy pressed furiously forward, and killed great numbers of the Athenians. But this happened a considerable time after. To Hipponicus, the fa 1 her of Callias, a man respectable both for his birth and fortune, Alcibiades one day gave a box on the ear; not that he had any quarrel with him, or was heated by passion, but purely because, in a wanton frolic, he had agreed with his companions to do so. The whole city being full of the story of his insolence, and every body (as it \vas natural to expect) expressing some resentment, early next morning Alcibiades went to wait on Hipponicus, knocked at the door, and was admitted. As soon as he came into his presence, he stripped <.ff his garment, and pre- senting his naked body, desired him to beat and chastise him as he pleased. But instead of that, Hipponicus pan- doned him, and forgot all his resentment : nay, sometime after, he even gave him his daughter Hipparete in man- riage. Some say it was not Hipponicus, but his son Cal- lias, who gave Hipparete to Alcibiades, with ten talents to her portion; and that, when she brought him a child, he demanded ten talents more, as if he had taken her on that condition. Though this was but a groundless pretext, yet Callias, apprehensive of some bad consequence from his art- ful contrivances, in a full assembly of the people, declared, that if he should happen to die without children, Akibiades should be his heir. Hipparete made a prudent and affectionate wife ; but at last, growing very uneasy at her husband's associating with such a number of courtezans, both strangers and Athe- nians, she quitted his house, and went to her brother's. " Laches, as introduced by Plato, tells us, that if others had done their duty as Socrates did his, the Athenians would not have been defeated in the battle of Delium. That battle was fought the flrst year of the eighty-ninth Olympiad, eight years after the battle of Potidsa. AI.CIBIADE*. 41 Alcibiades went on with his debaucheries, and gave himself no pain about his wife ; but it was necessary for her, in or- der 10 a legal aOpuniUo-!, to give in a bill of divorce to the archo.i, and to upbear personally with it ; for the sending of it by another hand would not do. When she came to do this accoi ding to law, Alcibiades rushed in, caught her in his anus, and carried her through the market-place to his own house, no one presuming to oppose him, or to take her from him. From that time she remained with him until her death, which happened not long after, when Alci- biades was Hpon his voyage to Ephesus. Nor What hero boasts thy praise in Grecian story ? * The name of the man who caught the quail would h.irdly have. been mentioned, had not Alcibiades afterwards entrusted him with the command of the fleet in his absence ; when he took the oppor- tunity to fight, and was beaten. f It appears, from the passage of Demosthenes, that he spoke on- ly from common fame, and consequently that there was little of AU cibiades's then extant. We find some remains of his oratory in Thucydides. ALCIBIADES. <}.} Twice * does the trumpet's voice proclaim Around the plausive cirque thy honour'd name : Twice on thy brow was seen The peaceful olive's green, The glorious palm of easy purchased fame.-{- The emulation which several Grecian cities expressed in the presents they made him gave a still greater lustre to his success. Ephesus provided a magnificent pavilion for him ; Chios was at the expence of keeping his horses and beasts for sacrifice ; and Lesbos found him in wine and every thing necessary for the most elegant public table. Yet, amidst this success, he escaped not without censure, oc- casioned either by the malice of his enemies, or by his own misconduct. It seems there was at Athens one DIQ- medes, a man of good character and a friend of Alcibiadea, who was very desirous of winning a prize at the Olympic games ; and being informed that there was a chariot to be sold, which belonged to the city of Argos, where Al- cibiades had a strong interest, he persuaded him to buy it for him. Accordingly he did buy it, but kept it for him- self, leaving Diomedcs to vent his rage, and to call gods and men to bear witness of the injustice. For this there seems to have been an action brought against him ; and there is extant an oration concerning a chariot, written by Isocrates, in defence of Alcibiadcs, then a youth ; but there the plaintiff is named Tisius, not Diomedes. Alcibiades was very young when he first applied himse^ to the business of the republic, and yet he soon shewed him- " Alcibiades won the first, second, and third prizes in person ; beside which, his chariots won twice in his absence. The latter is what Euripides refers to in the words thrown and lif fifSwrie. f Antisthenes, a disciple of Socrates, writes, that Chios fed his horses, and Cyzjcus provided his victims. The passage is remarkable, for we learn from it, that this was done, not only %vhen Alcibiades went to the Olympic games, but in his warlike expeditions, and even in his travels. " Whenever," says he, " Alcibiades travelled, four cities of the allies ministered to him as his handmaids. Ephesus furnished him with tents as sumptuous as those of the Persians ; Chios found provender for his horses ; Cyzicus supplied him with victims and provisons for his table ; and Lesbos with wine and all other necessaries for his household." Nonj but opulent cities were able to answer such an expence ; for at the time when Alcibiades won the three prizes in person at the Olympic games, after he had offered a very costly sacrifice to Jupiter, he entertained at a magnificent re-> past that innumerable company which had assisted at the games, 44 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. self superior to the other orators. The persons capable of standing i . some degree of competition with him, were Phaeax the son of Erasistratus, and Nicias the son of Nico- ratus. The latter was advanced in years, and one of the best generals of his time, Hie former was but a youth, like himself, just beginning to make his way ; for which lie had the advantage of high birth ; but i'i other respects, as well as in the art of speaking, was inferior to Alcibiades. He seemed fitter for soliciting and persuading in private, than for stemming the torrent of a public debate ; in short, he was one of those of whom Eupolis says, " True, he can talk, *' and yet he is no speaker." There is extant an oration against Alcibiades and Phaeax, in which, amongst other things,-- it is alleged against Alcibiades, that he used at his table many of the gold and silver vessels provided for the sacred processions, as if they had been his own. There was at Athens one Hyperbolus, of the ward of Perithois, whom Thucydides makes mention of as a very bad man. and who was a constant subject of ridicule for the comic writers. But he was unconcerned at the worst things they could say of him ; and being regardless of ho- nour, he was also insensible of shame. This, though real- ly impudence and folly, is by some people called fortitude and a noble daring. But, though no oe liked him, the people nevertheless made use of him, when they wanted to strike at persons in authority. At his instigation, the Athenians were ready to proceed to the ban of ostracism^ by which they pull down and expel such of the citizens as are distinguished by their dignity and power, therein con- sulting their envy rather than their fear. As it was evident that this sentence was levelled againct one of the three, Phaeax, Nicias. or Alcibiades, the latter took rare to unite the contending partie?, and leaguing with Nicias, caused the ostracism to fall upon Hyperbolus himself. Some say, it was not Nicias, but Phseax, with whom Alcibiades joined interest, and by whose assistance he expelled their common enemy, when he expected no- thing less ;. for no vile or infamous person had ever un- dergone that punishment. So Plato, the comic poet, as cures us, thus speaking of Hyperbolus : Well had the caitiff earned his banishment, But not by ostracism ; that sentence sRcrcd To dangerous eminence. ALCIBIADES. 45 But we have elsewhere given a more full account of what history lias delivered down to us concerning this matter * Alcibiades was not less disturbed at the great esteem in which Nicias was held by the enemies of Athens, than at the respect which the Athenians themselves paid him. The rights of hospitality had long subsisted between the family of Alcibiades end the Lacedaemonians, and he had taken particular care of such of them as were made prisoners at Pylos ; yet when they found that it was chiefly by the means of Nicias that they obtained a peace and recovered the captives, their regards centered in him, It was a com- mon observation among the Greeks, that Pericles had en- gaged them in a war, and Nicias had set them free from it ; nay, the peace was even called the Nician peace Alcibi- ades was very uneasy at this, and out of envy to Nicias determined to break the league. As soon, then, as he perceived that the people of Argos both feared and hated the Spartans, and consequently wanted to get clear of all connection with them, he pri- vately gave them hopes of assistance frcm Athens ; and, both by his agents and in person, he encouraged the prin- cipal citizens not to entertain any fear, or to give up any point, but to apply to the Athenians, who were almost ready to repent of the peace they had made, and would soon seek occasion to break it. But after the Lacedaemonians had entered into alliance with the Boeotians, and had delivered Panactus to the Athenians, not with its fortifications, as they ought to have done, but quite dismantled, he took the opportunity, while the Athenians were incensed at this proceeding, to inflame them still more. At the same time he raised a clamour against Nicias, alleging things which had a face of proba- bility ; for he reproached him with having neglected, when commander in chief, to make that f party prisoners who * In the lives of Aristides and Niciae. f After the Lacedaemonians had lost the fort of Pylos in Mes- senia, they left in the isle of Sphacteria, which was opposite that fort, a garrison of three hundred and twenty men, besides helots, under the command of Epitades the son of Molobrus. The Athe- nians would have sent Nicias, while commander in chief, with a fleet against that island, but he excused himself. Afterwards Cleon, in conjunction with Demosthenes, got possession of it, after a long dispute, wherein several of the garrison were slain, and the rest made prisoners, and sent to Athens. Among those prisoners were 'an hundred and twenty Spartans, who by the assistance of Nicias got 46 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. were left by the enemy in Sphacteria, and with releasing them, when taken by others, to ingratiate himself with the Lacedaemonians. He farther asserted, that though Nicias had an interest with the Lacedaemonians, he would not make use of it to prevent their entering into the confederacy with the Boeotians and Corinthians ; but that when an al- liance was offered to the Athenians by any of the Grecian states, he took care to prevent their accepting it, if it were likely to give umbrage to the Lacedaemonians. Nicias was greatly disconcerted; but at that very juncture it happened that ambassadors from Lacedsemon arrived with moderate proposals, and declared that they had full powers to treat and decide all differences in an equitable way. The senate was satisfied, and next day the people were to be convened : but Alcibiades, dreading the success of that audience, found means to speak with the ambassadors in the meantime, and thus he addressed them. " Men of Lace- " daemon, what is it you are going to do ? Are you not *' apprised that the behaviour of the senate is always candid " and humane to those who apply to it, whereas the peo- " pie are haughty, and expect great concessions ? I f you say '* that you are come with full powers, you will find them " untractable and extravagant in their demands. Come, " then, retract that impudent declaration ; and if you de- " sire to keep the Athenians within the bounds of reason, " and not to have terms extorted from you, which you " cannot approve, treat with them as if you had not a dis- " cretionary commission. I will use my best endeavours in " favour of the Lacedaemonians." He confirmed his pro- mise with an oath, and thus drew them over from Nicias to himself. In Alcibiades they now placed an entire con- fidence, admiring both his understanding and address in business, and regarding him as a very extraordinary man. Next day the people assembled, and the ambassadors were introduced Alcibiades asked them in an obliging manner, what their commission was, and they answered, that they did not come as plenipotentiaries. Then he began to rave and storm, as if he had received an injury, not done one ; released. The Lacedaemonians afterwards recovered the port of Pylos : for Anytus, who was sent with a squadron to support it, finding the wind directly against him, returned to Athena ; upon which the people, according to their usual custom, condemned him todie; which sentence, however, he commuted, by pay ing a vast sum of money, being the first who reversed a judgment in that manner. ALCIBIADES. 47 calling them faithless prevaricating men, who were come nei. ther to do nor to say any thing honourable. The senate was incensed, the people were enraged, and Nicias, who was ig- norant of the deceitful contrivance of Alcibiades, was filled with astonishment and confusion at this change. The proposals of the ambassadors thus rejected, Alcibi- ades was declared general, and soon engaged the Argives,* the Mantineans, and Eleans, as allies to the Athenians. Nobody commended the manner of this transaction, but the effect was very great, since it divided and embroiled almost all Peloponnesus, in one day lifted so many arms against the Lacedaemonians at Mantinea, and removed to so great a distance from Athens the scene of war ; by which the Lacedasmonians, if victorious, could gain no great ad- vantage, whereas a miscarriage would have risked the very- being of their state. Soon after this battle at Mantinea,f the principal offi- cers of the Argive army attempted to abolish the popu- lar government of Argos, and to take the administration in- to their own hands. The Lacedaemonians espoused the de- sign, and assisted them to carry it into execution. But the people took up arms again, and defeated their new masters ; and Alcibiades coming to their aid, made the victory more complete. At the same time he persuaded them to extend their walls down to the sea, that they might always be in a condition to receive succours from the Athenians. From Athens he sent them carpenters and masons, exerting him* self greatly on this occasion, which tended to increase his personal interest and power, as well as that of his country. He advised the people of Patrae, too, to join their city to the sea by long walls. And somebody observing to the Pa- trensians, " That the Athenians would one day swallow * He concludtjd a league with these states for an hundred years, which Thucydides has inserted at full length in his fifth book ; and hv which we learn that the treaties of the ancient Greeks were no less perfect and explicit than ours. Their treaties were of as little conse(|uence too ; for how soon was that broken which the Athe- nians had made with the Lacedaemonians ! j* That battle was fought near three years after the conclusion of the treaty with Argos. Those officers availed themselves of the consternation the people of Argos were in after the loss of the battle ; and the Lacedaemoni- ans gladly supported them, from a persuasion that if the popular government were abolished, and an aristocracy (like that of Sparta) set up in Argos, they should soon be masters there. 49 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. " them up." " Possibly it may be so," said Alcibiade;, " but they will begin with the feet, and do it by little and " little, whereas the Lacedemonians will begin with the " head, and do it all at once." He exhorted the Athe- nians to assert the empire of the land, as well as of the sea ; and was ever putting the young warriors in mind to shew by their deeds that they remembered the oath they had taken in the temple of Agraulos.* The oath is, that they will consider wheat, barley, vine, and olives, as the bounds of Attica ; by which it is insinuated, that they should endeavour 'o possess themselves of all lands that are cultivated and fruitful. But these his great abilities in politics, his eloquence, his reach of genius, and keenness of apprehension, were tarnished by his luxurious living, his drinking and de- bauches, his effeminacy of dress, and his insolent profusion. He wore a purple robe with a long train when he appeared in public. He caused the planks of his galley to be cut away, that he might lie the softer, his bed not being placed upon the boards, but hanging upon girths. And in the wars he bore a shield of gold, which had none of the usualf ensigns of his country, but, in their stead, a cupid bearing a thunderbolt. The great men of Athens saw his behaviour with uneasiness and indignation, and even dreaded the con- sequence. They regarded his foreign manners, his profu- sion, and contempt of the laws, as so many means to make himself absolute. And Aristophanes well expresses how the bulk of the people were disposed towards him : They love, they hate, but cannot live without him. * Agraulos, one of the daughters of Cecrops, had devoted herself to death for the benefit of her country ; it has been supposed, there- fore, that the oath which the young Athenians took, bound them to dosomething of that nature, if need should require ; though, as given by Plutarch, it implies only an unjust resolution to extend the Athe- nian dominions to all lands that were worth seizing. Demosthenes mentions the oath in his oration Defals. Legat. but does not explain it. f Both cities and private persons had of old theirensigns, devices, or arms. Those of the Athenians were commonly Minerva, the owl, or the olive. None but people of figure were allowed to bear any de- vices ; nor even they, until they had performed some action to deserve them; in the meantime their shields were plain white. Alcibiades, in his device, referred to the beauty of his person and his martial prowess. Mottos, too, were used. Capaneus, for instance, bore a naked man with a torch in his hand ; the motto this, / vill burn the city. S? more in JEschylus's tragedy of the Seven Chiefs. ALCIBIADES. 4<) : again he satirizes him still more severely by the fol- lowing allusion. Nurse not a lion's whelp within your walls ; But jf he is brought up there, sooth the bruto. The truth is, his prodigious liberality, the games he exhibited, and the other extraordinary instances of his mu- nificence to the people, the glory of his ancestors, the beau- ty of his person, and the force of his eloquence, together with his heroic strength, his valour and experience in war, so gained upon the Athenians, that they connived at his errors, and spoke of them with all imaginable tender- ness, calling them sallies of youth, and good-humoured fro- lics. Such were his confining Agatharcus the painter,* until he had painted his house, and then dismissing him with a handsome present ; his giving a box on, the car to Taureus, who exhibited games in opposition to him, and vied with him for the preference ; and his taking one of the captive Melian women for his mistress, and bringing up a child he had by her. These were what they called his good-humoured frolics ; but surely we cannot bestow that appellation upon the slaughtering of all the males in the isle of Melos,f who had arrived at years of puberty, which was in consequence of a decree that he promoted. Again, when Aristophon had painted the courtezan Nemea with Alcibiades in her arms, many of the people eagerly crowded to see it ; but such of the Athenians as were more advanced in years, were much displeased, and considered these as sights fit only for a tyrant's court, and as insults on the laws of Athens. Nor was it ill observed by Archestratus, " that Greece could not bear another Alcibiades." When Timon, famed for his misanthropy, saw Alcibiades, after having gained his point, conducted home with great honour from the place of assembly, he did not shun him as he did other men, but went up to him, and shaking him by the hand, thus addressed him. " Go on, my brave boy, " and prosper ; for your prosperity will bring on the ntiu * This painter had been familiar with Alcibiades's mistress. ) The isle of Melos, one of the Cyclades, and a colony of Lace- daemon, was attempted by Alcibiades, the last year of the ninetieth Olympiad, and taken the year following. Thucydides, who has given us an account of this slaughter of the Mclians, makes no mention of the decree. Probably he was willing to have the carnage thought the effect of a sudden transport in the soldiery, and not of a cruel and cwl resolution of the people of Athens, Vol. //, D 50 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. " of all this crowd." This occasioned various reflections ; soire laughed, some railed, a'.d others v.vre extremely moved at the saying ; so various were the judgments formed of Alci- biades, by reason of the inconsistency of his character. In the time of Pericles,* the Athenians had a desire after Sicily ; and when he had paid the last debt to nature, they attempted it ; frequently ur.cier pretence of succouring their allies, sending aids of men and money to such of the Sicilians as were attacked by the Syracusans. This was a step to greater armaments. But A labiades inflamed this desire to an irresistible degree, and persuaded them not to attempt the island in part, and by little and little, but .to send a powerful fleet entirely to subdue it. He inspired the people with hopes of great things, and indulged him- self in expectations still more lofty ; for he did not, like the rest, consider Sicily as the end of his wishes, but ra- ther as an introduction to the mighty expeditions he had conceived. And while Nicias was dissuading the people i'rom the siege of Syracuc", as a business too difficult to succeed in, Alcibiades was dreaming of Carthage and of JLybia ; and after these were g lined, he designed to grasp Italy and Peloponnesus, regarding Sicily as little more than a magazine for provisions and warlike stores. The young men immediately entered into his schemes, and listened with great attention to those who, under the sanction of age, related woi.ders concerning the intended expeditions ; so that many of them sat whole days in the places of exercise, drawing in the dust the figure of the island, and plans of L)bia and Carthage. However, we are informed that Socrates the philosopher, and Meton the Lftrologer, were far from expecting that these wars would " Pericles, by his prudence and authority, had restrained this ex- travagant ambition of the Athenians. He died the last year of the eighty-seventh Olympiad, in the third year of the Peloponnebian war. Two years after this, the Athenians sent some ships to Rhegium, which were to go from thence to the succour of the Leontines, who v/ere attacked by the Syracusans. The year following, they f-ent a still greater number ; and two years after that, they fitted out another fleet of a greater force than the former ; but the Sicilians having put an end to their divisions, and by the advice of Hermocrates (whose ?peech Thucydides, in his fourth book, gives us at large}, having sent iiack the fleet, the Athenians were so enraged at their generals for not having conquered Sicily, that they banished two of them, Pytho- tlorus and Sophocles, and laid a heavy fine upon Eurymedon. So in- fatuated were they by their prosperity, that they imagined themselves rresistible. ALCIBIADES. 51 turn to the advantage of Athens ; the former, it should seem, influenced by some prophetic notices with which h. favoured by the genius who attended him ; and the latter, either by reasonings which led him to fear what was to come, or else by knowledge with which his art supplied him. Be that as it may, Melon feigned himself mad, and taking a flaming torch, attempted to set his house on fire. Others say, that he made use of no such pretence, but burnt down his house in the night, and in the morning went and begged of the people to excuse his son from that campaign, that he might be a comfort to him under his misfortune. By this artifice he imposed upon them, a;.d gained his point. Nicias was appointed one of the generals, much against his inclination ; for he would have declined the command, if it had been only on account of his having such a col- kague. The Athenians, however, thought the war would be better conducted, if they did not give free scope to the impetuosity of Alcibiades, but tempered his boldness with the prudence of Nicias. For as to the third general, Lama- elms, though well advanced in years, he did not seem to come at all short of Alcibiades in heat a;.d rashness. When they came to deliberate about the number of the troops, and the necessary preparations for the armament, Nicias again opposed their measures, and endeavoured to prevent the war. But Alcibiades replying to his argu- ments, and carrying all before him, the orator Demostratus proposed a decree, 'hat the generals should have the abso- lute direction of the war, and of all the preparations for it. When the people had given their assent, and every thing was got ready for setting sail, unlucky omens occurred, even on a festival which was celebrated at that time. It was the feast of Adonis ; * the women walked in procession with images, which represented the dead carried out to burial, acting the lamentations, and singing the mournful dirges usual en such occasions. * On the fc.ist of Adonis all the cities put themselves in mourn- ing ; coffins were exposed at every door ; the statues of Venus and Adonis were borne in procession, with certain vessels filled with earth, in which they had raised corn, herbs, and lettuce, and these vessels were called the gardens of Adonis. After the ceremony was over, the garden* were thrown into the sea, or some river. This festival was celebrated throughout all Greece and Egypt, and among the Jews too, when they degenerated into idolatry, as we learn fromEzekiel, x, H, And behold f&ore $ at vvmen weeping for Tammuz, that is, Adonis, Da J2 rLL'TARCH 3 LIVLL-. Add to this the mutilating and disfiguring of almost all the statues of Mercury,* which happened in one night ; a circumstance which alarmed even those who had long de- spised things of that nature. It was imputed to the Co- rinthians, of whom the Syracusans were a colony ; and they were supposed to have done it, in hopes that such a prodigy might-induce the Athenians to desist from the war. But the people pajd little regard to this insinuation, or to the discourses of those who said that there \vas no man- ner of ill presage in what had happened, and that it was nothing but the \vild frolic of a parcel of young fellows, flushed with wine, and bent on some extravagance. In- dignation and fear made them take this event not only for a bad omen, but for the consequence of a plot which aimed at greater matters ; and therefore both senate and people assembled several times within a few days, and very strictly examined every suspicious circumstance. In the meantime, the demagogue Androcles produced rorne Athenian slaves and certain sojourners, who accused Alcibiades and his friends of defacing some other statues, and of mimicking the sacred mysteries in one of their drunken revels ; on which occasion, they said, one Theo- dorus represented the herald, Polytion the torch-bearer, and Alcibiades the high-priest ; his other companions at- tending as persons initiated, and therefore called Mystse. Such was the import of the deposition of Thessalus the son of Cimon, who accused Alcibiades of impiety towards the goddesses Ceres and Proserpine. The people being much provoked at Alcibiades, and Androcles, his bitterest enemy, exasperating them still more, at first he was somewhat dis- concerted. But when he perceived that the seamen and -oldiers too, intended for the Sicilian expedition, were en his side, and heard a body of Argives and Mantinean?, consisting of a thousand men, declare that they were willing to cross the seas, and to run the risk of a foreign war for the sake of Alcibiades, but that if any injury were done to him, they would immediately march home again ; then he recovered his spirits, and appeared to defend himself. It was now his enemy's turn to be discouraged, and to fear that the people, on account of the need they had of him, '.vould be favourable in their sentence. To obviate this inconvenience, they persuaded certain orators, who were not * The Athenians had statues of Mercury at the doors of 2s, made of stones cf a cubical form, ALCIBIADES. reputed to be his enemies, but hated him as heartily as the most professed ones, to move it to the people, " That it was extremely absurd, that a general 'who was invested with a discretionary power, and a very important command, when the troops were collected, and the allies all ready to sail; should lose time, while they were casting lots for judges, and filling the glasses with water, to measure out the time *' of his defence. In the name of the gods let him sail, and " when the war is concluded, be accountable to the laws., " which will still be the same." Alcibiades easily saw their malicious drift in wanting to put off the trial, and observed, " That it would be an in- tolerable hardship to leave such accusations and calum- nies behind him, and be sent out with so important a com- mission, while he was in suspense as to his own fate. That he ought to suffer death, if he could not clear himself of the charge ; but if he could prove his innocence, justice required that he should be set free from all fear of false ac- cusers before they sent him against their enemies." But he could not obtain that favour. He was indeed ordered to set sail,* which he accordingly did, together with his col- leagues, having near an hundred and forty galleys in his com- pany, five thousand one hundred heavy-armed soldiers, and ftbout a thousand three hundred archers, slingers, and others, light-armed, with suitable provisions and stores. Arriving on the coast of Italy, he landed at Rhegium. There he gave his opii.ion as to the manner in which the war should be conducted, and was opposed by Nicias : but as Lamachus agreed with him, he sailed to Sicily, and made himself master of Catana.-j- This was all he per- formed, being soon sent for by the Athenians to take his trial. At first, as we have observed, there was nothing against him but slight suspicions, and the depositions of slaves and persons who sojourned in Athens. But his ene- mies took advantage of his absence to bring new matter of impeachment, adding to the mutilating of the statues his sacrilegious behaviour with respect to the mysteries, and al- leging that both these crimes flowed from the same source, J * The second year of the eighty-first Olympiad, and seventeenth of the Peloponnesian war. f By surprise. Thucyd. lib. vi. J They gave out, that he had entered into a conspiracy to betray the city to the Lacedaemonians, and that he had persuaded the Ar- gives to undertake something to their prejudice. 54 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. a conspiracy to change the government. All that were ac- cused of being anywise concerned in it, they committed to prison unheard ; and they repented exceedingly that they had not immediately brought Alcibiades to his trial, and rot him condemned upon so heavy a charge. While tin's lasted, every relation, every friend and acquaintance of his, was very severely dealt with by the people. Thucydides his omitted the names of the accusers, but ^thers mention Diocjides and Teucer. So Phrynichus, the romic poet, Ilcrmf.'i, prny, beware a fall ; nor break Thy marble nose, lei-t some false Dioclides Once more his shafts in fat;il poison drench. Merc. I will ; nor e'er again shall that informer Teucer, that faithless stranger, boast from roe Rewards for perjury. Indeed, no clear or strong evidence was given by the in- r ormers.* One of them being asked how he could dis- tinguish the faces of those who disfigured the statues, an- swered, that he discerned them by the light of the moon ; which was a plain falsity, for it was done at the time of the moon's change. All persons of understanding exclaim- ed against such baseness, but this detection did not in the least pacify the people ; they went on with the same rage and violence with which they had begun, taking informa- "ions, and committing all to prison whose names were given in. Among^ those that were then imprisoned, in order to their trial, was the orator Andocides, whom Hellanicus the historian reckons among the descendants of Ulysses. He \V2S thought to be no friend to a popular government, r. favourer of oligarchy. What contributed not a little to his being suspected of having some concern in de- facing the Hernia?, was, that the great statue of Mercury, which was placed near his house, being consecrated to that god by the tribe called the ./Egei's, was almost the only one, amongst the more remarkable, which was left entire. Therefore, to this day, it is called the Hermes of Andocides, and that title universally prevails, though the inscription does not agree with it. airixis rrjixxiTzt;. The translation of 1758 renders it pregnant proofs though Plutarch observes, a little lower, that thi proofs were very weak, and the evidence false and inconsistent. ALCIBIADES. 55 It happened, that among those who were imprisoned on the same account, Andoudes contracted an acquaintance and friendship with one Timaeus, a man not equal in rank to himself, hut of uncommon parts and a daring spirit. He advised Andocides to accuse himself and a few more ; bocausc the decree promised impunity to any one that would confess and inform, whereas the event of the trial was un- certain to all, and much to be dreaded by such of them as were persons of distinction. He represented that it was bet- ter to save his life by a falsity, than to suffer an infamous death as one really guilty of the crime ; and that with re- spect to the public, it would be an advantage to give up a few persons of dubious character, in order to rescue ma- ny good men from an enraged populace. Andocides was prevailed upon by these arguments of Timaeus ; and informing against himself and some others, enjoyed the impunity promised by the decree ; but all the rest whom he named were capitally punished, except a few that fled. Nay, to procure the greater credit to his de- position, he accused even his own servants. However, the fury of the people was not so satisfied ; but turning from the persons who had disfigured the Her- man, as if it had reposed awhile only to recover its strength, it fell totally upon Alcibiades.' At last they sent the Sala- minian galley to fetch him, artfully enough ordering their officer not to use violence, or to lay hold on his person, but to behave to him with civility, and to acquaint him with the people's orders, that he should go and take his trial, and clear himself before them ; for they were apprehensive of some tumult and mutiny in the army, now it was in an ene- my's country, which Alcibiades, had he been so disposed, might have raised with all the ease in the world. In- deed, the soldiers expressed great uneasiness at his leav- ing them, and expected that the war would be spun out to a great length by the dilatory counsels of Nicias, when the spur was taken away. Lamachus, indeed, was bold and brave, but he was wanting both in dignity and weight* by reason of his poverty. Alcibiades immediately embarked ; * the consequence of which was, that the Athenians could not take Mes.eiu. * He prudently embarked on a vessel of his own, and not on thft Salaminiiin galley. D4 56 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. There were persons in the town ready to betray it, whom Alcibiades perfectly knew ; and as he apprised some that were friends to the Syracusans of their intention, the af- fair miscarried. As soon as he arrived at Thurii, he went on shore, and concealing himself there, eluded the search which was made after him. But some person knowing him, and saying, " Will not you, then, trust your country :" he answered, <( As to any thing else I will trust her; but with my life " I would not trust even my mother, lest she should tnis- " take a black bean for a white one." Afterwards, being told that the republic had condemned him to die, he said, " But I will make them find that I am alive." The information against him ran thus. " Thessaltis, ' the son of Cimon, of the ward of Lacias, accuscth Alci- " biades, the son of Clinias, of the ward of Scambonis, of " sacrilegiously offending the goddesses Ceres and Proser- " pine, by counterfeiting their mysteries, and shewing them " to his companions in his OWH house ; wearing such a robe tf as the high-priest does while he shews the holy things, " he called himself high-priest, as he did Polytion torch-bear - " er, and Theodorus, of the ward of Phygea, herald; and " the rest of his companions he called persons initiated,* " and brethren of Ike secret ; herein acting contrary to the " rules and ceremonies established by the Eumolpidse,-}- the " heralds and priests at Eleusis." As he did not appear, they condemned him, confiscated his goods, and ordered all the priests and priestesses to denounce an execration against him ; which was denounced accordingly by all but Theanoj the daughter of Menon, priestess of the temple of Agraulos, who excused herself, alleging that she was a priestess for *rrr/er, not for execration, While these decrees and sentences were passing against Alcibiades, he was at Argos ; having quitted Thurii, which * The Mystte, or persons initiated, were to remain a year under probation, during which time they were to go no farther than the vestibule of the temple; after that term was expired they were call- ed epoptce, and admitted to all the mysteries, except such as were reserved for the priests only. f Eumolpus was the first who settled these mysteries of Ceres, for which reason his descendants had the care of them after him j and when his line failed, those who succeeded ia the function, were, notwithstanding, called Eumolpidw. ALCIBIADES. 5/ no longer afforded him a safe asylum, to come into Pelopon- nesus. Still dreading his enemies, and giving up all hopes of being restored to his country, he sent to Sparta to desire permission to live there under the protection of the public faith, promising to serve that state more effectually, now he was their friend, than he had annoyed them whilst their enemy. The Spartans granting him a safe conduct, and expressing their readiness to receive him, he went thither with pleasure. One thing he soon effected, which was to procure succours for Syracuse without further hesitation or delay, having persuaded them to send Gylippus thither, to take upon him the direction of the war, and to crush the Athenian power in Sicily. Another thing which he per- suaded them to, was to declare war against the Athenians, and to begin its operations on the continent : and the third, which was the most important of all, was to get Decelea fortified ; for this being in the neighbourhood of Athens, was productive of great mischief to that commonwealth.* These measures procured Alcibiades the public approba- tion at Sparta, and he was no less admired for his manner of living in private. By conforming to their diet and other austerities, he charmed and captivated the people. When they saw him close shaved, bathing in cold water, feeding on their coarse bread, or eating their black broth, they could hardly believe that such a man had ever kept a cook in his house, seen a perfumer, or worn a robe of Milesian purple. It seems, that amongst his other qualifications, he had the very extraordinary art of engaging the affections of those with whom he conversed, by imitating and adopting their customs and way of living. Nay, he turned himseif into all manners of forms with more ease than the cameleon changes his colour. It is not, we are told, in that animal's power to assume a white, but Alcibiades could adapt hhn- * Agis, king of Sparta, at the head of a very numerous army of Lacedaemonians, Corinthians, and other nations of Peloponnesus, in- vaded Attica, and according to the advice which Alcibiades had given, seized and fortified Decelea, which stood at an equal distance from Athens and the frontiers of Boeotia, by means of which the Athenians were now deprived of the profits of the silver mines, of the rents of their lands, and of the succours of their neighbours. But the greatest misfortune which happened to the Athenians, from the beginning of the war to this time, was that which befel them this year in Sicily, where they not only lost the conquest they iiimed at, together with the reputation they had so long maintained but their fleet, their army, and their generals. D 5 58 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. self either to good or bad, and did not find any thing \vhici-. he attempted impracticable. Thus, at Sparta he was all for exercise, frugal in his diet, and severe in his manners. In Asia he was as much far mirth and pleasure, luxury and case. In Thrace, again, riding and drinking were his favourite amusements ; and in the palace of Tissaphernes, the Persian grandee, he outvied the Persians themselves in pomp and splendour. Not that he could with so much ease change his real manners, or approve in his heart the form which he assumed ; but because he knew that his native manners would be unacceptable to those whom he happen- ed to be with, he immediately conformed to the ways and .fashions of whatever place he came to. When he was at Lacedaemon, if you regarded only his outside, you would r,ay, as the proverb does, This is not the son of Achilles, but Achilles himself; this man has surely been brought up under the eye of JLycurgus : but then if you looked more nearly into his disposition and his actions, you would ex- claim with Electra in the poet, The same weak woman. stiUl* For while king Agis was employed in a distant expe- dition, he corrupted his wife Timsea so effectually, that she was with child by him, and did not pretend to deny it ; and when she was delivered of a son, though in public she called him Leotychidas, yet in her own house she whispered to her female friends and to her servants, that his true name was Alcibiades. To such a degree was the woman trans- ported by her passion. And Alcibiades himself, indulging his vein of mirth, used to say, " His motive was not to " injure the king, or to satisfy his appetite, but that his " offspring might one day sit on the throne of JLacedse- " mon." Agis had information of these matters from ceveral hands, and he was the more ready to give credit to them, because they agreed with the time. Terrified with an earthquake, he had quitted his wife's chamber, to which he returned not for the next ten months : at the end of which Leotychidas being born, he declared the child was not his ; and for this reason he was never suffered to inherit the crown of Sparta. After the miscarriage of the Athenians in Sicily, the people of Chios, of Lesbos, and Cyzicum, sent to treat with the Spartans about quitting the interests of Athens, " This is spoken of Hermione, in the Orestes of Euripides, upon her discovering th same vanity and solicitude about her beauty, when advanced in years, that she had when she was young. ALCIBIADEb. 59 and putting themselves under the protection of Sparta. The Boeotians on this occasion solicited for the Lesbians, and Pharnabazus for the people of Cyzicum ; but at the persuasion of Alcibiades, succours were sent to those of Chios before all others. He likewise passed over into Ionia, and prevailed with almost all that country to re- volt ; and attending the Lacedaemonian generals in the execution of most of their commissions, he did great pre- judice to the Athenians. But Agis, who was already his enemy, on account of the injury done to his bed, could not endure his glory and prosperity ; for most of the present successes were ascribed to Alcibiades. The great and the ambitious among the Spartans were indeed, in general, touched with envy ; and had influence enough with the civil magistrate, to pro- cure orders to be sent to their friends in Ionia to kill hirr : , But timely foreseeing his danger, and cautioned by bis fears, in every step he took, he still served the Lacedemo- nians, taking care all the while not to put himself in their power. Instead of that, he sought the protection of Ti5- saphernes, one of the grandees of Persia, or lieutenants oi the king. With this Persian he soon attained the highest credit and authority ; for himself a very subtle ar,d insin- ctre man, he admired the art and keenness of Alcibiades. Indeed, by the elegance of his conversation, and the charmg of his politeness, every man was gained, all hearts were touched. liven those that feared and envied him were riot insensible to pleasure in his company ; and while they enjoyed it, their resentment was disarmed. Tissaphenies, in all other cases savage in his temper, and the bitterest enemy that Greece experienced among the Persians, gave himself up, notwithstanding, to the flatteries of AlcibiadeF, insomuch that he even vied with and exceeded him in ad- dress. For of all his gardens, that which excelled in beauty, which was remarkable for the salubrity of its streams and the freshness of its meadows, which was set off with pavi- lions royally adorned, and retirements finished in the most elegant taste, he distinguished by the name of Alcibiades; and every one continued to give it that appellation. Rejecting, therefore, the interests of Lacedaemon, and fearing that people as treacherous to him, he represented them and their king Agis, in a disadvantageous light to Tissapherne?. He advised him not to assist them eiiectually, ner absolutely to ruiu the Athe.iia ^ it to send has sub- D<5 60 PLUTARCH'S LIVL*. sidles to Sparta with a sparing hand ; that so the two powers might insensibly weaken and consume each other, and both at last be easily subjected to the king. Tissa- phernes readily followed his counsels, and it was evident to all the world that he held him in the greatest admira- tion and esteem ; which made him equally considerable with the Greeks of both parties. The Athenians repent- ed of the sentence they had passed upon him, because they had suffered for it since ; and Alcibiades, on his side, was under some fear and concern, lest, if their republic were destroyed, he should fall into the hands of the La- cedaemonians, who hated him. At that time the whole strength of the Athenians lay at Samos. With their ships sent out from thence, they re- covered some of the towns which had revolted, and others they kept to their duty ; and at sea they were in some measure able to make head against their enemies. But they were afraid of Tissaphernes, and the Phoenician fleet of an hundred and fifty ships, which were said to be coming against them ; for against such a force they could not hope to defend themselves. Alcibiades, apprised of this, privately sent a messenger to the principal Athenians at Samos, to give them hopes that he would procure them the friend- ship of Tissaphernes ; not to recommend himself to the people, whom he could not trust, but to oblige the nobi- lity, if they would but exert their superiority, repress the insolence of the commonalty, and taking the government into their own hands, by that means save their country. All the officers readily embraced his proposal, except Phrynichus, who was of the ward of Dirades. He alone suspected what was really the case, that it was a matter of very little consequence to Alcibiades whether an oligarchy or democracy prevailed in Athens ; that it was his business to get himself recalled by any means whatever ; and that therefore, by his invectives against the people, he wanted only to insinuate himself into the good graces of the no- bility. Upon these reasons proceeded the opposition of Phrynichus ; but seeing his opinion disregarded, and that Alcibiades must certainly become his enemy, he gave se- cret intelligence to Astyochus, the enemy's admiral, cf the double part which Alcibiades acted, advising him to beware of his designs, and to secure his person. But he knew not that while he was betraying, he was himself betrayed j for Astyochus, wanting to make his court to ALCIBIADES. 61 Tissaphernes, informed Alcibiades of the affair, who, he knew, had the ear of that grandee. Alcibiades immediately sent proper persons to Samoa with an accusation against Phrynichus ; who seeing no other resource, as every body was against him, and ex- pressed great indignation at his behaviour, attempted to cure one evil with another, and a greater ; for he sent to Astyochus to complain of his revealing his secret, and to offer to deliver up to him the whole Athenian fleet and army. This treason of Phrynichus, however, did no in- jury to the Athenians, because it was again betrayed by Astyochus ; for he laid the whole matter before Alcibiades. Phrynichus had the sagacity to foresee, and expect another accusation from Alcibiades 5 and to be beforehand with him, he himself forewarned the Athenians that the ene- my would endeavour to surprise them, and therefore de- sired them to be upon their guard, to keep on board their ships, and to fortify their camp. While the Athenians were doing this, letters came from Alcibiades again, advising them to beware of Phrynichus, who had undertaken to betray their fleet to the enemy : but they gave no credit to these dispatches, supposing that Al- cibiades, who perfectly knew the preparations and inten- tions of the enemy, abused that knowledge to the rising of such a calumny agamst Phrynichus. Yet afterwards, when Phrynichus was stabbed in full assembly by one of Hermon's soldiers, who kept guard that day, the Atheni- ans taking cognizance of the matter, after his death, con- demned Phrynichus as guilty of treason, and ordered Her- mon and his party to be crowned for dispatching a traitor. The friends of Alcibiades, who now had a superior in. terest at Samos, sent Pisander to Athens, to change the form of government, by encouraging the nobility to assume it, and to deprive the people of their power and privileges, as the condition upon which Alcibiades would procure them the friendship and alliance of Tissaphernes. This was the colour of the pretence made use of by those who wanted to introduce an oligarchy. But when the body which were called the five thousand, but in fact were only four hundred,* had got the power into their hands, they * It was at first proposed that only the dregs of the people should lose their authority, which was to be vested in five thousand of the most wealthy, who were for the future to be reputed the people. But when Pisander and his associates found the strength of their 62 PLUTARCH S LIVES. paid but little attention to Alcibiades, and carried on the war but slowly ; partly distrusting the citizens, who did not ytt relish the new form of government, and p?.rtlv hoping that the Lacedaemonians, who were alsvays inclined to favour an oligarchy, would not press them with their visual vigour. Such of the commonalty as were at home, were silent through fear, though much against their will ; for a number of those who had openly opposed the four hundred, were put to death. But when they that were at Samos were informed of the affair, they were highly incensed at it, and inclined immediately to set sail for the Piraeus. In the first place, however, they sent for Alcibiades ; and having appointed him their general, ordered hfrn to lead them against the tyrants, and demolish both them and their power. On such an occasion, almost any other man, suddenly exalted by the favour of the multitude, would have thought he must have complied with all their humours, and not have contradicted those in any thing, who, from a fugitive and- a banished man, had raised him to be commander in chief of such a fleet and army. But he behaved as became a great general, and prevented their plunging into error through the violence of their rage. This care of his evi- dently was the saving of the commonwealth. For it they had sailed home, as they promised, the enemy would have seized on Ionia immediately, and have gained the Helle- spont and the islands without striking a stroke ; while the Athenians would have been engaged in a civil war, of which Athens itself must have been the seat. All this was prevented chiefly by Alcibiades, who not only tried what arguments would do with the army in general, and inform- ed them of their danger, but applied to them one by or.e, using entreaties to some and force to others ; in which he was assisted by the loud harangues of Thrasybulus, of the ward of Stira, who attended him through the whole, and had the strongest voice of any man among the Athenians. Another great service performed by Alcibiades was, his undertaking that the Phoenician fleet, which the Lacedae- monians expected from the king of Persia, should either party, they carried it that the old form of government should be dissolved, and that five Prytanes should be elected ; that these five should choose a hundred; that each of the hundred should choo.se three ; that the four hundred thus elected should become a senate with supreme power, and should consult the five thousand only when and on such matters as th<*y thought fit. ALCIBIADSS. join the Athenians, or at least not act on the enemy's side, la consequence of this promise, he set out as expeditiously as possible ; and prevailed upon Tissaphemes not to for- ward the ships, which were already come as far as Aspen- dus, but to disappoint and deceive the Lacedaemonians. Nevertheless, both sides, and particularly the Lacedamo- nians, accused Alcibiades of hindering that fleet from com- ing to their aid ; for they supposed he had instructed the Persians to leave the Greeks to destroy each other. And, indeed, it was obvious enough, that such a force added to either side, would entirely have deprived the other of the dominion of the sea. ' . After this, the four hundred were soon quashed,* the friends of Alcibiades very readily assisting those who were for a democracy. And now the people of the city not only wished for him, but commanded him to return ;f yet he thought it not best to return with empty hands, or with- out having effected something worthy of note, but instead of being indebted to the compassion and favour of the mul- titude, to distinguish his appearance by his merit. Parting, therefore, from Samos with a few ships, he cruised on the sea of Cnidus and about the isle of Coos, where he got intelligence that Mindarus, the Spartan admiral, was sailed with his whole fleet towards the Hellespont, to find out the Athenians. This made him hasten to the assistance of the latter, and fortunately enough he arrived with his eighteen ships at the very juncture of time, when the two fleets having engaged near Abydos, continued the fight from morning until night, one side having the advantage in the right wing, and the other on the left.;}: On the appearance of his squadron, both sides entertained a false opinion of the end of his coming ; for the Spartans were encouraged, and the Athenians struck with terror. But he soon hoisted the Athenian flag on the admiral galley, and bore down directly upon the Peloponnesians, who now had the advantage, and were urging the pursuit. His vi- * The same year that they were set up, which was the second of the ninety-second Olympiad. The reader must carefully distingui. h this faction of four hundred from the senate of four hundred esta- blished by Solon, which these turned out the few months they weie iu power. "f" AVT; uiru 5- Athenians obtained the victory at Arginusae, and put six of the ten generals to death, upon a slight accusation of their colleague Thera- menes ; and almost the whole twenty-seventh, towards the end oi which the Athenians sailed to JEgos Potamos, where they receh c^ the blow that is spoken of in this place. J'~ol. IL E /4 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. orderly and careless manner, as if they despised their ad- versary. This seemed to Alcibiades, who was in the neigh- bourhood, a matter not to be passed over without notice. He, therefore, went and told the generals,* " He thought their station by no means safe, in a place where there wa neither town nor harbour ; that it was very inconvenient to have their provisions and stores from so distant a place as Sestos ; and extremely dangerous to let their seamen go ashore, and wander about at their pleasure, whilst a " fleet was observing them, which was under the orders of " one man, and the strictest discipline imaginable. He, ". therefore, advised them to remove their station to Sestos." The generals, however, gave no attention to what he said ; and Tydeus was so insolent as even to bid him be- gone, for that they, not he, were now to give orders. Al- cibiades, suspecting that there was some treachery in the case, retired, telling his acquaintance, who conducted him out of the camp, that if he had not been insulted in such an insupportable manner by the generals, he would, in a few days, have obliged the Lacedaemonians, however un- willing, either to come to an action at sea, or else to quit their ships. This to some appeared a vain boast ; to others it seemed not at all improbable, since he might have brought down a number of Thracian archers and cavalry, to attack and harass the Lacedaemonian camp.f The event soon shewed that he judged right of the errors which the Athenians had committed ; for Lysander falling upon them, when they least expected it, eight galleys only- escaped, J along with Conon ; the rest, not much short of two hundred, were taken and carried away, together with three thousand prisoners, who were afterwards put to death. And within a short time after Lysander took Athens itself, burnt the shipping, and demolished the long walls. Alcibiades, alarmed at the success of the Lacedaemo- nians, who were now masters both at sea and land, retired into Bithynia. Thither he ordered much treasure to be * The officers at the head of the Grecian armies and navy, vre sometimes call generals, and sometimes admirals, because they com- monly commanded both by sea and land. f" When a fleet remained sometime at one particular station, there was generally a body of land-forces, and part of the mariners too, encamped upon the shore. J There was a ninth ship, called Paralus, which escaped, and car- ried the news of their defeat to Athens. Conon himself retired te Cyprus. ALCIBIADES. 5 sent, and took large sums with him, but still left more be- hind in the castle where he had resided. In Bithynia he once more lost great part of his substance, being stript by the Thracians there; which determined him to go to Artax- erxes, and entreat his protection. He imagined that the king, upon trial, would find him no less serviceable than Themistocles had been, and he had a better pretence to his patronage ; for he was not going to solicit the king's aid against his countrymen, as Themistocles had done, but for his country against its worst enemies. He concluded that Pharnabazus was most likely to procure him a safe conduct, and therefore went to him in Phrygia, where he stayed some time, making his court, and receiving marks of respect. It was a grief to the Athenians to be deprived of their power and dominion ; but when Lysander robbed them also of their liberty, and put their city under the authority of thirty chiefs, they were still more miserably afflicted. Now their affairs were ruined, they perceived with regret the measures which would have saved them, and which they had neglected to make use of ; now they acknowledged their blindness and errors, and looked upon their second quarrel with Alcibiades as the greatest of those errors. They had cast him off without any offence of his ; theif anger had been grounded upon the ill conduct of his lieu- tenant in losing a few ships ; and their own conduct had been still worse, in depriving the commonwealth of the most excellent and valiant of all its generals. Yet amidst their present misery there was one slight glimpse of hope, that while Alcibiades survived, Athens could not be utterly un- done. For he, who before was not content to lead an in- active, though peaceable life, in exile, would not now, if his own affairs were upon any tolerable footing, sit still and see the insolence of the Lacedaemonians, and the mad- ness of the thirty tyrants, without endeavouring at some remedy. Nor was it at all unnatural for the multitude to dream of such relief, since those thirty chiefs themselves were so solicitous to inquire after Alcibiades, and gave so much attention to what he was doing and contriving. At last, Critias represented to Lysander, that the La- cedsemonians could never securely enjoy the empire of Greece till the Athenian democracy was absolutely de- stroyed. And though the Athenians seemed at present to bear an obligarchy with some patience, yet Alcibiades, if he lived, would not suffer them long to submit to such a E 2 7(5 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. kind of government. Lysander, however, could not be prevailed upon by these arguments, until he received pri- vate orders from the magistrates of Sparta,* to get Al- cibiades dispatched ; whether it was that they dreaded his great capacity, and enterprising spirit, or whether it was done in complacence to king Agis. Lysander then sent to Pharnabazus, to desire him to put this order in execu- tion ; and he appointed his brother Magacus and his uncle Susamithres to manage the affair. Alcibiades at that time resided in a small village in Phry- gia, having his mistress Timaadra with him. One night he dreamed that he was attired in his mistress's habit,f and that as she held him in her arms, she dressed his head, and painted his face like a woman's. Others say, he dreamed that Magacus cut off his head, and burnt his body ; and we are told that it was but a little before his death that he had this vision. Be that as it may, those that were sent to assassinate him, not daring to enter his house, sur- rounded it, and set it on fire. As soon as he perceived it, lie got together large quantities of cloths and hangings, and threw them upon the fire to choke it j then having wrapt his robe about his left hand, and taking his sword in his right, he sallied through the fire, and got safe out before the stuff which he had thrown upon it could catch the flame. At sight of him the barbarians dispersed, not one of them daring to wait for him, or to encounter him hand to hand ; . but standing at a distance, they pierced him with their darts and arrows. Thus fell Alcibiades. The barbarians retiring after he was slain, Timandra wrapt the body in her own robes,jl and buried it as de- cently and honourably as her circumstances would allow. Timandra is said to have been mother to the famous Lais, commonly c.illed the Corinthian, though Lais was brought a captive from Hyccarae, a little town in Sicily. Some writers, though they agree as to the manner of Alcibiades's death, yet differ about .the cause. They tell * The Scytala was sent to him. f Alcibiades had dreamed that Timandra attired him in her Qwn habit. $ She buried him in a town called Melissa ; and we learn from Athenseus (in Deipnosoph.) that the monument remained to his time ; for he himself saw it. The emperor Adrian, in memory of so great a man, caused his statue of Persian marble to be set up thereon, an3 : -I bull to be sacrificed to him cmiually. ALCIBIADES. J7 us, that catastrophe is not to be imputed to Pharnabazus, or Lysander, or the Lacedaemonians ; but that Alcibiades having corrupted a young woman of a noble family in that country, and keeping her in his house, her brothers, in- censed at the injury, set fire in the night to the house in \vhich he lived, and upon his breaking through the flames, killed him in the manner we have related.* CAIUS MARCIUS CORIOLANUS. THE family of the Marcii afforded Rome many illustrious patricians. Of this house was Ancus Marcius, who was grandson to Numa by his daughter; as were also Publius and Quintus Marcius, who supplied Rome with plenty of the best water. Censorinus, too, who was twice appoint- ed censor by the people of Rome, and who procured a law, that no man should ever bear that office twice after- wards, had the same pedigree. Caias Marcius, of whom I now write, was brought up by .his mother, in her widowhood ; and from him it appeared, that the loss of a father, though attended with other disad- vantages, is no hindrance to a man's improving in virtue, and attaining to a distinguished excellence ; though bad men sometimes allege it as an excuse for their corrupt lives. On the other hand, the same Marcius became witness to the truth of that maxim, that if a generous and noble nature be not thoroughly formed by discipline, it will shoot forth many bad qualities along with the good, as the richest soil, if not cultivated, produces the rankest weeds. His un- daunted courage and firmness of mind excited him to many great actions, and carried him through them with honour ; but, at the same time, the violence of his passions, his spi- rit of contention, and excessive obstinacy, rendered him un- * Ephorus the historian, ashe is cited by Diodorus Siculus (lib.xiv.), gives an account of his death, quite different from those recited by Plutarch. He says, that Alcibiades having discovered the design of Cyrus the younger to take up arms, informed Pharnabazus of it, and desired that he might carry the news to the king ; but Pharna- bazus envying him that honour, sent a confidant of his own, and took all the merit upon himself. Alcibiades, suspecting the matter, went to Paphlagonia, and sought to procure from the governor let- ters of credence to the king, which Pharnabazus understanding, hired people to murder him. He was slain in the fortieth year of his age. E3 , a PLUTARCH'S LIVES. tractable and disagreeable in conversation; so that those very persons who saw with admiration his soul unshaken with pleasures, toils, and riches, and allowed him to be possessed of the virtues of temperance, justice, and fortitude, yet, in the councils and affairs of state, could not endure his imperious temper, and that savage manner, which was too haughty for a republic. Indeed, there is no other advan- tage to be had from a liberal education, equal to that of polishing and softening our nature by reason and discipline; for that produces an evenness of behaviour, and banishes from our manners all extremes. There is this, however, to be said, that in those times military abilities were deemed by the Romans the highest excellence ; insomuch, that the term which they use for virtue in general, was applied by hem to valour in particular. Marcius, for his part, had a more than ordinary incli- nation for war, and therefore, from a child, began to handle }iis weapons. As he thought that artificial arms avail but little, unless those with which nature has supplied us be well improved, and kept ready for use, he so prepared him- self by exercise for every kind of combat, that while his limbs were active and nimble enough for pursuing, such v/as his force and weight in wrestling and in grappling with the enemy, that none could easily get clear of him. Those, therefore, that had any contest with him for the prize of courage and valour, though they failed of success, flattered themselves with imputing it to his invincible strength, which nothing could resist or fatigue. He made his first campaign when he was very young,* v/nen Tarquin, who had reigned in Rome, was driven from the throne, and afer many battles fought with bad curcess, was now venturing all upon the last throw. Most of the people of Latium, and many other states of Italy, were now assisting and marching towards Rome, to re-establish him, not through any regard they had for Tarquin, but for fear and envy of the Romans, whose growing greatness they were desirous t check. A battle ensued, with various turns of fortune. Marcius distinguished himself that day, in sight of the dictator ; for seeing a Roman pushed down at a small distance from him, he hastened to his help, and standing before him, he engaged his adversary, and slew him. When the dispute was decided in favour of the Romans, * In the first year of the seventy-first Olympiad, the two hundred and fifty-eight of Rome, four hundred and ninety-third before the Christian era. CAIUS MARCIUS CORIOLANU C . 79 *!ie general presented Marcius, among the first, with an oakeil crown.* This is the reward \vhich_ their custom assigns to a man who saves the life of a citizen ; either because they honoured the oak for the sake of the Arca- dians, whom the oracle called slcorn-eaters ; or because a:i oaken branch is most easy to be had, be the scene of action ' where it will ; or because they think it most suitable to take a crown for him who is the means of saving a citizen, from the tree which is sacred to Jupiter, the protector of cities. Besides, the oak bears more and fairer fruit than any tree that grows wild, and is the strongest of those that are cultivated in plantations. It afforded the first ages both food and drink, by its acorns and honey ; and supplied men with birds at.d other creatures for dainties, as it produced the misleto, of which birdlime is made.f Castor and Pollux are said to have appeared in that battle, and, with their horses dropping sweat, to have beea seen soou after in the forum, announcing the victory, near the foun- tain, where the temple now stands. Hence also it is said, that the fifteenth of July, ^ being the day on which that victory was gained, is consecrated to those sons of Jupiter. It generally happens, that when men of small ambition are very early distinguished by the voice of fame, their thirst of honour is soon quenched, and their desires satiated ; whereas deep and solid minds are improved and brightened by marks of distinction, which serve as a brisk gale, to drive them forward in the pursuit of glory. They do not so much think that they have received a reward, as that they have given a pledge, which would make them blush to fall short of the expectations of the public ; and there- fore they endeavour, by their actions, to exceed them. Mar- cius had a soul of this frame. He was always endeavour- ing to excel himself, and meditating some exploit which * The civic crown was the foundation of many privileges. He who had once obtained it, had a right to wear it always. When he appeared at the public spectacles, the senators rose up to do him ho- nour. He was placed near their bench ; and his father, and grand- father by the father's side, were entitled to the same privileges. Here was encouragement to merit, which cost the public nothing, and yet was productive of many great effects. j- It does not anywhere appear that the ancients made use of the oak in ship-building. How much nobler an encomium might an Eng- lish historian afford. that tree than Plutarch has been able to give it 1 By the great disorder of the Roman kalender, the fifteenth of July then fell upon the twenty-fourth of our October. E 4 90 PLUTARCH'S LIVES might set him in a new light, adding achievement tw achievement, and spoils to spoils ; therefore the latter ge- nerals under whom he served were always striving to out- do the former in the honours they paid him, and in the tokens of their esteem. The Romans at that time were engaged in several wars, and fought many battles, and there was not one that Marcius returned from without some honorary crown, some ennobling distinction. The end which others proposed in their acts of valour was glory ; but he pursued glory because the acquisition of it delight- ed his mother. For when she \vas witness to the applauses :eived, when she saw him crowned, when she embra- ced him with tears of joy, then it was that he reckoned himself at the height of honour and felicity. Epaminondas (they tell us) had the same sentiments, and declared it the ;:hief happiness of his life, that his father and mother lived to see the generalship he exerted, and the victory he won, at Leuctra. He had the satisfaction, indeed, to see both .-.rents rejoice in his success, and partake of his good -.--.it only the mother of Marcius, Volumnia, was : and therefore holding himself obliged to pay her all .uty which would have belonged to his father, over and .ibeve what was due to herself, he thought he could never sufficiently express his tenderness and respect. He even married in compliance with her desire and request ; and af- :: wife had born him children, still lived in the same huuse with his mother. At the time when the reputation and interest which hia virtue had procured him in Rome, was very great, the senate, taking the part of the richer sort of citizens, were at variance '.vith the common people, who* were used by their creditors .itolerable cruelty. Those that had something consi- derable, were stript of their goods, which were either de- tained for security or sold ; and those that had nothing were dragged into prison, and there bound with fetters, though their bodies were full of wounds, and worn out righting for their country. The last expedition they were engaged in was against the Sabines, on which occa- iion their rich creditors promised to treat them with more lenity ; and, in pursuance of a decree of the senate, M. Valerius, the consul, was guarantee of that promise. But * Tlxffxtiv ZoKvtrx signifies the sam as I when they had cheerfully undergone the fatigues of that war, and were returned victorious, and yet found that the usurers made them no abatement, and that the senate pre- tended to remember nothing of that agreement, but with- out any sort of concern saw them dragged to prison, and their goods seized upon as formerly, then they filled the city with tumult and sedition. The enemy, apprised of these intestine broils, invaded the Roman territories, and laid them waste with fire and sword. And when the consuls called upon such as were able to bear arms to give in their names, not a man took any notice of it ; something was then to be done, but the magistrates differed in their opinions. Some thought the poor should have a little indulgence, and that the extreme rigour of tke law ought to be softened. Others declared absolutely against that proposal, and particularly Marcius. Not that he thought the money a matter of great conse- quence, but he considered this specimen of the people'* insolence 33 an attempt to subvert the laws, and the fore- runner of farther disorders, which it became a wise govern- ment timely to restrain and suppress. The senate assembled several times within the space of a few days, and debated this point ; but as they came to no conclusion, on a sudden the commonalty rose, one and all, and encouraging each other, they left the cicy, and with- drew to the hill now called Sacred, near the river Anio, but without committing any violence or other act of sedition. Only, as they went along, they loudly complained, " That " it was now a great while since the rich had driven them " from their habitations ; that Italy would anywhere sup- " ply them with air and water, and a place of burial ; and 44 that Rome, if they stayed in it, would afford them no " other privilege, unless it were such to bleed and die in " fighting for their wealthy oppressors." The senate were then alarmed, and from the oldest men of their body selected the most moderate and popular to treat with the people. At the head of them was Menenius Agrippa, who, after much entreaty addressed to them, and many arguments in defence of the senate, concluded his dis- course with this celebrated fable. " The members of the " human body once mutinied against the belly, and accused * 4 it of lying idle and useless, while they were all labouring " and toiling to satisfy its appetites ; but the belly only *' laughed at their simplicity, who knew not that though it E5 82 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. *' received all the nourishment into itseif, it prepared and " distributed it again to all parts of the body. Just go, " my fellow-citizens,'* said he, *' stands the case between " the senate and you. For their necessary counsels and " acts of government are productive of advantage to you *' all, and distribute their salutary influence amongst the " whole people." After this they were reconciled to the senate, having de- manded and obtained the privilege of appointing five men* to defend their rights on all occasions. These are called tribunes of the people. The first that were elected, were Junius Brutusf and Sicinius Vellutus, the leaders of the se- cession. When the breach was thus made up, the plebeians soon came to be enrolled as soldiers, and readily obeyed the orders of the consuls relative to the war. As for Marcius, though he was far from being pleased at the advantage which the people had gained, as it was a lessening of the authority of the patricians, and though he found a consi- derable part of the nobility of his opinion, yet he exhorted them not to be backward wherever the interest of their country was concerned, but to shew themselves superior to the commonalty rather in virtue than in power. Corioli was the capital of the country of the Volscians, with whom the Romans were at war ; and as it was be- sieged by the Consul Cominius, the rest of the Volscians, were much alarmed, and assembled to succour it, intending to give the Romans battle under the walls, and to attack them on both sides. But after Cominius had divided his forces, and with part went to meet the Volscians without, who were marching against him, leaving Titus Lartius, an illustrious Roman, with the other part, to carry on the siege, the inhabitants of Corioli despised the body that w .re * The tribunes were at first five in number ; but a few years after five more were added. Before the people left the Mons Sacer, they passed a law, by which the persons of the tribunes were made sacred. Their sole function was to interpose in all grievances offered the ple- beians by their superiors. This interposing was called interctssio, and was performed by .standing up and pronouncing the single word veto, I forbid it. They had their seats placed at the door of the senate, and were never admitted into it, but when the consuls called them to ask their opinion upon some aflairjthat concerned the interests of the people. j- The name of this tribune was Lucius Junius, and because Lu- cius Junius Brutus was famed for delivering his country from the tyrannic yoke of the kings, he also assumed the surname of Brutus, whjch exposed him to a great deal of ridicule. CAIUS MARCIUS CORIOLAXUS. left, and sallied out to fight them. The Romans at first were obliged to give ground, and were driven to their en- trenchments. But Marciui, with a small party, flew to their assistance, killed the foremost of the enemy, and stop- ping the rest in their career, with a loud voice called the Romans back. For he was ( what Cato wanted a soldier to be) not only dreadful for the thunder of his arm, but of voice too, and had an aspect which struck his adversaries with terror and dismay. Many Romans then crowding 1 about him, and being ready to second him, the enemy re- tired in confusion. Nor was he satisfied with making them retire ; he pressed hard upon their rear, and pursued them quite up to the gates. There he perceived that his men discontinued the pursuit, by reason of the shower of arrows which fell from the walls, and that none of them had any thoughts of rushing along with the fugitives intd the city, which was filled with warlike people, who were all under arms ; nevertheless he exhorted and encouraged them to press forward, crying out, -" That fortune had opened the 45 gates rather to the victors than to the vanquished." But as few were willing to follow him, he broke through the enemy, and pushed into the town with the crowd, no one at first daring to oppose him, or even to look him in the face. But when he cast his eyes around, and saw so small a number within the walls, whose service he could make use of in that'dangerous enterprize, and that friends and foes were mixed together, he summoned all his force, and performed the most incredible exploits, whether you consi- der his heroic strength, his amazing agility, or his bold and daring spirit ; for he overpowered all that were in his way, forcing some to beek refuge in the farthest corners of the town, and others to give out and throw down their arms ; which afforded Lartius an opportunity to bring in the rest of the Romans unmolested. The city thus taken, most of the soldiers fall to plunder- ing, which Marcius highly resented, crying out, ; " That " it was a shame for them to run about atter plunder, -or, " under pretence of collecting the spoils, to get out of the " way of danger, while the consul, and the Romans under "' his command, were, perhaps, en^a^ed with the enemy." As there were not many that listened to what he said, he put himself at the head of such as offered to follow him, and took the route which he knew would lead him to the consul's army ; sometimes pressing his small party to hasten E6 84 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. their march, and conjuring them not to suffer their ardour to cool ; and sometimes begging of the gods that the battle might not be over before he arrived, * but that he might have his share in the glorious toils and dangers of his coun- trymen. It was customary with the Romans of that age, when they were drawn up in order of battle, and ready to take up their shields, and gird their garments about them, to make a nuncupative will, naming each his heir, in the presence of three or four witnesses. While the soldiers were thus employed, and the enemy in sight, Marcius came up. Some were startled at his first appearance, covered as he was with blood and sweat. But when he ran cheerfully up to the consul, took him by the hand, and told him that Corioli was taken, the consul clasped him to his heart ; and those who heard the news of that success, and those who did but guess at it, were greatly animated, and with shouts demand- ed to be led on to the combat. Marcius inquired of Comi- nius, in what manner the enemy's army was drawn up, and where their best troops were posted. Being answered, that the Antiates, who were placed in the centre, were supposed to be the bravest and most warlike," I beg it of you, " then/' said Marcius, " as a favour, that you will place " me directly opposite to them." And the consul, admir- ing his spirit, readily granted his request. When the battle was begun with the throwing of spears/* Marcius advanced before the rest, and charged the centre of the Volscians with so much fury that it was soon broken. Nevertheless, the wings attempted to surround him ; and the consul, alarmed for him, sent to his assistance a select band which he had near his own person. A sharp conflict then ensued about Marcius, and a great carnage was quickly made ; but the Romans pressed the enemy with so much vigour that they put them to flight. And when they were going upon the pursuit, they begged of Marcius, now al- most weighed down with wounds and fatigue, to retire to the camp. But he answered, " That it was not for con- 14 querors to be tired ;" and so joined them in prosecuting the victory. The whole army of the Volscians was defeat- ed, great numbers killed, and many made prisoners. Next day, Marcius waiting upon the consul, and the amy being assembled, Cominius mounted the rostrum ; CA1US MARCH'S COHIOLANUS. 85 and, having, in the first place, returned due thanks to the gods for such extraordinary success, addressed himself to Marcius. He began with a detail of his gallant actions, of which he had himself been partly an eye-witness, and which had partly been related to him by Lartius. Then out of the great quantity of treasure, the many horses and prisoners they had taken, he ordered him to take a tenth, before any distribution was made to the rest, beside making him a present of a fine horse with noble trappings, as a reward for his valour. The army received this speech with great applause ; and Marcius, stepping forward, said," That he accepted of '* the horse, and was happy in the consul's approbation ; " but as for the rest, he considered it rather as a pecuniary " reward than as a mark of honour, and therefore desired " to be excused, being satisfied with his single share of " the booty. One favour only in particular," continued he, " I desire, and beg I may be indulged in. I have *' a friend among the Volscians, bound with me in the " sacred rites ot hospitality,* and a man of virtue and *' honour. He is now among the prisoners, and from easy " and opulent circumstances reduced to servitude. Of " the many misfortunes under which he labours, I should 44 be glad to rescue him from one, which is that of being " sold as a slave.'' These words of Marcius were followed with still louder acclamations ; his conquering the temptations of money being more admired than the valour he had exerted in battle. For even those who before regarded his superior honours with envy and jealousy, now thought him worthy of great things, because he had greatly declined them, and were more struck with that virtue which led him to despise' such extraordinary advantages, than with the merit which claimed them. Indeed, the right use of riches is more commendable than that of arms ; and not to desire them at all, more glorious than to use them well. When the acclamations were over, and the multitude silent again, Cominius subjoined, " You cannot, indeed, With the former translator, we have rendered it thus, instead of 7/G-:f, which is indeed the literal sense, but sounds uncouthly in English, as it conveys to the unlearned reader the idea of an inn- keeper. Among the ancients, one friend called another of a different nation |ES,- p tl) my stranger, or kospes meus, my host, because, on their travels or other occasions, they entertained each other at their houses. 86 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. *' my fellow-soldiers, force these gifts of yours upon a " person so firmly resolved to refuse them ; let us then give " him what is not in his power to decline, let us pass " a vote that he he called COHIOLANUS, if his gallant *' behaviour at Corioli has not already bestowed that name " upon him/' Hence came his third name of Coriolanus. By which it appears, that Caius was the proper name ; that the second name, Marcius, was that of the family ; and that the third Roman appellative was a peculiar note of distinction, given afterwards on account of some particular act of fortune, or signature, or virtue of him that bore it. Thus, among the Greeks, additional names were given to some on account of their achievements, as Soter, the pre- server, and Ca/Hnicus, the victorious ; to others, for some- thing remarkable in their persons, as Physcon, the gor- be.lifd, and Giypus, the eagle-nosed; or, for their good qualities., as Euergetes, the benefactor, and Philadelphia, the kind brother ; or their good fortune, as Eudfmon, the pros- perous, a name given to the second prince of the family of the Batti. Several princes also have had satirical names bestowed upon them ; Antigonus (for instance) was called Dnsnn, the man that will give to-norroiv ; and Ptolemy was styled Lamyrus, the l>ujf>on. But appellations of this last sort were used with greater latitude among the Romans. One of the Metelli was distinguished by the name of Dia- dematus, becau e he went a long time with a bandage, which covered an ulcer he had in his forehead ; and an- other they called Celer, because with surprising celerity he entertained them with a funeral shew of gladiators, a few days after his father's death. In our times, too, some of the Romans receive their names from the circumstances of their birth ; as that of Procului, if born when their fathers are in a distant country, and that of Posfhumus, if born after their father's death ; and when twins come into the world, and one of them dies at the birth, the survivor is called yopiscus. Names are also appropriated on account of bodily imperfections ; for amongst them we find not only Sylla, the red, and Niger, the I lack, but even Caen?, the Hind, and Claudius, the lame; such persons, by this custom, being wisely taught, not to consider blindness, or any other bodily misfortune, as a reproach or disgrace, but to answer to appellations of that kind as their proper names. But this point might have been insisted upon with greater propriety in another place. CAIVS MARCIUS CORIOLAXV5. 87 When the war was over, the demagogues stirred up another sedition. And as there was no new cause of dis- quiet or injury done the people, they made use of the mischiefs which were the necessary consequence of the for- mer troubles and dissensions, as a handle against the patri- lians. For the greatest part of the ground being left un- cultivated and unsown, and the war not permitting them to bring in bread-corn from other countries, there was an extreme scarcity in Rome.* The factious orators then seeing that corn was not brought to market, and that if the market could be supplied, the commonalty had but little money to buy with, slanderously asserted that the rich had caused the famine out of a spirit of revenge. At this juncture there arrived ambassadors from the peo- ple of Velitrse, who offered to surrender their city to the Romans, and desired to have a number of new inhabitants to replenish it ; a pestilential distemper having committed such ravages there, that scarce the tenth part of the inha- bitants remained. The sensible part of the Romans thought this pressing necessity of Velitrse a seasonable and advan- tageous thing for Rome, as it would lessen the scarcity of provision*. They hoped, moreover, that the sedition w.mid subside if the city were purged of the troublesome part of the people, who most readily took fire at the ha- rangues of their orators, and who were as dangerous to the state as so many superfluous and morbid humours are to the body. Such as these, therefore, the consuls singled out for the colony, and pitched upon others to serve in the war against the Volscians, contriving it so that employ- ment abroad might still the intestine tumuks, and believing, that when rich and poor, plebeians and patncians, came te bear -arms together again, to be in the same camp, and to meet the same dangers, they would be disposed to treat each other with more gentleness and candour. But the restless tribunes, Sicinius and BrutuSj opposed both these designs, crying out, That the consuls disguised a most inhuman act under the plausible term of a colony ; for inhuman it certainly was, to throw the poor citizens into a devouring gulf, by sending them to a place where * The people withdrew to the sacred mount soon after the au* al equinox, and the reconciliation with the patricians did not ;4ace until the winter solstice, so that the seed-time was lost ; and the Roman factors, who were sent to buy corn in other coun- tries, were very unsuccessful. 88 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. the air was infected, and where noisome carcases lay above ground, where also they would be at the disposal of a strange and cruel deity. And as if it were not suf- ficient to destroy some by famine, and to expose others to the plague, they involved them also into a needlees war, that no Kind of calamity might be wanting to complete the ruin of the city, because it refused to continue in slavery to the rich. The people, irritated by these speeches, neither obeyed the summons to be enlisted for the war, nor could be brought to approve the order to go and people Velitrae. While the senate were in doubt what step they should take, Marcius, mow not a little elated by the honours he had received, by the sense of his own great abilities, and by the deference that was paid him by the principal persons in the state, stood foremost in opposition to the tribunes. The colony, therefore, was sent out, heavy fines being set upon such as refused to go. But as they declared absolutely against serv- ing in the war, Marcius mustered up his own clients, and as many volunteers as he could procure, and with these made an inroad into the territories of the Antiates. There he found plenty of corn, and a great number of cattle and slaves, no part of which he reserved to himself, but led his troops back to Rome, loaded with the rich booty. The rest of the citizens then repenting of their obstinacy, and envying those who had got such a quantity of provisions, looked upon Marcius with an evil eye, not being able to endure the increase of his power and honour, which they considered as rising on the ruins of the people, fc. Soon after,* Marcius stood for the consulship ; on which occasion the commonalty began to relent, being sensible what a shame it would be to reject and affront a man of his family and virtue, and that too after he had done so many signal services to the public. It was the custom for those who were candidates for such an high office to solicit and caress the people in the 'orum, and, at those times, to be clad in a loose gown without the tunic; whether that humble dress was thought more suitable for suppliants, or whether it was for the convenience of shewing their wounds, as so many tokens of valour ; for it was not from any suspicion the citizens then had of bribery, that they required the * It was the next year, being the third of the seventy-second lympiad, four hundred and eighty-eight years before the Christian era, CAJUS MAUCIUS CORIOLAKUS. 89 candidates to appear before them ungirt, and without any close garment, when they came to beg their votes ; since it was much later than this, and indeed many ages after, that buying and selling stole in, and money came to be a means of gaining an election. Then, corruption reaching also the tribunals and the camps, arms were subdued by money, and the commonwealth was changed into a monarchy. It was a shrewd saying, whoever said it, " That the man who " first ruined the Roman people, was he who first gave them " treats and gratuities." But this mischief crept secretly and gradually in, and did not shew its face in Rome for a considerable time. For we know not who it was that first bribed its citizens or its judges ; but it is said, that in Athens, the first man who corrupted a tribunal, was Any- tas, the son of Anthymion, when he was tried for treason in delivering up the fort of Pylos,* at the latter end of the Peloponnesian war ; a time when the golden age reigned in the Roman courts in all its simplicity. When, therefore, Marcius shewed the wounds and scars he had received in the many glorious battles he had fought, for seventeen years successively, the people were struck with reverence for his virtue, and agreed to choose him consul. But when the day of election came, and he was conducted with great pomp into the Campus Martius by the senate in a body, all the patricians acting with more zeal and vigour than ever had been known on the like occasion, the com- mons then altered their minds, and their kindness was turned into envy and indignation. The malignity of these passions was farther assisted by the fear they entertained, that if a man so strongly attached to the interests of the senate, and so much respected by the nobility, should attain the consulship, he might utterly deprive the people of their liberty. Influenced by these considerations, they rejected Marciue, and appointed others to that office. The senate took this extremely ill, considering it as an affront rather in- tended against them than against Marcius. As for Marcius, he resented that treatment highly, indulging his irascible passions upon a supposition, that they have something great and exalted in them ; and wanting a due mixture of gravity and mildness, which are the chief political virtues, and the fruits of reason and education. He did not consider, * The translation of 1758, has the name of the fort with a French termination, Pyle, which is a clear proof that the Greek was not consulted, CX) PLUTARCH'S Lives. that the man who applies himself to public business, and undertakes to converse with men, should, above all things, avoid that overbearing auslei'ilif, which (as Plato says) is always the companion r,f s<>litui!c' t and cultivate in his heart the patience which some people so much deride. Marcius, then, being plain and artless, but rigid and inflexible withal, was persuaded, that to vanquish opposition was the highest attainment of a gallant spirit. He never dreamed that such obstinacy is rather the effect of the weakness and effeminacy of a distempered mind, which breaks out in violent passions, like so many tumours ; and therefore he went away in great disorder, and full of rancour against the people. Such of the young nobility as were most distin- guished by the pride of birth and greatness of spirit, who had always been wonderfully taken with Marcius, and then unluckily happened to attend him, inflamed his resentment by expressing their own grief and indignation. For he was their leader in every expedition, and their instructor in the art of war : he it was who inspired them with a truly vir- tuous emulation, and taught them to rejoice in their own success, without envying the exploits of others In the meantime, a great quantity of bread-corn was brought to Rome, being partly bought up in Italy, and partly a present from Gelon, kin^of Syracuse, The aspect of affairs appeared now to be encouraging, and it was hoped that the intestine broils would "ease with the scarcity. The senate, therefore, being im-ne iiateiy assembled, the people stood in crowds without, waiting for the issue of their deliberations. They expected that the market rates for the corn that was bought would be moderate, and that a distribution of that which was a gift would be made i^rati' ; for there were some who proposed that the senate should dispose of it in that manner But Marcius stood up, and severely censured those that spoke in favour of the com- moralty, calling them demagogues, and traitors to the nobility. He said, " They nourished, to their own great " prejudice, the pernicious seeds of boldness and petulance, " which had been sown among the populace, wht-n they should rather have nipped them in the bud, and not have suffered the plebeians to strengthen themselves with the tribunitial power. That the people were now become formidable, gaining whatever point they pleased, and not doing any one thing against their inclination ; so that living in a eort of anarchy, they would no longer CAIUS MARCICS CORIOLAKUS. 91 ' obey the consuls, nor acknowledge any superiors but ' those whom they called their own magistrates. That the ' senators who advised that, distributions should be rr.de ' in the manner of the Greeks, whose goverhmenr was ' entirely democratical, were effecting the ruin of the " constitution, by encouraging the insolence of tiie rabble. " For that they would not suppose they received such fa- " vours for the campaign which they had refused to make, " or for the secessions by which they had deserted their " country, or for the calumnies which they Lad counte- *' nanced against the senate. But," continued he, " they " will think that we yield to them through fear, and grant " them such indulgences by way of flattery ; and as they " will expect to find us always so complaisant, there will " be no end to their disobedience, no period to their tur- " bulent and seditious practices. It would, therefore, be " perfect madness to take such a step. Nay, if we are *' wise, we shall entirely abolish the tribune's office,* " which has made cyphers of the consuls, and divided the " city in such a manner, that it is no longer one as for- " merly, but broken into two parts, which will never " knit again, or cease to vex and harass each other with " all the evils of discord."f Marcius, haranguing to this purpose, inspired the young senators and almost all the men of fortune with his own enthusiasm ; and they cried out that he was the only man in Rome who had a spirit above the meanness of flattery and submission ; yet some of the aged senators foresaw the consequence, and opposed his measures. In fact the issue >vas unfortunate ; for the tribunes, who were present, when they saw that Marcius would have a majority of voices, ran out to the people, loudly calling upon them to stand by their own magistrates, and give their best assistance. An assembly then was held in a tumultuary manner, in which the speeches of Marcius were recited, and the plebeians in their fury had thoughts of breaking in upon the senate. The tribunes pointed their rage against Marcius in par- ticular, by impeaching him in form, and sent for him to make his defence ; but as he spurned the messengers, they * The tribunes had lately procured a lav.-, which made it penal t interrupt them when they were speaking to the people. j- Plutarch has omitted the mobt aggravating passage in Coriola- mis's speech, wherein he proposed the holding up the price of bread- corn as high as ever, to keep the people r r ? ar.d subjection. Q2 JLUTARCH'S LIVES. went themselves, attended by the asdiles, to bring him by force, and began to lay hands on him. Upon this the patricians stood up for him, drove off the tribunes, and beat the aediles ; till night coming on broke off the quarrel. Early next morning, the consuls observing that the people, now extremely incensed, flocked from all quarters into the forum ; and dreading what might be the consequence to the city, hastily convened the senate, and moved, " That 44 they should consider how with kind words and favour- 44 able resolutions they might bring the commons to tem- 44 per ; for that this was not a time to display their ambi- 44 tion, nor would it be prudent to pursue disputes about 14 the point of honour at a critical and dangerous juncture, 44 which required the greatest moderation and delicacy of *' conduct." As the majority agreed to the motion, they went out to confer with the people, and used their best endeavours to pacify them, coolly refuting calumnies, and modestly, though not without some degree of sharpness, complaining of their behaviour. As to the price of bread- corn, and other provisions, they declared there should be no difference between them. Great part of the people were moved with this applica- tion, and it clearly appeared, by their candid attention, that they were ready to close with it. Then the tribunes stood up and saidj " That since the senate acted with such mode- 44 ration, the people were not unwilling to make concessions 44 in their turn ; but they insisted that Marcius should come 44 and answer to these articles :" Whether he had not stirred up the senate to the confounding of all government, and to the destroying of (he people's privileges ? IVliether he had not refused to obey their summons? Whether he had not beaten and otherwise maltreated the adiles in the forum ; and ly these means (so Jar as in him lay) levied war, and brought the citizens to sheath their swords in each other's bosom? These things they said with a design, either to humble Mar- cius, by making him submit to entreat the people's clemency, which was much against his haughty temper; or if he follow- ed his native bent, to draw him to make the breach incurable. The latter they were in hopes of, and the rather because they knew the man well. He stood as if he would have made his defence, and the people waited in silence for what he had to say. But when, instead of the submissive language that jyas expected, he began with an aggravating boldness, and rather accused the commons than defended himself; CAIUS MARCItJS CORIOLANUS. 93 when with the tone of his voice and the fierceness of his looks he expressed an intrepidity bordering upon insolence and contempt, they lost all patience ; and Sicinius, the boldest of the tribunes, after a short consultation with his colleagues, pronounced openly, that the tribunes con- demned Marcius to die. He then ordered the aediles to take him immediately up to the top of the Tarpeian rock, and 'throw him down the precipice. However, when they came to lay hands on him, the action appeared horrible even to many of the plebeians. The patricians, shocked and astonished, ran with great outcries to his assistance, and got Marcius in the midst of them, some interposing to keep off the arrest, and others stretching out their hands in supplication to the multitude ; .but no regard was paid to words and entreaties amidst such disorder and confusion, until the friends and relations of the tribunes perceiving it would be impossible to carry off Marcius and punish him capitally, without first spilling much patrician blood, persuaded them to alter the cruel and unprecedented part of the sentence ; not to use violence in the affair, or put him to death without form of trial, but to refer all to the people's determination in full assembly. Sicinius, then a little mollified, asked the patricians, " What they meant by taking Marcius out of the hands " of the people, who were resolved to punish him ?'* To which they replied by another question, " What do you " mean by thus dragging one of the worthiest men in " Rome, without trial, to a barbarous and illegal execu- " tion ?'* " If that be all," said Sicinius, " you shall no " longer have a pretence for your quarrels and factious " behaviour to the people ; for they grant you what you " desire ; the man shall have his trial. And as for you, " Marcius, we cite you to appear the third market-day, " and satisfy the citizens of your innocence, if you can ; " for then by their suffrages your affair will be decided.'' The patricians were content with this compromise ; and thinking themselves happy in carrying Marcius off, they retired. Meanwhile, before the third market-day, which was a considerable space, for the Romans hold their markets every ninth day, and thence call them Nund'uue, war broke out with the Antiates,* which, because it was like to be of some * Advice was suddenly brought to Rome, that the people of Ai> t'uuuhad seized and confiscated the ships belonging to Gelon's arrr- 94 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. continuance, gave them hopes of evading 1 the judgment, since there would be time for the people to become more tractable, to moderate their anger, or perhaps let it entirely evaporate in the business of that expedition. But they soon made peace with the Antiates, and returned : whereupon, the fears of the senate were renewed, and they often met to consider how things might be so managed, that they should neither give up Marcius, nor leave room for the tribunes to throw the people into new disorders. On this occasion, Appius Claudius, who was the most violent adversary the commons had, declared, " That the senate would betray " and ruin themselves, and absolutely destroy the consti- " tution, if they should once suffer the plebeians to assume " a power of suffrage against the patricians." But the oldest and most popular of the senators * were of opinion, " That the people, instead of behaving with more harsh- " ness and severity, would become mild and gentle, if that power were indulged them ; since they did not des- pise the senate, but rather thought themselves despised by it ; and the prerogative of judging would be such an honour to them, that they would be perfectly satisfied, and immediately lay aside all resentment.'' Marcius then seeing the senate perplexed between their regard for him and fear of the people, asked the tribunes, " What they accused him of, and upon what charge he " waste be tried beforethe people ?" Being told, " That " he would be tried for treason against the commonwealth, " in designing to set himself up as a tyrant ;"f " Let me " go, then," said he, " to the people, and make my de- " fence ; I refuse no form of trial, nor any kind of pu- " nishment if I be found guilty. Only allege no other ct crime against me, and do not impose upon the senate." The tribunes agreed to these conditions, and promised that the cause should turn upon this one point. bassadors in their return to Sicily, and had even imprisoned the am- bassadors. Hereupon they took up arms to qhastise the Antiates, but they submitted and made satisfaction,. * Valerius was at the head of these. He insisted also at large on the horrible consequences of a civil war. f It was never known that any person, who affected to set him- self up tyrant, joined with the nobility niniinst the people, but on the contrary, conspired with the people against the nobility. " Be- ' sides," said he, in his defence, " it was to save these Vitizens, ' that I have received the wounds you see: let the tribunes *hew, " if they can, how such actions are consistent with the treacherous -'qns th<'y ;ay to my cbarjj-.;.'' CAIUS MAHCIUS CORIOLANUS. Q5 But the first thing they did, after the people were assem- bled, was to compel them to give their voices by tribes,* and not by centuries ; thus contriving thaUthe meanest and most seditious part of the populace and those who had no regard to justice or honour, might outvote si'ch as had borne arms, or were of some fortune and character. In the next place, they passed by the charge of his affecting the sovereignty, because they could not prove it, and, in- stead of it, repeated what Marcius sometime before had said in the senate, against lowering the price of corn, and for abolishing the tribunitial power. And they added to the impeachment a new article, namely, his not bringing- into the public treasury the spoils he had taken in the country of the Antiates, but dividing them among the sol- diers.f This last accusation is said to have discomposed Marcius more than all the rest ; for it was what he did not expect, and he could not immediately think of an answer that would satisfy the commonalty ; the praises he bestowed upon those who made that campaign with him, serving only to raise an outcry against him from the majority, who were not concerned in it. At last, when they came to vote, he was condemned by a majority of three tribes, and the pe- nalty to be inflicted upon him was perpetual banishment. After the sentence was pronounced, the people were more elated, and went off in greater transports thai) they ever did on account of a victory in the fitld ; the senate, on the ether .hand, were in the greatest distress, and repented that they had not run the last risk, rather than suffer the people to possess themselves of so much power, and use it in so in- solent a manner. There was no need then to look upon * From the reign of Servius Tullius the voices had been always gathered by centuries. The consuls were for keeping up the an- cient custom, being well apprised, that they could save Coriolanus if the voices were reckoned by centuries, of which the knights and the wealthiest of the citizens made the majority, being pretty mre of ninety-eight out of a hundred and seventy-three. But the artful tribunes, alleging that, in an affair relating to the rights of the people, every citizen's vote ought to have its due weight, would not by any means consent to let the voices be collected otherwise than by tribes. f- " This," said the tribune Decius, " is a plain proof of his evil designs : with the public money he secured to himself crea- tures and guards, and supporters of his intended usurpation. Let him make it appear that he had power to dispose of this booty without violating the laws. Let him answer directly to this one article, without "dazzling us with the splendid shew of his crowr.r and scars, or using any other arts to blind the assembly." Q6 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. their dress, or any other mark of distinction, to know which was a plebeian, and which a patrician ; the man that exulted was a plebeian, and the man that was dejected a patrician. Marcius alone was unmoved and unhumbled. Still lofty in his port, and firm in his countenance, he appeared not to be sorry for himself, and to be the only one of the nobility that was not. This air of fortitude was not, however, the effect of reason or moderation, but the man was buoyed up by anger and indignation. And this, though the vulgar know it not, has its rise from grief, which, when it catches flame, is turned to anger, and then bids adieu to all feeble- ness and dejection. Hence, the angry man is courageous, just as he who has a fever is hot, the mind being upon the stretch and in a violent agitation. His subsequent beha- viour soon shewed that he was thus affected. For having returned to his own house, and embraced his mother and his wife, who lamented their fate with the weakness of women, he exhorted them to bear it with patience, and then hastened to one of the city gates, being conducted by the patricians in a body. Thus he quitted Rome, with- out asking or receiving aught at any man's hands ; and took with him only three or four clients. He spent a few days in a solitary manner at some of his farms near the city, agitated with a thousand different thoughts, such as his anger suggested ; in which he did not propose any advan- tage to himself, but considered only how he might satisfy his revenge against the Romans. At last he determined to spirit up a cruel war against them from some neighbouring nation ; and for -this purpose to apply first to the Volscians, whom he knew to be yet strong both in men and money, and whom he supposed to be rather exasperated and pro- voked to farther conflicts, than absolutely subdued. There was then a person at Antium, Tullus Aufidius by name,* highly distinguished among the Volscians, by his wealth, his valour, and noble birth. Marcius was very sensible, that of all the Romans, himself was the man whom Tullus most hated. For, excited by ambition and emula- tion, as young warriors usually are, they had in several * In Bryan's text, it is A^p/J/af. The Bodleian has it without the u, A0j$if. But Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus call him Tul- his Attius ; and with them an anonymous MS. agrees. AJidius, how- ever, which is very near the Bodleian reading, has a Latin sound, and probably -,vas what Plutarch meant to write. CAIUS MARCIUS CORIOLANUS. Q? engagements encountered each other with menaces and bold defiances, and thus had added personal enmity to the hatred which reigned between the two nations. But notwith- standing all this, considering the great generosity of Tnllus, and knowing that he was more desirous than any of the Volscians of an opportunity to return upon the Romans part of the evils his country had suffered, he took a method which strongly confirms that saying of the poet. Stern wrath, how strong thy sway ! though life's the forfeit, Thy purpose must be gain'd. For, putting himself in such cloths and habiliments as we: r most likely to prevent his being known, like Ulysses, He stole into the hostile town. It was evening when he entered, and though many people met him in the streets, not one of them knew him. He passed therefore on to the house of Tullus, where he got in undiscovered, and having directly made up to the fire- place,* he seated himself without saying a word, covering his face, and remaining in a composed posture. The peo- ple of the house were very much surprised, yet they did not venture to disturb him, for there was something of dignity both in his person and in his silence ; but they went and related the strange adventure to Tullus, who was then at supper. Tullus, upon this, rose from table, and coming to Coriolanus, asked him, Who he was, and upon what busi- ness he was come ? Coriolanus, uncovering his face, paused awhile, and then thus addressed him. " If thou dost not " yet know me, Tullus, but distrustest thy own eyes, I " must of necessity be my own accuser. I am Caius Mar- ' cius, who have brought so many calamities upon the * Volscians, and bear the additional name of Coriolanus, 1 which will not suffer me to deny that imputation, were ' I disposed to it. For all the labours and dangers T have ' undergone, I have no other reward left, but that appel- ' lation which distinguishes my enmity to your nation, " and which cannot indeed be taken from me. Of every ** thing else I am deprived by the envy and outrage of the " people, on the one hand, and the cowardice and trea- " chery of the magistrates, and those of my own order, on * The fire-place, having the domestic gods in it, was esteemed sa- cred ; and therefore all suppliants resorted to it, as to an asylum. Fo/. //. F PLUTARCH'S Livr. . *'- t'.i; other. Thus driven out an exile, I am come a " pliant to thy household {rods; not for shelter and pro- ; tectin:: ; for why should I come hither, if 1 were afraid *' of death : b:it for vengeance against tiiose who have ex- " pellcd me, which, mcthinks, I begin to take, by putting " myself ii.to thy lir-n.is. If", therefore, thou art disposed ' to att;-.^k the e:i?j:v-, come on, brave Tullus, avail thy- ' self of ir.y miiifort.-.ivs ; kt my personal distress be the " common happiness of the Voiscians. You may be as- " surcd, I shall fight much better for you, than I lun ; " fought against you. because they who know perfectly the ".state of the enemy's affairs, are much more capable of an- " noyir.g them than such as do not know the:n. But if *' thou hast given up all thoughts of war, I neither desire to " live, nor is it fit for thee to preserve a person who of old " .has been thine enemy, and now is not able to do thee any * sort of service." Tullus, delighted with this address, gave him his hand, " Rise," said he, " Marcius, and take courage, 'i'lv *' present you thus make of yourself is inestimable ; and you " may assure yourself, that the Volsciaas will not be un- ' grateful." Then he entertained him at his table with ^i eat kindness, and the next and the following days they consulted together about the war. Rome was then in great confusion, by reason of the ani- mosity of the nobility against the commons, which was con- siderably heightened by the late condemnation of Marcius. Many prodigies were also announced by private persons, as well as by the priests and diviners ; one of which was as follows. Titus Latinus,* a man of no high rank, but of great modesty and candour, not addicted to superstition, much less to vain pretences to what is extraordinary, had this dream. Jupiter, he thought, appeared to him, and or- dered him to tell the senate, That they had provided him a very Lad and ill favoured leader of the dance in the sacred procession. When he had seen this vision, he said, he paid but little regard to it at first. It was presented a second and a third time, and he neglected it ; whereupon he had the unhappiness to see his son sicken and die, and he him- self was suddenly struck in such a manner as to lose the use of his limbs. These particulars he related in the se- rate-house, being carried on his couch for that purpose. Livy calls him Titus Atinius. CAIUS MARCIUS CORIOI.ANU3. And he had no sooner ma.le an end, than lie perceived, as they tell us, his strength return, and rose yp, and walked home without help. The senate were much surprised, and made a strict in- quiry into the affair, the result of which was, that a certain householder had delivered up one of his slaves, \vho had bee- guilty of some offence, to his other servants, with an order to whip him through the market-place, and then put him to death. While they were executing this order, and scourging the wretch, who writhed himself, through the vi- lence of pain, into various postures,* the precession hap- pened to come up. Many of the people that composed it. were tired with indignation, for tlie sight was excessively disagreeable, and shocking to humanity ; yet nobody gave him the least assistance ; only curses and execrations wer<* vented against the man who punished with so much cruelty. For in those times they treated their slaves with great mo- deration, and this was natural, because they worked and even eat with them. It was deemed a great punishment for a slave who had committed a fault to take up that piece of wood with which they supported the thill of a waggon, and carry it round the neighbourhood. For he that was thus exposed to the derision of the family, and other inhabit- ants of the place, entirely lost his credit, and was styled Jurcif'er ; the Romans calling that piece of timber urea, which the Greeks call h>//)o*tates, thas is, a supporter. When*Latinus had given the senate an account of his dream, and they doubted who this ill-favoured and lad leader of the dance might be, the excessive severity of the punishment put some of them in mind of the slave who was whipped through the market-place, and afterwards put to death. All the priests agreeing that he must be the person meant, his master had a heavy fine laid upon him, and the procession and games were exhibited anew, in honour of Jupiter. Hence it appears, that Numa's religious institu- tions in general are very wise, and that this in particular is highly conducive to the purposes of piety, namely, tha.t when the magistrates or priests are employed in any sacred ceremony, a herald goes before, and proclaims aloud, Hoc ' According to Dionyshis of Halicarnassusi.the master had given orders that the slave should be punished at' thickhead of the proces- Mon, to make the ignominy the more notorious which was a stiH greater afl'ront to the deity in whose honour the procession was led up, P2 100 riUTARCH's LIVES. i. e. te attentive to this ; hereby commanding every body to regard the solemn acts of religion, and not to suf- fer any business or avocation to intervene and disturb them ; as well knowing that men's attention, especially in what concerns the worship of the gods, is seldom fixed, but by a *ort of violence and constraint. But it is not only in so important a case, that the Ro- mans begin anew their sacrifices, their processions, and .-, : they do it for very small matters. If one of the horses that draw the chariots, called 7V?za?, in which are placed the images of the gods, happened to stumble, or if the charioteer took the reins in his left hand, the whole procession was to be repeated. And in later ages they have set about one sacrifice thirty several times, on account of come defect or inauspicious appearance in it. Such rever- ence have the Romans paid to the Supreme Being. McantitTie Marcius and Tullus held secret conferences with the principal Volscians, in which they exhorted them to bogin the war, while Rome was torn in pieces with fac- tious disputes ; but a sense of honour restrained some of t hem from breaking the truce, which was concluded for two years. The Romans, however, furnished them with a pre- tence for it, having, through some suspicion or false sug- gestion, caused proclamation to be made at one of the pub- lic shows or games, that all the Volscians should quit the >own before sun-set. Some say, it was a stratagem con- trived by Marcius, who suborned a person to go touhe con- and accuse the Volscians of a design to attack the Romans during the games, and to set fire to the city. This proclamation exasperated the whole Volscian nation against the Romans ; and Tullus, greatly aggravating the affront,* .'t last persuaded them to send to Rome, to demand that the lands and cities which had been taken from them in the war should be restored. The senate having heard what the ambassadors had to say, answered with indignation, '* That the Volscians might be the first to take up arms, " but the Romans would be the last to lay them down." Hereupon Tullus summoned a general assembly of his Countrymen, whom he advised to send for Marcius, and, forgetting all past injuries, to rest satisfied, that the ser- * We alone," said he. " of all the different nations now in " Rorry, arc not thought worth}' to see the games. We alone, " like the profane&t wretches and outlaws, arc driven from a puh- lie festival. Go, and tell in all your cities and villages the distir- guishing mark the Romans have put upon us." CAIUS MARCIUS CORIOLAKUS. 101 vice he would do them, now their ally, would greatly ex- ceed all the damage they had received from him while their enemy. Marcius accordingly was called in, and made an oration to the people ; who found that he knew how to speak as well as fight, and that he excelled in capacity as well as courage, and therefore they joined him in commission with Tullus. As he was afraid that the Volscians would spend much time in preparations, and so lose a favourable oppor- tunity for action, he left it to the magistrates and other principal persons in Antium to provide troops and whatever else was necessary, while he, without making any set levies, took a number of volunteers, and with them overran the Roman territories, before any body in Rome could expect it. There he made so much booty that the Volscians found it difficult to carry it off, and consume it in the camp. But the great quantity of provisions he collected, and the damage he did the enemy by committing such spoil, was the least part of the service in this expedition. The great point he had in view in the whole matter, was to increase the people's suspicions of the nobility. For while he ra- vaged the whole country, he was very attentive to spare the lands of the patricians, and to see that nothing should be carried off from them. Hence the ill opinion the two parties had of. each other ; and consequently the troubles grew greater than ever ; the patricians accusing the ple- beians of unjustly driving out one of the bravest men in Rome, and the plebeians reproaching them with bringing Marcius upon them to indulge their revenge, and with sit- ting secure spectators of what others suffered by the war, while the war itself was a guard to their lands and subsist- ence. Marcius having thus effected his purpose, and in- spired the Volscians with courage, not only to meet, but even to despise the enemy, drew off his party without being molested. 1 The Volscian forces assembled with great expedition and alacrity ; and they appeared so considerable, that it was thought proper to leave part to garrison their towns, while the rest marched against 'the Romans. Coriolanus leaving it in the opf.on of Tullus which corps he would command, Tullus observed, that as his colleague was not at all inferior to himself in valour, and had hitherto fought with better success, he thought it most advisable for him to lead the army into the field, while himself stayed behind to provid'" F 3 ^02 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. for the defence of the towns, and to supply the troops that made the campaign with tfrery thing necessary.* Marcius, strengthened still more by this division of the ..and, marched lirst against Circcii.f a Roman colony ; and as it surrendered without resistance, he would not suffer it to be plundered. After this, he laid waste the territories of the Latins, e -xpecting that the Romans would hazard a battle for the Latins, who were their allies, and by frequent messengers called upon them for assistance. But the commons of Rome shewed no alacrity in the affair, and the consuls, whose office was almost expired, were not willing to run such a risk, and therefore rejected the re- quest of the Latins. Marcius then turned his arms against Tolenum, Labici, Pedum, and Bola, cities of Latium, which he took by assault ; and because they made resistance* sold the inhabitants as slaves, and plundered their houses. At the same time, he took particular care of such as volun- tarily came over to him ; and that they might not sustain any damage against his will, he always encamped at the greatest distance he could, and would not even touch upon their lands, if he could avoid it. Afterwards he took Bollae, which is little more than twelve miles from Rome, where he put to the sword almost all that were of age to bear arms, and got much plunder. The rest of the Volscians, who were left as a safeguard to the towns, had not patience to remain at home any longer, but ran with their weapons in their hands to Marcius, de- claring that they knew no other leader or general but him. His name and his valour were renowned through Italy. All were astonished that one man's changing sides could ::iake so prodigious an alteration in affairs. Nevertheless, there was nothing but disorder at Rome. '1 he Romans refused to fight, and passed their time in ua'ui.V-, seditious speeches, and mutual complaints ; until news was brought that Coriolanus had laid siege to Laviniurn, where * It would have been very imprudent iu Tullir; claims, who had been an enemy, ami nov. might possibly be only x preteyded fiieud, at thv head of an arm;, in the bowels of his coui.- try, while he was marching at the h-ad of another against Hume. j- For the right terminations of thi.> and other towns soon afur mentioned, s>ee l.ivy, book ii, c. o9. 1'hitarch calls the town Cir- c.-i/m. Ili.s error i.-, much greater, when a little below he writes Ctcclia hj.sti.art of Clxilitr. Sometimes, too, the foru.er tru: makej u mistake, \vhtr_' Fluted-, h.id m CAIUS MARC I US CO I. t :.c huly symbols of the gods of their fathers were placed, and from whence they derived their original, that beir.^ the first city which ./Eneas built. A wonderful and uni- versal change of opinion then appeared among the people, and a very strange and absurd one among the patricians. The people were desirous to annul the sentence against Marcius, and to recal him to Rome, but the senate being assembled to deliberate on that point, finally rejected the proposition; either out of a perverse humour of opposing whatever measure the people espoused, or perhaps unwilling that Coriolanus should owe his return to the favour of tht: people ; or else having conceived some resentment against him for harassing and distressing all the Romans, when lie had been injured only by a part, and for shewing himselt an enemy to his country, in which he knew the most re- spectable body had both, sympathised with him, and shared in his ill treatment. This resolution being announced to the commons,* it was not in their power to proceed to vote or to pass a bill ; for a previous decree of the senaU; was necessary. At this news Coriolanus was still more exasperated, so that quitting the siege of Lavinium,f he marched in great fury towards Rome, and encamped only five miles from it, at the Fosstr Clulti.uC- ..// ^;rex*;, and his paraphrase seems nearest the sound of the Greek. But the text is manifestly corrupted, and it is not easy tore- store the true reading. Perhaps the Latin translation, as published by Bryon, has the sense intended by Plutarch. It is to this effect* CAIUS MARCIUS CORIOLANUS. 105 to be so embarrassed, that they wanted such a space to re-establish them. Coriolanus, however, did not spend those thirty days idly. He harassed: the enemy's allies,* laid waste their lands, and took seven great and populous' cities in that interval. The Romans did not venture to send them any succours. They were as spiritless, and as little disposed to the war, as if their bodies had been relaxed and benumbed with the palsy. When the term was expired, and Coriolanus returned with all his forces, they sent a second embassy, " To en- " treat him to lay a-;ide his resentment, to draw off the " Volscians from their territories, and then to proceed ai " should seem most conducive to the advantage of both " nations. For that the Romans would not give up any " thing through fear ; but if he thought it reasonable that " the Volscians should be indulged in some particular " points, they would be duly considered if they laid down " their arms." Coriolanus replied, " That as general of " the Volschns, he would give them no answer ; but as " one who was yet a citizen of Rome, he would advise " and exhort them to entertain humble thoughts, and to " come within three days with a ratification of the just " conditions he had proposed.. At the same time he as- " sured them, that if their resolutions should be of a dif- " ferent nature, il would not be safe for them to come any " more into his camp with empty words." The senate having heard the report of the ambassadors, considered the commonwealth as ready to sink in the waves of a dreadful tempest, and therefore c:;st the last, the sacred anchor, as it is called. They ordered all the priests of the gods, the ministers and guardians of the mysteries, and all that, by the ancient usage of their country, practised di- vination by the flight of bird^s, to go to Coriolanus, in their robes, with the ensigns which they bear in the duties of their office, and exert their utmost endeavours to persuade him to desist from the war, and then to treat with his countrymen of articles of peace for the Volsd'ans. When they came, lie did indeed vouchsafe to admit them into the camp, but when greater changes, than were necessary in this case, nijht tap- pen in a less space of time. But to justify that translation, the Greek should run as follows : en f^tj^otxs tt Ixur-ri.i WK>> iSutart ^scilicet a-eXius}) AxM&triiv ^'TaftXa,-. * By this he prevented the allies of the Romans from assisting them, and guarded against the charge of treachery, which f the Vclscians were ready to bring against him. 106 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. shewed them no other favour, nor gave them a milder answer than the others had received. " He bade them," in short, ' either accept the former proposals, or prepare for war." When the priests returned, the Romans resolved to keep rlose within the city and to defend the walls ; intending only to repulse the enemy, should he attack them, and placing their chief hopes on the accidents of time and for- tune ; for they knew of no resource within themselves : the city was full of trouble and confusa/n, terror and unhappy presages. At last something happened similar to what is often mentioned by Homer, but which men, in general, are little inclined to believe. For when, on occasion of any great and uncommon event, he says, Pallas inspir'd that counsel ; And again, But some immortal power who rules tbe mind, Chang'd their resolves ; And elsewhere, The thought spontaneous rising, Or by some god inspir'd They despise the poet, as if, for the sake of absurd notions and incredible fables, he endeavoured to take away our liberty of will. A thing which Homer never dreamed of: for whatever happens in the ordinary course of things, and is the effect of reason and consideration, he often ascribes to our own powers ; as, My own great mind I then consulted ; And in another place, Achilles heard with grief; and various thoughts Perplex'd his mighty mind ; .e more, But she in vain Tempted Bellcrophon. The noble youth With wisdom's shield was arm'd. And in extraordinary and wonderful actions, whieh required some supernatural impulse and enthusiastic movement, he never introduces the Deity as depriving man of freedom of will, but as moving the will. He does not represent the heavenly power Jas producing the ^resolution, but ideas, CAIUS MARCIUS CORIOLANUS. which lead to the resolution. The act, therefore, is by no means involuntary, since occasion only is given to free operations, and confidence and good hope are superadded ; /or either the Supreme Being must be excluded from. all casualty and influence upon our actions, or it ir.ust be con- fessed that this is the only way in which he assists men, and co-operates with them ; since it is not to be supposed that he fashions our corporeal organs, or directs the motions -of our hands and feet to the purposes he designs, but that, by certain motives and ideas which he suggests, he either ex- cites the active powers of the will, or else restrains them.* The Roman women were then dispersed in the several temples, but the greatest part, and the most illustrious of the matrons, made their supplications at the altar of Jupiter Capitcliims. Among the last was Valeria, the sister of the great Publicola, a person who had done the Romans ti. most considerable services, both in peace and war. Publicohi died some time before, as we have related in his life ; buu Valeria still Lved in the greatest esteem ; for her life did honour to her high birth. This woman discerning, by some divine impulse, what would be the best expedient, rose and called upon the other matrons to attend her. to the house of Volumnia,f the mother of Coriolanus. When she entered, and found her sitting with her daugr.ter-in-!u.\v, and with the children of Coriolanus on her lap, she ap- proached her, witli her female companions, and spoke to tt'.is effect " We address ourselves to you, Volumnia and ; Vergilia, as women to women, without any decree of " the senate, or order of the consuls. But our god, we " believe, lending a merciful car to our prayers, put it in ** our minds to apply to you, and to entreat you to do a " thing that v.ill not only be salutary to us and the other . ' citizens, but jr.orc glorious for you, if you hearken to " us, than the reducing their fathers and husbands from " mortal enmity to peace and friendship, was to the daugh- " ters of the Sabiues. Come, then, go along with us to " Coriolar.uj ; join your instances to ours; and give a trui- ;' and honourable testimony to your country, that though " she has received the greatest injuries from him, yet she * Plutarch represents the divine assistance as a moral influence, pre- !, by rational motives ; and the best Christian . ibe it in the same manner. f Dionys::;s of Ilalicanjas'sus and Livy cr.ll his mother Vet and his wjje Volumnlo. F 6 108 PLUT ARCH'S LIVES. *' has neither done nor resolved upon any thing against " you in her anger, but restores you safe into his hands, " though perhaps she may not obtain any better terms to " herself on that account.'' When Valeria had thus spoken, the rest of the women joined her request. Volumnia gave them this answer. *' Beside the share which we have in the general calamity, " we are, my friends, in particular very unhappy ; since *' Marcius is lost to us, his glory obscured, and his virtue *' gone ; since we behold him surrounded by the arms of ** the enemies of his country, not as their prisoner, but *' their commander. But it is still a greater misfortune to " us, if our country is become So weak, as to have need " to repose her hopes upon us ; for I know not whether '' he will have any regard for us, since he has had none for " his country, which he used to prefer to his mother, to " his wife, and children. Take us, however, and make " what use of us you please. Lead us to him. If we " can do nothing else, we can expire at his feet in suppli- *' eating for Rome.*' She then took the children and Verplia with her,* and went with the other matrons to the Volscian camp. The jight of them produced, even in the enemy, compassion and a reverential silence. Coriolamts, who then happened to be seated upon the tribunal with his principal officers, seeing the women approach, was greatly agitated and sur- prised. Nevertheless, he endeavoured to retain his wonted sternness and inexorable temper, though he perceived that l:is wife was at the head of them ; but, unable to resist the emotions of affection, he could not suffer them to address him as he sat. He descended from the tribunal, and ran to meet them. First he embraced his mother for a con- siderable time, and afterwards his wife and children, nei- ther refraining from tears, nor any other instance of natural tenderness. When he had sufficiently indulged his passion, and per- ceived that his mother wanted to speak, he called the Vol- scian counsellors to him, and Volumnia expressed herself * Valeria f:rst gave advice of this design to the consuls, who pro- posed it in the senate, where, after long debates, it was approved of try the fathers. Then Veturia, and the most illustrious of the Ro- man matrons, in chariots which the consuls had ordered to be < t ready for thr., took their waj to the enemy's camp. CAIUS MARCIUS COIUOLANV*. 100 to this purpose. " You see, my son, by our attire and *' miserable looks, and therefore I may spare myself the ft trouble of declaring, to what condition your banishment " has reduced us. Think with yourself whether we are " not the most unhappy of women, when fortune has " changed the spectacle that should have been the most " pleasing in the world, into the most dreadful ; when " Volumnia beholds her son, and Vergilia her husband, " encamped in a hostile manner before the walls of his " native city ; and what to others is the greatest consola- " tion under misfortune and adversity, I mean prayer to " the gods, to us is rendered impracticable ; for we cannot " at the same time beg victory for our country and your " preservation, but what our worst enemies would imprecate " on us as a curse, must of necessity be interwoven with our " prayers. Your wife and children must either see their ** country perish, or you. As to my own part, I will not " live to see this war decided by fortune. If I cannot per- " suade you to prefer friendship and union to enmity and " its ruinous consequences, and so to become a benefactor " to both sides, rather than the destruction of one, you " must take this along with you, and prepare to expect it, that you shall not advance against your country, without trampling upon the dead body of her that bore you; for it does not become me to wait for that day, when my son shall be either led captive by his fellow-citizens, or triumph over Rome. If, indeed, I desired you to save your country by ruining the Volscians, I confess the case " would be hard, and the choice difficult; For it would " neither be honourable to destroy your countrymen, nor '* just to betray those who have placed their confidence in " you. But what do we desire of you, more than deliver- " ance from our own calamities ? A deliverance which will 4< be equally salutary to both parties,* but most to the *' honour of the Volscians, since it will appear that their <{ superiority empowered them to grant us the greatest of *' blessings, peace and friendship, while they themselves receive the same. If these take place, you will be ac- knowledged to be the principal cause of them; if they do not, you alone must expect to bear the blame from both nations; and though the chance of war is. uncertain, yet it will be the certain event of this, that if you con- * She begged a truce for a year, that in that time measure* might fee taken for settling a solid and lajtimg pcaoe. 1 10 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. *' quer, you will be a destroying demon to your country ; rf if you are beaten, it will be clear that, by indulging your " resentment, you have plunged your friends and benefac- " tors in the greatest of misfortunes." Coriol an us listened to his mother while she went on with her speech, without saying the least word to her ; and Volumnia, seeing him sta id a long time mute after she had left speaking, proceeded again in this manner. " Why are " you silent, my son ? Is it an honour to yield every thing " to anger and resentment; and would it be a disgrace to " yield to your mother in so important a petition ? Or does " it become a great man to remember the injuries done " him ; and would it not equally become a great and good " man, with the highest regard and reverence, to keep in " mind the benefits he has received from his parents ? *' Surely you, of all men, should take care to be grateful, *' who have suffered' so extremely by ingratitude ; aud " yet, though you have already severely punished your " country, you have not made your mother the least return *' for her kindness. The most sacred tie?, both of nature " and religion, without any other constraint, require that " you should indulge me in this just and reasonable request ; " hot if words cannot prevail, this only resource is left." When she had said this, she threw herself at his feet, to- gether with his wife and children ; upon which Coriolanus, crying out, " O mother ! what is it you have d. raised her from the ground, and tenderly pressing her ha:id, continued., " You have gained 2 victory fortunate for \ our " country, but ruinous to mi'.* I go, vanquished by you ' alone." Then, after a short Coaierence with his mother and wife, in private, he sent them back to Rome agreeably to their desire. Next morning he drew off the V uscians, who had not all the snme sentiments of what had passed. Some blamed h;m ; others, whose inclinations w^re for peace, found no fa^lt ; other?, agnin, though thev disliked what was done, did not look upon Coriplai us as a Lad man, but thought he was excusable i i yielding to sucli power- ful solicitations- However, none presumed to contradict his orders, though they followed him rather out of venera- tion for his virtue than regard to his authority. The s*nse of the dreadful and dangerous circumstances which the Roman people had been in by reason of the war, * He well foresaw that the VolscioJis n. Valeria, who had proposed so successful a deputation, was the first priestess of this temple, which was much frequented by the Roman -*cmen. Dion. UMkur. p. 479, 489. Liv. Jib. ii, c. 40. 112 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. clear, so full and perfect, should fall from a thing inanimate, is out of all the bounds of possibility ; for neither the soul of man, nor even God himself, can utter vocal sounds, and pronounce words, without an organized body and parts fitted for utterance. Wherever, then, history asserts such things, and bears us down with the testimony of many cre- dible witnesses, we must conclude, that some impression, not unlike that of sense, influenced the imagination, and produced the belief of a real sensation ; as in sleep we seem to hear what we hear not, and to see what we do not see. As for those persons, who are possessed with such a strong sense of religion, that they cannot reject any thing of this kind, they found their faith on the wonderful and incom- prehensible power of God ; for there is no manner of resemblance between him and a human being, either in his nature, his wisdom, his power, or his operations. If, therefore, he performs something which we cannot effect, and executes what with us is impossible, there is nothing in this contradictory to reason; since, though he far excels us in every thing, yet the dissimilitude and distance between him and us, appears most of all in the works which he hath wrought. But much knowledge of things divine, as Heraclitus affirms, escapes us through want of ]ui h. When Coriolanus returned, after this expedition, to An- tium, Tullus, who both hated and feared him, resolved to assassinate him immediately ; being persuaded, that if he missed this, he should not have such another opportunity. First, therefore, he collected aJid prepared a number of ac- complices, and then called upon Coriolanus to divest himself of his authority, and give an account of his conduct to the Volscians. Dreading the consequence of being reduced tp a private station, while Tullus, who had so great an interest with his countrymen, was in power, he made answer, that if the Volscians required it, he would give up his commis- sion, and not otherwise, since he had taken it at their com- mon request ; but that he was ready to give an account of his behaviour even then, if the citizens of Antium would have it so. Hereupon, they met in full assembly, and some of the orators that were prepared for it, endeavoured to ex- asperate the populace against him. But when Coriolanus stood up, the violence of the tumult abated, and he had liberty to speak ; the best part of the people of Antium, and those that were most inclined to peace, appearing ready to hear him with candour, and to pass sentence with equity. CAIUS MARCIUS CORIOLAKUS. 1 13 Tullus was then afraid that he would make but too good a defence ; for he was an eloquent man, and the former ad- vantages which he had procured the nation, outweighed his present offence. Nay, the very impeachment was a clear proof of the greatness of the benefits he had conferred upon them ; for they would never have thought themselves in- jured in not conquering Rome, if they had not been near taking it through lila means. The conspirators, therefore, judged it prudent not to wait any longer, or to try the mul- titude ; and the boldest of their faction, crying out that a traitor ought not to be heard, or suffered by the Volscians to act the tyrant, and refuse to lay down his authority, rush- ed upon him in a bpdy, and * killed him on the spot ; not one that was present lifting a hand to defend him. It was soon evident that this was not done with the general appro- bation ; for they assembled from several cities to give his body an honourable burial,-}- and adorned his monument with arms and spoils, as became a distinguished warrior and general. When the Romans were informed of his death, they shewed no sign either of favour or resentment. Only they permitted the women, at their request, to go into mourning for ten months, as they used to do for a father, a son, or a brother ; this being the longest term for mourning allowed by Numa Pompilius, as we have mentioned in his life. Dionysius of Halicarna^sus sars they stoned him to death. f- They dressed him in his general's rohcs, and laid his corpse on a magnificent bier, which was carried by such young officers as were most distinguished for their martial exploits. Before him were borne the spoils he had taken from the enemy, the crowns he had gained, and plans of the cities he had taken. In this order his body was laid on the pile, while several victims were slain in honour to his memory. When the pile was consumed they gathered up his ashes, which they interred on the spot, and erected a magnificent monument there. Co- riolanus was slain in the second year of the seventy-third Olympiad, in the two hundred and sixty-sixth year of Home, and eight years after his first campaign. According to this account, he died in the flower of his age ; but Livy informs us froru Fabius v a very ancient author, that he lived till he was very old ; and that in the decline of life he was wont to say, that " A state of exile was always uncom- " fortable, but more so to an old man than to another." We can- not, however, think that Coriolanus grew old among the Volscians. Had he done so, his counsels would have preserved them from ruin ; and after Tullus was slain, he would have restored their affairs, and have got them admitted to the rights and privileges of Roman citi zvns, in the same manner as the Latins. 1 14 PLUTARCH S :.;VES. The Volsdan aflairs soon wanted the abilities oi . for, first of all, in a dispute which they Lad \viih the ^Equi, their friends and allies, which of the two mttioub should give a general to their armies, they proceeded to blows, and a number were killed and wounded ; and afterwards, coining to a battle with the Romans, in which they were defeated, and Tullus, together with the flower of their army slain, they were forced to accept of very disgraceful conditions of peace, by which they were reduced to the obedience of Rome, and obliged to accept of such terms as the conquerors would allow them. ALQIBUDES AM) COIMOLAMS COMPARED* HAVIKO now given a detail of all the actions of these two great men, that we thought worthy to be known and re- membered, we may perceive at one glance, that as to their military exploits the balance is nearly even ; for both gave extraordinary pioofs of courage as soldiers, and of prudence and capacity as commanders in chief: though, perhaps, some may think Alcibiades the more complete general, on account of his many successful expeditions at sea aa well as land. But this is common to both, that when they had the command, and fought in person, the affairs of their country infallibly prospered, and as infallibly declined when they went over to the enemy. As to their behaviour in point of government, if the licentiousness of Alcibiades, and his compliances with the humour of the populace, were abhorred by the wise and sober part of the Athenians } the proud and forbidding m?.nner of ConolamiG, and his excessive attachment to the patricians, were equally detested by the Roman people. In tins rts-.ect, therefore, neither of them is to be cor: mended ; though he that avails himself of popular arts, and shews too much indulgence, is less blameable than he, who, to avoid the imputation of obsequiousnc-s, treats the people with severity. It is, indeed, a disgrace to attain to power by flattering them , but, on the other hand, to pursue it b) acts of insoler.ee and oppre:sion. ii not only shameful but unjust. A1.CIUJAUES AND f JKl-JLANLS CuMI'AItKD. 115 That Coriolanus had an openness and simplicity of man- ners, is a poir.t beyond dispute, whilst Alcibiades \v;i crafty and dark in the proceedings of his administration. The latter has been most blamed for the trick which he put upon the Lacedaemonian ambassadors, as Thucydides tells us, and by which he renewed the war. Yet this stroke of policy, though it plunged Athens again in war, rendered the alliance with the Mantineans and Argues, which was brought about by Alcihiades, much stronger and more respectable. But was not Coriolanus chargeable with a falsity, too, when, as Dionysius informs us, he stir- red up the Romans against the Volscians, by loading the latter with an infamous calumny when they went to sec the public games ? The cause, too, makes this action the more criminal } for it was not by ambition or a rival spirit in politics that he was influenced, as Alcibiades was, but he did it to gralify his anger, a passion wliich, as Dion says, is ever ungrateful to its votaries. By this means he dis- turbed all Italy, and in his quarrel with his country de- stroyed many cities which had never done him any injury. Alcibiades, indeed, was the author of many evils to the Athenians, but was easily reconciled to them when he found that they repented Nay, when he was driven a second time into exile, he could not bear with patience the blunders cnimitted by the new generals, nor see with indifference the dangers to which they were exposed ; but observed the tame conduct which Aristides is so highly extolled for with respect to Themistocles. He went in person to those generals, who, he knew, were not his friends, and shewed them what steps it was proper for them to take. Whereas Coriolanus directed his revenge against the v\ hole common- wealth, though he had not been injured by the whole, but the best and most respectable part both suffered and sym- pathized with him. And afterwards, when the Romans endeavoured to make satisfaction for that single grievance by many embassies and much submission, he was not in the least pacified or won ; but shewed himself determined t prosecute a cruel war, not in order to procure his return to his native country, but to conquer and to ruin it. It may, indeed, be granted, that there was this difference in the , Alcibiades returned to the Athenians, when the Spartans, who both feared and hated him, intended to dis- patch him privately. But it was not so honourable in Coriolanus to desert the Volcciang, who had treated hirs 116 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. with the utmost kindness, appointed Kim general with full authority, and reposed in him the highest confidence ; very different in this respect from Alcibiades, who was abused, to their own purposes, rather than employed and trusted by the Lacedaemonians ; and, who, after having been tossed about in their city and their camp, was at last obliged to put himself in the hands of Tissapher.ies. But, perhaps, he made his court to the Persian,* in order to prevent the utter ruin of his country, to which he was desirous to return. History informs us, that Alcibiades often took bribes, which he lavished again with equal discredit upon his vi- cious pleasures ; while Coriolanus refused to receive even what the generals he served under would have given him with honour. Hence the behaviour of the latter was the more detested by the people in the disputes about debts ; since it was not with a view to advantage, but out of con- tempt and by way of insult, as they thought, that he bore so hard upon them. Antipater, in one of his epistles, where he speaks of the death of Aristotle the philosopher, telh us, " That great ** man, besides his other extraordinary talents, had the art 41 of insinuating himself into the affections of those he con- " versed with." For want of this talent, the great actions and virtues of Coriolanus were odious even to those who received the benefit of them, and who, notwithstanding, could not endure that austerity which, as Plato says, is the companion of solitude. But as Alcibiades, on the other hand, knew how to treat those with whom he conversed, with an engaging civility, it is no wonder if the glory of his exploits flourished in the favour and honourable regard of mankind, since his very faults had sometimes their grace and elegance. Hence it was, that though his conduct was often very prejudical to Athens, yet he was frequently ap- pointed commander in chief ; while Coriolanus, after many great achievements, with the best pretensions, sued for the consulship, and lost it. The former deserved to be hated by his countrymen, and was not ; the latter was not be- loved, though at the same time he was admired. * For he prevented Tissaphernes from assisting the Spartans with all his forces. Thus he served the Athenians and the Persians at the same time ; for it was undoubtedly the interest of the Persians to preserve the two leading powers of Greece in a condition to annoy each other, and, in the meantime, to reap the advantage themselves. ALCIBIADES AVD CORIOLANUS COMPARED. 117 We should, moreover, consider, that Coriolanus per- formed no considerable services while he commanded the armies of his country, though for the enemy against his country he did ; but that Alcibiades, both as a soldier and a general, did great things for the Athenians. When amongst his fellow-citizens, Alcibiades was superior to all the attempts of his enemies, though their calumnies pre- vailed against him in his absence ; whereas Coriolanus was condemned by the Romans, though present to defei d him- self, and at length killed by the Volscians, against all rights, indeed, whether human or divine : nevertheless he afforded them a colour for what they did, by granting that peace to the entreaties of the women, which he had refused to the application of the ambassadors ; by that means leav- ing the enmity between the two nations, and the grounds of the war entire, and losing a very favourable opportu- nity for the Volscians. For surely he would not have drawn off the forces without the consent of those that committed them to his conduct, if he had sufficiently regarded his duty to them. But if, without considering the Volscians in the least) he consulted his resentment only in stirring up the war, and put a period to it again when that was satisfied, he should not have spared his country on his mother's account* but have spared her with it ; for both his mother and wife made a part of his native city, which he was besieging. But inhumanly to reject the application and entreaties of the ambassadors, and the petition of the priests, and then to consent to a retreat in favour of his mother, was not do- ing honour to his mother, but bringing disgrace upon his country ; since if it was not worthy to be saved for its own sake, it appeared to be saved only in compassion to a woman. For the favour was invidious, and so far front being engaging, that, in fact, it savoured of cruelty, and consequently was unacceptable to both parties. He re- tired without being won by the supplications of those he was at war with, and without consent of those for whom he undertook it. The cause of all which was, the aus,.e- rity of his manners, his arrogance, and inflexibility of mind, things hateful enough to the people at all times ; but, when united with ambition, savage and intolerable. Persons of his temper, as if they had no need of honours, neglect- to ingratiate themselves with the multitude, and yet are excessively chagrined when those are denied them. It is LIVE*. true, neither Meteflus, nor Aristides, nor Epaminondas, were pliant to the people's humour, or could submit t. flatter them ; but then they had a thorough contempt ot' every thing that the people could either give or take away ; and when they were baniihfd, or, on any other occasion, miscarried in their suffrages, or were condemned in large fines, they nourished no anger agair.st their ungrateful countrymen, but were satisfied v.itli their repe::ta:.ce, and reconciled to them at their request. And, surely, he who is sparing in his assiduities to the people, can but with an ill grftce think of reveng;:g tiny s'i^ht lie may suffer ; for extreme resentment in case of disappointment in a pursuit of honour, must be the effect of an extreme desire of it. Alcibiadesj for his part, ivndily acknowledged that he \vas charmed v;ith honours, a-.id that he was very uneasy at being neglected ; and therefore he endeavoured to recom- mend himself to those he had to do with, by every engag- ing art. But the pride of Coriolanus would not permit him to make his court to those who were capable of conferring honours upon him ; and at the same time his ambition filled him with regret and indignation when they passed him by. This, then, is the blarneable part of his character ; all the rest is great and glorious. In point of temperance and dis- regard of riches, he is fit to be compared with the most il- lustrious examples of integrity in Greece, and not with Al- cibiades, who, in this respect, was the most profligate of men, and had the least regard for deceney and honour. TfMOLEON. J HE affairs of the Syracusans, before Timoleon was sent into Sicily, were in this posture. Dior having driven out Dionysius the tyrant, was soon assassinated ; those that v/ith him had been the means of delivering Syracuse, were divided among themselves ; and the city, which only changed one tyrant for another-, was oppressed with so many miseries, that it was almost desolate.* As for th e Upon Dion's doath, his murderer Calippus usurped the supreme r ; but after ten months he was driven out, ami slain with the -.me dagjrer which he had planted in the breast of his friend. Hip- her of Dionysius, arriving with a numerous flevt. TOLEOX. 119 rest of Sicily, the wars had made part of it quite a de- sert, and most of the tewr.s t'nat remained were held by a Confused mixture of barbarian*: and soldier?,* who having no reg i!ar pay, were ready for every change of govern- ment. Sivli be::'.g the state cf things, Dionysit'..-, in the tenth year after his expulsion, having got together a body ot foreigners, drove out Nys-i'us, then master of Syiacuse, re- stored his own affairs, and re-established himself in his dominions. Thus he who had been unaccountably strip. pod, by a small body of men, of the greatest power that any tyrant ever possessed, still more unaccountably, of a beggarly fugitive, became the master of those who had ex- pelled him. AH, therefore, who ivinuii.e-J in Syracuse, became slaves to a tyrant, who, at" tire best, was of an un- gentle nature, and at that time exasperated -by his misfor- tunes to a degree of savage ferocity. But the best and most considerable of the citizerts having retired to Icetes. prince of the Leontine?, put ; themselves tfnder his protec- tion, and chose. It im for their 'general. Not that he wa? better than the most avowed tyrants ; but they had no. other resource ; and they were willing to repose some con- fidence in him as being of a-Syracusan family, and having an army able to encounter that of DionysiUs. In. the meantime, the -Carthaginians .appearing before Sicily with a great fleet, '-and being likely to avail them- selves of the disordered state of the island, the Sicilians, struck with terror, determined to send an embassy into Greece, to beg assistance of the Corinthians; not only on account of their kindred to that people, f and the many services they had received from them on former occasions, but because they knew that Corinth was always a patroness of liberty, and an enemy to tyrants, and that she had en- possessed himself of the city of Syracuse, and held it for the space of two years. Syracuse and all Sicily being thus divided into par- ties and factions, Dionysius the younger, who had been driven from the throne, taking advantage of these troubles, assembled some foreign troops ; and having defeated Nysaeus, who was then gover- nor of Syracuse, reinstated himself in his dominions. * Ffiraruv KUirSa*. j- The Syracusans were a colony from Corinth, founded by Archias the Corinthian, in the second year ot" the eleventh Olympiad, seven hundiedand thirty-three years before the Christian era. Sicily had been planted with Phoenicians and other barbarous people, as th>- Grecians called them, above three hundred years before. 120 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. gaged in many considerable wars, not from a motive of ambition or avarice, but to maintain the freedom and inde- pendency of Greece. Hereupon Icetes, whose intention in accepting the command was not so much to deliver Syra- cuse from its tyrants, as to set up himself there in the same capacity, treated privately with the Carthaginians, while in public he commended the design of the Syracusans, and dispatched ambassadors along with theirs into Peloponnesus. Not that he was desirous of succours from thence, but he hoped that if the Corinthians, on account of the troubles of Greece, and their engagements at home, should, as it was likely enough, decline sending any, he might the more easily incline the balance to the side of the Carthaginians, and then make use of their alliance and their forces, either against the Syracusans, or their present tyrant. That such were his views, a little time discovered. When the ambassadors arrived, and their business was known, the Corinthians, always accustomed to give parti- lar attention to the concerns of the colonies, and especially those of Syracuse, since, by good fortune : they had nothing to molest them in their own country, readily passed a vote that the succours should be granted. The next thing to be considered was, who should be general; when the magi- strates put in nomination such as had endeavoured to distin- guish themselves in the state ; but one of the plebeians stood up, and proposed Timoleon, the son of Timodemus, who as yet had no share in the business of the commonwealth, 'and was so far from hoping or wishing for such an appointment, that it seemed some god inspired him with the thought ; with such indulgence did fortune immediately promote his election, and so much did her favour afterwards signalize his actions, and add lustre to his valour ! His parentage was noble on both sides; for both his father Timodemus, and his mother Demariste, were of the best families in Corinth. His love of his country was remark- able, and so was the mildness of his disposition, saving that he bore an extreme hatred to tyrants and wicked men. His natural abilities for war were so happily tempered, that as an extraordinary prudence was seen in the enterprises of his younger years, so an undaunted courage distinguished his declining age. He had an elder brother, named Ti- mophanes, who resembled him in nothing ; being rash and indiscreet of himself, and utterly corrupted, besides, by the passion* for sovereignly, infused into him by some of 121 liis profligate acquaintance, and certain foreign soldiers whom he had always about him. He appeared to be im- petuous iu war, and to court danger, which gave his coun- trymen such an opinion of his courage and activity, that they frequently entrusted him with the command of the army. And in these matters Timoleon much assisted him, by entirely concealing, or at least extenuating his faults, and magnifying the good qualities which nature had given him. In a battle between the Corinthians and the troops of Argos and Cleone, Timoleon happened to serve among the infantry, when Timophane?, who was at the head of the cavalry, was brought into extreme danger ; for his horse, being wounded, threw him amidst the enemy. Here- upon, part of his companions were frightened, and pre- sently dispersed ; and the few that remained, having to "fight with numbers, with difficulty stood their ground. Timoleon, seeing his brother in these circumstances, ran to his assistance, and covered him as he lay with his shield ; and after having received abundance of darts and many strokes of the sword upon his body and his armour, by great efforts repulsed the enemy and s-.-ved him. Some time after this, the Corinthians, apprehensive that their city might be surprised through some treachery of their allies, as it had been before, resolved to keep on foot four hundred mercenaries, gave the command of them to Timophanes. But he hiving no regard to justice or honour, soon entered into measures to subject the city to himself ; and having put to death a number of the principal inhabit- ants without form of trial, declared himself absolute prince of it. Timoleon, greatly concerned at this, and accounting the treacherous proceedings of his brother his own misfor- tune, went to expostulate with him, and endeavoured to persuade him to renounce this madness and unfortunate ambition, and to bethink himself how to make his fellow citizens some amends for the crimes he had committed. But as he rejected his single admonition with disdain, he returned a few days after, taking with him a kinsman, named /Eschylus, brother to the wife of Timophanes, and a certain soothsayer, a friend of his, whom Theopompus calls Satyrus, but Ephorus and Timaeus mention by the name of Orthagoras. These three standing round him, earnestly entreated him yet to listen to reason and change his mind. Timophanes at first laughed at them, and after- warus gave way to a violent passion; upon which, Tir. Vd.lL G 122 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. stepped aside, and stood weeping-, with his face covered, while the other two drew their swords, and dispatched him in a moment.* The matter being soon generally known, the principal and most valuable part of the Corinthians extolled Timo- leon's detestation of wickedness, and that greatness of soul which, notwithstanding the gentleness of his heart, and his affection to his relations, led him to prefer his country to his family, and justice and honour to interest and advantage. While his brother fought valiantly for his country, he had saved him ; and slain him when he had treacherously en- slaved it. Those who knew not how to live in a democracy, and had been used to make their court to men in power, pretended indeed to rejoice at the tyrant's death ; but at the same time reviling Timoleon, as guilty of an horrible and impious deed, they created him great uneasiness. When he heard how heavily his mother bore it, and that she ut- tered the most dreadful wishes and imprecations against him, he went to excuse it and to console her ; but she could not endure the thought of seeing him, and ordered the doors to be shut against him. He then became entirely a prey to sorrow, and attempted to put an end to his life by abstaining from all manner of food. In these unhappy circumstances his friends did not abandon him. They even added force to their entreaties, till they prevailed on him to live. He determined, however, to live in solitude ; and accordingly he withdrew from all public affairs, and for some years did not so much as approach the city, but wandered about the most gloomy parts of his grounds, and gave himself up to melancholy. Thus the judgment, if it borrows not from reason and philosophy sufficient strength and steadiness for action, is easily unsettled and depraved by any casual com* mendation or dispraise, and departs from its own purposes. f For an action_should not only be just and laudable in itself, * Diodorus, in the circumstances of this fact, differs from Plu- tarch. He tells us, that Timoleon having killed his brother in the market-place with his own hand, a great tumult arose among the citizens. To appease this tumult, an assembly was convened ; and in the height of their debates the Syracusan ambassadors arrived, demanding a general. Whereupon they unanimously agreed to send Timoleon ; but first let him know, that if he discharged his duty there well, he should be considered as one who had killed a tyrant { if not, as the murderer of his brother. Diodor. Sicul. 1. xvi, c. 10. *) ExxcHsfiCiai (at xir-i; SC.) TIAIOLEON. 123 but the principle from which it proceeds firm and immove- able, in order that our conduct may have the sanction of our own approbation. Otherwise, upon tlie completion of any undertaking, we shall, through our own weakness, be filled with sorrow and remorse, and the splendid ideas of honour and virtue, that led us to perform it, will vanish ; just as the glutton is soon cloyed and disgusted with the luscious viands which he had devoured with too keen an appetite. Repentance tarnishes the best actions; whereas the purposes that are grounded upon knowledge and reason never change, though they may happen to be disappointed of success. Hence it was that Phocion of Athens hav- ing vigorously opposed the proceedings of Leosthenes,* which notwithstanding turned out much more happily than he expected, when be saw the Athenians offering sacrifice, and elated with their victory, told them, he was glad of their success, luf if it were to do over again, he should give the same counsel. Still stronger was the answer which Aristides the Locrian, one of Plato's intimate friends, gave to Dionysius the elder, when he demanded one of his daughters in marriage, / had rather see the virgin in her grave, than in t lie palace of a tyrant. And when Diony- sius soon after put his son to death, and then insolently- asked him, What he now thought us to the disposal of his daughter? I am sorry, said he, for what you have done, but I am not sorry for what I said. However, it is only a superior and highly r^complished virtue that can attain such heights as these. ^* As for Timoleon's extreme dejection in consequence of the late act, whether it proceeded from regret of his bro- ther's fate, or the reverence he bore his mother, it so shat- tered and impaired his spirits, that for almost twenty years he was concerned in no important or public affair. When, therefore, he was pitched upon for general, and accepted as such by the suffrages of the people, Teleclides, a man of the greatest power and reputation in Corinth, exhorted him to behave well, and to exert a generous va- lour in the execution of his commission : For, said he, if your conduct be god, we shall consider you as (he destroyer of a tyrant ; if bad, as the murderer of your brother. While Timoleon was assembling his forces, and preparing to set sail, the Corinthians received letters from Icetes, xvhich plainly discovered his revolt and treachery. For his * See the Life of fhocion. G 2 124 PLUTARCH'S I.IVE.V. ambassadors were no sooner set out for Corinth, than he openly joined the Carthaginians, and acted in concert with them, in order to expel Dionysius from Syracuse, and usurp the tyranny himself. Fearing, moreover, lest he should lose his opportunity, by ^ie speedy arrival of the army from Corinth, he wrote to the Corinthians to acquaint them, " That there was no occasion for them to " put themselves to trouble and expense, or to expose " themselves to the dangers of a voyage to Sicily ; par- " ticnlarly, as the Carthaginians would oppose them, arid <* were watching for their ships with a numerous fleet ; " and that, indeed, on account of the slowness of their " motions, lie had been forced to engage those very Car- " thaginians to assist him against the tyrant." It any of the Corinthians before were cold and indifferent as to the expedition, upon the reading of these letters they were one and all so incensed against Icetes, that they readi- ly supplied Timoleon with whatever he wanted, and united their endeavours to expedite his sailing. When the fleet was equipped, and the soldiers provided with all that was necessary, the priestesses of Proserpine had a dream, wherein that goddess and her mother Ceres ap- peared to them in a travelling garb, and told them, " That " they intended to accompany Timoleon into Sicily." Hereupon the Corinthians equipped a sacred galley, which they called the get/It^, of the goddesses. Timoleon himself -went to Delphi, where he offered sacrifice to Apollo ; and, upon his descending into the place where the oracles were delivered, was surprised with this wonderful occurrence : A wreath, embroidered with crowns and images of victory, slipped down from among the offerings that were hung up there, and fell upon Timoleon'shead ; so that Apollo seem- ed to send him out crowned upon that enterprise. He had seven ships of Corinth, two of Corcyra, and a .enth fitted out by the Leucadians, with which he put to :ea. It was in the night that he set sail, and with a pros- perous gale he was making his way, when on a sudden the heavens seemed to be rent asunder, and to pour upon his ship a bright and spreading flame/nvhich soon formed itself into a torch, such as is used in the sacred -mysteries, having conducted them through their whole course, brought them to that quarter of Italy for which they de- ed to steer. The soothsayer declared that this ap- pearance perfectly agreed with the dream of the priestesses, aad that by this light from heaven, the goddesses shewed TIMOLEO.V. 125 themselves interested in the success of the expedition ; particularly as Sicily was sacred to Proserpine ; it being fabled that her rape happened there, and that the island was bestowed on her as a nuptial gift.* The fleet, thus encouraged with tokens of the divine favour, very soon crossed the sea, and made the coast of Italy. But the news brought thither from Sicily much perplexed Timoleon, and disheartened his forces. For Icetes having beaten Dionysius in a set battle, -f- and taken great part of Syracuse, had, by a line of circumvallation, shut up the tyrant in the citadel, and that part of the city which is called the is/and, and besieged him there. At the same time he ordered the Carthaginians to take care that Timoleon should not land in Sicily ; hoping, when the Corinthians were driven off, without farther opposi- tion, to share the island with his new allies. The Car- thaginians, accordingly, se.it awuy twenty of their galleys to Rhegium, in which were ambassadors from Icetes to Timoleon, charged with proposals quite as captious as his proceedings themselves ; for they were nothing but spe- cious and artful words, invented to give a colour to his treacherous designs They were to make an offer, " That ' Timoleon might, if he thought proper, go and assist " Icetes with his counsel, and share in his successes ; but " that he must send back his ships and troops to Corinth, " since the war was almost finished, and the Carthaginians ' were determined to prevent their passage, and ready to *' repel force with force." The Corinthians, then, as soon as they arrived at Rhe- gium, meeting with this embassy, and seeing the Cartha- ginians riding at anchor near them, were vexed at the in- sult : a general indignation was expressed against Icetes, and fear for the Sicilians, whom they plainly saw left as a prize to reward Icetes for his treachery, and the Cartha- * The bridegroom made a present to the bride, the third day after the wedding, when, according to the modesty of those ancient times, the bride appeared first without a veil ; for which reason the present was called ava*Xu-TTj;j/.-i. f- Icetes finding himself in want of provisions, withdrew from the siege of Syracuse towards his own country ; whereupon Dionysius marched out and attacked his rear. But Icetes facing about, defeat- ed him, killed three thousand of his men, and pursuing him into, the city, got possession of part of it. Our author observes, a little below, that Syracuse being divided by strong walls, was as it were an assemblage of cities. G 3 LIVES. ginians for assisting ia setting him up tyrant. And it seemed impossible for them to get the better, either of the barbariaiis, who were watching them with double their number of ships, or of the forces of Icetes, which they had expected would have joined them, and put 'themselves aiider their command. Timoleon, on this occasion, coming to an interview with the ambassadors and the Carthaginian commanders, mildly said, " He would submit to their proposal," for what could he gain by opposing them ? " but he was desirous that they would give them in publicly before the peo- ple of Rhegitim, ere he quitted that place, since it was a Grecian city, and common friend to both parties ; for that this tended to his security, and they themselves would stand more firmly to their engagements, if they took that people for witnesses to them." This overture he made only to amuse them, intending all the while to steal a passage ; and the magistrates of Rhe- ghim entered heartily into his scheme ; for they wished to see the affairs of Sicily in Corinthian hands, and dreaded the neighbonrhood of the barbarians. They summoned, therefore, an assembly, and shut the gates, lest the citizens should go about any other business. Being convened, they made long speeches, one of them taking up the argument where another laid it down, with no other view than to gain time for the Corinthian galleys to get under sail ; and the Carthaginians were easily detained in the assembly, as hav- ing no suspicion, because Timoleon was present, and it was expected every moment that he would stand up and make his speech. But upon secret notice that the other galleys had put to sea,* and his alone was left behind, by the help of tin? Rhfgians, who pressed close to the rostrum, and con- cealed him amongst them, he slipped through the crowd i got down to the shore, and hoisted sail with all speed. He soon arrived, with all his vessels, at Tauromeniun: in Sicily, to which he had been invited some time before, and where he was now kindly received by Andromachus, lord of that city. This Andromachus was father to Ti- ".iseus the historian ; and being much the best of all the Sicilian princes of his time, he both governed his own people agreeably to the laws and principles of justice, and * The Carthaginians believed that the departure of those nine galleys for Corinth had been agreed on between the officers of both parties, and that the tenth \va.s left behind to carry Timcl' Icetes. TJMOLEON. 127 had ever avowed his aversion and enmity to tyrants. On this account he readily allowed Timoleoa to make his city a place of anus, and persuaded his people to co-ope- rate with the Corinthians with all their force, in restoring liberty to the whole island. The CartHaginians at Rhegium, upon the breaking up of the assembly, seeing that Timoleon was gone, were vex- ed to find thems'.-lves outwitted ; aad it afforded no small diversion to the Rhegians that Phoenicians should complain rif a m/ thing effected L-y guile.* They dispatched, however, one of their galleys with an ambassador to Tanromeniuin, who represented the affair at large to Andromachus, insist- ing, with much insolence and barbaric pride, that he should immediately turn the Corinthians out of his town ; and, at last, shewing him his hand with the palm upwards, and then turning it down again, told him, if he did not comply with that condition, the Carthaginians would ovi-rturn Ids r/'fy, just av he had turned his hand. Andromachus only smiled ; and without making him any other answer, stretched out his hand, first with one side up, and then the other, and bade him begone directly, ij he did not chouse to have his ship turned upside dou-n in the name manner. Icetes, hearing that Timoleon had made good his passage* was much alarmed, and sent for a great number of the Carthaginian galleys. The Syracusans then began to de- spair of a deliverance ; for they saw the Carthaginians masters of their harbour,-]- Icetes possessed of the city, and the citadel in the hands of Dionysius ; while Timo- leon held only by a small border of the skirts of Sicily, the little town of Tauromenium, with a feeble hope, and an inconsiderable force, having no more than a thousand men, and provisions barely sufficient for them. Nor had the Sicilian states any confidence in him, plunged as they were in misfortunes, and exasperated against all that pre- tended to lead armies to their succour, particularly on ac- cou^ of the perfidy of Callippus and Pharax. Ihe one was an Athenian, and the other a Lacedaemonian ; and both came with professions to dp great tilings for the liber- ty of Sicily, aad for demolishing the tyrants ; yet the Si- cillians soon found that the reign of former oppress before finnan* ttiUids in the way of that correction. 136 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. succours, whom he had met with at sea, as they were en- deavouring at a passage. By this means he hoped to strike terror into the besieged. While he was acting this part, the Corinthians got down to Rhegium ; and as the coast was clear, and the wind falling as it were miraculously, promised smooth water and a safe voyage, they immedi- ately went aboard such barks and fishing-boats as they could find, and passed over into Sicily with so much safety, and in such a dead calm, that they even drew the horses by the reins, swimming by the side of the vessels. When they were all landed, and had joined Timoleon, he soon took Messana;* and from thence he marched in good order to Syracuse, depending more upon his good fortune than his forces, for he had not above four thou- sand men with him. On the first news of his approach, Mago was greatly perplexed and alarmed ; and his suspicions were increased on the following occasions. The marshes about Syracuse,f which receive a great deal of fresh water from the springs, and from the lakes and rivers that dis- charge themselves there into the sea, have such abundance of eels, that there is always plenty for those that choose to fish for them. The common soldiers of both sides amused themselves promiscuously with that sport at their vacant hours, and upon any cessation of arms. As they were all Greeks, and had no pretence for any private animosity against each other, they fought boldly when they met in battle, and in time of truce they mixed together, and con- versed familiarly. Busied at one of these times in their common diversion of fishing, they fell into discourse, and expressed their admiration of the convenience of the sea and the situation of the adjacent places. Whereupon one of the Corinthian soldiers thus addressed those that served under Icetes. " And can you, who are Greeks, readily consent to reduce this city, so spacious in itself, and blest with so many advantages, into the power of the barba* rians, and to bring the Carthaginians, the most deceitful and bloody of them all, into our neighbourhood, when you ought to wish that between them and Greece there were many Sicilies ? Or can you think that they have " brought an aimed force from the pillars of Hercules and * Messana in the ancient Sicilian pronunciation ; now Mtssina. f There is one morass that is called Lysimelia, and another called Syraco. From this last the city took its name. These morasses aake the air of Syiacuw very uu wholesome. TIMOLEON. 137 " the Atlantic ocean, and braved the hazards of war, " purely to erect a principality for Icetes ; who, if he had 11 had the prudence which becomes a general, would never " have driven out his founders, to call into his country the " worst of its enemies, when he might have obtained of " the Corinthians and Timoleon any proper degree of ho- " nour and power." The soldiers that were in pay with Icetes, repeating their discourses often in their camp, gave Mago, who had long wanted a pretence to be gone, room to suspect that he was betrayed ; and though Icetes entreated him to stay, and re- monstrated upon their great superiority to the enemy, yet he weighed anchor, and sailed back to Africa, shamefully and unaccountably suffering Sicily to slip out of his hands. Next day, Timoleon drew up his army in order of battle before the place ; but when he and his Corinthians were told that Mago was fled, and saw the harbour empty, they could not forbear laughing at his cowardice ; and by way of mockery, they caused proclamation to be made about the city, promising a reward to any one that could give infor- mation where the Carthaginian fleet was gone to hide itself. Icetes, however, had still the spirit to stand a farther shock, and would not let go his hold, but vigorously defended those quarters of the city which he occupied, and which appeared almost impregnable, Timoleon, therefore, divided his forces into three parts ; and himself, with one of them, made his attack by the river Anapus, where he was likely to meet with the warmest reception ; commanding the second, which was under Isias the Corinthian, to begin their operations from the Achriidina, while Dinarchus and Demaretus, who brought the last reinforcement from Corinth, should attempt the E/jipota- ; so that several im- pressions being made at the same time, and on every side, the soldiers of Icetes were overpowered, and put to flight. Now that the city was taken by assault, and suddenly re- duced, upon the flight of the enemy, we may justly impute to the bravery of the troops, and the ability of their general ; but that not one Corinthian was either killed or wounded, the fortune of Timoleon claims entirely to herself, willing, as she seems, to maintain a dispute with his valour, and that those who read his story, may rather admire his happy success than the merit of his actions The fame of this great achievement soon overspread not only Sicily and Italy, but, in a few days, it resounded through Greece } so 139 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. that the city of Corinth, which was in some doubt whether its fleet was arrived in Sicily, was informed by the same messengers, that its forces had made good their passage, and were victorious. So well did their affairs prosper, and so much lustre did fortune add to the gallantry of their exploits by the speediness of their execution. Timoleon, thus master of the c'tadel, did not proceed like Dion, or spare the place for its beauty and magnificence ; but guarding against the suspicions, which first slandered, and then destroyed that great man, he ordered the public crier to give notice, " That all the Syracusans who were *' willing to have a hand in the work, should come with " proper instruments to destroy the bulwarks of tyranny." Hereupon they came one and all, considering that procla- mation and that day as the surest commencement of their liberty ; and they not only demolished the citadel, but le- velled with the ground both the palaces and the monuments of the tyrants. Having soon cleared the place, he built a common hall there for the seat of judicature, at once to gratify the citizens, and to shew that a popular government should be erected on the ruins of tyranny. The city thus taken was found comparatively destitute of inhabitants ; many had been slain in the wars and intestine broils, and many more had fled from the rage of the tyrants. Nay, so little frequented was the market-place of Syracuse, that it produced grass enough for the horses to pasture upon, and for the grooms to repose themselves by them. The other cities, except a very few, were entire desarts, fall of deer and wild boars ; and such as had leisure for it, often hunted them in the suburbs and about the walls ; while none of those that had possessed themselves of castles and strong holds, could be persuaded to quit them, or come down into the city, for they looked with hatred and horror upon the tribunals, and other seats of government, as so many nurseries of tyrants. Timoleon and the Syracusans, there- fore, thought proper to write to the Corinthians, to send them a good number from Greece to people Syracuse, be- cause the iund ir.U3t otherwise lie uncultivated, and because they expected a more formidable war from Africa, being informed that Mago had killed himself, and that the Car- thaginicns, provoked at his bad conduct in the expedition, had crucified his body, and were collecting great forces for the iuvasion of Sicily the ensuing summer. These letters of Tiir.oleor. Iving delivered, the Syra TJMOLEON. 139 cii'san ambassadors attended at the same time, and begged of the Corinthians to ttvke their city into their protection, and to become founder* of it anew. They did not, how- ever, hastily seize that advantage, or appropriate the city to themselves, but first sent to the sacred games, and the other great assemblies of Greece, and caused proclama- tion to be made by their heralds, " That the Corinthians having abolished arbitrary power in Syracuse, and ex- pelled the tyrant, invited ail Syracusans and other Sici- lians to people that city, where ihey should enjoy their liberties and privileges, and have the lands divided by equal lots among them.'' 'ihen they sent envoys into Asia and the islands, where they were told the greatest part of the fugitives were dispersed, to exhort them all to come to Corinth, where they should be provided with ves- sels, commanders, and a convoy, at the expence of the Co- rinthians, to conduct them safe to Syracuse, i heir inten- tions thus published, the Corinthians enjoyed the justest praise, and the most distinguished glory, having delivered a Grecian city from tyrants saved it from the barbarians, and restored the citizens to their country. But the per- sons who met on this occasion at Corinth, not being a suf- ficient number, desired that they might take others along with them from Corinth, and the re&t of Greece, as new colonists ; by which means, having made up their number full ten thousand, they sailed to Syracuse. By this time great multitudes from Italy and Sicily had flocked in to Ti- moleon, who, finding their number, as Athanis reports, amount to sixty thousand, freely divided the lands among them, but sold the houses for a thousand talents. By this contrivance, he both left it in the power of the ancient inha- bitants to redeem their own, and took occasion also to raise a stock for the community, who had been so poor in all respects, and so little able to furnish the supplies for the war, that they had sold the very statues, after having formed a judicial process against each, and passed sentence upon them, as if they had been so many criminals. On this occasion, we are told, they spared one statue, when all the rest were condemned, namely, that of Gelon, one of their ancient kings, in honour of the man, and for the sake of the: victory* which he gained over the Carthaginians at Himera. * He defeated Hamilcar, who landed in Sicily with three hvsndrcd thousand men, in the second year of the seventy-fifth Olympiad. 14O PLUTARCH'S LIVES. Syracuse being thus revived, and replenished with such a Jiumber of inhabitants, who flocked to it from all quarters, Timoleon was desirous to bestow the blessings of liberty on the other cities also, and, once for all, to extirpate arbitrary government out of Sicily. For this purpose, marching in- to the territories of the petty tyrants, he compelled Icetes to quit the interests of Carthage, to agree to demolish his castles, and to live among the Leontines as a private person. Leptines also, prince of Apollonia and several other little towns, finding himself in danger of being taken, surrendered, and had his life granted him, but was sent to Corinth ; for Timoleon looked upon it as a glorious thing, that the ty- rants of Sicily should be forced to live as exiles in the city which had colonized that island,* and should be seen by the Greeks in such an abject condition. After this, he returned to Syracuse to settle the civil government, and to establish the most important and neces- sary la\vs,-f- along with Cephalus and Dinarchus, lawgivers sent from Corinth. In the meanwhile, willing that the mercenaries should reap some advantage from the enemy's country, and be kept from inaction, he sent Dinarchus and Demaretus into the Carthaginian province. These drew several citizens from the Punic interest, and not only lived in abundance themselves, but also raised money from the plunder for carrying on the war. While these matters were transacting, the Carthaginians arrived at Lilybaeum With seventy thousand land-forces, two hundred galleys, and a thousand other vessels, which carried machines of \var, chariots, vast quantities cf provisions, and all other stores, as if they were now determined not to carry on the war by piecemeal, but to drive the Greeks entirely out of Sicily ; for their force was sufficient to effect this, even if the Sici- lians had been united, and much more so, harassed as they were with mutual animosities. When the Carthaginians, therefore, found that their Sicilian territories were laid * n ry fivrpiTekti i j- Among other wise institutions, he appointed a chief magistrate to be chosen yearly, whom the Syracusans called the Amphipdus of Jupiter Olympius; thus giving him a kind of sacred character. The first Amphtpolns was Comraenes. Hence arose the custom among the Syracusans to compute their years by the respective govern- ments of these magistrates; which custom continued in the time of Diodorus Siculus, that is, in the reign of Augustus, above three hundred yea^ after the office of Amphipolus was first introduced. Diodor, Sicvl.1, xvi, c. 12. T1MOLEOK. 141 traste, they marched, under the command of Asdrubal and Hamilcar i gnat fury against the Corinthians. Information o: this being brought directly to Syracuse, the inhabitants were struck with such terror by that pro- digious armament, that scarce three thousand, out of ten times that number, took up arms, and ventured to follow Timoleon. The mercenaries were in number four thou- sand, and of them about a thousand gave way to their fears when upon the inarch, and turned back, crying out, " That Timoleon must be mad, or in his dotage, to go " against an army of seventy thousand men, with only five " thousand foot and a thousand horse, and to draw his " handful of men, too, eight days march from Syracuse, ' by which means there could be no refuge for those that " fled, nor burial for those that fell in battle." Timoleon considered it as an advantage, that these cow- ards discovered themselves before the engagement ; and having encouraged the rest, he led them hastily to the banks of the Crimesus, where he was told the Carthagi- nians were drawn together. But as he was ascending an hill, at the top of which the enemy's camp and all their vast forces would be in sight, he met some mules loaded with parsley ; and his men took it into their heads that it was a bad omen, because we usually crown the sepulchres with parsley ; and thence the proverb with respect to one that is dangerously ill, Su. h an one has need of nothing lut pars- ley. To deliver them from this superstition, and to remove the panic, Timoleon ordered the troops to halt, and mak- ing a speech suitable to the occasion, observed, among other things, " That crowns were brought them before the " victory, and offered themselves of their own accord ;'' for the Corinthians, from all antiquity, having looked upon a wreath of parsley as sacred, crowned the victors with it at the Isthmean games. In Timoleon's time it was still in use in those games, as it is now at the Nemean ; and it is but lately that the pine-branch ha* taken its place. The general having addressed his army, as we have said, took a chaplet of parsley, and crowned himself with it first, and then his officers and the common soldiers did the same. At that instant, the soothsayers, observing two eagles flying towards them, one of which bore a serpent, which he had pierced through with his talons, while the other advanced v uh a loud and animating noise, pointed them out to the 142 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. army, who all betook themselves to prayer and invocation to the gods. The summer was now begun, and the end of the month Thargel'wit* brought on the solstice; the river then sending up a thick mist, the fields were covered with it at first, so that nothing in the enemy's camp was discernible ; only an inarticulate and confused noise, which reached the summit of the hill, shewed that a great army lay at some distance; but when the Corinthians had reached the top, and laid down their shields to take breath, the sun had raised the vapours higher ; so that the fog being collected upon the summits, covered them only, while the places below were all visible. The river Crimesis appeared clearly, and the enemy were seen crossing it, first with chariots drawn by four horses, and formidably provided fur the combat ; be- hind which there marched ten thousand men with white bucklers. These they conjectured to be Carthaginians, by the brightness of their armour, and the slowness and good order in which they moved. They were followed by the troops of other nations, who advanced in a confused and tumultuous manner. Timoleon observing that the river put it in his power to engage with what number of the enemy he pleased, bade his men take notice how the main body was divided by the stream, part having already got over, and part preparing to pass it ; and ordered Demaretus, with the cavalry, to attack the Carthaginians, and put them in confusion, before they had time to range themselves in order of battle. Then he himself descending into the plain, with the infantry, form- ed the wings out of other Sicilians, intermingling a few strangers with them ; but the natives of Syracuse and the most warlike of the mercenaries he placed about himself, in the centre, and stopped awhile to see the success of the horse. When he saw that they could not come up to grapple with the Carthaginians, by reason of the chariots that ran to and fro before their army, and that they were obliged often to wheel about, to avoid the danger of hav- * Here we see the uncertainty of the Grecian months. The writers on that subject, Dionysius of Hallicarnassus, for instance (Rom. An- tiqu. lib. i.), take Thargelion to be April; and yet here we are told, the end of that month was near the solstice Ta piv it* irm yr,}.iun, fft; TUi reifas ran ffutnfTlv TH recitiv. Hence it is, that Dacicr ventures, in this place, to nanslate it June, the solstice certainly being in that month. TIMOLEOX. 143 ing their ranks broken, and then to rally again, and return to the charge, sometimes here, sometimes there, he took his buckler, and called to the foot to follow him, and be of good courage, with an accent that seemed more than human, so much was it above his usual pitch ; whether it was exalted by his ardour and enthusiasm, or whether (as many were of opinion) the voice of some god was joined to his. His troops answering him with a loud shout, and pressing him to lead them on without delay, he sent orders to the cavalry to get beyond the line of chariots, and to take the enemy in flank, while himself, thickening his first ranks so as to join buckler to buckler, and causing the trumpet to sound, bore down upon the Carthaginians. They sustained the first shock with great spirit ; for being fortified with breastplates of iron and helmets of brass, and covering themselves with large shields, they could easily repel the spears and javelins ; but when the business came to a decision by the sword, where art is no less requisite than strength, all on a sudden there broke out dreadful thunders from the mountains, mingled with long trails of lightning ; after which the black clouds, descending from the tops of the hills, fell upon the two armies in a storm of wind, rain, and hail. The tempest was on the backs ot the Greeks, but beat upon the faces of the barbarians, and almost blinded them with the stormy showers and the fire continually streaming from the clouds. These things very much distressed the barbarians, parti- cularly such of them as were not veterans. The greatest inconvenience seems to have been the roaring of the thun- der, and the clattering of the rain and hail upon their arms, which hindered them from hearing the orders of their officers. Besides, the Carthaginians not being light, but heavy armed, as I said, the dirt was troublesome to them ; and, as the bosoms of their tunics were filled with water, they were very unwieldy in the combat, so that the Greeks could overturn them with ease ; and when they were down, it was impossible for them, encumbered as they were with arms, to get up out of the mire ; for the river Crimesus, swoln, partly with the rains, and partly having its course stopped by the vast numbers that crossed it, had overflowed its banks. The adjacent field, having many cavities and low places in it, was filled with water, which settled there; and the Carthaginians falling into them, could not disen- gage themselves without extreme difficulty. In short, the 144 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. storm continuing to beat upon them with great violence, and the Greeks having cut to pieces four hundred men, who composed their first ranks, their whole body was put to flight. Great numbers were overtaken in the field, and put to the sword ; many took to the river, and, jostling with those that were yet passing it, were carried down and drowned. The major part, who endeavoured to gain the hills, were stopped by the light-armed soldiers, and slain. Among the ten thousand that were killed, it is said there were three thousand natives of Carthage ; a heavy loss to that city ; for none of its citizens were superior to these, either in birth, fortune, or character ; nor have we any ac- count that so many Carthaginians ever fell before in one battle ; but as they mostly made use of Lybians, Spaniards, and Numidians in their wars, if they lost a victory, it was at the expence of the blood of strangers. The Greeks discovered, by the spoils, the quality of the killed. Those that stripped the dead set no value upon brass or iron, such wat> the abundance of silver and gold ; for they passed the river, and made themselves masters of the camp and baggage. Many of the prisoners were clandes- tinely sold by the soldiers ; but five thousand were delivered in upon the public account, and two hundred chariots also were taken. The tent of Timoleon afforded the most beau- tiful and magnificent spectacle. In it were piled all manner of spoils, among which a thousand breastplates of exquisite workmanship, and ten thousand bucklers, were exposed to view. As there was but a small number to collect the spoils of such a multitude, and they found such immense riches, it was the third day after the battle before they could erect the trophy. With the first news of the victory, Timoleon sent to Corinth the handsomest of the arms he had taken, desirous that the world might admire and emu- late his native city, when they saw the fairest temples adorn- ed, not with Grecian spoils, nor with the unpleasing mo- numents of kindred blood and domestic ruin, but with the spoils of barbarians, which bore this honourable inscription, declaring the justice, as well as the valour, of the conquer- ors" That the people of Corinth, and Timoleon their " general, having delivered the Greeks who dwelt in Sicily (t from the Carthaginian yoke, made this offering, as a " grateful acknowledgment to the gods." After this, Timoleon left the mercenaries to lay waste the Carthaginian province, arrtl returned to Syracuse. By an TIMOLEOtf. 145 edict published there, he banished from Sicily the thousand hired soldiers who deserted him before the battle, and obliged them to quit Syracuse before the sun set. These wretches passed over into Italy, where they were trea- cherously slain by the I'miti-ins. Such was the vengeance which heaven took of their perfidiousness. Nevertheless, Mamercus, prince of Catana, and Icetes, either moved with envy at the success of Timoleon, or dreading him as an implacable enemy, who thought no faith was to be kept with tyrants, entered into league v.-ith the Carthaginians, and desired them to send a new army and general, if they were not willing to lose Sicily entirely. Hereupon Cisco came with a fleet of seventy ships, and a body of Greeks whom he had taken into pay. The Carthaginians had not employed any Greeks before, but now they considered them as the bravest and most in- vincible of men. On this occasion, the inhabitants of Messina rising with one consent, slew four hundred of the foreign soldiers, whom Timoleon had sent to their assistance ; and within the dependencies of Carthage, the mercenaries, commanded by Euthymus the Leucadian, were cut off by an ambush at a place called Hierx.* Hence the good fortune of Timo- leon became still more famous ; for these were some of the men who, with Philodemus of Phocis and Onomarchus, had broke into the temple of Apollo at Delphi, and were partakers with them in the sacrilege. -J- Shunned as exe- crable on this account, they wandered about Peloponnesus, where Timoleon, being in great want of men, took them into pay. When they came into Sicily, they were victorious in all the battles where he commanded in person ; but after the great struggles of the war were over, being sent upon service where succours were required, they perished by little * We do not find there was any place in Sicily called Hierts ; in all probability, therefore, it should be read Hieke ; for Stephanus cf< Urbih. mentions a castle in Sicily of that name. f The sacred tear commenced on this occasion. The Amphittyons having condemned the people of Phocis in a heavy fine, for plunder- ing the country of Cyrrha, which was dedicated to Apollo, and that people being unable to pay it, their whole country was judged for- feited to that god. Hereupon Philomelus, not Philodemus, called the people together, and advised them to seize the treasures in the temple of Delphi, to enable them to hire forces to defend themselves. This brought on a war that lasted six years ; in the course of which most of the sacrilegious persons perished miserably. Vol. II. H 1-46 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. and little. Herein avenging justice seems to have been willing to make use of the prosperity of Timoleon as an apology for its delay, taking care, as it did, that no harm might happen to the good from the punishment of the \vicked; insomuch that the favour of the gods to that great man was no less discerned and admired in his very losses than in his great success. Upon any of these little advantages, the tyrants took occasion to ridicule the Syracusans ; at which they were highly incensed. Mamercus, for instance, who valued him- self on his poems and tragedies, talked in a pompous man- ner of the victory he had gained over the mercenaries, and ordered this insolent inscription to be put upon the shields wlu'ch he dedicated to the gods : These shields,* with gold and ivory gay, To our plain bucklers lost the day. Afterwards, when Timoleon was laying siege to Calauria, Icetcs took the opportunity to make an inroad into the territories of Syracuse, where he met witlr considerable booty ; and having made great havoc, he marched back by Calauria itself, in contempt of Timoleon and the slender force he had with him. Timoleon suffered him to pass, and then followed him with his cavalry and light-armed foot. When Icetes saw he was pursued, he crossed the Da- myrias,f and stood in a posture to receive the enemy, on the other side. What emboldened him to do this was, the difficulty of the passage, and the steepness of the banks on both sides. But a strange dispute of jealousy and honour, which arose among the officers of Timoleon, awhile de- layed the combat ; for there was not one that was willing to go after another, but every one wanted to be foremost in the attack ; so that their fording was likely to be very tumultuous and disorderly, by their jostling each other, and pressing to get before. To remedy this, Timoleon ordered them to decide the matter by lot, and that each, for this purpose, should give him his ring. He took the rings and shook them in the skirt of his robe, and the first that came up, happening to have a trophy for the seal, the young officers received it with joy, and crying out, that they weuld not wait for any other lot, made their way as fast as possible They were shields that had been taken out of the temple at Delphi. T Or the Laymirias. TIMOLHOX. 147 through the river, and fell upon the enemy, who, unable to sustain the shock, soon took to flight, throwing away their arms, and leaving a thousand of their men dead upon the spot. A few days after this, Timoleon marched into the terri- tory of the Leontines, where he took Icetus alive ; and his son Eupolemus, and Euthymus, his general of horse, were brought to him bound by the soldiers. Icetes and his son were capitally punished, as tyrants and traitors to their country ; nor did Euthymus find mercy, though re- markably brave and bold in action, because he was accused of a severe sarcasm against the Corinthians. He had said, it seems, in a speech he made to the Leontines, upon the Corinthians taking the field,* *' That it was no formid- " able matter, if the Corinthian dames were gone out to " take the air." Thus the generality of men are more apt to resent a contemptuous word than an unjust action, and can bear any other injury better than disgrace. Every hos- tile deed is imputed to the necessity of war, but satirical and censorious expressions are considered as the effects of hatred or malignity. When Timoleon was returned, the Syracusans brought the wife and daughters of Icetes to a public trial, who, being there condemned to die, were executed accordingly. This seems to be the most exceptionable part of Timoleon's conduct ; for if he had interposed, the women would not have suffered. But he appears to have connived at it, and given them up to the resentment of the people, who were willing to make some satisfaction to the manes of Dion, who expelled Dionysius ; for Icetus was the man who threw Arete, the wife of Dion, his sister Aristomache, and his son, who was yet a child, alive into the sea, as we have related in the life of Dion.f * A verse in the Medea of Euripides, quite altered in the sense by the different punctuations. Medea says there, ver. 24> ymaix-;, e-JiX'av at^ui, bin ftet .$s tiuu*. f From this passage, and another before, it seems as if the life of Dion was written before this ; and yet in the life of Dion. Plutarch H2 J49 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. Timoleon then marched to Catana against Matnercus, who waited for him, in order of battle, upon the banks of the Abolus.* Mamercus was defeated, and put to flight, with the loss of above two thousand men, no small part of which consisted of the Punic succours sent by Cisco. Here- upon the Carthaginians desired him to grant them peace, which he did, on the following conditions. " That they " should hold only the lands within the Lycus ; f that " they should permit all who desired it, to remove out of " their province, with their families and goods, and to " settle at Syracuse ; and that they should renounce all " friendship and alliance with the tyrants." Mamercus, reduced by this treaty to despair, set sail for Italy, with an intent to bring the Lucanians against '1 imoleon and the Syracusans ; but, instead of that, the crews tacking about with the galleys, and returning to Sicily, delivered up Ca- tana to Timoleon, which obliged Mamercus to take refuge at Messena, with Hippo, prince of that city. Timoleon coming upon them, and investing the place both by sea nd land, Hippo got on board a ship, and attempted to make his escape, but was taken by the Messenians them- selves, who exposed him in the theatre ; and calling their children out of the schools, as to the finest spectacle in the world, the punishment of a tyrant, they first scourged him, und then put him to death. Upon this, Mamercus surrendered himself to Timoleon, agreeing to take his trial at Syracuse, on condition that Timoleon himself would not be his accuser. Being con- ducted to Syracuse, and brought before the people, he at- tempted to pronounce an oration, which he had composed long before for such an occasion ; but being received with noise and clamour, he perceived that the assembly were determined to shew him no favour. He, therefore, threw off his upper garment, ran through the theatre, and dashed his head violently against one of the steps, with a design to speaks as if this was written first ; for there he says, As we have i^ritten in the life of Timoleon. In one of them, therefore, if not in both, those references must have been made by the librarians, ac- cording to the different order in which these lives were placed. * Ptolemy and others call this river Alabus, Alabis, or Alabon. It is near Hybla, between Catana and Syracuse. f- Plutarch probably took the name of this river as he found it in lliodorus ; but other historians call it the Halycus. Indeed, the Carthaginians might possibly give it the oriental aspirate ha, which signifies no more- than the particle the. TIMOLEOK. M9 kill himself , but did not succeed according to his wish, for he was taken up alive, and suffered the punishment of thieves and robbers. In this manner did Timoleon extirpate tyranny, and put a period to their wars. He found the whole island turned almost wild and savage with its misfortunes, so that its very inhabitants could hardly endure it, and yet he so civi- lized it again, and rendered it so desirable, that strangers came to settle in the country, from which its own people had lately fled ; the great cities of Agrigcntum and Gela, which, after the Athenian war, had been sacked and lett desolate by the Carthaginians, were now peopled again ; the former by Megellus and Pheristus from Elea, and the latter by Gorgus from the isle of Ceos, who also collected and brought with him some of the old citizens. Timoleon not only assured them of his protection, and of peaceful days to settle in, after the tempest of such a war, but cordially entered into their necessities, and supplied them witli every thing ; so that he was even beloved by them as if he had been their founder. Nay, to that degree did he enjoy the affections of the Sicilians in general, that no war eemed concluded, no laws enacted, no lands divided, no political regulation made, in a proper manner, except it was revised and touched by him ; he was the master-builder, who put the last hand to the work, and bestowed upon it a happy elegance and perfection. Though at that time Greece boasted a number of great men, whose achievements were highly distinguished, Timotheus (for instance), Age- silaus, Pelopidas, and Epaminondas, the last of whom Timoleon 'principally vied with in the course of glory, yet we may discern in their actions a certain labour and straining which diminishes their lustre, and some of tlierr ha^e af forded room for censure, and been followed with repent ance ; whereas, there is not one action of Timoleon (if we except the extremities he proceeded to in the case of his brother), to which we may not, with Timaeus, apply that passage of Sophocles, What F*nu-s, or what Love, Plac'd the fair parts in this harmonious whole. For, as the poetry of Antimachus* and the portraits of * Antimachus was an epic poet, who flourished in the days of Socrates and Plato. He wrote a poem called the Thebaid. Qura H J J50 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. Dionysius,* both of them Colophonians, with all the nerves and strength one finds in them, appear to be too much laboured, and smell too much of the lamp ; whereas, the paintings of Nicomachus,f and the verses of Homer, beside their other excellencies and graces, seem to have been struck off with readiness and ease ; so, if we compare the exploits of Epaminondas and Agesilaus, performed with infinite pains and difficulty, with those of Timoleon, which, glo- rious as they were, had a great deal of freedom and ease in them, when we consider the case well, we shall conclude the latter not to have been the work of fortune indeed, but the effects of fortunate virtue. He himself, it is true, ascribed all hie successes to fortune ; for when he wrote to his friends at Corinth, or addressed the Syracusans, he often said, he was highly indebted to ihat goddess, when she was resolved to save Sicily, for doing it under his name. In his house he built a chapel, and offered sacrifices to Chance^ and dedicated the house itself to Fortune ; for the Syracusans had given him one of the best houses in the city, as a reward for his services, and provided him, besides, a very elegant and agreeable retreat in the country. In the country it was that he spent most of his time, with his wife and children, whom he had sent for tVom Corinth; for he never returned home; he took no part in the troubles of Greece, nor exposed himself to public envy, the rock which great generals commonly split wpon in their insatiable pursuits of honour and power, but filian (x, 1.) says, he had a force and solidity, together with an elevation of style, and had the second place given him by the gram- marians after Homer; but as he failed in the passions, in the dis- poHition of his fable, and in the ease and elegance of manner, hough he was second, he was far from coming near the fir.st. * Dionysius was a portrait-painter. Plin. xxxv, 10. + PJiny tells us, " Nicomachus painted with a \vift as well as " masterly hand ; and that his pieces sold for as much as a town ' was worth." Aristratus, the tyrant of Sicyon, having agreed with him for a piece of work which seemed to require a considerable time, Nicomachus did not appear till within a few days of that on which he had agreed to finish it. Hereupon the tyrant talked of punish- ing him ; but in those few days he completed the thing in an ad- mirable manner, and entirely to his satisfaction. When the ancients ascribed any event to fortune, they did not mean to deny the operation of the Deity in it, but only to exclude all human contrivance and power; and in events ascribed to chance, they might possibly mean to exclude the agency of all rational beings, whether human or divine. T1MOLEON. 1 5 1 he remained in Sicily, enjoying the blessings be had establish- ed ; and of which the greatest of all was to see so many cities and so many thousands of people happy through his means. But since, according to the comparison of Simonides, every republic must have some impudent slanderer, just as every lark must have a crest on its head, so it was at Syra- cuse; for Timoleon was attacked by two demagogues, Laphystius and Demaenetus. The first of these having demanded of him sureties that he would answer Jo an in- dictment which was to be brought against him, the people began to rise, declaring they would not suffer him to pro- ceed ; but Timoleon stilled the tumult, by representing, " That he had voluntarily undergone so many labours and " dangers, on purpose that the meanest Syracusan might " have recourse, when he pleased, to the laws.'' And when Demxnetus, in full assembly, alleged many articles against his behaviour in command, he did not vouchsafe him any answer ; he only said, " He could not sufficiently express " his gratitude to the gods for granting his request, in " permitting him to see all the Syracusaos enjoy the li- " berty of saying what they thought fit." Having then confessedly performed greater things than any Grecian of his time, and been the only man that re- alized those glorious achievements to which the orators of Greece were constantly exhorting their countrymen in the general assemblies of the states, fortune happily placed him at a distance from the calamities in which the mother- country was involved, and kept his hands ur.stained with its blood. He made his courage and conduct appear in his dealings with the barbarians and with tyrants, us well as his justice and moderation wherever the Greeks or their friends were concerned. Very few of his trophies cost his fellow-citizens a tear, or put any of them in mourning ; and yet, in less than eight years, he delivered Sicily from its intestine miseries and distempers, and restored it to the native inhabitants. After so much prosperity, when he was well advanced in years, his eyes began to fail him; a:id the defect increased so fast that he entirely lost his sight ; not that he had done any thing to occasion it, nor was it to be imputed to the caprice of fortune,* but it seems to have been owing to a * Plutarch here hints at an opinion, which was very prevalent among the pagans, that if any person was signally favoured with H4 152 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. family weakness and disorder, which operated together with the course of time ; for several of his relations are said to have lost their sight in the same manner, having it gradu- ally impaired by years. But Athanis tells us, notwith- standing-, that during the war with Hippo and Mamercus, and while he lay before Mills, a white speck appeared on his eye, which was a plain indication that blindness was coming on. However, this did not hinder him from con- tinuing the siege, and prosecuting the war, until he got the tyrants in his power. But when he was returned to Syracuse, he laid down the command immediately, and excused himself to the people from any farther service, as he had brought their affairs to a happy conclusion. It is not to be wondered that he bore his misfortune without repining ; but it was really admirable to observe the honour and respect which the Syracusans paid him when blind. They not only visited him constantly them- selves, but brought all strangers, who spent some time amongst them, to his house in the town, or to that in the country, that they too might have the pleasure of seeing the deliverer of Syracuse ; and it was their joy and their pride that he chose to spend his days with them, and de- spised the splendid reception which Greece was prepared to give him on account of his great success. Among the many votes that were passed, and things that were done in honour of him, one of the most striking was that decree of the people of Syracuse, " That whenever they should *' be at war with a foreign nation, they would employ a 41 Corinthian general." Their method of proceeding, too, in their assemblies, did honour to Timoleon ; for they decided smaller matters by themselves, but consulted him in the more difficult and important cases. On these occa- sions he was conveyed in a litter through the market-place to the theatre ; and when he was carried in, the people saluted him with one voice as he sat. He returned the civility; and having paused awhile to give time for their acclamations, took cognizance of the alfair, and delivered his opinion. The assembly gave their sanction to it, and then his servants carried the litter back tlirough the theatre ; and the people having waited on him out with loud ap- success, there would some misfortune happen to counterbalance it. Tkis tlu:v imputed to the envy of some malignant demon- TI.VfOLEOX* 153 plauses, dispatched the rest of the public business without him. With so much respect and kindness was the old age of Timoleon cherished, as that of a common father ! and at last he died of a slight illness, co-operating with length of years.* Some time being given the Syracusans to prepare for his funeral, and for the neighbouring inhabitants and strangers to assemble, the whole was conducted with great magnificence. The bier, sumptuously adorned, was carried by young men, selected by the people, over the ground where the palace and castle of the tyrants stood before they were demolished. It was followed by many thou- sands of men and women, in the most pompous solemnity, crowned with garlands, and clothed in white. The la- mentations and tears, mingled with the praises of the de- ceased, shewed that the honour now paid him was not a matter of course, or compliance with a duty enjoined, but the testimony of real sorrow and sincere affection. At last, the bier being placed upon the funeral pile, Demetrius, who had the loudest voice of all their heralds, was directed to make proclamation as follows. " The people of Syra- ** cuse inter Timoleon the Corinthian, the son of Timode- " mus, at the expence of two hundred mince: they honour " him, moreover, through all time, with annual games, to ** be celebrated with performances in music, horse-racing, " and wrestling ; as the man who destroyed tyrants, sub- " dued barbarians, repeopled great cities which lay deso- " late, and restored to the Sicilians their laws and privi- " leges." The body was interred, and a monument erected for him in the market-place, which they afterwards surrounded with porticoes, and other buildings suitable to the purpose, and then made it a place of exercise for their youth, under the name of Timoleonteiim. They continued to make use of the form of government and the laws that he had esta- blished ; and this ensured their happiness for a long course of years. -j- He died the last year of the hundred and tenth Olympiad, three hundred and thirty-five years before the Christian era. t This prosperity was interrupted about thirty years after, by the cruelties of Agathocles. H5 154 rtuT ARCH'S LIVES. PAULUS .'EMILIUS. WHEN I first applied myself to the writing of these lives, it was for the sake of others, but I pursue that study for my own sake ; availing myself of history as of a mirror, from which I learn to adjust and regulate my own conduct ; for it is like living and conversing with these illustrious men, when I invite, as it were, and receive them, one after another, under my roof; when I consider how great and iuondcrful they were* and select from their actions the .nost memorable and glorious. Ye gods ! what greater pleasure ? What HAPPIER ROAD TO VIRTUE .' Democritus has a position in his philosophy, f utterly false indeed, and leading to endless superstitions, that there are phantasms or images continually floating in the air, some propitious, and some unlucky, and advises us to pray that such may strike upon our senses as are agreeable to and perfective of our nature, and not such as have a tend- ency to vice and error. For my part, instead of this, I Sll my mind with the sublime images of the best and greatest .nen, by attention to history and biography ; and if I con- tract any blemish or ill custom from other company, which I am unavoidably engaged in, I correct and expel them, by oalmly and dispassionately turning my thoughts to these f.-xcellent examples. For the same purpose, I now put in your hands the life of Timoleon the Corinthian, and that ;f ,'Kmilius Paulus, men famous not only for their virtues, but their success ; insomuch, that they have left room to doubt whether their great achievements were not more ow- .ing to their good fortune than their prudence. Most writers agree that the .Kmilian family was one of the most ancient among the Roman nobility ; and it is as- * orfss t>lts ft Horn. II. xxiv, ver. 629. f Democritus held that visible objects produced their image in the ambient air, which image produced a second, and the second a third, still less than the former, and so on, till the last produced its counter-part in the eye. This he supposed the process of the act of vision. But he went on'to what is infinitely more absurd. He main- tained that thought was formed according as those images stmrk upon the imagination ; that of these there were some good, and some evil ; that the good produced virtuous thoughts in us, ind tlu* the contrary. PAULUS /EMILIUS. 155 serted that the founder of it, who also left it his surname, was Mamercus,* the son of Pythagoras the philosopher, f who, for the peculiar charms and gracefulness of his elocu- tion, was called ,Kmilius. Such, at least, is the opinion of those who say that Xuma was educated under Pythagoras. Those of this family that distinguished themselves^ found their attachment to virtue generally blesSed with success ; and, notwithstanding the ill fortune of Lucius Paulus at Cannae, he shewed, on that occasion, both his prudence and his valour ; for, when he could not dissuade his colleague from fighting, he joined him in the combat, though much against bit will, but did not partake with him in his flight ; on the contrary, when he who plunged them in the danger deserted the field, Paulus stood his ground, and fell bravely amidst the enemy, with his sword in his hand. This Paulus had a daughter named J'lmilia, who was married to Scipio the Great, and a son called Paulus, whose history I am now writing. At the time he made his appearance in the world, Rome abounded in men who were celebrated for their virtues and ^' her excellent accomplishments ; j| and even among these -Krnilius made a distinguished figure, without pursuing the same studies, or setting out in the same track, with the young nobility of that age ; for he did not exercise himself in pleading causes, nor could he stoop to salute, to solicit, and caress the people, which was the method that most men took who aimed at popularity. Not but that he had talents from nature to acquit himself well in either of these respects, but he reckoned the honour that flows from valour, from justice and probity, preferable to both ; and in these virtues he soon surpassed all the young men of his time. The first of the great offices of state for- which he was a candidate, was that of tedile, and he carried it against twelve competitors, who, we are told, were all afterwards consuls ; * See the life of Numa. j- He is called Pythagoras the philosopher, to distinguish him from Pythagoras the famed wrestler. From Lucius ^Emilius, who was consul in the year of Rome two hundred and seventy, and overcame the Volscians.to Lucius Paulus, who was father to Paulus ^Emilius, and who fell at Cannae, in tfcc year of Rome five hundred and thirty-seven, there were many of those JSmilii renowned for their victories and triumphs. 'I In that period we find the Sempronii, the Albini, the Fabii Mayimi, the Marcelli, the Scipios, the Fulvii, Suluitii, Cethegi, JVietelli, and other great and excellent men. H 6 ijo PLUTARCH'S LIVKS. *nd when he was appointed one of the augurs t whom tF,c Romans employ in the inspection and care of divination by the flight of birds, and by prodigies in the air, he studied so attentively the usages of his country, and acquainted himself so perfectly with the ancient ceremonies of religion, that what before was only considered as an honour, and sought for on account of the authority annexed to it,* ap- peared in his hands to be one of the principal arts. Thus he confirmed the definition which is given by some philoso- phers, Thettjrelirton is the science of worshipping the gods. He did every thing with skill and application ; he laid aside all other concerns while he attended to this, and made not the least omission or innovation, but disputed \vith his col- leagues about the smallest article, and insisted, that though the Deity might be supposed to be merciful, and willing to overlook some neglect, yet it was dangerous for the state to connive at and pass by such things ; for no man ever began his attempts against government with an enor- mous crime ; and the relaxing in the smallest matters breaks down the fences of the greatest. Nor was he less exact in requiring and observing the Ro- man military discipline. He did not study to be popular in command, nor endeavour, like the generality, to make one commission the foundation for another, by humouring and indulging the soldiery ;f but as a priest instructs the initiated with care in the sacred ceremonies, so he explain- ed to those that were under him the rules and customs of war ; and being inexorable, at the same time, to those that transgressed them, he re-established his country in its former glory. Indeed, with him the beating of an enemy was a matter of much less account than the bringing of his coun- trymen to strict discipline; the one seeming to be the ne- cessary consequence of the other. During the war which the Romans were engaged in with Antiochus the GreatJ in the east, and || in which their * Under pretence that the auspices were favourable or otherwise, the avgurs had it in their power to promote or put a stop to any public affair whatever. f- The Roman soldiers were, at the same time, citizens, who had Totes for the great employments, both civil and military. J The war with Antiochus the Great, king of Syria, began about the year of Rome five hundred and sixty-one, twenty-four years after the battle of Cannae. H The consul Glabrio, and after him the two Scipios, the elder of whom was content to serve as lieutenant under his brother. iiv.. 1. xxxvii. PAULU3 JKMILIUS. IS/ most experienced officers were employed, another broke out in the west. There was a general revolt in Spain ;* and thither ^Emilius was sent, not with six lit tors only, like other prtlors, but with twice the number ; which seemed to raise his dignity to an equality with the consular. He beat the barbarians in two pitched battles,f and killed thirty thousand of them ; which success appears to have been owing to his generalship in choosing his ground, and attacking the enemy while they were passing a river ; for by these means his army gained an easy victory. He made himself master of two hundred and fifty cities, which vo- luntarily opened their gates ; and having established peace throughout the province, and secured its allegiance, he re- turned to Rome, not a drachma richer than he went out. He never indeed was desirous to enrich himself, but lived in a generous manner on his own estate, which was so far from being large, that after his death, it was hardly suffi- cient to answer his wife's dowry. His first wife was Papiria, the daughter of Papirius Maso, a man of consular dignity. After lie had lived with her a long time in wedlock he divorced her, though she had brought him very fine children ; for she was mother to the illustrious Scipio and to Fabius Maximus. History does not acquaint us with the reason of this separation ; but with respect to divorces in general, the account which a certain Roman, who put away his wife, gave of his own case, seems to be a just one. When his friends remonstrated, and asked him, Was site not chaste? Was she not fair / Was she not fruitful* he held out his shoe, and said, Is it not handsome ? Is it not new * yet none knows where it wrings him, but he that wears it. Certain it is, that men usually repudiate their wives for great and visible faults ; yet sometimes also, a peevishness of temper, or incompliance of manners, small and frequent distastes, though not discerned by the world, produce the most incurable aversions in a married life.;j: * Spain had been reduced by Scipio Nasica. f Livy, xxxvii, 57, speaks only of one battle, in which Paulus JEmilius forced the intrenchments of the Spaniards, killed eighteen thousand of them, and made three hundred prisoners. The very ingenious Dr. Robertson mentions this frequency df divorces as one of the necessary reasons for introducing the Chris- tian religion at that period of time when it was published to the world. * Divorces," says he, " on very slight pretences, were per- mitted both by the Greek and Roman legislators. And though " the pure manners of those republics restrained for some time the operation of such a pernicious institution ; though the virtue of 153 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. JEmilius, thus separated from Papiria, married a second wife, by whom he had also two sons. These he brought up in his own house ; the sons of Papiria being adopted into the greatest and most noble families in Rome ; the elder by Fabius Maximus, who was five times consul, and the younger by his cousin-german, the son of Scipio Africanus, who gave him the name of Scipio. One of his daughters was married to the son of Cato, and the other to ./Elius Tubero, a man of superior integrity, and who, of all the Romans, knew best how to bear poverty. There were no less than sixteen of the ^lian family and name, who had only a small house, and one farm amongst them ; and in this house they all lived with their wives and many children. Here dwelt the daughter of /Emilius, who had been twice consul, and had triumphed twice, not ashamed of her husband's poverty, but admiring that virtue which kept him poor. Very different is the behaviour of brothers and other near relations in these days ; who, if their possessions be not separated by extensive countries, or at least rivers and bulwarks, are perpetually at variance about them. So much instruction does history suggest to the consideration of those who are willing to profit by it. When ^Emilius was created consul,* he went upon an expedition against the Ligurians, whose country lies at the foot of the Alps, and who are also called Ligustines: a bold and martial people that learnt the art of war of the Romans, " private persons seldom abused the indulgence that the legislator " allowed them, yet no sooner had the establishment of arbitrary " power, and the progress of luxury, vitiated the taste of men, than " the law with regard to divorces was found to be amongst the " worst corruptions that prevailed ift that abandoned age. The " facility of separations rendered married persons careless of prac- " tising or obtaining those virtues which render domestic life easy " and delightful. The education of their children, as the parents were not mutually endeared or inseparably connected, was gene- rally disregarded, as each parent considered it but a partial care, which might with equal justice devolve on the other. Marriage, instead of restraining, added to the violence of irregular desire, and under a legal title became the vilest and most shameless prostitution. From all these causes the marriage state fell into disreputation and contempt ; and it became necessary to force " men by penal laws into a society where they expected no ecure " or lasting happiness. Among the Romans domestic corruption " grew of a sudden to an incredible height. And perhaps in the " history of mankind we can find no parallel to the undisguised " impurity and licentiousness of that age. It was in good time, 11 therefore," &c. &c. * It was the year following that he went against tb Ligurians. PAULU9 JEMILIUS. 15Q by means of their vicinity. For they dwelt in the extremi- ties of Italy, bordering upon that part of the Alps which is washed by the Tuscan sea, just opposite to Africa, and were mixed with the Gauls and Spaniards who inhabited the coast. At that time they had likewise some strength at sea, and their corsairs plundered and destroyed the mer- chant ships as far as the Pillars of Hercules. They had an army of forty thousand men to receive ./Emilius, who came but with eight thousand at the most. He engaged them, however, though five times his number, routed them en- tirely, and shut them up within their walled towns. When they were in these circumstances, he offered them reason- able and moderate terms ; for the Romans did not choose utterly to cut off the people of Liguria, whom they consi- dered as a bulwark against the Gauls, who were always ho- vering over Italy. The Ligurians, confiding in y^Lmilius, delivered up their ships and their towns. He only razed the fortifications, and then delivered the cities to them again ; but lie carried off their shipping, leaving them not a vessel bigger than those with three banks of oars ; and he set at liberty a number of prisoners whom they had made both at sea and land, as well Romans as strangers. Such were the memorable actions of his first consulship. After which he often expressed his desire of being ap- pointed again to the same high office, and even stood can- didate for it ; but meeting with a repulse, he solicited it no more. Instead of that he applied himself to the dis- charge of his function as augur, and to the education of his sons, not only in such arts as had been taught in Rome, and those that he had learnt himself, but also in the gen- teelcr arts of Greece. To this purpose he not only en- tertained masters who could teach them grammar, logic, a.id rhetoric, but sculpture also, and painting, together with such as were skilled in breaking and teaching horses r.nd dogs, and were to instruct them in riding and hunting. When no public affairs hindered him, he himself always at- tended their studies and exercises. In short, he was the most indulgent parent in Rome. As to public affairs, the Romans were then engaged iu a war with .Perseus,* king of the Macedonians, anu-they " This second Macedonian war with '.Perseus began in the year ;' Rome five hundred and z.nd sixty-nin? /'-ars before the C ; 1(50 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. imputed it either to the incapacity or cowardice of their generals* that the advantage was on the enemy's side. For they who had forced Antiochus the Great to quit the rest of Asia,f driven him beyond Mount Taurus, confined him to Syria, and made him think himself happy if he could purchase his peace with fifteen thousand talents ; they who had lately vanquished king Philip in Thessaly,(| and delivered the Greeks from the Macedonian yoke ; iu short, they who had subdued Hannibal, to whom no king could be compared either for valour or power, thought it an intolerable thing to be obliged to contend with Per- seus upon equal terms, as if he could be an adversary able to cope with them, who only brought into the field the poor remains of his father's routed forces. In this, hovv- ever, the Romans were deceived ; for they knew not that Philip, after his defeat, had raised a much more nume- rous and better disciplined army than he had before. It may not be amiss to explain this in a few words, begin- ning at the fountain head. Antigonus,^ the most power- ful among the generals and successors of Alexander, hav- ing gained for himself and his descendants the title of king, had a son named Demetrius, who was father to Antigonus, surnamed Gonatus. Gonotus had a son named Demetrius, who, after a short reign, left a young son cal- led Philip. The Macedonian nobility dreading the con- fusion often consequent upon a minority, set up Antigo- nus, cousin to the deceased king, and gave him his wi- dow, the mother of Philip, to wife. At first they made him only regent and general, but afterwards find- ing that he was a moderate and public-spirited man, they declared him king. He it was that had the name of * Those generals were P. Licinius Crassus, after him, A. Hosti- lius Mancimis, and then Q. Martins Philippic, who dragged the war heavily on during three years of their consulship. f Seventeen years before. Ltvy says twelve thousand, which were" to be paid in twelve years, by a thousand talents a-year. || This service was performed by Quinctius Flaminius, who de- feated Philip in Thessaly, killed eu/ht thousand of his men upon the spot, took live thousand prisoners, and after his victory caused proclamation to be made by an herald at the Isthmean games, that Greece was free. This Antigonus killed Eumenes, and took Babylon from Se- leucus ; and when his son Demetrius had overthrown Ptolemy's fleet at Cyprus, he, the first of all Alexander's successors, presumed to wear a diadem, and assumed the title of king. PAUL US JE.MIX.IU9. l6l Boson,* because he was always promising, but never per- formed what lie promised. After him, Philip mounted the throne, and, though yet bat a youth, soon shewed himself equal to the greatest of kings ; so that it was be- lieved he would restore the crown of Macedon to its au- cient dignity, and be the only man that could stop the progress of the Roman power, which was now extending itself over all the world. But being beaten at Scotusa by Titus Flaminius, his courage sunk for the present, and promising to receive such terms as the Romans should impose, he was glad to come off with a moderate fine. But recollecting himself afterwards, he could not brook the dishonour. To reign by the courtesy of the Romans, appeared to him more suitable to a slave, who minds no- thing but hie pleasures, than to a man who has any dig- nity of sentiment ', and, therefore, he turned his thoughts to war, but made his preparations with great privacy and caution. For suffering the towns that were near the great roads, and by the sea, to run to decay, and to become half desolate, in order that he might be held in contempt by the enemy, he collected a great force in the higher pro- vinces ; and filling the inland places, the towns, and castles, with arms, money, and men, fit for service, without mak- ing aliy shew of war, he had his troops always in readi- r.ess for it, like so many wrestlers trained and exercised in secret. For he had in his arsenal arms for thirty thou- sand men, in his garrisons eight millions of measures of wheat, and money in his coffers to defray the charge of maintaining ten thousand mercenaries for ten years, to de- fend his country. But he had not the satisfaction of put- ting these designs in execution ; for he died of grief and a broken heart, on discovering that he had unjustly put De- metrius, his more worthy son, to death,f in consequence of an accusation preferred by his other son Perseus. Perseus, who survived him, inherited, together with the crown, his father's enmity to the Romans ; but he was not equal to such a burden, on account of the littleness of his capacity, ai.d the meanness of his mamiers ; avarice being the principal of the many passions that reigned in his dis- tempered heart. It is even said, that he was not the son of Philip, but that the wife of that prince took him, as soon * Doson signifies tn'tf give. f This story is finely embellished in Dr. Young's tragedy of Hi* Brothers, 162 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. as he was born, from his mother, who was a sempstress f Argos, named Gnathoenia, and pa?sed him upon her husband as her own. And the chief reason of his com- passing the death of his brother seemed to have been his fear that the royal house, having a lawful heir, might prove him to be supposititious. But though he was of such an abject and ungenerous disposition, yet elated with the prosperous situation of his affairs, he engaged in \var with the Romans, and maintained the conflict a long while, repulsing several of their fleets and armies, com- manded by me i of consular dignity, and even beating some of them. Publius Licinius was the first that invad- ed Macedonia, and him he defeated in an engagement of the cavalry,* killed two thousand five hundred of his best men, and took six hundred prisoners ; he surprised the Roman fleet which lay at anchor at Ormeum, took twenty of their store ships, sunk the rest, that were loaded with wheat, and made himself master besides of four galleys, which had each five benches of oars ; he fought also ano- ther battle, by which he drove back the consul Hostilius, who was attempting to enter his kingdom by Elimia ; and when the same general was stealing in by the way of Thessaly, he presented himself before him, but the Ro- man did not choose to stand the encounter. And as if this war did not sufficiently employ him, or the Romans alone were not an enemy respectable enough, he went upon an expedition against the l)ardanians, in which he cut in pieces ten thousand of them, and brought off much booty. At the same time, he privately solicited the Gauls who dwell near the Danube, and who are called Bastarnse. These were a warlike people, and strong in cavalry. He tried the Illyrians too, hoping to bring them to join him by means of Gentius their king ; and it was reported that the barbarians had taken his money, under promise of making an inroad into Italy, by the Lower Gaul, along the coast of the Adriatic.f * Livy has given us a description of this action at the end of his forty-second book. Perseus offered peace to those he had beaten upon as easy conditions as if he himself had been overthrown, but the Romans refused it. They made it a rule, indeed, never to make peace when beaten. This rule proved a wise one for that people, but can never be universally adopted. f He practised also with Eumenes, king of Bithynia, and caused representations to be made to Antiochus, king of Syria, that the Romans weje equally enemies to all king?. But Eurnenex demand PAULUS -SMILIUS. l6a When this news was brought to Rome, the people thought proper to lay aside all regard to interest and soli- citation in the choice of their generals, and to call to the command a man of understanding, fit for the direction of great affairs. Such was Paulus ./Enalius, a man advanced in years indeed (for he was about threescore), but still in his full strength, and surrounded with young eons and sons- m-law, and a number of other considerable relations and friends, who all persuaded him to listn to the people, that called him to the consulship. At first he received the offer of the citizens very coldly, though they went ^so far as to court, and even to entreat him ; for he was now no longer ambitious of that honour. But as they daily attended at his gate, and loudly called upon him to make his appearance in the fur am, he was at length prevailed upon. When he put himself among the candidates, he looked not like a man who sued for the consulship, but as one who brought suc- cess along with him. And when, at the request of the ci- tizens, he went down into the Campus Martius t they all re- ceived him with so entire a confidence, and such a cordial regard, that upon their creating him consul the second time, they would not suffer the lots to be cast for the pro- vinces,* as usual, but voted him immediately the direction of the war in Macedonia. It is said, that after the people had appointed him commander in cl.icf against Perseus, and conducted him home in a very splendid manner, he found his daughter Tertia, who was y*-'t but a child, in tears. Upon this he took her in his arms, and asked her, " Why " she wept ?" The girl embracing and kissing him, said, l< Know you not then, father, that Ptrseus is dead ?" meaning a little dog of that name, which she had brought up. To which JEmilius replied, " It is a lucky incident, " child, I accept the omen." This particular is related by Cicero in his Treatise on Divination. It was the custom for those that were appointed to the consulship, to make their acknowledgments to the people if) an agreeable speech from the rostrum. jEmilius having assembled the citizens on this occasion, told them, " He " had applied for his former consulship, because he wanted ing fifteen hundred talents, a stop was put to the negotiation. The very treating, hov. ever, with Perseus, occasioned an inveterate ha- tred between the Romans and their old friend Eumenes ; but that hatred was of no service to Perseus. Livy says the contrary. io4 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. a command ; but in this they had applied to him, be- cause they wanted a commander ; and, therefore, at pre- sent, he did not hold himself obliged to them. If they could have the war better directed by another, he would readily quit the employment ; but if they placed their confidence in him, he expected they would not interfere with his orders, or propagate idle reports, but provide in silence what was necessary for the war ; for if they wanted to command their commanders, their expeditions would be more ridiculous than ever." It is not easy to express how much reverence this speech procured him from the citizens, and what high expectations it produced of the event. They rejoiced that they had passed by the smooth- tongued candidates, and made choice of a general who had so much freedom of speech, and such dignity of manner. Thus the Romans submitted, like servants, to reason and virtue, in order that they might one day rule, and become masters of the world. That Paulus ./Emilius, when he went upon the Macedo- nian expedition, had a prosperous voyage and journey, and arrived with speed and safety in the camp, I impute to his good fortune ; but when I consider how the war was con- ducted, and see that the greatness of his courage, the ex- cellence of his counsels, the attachment of his friends, his presence of mind, and happiness in expedients in times of danger, all contributed to his success, I cannot place his great and distinguished actions to any account but his own. Indeed, the avarice of Perseus may possibly be looked upon as a fortunate circumstance for JEmilius ; since it blasted and ruined the great preparations and elevated hopes of the Macedonians by a mean regard to money. For the Ba- starnae came, at his request, with a body of ten thousand horse,* each of which had a foot soldier by his side, and they all fought for hire ; men they were that knew not how to till the ground, to feed cattle, or to navigate ships, but * Livy (xliv. 2G.) has well described this horseman and his foot- soldier. He says, " There came ten thousand hor.se, and as many " fi/ot, who kept pace with the horse, and when any of the cavalry " were unhorsed, they mounted, and went into the ranks." They were the same people >vith those described iiy Caesar in the tirst book of his Commentaries, where he is giving an account of Ario- vistus's army. As soon as Perseus had intelligence of the approach of the Bastarnae, he sent Antigonus to congratulate Clondicus their king. Clondicus made answer, that the Gauls could not march a step farther without money ; which Perseus, in his avarice and iH policy, refused to advance, PAULUS JEMILIUS. lj whose sole profession and employment was to fight and t* conquer. When these pitched their tents in Medica, and mingled with, the king's forces, who beheld them tall in their persons, ready beyond expression at their exercises, lofty and full of menaces against the enemy, the Macedo- nians were inspired with fresh courage, and a strong opi- nion that the Romans would not be able to stand against these mercenaries, but be terrified both at their looks and at their strange and astonishing motions. After Perseus had filled his people with such spirits and hopes, the barbarians demanded of him a thousand pieces of gold for every officer ; but the thoughts of parting with such a sum almost turned his brain, and in the narrowness of his heart he refused it, and broke off the alliance ; as if he had not been at war with the Romans, but a steward for them, who was to give an exact account of his whole expences to those whom he was acting against. At the same time* the example of the enemy pointed out to * We agree with the editor of the former English translation, that the original here is extremely corrupted and very difficult to be restored 4 and that it seems improbable that the Romans should have an army of a hundred thousand men in Macedonia. But the improbability lessens, if we consider that Paulus J?tnHius applied on this occasion to the allies, especially the Achseans, for what forces they could spare, and if we take in those that acted on board the Roman fleet. vKmiiius, indeed, just before the battle, expresses his apprehensions from the enemy's superiority of numbers; and it is true that he had none to depend upon but the Romans, who were comparatively few. As lor hj.s Grecian a* lies, he could not place much confidence in them, because it was their interest that the kingdom of Maccdon should stand ; and, in fact, when that fell, severe tribunals were set up in Greece, and the shadow of liberty, which remained to it, was lost. That translation, however, has given a turn to the passage quite different from the sense that may be gathered from the Greek and the whole context. It runs thus For though he had made such vast preparations, though he had money in the treasury sufficient to pay a hun- dred thousand men, &c. How does this give any itlea of the Romans being instructors 'J/JairxaAa, to Perseus in point of expence ' The Greek, in Bryan's edition, is KO.I oioafxa).*; ti%tv txtivv ; o! XX; -raf&ffKtfr.s, is a bad alteration, because it implies that such immense forces were collected without any stores or provisions for them ; and the word m we have put in brackets, because it has nothing to do there. If the correction was made by some librarian, probably he thought the word eatv signifies besides, whereas it signifies only without. \Q PLUTARCH'S LIVES. him better things ; for, besides their other preparations, they had an hundred thousand men collected and ready for their use ; and yet he having to oppose so considerable a force, and an armament that was maintained at such an extraordinary expence, counted his gold and sealed his bags, as much afraid to touch them as if they had belong- ed to another. And yet he was not descended from any Lydian or Phoenician merchant, but allied to Alexander and Philip, whose maxim it was, to procure empire with money, and not money ly empire, and who, by pursuing that maxim, conquered the world. For it was a common saying, " That it was not Philip, but Philip's gold, that " took the cities of Greece." As for Alexander, when he went upon the Indian expedition, and saw the Mace- donians dragging after them a heavy and unwieldy load of Persian wealth, he first set fire to the royal carriages, and then persuaded the rest to do the same to theirs, that they might move forward to the war light and unencum- bered : whereas Perseus, though he and his children and his kingdom overflowed with wealth, would not purchase his preservation at the expence of a small part of it, but was carried a wealthy captive to Rome, and shewed that people what immense sums he had saved and laid up for them. Nay, he not only deceived and sent away the Gauls, but also imposed upon Gentius, king of the Illyrians, whom he prevailed with to join him, in consideration of a subsidy of three hundred talents. He went so far as to order the money to be counted before that prince's envoys, and suffered them to "put their seal upon it. Gentius, thinking his demands were answered, in violation of all the laws of honour and justice, seized and imprisoned the Ro- man ambassadors who were at his court. Perseus now concluded that there was no need of money to draw his ally into the war, since he had unavoidably plunged himself into it, by an open instance of violence, and an act of hos- tility which would admit of no excuse, and therefore he defrauded the unhappy man of the three hundred talents, and without the least concern beheld him, his wife, and children, in a short time after dragged from their kingdom, by the prztor Lucius Anicius, who was sent at the head of an army against Gentius. -/Emilius, liaving to do with such an adversary as Per- seui, despised, indeed, the man, yet could not but admire his preparations and his strength. For he had four thou- sand horse, and near forty thousand foot; who composed PAUL US JBMILIl'S. ifif the phalanx ; and being encamped by the sea-side, at the foot of MoCmt Olympus, 1.1 a place that was perfectly inaccessible, and strengthened on every side with fortifi- cations of wood, he lay free from all apprehensions, per- suaded that he should wear out the consul by protracting the time and exhausting his treasures. But ^Emilius, al- ways vigilant and attentive, weighed every expedient and method of attack; a.'d perceiving that th;* soldiers,, through the want of discipline in tin.? past, were impatient of de- lay, and ready to dictate to their general things impossible to be executed, he reproved them with great severity, or- dering them not to intermeddle, or give attention to any thing but their own persons and then arms, that they might be in readiness to use their swords as became Romant, when their commander should give them an opportunity. He ordered also the sentinels to keep watch without their pikes,* that they might guard the better Mgaiust sleep, when they were sensible that they had nothing to defend themselves with against the enemy, who might attack them in the night. But his men complained the most of want of water ; for only a little, and that but indifferent, flowed, or rather came drop by drop, from some springs near the sea. In this ex- tremity, ^Emilius, seeing Mount Olympus before him, very high and covered with trees, conjectured, from their ver- dure, that there must be springs in it which would discharge themselves at the bottom, and therefore caused several pits and wells to be dug at the foot of it. These were soon fill- ed with clear water, which ran into them with the greater force and rapidity, because it had been confined before. Some, however, deny that there are any hidden sources constantly provided with water in the places from which it flows ; nor will they allow the discharge to be owing to the opening of a vein ; but they will have it, that the water is formed instantaneously, from the condensation of vapours, and that by the coldness and pressure of the earth a moist vapour is rendered fluid. For, as the breasts of women are not, like vessels, stored with milk always ready to flow, but prepare and change the nutriment that is in * Livy says, without their shields ; the reason of which was this : the Roman shields being long, they might rest their heads upon them, and sleep standing. jEmilius, however, made one order in favour of the soldiers upon guard ; for he ordered them to be re- lieved at noon, whereas before they used to be upon duty all day. }6S PLUT.ARCi them into niilk ; so the cold and cpringy places of tlie ground have not a quantity of water hid within them, which, as from reservoirs always full, can be sufficient to supply large streams and rivers ; but by compressing and condensing the vapours and the air, they convert them into water. And such places being opened, afford that element freely, just as the breasts of women do milk from their being sucked, by compressing and liquefying .the vapour ; whereas, the earth that remains idle and undug, cannot produce any water; because it wants that motion which alone is the true cause of it. But tho?e that teach this doctrine, give occasion to the sceptical to observe, that, by parity of reasoa, there is no blood in animals, but that the wound produces it, by a change in the flesh and spirits, which that impression ren- ders fluid. Besides, that doctrine is refuted by those who, digging deep in the earth to undermine some fortification, or to search for metals, meet with deep rivers, not col- lected by little and little, which would be the case if they were produced at the in- tan t the earth was opened, but rushing upon them at once in great abundance. And it often happens, upon the breaking of a great rock, that a quantity of water ksues out, which as suddenly ceases. So much for springs. .Kmilius sat still for some days ; and it is said that there never were two great armies so near each other that re- mained so quiet. But trying and considering every thing, he got information that there was one way only left un- guarded, which lay through Perrhsebia, by Pythium and Petra ; and conceiving greater hope from the defenceless condition of the place, than fear from its rugged and diffi- cult appearance, he ordered the matter to be considered in council. Scipio, surnamed Nasica, son-in-law to Scipio Africanus, who afterwards was a leading man in the senate, was the first that offered to head the troops in taking this circuit to come at the enemy. And after him Fabius Maximus, the eldest son of .Emilius, though he was yet but a youth, ex- pressed his readiness to undertake the enterprise. ./Err.ilius, delighted with this circumstance, gave them a detachment, not so large indeed as Polybius gives account of, but the number that Nasica mentions in a short letter wherein he describes this action to a certain king. They had three thousand Italians, who were not Romans, and five thousand PAULUS JEMILIUS. 16$ men besides, who composed the left wing. To these Nasica added a hundred and twenty horse, and two hundred Thracians and Cretans intermixed, who were of the troops of Harpalus. With this detachment he began to march towards the sea. and encamped at Heracleum,* as if he intended to sail round, and come upon the enemy's camp behind ; but when his soldiers had supped, and night came on, he ex- plained to the officers his real design, and directed them to take a different route. Pursuing this without loss of time, he arrived at Pythium, where he ordered his men to take some rest. At this place Olympus is ten furlongs and ninety-six feet in height, as it is signified in the inscription made by Xenagoras the son of Eumelus, the man that measured it. The geometricians, indeed, affirm, that there is no mountain in the world more than ten furlongs high, nor sea above that depth ; yet it appears that Xenagoras did not take the height in a careless manner, but regularly and with proper instruments. Nasica passed the night there. Perseus, for his part, seeing ^milius lie quiet in his camp, had not the least thought of the danger that threatened him ; but a Cretan deserter, who slipt from Scipio by the way, came and in- formed him of the circuit the Romans were taking in order to surprise him. This news put him in great' confusion, yet he did not remove his camp ; he only sent ten thousand foreign mercenaries and two thousand Macedonians, under Milo, with orders to possess themselves of the heights with all possible expedition. Polybius relates, that the Romans fell upon them while they were asleep, but Nasica tells us there was a sharp and dangerous conflict for the heights ; that he himself killed a Thracian mercenary who engaged him, by piercing him through the breast with his spear ; and that the enemy being routed, and Milo put to a shameful flight without his arms, and in his under garment only, he pursued them without any sort of hazard, and led his party down irto the plain. Perseus, terrified at this disaster, and disappointed in his hopes, decamped and retired. Yet he was under a necessity of stopping before Pydna, and risking * The consul gave out that they were to go on board the fleet, which, under the command of Octavius the prsetor, lay upon the xt^t, in order to waste the maritime parts of Macedonia and s o draw Perseus from bis camp. !'>'. If. I 170 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. a battle, if he did not choose to divide his army to garri- son his towns,* and there expect the enemy, who, when once entered into his country, could not be driven out without great slaughter and bloodshed. His friends represented to him, that his army was still superior in numbers, and that they would fight with great resolution in defence of their wives and children, and in sight of their king, who was a partner in their danger. Encouraged by this representation, he fixed his camp there ; he prepared for battle, viewed the country, and assigned each officer his post, as intending to meet the Romans when they came off their march. The field where he en- camped was fit for the phalanx, which required plain and even ground to act in ; near it was a chain of little hills, proper for the light-armed to retreat to, and to wheel about from the attack ; and through the middle ran the rivers JE.son and Leucus, which, though not very deep, because it was the latter end of summer, were likely to give the Romans some trouble. ./Emilius having joined Nasica, marched in good order against the enemy ; but when he saw the disposition and siumber of their forces, he was astonished, and stood still to consider what was proper to be done. Hereupon the young officers, eager for the engagement, and particularly Nasica, flushed with his success at Mount Olympus, pressed up to him, and begged of him to lead them forward with- out delay. ./Emilius only smiled and said, " My friend, if I was of your age I should certainly do so ; but the many victories I have gained, have made me observe the errors of the vanquished, and forbid me to give battle immediately after a march, to an army well drawn up, and every way prepared. 5 ' Then he ordered the foremost ranks, who were in sight of the enemy, to present a front, as if they were ready to engage, and the rear, in the meantime, to mark out a camp and throw up entrenchments ; after which, he made the battalions wheel off by degrees, beginning with those next the soldiers at work, so that their disposition was * His best friends advised him to garrison his strongest cities with his best troops, and to lengthen out the war, experience hav- ing shewn that the Macedonians were better able to defend cities, than the Romans were to take them ; but this opinion the king re- jected from this cowardly principle, that perhaps the town he chose for his residence might be first besieged. PAULUS JEMILIfS. 171 insensibly changed, and his whole army encamped without noise. When they had supped, and were thinking of nothing but going to rest, on a sudden the moon, which was then at full, and very high, began to be darkened, and, after changing into various colours, was at last totally eclipsed.* The Romans, according to their custom, made a great noise by striking upon vessels of brass, and held up lighted faggots and torches in the air, in order to recal her light ; but the Macedonians did no such thing ; horror and astonishment seized their whole camp, and a whisper passed among the multitude, that this appearance portended the fall of the king. As for ./Emilius, he was not entirely unacquainted with this matter ; he had heard of the ecliptic inequalities which bring the moon, at certain periods, under the shadow of the earth, and darken her, till she has past that quarter of obscurity, and receives light from the sun again. Never- theless, as he was wont to ascribe most events to the Deity, was a religious observer of sacrifices and of the art of divi- nation, he offered up to the moon eleven heifers, as soon as he saw her regain her former lustre. At break of day, he also sacrificed oxen to Hercules to the number of twenty, without any auspicious sign ; but in the twenty-first the desired tokens appeared, and he announced victory to his troops, provided they stood upon the defensive.f At the same time he vowed a hecatomb and solemn games in ho- nour of that god, and then commanded the officers to put the army in order of battle ; staying, however, till the sun should decline, and get round to the -west, lest, if they came to action in the morning, it should dazzle the eyes of * Livy tells us, that Sulpitius Gallus, one of the Roman tribunes,, foretold this eclipse; first to the consul, and then with his leave to the army, whereby that terror which eclipses were wont to breed in ignorant minds, was entirely taken off, and the soldiers more and more disposed to confide in officers of so great wisdom and of such general knowledge. f- Here we see JihnilSus availed himself of augury, to bring hi i troops the more readily to comply with what he knew was most pru- dent. He was sensible of their eagerness and impetuosity ; but he was sensible, at the same time, that coolness and . were more necessary to be exerted against the Macedonian phalanx, which was not inferior in courage and discipline to the Romans, and therefore he told them, that the gods enjoined them to stand upon the defensive, if they desired to be victorious. Another reason why jEmilius deferred ihe fight was, as Plvtarch tells us, because tlitf morning sun was full in the eyes of his soldiers. 12 172 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. his soldiers, he sat down in the meantime in his tent, which was open towards the field and the enemy's camp. Some say, that towards evening, he availed himself of an artifice to make the enemy begin the fight. It seems he turned a horse loose without a bridle, and sent out some Romans to catch him, who were attacked while they were pursuing him, and so the engagement began. Others say, that the Thracians, commanded by one Alexander, attacked a Roman convoy ; that seven hundred Ligurians making up to its assistance, a sharp skirmish ensued ; and that larger reinforcements being sent to both parties, at last the main bodies were engaged. /Emilius, like a wise pilot, foresee- ing, by the agitation of both armies, the violence of the im- pending storm, came out of his tent, passed through the ranks, and encouraged his men. In the meantime, Nasica. who had rode up to the place where the skirmish began, saw the whole of the enemy's army advancing co the charge. First of all marched the Thracians, whose very aspect struck the beholders with terror. They were men of a prodigious size ; their shields were white and glittering ; their vests were black, their legs armed with greaves ; and as they moved, their long pikes, heavy-shod with iron, shook on their right shoulders. Next carne the mercenaries, variously armed, according to the manner of their respective countries ; with these were mixed the Pasonians. In the third place moved forward the battalions of Macedon, the flower of its youth and the bravest of its sons ; their new purple vests and gilded arms made a splendid appearance. As these took their post, the Chalchespides moved out of the camp ; the fields gleamed with the polished steel and the brazen shields which they bore, and the mountains re-echoed to their cheers. In this order they advanced, and that with so much boldness and speed, that the first of their slain* fell only two furlongs from the Roman camp. As soon as the attack was begun, Emilius advanced to the first ranks, found that the foremost of the Macedonians had struck the heads of their pikes into the shields of the Romans, so that it was impossible for his men to reach their adversaries with their swords ; and when he saw the rest of the Mace- donians take their bucklers from their shoulders, join them close together, and with one motion present their pikes against his legions, the strength of such a rampart, and the fprmidable appearance of such a front, struck him with terror The light-armed. PAULUS JEMILIUS. 173 and amazement. He never, indeed, saw a more dreadful spectacle, and he often mentioned afterwards the impres- sion it made upon him. However, he took care to shew a pleasant and cheerful countenance to his men, and even rode about without either helmet or breait-piate. But the king of Macedon, as Polybius tells us, as soon as the en- gagement was begun, gave way to his fears, and withdrew into the town, under pretence of sacrificing to Hercules ; a god that accepts not the timid offerings of cowards, nor favours any unjust vows. And surely it is not just that the man who never shoots should bear away the prize ; that he who deserts his post should conquer ; tliat he who is des- picably indolent should be successful ; or that a bad man should be happy. But the god attended to the prayers of ^milius ; for he begged for victory and success with his sword in his hand, and fought while he implored the divine aid. Yet one Posidonius,* who says he lived in those times, and was present at that action, in the history of Perseus, which he wrote in several books, affirm?, that it was not out of cowardice, nor under pretence of offering sacrifice, that he quitted the field, but because the day before the fight he received a hurt on his leg, from the kick of a horse ; that when the battle came on, though very much indisposed, and dissuaded by his friends, he commanded one of his horses to be brought, mounted him, and charged, without a breast-plate, at the head of the phalanx; and that, amidst the shower of missive weapons of all kinds, hs was struck with a javelin of iron, not indeed with the point, but it glanced in such a manner upon his left side, that it not only rent his clothes, but gave him a bruise in the flesh, the mark of which remained a long time. This is what Posidonius says in defence of Perseus. The Romans who engaged the phalanx being unable to break it, Salius, a Peliguian officer, snatched the ensign of his company, and threw it among the enemy. Hereupon the Peligniana rushing forward to recover it, for the Italians look upon it as a great crime and disgrace to abandon their standard, a dreadful conflict ar.d slaughter on both sides * Tins could not be Posidonius of Apamea, who wrote a conti- nuation oi' PoJybius's history, for that Pi-siuonius went to Rome during the consulship of Marcellus, a hundred and eighteen years after this hnttlt. Plutarch, indeed, seems to have taken him either P.>r a counterfeit, or a writer of no account, when he calls him OM P>;J/:::uj, vfa tdi? :is /.? i-:>?d at t^at time. 13 1/4 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. ensued. The Romans attempted to cut the pikes of the Macedonians asunder with their swords, to beat them back with their shields, or to put them by with their hands ; but the Macedonians, holding them steady with both hands, pierced their adversaries through their armour ; for neither shield nor corslet was proof against the pike.* The Pe- lignians and Marrucinians were thrown headlong down, who, without any sort of discretion, or rather with a brutal fury, had exposed themselves to wounds, and run upon certain d?ath. The first line thus cut in pieces, those that were behind were forced to give back, and though they did not fly, yet they retreated towards Mount Olocrus. ^milius seeing thi?, rent his clothes, as Posidonius tells us. He was reduced almost to despair, to find that part of his men had retired, and that the rest declined the combat with a phalanx which, by reaso.i of the pikes that defended it on all sides like a rampart, appeared impenetrable and invincible ; but as the unevenness of the ground, and the large extent of the front, would not permit their bucklers to be joined through the whole, he observed several interstices and openings in the Macedonian line ; as it happens in great armies, ac- cording to the different efforts of the combatants, who in one part press forward, and in another are forced to give hack. For this reason he divided his troop?, with all pos- :-xpedition, into platoons, which he ordered to throw themselves into the void spaces of the enemy's front ; and so, not to engage with the whole at once, but to make many impressions at the same time in different parts. These or- ders being given by ./Emilius to the officers, and by the officers to the soldiers, they immediately made their way between the pikes wherever there was an opening ;{ which, was no sooner done, than some took the enemy in flank, where they were quite exposed, while others fetched a compass, and attacked them in the rear. Thus was the phalanx soon broken, and its strength, which depended upon one united effort, was no more. When they came to * This shews the advantage which the pike has over the broad- sword ; and the bayonet is still better, because it gives the soldier the free use of his musket, without being encumbered with a pike, und, when screwed to the musket, supplies the place of a pike. j- On the first appearance of this, Perseus should have charged the Romans very briskly with his horse, and by that means have given Ms infantry time to recover themselves ; but, instead of this, they basely provided for their own safety by a precipitate flight. PAULUS vEMII 175 fight man with man, and party with party, the Macedo- nians had only short swords to strike the long shields of the Romans that reached from head to foot, and slight bucklers to oppose to the Romans swords, which, by reason of their weight, and the force with which they were ma- naged, pierced through all their armour to the bodies ; so that they maintained their ground with difficulty, and in the end were entirely routed. It was here, however, that the greatest efforts were made on both sides ; and here Marcus, the son of Cato, and son-in-law to ^Emilius, after surprising acts of valour, unfortunately lost his sword. As he was a youth who had received all the advantages of education, and who owed to so illustrious a father extraordinary' instances of virtue, he was persuaded that he had better die than leave such a spoil in the hands of his enemies. He, therefore, flew through the ranks, and wherever he happened to see any of his friends or acquaintance, he told them his misfor- tune, and begged their assistance. A number of brave young men was thus collected, who, following their lead- er with equal ardour, soon traversed their own army, and fell upon the Macedonians. After a sharp conflict and dreadful carnage, the enemy was driven back, and the ground being left vacant, the Romans sought for the sword, which with much difficulty \vas found under a heap of arms and dead bodies. Transported with this suc- cess, they charged those that remained unbroken, with still greater eagerness and shouts of triumph. The three thousand Macedonians, who were all select men, kept their station, and maintained the fight, but at last were entirely cut off. The rest fled ; and terrible was the slaughter of those. The field and the sides of the hills were covered with the dead, and the river Leucus, which the Romans crossed the day after the battle, was even then mixed with blood. For it is said, that about twenty-five thousand were killed on the Macedonian side ; whereas the Rsmans, according to Posidonius, lost but one hundred ; Nasica says, only fourscore.* This great battle was soon decided, for it began at the ninth hour,f and victory declared herself before the tenth. The remainder of the day was employed in the pursuit, * Utterly impossible ! if the circumstances of the fight are con- sidered ; but Livy's account is lost, f- i. e. Three in the afternoon. I 4 1/6 JLVT ARCH'S LIVES. .vhich was continued for the space of an hundred and t.-.enty furlong^, so that it was far in the night when they returi.ed. The servants went with torches to meet their masters, and conducted them with shouts of joy to their tents, which they had illuminated, and adorned with crowns of ivy and laurel.* But the general himself was overwhelmed with grief. For, of the two sons that served under him, the youngest, whom he most loved, and who, of all the brothers, was most happily formed for virtue, was not to be found. He \vas naturally brave and ambitious of honour, and withal very young,f he concluded that his inexperience had en- gaged him too far in the hottest of the battle, and that he was certainly killed. The whole army was sensible of his sorrow and distress ; and leaving their supper, they ran out with torches, some to the general's tent, and some out of the trenches, to &eek him among the first of the slain. A profound melancholy reigned in the camp, while the field resounded with the cries of those that called upon Scipio. For so admirably had nature tempered him, that he was very early marked out by the world, as a person beyond the rest of the youth, likely to excel in the arts both of war and of civil government. It was now very late, and he was almost given up, when lie returned from the pursuit, with two or three friends, covered with the fresh blood of the foe, like a generous young hound, carried too far by the charms of the chace. This is that Scipio who afterwards destroyed Carthage and Numantia, and was incomparably the first, both in virtue and power, of the Romans of his time. Thus fortune did not choose at present to make ^Emilius pay for the favour she did him, but deferred it to another opportunity ; and therefore he enjoyed this victory with full satisfaction. As for Perseus, he fled from Pydna to Pella, with his cavalry which had suffered no loss, When the foot over- * The laurel was sacred to Apollo, and the ivy to Bacchus. Bac- chus, who is sometimes supposed to be the same with Hercules, was a warrior, and we read of his expedition into India. But th; Roman custom of adorning the tents of the victors with ivy, the plant of Bacchus, might arise from a more simple cause. Caesar, in his third book of the civil wars, says, that in Pompey's camp he found the tent of Lentulus and some others covered with ivy; so sure had they made themselves of the victory. } He was then in his seventeenth year. PAUI.US JTMILIUS. 1/7 took tliem, they reproached them as cowards and trai- tors, pulled them off their horses, and wounded severals of them; so that the king, dreading the consequences of the tumult, turned his horse out of the common road, and, lest he should be known, wrapt up his purple robe, and put it before him ; he also took off his diadem, and carried it in his hand ; and, that he might converse the more conveniently with his friends, alighted from his horse and led him. Bat they all slunk away from him by de- grees ; o.:e under pretence of tying his shoe, another of watering his horse, and a third of being thirsty himself: not that they were so much afraid of the enemy, as of the cruelty of Perseus, who, exasperated with his misfor- tunes, sought to lay the blame of his miscarriage on any body but himself. He entered Pella in the night, where he killed with his poniard Euctus and Eudaeus, two of his treasurers; who, when they waited upon him., had found fault with some of hi proceedings, and provoked him by an unseasonable liberty of admonition. Hereupon every body forsook him, except Evandcr the Cretan, Archeda- mus the ^.tolian, and Neon the Boeotian : nor did any of his soldiers follow him, but the Cretans, who were not at- tached to his person but to his money, as bees are to the honeycomb. For he carried great treasure along with him, and suffered them to take out of it cups and bowls, and other vessels of gold and silver,* to the value of fifty ta- lents. But when he came to Amphipolis, and from thence to Alepsus,f his fears a little abating, he sunk again into his old and inborn distemper of avarice ; he lamented to his friends, that he had inadvertently given up to the Cretans some of the gold plate of Alexander the Great, and he applied to those that had it, and even begged of them with tears to return it him for the value in money. Those tha,t knew him well, easily discovered that he was play- ing the Cretan uith the Cretans :| but such as were pre- vailed upon to give up the plate, lost all, for he never paid the money. Thus he got thirty talents from his friends, which soon after were to come into the hands of his ene- " He was afraid to give it them, lest the Macedonians out of spite should take all the rest. f A manuscript copy has it Galepsus, probably upon the autho- rity of Livy. It was an ancient proverb, The Crttans are din-ay Hart, St, Paul has quoted it from Callimachus. I 5 173 . PLUTARCH'S LIVES. mies, and with these he sailed to Samothrace, where he took refuge at the altar of Castor and Pollux.* The Macedonians have always had the character of be- ing lovers of their kings ;f but now, as if the chief bul- wark of their constitution was broken down, and all were fallen with it, they submitted to /Emilius, and in two days he was master of all Macedonia. This seems to give some countenance to those who impute these events to fortune. A prodigy which happened at Amphipolis testified also the favour of the gods. The consul .was offering sacri- fice there, and the sacred ceremonies were begun, when a flash of lightning fell upon the altar, and at once con- sumed and consecrated the victim. But the share whicli fame had in this affair exceeds both that prodigy and what they tell us of his good fortune. For, on the fourth day after Perseus was beaten at Pydria, as the people were at the equestrian games in Rome, a report was suddenly spread in the first seats of the theatre, that TEmilius had gained a great battle over Perseus, and overturned the Ttingdom^of Macedon. The news was made public in a moment, the multitude clapped their hands and set up great acckmations, and it passed current that day in the city. Afterwards, when it appeared that it had no good foundation, the story dropt for the present ; but when, a few days after, it was confirmed beyond dispute,;}: they could not but admire at the report which was its harbin- ger, and the fiction which turned to truth. In like manner, it is said, that an account of the battle of the Italians near the river Sagra, was carried into Pelopon- He carried with him two thousand talents. f- When Perseus was at Amphipolis, being afraid that the inha- bitants would take him and deliver him up to the Romans, he came out with Philip, the only child he had with him, and having mount- ed the tribunal, began to speak ; but his tears flowed so fast, that, after several trials, he found it impracticable to proceed. Descend- ing again from the tribunal, he spoke to Evander, who then went up to supply his place, and began to speak ; but the people, who hated him, refused to hear him, crying out, " Begone, begone ; we " are resolved not to expose ourselves, our wives, and our children, " for your sakes. Fly, therefore, and leave us to make the best ' terms we can with the conquerors." Evander had been the prin- cipal actor in the assassination of Eumenes, and wan afterwards dis- patched in Samothrace by order of Perseus, who was afraid that Evander would accuse him as the author of that murdtr. J It was confirmed by the arrival of Q- Fabjus Maximus, the son of ^Emilius, L. Lentulus, and Q. Metellus, who had been sent ex- press by JSmilius, and reached Rome the twentieth day after the ftction. PAULUS JEMILIUS. 1/9 nesus the same day in was fought ; and of the defeat of the Persians at Mycale, with equal expedition to Plataea ; and that very soon after the battle which the Romans gained over the Tarquins, and the people of Latium that fought under their banners, two young men of uncommon size and beauty, who were conjectured to be Castor and Pollux, arrived at Rome, from the army, with the news of it. The first man they met with, by the fountain in the market-place, as they were refreshing their horses, that foamed with sweat, expressed his surprise at their account of the victory ; whereupon they are said to have smiled, and to have stroked his beard, which immediately turned from black to yellow. This circumstance gained credit to his report, and got him the surname of Acnolarbus or yellow beard. All these stories are confirmed by that which happened in our times. Fer when Lucius Antonius rebelled against Domitian, Rome was much alarmed, and expected a bloody war in Germany ; but on a sudden, and of their own pro- per motion, the people raised a report, and spread it over the city, that Autonius was vanquished and slain, that his army was cut in pieces, and not one man had escaped. Such a run had the news, and such was the credit given to it, that many of the magistrates offered sacrifice on the occa- sion. But when the author of it was sought after, they were referred from one to another, all their inquiries were eluded, and at last the news was lost in the immense crowd, as in a vast ocean. Thus the report, appearing to have no solid foundation, immediately vanished. But as Domitian was marching his forces to chastise the rebels, messengers and letters met him on the road which brought an account of the victory. Then they found that it was won the same day the report was propagated, though the field of battle was more than twenty thousand furlongs from Rome. This is a fact which none can be unacquainted with. But to return to the story of Perseus : Cneius Octa- vitis, who was joined in command with TEmilius, came with his fleet to Samothrace, where, out of reverence to the gods,* he permitted Perseus to enjoy the protection of the * The gods of Samothrace were dreaded by all nations.. The pagans carried their prejudices so far in favour of those pretended deities, that they were struck with awe upon the bare mention of their names. Of all the oaths that were in use among the ancients, that by these gods was deemed the most sacred and inviolable. Sncik I 6 iQ PLUTARCH'S LIVES. asylum, but watched the coasts and guarded against his escape. Perseus, however, found means privately to en- gage one Orandes, a Cretan, to take him and his treasure into his vessel, and carry them off. He, like a true Cre- tan, took in the treasure, and advised Perseus to come in the night, with his wife and children, and necessary attend- ants, to the port called Demetrium ; but, before this, he had set sail. Miserable vvai the condition of Perseus, compelled as he was to escape through a narrow window, and to let himself down by the wall, with his wife and children, who had little experienced such fatigtit and hardships ; but still more pitiable were his groans, when, as he wandered by the shore, one told him that he had seen Orandes a good way off at sea. By this time it was day, and, destitute of all other hope, he fled back to the wall. He was not, indeed, undiscovered, yet he reached the place of refuge, with his wife, before the Romans could take measures to prevent it. His children he put in the hands of Ion, who had been his favourite, but now was his betrayer, for he delivered them up to the Roman* ; and so by the strongest necessity with which nature can be bound, obliged him, as beasts do, when their young are taken, to yield himself to those who had his children in their power. He had the greatest confidence in Nasica, and for him he inquired ; but as he was not there he bewailed his fate, and sensible of the necessity he lay under, he surrendered himself to Octavius. Then it appeared more plain than ever, that he laboured under a more despicable disease than avarice itself I mean the fear of death ; and this deprived him even of pity, the only consolation of which fortune does not. rob the distressed For when he desired to be conducted to ^milius,* the consul rose from his seat, and, as were found not to have observed this oath were looked upon as the curse of mankind, and persons devoted to destruction. Diodorus (lib. v. tells us that these gods were always present, and never fail- td to assist those that were initiated, and called upon them in any sudden and unexpected danger ; and that none ever duly performed their ceremonies without being amply rewarded for their piety. No wonder, then, if the places of refuge in this island were very highly revered. Besides the temple of Castor and Poiiux, to which Perseus fled, there was also a wood, esteemed sueh, where those who were admitted to the holy rites of the Cabiri, used to meet. * Octavius, as soon as he had the king in his power, put him on board the admiral galley ; and having embarked also a!i his treasure that was left, the Roman fleet weighed and stood for Ajnphipolis. An PAUI.VS JTMILIUS. I SI accompanied with his friends, went to receive him with tears in his eyes, as a great man unhappily fallen through the displeasure of the gods. But Perseus behaved in the vilest manner ; he bowed down with his face to the earth, he embraced the Roman's knees ; his expressions were so mean, and his entreaties so abject, that ./Emilius could not endure them ; but regarding him with an eye of regret and indignation, " Why dost thou, wretched man !" said he, 41 acquit fortune of what might seem her greatest crime, " by a behaviour which makes it appear that (hou deservedst ** her frowns, and that thou art not only now, but hast ** been long, unworthy the protection of that goddess ? 4< why dost thou tarnish my laurels, and detract from my 44 achievements, by shewing thyself a mean adversary, and " unfit to cope with a Roman ? courage in the unfortu- " nate is highly revered, even by an enemy ; and cowardice, 44 though it meets with success, is held in great contempt " among the Romans." Notwithstanding this severe rebuke, he raised him up, gave him his hand, and delivered him into the custody of Tubero. Then taking his sons, his sons-in-law, and tne principal officers, particularly the younger sort, back with him into his tent, he sat a ion time silent, to the astonish- ment of the whole company. At last he began to speak of the vicissitudes of fortune, and of human affairs " Is " it fit, then," said he, " that a mortal should be elated by " prosperity, and plume himself upon the overturning a " city, or a kingdom ? should we not rather attend to the " instructions of fortune, who, by such visible marks of 44 her instability, and of the weakness of human power, 4< teaches every one that goes to war to expect from her *' nothing solid and permanent ? YV hat time for confidence can there be to man, when, in the very instant of victory,' he must necessarily dread the power of fortune, and the very joy of success -must be mingled with anxiety, from a reflection on the course of unsparing fate, which humbles one man to-day, and to-morrow another? when one short express was dispatched from thence to acquaint ./Emilias with what had happene.-I, who sent Tubero his son-in-law, with several per. sons of distinction, to meet Perseus. The consul ordered sacrifices to be immediately offered, and made the same rejoicings as if a new victory had been obtained. The whole camp ran out to see the royal prisoner, who, covered with a mourning cloak, walked alone to the tent of JEmilius. 182 PLUTARCH S LIVES. " hour has been sufficient to overthrow the house of Alex- " ander, who arrived at such a pitch of glory, and extended " his empire over great part of the world ; when you see " princes that were lately at the head of immense armies *' receive their provisions for the day from the hands of 44 their enemies ; shall you dare to flatter yourselves that " fortune has firmly settled your prosperity, or that it is " proof against the attacks of time ? Shall you not rather, " my young friends, quit this elation of heart, and the vain " ruptures of victory, and humble yourselves in the thought " of what may happen hereafter, in the expectation that " the gods will send some misfortune to counterbalance " the present success." JEmilius, they tell us, having said a great deal to this purpose, dismissed the young men, seasonably chastised with this grave discourse, and restrain- ed in their natural inclination to arrogance. When this was done, he put his army in quarters, while he went to take a view of Greece. This progress was attended both with honour to himself and advantage to the Greeks ; for he redressed the people's grievances, he re- formed their civil government, and gave them gratuities, to some wheat, and to others oil, out of the royal stores ; in which such vast quantities are said to have been found, that the number of those that asked and received was too small to exhaust the whole. Finding a great square pe- destal of white marble at Delphi, designed for a golden sta- tue of Perseus, he ordered his own to be put upon it ;* alleging that it was but just that the conquered should give place to the conqueror. At Olympia, we are told, he uttered that celebrated saying, " This Jupiter of Phidias is the very Jupiter of Homer." Upon the arrival of the ten commissioners! from Rome, for settling the affairs of Macedonia, he declared the lands and cities of the Macedonians free, and ordered that they * This was not quite so consistent with his humiliating discourse on the vicissitudes of fortune. f These ten legates were all men of consular dignity, who came to assist ^Emilius in settling a new form of government. The Ma- cedonians were not much charmed with the promise of liberty, be- cause they could not well comprehend what that liberty was. They saw evident contradictions in the decree, which, though it spoke of leaving them under their own laws, imposed many new ones, and threatened more. What most disturbed them, was a division of their kingdom, whereby, as a nation, they were separated and dis- jointed from each other. PAULUS JEMILIUS- 1 S3 should be governed by their own laws, only reserving a tribute to the Romans of a hundred talents, which was not half what their kings had imposed. After this he exhibited various games and spectacles, of- fered sacrifices to the gods, and made great entertainments ; for all which he found an abundant supply in the treasures of the king ; and he shewed so just a discernment in the or- dering, the placing, and saluting of his guests, and in dis- tinguishing what degree of civility was due to every man's rank and quality, that the Greeks were amazed at his know- ledge of matters of mere politeness, and that, amidst his great actions, even trifles did not escape his attention, but were conducted with the greatest decorum. That which afforded him the highest satisfaction was, that notwithstand- ing the magnificence and variety of his preparations, he him- self gave the greatest pleasure to those he entertained ; and to those that expressed their admiration of his management on these occasions, he said, " That it required the same " genius to draw up an army and to order an entertain- " ment ;* that the one might be most formidable to the " enemy, and the other most agreeable to the company." Among his other good qualities, his disinterestedness and magnanimity stood foremost in the esteem of the world ; tor he would not so much as look upon the immense quan- tity of silver and gold that was collected out of the royal palaces, but delivered it to the quctstcrs, to be carried into the public treasury. He reserved only the books of the king's library for his sons, who were men of letters ; and in distributing rewards to those that had distinguished them- selves in battle, he gave a silver cup of five pounds weight to his son-in-law, /Elius Tubero. This is that Tubero who, as we have already mentioned, was one of the sixteen relations that lived together, and were all supported by one small farm ; and this piece of plate, acquired by virtue and honour, is affirmed to be the first that was in the family of the /Elians; neither they nor their wives having, before this, either used or wanted any vessels of silver or gold. After he had made every proper regulation, f taken his * To these two particulars, of drawing up an army, and ordering an entertainment, Henry IV of France added the making love. f At the close of these proceedings, Andronicus the .flStolian, and Neo the Boeotian, because they had always been friends to Perseus, und had not deserted him even now, were condemned, and lost their iieads. So unjust, amidst ail the specious appearances of justice, were the conquerors. 184 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. leave of the Greeks, and exhorted the Macedonians to re- memb'.T the liberty which the Romans had bestowed on them,* and to preserve it by good laws and the happiest harmony, he marched into Epirus. The senate had made a decree, that the soldiers who had fought under him against Perseus should have the spoil of the cities of Epirus. In or- der, therefore, that they might fall upon them unexpected- ly, he sent for ten of the principal inhabitants of each city, and fixed a day for them to bring in whatever silver and gold could be found in their houses and temples. With each of these he sent a centurion and guard -of soldiers, under pretence of searching for and receiving the precious metal, and as for this purpose only. But when the day came, they nished upon all the inhabitants, and began to seize and plunder them. Thus, in one hour, an hundred and fifty thousand persons were made slaves, and seventy cities sacked ; ye'., from this general ruin and desolation, each soldier had no more than eleven drachmas to his share. How shocking was such a destruction for the sake of such advantage ! /Eniilius having executed this commission, so contrary to his mildness and humanity, went down to Oricum, where he embarked his forces, and passed over into Italy. He sailed up the Tiber in the king's galley, which had sixteen ra.,ks of oars, and was richly adorned with aims taken from the enemy, and with cloth of scarlet and purple ; and the bank< of the river being covered with multitudes that ca;. ; to see the ship as it sailed slowly against the stream, the Romans in some measure anticipated his triumph. But the soldiers, who looked with longing eyes on the wealth of Perseus, when they found their expectations dis- appointed, i.idulged a secret resentment, and were ill-affect- ed to .Emilius. In public they alleged another cause. They said he had behaved in command in a severe and im- perious manner, and therefore they did not meet his wishes for a triumph. Serviu? Galba, who had served under /Emilius as a tribute, and who had a personal enmity to * This boasted favour of the Romans to the people of Macedon ".as certainly nothing extraordinary. Their country being now di- vided into four districts, it was declared unlawful for any person lo intermarry, to carry on any trade, to buy or sell any lands to any ho was not an inhabitant of his own district. They v.-.ve pro- hibited to import any salt, or to sell any timber fit for building ships to the barbarian nations. All the nobility, and their children ex- ceeding the age of fifteen, were commanded immediately to trans- port themselves into Italy ; and the supreme power in Macedon y/as vested in certain Roman senators. PAULUS JEM 1 1. 185 him, observing this, pulled off the mask, and declared that no triumph ou^lu to be r.!i. -wed hi:i-. Having spread among the o!diery several calumnies against the general, and sharp- ened the resentment which they had already ccr :rived,Galba requested another da\ of the ; f the people ; be- cause the remaining four hours, he said, were not sufficient for the intended impeachment ; but as the tribunes ordered him to speak then, if he had iiny thing to say, he began a long harangue, full of injurious and false allegations, and spun it out to the end of the day. When it was dark, the tribunes dismissed the assembly. The soldiers, now more insolent than ever, thronged about Galba ; and animating each other, before it was light, took their stand again in the capitol, \vhere the tribunes had ordered the assembly to be held. As soon as day appeared it was put to the vote, and the first tribe gave it against the triumph. When this was un- derstood by the rest of the assembly and the senate, the commonalty expressed great concern at the injury done to ^Emilius ; but their words had no effect. The principal se- nators insisted that it was an insufferable attempt, and en- couraged each other to repress the bold and licentious spi- rit of the soldiers, who would in time stick at no instance of injustice and violence,* if something was not done to prevent their depriving Paulus yLmilius of the honours of his victory. They pushed, therefore, through the crowd, a-:d coming up in a body, demanded that the tribunes would put a stop to the suffrages, until they had delivered what they had to say to the people. The poll being stopped accordingly, and silence made, Marcus Servilius, a man of consular dignity, who had killed three and twenty enemies in single combat, stood up, and spoke as follows. " I am now sensible, more than ever, how great a general Paulus yEmilius is, when with so mutinous and disorder- ly an army he has performed such great and honourable achievements ; but J am surprised at the inconsistency of the Roman people, if, after rejoicing in triumphs over the Illyrians and Ligurians,f they envy them selves the pleasure of seeing the king of Macedon brought alive, and all die glory of Alexander and Philip led captive by * This was sadly verified in the times of the Roman emperors. f Instead of Li'vui, Lybians, the common reading in the Greek, vre should undoubtedly, with the small alteration of one letter, read A/> , LisTirinn: ; for the Ligurians had been conquered by -d&rajlir >. 1 80 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. " the Roman arms ; for is it not a strange thing for you, '* who, upon a slight rumour of the victory brought hither " some time since, offered sacrifices, and made your requests *'* to the gods, that you might soon see that account verified ; " now the consul is returned with a real victory, to rob ' the gods of their due honour, and yourselves of the sa- ' tisfaction, as if you were afraid to behold the greatness " of the conquest, or were willing to spare the king ? " though, indeed, it would be much better to refuse the " triumph out of mercy to him than envy to your general. " But to such excess is yoi?r malignity arrived, that a man ** who never received a wound, a man shining in delicacy, " and fattened in the shade, dares discourse about the con- " duct ol the war and the right to a triumph, to you who, " at the expence of so much blood, have learned how to ** judge of the valour or misbehaviour of your commanders." At the same time, baring his breast, he shewed an incre- dible number of scars upon it, and then turning his back, he uncovered some parts which it is reckoned indecent to expose ; and addressing himself to Galba, he said, *' Thou " laughest at this ; but I glory in these marks before my " fellow-citizens ; for I got them by being on horseback " day and night in their service. But go on to collect the " votes : I will attend the whole business, and mark those " cowardly and ungrateful men, who had rather have their lf own inclinations indulged in war, than be properly " commanded." This speech, they tell us, so humbled the soldiery, and effected such an alteration in them, that the triumph was voted to /Emilius by every tribe. The triumph is said to have been ordered after this man- ner : In every theatre, or, as they call it, circus, where equestrian games used to be held, in the forum, and other parts of the city, which were convenient for seeing the pro- cession, the people erected scaffolds, and on the day of the triumph were all dressed in white. The temples were set open, adorned with garlands, and smoking with incense. Many lictors and other officers compelled the disorderly crowd to make way, and opened a clear passage. The triumph took up three days. On the first, which was scarce sufficient for the show, were exhibited the images^ paintings, and colossal statues, taken from the enemy, and now carried in two hundred and fifty chariots. Next day, the richest and most beautiful of the Macedonian arms were brought up in a great number of waggons. These glittered PAULUS JEMIUUS. 187 with new furbished brass and polished steel ; and, though they were piled with great art and judgment, yet seemed to be thrown together promiscuously. ; helmets being placed upon shields, breast-plates upon greaves, Cretan targets, Thracian bucklers, and quivers of arrows huddled among the horses bits, with the points of naked swords and long pikes appearing through on every side. All these arms were tied together with such a just liberty, that room was left for them to clatter as they were drawn along, and the clank of them was so harsh and terrible, that they were not seen without dread, though among the spoils of the con- quered. After the carriages loaded with arms, walked three thousand men, who carried the silver money in seven hundred and fifty vessels, each of which contained three talents, and was borne by four men. Others brought bowls, horns, goblets, and cups, all of silver, disposed in such order as would make the best show, and valuable not only for their si/e, but the depth of the basso relievo. On the third day, early in the morning, first came up the trumpets, not with such airs as are used in a procession of eolemn entry, but with such as the Romans sound when they animate their troops to the charge. These were fol- lowed by an hundred and twenty fat oxen, with their horns gilded, and set off with ribbons and garlands. The young men that led these victims were girded with belts of curious workmanship ; and after them came the boys who carried the gold and silver vessels for the sacrifice. Next went the persons who carried the gold coin,* in vessels which held three talents each, like those that contained the silver, and which were to the number of seventy-seven. Then follow- ed those that bore the consecrated bowl,f of ten talents \veight, which /Emilius had caused to be made of gold, and adorned with precious stones; and those that exposed to view the cups of Antigonus of Seleucus, and such as were of the make of the famed artist Shericles, together with the gold plate that had been used at Perseus's table. * According to Plutarch's account there were 2250 talents of sil- ver coin, and 231 of gold coin. According to Valerius Antias, it amounted to somewhat more ; but Livy thinks his computation too small, and Vellius Paterculus makes it almost twice as much. The account which Paterculus gives of it is probably right, since the mo- ney now brought from Macedonia set the Romans free from all taxes for one hundred and twenty-five years. j- This bowl weighed six hundred pounds ; for the talent weighed sixty pounds. It was consecrated to Jupiter. 1S8 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. Immediately after, was to be seen the chariot of that prince* with his armour upon it, and his diadem upon that ; at a littic distance his children were Jed captive, attended by a great number of governor?, masters, and preceptors, all in tears, who stretched out their hands by way of Supplication to the spectators, and taught the children to do the same. There were two sons and one daughter, all so young, that they were not much affected with the greatness of their misfortunes. This insensibility of theirs made the change of their condition more pitiable ; insomuch that Perseus passed on almost without notice ; so fixed were the eyes of the Romans upon the children, from pity of their fate, that many of them shed tears, and none tasted the joy of the triumph without a mixture of pain till they were gone by. Behind the children and their tra ; n walked Perseus him- self, clad all in black, and wearing sandals of the fashion of his country. He had the appearance of a man that was overwhelmed with terror, and whose reason was al- most staggered with the weight of his misfortunes. He was followed by a great number of friends and favourites, whose countenances were oppressed with sorrow, and who, by fixing their w'Scptrag eyes continually upon their prince, testified to the spectators, that it was his lot which they lamented, and that they were regardless of their own. He had sent, indeed, to ALmilius, to desire that he might be excused from being led in triumph, and being made a pub- lic spectacle. But ^.miiius, despising his cowardice and attachment to life, by way of derision, it seems, sent him word, " That it had been in his power to prevent it, " and still was, if he were so disposed :" hinting, that he should prefer death to disgrace. But he had not the courage to strike the blow ; and the vigour of his mind being destroyed by vain hopes, he became a part of his own spoils. Next were carried foui hundred coronets of gold, which the cities had sent Aimilius; along with their embassies, as compliments on his victory. Then came the consul himself, riding in a magnificent chariot ; a man, exclusive of the pomp of power, worthy to be seen and admired, but his good mien was now set off with a pur- ple robe interwoven with gold, and he held a branch of laurel in his right hand. The whole army likewise car- ried boughs of laurel, and, divided into bands and compa- nies, followed the general's chariot ; some singing satiri- cal songs usual on such occasions, and some chanting odt-t o^ victory, and the glorious exploits of /Emilias, who PAULUS JEMILIVS. 180 revered and admired by all, and whom no good man could envy. But, perhaps, there is some superior Being, whose office it is to cast a shade upon any great and eminent prosperity, and so to mingle the lot of human life, that it may not be perfectly free from calamity ; but those, as Homer says,* may think themselves most happy to whom fortune gives an equal share of good and evil. For ./Emilius having four sons, two of which, namely Scipio and Fabius, were adopted into other families, as has been mentioned above, and two others by his second wife, as yet but young, whom he brought up in his own house ; one of these died at fourteen years of age, five days before liis father's triumph, <:nd the other at twelve, three days after. There was not a man among the Romans that did not sympathize with him in this affliction. All were shocked at the cruelty of fortune,-}- who scrupled not to introduce such deep distress into a house that was full of pleasure, of joy, and festal sacrifices, and to mix the songs of victory and triumph with the mournful dirges of death. ^milius, however, rightly considering that mankind " Plutarch here refers to a passage in the speech of Achilles to Priam in the last Iliad, which is thus translated by Pope : Two urns by Jove's high throne have ever stood, The source of evil one, and one of good. From thence the cup of mortal man he fill?, Blessings to these, to those distributes ills ; To most he mingles both ; the wretch decreed To taste the bad, unmix'd, is curs'd indeed. The happiest taste not happiness sincere, But find the cordial draught is dash'd with care. Plato has censured it as an impiety to say that God gives evil. God is not the author of evil. Moral evil is the result of the abuse of free agency ; natural evil is the consequence of the imperfection of matter ; and the Deity stands justified in his creating beings liable to both, because natural imperfection was necessary to a progressive existence, moral imperfection was necessary to virtue, and virtue was necessary to happiness. However, Homer's allegory seems borrowed from the eastern manner of speaking. Thus, in the Psalms : In the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and he poitreth out of the same as for the dregs thereof, all the ungodly of the earth shall drink them. Psal. Ixxv, 8. f Or more properly the just and visible interposition of Provi- dence, to punish, in some measure, that general havoc of the hu- man species which the Roman pride and avarice had so recently made in Greece. For though God is not the author of evil, it is no impeachment of his goodness to suppose that by particular punish- ments he chastises particular crimes. 190 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. have need of courage and fortitude, not only again. i swords and spears, but against every attack of fortune, so tempered and qualified the present emergencies, as to overbalance the evil by the good, and his private misfor- tunes by the public prosperity ; that nothing might ap- pear to lessen the importance, or to tarnish the glory of his victory. For soon after the burial of the first of his sons, he made, as we have said, his triumphal entry, and upon the death of the second, soon after the triumph, he as- sembled the people of Rome, and made a speech to them, not like a man that wanted consolation himself, but like one who could alleviate the grief which his fellow-citizens felt for his misfortunes. " Though I have never," said he, " feared any thing " human, yet, among things divine, I have always had a " dread of fortune, as the most faithless and variable of " beings ; and because, in the course of this war, she pros- " pered every measure of mine, the rather did I expect " that some tempests would follow so favourable a gale. " For in one day I passed the Ionian from Brundusium *' to Corcyra ; from thence, in five days, I reached Del- " phi, and sacrified to Apollo. In five days more, I " took upon me the command of the army in Macedo- " nia ; and as soon as I had offered the usual sacrifices " for purifying it, I proceeded to action ; and, in the space of fifteen days from that time, put a glorious pe- riod to the war. Distrusting the fickle goddess on ac- count of such a run of success, and now being secure and free from all danger with respect to the enemy, I was most apprehensive of a change of fortune in my passage home ; having such a great and victorious ar- my to conduct, together with the spoils and royal pri- soners. Nay, when I arrived safe among my country- men, and beheld the city full of joy, festivity, and grati- tude, still I suspected fortune, knowing that she grants us no great favour without some mixture of uneasiness, or tribute of pain. Thus, full of anxious thoughts for what might happen to the commonwealth, my tears did not quit me till this calamity visited my house, and I had my two promising sons, the only heirs I had left myself, to bury one after the other, on the very days sacred to triumph. Now, therefore, I am secure as to the greatest danger, and I trust I am fully persuaded that fortune will continue kind and constant to us, since she has taken sufficient usury for her favours of PAULUS jfcMILIUS. J()l ' me and mine ; for the man who led the triumph is as * great an instance of the weakness of human power, as he ' that was led captive ; there is only this difference, that ' the sons of Perseus, who were vanquished, are alive, and 1 those of ./Emilius, who conquered, are no more." Such was the generous speech which -/Emilius made to the people, from a spirit of magnanimity that was perfect- ly free from artifice. Though he pitied the fate of Perseus, and was well in- clined to serve him, yet all he could do for him was to get him removed from the common prison to a cleaner apartment and better diet. In that confinement, accord- ing to most writers, he starved himself to death. But some say the manner of his death was very strange and peculiar. The soldiers, they tell us, who were his keepers, being on some account provoked at him, and determined to wreak their malice, when they could find no other means of do- ing it, kept him from sleep, taking turns to watch him, and using such extreme diligence to keep him from rest, that at last he was quite wearied out and died.* Two of his sons also died ; and the third, named Alexander, is said to have been distinguished for his art in turning, and other small work ; and having perfectly learned to speak and write the Roman language, he was employed by the magistrates as a clerk ;-|- in which capacity he shewed himself very serviceable and ingenious. Of the acts of TEmilius with regard to Macedonia, the most acceptable to the Romans was, that from thence he brought so much money into the public treasury, that the people had no occasion to pay any taxes till the times of Hirtius and Pansa, who were consuls in the first war be- tween Anthony and Ccesar. /Emilius had also the uncom- mon and peculiar happiness to be highly honoured and caressed by the people, at the same time that he remained attached to the patrician party, and did nothing to ingra- tiate himself with the commonalty, but ever acted in con- cert with men of the first rank in matters of government. * This account we have from Diodorus Siculus, ap. Phot. Bi- Uioth. Philip is said to have died before his father ; but how or where cannot be collected, because the books of Livy, and of Dic- dorus Siculus, which treat of those times, are lost. J- Here was a remarkable instance of the pride of the Roman se- nate, to have the son of a vanquished king for their clerk ; while Nicomedes, the son of Prusias, king of Bithynia, was educated by them with all imaginable pomp and splendour, because the father had put him under the care of the republic. 1Q2 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. This conduct of his was afterwards alleged by way of re- proach against Scipio Africanus, by Appius, These two being then the most considerable men in Rome, stood for the censorship ; the one having the senate and nobility on his side, for the Appian family were always in that interest ; and the other, not only great in ni.ns'-if, but ever greatly in favour with the people. Whirr, therefore, Appius saw Scipio come into the I'nruw, attended by a crowd of mean persons, and many who had been slaves, but who were able to cabal, to influence the multitude, and to carry all be- fore them, either by solicitation or clamour, he cried out, *' O Paulus ./Emilias ! groan, groan from beneath the " earth, to think that /Emilias the crier, and Lycinius the " rioter, conduct thy son to the censorship !" It is no wonder if the cause of Scipio was espoused by the people, since he was continually heaping favours upon them ; but ./Emilius, though he ranged himself on the side of the no- bility, was as much beloved by the populace as the most insinuating of their demagogues. This appeared in their bestowing upon him, among other honours, that of the censorship, which is the most sacred of all offices, and which has great authority annexed to it, as in other re- spects, so particularly in the power of inquiring into the morals of the citizens. For the censors could expel from the senate any member that acted in a manner unworthy of his station, and enrol a man of character in that body ; and they could disgrace one of the equestrian order who behaved licentiously, by taking away his horse. They also took account or' the value of each man's estate, and re- gistered the number of the people. The number of citizens which ^milius took was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand four hundred and fifty-two. He declared Mar- cus ^Emilius Lepidus first senator, who had already four tirr.es arrived at that dignity. He expelled only three se- nators, who were men of HO note ; and with equal mode- ration both he and his colleague Marcius Philippus be- haved in examining into the conduct of the knights. Having settled many important affairs while he bore this office, he fell into a distemper, which at first appeared very dangerous, but in time became less threatening, though it still was troublesome and difficult to be cured. By the ad- vice therefore of his physicians he sailed to Velia,* where * Plutarch here writes Elea instead of Vtlia, and calls it a town n Italy, to distinguish it from one of that name in Greece. PAULUS JEMELIUS. 1QJ he remained a long time near the sea, in a very retired and quiet situation. In the meantime, the Romans greatly re- gretted his absence, and, by frequent exclamations in the theatres, testified their extreme desire to see him again. At last, a public sacrifice coming or., which necessarily required his attendance, /Emilius seeming now sufficiently recovered, returned to Rome, and offered that sacrifice, with the assist- ance of the other priests, amidst a prodigious multitude ot people, who expressed thei: joy for his return. Next day he sacrificed again to the gods for his recovery. Having finished these rites, he returned home and went to bed, when he suddenly fell into a delirium, in which he died the third day, having attained to every thing that is supposed to contribute to the happiness of man. His funeral was conducted with wonderful solemnity ; the cordial regard ot the public did honour to his virtue, by the best and happiest obsequies. These did not consist in the pomp of gold, of ivory, or other expence and parade, but in esteem, in love, in veneration, expressed not only by his countrymen, but by his very eaemieo ; for as many of the Spaniards, Ligurians, and Macedonians,* as happened to be then at Rome, and were young and robust, assisted in carrying his bier ; \vliile the aged followed it, calling ./Emilius their benefactor, and the preserver of their coun- tries. For he, not only at the time he conquered them, gained the character of humanity, but continued to do them services, and to take care of them, as if they had been his friends and relations. The estate he left behind him scarcely amounted to the sum of three hundred and seventy thousand denarii, of which he appointed his sons joint heirs ; but Scipio, the younger son, who was adopted into the opulent house of Africanus, gave up his part to his brother. Such is the account we have of the life and character of Paulus . f These were some of the Macedonian nobility, who were then at Rome. Valerius Maximus says, it was like a second triumph to ^Emilius, to have these persons assist in supporting his bier, which was adorned with representations of his conquest of their country. In fact, it was more honourable than the triumph he had led up, because this bore witness to his humanity, and the other only to his valour. f A saying of his to his son Scipio, is worth mentioning : A good general never gives battle, but when he is led to it, either by the last necessity, or by a vtry favourable occasion. Vol. 11. K 19-* PLUTARCH'S LIVES. T1MOLEON AND PAULUS COMPARED. IF we consider these two great men as history has repre- sented them, we shall find no striking difference between them in the comparison. Both carried on wars with very respectable enemies ; the one with the Macedonians, the other with the Carthaginians ; and both with extraordinary success. One of them conquered Macedon, and crushed the house of Antigonus, which had flourished in a succes- sion of seven kings ; the other expelled tyranny out of Sicily, and restored that island to its ancient liberty. It may be in favour of TEmilius that he had to do with Per- seus when in his full strength, and when he had beaten the Romans, and Timoleon with Dionysius when reduced to very desperate circumstances ; as, on the other hand, it may be observed, to the advantage of Timoleon, that he subdued many tyrants, and defeated a great army of Car- thaginians, with such forces as he happened to pick up, \vho were not veteran and experienced troops like those of ./Emilius, but mercenaries and undisciplined men, who had been accustomed to fight only at their own pleasure. For equal exploits, with unequal means and preparations, reflect the greater glory on the general who performs them. Both paid a strict regard to justice and integrity in their : in ploy merits. ^Emilius was prepared from the first to behave so, by the laws and manners of his country ; but iimoleon's probity was owing entirely to himself. A proof of this is, that in the time of ^milius, good order uni- versally prevailed among the Romans, through a spirit of obedience to their laws and usages, and a reverence of their fellow-citizens ; whereas not one of the Grecian generals who commanded in Sicily kept himself uncorrupted, ex- cept Dion ; and many entertained a jealousy that even he affected monarchy, and dreamt of setting up such a regal authority as that in Lacedaemon. Timaeus informs u?, that the Syracusans sent sway Gylippus loaded with in- famy, for his insatiable avarice and rapacity while he had rhe command; and many writers give account of the mis- demeanors and breach of articles which Pharax the Spartan, TIMOLEON AND PAULUS JBUIL1VS COMPARED. lp5 and Callippus the Athenian, were guilty of, in hopes of gaining the sovereignty of Sicily. But what were these men, and on what power did they build such hopes ? Pharax was a follower of Dionysius, who was already ex- pelled, and Callippus was an officer in the foreign troops in the service of Dion. But Timoleon was sent to be general of the Syracusans at their earnest request ; he had not an army to provide, but found one ready formed, which cheerfully obeyed his orders ; and yet he employed thi power for no other end than the destruction of their op- pressive masters. Yet, again, it was to be admired in ^Lmilius, that, though he subdued so opulent a kingdom, he did not add one drachma to his substance. He would not touch, nor even look upon the money himself, though he gave many liberal gifts to others. I do not, however, blame Timoleon for accepting of a handsome house and lands ; for it is no disgrace to take something out of so much, but to take nothing at all is better ; and that is the most consummate virtue, which shews that it is above pecuniary considera- tions, even when it has the best claim to them. As some bodies are able to bear heat, and others cold, but those are the strongest which are equally fit to en- dure either ; so the vigour and firmness of those minds is the greatest, which are neither elated by prosperity, nor broken by adversity. And, in this respect, ALmilius -ap- pears to have been superior ; for, in the great and severe misfortune of the loss of his sons, he kept up the same dignity of carriage as in the midst of the happiest suc- cess. Bat Timoleon, when he had acted as a patriot should, with regard to his brother, did not let his reason support him against his grief ; but becoming a prey to sor- row and remorse for the space of twenty year?, he could not so much as look upon the place where the public business was transacted, much less take a part in it. A man should, indeed, be afraid and ashamed of what is really shameful ; but to shrink under every reflection upon his character, though it speaks a delicacy of temper, has no- thing in it of ^ue greatness of mind, K.2 rr.ur ARCH'S LIVES. PELOPJDAS. CATO the elder, hearing somebody commend a man who was rashly and indiscreetly daring in war, made this just observation, that there u-as great difference between a due regard to valuur and a contempt of /iff. To this purpose, there is a story of one of the soldiers of Antigonus, who was astonishingly brave, but of an unhealthy complexioa and bad habit of body. The king asked him the cause of his paleness, and he acknowledged that he had a private infirmity. He therefore gave his physicians a strict charge, that if any remedy could be found, they should apply it with the utmost care. Thus the man was cured ; but then he no longer courted, nor risked his person as before. Antigonus questioned him about it, and could not forbear to express his wonder at the change. The soldier did not conceal the real cause, " You, Sir,'' said he, " have made " me less bold, by delivering me from that misery which " made my life of no account to me." From the same way of arguing it was, that a certain Sybarite* said of the Spartans, " It was no wonder if they ventured their lives " freely in battle, since death was a deliverance to them *' from such a train of labours, and from such wretched " diet." It was natural for the Sybarites, who were dis- sohred in luxury and pleasure, to think that they who des- pised death, did it not from a love of virtue and honour, but because they were weary of life. But, in fact, the Lacedaemonians thought it a pleasure either to live or to die, as virtue and right reason directed ; and so this epitaph testifies. Not life nor death, they deem'd the happier state, But life that's glorious, or a death that's great. For neither is the avoiding of death to be found fault with, if a man is not dishonourably fond of life ; nor is the meeting it with courage to be commended, if he is The Sybarites were a colony of Greeks who settled in ancient times on the gulf of Tarentum. The felicity of their situation, their wealth and power, drew them into luxury, which was rtmarkable to a proverb. But one cannot credit the extravagant things which Athenaeus relates of them. Their chief city, which at first was called Sybaris, from a river of that name, was afterwards named Thurium, or Thurii. PELOPIDAS. 107 disgusted with life. Hence it is that Homer leads out the boV.est and bravest of his warriors to battle always well armed ; and the Grecian lawgivers punish him who throws away his shield, not him who loses his sword or spear j thus instructing us, that the first care of every man, espe- cially of every governor of a city, or commander of an army should be, to defend himself, and after that he is to think of annoying the enemy ; for if, according to the comparison made by Iphicrates, the light-armed resemble the hands, the cavalry the feet, the main body of in- fantry the breast, and the general the head ; then that ge- neral who suffers himself to be carried away by his impe- tuosity, so as to expose himself to needless hazards, not only endangers his own life, but the lives of his whole army, whose safety depends upon his. Callicratidas, therefore, though otherwise a great man, did not answer the sooth- sayer well, who desired him not to expose himself to dan- ger, because the entrails of the victim threatened his life " Sparta,'' said he, " is- not bound up in one man." For in battle he was indeed but one, when acting under the or- ders of another, whether at sea or land ; but when he had the command, he virtually comprehended the whole force in himself; so that he was no longer a single person, when such numbers must perish with him. Much better was the saying of old Antigonus, when he was going to en- gage ia a sea-fight near the isle of Andrps. Somebody observed to him, that the enemy's fleet was much larger than his. " For how many ships then dost thou reckon me ?" He represented the importance of the commander great, as in fact it is, when he is a man of experience and valour ; and the first duty of such a one is to preserve him who preserves the whole. On the same account, we must allow that Timotheus ex- pressed himself happily, when Chares shewed the Athenians the wounds he had received when their general, and his shield pierced with a spear. " I, for my part," said he, " was much ashamed, when at the siege of Samos a javelin " fell near me, as if I had behaved too like a young man,. " and not as became the commander of so great an arma- " ment." For where the scale of the whole action turr.a upon the general's risking his own person, there he is to stand the combat, and to brave the greatest danger, with- out regarding those who say that a good general should die of old age, or at least an old man ; but when the ad-*- JgS PLUTARCH'S LIVES. vantage to be reaped from his personal bravery is but small, and afi is lost in case of a miscarriage, no one then expects that the general should be endangered by exerting too much of the soldier. Thus much I thought proper to premise before the lives of Pelopidas and Marcellus, who were both great men, and both perished by their rashness. Both were excellent soldiers, did honour to their country by the greatest ex- ploits, and had the most formidable adversaries to deal with ; for the one defeated Hannibal, until that time invincible, and the other conquered the Lacediemonians, who were masters.both by sea and land ; and yet, at last, they both threw away their lives, and spilt their blood, without any sort of discretion, when the times most required such men and such generals. From this resemblance between them we have drawn their parallel. Pelopidas, the son of Hippoclus, was of an illustrious family of Thebes, as was also Epaminondas. Brought up in affluence, and coming in his youth to a great estate, he applied himself to relieve such necessitous persons as deserv- ed his bounty, to shew that he was really master of his riches, not their slave ; for the greatest part of men, a> Aristotle says, either through covetousness make no use of their wealth, or else abuse it through prodigality; and these live perpetual slaves to their pleasures, as those do to care and toil. The Thcbans, with grateful hearts, enjoyed the liberality and munificence of Pelopidas. Epaminondas alone could not be persuaded to share in it. Pelopidas, however, partook in the poverty of his friend, glorying in a plain- ness of dress and slendernees of diet, indefatigable in la- bour,, and plain and open in his conduct in the highest posts.* In short, he was like Capaneus in Euripides, i i . Whose opulence was great, And yet his heart was not elated. He looked upon it as a disgrace to expend more upon his own person than the poorest Theban. As for Epaminon- das, poverty was his inheritance, and consequently familiar to him ; but he made it still more light and easy by philo- sophy, and by the uniform simplicity of his life. * K.&r*rpttT;^ town or castle, but being only one out of twelve, who entered a private hoi;se, loosened and broke to pieces (if we may express truth by a metaphor) the chains of the Spar- tan government, until then esteemed indissoluble. The Lacedaemonians soon entering Bocotia with a " As it is not probable that the retraining so strong a place should be the work of a day. or have been effected with so small a force as nen had, we mu*t h ; tve recourse to Diodorus Siculusand XenopLon, who tell us, that the Athenians, early on the next morn- "er the seizing on the city, sent theTheban general five thou- , :. aid two thousand horse; and thi'.t several other bodies of troops 'ame in from the cities of Bceotia, to the number of about se- ven thousand more; that Pelopi'la* be.- iefced the place in form uith them, and that it held out seviral days, and surrendered at length for want of ; . Diudor. SicuL lib. xv. Jienoph. 1. v. f It was a maxim with the Spartans, to die sword in hand in de- : a place committed to their care. . Dacier gives a parallel between the conduct of this action, ,.t of the prince of Monaco, In driving a Spanish garrison out Q\ his town. PELOPIDAS. 209 powerful army, the Athenians were struck with tcn-or ; and renouncing their alliance with the Thebant, tu :or>k cognizance, in a judicial way, of all that continue^ in the iaterc-st of that people ; some they put to death, some they I'ar.ished, and upon others they laid heavy fines. The Thebans being thus deserted by their allies, then af- fairs seemed to be in a desperate situation. But Pelopi- das and Gorgidas, who then had the command in Boectia, sought means to embroil the Athenians again with the Spartans ; and they availed themselves of this stratagem. There was a Spartan named Sphodrias, a man of great reputation as a soldier, but of no sound judgment, san- guine in his hopes, and indiscreet in his ambition. This man was left with some troops at Thespise, to receive and protect such of the Boeotians as might come over to the Spartans. To him Pelopidas privately sent a merchant, in whom he could confide,* well provided with money, and with proposals that were more likely to prevail than the money, " That it became him to undertake some " noble enterprise to surprise the Piraeus for instance, " by falling suddenly upon the Athenians, who were not " provided to receive him : for that nothing could be so " agreeable to the Spartans as to be masters of Athens ; " and that the Thebans, now incensed against the Athe- " nians, and considering them as traitors, would lend them " no manner of assistance '' Sphodrias, suffering himself at last to be persuaded, inarched into Attica by night, and advanced as far as Eleusis.f There the hearts of his soldiers began to fail, and finding his design discovered, he returned to Thespise, after he had thus brought upon the Lacedaemonians a long and dangerous war. For upon this the Athenians readily united with the Thebans ; and having fitted out a large fleet, they sailed round Greece, CBgagihg and receiving such as were inclined to shake oft the Spartan yoke. Meantime, the Thebans, by themselves, frequently can: * This is more probable than what Diixlorus Siculus says; name- ly, that Cleombrotus, without any order from the- Ephori, persuaded Sphodrias to surprise the Fincus. f They hoped to have reached the Pi:a-us in the night, but found, when the day appeared, that they were got no farther than Lleusi.-. Sphodrias, perceiving that he \va.s discovered, in his return, plunder- ed the Athenian territories. The Lacetlamonians recalled Spho. and the Exhort proceeded against him ; but Agesiiaus, imtuenced by his eon, who was a friend of the son ot Sphodrias, brought him ofi'. 21O PLUTARCH'S LIVES. to action with the Lacedaemonians in Bceotia, not in set battles, indeed, but in such as were of considerable service and improvement to them ; for their spirits were raised, their bodies inured to labour, and, by being used to these rencounters, they gained both experience and courage. Hence it was, that Antalcidas the Spartan, said to Agesi- laus, when he returned to Bceotia wour.ded, Truly yon are well paid far the instruction you have given tkc Thebans, and for teaching them the art of war against their will. Though, to speak properly, Agesilaus was not their in- structor, but those prudent generals who made choice of fit opportunities to let loose the Thebans, like so many young hounds,* upon the enemy ; and when they had tast- ed of victory, satisfied with the ardour they had shewn, brought them off again safe. The chief honour of this was due to Pelopidas. For from the time of his being first chosen general, until his death, there was not a year that he was out of employment, but he was constantly either captain of the sacred band, or governor of Bceotia. And while he was employed, the Lacedemonians were several times defeated by the Thebans, particularly at Platsea, and at Thespise, where Phcebidas, who had sur* prised the Cadmea, was killed ; and at Tanagra, where Pe- lopidas beat a considerable body, and slew, with his own hand, their general Panthoides. But these combats, though they served to animate and encourage the victors, did not quite dishearten the van- quished ; for they were not pitched battles, nor regular engagements, but rather advantages gained of the enemy by well-timed skirmishes, in which the Thebans sometimes pursued, and sometimes retreated. But the battle of Tegyrse, which was a sort of prelude to that of Leuctra, lifted the character of Pelopidas very high ; for none of the other commanders could lay claim to any share of the honour of the day, nor had the enemy any pretext to cover the shame of their defeat. He kept a strict eye upon the city of Orchomenus,-)- which had adopted the Spartan interest, and received t\ro companies of foot for its defence, end watched for an op- * We know not how the former translator happened to rendef ex.\j\a,x.Kt staunch hounds, when it signifies whdps, which, by tasting the blood, become eager after the game. f This was one of the largest and most considerable towns in Bceotia, and still garrisoned by the Lacedaemonians. PELOPIDAS. 211 portunity to make himself master of it. Being informed that the garrison were gone upon an expedition to Locris, he hoped to take the town with ease, now it was desti- tute of soldiers, and therefore hastened thither with the sacred bund, and a small party of horse. But finding, when he was near the town, that other troops were com- ing from Sparta to supply the place of those that were marched out, he led his forces back again by Tegyrse, along the sides of the mountains, which was the only way he could pass ; for all the flat country was overflowed by the river Melas, which, from its very source, spreading itself into marshes and navigable pieces of water, made the lower roads impracticable. A little below these marshes stands the temple of Apol- lo Tegyneus, whose oracle there has not been long silent. It flourished most in the Persian wars, while Echerates was high-priest. Here they report that Apollo was born ; and at the foot of the neighbouring mountain call- ed Delos, the Melas returned into his channel. Behind the temple rise two copious springs, whose waters are admirable for their coolness aiod agreeable taste. The one is called Pain,, and the other buve, to this day ; so that Latona seems to have been delivered, not between two trees, but two fountains of that name. Ptoum, too, is just by, from whence, it is said, a boar suddenly rushed out and frighted her ; and the stories of Python and Ti- tyus, the scene of which lies here, agree with their opinion who say, Apollo was born in this place. The other proofs of this matter I omit. For tradition does not reckon this deity among those who were born mortal, and afterwards were changed into demigods ; of which num- ber were Hercules and Bacchus, who by their virtues were raised from a frail and perishable being to immor- tality ; but he is one of those eternal deities who were never born, if we may give credit to those ancient sages that have treated of these high points. The Thebans then retreating from Orchomenus towards Tegyras, the Lacedaemonians who were returning from Lccris met them on the .road. As soon as they were perceived to be passing the straits, one ran and told Pelo- pidas, We arejalten into l/ie ene".y's hands : And why not they, said he, into GUTS? At the same time he ordered the cavalry to advance from the rear to the front, that they might be ready for the attack ; and the infantry, who were 212 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. but three hundred,* he drew up in a close body ;' hoping that, wherever they charged, they would break through the enemy, though superior in numbers. The Spartans had two battalions. Ephorus says, their battalion consisted of five hundred men, but Calisthenes makes it seven hundred, and Polybius and others nine hundred. Their polemarchs y Gorgoleon and Thoopom- pus, pushed boldly on against the Thebans. The shock began in the quarter where the generals fought in person on both sides, and was very violent and furious. The Spartan commanders, who attacked Pelopidas, were among the first that were slain ; and all that were near them being either killed or put to flight, the whole army was so terrified, that they opened a lane for the Thebans, through which they might have passed safely, nud continu- ed their route if they had pleased. But Pelopidas, disdain- ing to make his escape so, charged those who yet stood their ground, and made such havoc among them, that they fled in great confusion. The pursuit was not con- tinued very far, for the Thebans were afraid of the Orcho- menians, who were near the place of battle, and of the for- ces just arrived from Lacedaemon. They were satisfied with beating them in fair combat, and making their retreat through a dispersed and defeated army. Having, therefore, erected a trophy, and gathered the spoils of the slain, they returned home not a little elated. For it seems that in all their former wars, both witli the Greeks and barbarians, the Lacedemonians had never been beaten, the greater number by the less, nor even by equal numbers in a pitched battle. Thus their courage seemed irresistible ; and their renown so much intimidated their adversaries, that they did not care to ha/.ard an engage- ment with them on equal terms. This battle first taught the Greeks, that it is not the Eurotas, nor the space be- tween Babyce and Cnacion, which alone produces brave warriors ; but wherever the youth are ashamed of what is * This small body was, however, the very flower of the T: army, and was dignified by the names of the yacred battalion a-id the band of lovers (as mentioned below), being equally f.'.nied for their fidelity to the Thebau state, and aflbction for each other. Some fabulous things are related of them, from which we c?.i only infer, that they were a brave resolute set of young xnen, who had vowed perpetual friendship to each other, and had bound them- selves, by the strongest ties, to stand by one other to the last drop of their blood ; and were therefore the fittest to be employed iz. such private and dangerous expeditions. PELOPIDAS. 213 base, resolute in a good cause, and more inclined to avoid disgrace than danger, there are the men who are terrible t their enemies. Gorgidas, as some say, first formed the sacred land, con- sisting of three hundred select men, who were quartered in the Caiiwta, and maintained and exercised at the public ex- pence. They were called the ci(y-l-and ; for citadels in those days were called cities. But Gorgidas, by disposing those that belonged to thu sacred band here and there in the first ranks, and cover- ing the front of his infantry with them, gave them but little opportunity to distinguish themselves, or effectual- ly to serve the common cause ; thus divided as they were, and mixed with other troops more in number nnd of in- ferior resolution. But when their valour appeared with so much lustre at Tegyrae, where they fought together, and close to the person of their general, Pelopidas would never part them afterwards, but kept them in a body, and constantly charged at the head of them in the most dan- gerous attacks. For, as horses go faster when harnessed together in a chariot, than they do when driven single, not because their united force more easily breaks the air, but because their spirits are raised higher by emulation ; 60 he thought the courage of brave men would be most irresistible when they were acting together, and contend- ing with each other which should most excel. But when the Lacedaemonians had made peace with the rest of the Greeks, and continued the war against the Thebans only, and when king Cleombrotus had entered their country with ten thousand foot and a thousand horse, they were not only threatened with the common dangers of war, as before, but even with total extirpation ; which spread the utmost terror over all Bceotia. As Pelopidas, on this occasion, was departing for the army, his wife, who followed him to the door, besought him with tears to take care of himself, he answered, My dear, private per. sons are to te advistd to take care of themselves, but per- sons in a public character to take care of others. When he came to the army, and found the general officers differing in opinion, he was the first to close in with that of Epaminondas, who proposed that they should give the enemy battle. He was not, indeed, then one of 214 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. those that commanded in chief, but he was captain of the sacred band; and they had that confidence in him which was due to a man who had given his country such pledges of his regard for liberty. The resolution thus taken to hazard a battle, and the two armies in sight at Leuctra, Pelopidas had a dream which gave him no small trouble. In that field lie the bodies of the daughters of Scedasus, who are called Lcuc- tr'idae from the place. For a rape having been committed upon them by some Spartans whom they had hospitably received into their house, they had killed themselves, and were buried there. Upon this their father went to La- cedaemon, and demanded that justice should be done upon the persons who had committed so detestable and atro- cious a crime ; and, as he could not obtain it, he vented bitter imprecations against the Spartans, and then killed himself upon the tomb of his daughters. From that time many prophecies and oracles forewarned the Spartans to beware of the vengeance of Leuctra : the true intent of which but few understood ; for they were in doubt as to the place that was meant, there being a little maritime town called Leuctrum in Laconia, and another of the same name near Megalopolis in Arcadia. Besides, that injury was done to the daughters of Scedaaus long before the battle of Leuctra. Pelopidas, then, as he slept in his tent, thought he saw these young women weeping at their tombs, and loading the Spartans with imprecations, while their father ordered him to sacrifice a red-haired young virgin to the damsels, if he desired to be victorious in the ensuing engagement. This order appearing to him cruel and unjust, he rose and communicated it to the soothsayers and the generals. Some were of opinion that it should not be neglected or dis- obeyed, alleging to the purpose the ancient stories of Me- nasceus the son of Creon,* and Macaria the daughter of Hercules ; and the more modern instances of Pherecydes the philosopher, who was put to death by the Laoedarmo* nians, and whose skin was preserved by their kings, pur- suant to the direction of some oracle ; of Leonidas, who, by order of the oracle too, sacrificed himself, as it were, for the sake of Greece ; and lastly, of the human victims * Mcnaeceus devoted himself to death for the benefit of his coun- try ; as did also Macaria for the benefit of the Heraclidae. For an account of the former, sec the PAowwa, yid for the latter, the tfcracltdi/M(Sss tZ-piSar&t. If the tyrant had restrained his excesses, his subjects might have returned to him ; and if his fury had been mre provoked, he might have killed Pelopidas. L 4 224 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. ply justified their choice ; for he had no sooner entered th< king's dominions than he was universally known and ho- noured : the fame of his battles with the Lacedaemonians had spread itself through Asia ; and, after his victory at Leuctra, the report of new successes continually following, had extended his renown to the most distant provinces. So that when he arrived at the king's court, and appeared before the nobles and great officers that waited there, he was the object of universal admiration. " This" said they, " is the man who deprived the Lacedaemonians of the " empire both of sea and land, and confined Sparta within " the bounds of Taygetus and Eurotas; that Sparta, which " a little before, under the conduct of Agesilaus, made " war against the great king, and shook the realms of Su- " sa and Ecbatana." On the same account, Artaxerxes rejoiced to see Pelopidas, and loaded him with honours. But when he heard him converse in terms that were strong- er than those of the Athenians, and plainer than those of the Spartans, he admired him still more ; and, as kings seldom conceal their inclinations, he made no secret of his attachment to him, but let the other ambassadors see the distinction in which he held him. It is true, that of all the Greeks, he seemed to have done Antalcidas the Spar- tan the greatest honour,* when he took the garland which he wore at table from his head, dipt it in perfumes, and sent it him. But though he did not treat Pelopidas with that familiarity, yet he made him the richest and most magnificent presents, and fully granted his demands, which were," That all the Greeks should be free and indepen- " dent ; that Messene should be repeopled ; and that the The- " bans should be reckoned the king's hereditary friends." With this answer he returned, but without accepting any of the king's presents, except some tokens of his fa- vour and regard ; a circumstance that reflected no small dishonour upon the other ambassadors. The Athenians condemned and executed Timagoras, and justly too, if it was on account of the many presents he received. For he accepted not only gold and silver, but a magnificent bed, and servants to make it, as if that was an art which the Greeks were not skilled in. He received also fourscore cows, and herdsmen to take care of them, as if he wanted * If Plutarch means the Spartan ambassador, he differs from Xe- nophon, who says that his name was Euthicles. He likewise tells us that Timagaras was the person whom the king esteemed next to Pelopidas. PELOPIDAS. 225 their milk for his health ; and, at last, he suffered himself to be carried in a litter as far as the sea-coast at the king's expense, who paid four talents for his conveyance : but his receiving of presents does not seem to have been the principal thing that incensed the Athenians. For when lipicrates, the armour-bearer, acknowledged in full assembly that he had received the king's presents, and talked of proposing a decree, that, instead of choosing nine arc/ions every year, nine of the poorest citizens should be sent am- bassadors to the king, that by hk gifts they might be raised to affluence, the people only laughed at the motion. What exasperated the Athenians most was, that the Thebans had obtained of the king all they asked ; they did not consider how much the character of Pelopidas out- weighed the address of their orators, with a man who ever paid particular attention to military excellence. This embassy procured Pelopidas great applause, as well on account of the repeopling ef Messene, as to the restor- ing of liberty to the rest of Greece. Alexander the Pheraean was now returned to his natural disposition ; he had destroyed several cities of Thessaly, and put garrisons into the towns of the Phthiotae, the Achaeans, and the Magnesians. As soon as these oppress- ed people had learnt that Pelopidas was returned, they sent their deputies to Thebes, to beg the favour of some forces, and that he might be their general. The Thebans willingly granted their request, and an army was soon got ready ; but as the general was on the point of marching, the sun began to be eclipsed, and the city was covered with darkness in the day- time. Pelopidas, seeing the people in great consternation at this phenomenon, did not think proper to force the army to move, while under such terror and dismay, nor to risk the lives of seven thousand of his fellow-citizens. Instead of that, he went himself into Thessaly, and taking with him only three hundred horse, consisting of Theban volun- teers and strangers, he set out, contrary to the warnings of the soothsayers and inclinations of the people ; for they considered the eclipse as a sign from heaven, the object of which must be some illustrious personage. But, besides that Pelopidas was the more exasperated against Alexan- der by reason of the ill-treatment he had received, he hop- ed, from the conversation he had with Thebe, to find the tyrant's family embroiled and in great disorder. The L 5 22(J PLUTARCH'S greatest incitement, however, was the honour of the thing. He had a generous ambition to shew the Greeks, at a time when the Lacedaemonians were sending generals and other officers to Dionysius the tyrant of Sicily, and the Athenians were pensioners to Alexander, as their bene- factor, to whom they had erected a statue of brass, that the Thebans were the only people who took the field in behalf of the oppressed, and endeavoured to exterminate all arbitrary and unjust government. When he was arrived at Pharsalus, he assembled his farces, and then marched directly against Alexander ; who, knowing that Pelopidas had but few Thebans about him, and that he himself had double his number of Thessalian infantry, went to meet him as far as the temple of Thetis. When he was informed, that the tyrant was advancing towards him with a great army, So much the better, said he, for we shall beat so many the more. Near the place called Cynoscephalae, there are two steep hills opposite each other, in the middle of the plain. Both sides endeavoured to get possession of these hills with their infantry. In the meantime, Pelopidas, with his cavalry, which was numerous and excellent, charged the enemy's horse, and put them to the rout. But while he was pur- suing them over the plain, Alexander had gained the hills, having got before the Thessalian foot, which he attacked as they were trying to force those strong heights, killing the foremost, and wounding many of those that followed, so that they toiled without effecting any thing. Pelopidas seeing this, called back his cavalry, and ordered them to fall upon such of the enemy as still kept their ground on the plain ; and taking his buckler in his hand, he ran to join those that were engaged on the hills. He soon made his way to the front ; and by his presence inspired his soldiers with such vigour, and alacrity, that the enemy thought they had quite different men to deal with. They stood two or three charges ; but when they found that the foot still pressed forward, and saw the horse return from the pursuit, they gave ground, and reatreated, but slowly, and step by step.* Pelopidas tken taking a view, from an eminence, of the enemy's whole army, which did not yet take to flight, but was full of confusion and disor- der, stopped awhile to look round for Alexander. When he PELOPIDAS. 227 perceived him on the right, encouraging and rallying the mercenaries, he was no longer master of himself ; but sa- crificing both his safety and his duty as a general to his passion, he sprung forward a great way before his troops, loudly calling for and challenging the tyrant, who did not dare to meet him, or to wait for him, but fell back and hid himself in the midst of his guards. The foremost ranks of the mercenaries, who came hand to hand, were broken by Pelopidas, and a number of them slain ; but others, fighting at a distance, pierced his armour with their jave- lins. The Thessalians, extremely anxious for him, ran down the hiil to his assistance ; but when they came to the place, they found him dead upon the ground. Both horse and foot then falling upon the enemy's main body, entirely routed them, and Killed above three thousand. The pursuit continued a long way, and the fields were covered with the carcases of the slain. Such of the Thebans as were present, were greatly af- flicted at the death of Pelopidas, calling him their father, . t/ieir saviour, and instructor in every thing that was great and honourable. Nor is this to be wondered at ; since the Thessalians and allies, after exceeding, by their public act! in his favour, the greatest honours that are usually paid to human virtue, testified their regard for him still more sen- sibly by the deepest sorrow ; for it is said, that those who were in the action, neither put off their armour, nor unbridled their horses, nor bound up their wounds, after they heard that he was dead ; but, notwithstanding their heat and fatigue, repaired to the body, as if it still had life and sense, piled round it the spoils of the enemy, and cut off their horses manes and their own hair * Many of them, when they retired to their tents, neither kindled a fire nor took any refreshment ; but a melancholy silence reigned throughout the camp, as if, instead of gaining so great and glorious a victory, they had been worsted and. enslaved by the tyrant. When the news was carried to the towns, the magistrates, young men, children, and priests, came out to meet the. body, with trophies, crowns, and golden armour ; and when the time of his interment was come, some of the Thessalians,. who were venerable for their age, went and begged of the Thebans that they might have the honour of burying him. . One of them expressed himself in these terms. " What * A customary token of mourning among the ancients, 228 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. " we request of you, our good allies, will be an honour " and consolation to us under this great misfortune. It " is not the living Pelopidas whom the Thessalians de- " sire to attend j it is not to Pelopidas sensible of their " gratitude, that they would now pay the due honours ; " all we ask is the permission to wash, to adorn, and in- " ter his dead body. And if we obtain this favour, we " shall believe you are persuaded that we think our share " in the common calamity greater than yours. You have " lost only a good general, but we are so unhappy as to " be deprived both of him and of our liberty. For how " shall we presume to ask you for another general, when " we have not restored to you Pelopidas ?'' The Thebans granted their request. And, surely, there never was a more magnificent funeral, at least in the opi- nion of those who do not place magnificence in ivory, gold, and purple, as Philistus did, who dwells in admira- tion upon the funeral of Dionysius ; which, properly speaking, was nothing but the pompous catastrophe of that bloody tragedy, his tyranny. Alexander the Great, too, upon the death of Hephestion, not only had the manes of the horses and mules shorn, but caused the bat- tlements of the walls to be taken down, that the very ci- ties might seem to mourn, by losing their ornaments, and having the appearance of being shorn and chastised with grief.* These things being the effects of arbitrary or- ders, executed through necessity, and attended both with envy of those for whom they are done, and hatred of those who command them, are not proofs of esteem and respect, but of barbaric pomp, of luxury, and vanity, in those who lavish their wealth to such vain and despicable purposes. But that a man, who was only one of the sub- jects of a republic,-)- dying in a strange country, neither his wife, children, nor kinsmen present, without the request or command of any one, should be attended home, con. ducted to the grave, and crowned by so many cities and tribes, might justly pass for an instance of the most perfect happiness. For the observation of /Esop is not true, that Death is most unfortunate in the time of prosperity ; on the contrary, it is then most happy, since it secures to good men the glory of their virtuous actions, and puts them above the power of fortune. The compliment, therefore, of the Spar- tan was much more rational, when embracing Diagoras, af- PELOPIDAS. 229 ter he and his sons and grandsons had all conquered and been crowned at the Olympic games, he said, Die, die, now, Diagoras, JOT thou canst not be a god.* And yet, I think, if a man should put all the victories in the Olympian and Pythian games together, he would not pretend to compare them with any one of the enterprises of Pelopidas, which were many, and all successful ; so that after he had flou- rished the greatest part of his life in honour and renown, and had been appointed the thirteenth time governor of Boeotia, he died in a great exploit, the consequence of which was the destruction of the tyrant, and the restoring of its liberties to Thessaly. His death, as it gave the allies great concern, so it brought them still greater advantages. For the Thebans were no sooner informed of it, than prompted by a desire of revenge, they sent upon that business seven thousand foot, and seven hundred horse, under the command of Mai- cites and Diogiton. These finding Alexander weakened with his late defeat, and reduced to great difficulties, com- pelled him to restore the cities he had taken from the Thes- salians, to withdraw his garrisons from the territories of the Magnesians, the Phthiotae, and Achseans, and to en- gage by oath to submit to the Thebans, and to keep his forces in readiness to execute their orders. And here it is proper to relate the punishment which the gods inflicted upon him soon after for his treatment of Pelopidas. He, as we have already mentioned, first taught Thebe, the tyrant's wife, not to dread the exterior pomp and splendour of his palace, though she lived in the midst of guards, consisting of exiles from other countries. She, therefore, fearing his falsehood, and hating his cruelty, agreed with her three brothers, Tisiphonus, Pytholaus, and Lycophron, to take him off; and they put their de- sign in execution after this manner. The whole palace was full of guards, who watched all the night, except the tyrant's bed-chamber, which was an upper room, and the door of the apartment was guarded by a dog, who was chained there, and who would fly at every body except his master and mistress, and one slave that fed him. When the time fixed for the attempt was come, Thebe concealed her brothers, before it was dark, in a room hard by. She went in alone, as usual, to Alexander, who was already asleep, but presently came out again, and ordered the slave 23O PLUTARCH'S LIVES. to take avray the dog, because her husband chose to sleep withoiit being disturbed ; and that the stairs might not creak as the young men came up, she covered them with wool. She then fetched up her brothers, and leaving them at the door with poniards in their hands, went into the chamber, and taking away the tyrant's sword, which hung at the head of his bed, shewed it them as a proof that he was fast asleep. The young men now being struck with ter- ror, and not daring to advance, she reproached them with cowardice, and swore in her rage that she would awake Alex- ander, and tell him the whole. Shame and fear having, brought them to themselves, she led them in and placed them about the bed, herself holding the light. One of them caught him by the feet, and another by the hair of his head, while the third stabbed him with his poniard. Such a death was, perhaps, too speedy for so abominable a monster ; but if it be considered that he was the first tyrant who was assassinated by his own wife, and that his dead body was exposed to all kinds of indignities, and spurned and trodden under foot by his subjects, his punish- ment will appear to have been proportioned to his crimes. MARCELLUS. MARCUS CLAUDIUS, who was five times consul, was the son of Marcus ; and, according to Posidonius, the first of his family that bore the surname of Marcellus, that is A/;:/- tia/. He had, indeed, a great deal of military experience ; his make was strong, his arm almost irresistible-, and he was naturally inclined to war. But though impetuous and lofty in the combat, on other occasions he was modest and hu- mane. He was so far a lover of the Grecian learning and eloquence, as to honour and admire those that excelled in them, though his employments prevented his making that progress in them which he desired. For if heaven ever de- signed that any men, in war's rude lists should combat, From youth to age- as Homer expresses it, certainly it was the principal Ro- mans of those times. In their youth they had to contend with the Carthaginians for the island of Sicily, in their MARCELLUS. 231 middle age with the Gauls for Italy itself, and in their old age again with the Carthaginians and Hannibal. Thus, even in age, they had not the common relaxation and re- pose, but were called forth by their birth and their merit to accept of military commands. As for Marcellus, there was no kind of fighting in which he was not admirably well skilled ; but in single combat he excelled himself. He, therefore, never refused a chal- lenge, or failed of killing the challenger. In Sicily, see- ing his brother Otacilius in great danger, he covered him with his shield, slew those that attacked him, and saved his life. For these things, he received from the generals crowns and other military honours, while but a youth ; and his reputation increasing every day, the people ap- pointed him to the office of curu/e acdile^ and the priests to that of augur. This is a kind of sacerdotal function to which the law assigns the care of that divination which is taken from the flight of birds. * * * * * * # # * * # # After the first Carthaginian war,* which had lasted twenty-two years, Rome was soon engaged in a new war with the Gauls. The Insubrians, a Celtic nation, who inhabit that part of Italy which lies at the foot of the Alps, though very powerful in themselves, called in the assistance of the Gesatae, a people of Gaul, who fight for pay on such occasions. It was a wonderful and fortunate thing for the Roman people, that the Gallic war did not break out at the same time with the Punic, and that the Gauls, observing an exact neutrality all that time, as if they had waited to Plutarch is a little mistaken here in his chronology. The first Punic war lasted twenty-four years, for it began in the year of Rome four hundred and eighty-nine, and peace was made with the Car- thaginians in the year five hundred and twelve. The Gauls conti- nued quiet all that time, and did not begin to stir till four years af- ter. Then they advanced to Ariminum; but the Boii mutinying against their leaders, slew the kings Ates and Galates ; after which the Gauls fell upon each other, and numbers were slain ; they that survived returned home. Five years after this, the Gauls began to prepare for a new war, on account of the division which Flaminius had made of the lands in the Picene, taken from the Senones of Gallia Cisalpina. These preparations were carrying On a long time ; and it was eight years after that division before the war began in earnest under their chiefs Congolitanus and Anerocstes, when L. JE- milius Paupus and C. Atilius Regulus were consuls, in the five hun- dred and twenty-eighth year of Rome, and the third year of the oce hundred and thirty-eight Olympiad, Polyb, 1, ii. 232- PLUTARCH'S LIVES. take up the conqueror, did not attack the Romans till they were victorious, and at leisure to receive them. However, this war was not a little alarming to the Romans, as well on account of the vicinity of the Gauls, as their character of old as warriors. They were, indeed, the enemy whom they dreaded most ; for they had made themselves masters of Rome ; and from that time it had been provided by law, that the priests should be exempted from bearing arms, ex- cept it were to defend the city against the Gauls. The vast preparations they made were farther proofs of their fears (for it is said that so many thousands of Romans were never seen in arms either before or since); and so were the new and extraordinary aacrifices which they offered. On other occasions, they had not adopted the rites of bar- barous and savage nations, but their religious customs had been agreeable to the mild and merciful ceremonies of the Greeks : yet, on the appearance of this war, they were forced to comply with certain oracles found in the books of the Sibyls ; and thereupon they buried two Greeks,* a ' man and a woman, and likewise two Gauls, one of each sex, alive in the beast-market ; a thing that gave rise to cer- tain private and mysterious rites, which still continue to be performed in the month of November. In the beginning of the war, the Romans sometimes gain- ed great advantages, and sometimes were no less signally de- feated ; but there was no decisive action till the consulate of Flaminius and Furius, who led a very powerful army against the Insubrians. Then we are told, the river which runs through the Picene was seen flowing with blood, and that three moons appeared over the city of Ariminum. But the priests, who were to observe the flight of birds at the time of choosing consuls, affirmed that the election was faulty and inauspicious. The senate, therefore, immediate- ly sent letters to the camp, to recal the consuls, insisting that they should return without loss of time, and resign their office, and forbidding them to act at all against the enemy, in consequence of their late appointment. Flaminius having received these letters, deferred opening them till he had engaged and routed the barbarians,! and * They offered the same sacrifice at the beginning of the second Punic war. Liv. 1. xxii, 5, 7. f Flaminius was not entitled to this success by his conduct. He gave battle with a river behind him, where there was not room for his MARCELLV3. 233 over-run their country. Therefore, when he returned, loaded with spoils, the people did not go out to meet him ; and because he did not directly obey the order that recalled him, but treated it with contempt, he was in danger of los- ing his triumph. As soon as the triumph was over, both lie and his colleague were deposed, and reduced to the rank of private citizens. So much regard had the Romans for religion, referring all their affairs to the good pleasure of the gods, and, in their greatest prosperity, not suffering any neglect of the forms of divination and other sacred usages ; for they were fully persuaded, that it was a matter of great- er importance to the preservation of their state, to have their generals obedient to the gods, than even to have them victorious'in the field. To this purpose, the following story is remarkable. Tiberius Sempronius, who was as much respected for his valour and probity as any man in Rome, while consul, named Scipio Nasica and Caius Marcius his successors. When they were gone into the provinces allotted them, Sempronius happening to meet with a book which contained the sacred regulations for the conduct of war,* found that there was one particular which he never knew before. It was this. " When the consul goes to take the auspices in " a house or tent without the city, hired for that purpose, " and is obliged by some necessary business to return into " the city before any sure sign appears to him, he must not " make use of that lodge again, but take another, and ** there begin his observations anew." Sempronius was ignorant of this when he named those two consuls, for he had twice made use of the same place ; but when he per- ceived his error, he made the senate acquainted with it. They, for their part, did not lightly pass over so small a men to rally or retreat, if they had been broken. But possibly he might make such a disposition of his forces, to shew them that they must either conquer or die ; for he knew that he was acting against the intentions of the senate, and that nothing but success could bring him off. Indeed, he was naturally rash and daring. It was the skill and management of the legionary tribunes which made amends for the consul's imprudence. They distributed among the soldiers of the first line the pikes of the Triarii, to prevent the enemy from making use of their swords ; and when the first ardour of the Gauls was over, they ordered the Romans to shorten their swords, close with the enemy, so as to leave ihei'i no room to lift up their arms, and stab them : which they did without running any ha- zard themselves, the swords of the Gauls having no points. 234 TLLTAHCH'S LI\ Lt. defect, but wrote to the consuls about it ; who left their provinces, and returned with all speed to Rome, where they laid down their offices. This did not happen till Jong afttr trie affair of which we were speaking.* But about that very time, two priests of the best fami- lies in Rome, Cornelius Cethegus and Ouintus Sulpicius, were degraded from the priesthood ; the former, because he did not present the entrails of the victim according to rule ; and the latter, because, as he was sacrificing, the tuft of his cap, which was such an one as the Fltimines wear, fell off. And because the squeaking of a rat hap- pened to be heard, at the moment that Minucius the dicta- tor appointed Caius Flaminius his general of the horse, the people obliged them to quit their pofts, and appointed others in their stead. But while they observed thse small mat- ters with such exactness, they gave not inttr any sort of ?uperstition,f for they neither changed nor went beyond the ancient ceremonies. Flaminius and his colleague being deposed from the con- sulship, the magistrates called Inrtereges^. nominated Mar- rellus to that high office , who, when he entered upon it, took Cneius Cornelius for his colleague. Though the Gauls are said to have been disposed to a reconciliation, and the senate was peaceably inclined, yet the people, at the insti- gation of Marcellus, were for war. However, a peace was concluded ; which seems to have been broke hy the Gesatas, who, having passed the Alps with thirty thousand men, prevailed with the Insubrians to join them with much greater numbers. Elated with their strength, they march- ed immediately to Acerrae,|| a city on the banks of the Po. There Viridomarus, king of the Gesatas, took ten thousand men from the main body, and with this party laid waste all the country about the river. When Marcellus was informed of their march, he left his colleague before Acerras, with all the heavy-armed iu- * Sixty years after. f- This word is here used in the literal sense. These were officers, who, when there were no legal magistrates in beingi were appointed to hold the cotnhia for electing new ones. The title of Interreges, which was given them while the government, was regal, was continued to them under the commonwealth. || The Romans were besieging Acerrae, and the Gauls went to re- lieve it ; but finding themselves unable to do that, they passed the Po with part of their army, and laid siege to ClastiUium to make a diver- sion. 1'vlyb. 1. ii. MARCELLUS. 235 fantry, and the third part of the horse ; and taking with him the rest of the cavalry, and about six hundred of the light-armed foot, he set out, and kept forward day and night, till he came up with the ten thousand Gesatse near Clastidium,* a little town of the Gauls, which had very lately submitted to the Romans. He had r.ot time to give his troops any rest or refreshment ; for the barbarians im- mediately perceived his approach, and despised his at- tempt, as he had but a handful of infantry, and they made no account of his cavalry. These, as well as all the other Gauls, being skilled in fighting on horseback, thought they had the advantage in this respect ; and, besides, they greatly exceeded Marcellus in numbers. They marched, therefore, directly against him, their king at their head, with great impetuosity and dreadful menaces, as if sure of crushing him at once. Marcellus, because his party was but small, to prevent its being surrounded, extended the wings of his cavalry, thinning and widening the line, till he presented a front nearly equal to that of the enemy. He was now advancing to the charge, when his horse, terrified with the shouts of the Gauls, turned short, and forcibly carried him back. Marcellus fearing that this, interpreted by superstition, should cause some disorder in his troops, quickly turned his horse again towards the enemy, and then paid his adorations to the sun ; as if that movement had been made, not by accident, but design, for the Romans always turn round when they worship the gods. Upon the point of engaging: he vowed to Jupiter Fchestra y or stage o/'Mars, and Xenophon says Ephesus was the arsenal j war, so, in my opinion (to use the expression of Pin- dar), one might then have styled Rome the temple of frown- ing MARS Thus Marcellus was more acceptable to the people, be- cause he adorned the city with curiosities in the Grecian taste, whose variety, as well as elegance, was very agreeable to the spectator. But the graver citizens preferred Fabius Maximus, who, when he took Tarentum, brought nothing of that kind away. The money, indeed, and other rich moveables he carried off, but he let the statues and pictures remain, using this memorable expression, Let us leave the Tarentines their angry deities They blamed the proceed- ings of Marcellus, in the first place, as very invidious for Rome, because he had led not only men, but the very gods, in triumph ; and their next charge was, that he had spoiled a people inured to 3griculture and war ; wholly unacquaint- ed with luxury and sloth, and, as Euripides says of Hercules, In vice untaught,f but skill'd where glory led To arduous enterprise, Marcellus, before he left Sicily, gained a considerable victory over Epicydes and Hanno ; he slew great numbers, and took many prisoners, beside eight elephants. Liv. lib. xxv, c. 40. J" Ti/A.?> ctfj,^t avra, ftfyifa has crept in by the carelessness of some transcriber, and it will read better without it 254 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. by furnishing them with an occasion of idleness and vain discourse ; for they now began to spend great part of the day in disputing about arts and artists. But notwithstand- ing such censures, this was the very thing that Marcellus valued himself upon, even to the Greeks themselves, that he was the first who taught the Romans to esteem and to admire the exquisite performances of Greece, which were hitherto unknown to them. Finding, at his return, that his enemies opposed his tri- umph, and considering that the war was not quite finished in Sicily, as well as that a third triumph might expose him to the envy of his fellow-citizens,* he so far yielded as to content himself with leading up the greater triumph on Mount Alba, and entering Rome with the less. The less is called by the Greeks evan, and by the Romans an ovation. In this the general does not ride in a triumphal chariot drawn by four horses ; he is not crowned with laurel, nor has he trumpets sounding before him, but he walks in sandals, attended with the music of many flutes, and wear- ing a crown of myrtle ; his appearance, therefore, having nothing in it warlike, is rather pleasing than formidable. This is to me a plain proof, that triumphs of old were distinguished, not by the importance of the achievement, but by the manner of its performance. For those that sub- dued their enemies, by fighting battles and spilling much blood, entered with that warlike and dreadful pomp of the greater triumph, and, as is customary in the lustration of an army, wore crowns of laurel, and adorned their arms with the same. But when a general, without fighting, gained his point by treaty and the force of persuasion, the law decreed him this honour, called ovation, which had more the appearance of a festival than of war. For the flute is an instrument used in time of peace ; and the myrtle is the tree of Venus, who, of all the deities, is most averse to violence and war. * Our author mentions but one triumph before this, namely, that ever the Gauls, nor do other writers speak of any more ; and instead of rfires, an ancient manuscript gives us *funs, which is thevread- ing that Dacier has followed. If this be the true one, it must be translated thus : His farmer had exposed him to envy. But as Plutarch afterwards says expressly, that Marcellus had rfits Spiap'vg, three triumphs, we have retained the common reading, though we ac knowledge that he might be mistaken i* the matter of fact. MARCELLU*. 255 Now the term ovation is not derived (as most authors think) from the word evan, which is uttered in shouts of joy, for they hare the same shouts and songs in the other triumph ; but the Greeks have wrested it to a word well known in their language, believing that this procession is intended in some measure in honour of Bacchus, whom they call Evius and Thriamlus. The truth of the matter is this : it was customary for the generals, in the greater triumphs, to sacrifice an ox ; and in the less a sheep, in Latin ovis, whence the word ovation. On this occasion, it is worth our while to observe how different the institu- tions of the Spartan legislator were from those of the Ro- man, with respect to sacrifices. In Sparta, the general who put a period to a war by policy or persuasion, sacrificed a bullock ; but he whose success was owing to force of arms, offered only a cock. For though they were a very warlike people, they thought it more honourable and more worthy of a human being, to succeed by eloquence and wisdom, than by courage and force. But this point I leave to be considered by the reader. When Marcellus was chosen consul the fourth time, the Syracusans, at the instigation of his enemies, came to Rome to accuse him, and to complain to the senate that he had treated them in a cruel manner, and contrary to the faith of treaties.* It happened that Marcellus was at that time in the cxpitol, offering sacrifice. The Syracusan deputies went immediately to the senate, who were yet sitting, and falling on their knees, begged of them to hear their com- plaints, and to do them justice ; but the other consul re- pulsed th.em with indignation, because Marcellus was not there to defend himself. Marcellus, however, being in- formed of it, came with all possible expedition ; and having seated himself in his chair of state, first dispatched some public business, as consul. When that was over, he came down from his seat, and went, as a private person, to the place appointed for the accused to make their defence in, giving the Syracusans opportunity to make good their charge. But they were greatly confounded to see the dig- nity and unconcern with which he behaved ; and he who * The Syracusans were scarce arrived at Rome, before the con- suls drew lots for their provinces, and Sicily fell to Marcellus. This was a great stroke to the Syracusan deputies, and they would not have dared to prosecute their charge, had not Marcellus voluntarily offered to change the provinces. 256 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. had been irresistible in arms, was still more awful and ter- rible to behold in his robe of purple. Nevertheless, en- couraged by his enemies, they opened the accusation in a speech mingled with lamentations ; the sum of which was, " That though friends and allies of Rome, they had " suffered more damage from Marcellus, than some other " generals had permitted to be done to a conquered ene- tf my." To this Marcellus made answer,* " That, not- " withstanding the many instances of their criminal beha- '* viour to the Romans, they had suffered nothing but " what it is impossible to prevent when a city is taken by " storm ; and that Syracuse was so taken, was entirely " their own fault, because he had often summoned it to '* surrender, and they refused to listen to him Tha:, in " short, they were isot forced by their tyrants to commit *' hostilities, but they had themselves set up tyrants for ' ' the sake of going to war." The reasons of both sides thus heard, the Syracusans, according to the custom in that case, withdrew, and Mar- cellus went out with them, leaving it to his colleague to collect the votes. While he stood at the door of the senate-house,-]- he was neither moved by the fear of the issue of the cause, nor with resentment against the Syracu- sans, so as to change his usual deportment, but with great mildness ar,d decorum he waited for the event. When the cause was decided, and he was declared to have gained it,:}: the Syracusans fell at his feet, and besought him with tears to pardon not only those that were present, but to take compassion on the rest of their citizens, who would ever acknowledge with gratitude the favour. Marcellus, moved with their entreaties? not only pardoned the deputit-s, but continued his protection to the other Syracusans, and the * When the Syracusans had finished their accusations against Marcellus, his colleague Laevinus ordered them to withdraw ; but Marcellus desired they might stay and hear his defence. -|- While the cause was debating, he went to the capitol, to take the names of the new levies. Ttie conduct of Marcellus, on the taking of Syracnse, was not entirely appro-, ed of at Rome. Some of the senators, remembering the attachment which king Hiero had on all occasions shewn to their republic, could not help condemning their general for giving up the city to be plundered by his rapacious soldiers. The Syracu^ans were not in a condition to make good their party against an army of merce- liav.t. ; ana, therefore, were obliged, against their will, to yield to the times, and obey the ministers of Hannibal, who commanded the army. MARCJELLUS. 257 senate, approving the privileges he had granted, confirmed to them their liberty, their laws, and the possessions that remained to them. For this reason, be^icle other signal ho- nours with which they distinguished Marccllus, they made a lawi that whenever he, or any of his descendants, entered Sicily, the Syracusans should wear garlands, and offer sacri- fices to the gods. After this Marcellus marched against Hannibal. And though almost all the other consuls and generals, after the defeat at Cannz, availed themselves of the single art of avoiding an engagement with the Carthaginian, and not one of them durst meet him fairly in the iield ; Marcellus took a quite different course. He was of opinion, that in- stead of Hannibal's bei'ig won. out by length of time, the strength of Italy would be insensibly wasted by him ; and that the slow cautious maxims of Fabius were not fit to cure the malady of his country ; since, by pursuing them, the flames of war could not be extinguished until Italy was consumed ; just as timorous physicians neglect to ap- ply strong though necessary remedies, thinking the dis- temper wiU abate with the strength of the patient. In the fir^t place, he recovered the best towns of the Samnites, which had revolted. In them he found consider- able magazines ot corn, and a great quantity of money, be- side making three thousand of Hannibal's men, who garri- soned them, prisoners. In the next place, when Cneius Fulvius, the proconsul, with eleven tribunes, was slain, and great part of his army cut in pieces, by Hannibal in Apu- lia, Marcellus sent letters to Rome, to exhort the citizens to be of good courage, for he himself was on his march to drive Hannibal out of the country.* The reading of these letters, Livy tells us, was so far from removing their grief, that it added terror to it, the Romans reckoning the pre- sent danger as much greater than the past, as Marcellus was a greater man than Fulvius. Alarcellus then going in quest of Hannibal, according to his promise, entered Lucania, and found him encamped on inaccessible heights near the city of Numistro. Marcel- lus himself pitched his tents on the plain, and the next day was the first to draw up his forces in order of battle. The Latin annotator observes, on the authority of Livy, that instead of * we should here read />*, ai d then the passage will run thus : he himself was marching against Hannibal, and vovtd take care that his joy should be very short-lived. 258 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. Hannibal declined not the combat, but descended from the hills, and a battle ensued, which was not decisive indeed, but great and bloody; for though the action began at the third hour, it was with difficulty that night put a stop to it. Next morning, at break of day, Marcellus again drew up his army, and posting it among the dead bodies, chal- lenged Hannibal to dispute it with him for the victory. But Hannibal chose to draw off ; and Marcellus, after he had gathered the spoils of the enemy, and buried his own dead, marched in pursuit of him. Though the Carthagi- nian laid many snares for him, he escaped them all ; and having the advantage too in all skirmishes, his success was looked upon with admiration. Therefore, when the time of the next election came on, the senate thought proper to call the other consul out of Sicily, rather than draw off Mar- cellus, who was grappling with Hannibal. When he was arrived, they ordered him to declare Quintus Fulviua dictator. For a dictator is not named either by the people or the senate ; but one of the consuls or praetors, advancing into the assembly, names whom he pleases. Hence some think the term Dictator comes from dicere, which in Latin signifies to name ; but others assert, that the dictator is so called because he refers nothing to plurali- ty of voices in the senate, or to the suffrages of the people, but gives his orders at his own pleasure. For the orders of magistrates, which the Greek call diatagmata, the Ro- mans call edictn, edicts. The colleague* of Marcellus was disposed to appoint another person dictator ; and that he might not be obliged to depart from his own opinion, he left Rome by night, and sailed back to Sicily. The people, therefore, named Quintus Fulvius dictator ; and the senate wrote to Mar- cellus to confirm the nomination, which he did accord- ingly. Marcellus was appointed proconsul for the year follow- ing ; and having agreed with Fabius Maximus, the consul, by letters, that Fabius should besiege Tarentum, while himtelf was to watch the motions of Hannibal, and prevent his relieving the place, he marched after him with all * Laevinus, who was the colleague of Marcellus, wanted to name M. Valerius Messala dictator. As he left Rome abruptly, and en- joined the praetor not to name Fulvius, the tribunes of the people took upon them to do it ; and the senate got the nomination con* firmed by the consul Marcellus. MARCELLUS. 259 diligence, and came up with him at Canusium. And as Hannibal shifted his camp continually, to avoid coming to a battle, Marcellus watched him closely, and took care to keep him in sight. At last, coming up with him as he was encamping, he so harassed him with skirmishes that he drew him to an engagement ; but night soon came on f and parted the combatants. Next morning early he drew his army out of the entrenchments, and pat them in order of battle ; so that Hannibal, in great vexation, assembled the Carthaginians, and begged of them to exert themselves more in that battle than ever they had done before. " For " you see," said he, " that we can neither take breath, af- *' ter so many victories already gained, nor enjoy the least " leisure if we are victorious now, unless this man be driven " off." After this a battle ensued, in which Marcellus seems to have miscarried by an unseasonable movement ;* for seeing his right wing- hard pressed, he ordered one of the legions to advance to the front to support them. This movement put the whole army in disorder, and decided the day in favour of the enemy ; two thousand seven hundred Romans being slain upon the spot. Marcellus reireated into his camp, and having summoned his troops together, told them, " He saw the arms and bodies of Romans in " abundance before him, but not one Roman." On their begging pardon, he said, ** He would not forgive them " while vanquished, but when they came to be victorious " he would ; and that he would lead them into the field " again the next day, that the news of the victory might " reach Rome before that of their flight." Before he dis- missed them, he gave orders that barley should be measured out, instead of wheat,f to those companies that had turned their backs. His reprimand made such an im- pression on them, that though many were dangerously wounded, there was not a man who did not feel more pain from the words of Marcellus than he did from hie wounds. * The movement was not unseasonable, but ill executed. Livy says the right wing gave way faster than they needed to have done ; and the eighteenth legion, which was ordered to advance from rear to front, moved too slowly ; this occasioned t'.i.. i:;soider. f This was a common punishment. Bes; u which, he ordered that the officers of those companies should continue all day long with their swords drawn, and without their girdles. Liv. xxvii, c. 1*. PLUTARCH'S LIVES. Next morning, the scarlet robe, which was the ordinary signal of battle, was hung out betimes; and the compa- nies that had come off with dishonour before, obtained leave, at their earnest request, to be posted in the foremost line ; after which the tribunes drew up the rest of the troops in their proper order. When this was reported to Hannibal, he said, " Ye gods, what can one do with a " man who is not affected with either good or bad for- " tune ? This is the only man who will neither give any ** time to rest when he is victorious , nor take any when he " is beaten. We must even resolve to fight with him for *' ever ; since, whether prosperous or unsuccessful, a prin- *' ciple of honour leads him on to new attempts and far- " ther exertioiis, of courage." Both armies then engaged ; and Hannibal, seeing no ad- vantage gained by either, ordered his elephant! to be brought forward into the first line, and to be pushed against the Romans. The shock caused great confusion at first in the Roman front ; but Flavius, a tribune, snatching an en- sign-staff from one of the companies, advanced, and with the point of it wounded the foremost elephant. The beast upon this turned back, and ran upen the second, the se- cond upon the next that followed, and so on till they were all put in great disorder. Marcellus observing this, order- ed his horse to fall furiously upon the enemy, and taking advantage of the confusion already made, to rout them entirely. Accordingly, they charged with extraordinary vigour, and drove the Carthaginians to their entrench- ments. The slaughter was dreavihil ; and the fall of the killed, and the plunging of the wounded elephants, con- tributed greatly to it. It is said that more tha i ei^ht thousand Carthaginians fell in this battle ; of the Romans not above three thousand were slain, but almost all the rest were wounded. This gave K annibal opportunity to decamp silently in the night, and remove to a great dis- tance from Marcellus, who, by reason of the number of his wounded, was not able to pursue him, but retired, by easy marches, into Campania, and passed the summer in the city of Sinuessa,* to recover and refresh his soldiers. Hannibal, thus disengaged from Marcellus, made use of his troops, now at liberty, and securely o\er-ran .the coun- try, burning and destroying all before him. This gave * Livy says in Venusia, which being much nearer Canusium, TTOS more convenient for the wounded men to retire to. MARCHLLUS. 26l ocrasion to unfarourable reports of Marcellus at Rome ; and his enemies incited Publius Bibulus, one of the tribunes of the people, a man of violent temper, and a vehement speaker, to accuse him in form. Accordingly Bibulut often assembled the people, and endeavoured to persuade them to take the command from him, and give it to ano- ther, " Since. Marcellus," said he, " has only exchanged *' a few thrusts with Hannibal, and then left the stage, " and is gone to the hot baths to refresh himself."* When Marcellus was apprised of these practices against him, he left his army in charge with his lieutenants, and went to Rome to make his defence. On his arrival he found an impeachment framed out of these calumnies. And the day fixed for it being come, and the people assembled in the Flaminian circus, Bibulus ascended the tribune's seat, and set forth his charge. Marcellus's an- swer was plain and short ; but many persons of distinction among the citizens exerted themselves greatly, and spoke with much freedom, exhorting the people not to judge worse of Marcellus than the enemy himself had done, by fixing a mark of cowardice upon the only general whom Hannibal shunned, and used as much art and care to avoid ighting with, as he did to seek the combat with others. These remonstrances had such an effect, that the accuser was totally disappointed in his expectations, for Marcellui was not only acquitted of the charge, but a fifth time chosen consul. As soon as he had entered upon his office, he yisited the cities of Tuscany, and by his personal influence allayed a dangerous commotion that tended to a revolt. At his return, he was desirous to dedicate to Honour and Virtue, the temple which he had built out of the Sicilian spoils, but was opposed by the priests, who would not consent that two deities should be contained in one temple.f Taking * There were hot baths near Sinuessa, but none near Venusia. Therefore, if Marcellus went to the latter place, this satirical stroke was not applicable. Accordingly, Livy does not apply it ; he only makes Bibulus say that Marcellus passed the summer in quarters. f- They said, if the temple should be struck with thunder and lightning, or any other prodigy should happen to it that wanted expiation, they should not know to which of the deities they ought to offer the expiatory sacrifice. Marcellus, therefore, to satisfy the priests, began another temple, and the work was carried on with great diligence ; but he did not live to dedicate it. His son conse- crated both the temples about four years after. 302 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. this opposition ill, and considering it as ominous, he began another temple. There were many other prodigies that gave him uneasi- ness. Some temples were struck with lightning ; in that of Jupiter rats gnawed the gold j it was even reported that an ox spoke, and that there was a child living which was born with an elephant's head ; and when the expiation of these prodigies was attempted, there were no tokens of success. The augurs, therefore, kept him in Rome, notwithstand- ing his impatience and eagerness to be gone ; for never was man so passionately desirous of any thing as he was of fighting a decisive battle with Hannibal. It was his dream by night, the subject of conversation all day with his friends and colleagues, and his sole request to the gods, that he might meet Hannibal fairly in the field. Nay, I verily believe, he would hare been glad to have had both armies surrounded with a wall or entrenchment, and to have fought in that inclosure. Indeed, had he not already attained to such a height of glory, had he not given so many proofs of his equalling the best generals in prudence and discretion, I should think he gave way to a sangume and extravagant ambition, unsuitable to his years ; for he was above sixty when he entered upon his fifth consulate. At last the expiatory sacrifices being such as the sooth- sayers approved, he set out, with his colleague, to prose- cute the war, and fixed his camp between Bantia and Venu- sia. There he tried every method to provoke Hannibal to a battle, which he constantly declined. But the Carthagi- nian perceiving that the consuls had ordered some troops to go and lay siege to the city of the Epizeptiyrians, or Western Locrians,* he laid an ambuscade in their way, under the hill of Petelia, and killed two thousand five hundred of them. This added stings to Marcellus's desire of an en- gagement, and made him draw nearer to the enemy. Between the two armies was a hill, which afforded a pretty strong post ; it was covered with thickets, and on both' sides were hollows, from whence issued springs and rivulets. The Romans were surprised that Hannibal, who came first to so advantageous a place, did not take posses- * This was not a detachment from the forces of the consuls, which they did not choose to weaken when in the sight of such an enemy as Hannibal. It consisted of troops drawn from Sicily, and from the garrison of Tarentum. MARCELLCS. 26$ sion of it, but left it for the enemy ; he did, indeed, think -it a e for a camp, but a better for an ambuscade, and i f e tho^e to put it. He filled, therefore, the thicket . a'.d hollows with a good number of archers and spearmen, assuring Umsf-lf tha the convenience of the post would draw the Romaus to it ; nor was he mistaken in his conjecture. Presently nothing was talked of in the Roman army, but the expediency of seizing this hill ; and as if they h; with a few hone to take a view of the hill ; but, before he went, he offered sacrifice. In the first victim that was slain, the diviner shewed him the liver with- out a head ; in the second, the head was very plump and large, and the other tokens appearing remarkably good, seemed sufficient to dispel the fears of the first ; but the diviners declared, they were the more alarmed on that very account ; for when favourable signs on a sudden fol- low threatening and inauspicious ones, the strangeness of the alteration should rather be suspected ; but, as Pindar eays, Nor fire, nor walls of triple brass, Controul the high behests of fate. He, therefore, set out to view the place, taking with him his colleague Crispinus, his son Marcellus, who was a tribune, and only two hundred and twenty horse, among whom there was not one Roman ; they were all Tuscans, except forty Fregellanians, of whose courage and fidelity he had sufficient experience. On the summit of the hill, which, as we said before, was covered with trees and bushes, the enemy had placed a sentinel, who, without being seen himself, could see every movement in the Roman camp. Those that lay in ambush having intelligence from him of what was doing, lay close till Alarcellus came very near, and then all at once rushed out, spread themselves about him, let fly a shower of arrows, and charged him with their swords and spears. Some pursued the fugitives, and others attacked those that stood their ground : the latter were the forty Fregellanians ; for the Tuscans taking to flight at the first charge, the others closed together in a body to defend the consuls ; and they continued the fight till Crispinus, wounded with two arrows, turned his horse to make bis escape, and Marcellus being run through 2(54 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. between the shoulders with a lance, fell down dead. Then the few Fregellanians that remained, leaving the body of Marcellus, carried off his son, who was wounded, and fled with him to the camp. In this skirmish there were not many more than forty men killed; eighteen were taken prisoners, besides five lictors. Crispinus died of his wounds a few days after * This was a most unparalleled misfortune ; the Romans lost both the consuls in one action. Hannibal made but little account of the rest ; but when he knew that Marcellus was killed, he hastened to the place, and, standing over the body a long time, surveyed its size and mien, but without speaking one insulting word, or shewing the least sign of joy, which might have been expected at the fall of so dangerous and formidable an enemy. He stood, indeed, awhile astonished at the strange death of so great a man ; and at last, taking his signet from his finger,f he caused his body to be magnificently attired and burnt, and the ashes to be put in a silver urn, and thn placed a crown of gold upon it, and sent it to his son. But certain Numidians meeting those that carried the urn, attempted to take it from them ; and as the others stood upon their guard to defend it, the ashes were scattered in the struggle. When Hannibal was informed of it, he said to those who were about him, You see it is impossible to do any thing against the will of God. He punished the Numi- dians, indeed, but took no further care about collecting and sending the remains of Marcellus, believing that some deity had ordained that Marcellus should die in so strange a manner, and that his ashes should be denied burial. This account of the matter we have from Cornelius Nepos and * He did not die till the latter end of the year, having named T. Manlius Torquatus dictator, to hold the comitia. Some say he died at Tarentum ; others, in Campania, f- Hannibal imagined he should have some opportunity or other of making use of this seal to his advantage ; but Crispinus dispatched messengers to all the neighbouring cities, in the interest of Rome, acquainting them that Marcellus was killed, and Hannibal master of his ring. This precaution preserved Salapia, in Apulia; nay, the inhabitants turned the artifice of the Carthaginian upon himself; for admitting, upon a letter sealed with that ring, six hundred of Hannibal's men, most of them Roman deserters, into the town, they, on a sudden, pulled up the draw-bridges, cut in pieces those who had entered, and, with a shower of darts from t'v; ramp-irt*, drove back the rest. Lin. 1, xxvii, c. 28. MARCELLL'Si 265 Valerius Maximus ; but Livy* and Augustus Czsar affirm that the urn was carried to his "son, and that his remain! were interred with great magniiicence. Marcellus's public donations, beside those he dedicated at Rome, were a Gymnasium, which he built at Catana in Sicily ; and several statues and paintings, brought from, Syracuse, which he set up in the temple of the Caliri in Samothrace, and in that of Minerva at Lindus. In the latter of these, the following verses, as Posidonius tells us, were inscribed on the pedestal of his statue. The light of Rome, Marcellus, here behold, For birth, for deeds of arms, by fame enroli'd. Seven times his FASCES grac'd the martial plain, And by his thundering arm were thousands slain. The author of this inscription adds to his five consulates the dignity of proconsul, with which he was twice honour- ed. His posterity continued in great splendour down to Marcellus, the son of Caius Marcellus and Octavia, the sister of Augustus.f He died very young, in the office of tdile, soon after he had married Julia, the emperor's daughter. To do honour to his memory, Octavia dedi- cated to him a library, J and Augustus a theatre; and these public works bore his name. * Livy tells us, that Hannibal buried the body of Marcellus on the hill where he was slain. f His family continued after his' death an hundred and eighty-five years; for he was slain in the first year of the hundred and forty- third Olympiad, in the five hundred and forty-fifth year of Rome, and two hundred and six years before the Christian era ; and young Marcellus died in the second year of the hundred and eighty-ninth Olympiad, and seven hundred and thirtieth of Rome. According to Suetonius and Dion, it was not Octavia, but Augustus, that dedicated this library. Vol. IT. N 2(30 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. PELOPIDAS AND MAIICELLUS COMPARED. THESE are the particulars which we thought worth re- citing from history concerning Marcellus and Pelopidas ; between whom there was a perfect resemblance in the gifts of nature, and in their lives and manners ; for they were both men of heroic strength, capable of enduring the greatest fatigue, and in courage and magnanimity they were equal. The sole difference is, that Marcellus, in Hiost of the cities which he took by assault, committed great slaughter, whereas Epaminondas and Pelopidas never spilt the blood of any man they had conquered, nor en- slaved any city they had taken. And it is affirmed, that if they had been present, the Thebans would not have de- prived the Orchomeniang of their liberty. A 8 to their achievements, among those of Marcellus, there was none greater or more illustrious than his beating such an army of Gauls, both horse and foot, with a hand- ful of horse only, of which you will scarce meet with another instance, and his slaying their prince with his own hand. Pelopidas hoped to have done something of the Hke nature, but miscarried, and lost his life in the attempt, However, the great and glorious battles of Leuctra and Tegyrae may be compared with these exploits of Marcellus. And, on the other hand, there is nothing of Marcellus's effected by stratagem and surprise, which can be set against the happy management of Pelopidas, at his return from exile, in taking off the Theban tyrants. Indeed, of all the enterprises of the secret hand of art, that was the masterpiece. if it be said, that Hannibal was a formidable enemy to the Romans, the Lacedaemonians were certainly the same to the Thebans ; and yet it is agreed on all hands, that they were thoroughly beaten by Pelopidas at Leuctra and Tegyrse ; whereas, according to Polybius, Hannibal was never once defeated by Marcellus, but continued invincible till he had to do with Scipio. However, we iwher believe, with Livy, Caesar, and Cornelius Ncpos, PELOPIDAS AND MARCELLUS COMPARED. 26/ among the Latin historians, and with king Juba* among the Greek, that Marcellus did sometimes beat Hannibal, and even put his troops to flight, though he gained no ad- vantage of him sufficient to turn the balance considerably on his side ; so that one might even think, that the Carthagi- nian then acted with the art of a wrestler, who sometimes suffers himself to be thrown. f But what has been very justly admired in Marcellus is, that, after such great armies had been routed, sci many generals slain, and the whole empire almost totally subverted, he found means to in- spire his troops with courage enough to make head against the enemy. He was the only man that, from a state of terror and dismay, in which they had long remained, raised the army to an eagerness for battle, and infused into them such a spirit, that, far from tamely giving up the victory, they disputed it with the greatest obstinacy. For those very men, who had been accustomed, by a run of ill suc- cess, to think themselves happy if they could escape Han- nibal by flight, were taught by Marcellus to be ashamed of coming off with disadvantage, to blush at the very- thought of giving way, and to be sensibly affected if they gained not the victory; As Pelopidas never lost a battle in which he commanded in person, and Marcellus won more than any Roman of his time, he W!K> performed so many exploits, and was so hard to conquer, may, perhaps, be put on a level with the other, who was never beaten, On the other hand, it may be observed, that Marcellus took Syracuse, whereas Pelopidas failed in his attempt upon Sparta. Yet, I think, even to approach Sparta, and tu be the firat that ever passed the Eurotaa in a hostile manner, was a greater achievement than the conquest of Sicily ; unless it maybe said, that the honour of this exploit, as well as that of Leuctra, belongs rather to Epaminondas than PelopidaSj whereas the glory Marcellua gained was entirely his own. For he alone took Syracuse i he defeated the Gauls with- out his colleague ; he made head against Hannibal, not * This historian was the son of Juba, king of Numidia, who, la the civil war, aided with Pomp^y, and was slain by Petreius in single combat. The son mentioned here, vas brought in triumph by Caesar to Rome, where he was educated in the learning of the Greeks and Romans, N2 2(58 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. only without the assistance, but against the remonstrances of the other generals ; and changing the face of the war, he first taught the Romans to meet the enemy with a good countenance. As for their deaths, I praise neither the one nor the other ; but it is with concern and indignation that I think of the strange circumstances that attended them. At the same time, I admire Hannibal, who fought such a num- ber of battles as it would be a labour to reckon, without ever receiving a wound ; and I greatly approve the beha- viour of Chrysantes, in the Cyropcedia,* who, having hi fiword lifted up, and ready to strike, upon hearing the trum- pets sound a retreat, calmly and modestly retired without giving the stroke. Pelopidas, however, was somewhat ex- cusable, because he was not only warmed with the heat of battle, but incited by a generous desire of revenge. And 4 as Euripides says, The first of chiefs is he who laurels gains, And buys them not with life ; the next is he Who dies, but dies in virtue's arms In such a man, dying is a free and involuntary act, not a passive submission to fate. But, beside his resentment, the end Pelopidas proposed to himself in conquering, which was the death of a tyrant, with reason animated him to uncommon efforts ; for it was not easy to find another cause so great and glorious wherein to exert him- self. But Marcellus, without any urgent occasion, with- out that enthusiasm which often pushes men beyond the bounds of reason in time of danger, unadvisedly exposed himself, and died, not like a general, but like a spy ; risk- ing his five consulates, his three triumphs, his trophies and spoils of kings, against a company of Spaniards and Numi- dians, who had bartered with the Carthaginians for their lives and services. An accident so strange, that those very adventurers could not forbear grudging themselves such success, when they found that a man the most distinguish- ed of all the Romans for valour, as well as power and fame, had fallen by their hands, amidst a scouting party of Fre- gellanians. Let not this, however, be deemed an accusation against these great men, but rather a complaint to them of the Mentioned at the beginning of the fourth book. PELOPIDAS AND MARCELLUS COMPARED. 26$ injury done themselves, by sacrificing all their other virtues to their intrepidity, and a free expostulation with them for being so prodigal of their blood as to shed it for their own sakes, when it ought to have fallen only for their country, their friends, and their allies. Pelopidas was buried by his friends, in whose cause he was slain, and Marcellus by those enemies that slew him. The first was a happy and desirable thing, but the other was greater and more extraordinary ; for gratitude in a friend for benefits received, is not equal to an enemy's ad- miring the virtue by which he suffers. In the first case, there is more regard to interest than to merit ; in the latter, real worth is the sole object of of the honour paid. ARISTIDES. ARISTIDES, the son or,j-ivsmiai.-tiuo, .._ < .r. ^^ r Antiocnus, aud the ward ot Alopece. Ut his estate we have different accounts. Seme say he was always very poor, and that he left two daughters behind him, who re- mained a long time unmarried, on account of their pover- ty.* But Demetrius, the Phalerian, contradicts this ge- ner.tl opinion in Ins Svciatds, and says there was a farm at Phalera, which went by the name of Aristides, and that there he was buried. And to prove that there was a competent estate in his family, he produces three argu- ments. The first is taken from the office of archon,f which made the year bear his name, and which fell to him by lot ; and for this none took their chance but such as had an income of the first degree, consisting of five hundred measures of corn, wine, and oil, who therefore were called Perifacosiomedimni. The second argument is founded on the ostracism, by which he was banished, and which was never inflicted on the meaner sort, but only upon persons of quality, whose grandeur and famil) pride * And yet, according to a law of Solon's, the bride was to carry with her only three suits of cloths, and a little household stufl' of small value. J At Athens they reckoned their years by archons, as the Romans did theirs by consuls. One of the nine archons, who all had estates of the first degree, was for this purpose chosen by lot out of the rest, and his name inscribed in the public renters. N 3 2^0 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. made them obnoxious to the people. The third and last is drawn from the tripods, which Aristides dedicated in the temple of Bacchus, on account of his victory in the public games, and which are still to be seen with this in- scription. " The tribe of Antiochus gained the victory* " Aristides defrayed the charges, and Archestratus was the '* author of the play." But this last argument, though in appearance the strongest of all, is really a very weak one. For Epami- r.ondas, who, as every body knows, lived and died poor, and Plato, the philosopher, who was not rich, exhibited very splendid shows ; the one was at the expence of a concert of flutes at Theirs, and the other or an enter- tainment of singing and dancing, performed by boys at Athens ; Dion having furnished Plato with the money, and Pelopidas supplied Epaminondas. For why should good men be always averse to the presents of their friends ? While they think it mean and ungenerous to re- ce\vf =>"". k ; -*- f *' ----- -, .v/ lay up, or to gratify an avanciouo to r -_, U.^ ___ j. ... .Cr___ ___ i. _tr.__ J. serve ^ the purposes of honour and magnificence, without any views of profit. As to the tripods, inscribed with Aristides, Panae- tius shews plainly that Demetrius was deceived by the name. For, according to the registers, from the Persian to the end of the Peloponnesian war, there were only two of the name of Aristides who carried the prize in the choral exhibitions, and neither of them was the son of Lysimachus ; for the former was son to Xenophilus, and the latter lived long after, as appears from the characters,* which were not in use till after Euclid's time, and likewise from the name of the poet Archestratus, which is not found in any record or author during the Persian wars ; whereas mention is often made of a poet of that name, who brought his pieces upon the stage in the time of the Peloponnesian war.f But this argument of Pansetius should not be ad- mitted without farther examination. And as for the ostracism, every man that was distin- iKr.s, which is the common reading, has been well changed by M. Salvini to 'yfa/u.p.ixnt. f It was very possible for a poet, in his own lifetime, to have his plays acted in the Peloponnesian war, and in the Persian too, And, therefore, the inscription which Plutarch mentions might be. fon to our Aristides, ABISTIDES. 2/1 guished by birth, reputation, or eloquence, was liable to suffer by it ; since it fell even upon Damon, preceptor to Pericles, because he was looked upon as a man of superior parts and policy. Besides, Idomeneus tells us, that Aris- tides came to be archon, not by lot, but by particular ap- pointment of the people. And if he was arc/ion after the battle of Platza,* as Demetrius himself writes, it is very probable that, after such great actions, and so much elory, his virtue might gain him that office, which others obtain- ed by their wealth. But it is plain that Demetrius labour- ed to take the imputation of poverty? as if it were some great evil, not only from Aristides, but from Socrates 1007 who, he says, besides a house of his own, had seventy minae-j- at interest in the hands of Crito. Aristides had a particular friendship for Clisthenes, who settled the popular government at Athens after the expul- sion of the tyrants ; j yet he had, at the same time, the greatest veneration for Lycurgus the Lacedemonian, whom he considered as- the most excellent of lawgivers; and this led him to be a favourer of aristocracy, in which he was al* ways opposed by Themistocles, who listed in the party of the commons- Some, indeed, say, that being brought up together from their infancy, when boys, they were al- ways at variance, not only in serious matters, but in their very sports and diversions ; and their tempers were disco- vered from the first by that opposition. The one was in- sinuating, daring, and artful, variable, and at the same impe- tuous in his pursuits ; the other was solid and steady, in- flexibly just, incapable of using any falsehood, flattery, or deceit, even at play. But Aristo ofChiasJ) writes, that their enmity, which afterwards came to such a height, took its rise from love. * But Demetrius was mistaken; for Aristides was never archon after the battle of Plataea, which was fought in the second year of the seventy-fifth Olympiad. In the list of archons the name of Aristi- des is found in the fourth year of the seventy -second Olympiad, a year or two after the battle of Marathon, and in the second year of the se- venty-fourth Olympiad, four years before the battle of Plataa. f But Socrates himself declares, in his apology to his judge.!, that, considering his poverty, they could not in reason fine hiwr more than one mina. J These tyrants were the Pisistratidae, who were driven out about the sixty-sixth Olympiad. || Dacier thinks it was rather Aristo of Ceos, because, as a Peri- patetic, he was moye likely to write treatises of love than the other,, who was a Stoic. H.4 2/2 -PLUTARCH'S LIVES. * * * . * * * * Themistocles, who was an agreeable companion, gained many friends, and became respectable in the strength of his popularity. Thus, when he was told that " he would " govern the Athenians extremely well, if he would but do " it without respect of persons," he said, " May I never " sit on a tribunal where my friends shall not find more fa- " vour from me than strangers." Aristides, on the contrary, took a method of his own in conducting the administration ; for he would neither consent to any injustice to oblige his friends, nor yet dis- oblige them by denying all they asked : and as he saw that many, depending on their interest and friends, were tempted to do unwarrantable things, he never endea- voured after that support, but declared, that a good ci- tizen should place his whole strength and security in ad- vising and doing what is just and right. Nevertheless, as Themistocles ma<.le many rash and dangerous motions, and endeavoured t"> break his measures in every step of government, he was obliged to oppose him as much in his turn, partly by way of self-defence, and partly to les- sen his power, which daily increased through the favour o the people. For he thought it better that the com- monwealth should miss some advantages, than that The. mistocles, by gaining his point, should come at last to carry all before him. Hence it was, that one day, when Themistocles proposed something advantageous to the public, Aristides opposed it strenuously, and with suc- cess ; but as he went out of the assembly, he could not forbear saying, " The affairs of the Athenians cannot " prosper, except they throw Themistocles and myself " into the barathrum."* Another time, when he in- tended to propose a decree to the people, he found it strongly disputed in the council, but at last he prevailed; perceiving its inconveniencies, however, by the preceding debates, he put a stop to it, just as the president was going to put it to the question, in order to its being confirmed by the people. Very often he offered his sen- timents by a third person, lest, by the opposition of The- * The barathrum was a very deep pit, into which condemned per Sons were. thrown headlong. ARISTIDBS. 2"3 mistocles to him, the public good should be obstruct- ed. In the changes and fluctuations of the government, his firmness was wonderful. Neither elated with honours, nor discomposed with ill success, he went on in a moderate and steady manner, persuaded that his country had a claim to his services, without the reward either of honour or profit. Hence it was, that when those verses of /Eschylus concern- ing Amphiaraus were repeated on the stage, To be, and not to seem, is this man's maxim ; His mind reposes on his proper wisdom, And wants no other praise * the eyes of the people in general were fixed on Aristides, as the man to whom this great encomium was most appli- cable. Indeed, he was capable of resisting the suggestions, not only of favour and afiection, but of resentment and en- mity too, wherever justice was concerned. For it is said, that when he was carrying on a prosecution against his ene- my, and, after he had brought his charge, the judges were going to pass sentence, without hearing the person accused, he rose up to his assistance, entreating that he might be heard, and have the privilege which the laws allowed. Another time, when he himself sat judge between two pri- vate persons, and one of them observed, " That his adver- " sary had done many injuries to Aristides ;" " Tell me " not that," said he, " but what injury he has done to " thee ; for it is thy cause I am judging, not *my own." When appointed public treasurer, he made it appear, that not only those of his time, but the officers that pre- ceded him, had applied a great deal of the public money to their own use, and particularly Themistocles j For he, with all his wisdom, Could ne'er command his hands. For this reason, when Aristides gave in his accounts, The- mistocles raised a strong party against him, accused him of * These verses are to be found in the " Siege cf Thebes by the Seven Captains." They are a description of the genius and temper of Amphiaraus, which the courier, who brings an account of the enemy's attacks, and of the characters of the commanders, gives to Eteocles. Plutarch has changed one word in them for another, that suited his purpose better ; reading J<*/s,-, just, instead of valiant, N 274 PLUTARCH'9 LIVKS. misapplying the public money, and (according to Idome- neus) got him condemned. But the principal and most re- spectable of the citizens,* incensed at this treatment of Aristides, interposed, and prevailed, not only that he might be excused the fine, but chosen again chief treasurer. He now pretended that his former proceedings were too strict ; and carrying a gentler hand over those that acted under him, suffered them to pilfer the public money, without seeming to find them out, or reckoning strictly with them ; so that, fattened OH the spoils of their country, they lavish- ed their praises on Aristides, and heartily espousing his cause, begged of the people to continue him in the same department. But when tne Athenians were going to con- firm it to him by their suffrages, he gave them this severe rebuke. " While I managed your finances with all the 4< fidelity of an honest man, I was loaded with calumnies ; " and now when I suffer them to be a prey to public rob- ** bers, I am become a mighty good citizen ; but I assure " you, I am more ashamed of the present honour, than I " was of the former disgrace ; and it is with indignation " and concern, that 1 see you esteem it more meritorious " to oblige ill men, than to take proper care of the public *' revenue." By thus speaking, and discovering their frauds, he silenced those that recommended him with so much noise and bustle, but at the same time received the truest and most valuable praise from the worthiest of the citizens. About this time Datis, who was sent by Darius, under pretence of chastising the Athenians for burning Sardis, but in reality to subdue all Greece, arrived with his fleet at Marathon, ar/d began to ravage the neighbouring coun- try. Among the generals to whom the Athenians gave the management of this war, Miltiades was first in dig- nity, and the next to him in reputation and authority was Aristides. In a council of war that was then held, Mil- tiades voted for giving the enemy battle,f and Aristides, * The court of Areopagus interposed in his behalf. f According to Herodotus fl. vi, c. 109 , the generals were very much divided in their opinions, some were for fighting, others not; Miltiades observing this, addressed himself to Callimachus of Aphidnse, who was polemarch, and whose power was eqiml to that of all the other generals. Callimachus, whose voice was decisive ac- cording to the Athenian laws, joined directly with Miltiades, and declared for giving battle immediately. Possibly Aristides might have some share in bringing Callimachus to this resolution. ARISTIDES. seconding him, added no little weight to his scale. The generals commanded by turns, each his day ; but when it came to Aristides's turn, he gave up his right to Miltia- des, thus shewing his colleagues, that it was no disgrace to follow the directions of the wise, but that, on the con- trary, it answered several honourable and salutary purposes. By this means, he laid the spirit of contention, and bring- ing them to agree in, and follow the best opinion, he strengthened the hands of Miltiades, who now had the ab- solute and undivided command ; the other generals no long- er insisting on their days, but entirely submitting to hl orders.* In this battle the main body of the Athenian army was pressed the hardest, f because there for a long time the barbarians made their greatest efforts against the tribea Leontis and Antiochus ; and Themistocles and Aristides, who belonged to those tribes, exerting themselves at the head of them, with all the spirit of emulation, behaved with so much vigour, that the enemy were put to flight,- and dr.ven back to their ships. But the Greeks perceiv- ing that the barbarians, instead of sailing to the isles, to return to Asia, were driven in by the wind and currents- towards Attica, J and fearing that Athens, unprovided for. its defence, mi^ht become an easy prey to them, marched home with nine tribes, and used such expedition, that they reached the city in one day. Aristides was left at Marathon with his own tribe, to guard the prisoners and the spoils ; and he did not disap- * Yet he would not fight until his own proper day of command came about, for fer.r that, through any latent sparks of jealousy and envy, any of the generals should be led not to do their duty. + The Athenians and Plntaeans fought with such obstinate valour on the right and left, that the barbarians were forced to fly on both sides. The Persians and Sacae, however, perceiving that the Athe- nian centre was weak, charged with such force, that they broke through it : this tho.se on the right and left perceived, but did not attempt to succour it, till they had put to flight both the wings of the Persian army ; then bending the points of the wings towards their own centre, they inclosed the hitherto victorious Persians, and cut them in pieces. It was reported in those times, that the Alcmeonidae encouraged the Persians to make a second attempt, by holding up, as they ap- proached the shore, a shield for a signal. However, it was the Per- sian fleet that endeavoured to double the Cape of Junium, with a view, to surprise the city of Athens before the army could return. Herodot. ]. v i, c. 101, <|c. , Fiom Marathon to Athens is about forty m/les. N6 2?(5 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. point the public opinion ; for though there was much gold and silver scattered about, and rich garments and other booty in abundance were found in the tents and ships which they had taken, yet he neither had an inclination to touch any thing himself, nor permitted others to do it. But, notwithstanding his care, some enriched themselves unknown to him ; among whom was Callias the torch- bearer.* One of the barbarians happening to meet him in a private place, and probably taking him for a king, on account of his long hair and the fillet which he wore,-|- prostrated himself before him ; and taking him by the hand, shewed him a great quantity of gold that was hid in a well. But Callias, not less cruel than unjust, took away the gold, and then killed the man that had given him in- formation of it, lest he should mention the thing to others. Hence, they tell us, it was, that the comic writers called his family Laccoplitti, i. e. enriched lij tlie -well, jesting upon the place from whence their founder drew his wealth. The year following, Aristides was appointed to the office of archon, which gave his name to that year ; though, according to Demetrius the Phalerean, he was not archon till after the battle of Plataea, a little before his death. "But, in the public registers, we find not any of the name of Aristides in the list of archons, after Xanthippides, in whose archon- ship Mardonius was beaten at Plataea ; whereas his name is on record immediately after Phanippus,^ who was ar- chon the same year that the battle was gained at Mara- thon. Of all the virtues of Aristides, the people were most struck with his justice, because the public utility was * Torch-bearers, styled in Greek deductii, were persons dedicated to the service of the' gods, and admitted even to the most sacred mysteries. Pausanias speaks of it as a great happiness to a woman, that she had seen her brother, her husband, and her son, succes- sively enjoy this office. f Both priests and kings wore fillets or diadems. It is well known, that in ancient times those two dignities were generally vested in the same person ; and such nations as abolished the kingly office, kept the title of king for a person who ministered in the principal functions of the priesthood. From the registers it appears, that Phanippus was archon in the third year of the seventy-second Olympiad. It was therefore in this year that the battle of Marathon was fought, four hundred and ninety years before the birth of Christ. ARISTTOES. 277 the most promoted by it. Thus lie, though a poor man and a commoner, gained the royal and divine title of the Just, which kings and tyrants have never been fond of. It has been their ambition to be stiled I'oliorceli, takers of cities; Cerauni, thunderbolts; Xnanois,coji(juerors. Nay, some have chosen to be called Eagles and Failures, pre- ferring the fame of power to that of virtue. Whereas the Deity himself, to whom they want to be compared, is dis- tinguished by three things, immortality, power, and vir- tue ; and of these, virtue is the most excellent and divine. For space and the elements are everlasting ; earthquakes, lightning, storms, and torrents, have an amazing power ; but as for justice,* nothing participates of that, without reasoning and thinking on God. And whereas men entertain three different sentiments with respect to the gods, namely, admiration, fear, and esteem, it should seem that they ad- mire and think them happy by reason of their freedom from death and corruption, that they fear and dread them because of their power and sovereignty, and that they love, honour, and reverence them for their justice. Yet, though affected these three different ways, they desire only the two first properties of the Deity ; immortality, which our nature will not admit of; and power, which depends chiefly upon fortune ; while they foolishly neglect virtue, the only divine quality in their power ; not considering that it is justice alone which makes the life of those that flourish most in prosperity and high stations, heavenly and divine, while injustice renders it grovelling and bru- tal. Aristides at first was loved and respected for his surname of the Just, and afterwards envied as much ; the latter, chiefly by the management of Themistocles, who gave it out among the people, that Aristides had abolished the courts of judicature, by drawing the arbitration of all causes to himself, and so was insensibly gaining sovereign power, though without guards, and other ensigns of it. The people, elevated with the late victory, thought them- selves capable of every thing, and the highest respect little * oixrf ?j xat Stfiiot; ? STI fin .T,\a.y-a.iu. In this passage t.y tZiffSa.1 is used in the same sense as in 1 Corinth, xiii, 5, >a.r x AOFIZETAI ~.txt*, which is, we K'lieve, a rare instance. Perhaps, in this passage of Plutarch, in- *tead of in, we should read it n. 278 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. enough for them. Uneasy, therefore, at finding that any one citizen rose to such extraordinary honour and distinc- tion, they assembled at Athens from all the towns in At- tica, and banished Aristides by the ostracism ; disguising their envy of his character under the specious pretence of guarding against tyranny. For the ostracism was not a punishment for crimes and misdemeanours, but was very decently called an humbling and lessening of some excessive influence and power. In reality it was a mild gratification of envy ; for by this meaiis r whoever was offended at the growing greatness of another, discharged his spleen, not in any thing cruel or inhuman, but only in voting a ten years banishment. But when it once began to fall upon mean and profligate persons, it was ever after entirely laid aside, Hyperbolus being the last that was exiled by it. The reason of its turning upon such a wretch was this Alcibiades and Nicias, who were persons of the greatest interest in Athens, had each his party ; but perceiving that the people were going to proceed to the ostracism, and that one of them was likely to suffer by it, they consulted together, and joining interests, caused it to fall upon Hy- perbolus. Hereupon the peopk-, full of indignation at find- ing this kind of punishment dishonoured and turned into ridicule, abolished it entirely. The ostracism (to give a summary account of it) was conducted in the following manner. Every citizen took a piece of a broken pot, or a shell, on which he wrote the name of the person he wanted to have banished, and car- ried it to a part of the marker-place that was inclosed \\ith wooden rails. The magistrates then counted the number of the shells; and if it amounted not to s;x thousand, the ostracism stood for nothing; if it did, they soiled the *hells, and the person whose na'- <> was found on the great- est number was declared an exile for ten years, but with permission to enjoy his estate. At the time when Aristides was banished, when the people were inscribing their names on the shells, it is re- ported that an illiterate burgher came to Aristides, whom he took for some ordinary person, and giving him his shell, desired him to write Aristides upon it. The good man, surprised at the adventure, asked him, " Whether Aris- " tides had ever injured him ?" " No," said he, " nor do " I even know him j but it vexes rue to hear him every- ARISTIDES. 2/9 " where called the Just." Anstidcs made no answer, but took the shell, and having written his own name upon it, returned it to the man. When he quitted Athens, he lift- ed up his hands towards heaven, and agreeably to his cha- racter, made a prayer very different from that of Achilles ; namely, " That the people of Athens might never see '* the day which should force them to remember Aris- " tides" Three years after, when Xerxes was passing through Thessaly and Bceotia, by long marches, to Attica, the Athe- nians reversed this decree, and by a public ordinance recall- ed all the exiles. The principal inducement was their fear of Aristides; for they were apprehensive that he would join the enemy, corrupt great part of the citizens, and draw them over to the interest of the barbarians ; but they little kv.ew the man. Before this ordinance of theirs, he had been exciting and encouraging the Greeks to defend their liberty ; and after it, when Themistocles was appointed to the command of the Athenian forces, he assisted him both with his person and counsel, not disdain- ing to raise his worst enemy to the highest pitch of glory for the public good ; for when Eurybiades, the commander in chief, had resolved to quit Salamis,* and before he could put his purpose into execution, the enemy's fleet, tak- ing advantage of the night, had surrounded the islands, and in a manner blocked up the straits, without any one's perceiving that the confederates were so hemmed in, Aris- tides sailed the same night from /Egina, and passed with the utmost danger through the Persian fleet. .-'\s soon as he reached the tent of 'i hemistocles, he desired to speak with him in private, and then addressed him in these terms " You and I, Themistocles, if we are wise, shall now bid adieu to our vain and childish disputes, and enter upon a nobler and more salutary contention, striv- ing which of us shall contribute most to tlu? preserva- tion of Greece ; you in doing the duty of a general, and I in assisting you with my service and advice. I find that you alone have hit upon the best measures, in ad- " Eurybiades was for standing away for the gulf of Corinth, thrt he might be near the land army ; but Themistocles clearly saw that in the straits of Salamie, they could fight the Persian flett, which was so vastly superior in numbers, with much greater advantage than jn the gulf of Corinth, where there was an oj>en sea. 280 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. " vising to come immediately to an engagement in the " straits ; and though the allies oppose your design, the " enemy promote it ; for the sea on all sides is covered " with their ships, so that the Greeks, whether they will " or not, must come to action, and acquit themselves like *' men, there being no room left for flight." Themistocles answered, *' I could have wished, Aris- " tides, that you had not been beforehand with me in " this noble emulation ; but I will endeavour to outdo " this happy beginning of yours by my future actions." At the same time, he acquainted him with the stratagem he had contrived to ensnare the barbarians,* and then de- sired him to go, and make it appear to Eurybiades, that there could be no safety for them without venturing a sea-fight there; for he knew that Aristides had much greater influence over him than he. In the council of war assembled on this occasion, Cleocritus the Corinthian said to Themistocles, " Your advice is not agreeable to " Aristides, since he is here present, and says nothing." " You are mistaken," said Aristides, tf for I should not " have been silent, had not the counsel of Themistocles *' been the most eligible ; and now I hold my peace, not t out of regard to the man. but because I approve his " sentiments." This, therefore, was what the Grecian officers fixed upon. Aristides then perceiving that the little island of Psyt- talia, which lies in the straits over against Salamis, was full of the enemy's troops, put on board the small trans- ports a number of the bravest and most resolute of his countrymen, and made a descent upon the island, where he attacked the barbarians with such fury, that they were all cut in pieces, except some of the principal persons, who were made prisoners. Among the latter were three *ons of Sandauce, the king's sister, whom he sent imme- diately to Themistocles ; and it is said that, by the direc- tion of Euphrantides the diviner, in pursuance of some oracle, they were all sacrificed to Bacchus (.'-mi'Stes. After this, Aristides placed a strong guard round the island, to take notice of such as were driven ashore there, that so * The stratagem was to send one to acquaint the enemy that the Greeks were going to quit the straits of Salami* ; and therefore, if the Persians were desirous to crush them at once, they must fall upon them immediately, before they dispersed. ARISTIDBS. 281 none of his friends might perish, nor any of the enemy escape ; for about Psyttalia the battle raged the most,* and the greatest efforts were made, as appears from the trophy erected there. When the battle was over, Themistocles, by way of sounding Aristides, said, " That great things were already " done, but greater still remained ; for they might con- " quer Asia in Europe, by making all the sail they could " to the Hellespont, to break down the bridge." But Aristides exclaimed against the proposal, and bade him think no more of it, but rather consider and inquire what would be the speediest method of driving the Persians out of Greece, lest, finding himself shut up with such immense forces, and no way left to escape, necessity might bring him to fight with the most desperate courage. Hereupon Themistocles sent to Xerxes the second time, by the eu- nuch Arnaces, one of the prisoners, f to acquaint him pri- vately, that the Greeks were strongly inclined to make the best of their way to the Hellespont, to destroy the bridge which he had left there ; but that, in order to save his royal person, Themistocles was using his best endeavours to dissuade them from it. Xerxes, terrified at this news, made all possible haste to the Hellespont, leaving Mardonius behind him with the land-forces, consisting of three hun- dred thousand of his best troops. In the strength of such an army Mardonius was very formidable ; and the fears of the Greeks were heightened by his menacing letters, which were in this style. " At " sea, in your wooden towers, you have defeated landmen, " unpractised at the oar ; but there are still the wide " plains of Thessaly and the fields of Bceotia, where both " horse and foot may fight to the best advantage." To the Athenians he wrote in particular, being authorized by the king to assure them that their city should be rebuilt, large sums bestowed upon them, and the sovereignty of Greece put in their hands, if they would take no further share in the war. J The battle of Salamis was fought in the year before Christ 480. f This expedient answered two purposes. By it he drove the king of Persia out of Europe, and in appearance conferred an obligation upon him, which might be remembered to the advantage of The- mistocles when he came to have occasion for it. * He made these proposals by Alexander, king of Macedon, who delivered them in a set speech. 282 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. As soon as the Lacedjemonians had intelligence of thesr proposals, they were greatly alarmed, and sent ambassa- dors to Athens, to entreat the people to send their wives and children to Sparta,* and to accept from them what was necessary for the support of such as were in years ; for the Athenians, having lost both their city and country, were certainly in great distress. Yet when they had heard what the ambassadors had to say, they gave them such an answer, by the direction of Aristides, as can never be sufficiently admired. They said, " They could easily forgive their enemies for thinking that every thing was to be pur- chased with silver and gold, because they had no idea of any thing more excellent ; but they could not help being displeased that the Lacedaemonians should regard only their present poverty and distress, and, forgetful of their virtue and magnanimity, call upon them to fight for Greece, for the paltry consideration of a supply of provisions." Aristides having drawn up this answer in the form of a decree, and called al! the ambassadors to an audience in full assembly, bade those of Sparta tell the Lacedaemonians, That the people of Athens would not take all the gold, either above or under ground, for the liberties oj Greece. As for those of Mardonius, he pointed to the sun, and told them, ** As long as this luminary shines, so long " will the Athenians carry on war with the Persians for " their country, which has been laid waste, and for their *' temples, which have been profaned and burnt." He likewise procured an order, that the priests should solemnly execrate all that should dare to propose an embassy to the Medes, or talk of deserting the alliance of Greece. When Mardonius had entered Attica the second time, the Athenians retired again to Salamis ; and Aristides, who, on that occasion, went ambassador to Sparta, com- plained to the Lacedaemonians of their delay and neglect in abandoning Athens once more to the barbarians ; and pressed them to hasten to the succour of that part of Greece * They did not propose to the Athenians to send their wives and children to Sparta, but only offered to maintain them during the war. They observed, that the original quarrel was between the Persians and Athenians ; that the Athenians were always wont to be the foremost in the cause of liberty ; and that there was no rea- son to believe the Persians would observe any terms with a people the/ hated. ARIST1DES* 283 Tvhich was not yet fallen into the enemy's hands. The Epho>i gave him the hearing,* but seemed attentive to nothing but mirth and diversion, for it was the festival of Hyacinthus.-j- At night, however, they selected five thousand Spartans, with orders to take each seven helots with him, and to march before morning, unknown to the Athenians. When Aristides came to make his remonp strances again, they smiled, arid told him, ' That he did " but trifle or dream, since their army was at that time as " far as Orestium, on their march against the foreigners," for so the Lacedaemonians called the barbarians. Aristides told them, " It was not a time to iest, or to put their " stratagems in practice upon their friends, but on their " enemies." This is the account Idomeneus gives of the matter ; but, in Aristides's decree, Cimon, Xanthippus, and Myronides, are said to have gone upon the embassy, and not Aristides. Aristides, however, was appointed to command the Athenians in the battle that was expected, and marched with eight thousand foot to Plataea. There Pausanias, who was commander in chiet ot all the confederates, joined him with the Spartans, and the other Grecian troops arrived daily in great numbers. The Persian army, which was encamped alung the river Asopas, occupied an im- mense tract of ground ; and they had fortified a spot ten furlongs square, for their baggage and other things of value. In the Grecian army there was a diviner of Elis, named Tisamenus,J who foretold certain victory to Pausanias, and the Greeks in general, if they did not attack the enemy, but stood only upon the defensive. And Aristides They put off their answer from time to time, until they had gained ten days ; in which time they finished the wall across the isthmus, which secured them against the barbarians. t Among the Spartans the feast of Hyacinthus lasted three days ; the first and last were days of sorrow and mourning for Hyacin- thus's death j but the second was a day of rejoicing, celebrated with all manner of diversions. The oracle having promised Tisamenus five great victories, the Lacedaemonians were desirous of having him for their diviner ; but he demanded to be admitted a citizen of Sparta, which was refused at first. However, upon the approach of the Persians, he obtained that privilege both for himself and his brother Hegias. This would scarce have been worth mentioning, had not those two been the only Grangers that were ever made citizens of Sparta, 284 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. having sent to Delphi, to inquire of the oracle, received this answer. " The Athenians shall be victorious, if they address their prayers to Jupiter, to Juno of Cithxron, to Pan, and to the nymphs Sphragitides ;* if they sa- crifice to the heroes, Androcrates, Leucon, Pisander, Damocrates, Hypsion, Actaeon, and Polydius ; and if they fight only in their own country, on the plain of the Eleusinian Ceres and of Proserpine/' This oracle perplexed Aristides not a little ; for the heroes to whom he was commanded to sacrifice were the ancestors of the Platxans, and the cave of the nymphs Sphragitides in one of the summits of mount Cithasron, opposite the quarter where 'the sun sets in the summer ; and it is said, in that cave there was formerly an oracle, by which many who dwelt in those parts were inspired, and therefore called Nymphulefjli. On the other hand, to have the promise of victory only on condition of fighting in their own country, on the plain of the Eleusinian Ceres, was calling the Athenians back to Attica, and removing the seat of war. In the meantime Arimnestus, general of the Platseans, dreamt that Jupiter the Preserver asked him," What the " Greeks had determined to do ?" To which he answer- ed, " To-morrow they will decamp and march to Eleosis, " to fight the barbarians there, agreeable to the oracle." The god replied, " They quite mistake its meaning ; for " the place intended by the oracle is in the environs of " Platzea ; and if they seek for it, they will find it." matter being so clearly revealed to Arimnestus, as soon as he awoke, he sent for the oldest and most experienced of his countrymen ; and having advised with them, and made the best inquiry, he found that near Husiae, at the foot of mount Cithscron, there was an ancient temple called the temple of the Eleusinian Ceres and of Proserpine, immediately conducted Aristides to the place, which ap- peared to be very commodious for drawing up an army of foot, that was deficient in cavalry, because the bottor of mount Cithscron, extending as far as the temple, made The nymphs of mount Cithaeron were called Sphragitides from the cave Sphragidion, which probably had its name from the si observed in it by the persons who went thither to be inspired ; $ilence being described by sealing the lips. ARISTIDES'. 285 the extremities of the field on that side inaccessible to the horse.* In that place was also the chapel of the hero Androcrates, quite covered with thick bushes and trees. And that nothing might be wanting to fulfil the oracle, and confirm their hopes of victory, the Plataeans resolved, at the motion of Arimnestus, to remove their boundaries between their country and Attica, and for the sake of Greece, to make a grant of those lands to the Athenians, that, according to the oracle, they might fight in their own territories. This generosity of the Plataeans gained them so much renown, that many years after, when Alex- ander had conquered Asia, he ordered the walls of Plataea to be rebuilt, and proclamation to be made by an herald at the Olympic games, " That the king granted the " Plataeans this favour, on account of their virtue and ge- " nerosity in giving up their lands to the Greeks in the " Persian war, and otherwise behaving with the greatest " vigour and spirit." When the confederates came to have their several posts assigned them, there was a great dispute between the Tegetae and the Athenians ; the Tegetae insisting, that, as the Lacedaemonians were posted in the right wing, the left belonged to them, and in support of their claim, set* ting forth th gallant actions of their ancestors. As the Athenians expressed great indignation at this, Aristides stepped forward and said, " The time will not permit us " to contest with the Tegetae the renown of their ances- " tors and their personal bravery ; but to the Spartans, and to the rest of the Greeks, we say, that the post neither gives valour nor takes it away ; and whatever post you assign us, we will endeavour to do honour to it, and take care to reflect no disgrace upon our former achievements. For we are not come hither to quarrel with our allies, but to fight our enemies ; not to make encomiums upon our forefathers, but to approve our own courage in the cause of Greece. And the battle will soon shew what value our country should set on every state, every general, and private man." After this speech, the council of war declared in favour of the Athenians, and gave them the command xiyuri>,but an ancient manuscript has it ;'uaxof/v, which is understood to be the same as M^MMMM* ; the ghosts being supposed to be satisfied n-i:h the steams of blood. J This was before the battle of Plataa, at the time when Xerxes was put to flight, and driven back into Asia., ARISTIDES. Some time after this,* he was joined in commission with Cimon, and sent against the barbarians ; where, observing that Pausanias, and the other Spartan generals, behaved with excessive haughtiness, he chose a quite different man- ner, shewing much mildness and condescension in his whole conversation and address, and prevailing with Cimon to be- have with equal goodness and affability to the whole league. Thus he insensibly drew the chief command from the Lacedaemonians, not by force of arms, horses, or ships, but by his gentle and obliging deportment. For the justice of Aristides, and the candour of Cimon, having made the Athenians very agreeable to the confederates, their regard was increased by the contrast they found in Pausanias's avarice and severity of manners. Tor he never spoke to the officers of the allies but with sharpness and anger, and he ordered many of their men to be flogged, or to stand all day with an iron anchor on their shoulders. He would not suffer any of them to provide themselves with forage, or stra\v to lie on, or to go to the springs for water, before the Spartans were supplied, but placed his servants there with rods, to drive away those that should attempt it. And when Aristides was going to remonstrate with him upon it, he knit his brows, and telling him, " He was not " at leisure,'' refused to hear him. From that time the sea captains and land officers of the Greeks, particularly those of Chios, Samos, and Lesbos, pressed Aristides to take upon him the command of tire confederate forces, and to receive them into his protection, since they had long desired to be delivered from the Spar- tan yoke, and to act under the orders of the Athenians. He answered, " That he saw the necessity and justice of " what they proposed, but that the proposal ought first '* to be confirmed by some act, which would make it im- " possible for the troops to depart from their resolution," Hereupon Uliades of Samos, and Antagoras of Chios, conspiring together, went boldly and attacked Pausanias's galley at the head of the fleet. Pausanias, upon this inso- lence, cried out, in a menacing tone, " He would soon " shew those fellows they had not offered this insult to *' his ship, but to their own countries." But they told him, " The best thing he could do was to retire, and * Eight years after. O 6 300 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. " thank fortune for fighting for him at Platsa ; for tliat " nothing but the regard they had for that great action, " restrained the Greeks from wreaking their just ven- " geance on him." The conclusion was, that they quitted the Spartan banners, and ranged themselves under those of the Athenians. On this occasion the magnanimity of the Spartan people appeared with great lustre. For as soon as they perceived their generals were spoiled with too much power, they sent no more, but voluntarily gave up their pretensions to the chief command ; choosing rather to cultivate in their citi- zens a principle of modesty and tenaciousness of the laws and customs of their country, than to possess the sovereign command of Greece. While the Lacedaemonians had the command, the Greeks paid a certain tax towards the war ; and now being desir- ous that every city might be more equally rated, they beg- ged the favour of the Athenians that Aristides might take it upon him, and gave him instructions to inspect their lands and revenues, iu order to proportion the burden of each to its ability. Aristides, invested with this authority, which, in a manner, made him master of all Greece, did not abuse it. For th< ugh he went out poor, he returned poorer, having settled the quotas of the several states, not only justly and disinterestedly, but with so much tenderness and humanity, that his assessment was agreeable and convenient to all. And as the ancients praised the times of Saturn, so the allies of Athens blest the settlements of Aristides, calling it the happy Jortunc of Greece; a compliment which soon after appeared still more just, when this taxation was twice or three times as high; for that of Aristides amounted only to four hundred and sixty talents, and Pericles in- ercasL'd it almost one third : for Thucydides writes, that, at the beginning of the \var, the Athenians received from their allies six hundred talents ; and after the death of . Pericles, those that had the administration in their hands, raised it by little and little to the sum of thirteen hundred talents. Not that the war grew more expensive, either by its length or want of success, but because they had ac- customed the people to receive distributions of money fas the public spectacles and other purposes, and had made them fond of erecting magnificent statues and temples. ARISTIDES. 3OJ The great and illustrious character which Aristides ac- quired by the equity of this taxation piqued Themisto- cles ; and he endeavoured to turn the praise bestowed upon him into ridicule, by saying, " It was not the praise of a " man, but of a money chest, to keep treasure without di- *' minution." By this he took but a feeble revenge for the freedom of Aristides. For one day Themistocles hap- pening to say, " That he looked upon it as the principal " excellence of a genera! to know and foresee the designs " of the enemy-" Aristides answered, " That is indeed a " necessary qualification ; but there is another very excel- " lent one, and highly becoming a ge-.ieral, and that is, to " have clean hands.'' When Aristides had settled the articles of alliance, he called upon the confederates to confirm them with a;i oath, which he himself took on the part of the Athenians ; and, at the same time that he uttered the execration on those that should break the articles, he threw red hot pieces of iron into the sea.* However, when the urgency of af- fairs afterwards required the Athenians to govern Greece with a stricter hand than those conditions justified, he advised them to let the consequences of the perjury rest with him, and pursue the path which expediency pointed out.-]- Upon the whole, Theophrastus says, that in all his own private concerns, and in those of h's fellow-citi- zens, he was inflexibly just ; but in affairs of state he did many things, according to the exigency of the case, to serve his country, which seemed often to have need of the assistance of in'iustice. And he relates, that when it was debated in council, whether the treasure deposited at Delos should be brought to Athens, as the Samians had advised, though contrary to treaties, on its comi.ig to his turn to speak, he said, " It was not just, but it was ' expedient." " As much as to say, as the fire in these pieces of iron is ex tingubhed in a moment, so may their days be extinct who break thK^ovenant. f Thus even the just, the upright Aristides, made a distinction between his private and political conscience. A distinction which Uas no manner of foundation in truth or reason, and which, in the end, will be productive of ruin rather than advantage; as all those nations will find who avail themselves of injustice to serve a present occasion. For so much reputation is so much power ; and states, as well as private persons, are respectable only in thei* character. 302 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. This must be said, notwithstanding, that though he extended the dominions of Athens over so many people, he himself still continued poor, and esteemed his poverty no Ie a glory than all the laurels he had won. The fol- lowing is a clear proof of it- Callias the torch-bearer, who was his near relation, was prosecuted in a capital cause by his enemies. When they had alleged what they had against him, which was nothing very flagrant, they launched out into something foreign to their own charge, and thus addressed the judges. " You know Aristides, " the son of Lysimachus, who is justly the admiration of " all Greece. When you see with what a garb he ap- " pears in public, in what manner do you think he must " live at home ? Must not he who shivers here with " cold for want of clothing, be almost famished there, ** and destitute of all necessaries ; yet this is the man whom Callias, his cousin-german, and the richest man in Athens, absolutely neglects, and leaves, with his wife and children, in such wretchedness, though he has often made use of him, and availed himself of his interest with you." Callias, perceiving that this point affected and exasperated his judges more than any thing else, called for Aristides to testify before the court, that he had many times offered him considerable sums, and strongly pressed him to accept them, but he had always refused them, in such terms as these. " It better becomes " Aristides to glory in his poverty, than Callias in his 4< riches ; for we see every day many people make a good " as welt as a bad use of riches, but it is hard to find one *' that bears poverty with a noble spirit j- and they only " are ashamed of it who are poor against their will." When Aristides had given in his evidence, there was not a man in the court who did not leave it with an inclination rather to be poor with him, than rich with Callias. This particular we have from ^Eschines, the disciple of Socrates. And Plato, among all that were accounted great and illus- trious men in Athens, judged none but Aristides worthy of real esteem. As for Themistocles, Cimon, and Penc^es, they filled the city with magnificent buildings, with wealth, and the vain superfluities of life ; but virtue was the only object that Aristides had in view in the whole course of his administration. We have extraordinary instances of the candour with which he behaved towards Themistocles. For though b ARISTIDES. 30$ was his constant enemy in all affairs of government, and the means of his banishment, yet when Themistocles was accused of capital crimes against the state, and he had an opportunity to pay him in kind, he indulged not the least revenge; but \vliile Alcmason, Cimon, and many others, were accusing him, and driving him into exile, Aristides alone neither did nor said any thing to his disadvantage ; for, as he had not envied his prosperity, so now he did not rejoice in his misfortunes. As to the death of Aristides, some say it happened in Pontus, whither he had sailed about some business of the state ; others sayjie died at Athens, full of days, ho- noured and admired by his fellow-citizens ; but Craterus the Macedonian gives us another account of the death of this great man. He tells us, that after the banishment of Themistocles, the insolence of the people gave encou- ragement to a number of villainous informers, who, at- tacking the greatest and best men, rendered them ob- noxious to the populace, now much elated with prosperity and power. Aristides himself was not spared; but, on a charge brought against him by Diophautus of Amphi- trope, was condemned for taking a bribe of the Ionian* at the time he levied the tax. He adds, that being un- able to pay his fine, wliich was fifty mime, he sailed to some part of Ionia, and there died. But Craterus gives us no written proof of this assertion, nor does he allege any register of court, or decree of the people, though on other occasions he is full of such proofs, and constantly cites his author. The other historians, without excep- tion, who have given us an account of the unjust beha- viour of the people of Athens to their generals, among many other instances dwell upon the banishment of The- mistocles, the imprisonment of Miltiades, the fine im- posed upon Pericles, and the death of Paches, who, upon receiving sentence, killed himself in the judgment hall, at the foot of the tribunal. Nor do they forget the ba- nishment of Aristides, but they say not one word of his condemnation. Besides, his monument is still to be seen at Phalerum, and is said to have been erected at the public charge, be- cause he did not leave enough to defray the expences of his funeral. They inform us, too, that the city provided for the marriage of his daughters, and that each of them had three thousand drachmae to her portion out of the PLUTARCH'S LIVES. treasury ; and to his son Lysimachus the people of Athens gave an hundred mtn ** all his sails in the ocean of war,* and because his coun- " try expected from him an account of services perfurm- " ed, not of money expended." Upon this^Cato left Sicily, and returned to Rome, where, together with Fa- bins, he loudly complained to the senate, " Of Scipio's " immense profusion, and of his passing his time, like a " boy, in wrestling-rings and theatres, as if he had not " been sent out to make war, but to exhibit games and " shows." In consequence of this, tribunes were sent to examine into the affair, with orders, if the accusation prov- ed true, to bring Scipio back to Rome. Scipio represent- ed to them, " That success depended entirely upon the " greatness of the preparations ;" and made them sensible,- " That though he spent his hours of leisure in a cheer. " ful manner with his friends, his liberal way of living had " not caused him to neglect any great or important busi- " ness." With this defence the commissioners were satis fied, and he set sail for Africa. As for Cato, he continued to gain so much influence and authority by his eloquence, that he was commonly- called the Roman Demosthenes ; but he was still more celebrated for his manner of living. His excellence as a speaker awakened a general emulation among the youth to distinguish themselves the same way, and to surpass each other ; but few were willing to imitate him in the ancient custom of tilling the field with their own hands, in eating a dinner prepared without fire, and a spare frugal supper ; few, like him, could be satisfied with a plain dress, and a poor cottage, or think it more honourable not to want the superfluities of life, than to possess them } for the com- monwealth now no longer retained its primitive purity and integrity, by reason of the vast extent of ita dominions ; the many different affairs under its management, and the infinite number of people that were subject to its command, had introduced a great variety of customs and modes of living. Justly, therefore, was Cato entitled to admiration, when the other citizens were frightened at labour, and enervated by pleasure, and he alone was unconquered by 3 1 : ans ?" " That may be (answer- ed Cato), but 1 look upon a king as a creature that feeds upon human flesh ;* and of all the kings that have been so much cried up, I find not one to be co'.i pared with an E- pauiinondas, a PC. ides, a 7 kem idiocies, a Mamus Curius t or with Hamncar, surnamed Barcus." He used to say, " That his enemies hated him because he neglected his own concerns, and rose before <>{ <>.,-, king that devourest thy people. f The Achaeans, in the first year of the hundred and fifty-third Olympiad, entered into measures for delivering up their country to the king of Persia ; but being discovered, a thousand of them were seized, and compelled to live exiles in Italy. There they continued seventeen years ; after which, about three hundred, who were still living, were restored by a decree of the senate, which was particu- larly made in favour of Polybius, who was one of the number. CATO THE CEKSOn. 315 d louder in bed than he shouted in battle." Jesting upon a very fat man, he said, " Of what service to his country can such a body be, which is nothing but belly ?" When an epicure desired to be admitted into Ins friendship, he said, *' He could not live with a man whose palate had quicker sensations than his heart." He used to say, " The soul of a lover lived in the body of another :" And that, " in all his life, he never repented but of three things ; the first was, that he had trusted a woman with a secret ; the se- cond, that he had gone by sea when he might have gone by land ; and the third, that he had passed one day without having a will by him."* To an old debauchee, he said, *' Old age has deformities enough of its own ; do not add to it the deformity of vice. 1 ' A tribune of the people, who had the character of a poisoner, proposing a bad law, and taking great pains to have it passed, Cato said to him, " Young man, I know not which is most dangerous, to drink what you mix, or to enact what you propose.*' Being scurrilously treated by a man who led a dissolute and infa- mous life, he said, " It is upon very unequal terms that I contend with you ; for you are accustomed to be spoken ill of, and can speak it with pleasure ; but with me it is un- usual to hear it, and disagreeable to speak it.'* Such was the manner of his repartees and short sayings. Being appointed consul along with his friend Valerius Flaccus, the government of that part of Spain which the Romans call Ulterior, Hither, fell to his lot.f While he was subduing some of the nations there by arms, and winning others by kindness, a great army of barbarians fell upon him, and he was in danger of being driven out with dishonour. On lias occasion he seat to desire suc- cours of his neighbours the Celtiberians, who demanded two hundred talents for that service. All the officers of his army thought it intolerable- that the Romans should be obliged to purchase assistance of the barbarians: but " This has been misunderstood by all the translators, who have agreed in rendering it, that he had passed one day idly." f As Cuto's troops consisted for the most part of raw soldiers, he took great pains to discipline them, considering that they had to deal with the Spaniards, who, in their wars with the Romans and C'arthaginlans, had learned the military art, and were natiuilly brave and courageous, Before ho camo to action, he sent a^vay his r->i-t, that his i-ohliuvs might place all their hopes In their vaJour. "With the same view, when he came near the enemy, he took A com* and posted his army behind them in the plain ; so that U" ards were between him and his camp, F 2 3i6 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. Cato said, " It is no such great hardship"; for, if we con- quer, we shall pay them at the enemy's expence ; and if we are conquered, there will be nobo.ty either to pay or make the demand." He gained the battle, and every thing after- wards succeeded to his wish. Folybius tells us, that the is alls of all the Spanish towns on this side the river Baetis were razed by his command in one day,* notwithstanding the towns were numerous and their inhabitants brave. Cato himself says, he took more cities than he spent days in Spain ; nor is it a vain boast ; for they were actually no fewer than four hundred. Though this campaign afford- ed the soldiers great booty, he gave each of them a pound weight of silver besides, saying, " It was better that many of the Romans should return with silver in their pockets than few with gold." And, for his own part, he assures u, that of all that was taken in the war, nothing came to his share but what he eat and drank. " Not that I blame (says he) those that seek their own advantage in these things; but I had rather contend for valour with the brave, than for wealth with the rich, or in rapaciousness with the covetous,'' And he not only kept himself clear of extor- tion, but all that were immediately under his direction. He had. live servants with him in this expedition, one of whom, named Paccus, had purchased three boys that were among the prisoners ; but when he knew that his master was in- formed of it, unable to bear the thoughts of coming into his presence, he hanged himself. Upon which Cato sold the boys, and put the money into the public treasure. While he was settling the affairs of Spain, Scipio the Great, who was his enemy, and wanted to break the course of his success, ana have the finishing of the war himself, managed matters so as to get himself appointed his successor. After which he made all possible haste to take the command of the army from him. But Cato, hearing of his march, took five companies of foot, and five hundred horse as a convoy to at- tend upon Scipio, and as he went to meet him, defeated the * As the dread of bis name procured him great respect in all the provinces beyond the Iberus, he wrote the same day private letters to the commanders of several fortified towns, ordering them to de- molish without delay their fortifications ; and assuring them that they would pardon none but such as readily complied with his orders. Every one of the commanders believing the orders to be sent only to himself, immediately beat down their walls and towers--. Liv. 1. xixiv, c. 15. CATO THE CEKSOK. 3 J 7 Lacctauians, and took among them six hundred Roman de- serters, whom he caused to be put to death. And upon Scipio's expressing his displeasure at this, he answered ironi- cally, " i\ owe would be great indeed, if men of birth would not yield the palm of virtue to the commonalty, and if ple- beians, like himself, would contend for excellence with men of birth and quality." Besides, as the senate had decreed, that nothing should be altered which Cato had ordered and established, the post which Scipio had made so much interest for, rather tarnished his own glory than that of Ca- to ; for he continued inactive during that government. In the meantime Cato was honoured with a triumph. But he did not act afterwards like those whose ambition is only for fame, and not for virtue, and who having reached the hip lust honours, borne the office of consul, and led up triumphs, withdraw from public business, and give up the rest of their days to ease and pleasure. On the con- trary, like those who are just entered upon business, and thirst for honour and renown, he exerted himself as if he was beginning his race anew, his services being always ready, both for his friends in particular, and for the citi- zens in genera', either at the bar or in the field. For he went with the consul Tiberius Sempronius to Thrace and the Danube* as his lieutenant. And as legionary tribune he attended Manius Acilius Glabrio into Greece, in the war against Antiochus the Great ; who, next to Hannibal, was the most formidable enemy the Romans ever had. For having recovered almost all the provinces of Asia which Seleucus Nicanor had possessed, and redu- ced many warlike nations of barbarians, he was so much elated as to think the Romans the only match for him in the field. Accordingly he crossed the sea with a powerful army, colouring h;s design with the specious pretence of restoring liberty to the Greeks, of which, however, they stood in no need ; for being lately delivered by the fa- vour of the Romans from the yoke of Philip and the Ma- cedonians, they were free already, and were governed by their own laws. At his approach all Greece was in great commotion, and unresolved how to act ; being corrupted with the splendid hopes infused by the orators whom Antiochus * The year after his consulship, and the second year of the hun- dred and forty-sixth Olympiad. P3 318 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. bad gained. Acilius, therefore, sent ambassadors to the se veral states ; Titus I laminius appeased the disturbances, and kept most of the Greeks in the Roman interest, with. out using any violent means, as 1 have related in his life ; and Cato confirmed the people of Corinth, as well as those of Patrae and /Egium, in their duty. He also made a considerable stay at Athens ; and it is said there is still extant a speech of his which he delivered to the A- i.henians in Greek, expressing his admiration of the. vir- tue of their ancestors, and his satisfaction in beholding the beauty and grandeur of their city. But this account is not true, for he spoke to them by an interpreter. Not that he was ignorant of Greek, but chose to adhere to the customs of his country, and laugh at those who admir- ed nothing but what was Greek. He therefore ridiculed Posthumius Albinus, who had written an history in that language, and made an apology for the improprieties of expression, saying, He ought to be pardoned if he wrote it by command of the Amphictyvnf." We are assured that the Athenians admired the strength and conciseness of hie language ; for what he delivered in few words, the inter- preter was obliged to make use of many to explain, in- somuch, that he left them in the opinion, that the expres- sions of the Greeks flowed cmly from the lips, while those of the Romans came from the heart.* Antiochus having blocked up the narrow pass of Ther- mopylae with his troops, and added walls and entrench- ments to the natural fortifications of the place, sat down there unconcerned, thinking the war could not touch him. And, indeed, the Romans despaired of forcing the pass. But Cato recollecting the circuit the Persians had taken on a like occasion,f set out in the night with a proper de- tachment. When they had advanced a considerable height, the guide, who was one of the prisoners, missed his way, and wandering about, among impracticable places and pre- * There cannot be a stronger instance than this, that the brief ex- pression of the Spartans was owing to the native simplicity of their manners, and the sincerity of their hearts. It was the expression of nature. Artificial and circumlocutory expression, like licentious paintings, are the consequences of licentious life. ) In the Persian war, Leonidas, with three hundred Spartans only, sustained the shock of an innumerable multitude in the pass of Ther- mopylae, until the barbarians, fetching a compass round the mountains by bye-ways, came up upon him behind, and cut his party in pieces. CATO THE CENSOR. cipiccs, threw the soldiers into inexpressible dread and despair. Cato seeing the danger, ordered his forces to halt, while he, with one Lucius Manlius, who was dex- terous in climbing the steep mountains,* went forward with great difficulty, and at the hazard of his life, at mid- night, without any moon, scrambling among wild olive- trees and steep rocks, that still more impeded his view, and added darkness to the obscurity. At last they hit upon a path which seemed to lead down to the encmy'i camp. There they set up marks upon some of the most conspicuous rocks on the top of the mountain Callidro- mus ; and returning the same way, took the whole party with them ; whom they conducted by the direction of the* marks, and so regained the little path ; where they marie ~a proper disposition of the troops. They had marched but a little further, when the path failed them, and they savr nothing before them but a precipice, which distressed them still more ; for they could not yet perceive that they were near the enemy. The day no\v began to appear, when one of them thought he heard trie ound of human voices 5 and a little after they saw the Grecian camp and the advanced guard at the foot of the rock. Cato, therefore, made a halt, and sent to acquaint the Firmians that he wanted to speak with them in private. f These were troops whose fidelity and cou- rage he had experienced on the most dangerous occasions. They hastened into his presence, when he thus addressed them.*' I want to take one of the enemy alive, to learu '* of him who they are that compose this advanced guard, " and how many in number ; and to be informed what is " the disposition and order of their whole army, and what '* preparations they have made to receive us ; but the bus- *' siness requires the speed and impetuosity of lions, who " rush into a herd of timorous beasts." When Cato had done speaking, the Firmians, without further preparation, poured down the mountain, sur- prised the advanced guard, dispersed them, took one armed man, and brought him to Cato. The prisoner in* formed him, that the main body of the army was en- * The mountains to the cast of the straits of Thermopylae are .comprehended under the name of Oeta ; and the highest of them is called Callidromus, at the foot of whicli h- a road sixty feet broad /.t'r. 1. xxxvi, c. 15. f Firraium was a Roman colonv in th'- Picene. P4 320 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. camped with the king in the narrow pass, und that the detachment which guarded the heights consisted of six hundred select ^itolians. Cato despising these troops, as well on account of their small number, as their negli- gence, drew his sword, and rushed upon them with all the alarm of voices and trumpets. The ,/Etolians no sooner sa%v him descend from the mountains, than they fled to the main body, and put the whole in the utmost confusion. At the same time Manius forced the entrenchments of Antiochns""below, and poured into the pass with his army. Antiochus himself being wounded in the mouth with a stone, and having some of his teeth struck out, the anguish obliged him to turn his horse and retire Afiter his re- treat, no part of his army could stand the shock of the Ro- mans ; and though there appeared no hopes of escaping by flight, by reason of the straitness of the road, the deep marshes on one side, and rocky precipices on the other, yet they crowded alone through these narrow passages, and pushing each other down, perished miserably, out of fear of being destroyed by the Romans Cato, who was never sparing in his own praises, and thought boasting a natural attendant on great actions, is very pompous in his account of this exploit. He says, That those who saw him charging the enemy, routing aad pursuing them, declared, that Cato owed less ta the people of Rome, than the people of Rome owed to Cato ; and that the consul Manius himself, coming hot from the fight, took him in his arms as he too came panting from the action, and embracing him a long time, cried out in a transport of joy, that neither he nor the whole Roman people could sufficiently reward Cato's merit." Immediately after the battle, the consul sent him with an account of it to Rome, that he might be the first to carry the news of his own achievements. With a favour- able wind he sailed to Brundusium ; from thence he reached Tarentum in one day ; and having travelled four days more, he arrived at Rome the fifth day after he landed, and was the first that brought the news of the vic- tory. His arrival filled the city with sacrifices and other testimonies of joy, and gftve the people so high an opinion of themselves, that they now believed there could be no bounds to their empire or their power. CATO THE CEN'SOR. 321 These are the most remarkable of Cato's actions ; and, with respect to civil affairs, he appears to have thought the impeaching of offenders, and bringing them to justice, a] thing that well deserved his attention ; for he prose- cuted several, and encouraged and assisted others in car- rying on their prosecutions. Thus he set up Petilius against Scipio the Great ; but secure in the dignity of his family and his own greatness of mind, Scipio treated the accusation with the utmost contempt. Cato perceiving he would not be capitally condemned, dropt the accusa- tion ; but, with some others who assisted him the cause, impeached his brother Lucius Scipio, who was sentenced to pay a fine which his circumstances could not answer, so that he was in danger of imprisonment ; and it was not without great difficulty, and appealing to the tribunes, that he was dismissed. We have also an account of a young man who had pro- cured a verdict against an enemy of his father who was lately dead, and had him stigmatized. Cato met him as he was passing through the Jorum, and taking him by the hand, addressed him in these words. " It is thus we are " to sacrifice to the manes of our parents, not with the " blood of goats and lambs, but with the tears and con- " demnation of their enemies." Cato, however, did iiot escape these attacks ; but when, in the business of the state, he gave the least han- dle, was certainly prosecuted, and sometimes in danger of being condemned. FoV it is said that near fifty im- peachments were brought against him, and the last, when he was eighty-six years of age ; on which occasion he made use of that memorable expression, It is hard that I, u-ho have lived with men of one generation, should ie ulli^cd to make my defence in those of another. Nor was this the end of his contests at the bar ; for, four years after, at the age of ninety,* he impeached Servilius Gal- ba : so that, like Nestor, he lived three generations, and, * Plutarch here is not consistent with himself. Towards the be- ginning of thislife, he says, ;hat Cato was but seventeen years old at the time of Hannibal's success in Italy; and at the conclusion he tells , that Cato died just at the beginning of the third Punic war. But Hannibal came into Italy in the year of Rome 534 ; and the third Punic war broke out seventy years after, in the year of Rome 60-k According to this computation, Cato could not be more than eighty-seven years old when he died ; and this account is confirm- ed by Cicero. P5 322 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. like him, was always in action. In short, after having constantly opposed Scipio in matters of government, he lived until the time of young Scipio, his adopted grandson, and son of Paulus ^milius, who conquered Perseus and the Macedonians. Ten years after his consulship, Cato stood for the office of censor, which was the highest dignity in the republic j for, besides the other power and authority that attended this office, it gave the magistrate a right of inquiry into the lives and manners of the citizens. The Romans did not think Juproper that any one should be left to follow his own inclinations without inspection or control, either in marriage, in the procreation of children, in his table, or in the company he kept. But, convinced that in these private scenes of life, a man's real character was much tnore distinguishable than in his public and political trans- actions, they appointed two magistrates, the one out of the patricians, and the other out of the plebeians, to in- spect, to correct, and to chastise such as they found giv- ing into dissipation and licentiousness, and deserting the ancient and established manner of living. These great officers they called censors ; and they had power to de- prive a Roman knight of his horse, or to expel a senator that led a vicious and disorderly life. They likewise took an estimate of each citizen's estate, and enrolled them ac- cording to their pedigree, quality, and condition. This office has several other great prerogatives annex- ed to it ; and, therefore, when Cato solicited it, the prin- cipal senators opposed him. The motive to this opposi- tion with some of the patricians was envy ; for they ima- gined it would be a disgrace to the nobility, if persons of a mean and obscure origin were elevated to the highest honour in the state : with others it was fear ; for, con- scious that their lives were vicious, and that they had de- parted from the ancient simplicity of manners, they dread- ed the austerity of Cato ; because they believed he would be stern and inexorable in his office. Having consulted and prepared their measures, they put up seven candi- dates in opposition to Cato ; and imagining that the peo- ple wanted to be governed with an easy hand, they sooth- ed them with hopes of a mild censorship. Cato, on the contrary, without condescending to the least flattery or complaisance, in his speeches from the rostrum professed his resolution to punish every instance of vice ; and loud* CATO THE CENSOR. 323 ly declaring that the city wanted great reformation, con. jured the people, if they were wise, to choose, not the mildest, but the severest physician. He told them that he was one of that character, and, among the patricians, Valerius Flaccus was another ; and that, with him for his colleague, and him only, he could hope to render good service to the commonwealth, by effectually cutting oft, like another hydra, the spreading luxury and effeminacy of the times. He added, that he saw others pressing into the censorship, in order to exercise that office in a bad man- ner, because they were afraid of such as would discharge it faithfully. The Roman people, on this occasion, shewed them- selves truly great, and worthy of the best of leaders ; for, far from dreading the severity of this inflexible man, they rejected those smoother candidates that seemed ready to consult their pleasure in every thing, and chose Vale- rius Flaccus with Cato ; attending to the latter, not as a man that solicited the office of censor, but as one who,, already possessed of it, gave out his orders by virtue of his authority. The first thing Cato did, was to name his friend and colleague Lucius Valerius Flaccus chief of the senate, and to expel many others the house j particularly Lucius Quin- tus, who had been consul seven years before, and, what was still a greater honour, was brother to Titus Flanai- nius,* who overthrew king Philip. He expelled also Manilius, another senator, whom the general opinion had marked out for consul, because he had given his wife a kiss in the day-time in the sight of his daughter.. * For his own part," he said, " his wife - never embraced him but when it thundered dreadfully ;" adding, by way of joke, "That he was happy when Jupiter pleased to thunder.'* He was censured as having merely indulged his envy, when he degraded Lucius, who was brother to Scipio the Great, and had been honoured wilh a triumph ; for he took from him his horse ; and it was believed he did it to insult the memory of Scipio Africanus. But there was " Polybius, Livy, and Cicero, make the surname of this family Fjaminius, PS 32-t PLVTAECHS LIVflS. another thing that rendered him more generally obnoxi- ous, and that was the reformation he introduced in point of luxury. It was impossible for him to bejrin his at- tacks upon it openly, because the whole body of the peo- ple was infected, and therefore he took an indirect me- thod. He caused an estimate to be taken of all apparel, carriages, female ornaments, furniture, and utensils ; and whatever exceeded fifteen hundred drachmas in value, he rated it ten times as much, and imposed a tax according to that valuation. For every thousand asses he made them pay three ; that, finding themselves burdened with the tax, while the modest and frugal, with equal substance, paid much less to the public, they might be induced to retrench their appearance. This procured him many ene- mies, not only among those who, rather than part with their luxury, submitted to the tax, but among those who lessened the expence of their figure to avoid it ; for the generality of mankind think that prohibition to shew their wealth is the same thing as taking it away, and that opulence is seen in the superfluities, not in the neces saries of life. And this (we are told) was what surprised Aristo the philosopher ; for he could not comprehend why those that are possessed of superfluities should be ac- counted happy, rather than such as abound in what is ne- cessary and useful. But Scopas the Thessalian, when one of his friends asked him for something that could be of little use to him, and gave him that as a reason why he should grant his request, made answer, " It. is in these " useless and superfluous things that I am rich and hap- " py." Thus, the desire of wealth, far from being a na- tural passion, is a foreign and adventitious one, arising from vulgar opinion. Cato paid no regard to these complaints, but became still more severe and rigid. He cut off the pipes by which people conveyed water from the public fountains into their houses and gardens, and demolished all the buildings that projected out into the streets. He lower- ed the price of public works, and farmed out the public revenues at the highest rent they could bear. By these things he brought upon himself the hatred of vast num- bers of the people ; so that Titus Flaminius and his party attacked him, and prevailed with ths senate to annul the contracts he had made for repairing the temples and pub- He buildings, as detrimental to the state. Nor did they CATO THE CENSOR. 325 Stop here, but incited the boldest of the tribunes to ac- cuse him to the people, and fine him two talents. They likewise opposed him very much in his building, at the pub- lic charge, a hall below the senate-house by the /r/nm, which he finished notwithstanding, and called the Porcian hall. The people, however, appear to have been highly pleased with his behaviour in this office ; for when they erected his statue in the temple of Health, they made no mention on the pedestal of his victories and his triumph, but the in- scription was to this effect. " In honour of Cato the " Censor, who, when the Roman commonwealth was de- " generating into licentiousness, by good discipline and " wise institutions restored it." Before this he laughed at those who were fond of such honours, and said, " They were not aware that they " plumed themseves upon the workmanship of founders, *' statuaries, and painters, while the Romans bore about " a more glorious image of him in their hearts." And to those that expressed their wonder, that, while many persons of little note had their statues, Cato had none, he said, " He had much rather it should be asked, why he had " not a statue, than why he had one." In short, he was of opinion, that a good citizen should not even accept of his due praise, unless it tended to the advantage of the community. Yet of all men he was the most forward to commend himself; for he tells us, that those who were guilty of misdemeanors, and afterwards reproved for them, used to say, " They were excusable ; they were " not Catos ;"* and that such as imitated some of his actions, but did it awkwardly, were called left-handed Ca- * So we have rendered the passage with the Latin translator. The text runs thus : ; yi xeti .<~/Z!ifj.iiv;, Xiyttv fit us UK |io> tyxaXsiv aura;' v yap Karutif lift. Now, we think it much more natural to alter the two last words into Kuruizi nvai, if any alteration is necessary, than to break into the construction, and change the whole form of the sentence thus : is yi x.tri'T'.pi TflN 'AMAPrAKONTflN vi -rtfi *tn "tar, HT EAtTXOME- NflN', \tyni Inure* ftem, x. 7. x. and yet it must be so changed to justify the English and the French translations. The English runs thus: Insomuch, (hat when some citizens that had been guilty of mis- demeanors K-fre reproved for it, he used to nay, " They are excus- " able, for they are not Catos." And the French of Dacier thus : Jusque-la, que lorsque qudqiics ritoyens avoient fu.it des favtes dang In condvite de leur vie, ft qu'on les en reprenoit, il avoit accoutumi de dirt. -. >< Us sent excusablesj car ils ue sent pas des Catons." 326 PLUTARCH'S LIVES'. tos. He adds, " That the senate, in difficult and dan- " gerous times, used to cast their eyes upon him, as pas- " senders in a ship do upon the pilot in a storm ;" and, " That when lie happened to be absent, they frequently *' put ofF the consideration of matters of importance." These particulars, indeed, are confirmed by other writers ; for hia life, 1m eloquence, and his age, gave him great au- thority in Rome. He was a good father, a good husband, and an excellent economist. And as he did not think the care of his family a mean and trifling thing, which required only a superficial attention, it may be of use to give some account of his conduct in that respect. He chose his wife rather for her family than her for- tune ; persuaded, that though both the rich and the high-born have their pride, yet women of good families are more ashamed of any base and unworthy action, and more obedient to their husbands in every thing that is good and honourable. He used to say, that they who beat their wives or children, laid their sacrilegious hands on the most sacred things in the world ; and that he pre~ ferred the character of a good husband to that of a great senator. And he admired nothing more in Socrates than his living in an easy and quiet manner with an ill-temper- ed wife and stupid children. When lie had a son born, no business, however urgent, except it related to the public, could hinder him from being present while his wife washed and swaddled the infant ; for she suckled it herself ; nay, she often gave the breast to the sons of her servants, to inspire them with a brotherly regard for her own. As soon as the dawn of understanding appeared, Cato took upon him the office of schoolmaster to his son, though he had a slave named Chilo, who was a good grammarian, and taught several other children. But he tells us, he did not choose that his son should be repri- manded by a slave, or pulled by the ears, if he happened to be slow in learning ; or that he should be indebted to so mean a person for his education. He was, there- fore, himself his preceptor in grammar, in law, and in the necessary exercises; for he taught him not only how to throw a dart, to fight hand to hand, and to ride, but to box, to endure heat and cold, and to swim the most ra- pid rivers. He farther acquaints us, that he wrote his- CATO THE CENSOR. 327 tones for him with his own hand, in large characters, that, without stirring out of his father's house, he might train a knowledge of the great actions of the ancient Ro- mans, and of the customs of his country. He was as careful not to utter an indecent word before his son, as he would have been in the presence of the vestal virgins ; nor did he ever bathe with him. A regard to decency in this respect was, indeed, at that time general among the Romans ; for even sons-in-law avoided bathing with their fathers-in-law, not choosing to appear naked before them ; but afterwards the Greeks taught them not to be so scrupulous in uncovering themselves ; and they in their turn taught the Greeks to bathe naked even before the wo- men. While Cato was taking such excellent measures for forming his son to virtue, he found him naturally ductile both in genius and inclination ; but as his body was too weak to undergo much hardship, his father was obliged to relax the severity of his discipline, and to indulge him a little in point of diet. Yet, with this constitution, he was an excellent soldier, and particularly distinguished himself under Paulus -/Emilius, in the battle against Per- seus. On t'iis occasion, his sword happening to be struck from his hand, the moisture of which prevented him from grasping it firmly, he turned to some of lus companions with great concern, and begged their as- sistance in recovering it. He then rushed with them in- to the midst of the enemy, and having, with extraordi- nary efforts, cleared the place where the sword was lost, he found it with much difficulty, under heaps of arms, and dead bodies of friends as well as enemies, piled upon each other. Paulus ./Emilius admired this gallant action .of the young man ; and there is a letter still extant, written by Cato to his son, in which he extremely com- mends his high sense of honour expressed in the recovery of that sword. The young man afterwards married Tertia, daughter to Paulus ^Emilius, and sister to young Scipio ; the honour of which alliance was as much ow- ing to his own as to his father's merit. Thus Cato's care in the education of his son answered the end pro- posed. He had many slaves which he purchased among the captives taken in. war, always chooiing the youngest, and such ae were most capable of instruction, like whelps os 328 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. colts that may be trained at pleasure. None of these slaves ever went into any other man's house, except they were sent by Cato or his wife ; and if any of them was asked what his master was doing, he always answered, he did not know ; for it was a rule with Cato, to have his slaves either employed in the house, or asleep, and he liked those best that slept the most kindly, believing that they were better tempered than others that had not so much of that refreshment, and fitter for any kind of busi- ness. And as he knew that slaves will stick at nothing to gratify their passion for women, he allowed them to have the company of his female slaves, upon paying a certain price ; but under a strict prohibition of approaching any other women. When he was a young soldier, and as yet in low circum- stances, he never found fault with any thing that was serv- ed up to his table, but thought it a shame to quarrel with a servant on account of his palate. Yet afterwards, when he was possessed of an easy fortune, and made entertain- ments for his friends, and the principal officers, as soon as dinner was over, he never failed to correct, with leathern thongs, such of his slaves as had not given due attendance, or had suffered any thing to be spoiled. He contrived means to raise quarrels among his servants, and to keep them at variance, ever suspecting and fearing some bad conse- quence from their unanimity. And, When any of them were guilty of a capital crime, he gave them a formal trial, and put them to death in the presence of their fellow servants. As his thirst after wealth increased, and he found that agriculture was rather amusing than profitable, he turned his thoughts to surer depend- encies, and employed his money in purchasing ponds, hot- baths, places proper for fullers, and estates in good condi- tion, having pasture ground and wood lands. From these he had a ^reat revenue, suck a one, he used to say, ay Jupi- ter himseif' could not rmnppoin/ him of. He practised u a ury upon ships in the most blameable manner. His method was to insist that those whom he furnished with money should take a great number into partnership. When there were full fifty of them, and as many ships, he demanded one share for himself, which he managed by Quintio his freed man, who sailed and traffic- ed along with them. Thus, though his gain was great, he- did not risk hie capital, but only a small part of it. CATO THE CEX9OR. 320 He likewise lent money to such of his slaves as chose it ; and they employed it in purchasing boys, who were af- terwards instructed and fitted for service at Cato's ex- pence ; and being sold at the year's end by auction, Cato took several of them himself at the price of the highest bidder, deducting it out of what he had lent. To incline his son to the same economy, he told him, " That to * ; diminish his substance was not the part of a man, but of " a widow woman." Yet he carried the thing to extrava- gance when he hazarded this assertion, " That the man *' truly wonderful and godlike, and fit to be registered in " the lists of glory, was he by whose accounts it should " at last appear that he had more than doubled what he " had received from his ancestors." When Cato was very far advanced in years, there ar- rived at Rome two ambassadors from Athens,* Car- neadcs the Academic, and Diogenes the Stoic. They were sent to beg off a fine of five hundred talents which had been imposed on the Athenians for contumacy, by the Sicyonians, at the suit of the people of Oropus.f Upon the arrival of these philosophers, such of the Roman youth as had a taste for learning went to wait on them, and heard them with wonder and delight. Above all. they were charmed with the graceful manners of Carneades, the force of whose eloquence being great, and his reputa- tion equal to his eloquence, had drawn an audience of the most considerable and the politest persons in Rome, and the sound of his fame, like a mighty wind, had filled the whole city. The report ran, that there was come from Greece a man of astonishing powers, whose eloquence, more than human, was able to soften and disarm the fiercest passions, and who had made so strong an impres- sion upon the youth, that, forgetting all other pleasure* and diversions, they were quite possessed with an enthusias- tic love of philosophy. The Romans were delighted to find it so ; nor could they without uncommon pleasure behold their sons thus foudly receive the Grecian literature, and follow frhese wonderful men. But Cato, from the beginning, was * Auiui Gtllius mentions a third ambassador, Critolaus the Perl- jiateHc, f The Athenians had plundered the city of Oropus. Upon com- plaint made by the inhabitant?, ihe affair was referred to the de- termination of the Sicyonians | and the Athenians not appearing , justify themselves, v.ere lined live hundred talents. 330 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. alarmed at it. He no sooner perceived this passion fo: the Grecian learning prevail, but he was afraid that the youth would turn their ambition that way, and prefer the glory of eloquence to that of deeds of arms. But when he found that the reputation of these philosophers rose still higher, and their first speeches were translated into Latin by Cains Acilius, a senator of great distinction, who had earnestly begged the favour of interpreting them, he had no longer patience, but resolved to dismiss these philoso- phers upon some decent and specious pretence. He went therefore to the senate, and complained of the magistrates for detaining so long such ambassadors as those, who could persuade the people to whatever they pleased. " You ought," said he, " to determine their ** affair as speedily as possible, that returning to their " schools, they may hold forth to the Grecian youth, and " that our young men may a^ain give attention to the " laws and the magistrates.'' Not that Cato was induced to this by any particular pique to Cartieades, which some suppose to have been the case, but by his aversion to phi- losophy, and his making it a point to shew his contempt of the polite studies and learning of the Greeks. Nay, he scrupled not to affirm, " * That Socrates himself ' was a prating seditious fellow, who used his utmost " endeavours to tyrannize over his country, by abolish- " ing its customs, and drawing the people over to opi- nions contrary to the laws." And to ridicule the slow methods of tsocrates's teaching, he said, " His scholars 1 '* grew eld in learning their art, as if they intended to k< exercise it in the shades below, and to plead causes there." And to dissuade his son from those studies, he told him in a louder tone than could be expected from a man of his age, and, as it were, in an oracular and prophetic way, '* That when the Romans came thoroughly to imbibe the " Grecian literature, they would lose the empire of the " world." But time has shewn the vanity of that invidi- ous assertion ; for Rome was never at a higher pitch of greatness than when she was most perfect in the Grecian erudition, and most attentive to all manner of learning.* * Rome had, indeed, a very extensive empire in the Augustan age, but, at the same time, she lost her ancient constitution and her liberty. -Not that the learning of the Romans contributed to that loss, but their irreligion, their luxury, and corruption, occasioned it. CATO THE CEXSOR. 331 Nor was Cato an enemy to the Grecian philosophers only, but looked upon the physicians also with a suspici- ous eye. He had heard, it seems, of the answer which Hip- pocrates gave the king of Persia, when he sent for him, and offered him a reward of many talents, " I will never " make use of my art in favour of barbarians who are ene- " mies to the Greeks." This he said was an oath which all the physicians had taken, and therefore he advised his son to beware of them all. He added, that he himself had written a little treatise, in which he had set down his me- thod of cure,* and the regimen he prescribed, when any of his family were sick j that he never recommended fasting, but allowed them herbs, with duck, pigeon, or hare ; such kind of diet being light and suitable for sick people, having no other inconvenience'but its making them dream ; and that with these remedies, and this regimen, he preserved himself and his family. But his self-sufficiency in this respect went not unpunished ; for he lost both his wife and son. He himself) indeed, by his strong make and good habit of body, lasted lonp ; so that even in old age he frequently indulged his inclination for the se*, and, at an unseasonable time of life, married a young woman. It was on the fol* lowing pretence. After the death of his wife, he married his son to the daughter of Paulus jfllmilius, the sister of Scipio ; and continued a widower, but had a young female slave that came privately to his bed. It could not, however, be long a secret in a small house, with a daughter-in-law in it ; and one day as the favourite slave passed by with a haughty and flaunting air, to go to the censor's cham- ber,f young Cato gave her a severe look, and turned his back upon her, but said not a word. The old man was soon informed of this circumstance, and finding that this kind of commerce displeased his son and his daughtcr-in- * Cato was a worse quack than Dr. Hill. His medical receipts, which may be found in his treatise of country affairs, are either very simple, or very dangerous ; and fasting, which he exploded, is better than them all. Duck, pigeon, and hare, which, if we may believe Plutarch, he gave his sick people as a light diet, are certain- ly the strongest and most indigestible kinds of food, and their mak- ing them dream was a proof of it. f Ille Pater rectorque deum, cui dcxtra trisulcis Ignibis armata c.st, qui nutu concutit orbeni, Jnduitur faciera tauri " Ovid, Met. lib. H 332 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. law, he did not expostulate with them, nor take the least notice. Next morning he went to the jorum, according to custom, with his friends about him ; and as he went along, he called aloud to one Salonius, who had been his secretary, and now was one of his train, and asked him, " Whether 41 he had provided a husband for his daughter ?" Upon his answering, " That he had not, nor should, without " consulting his best friei.d ;" Cato said, " Why then, I " have found out a very fit husband for her, if she can bear *' with the disparity of age ; for, in other respects, he is " unexceptionable, but he is very old." Salomus reply- ing, " That he left the disposal of her entirely to him ; " for she was under his protection, and had no dependence *' but upon his bounty ;" Cato said, without farther cere- mony, " Then I will be your son-in-law." The man at first was astonished at the proposal, as may easily be ima- gined ; believing Cato past the time of life for marrying, and knowing himself far beneath an alliance with a family that had been honoured with the consulate and a triumph. But when he saw that (Jato was in earnest, lie embraced the offer with joy, and the marriage-contract was signed as soon as they came to the forum. While they were busied in preparing for the nuptials, young Cato, taking his relations with him, went and asked his father, " \Vhat offence he had committed, that he *' was going to put a mother-in-law upon him ?" Cato immediately answered, " Ask not such a question, my *' son ; for, instead of being offended, I have reason to " praise your whole conduct ; I am only desirous of having " more such sons, and leaving more such citizens to my " country." But this answer is said to have been given long before, by Pisistratus, the Athenian tyrant, who, when he had sons by a former wife already grown up, married a second, Timonassa of Argos, by whom he is said to have had two sons more, Jophon and Thessal-is. By this wife Cato had a son, whom lie called Salonius, after his mother's father. As for his eldest son Cato, he died in his pnetorship. His father often makes mention of him in his writings as a brave and worthy man. He bore this loss with the moderation of a philosopher, ap- plying himself, with his usual activity, to affairs of state ; tor he did not, like Lucius Lucullus afterwards, and Metellus Pius, think age an exemption from the service of the public, but considered that service as his indispen- CATO THE CENSOR. 333 sable duty ; nor yet did he act as Scipio Africanus had done, who, finding himself attacked and opposed by envy in his course of glory, quitted the administration, and spent the remainder of his days in retirement and inaction. But, as one told Dionysius, that the most honourable death was to die in possession of sovereign power, so Cato esteemed that the most honourable old age which was spent in serving the commonwealth. The amusements in which he passed his leisure hours, were the writing ot books, and tilling the ground ; and this is the reason of our having so many treatises on various subjects, and histories of his composing.* In his younger days he applied himself to agriculture, with a view to profit ; for he used to say, he had only two ways of increasing his income, labour and parsimony ; but, as he grew old, he regarded it only by way of theory and amusement. He wrote a book concerning country affairs,-]- in which, among other things- he gives rules for making cakes and preserving fruit ; for he was desirous to be thought curious and particular in every thing. He kept a better table in the country than in the town ; for he always invited some of his acquaintance in the neighbour- hood to sup with him. With these he passed the time in cheerful conversation, making himself agreeable not only to those of hie own age, but to the young ; for he had a thorough knowledge of the world, and had either seen himself, or heard from others, a variety of things that were curious and entertaining. He looked upon the table as one of the best means of forming friendships ; and at his the conversation generally turned upon the praises of great and excellent men among the Romans : as for the bad and the unworthy, no mention was made of them, for he would not allow, in his company, one word, either good or bad, to be said of such kind of men. The last service he is said to have done the public, was the destruction of Carthage. The younger Scipio, indeed, gave the finishing stroke to that work, but it was under- * Besides an hundred and fifty orations, and more, that he left behind him, he wrote a treatise of military discipline, and books of antiquities; in two of these he treats of the foundation of the cities of Italy ; the other five contained the Roman history, particularly a narrative of the 'first and second Punic war. f This is the only work of his that remains entire ; of the rest ve have only fragments. 334 PLUTARCH'S LIVE-. taken chiefly by the advice and at the instances of Cato. The occasion of the war was this. The Carthaginians, and Massinissa, king of Numidia, being at war with each other, Cato was sent into Africa to inquire into the causes of the quarrel. Massinissa, from the first, had been a friend to the Romans, and the Carthaginians were admitted into their alliance after the great overthrow they received from Scipio the elder, but upon terms which deprived them of great part of their dominions, and imposed a heavy tribute.* When Cato arrived at Carthage, he found that city not in the exhausted and humble condition which the Romans imagined, but full of men fit to bear arms, abounding in money, in arms, and warlike stores, and not a little elated in the thought of its being so well provided. He con- cluded, therefore, that it was now time for the Romans to endeavour to settle the points in dispute between the Nu- midians aod Carthage ; and that, if they did not soon make themselves masters of that city, which was their old enemy, and retained strong resentments of the usage she had lately received,, and which had not only recovered herself after her losses, but was prodigiously increased in wealth and power, they would soon be exposed to all their former dangers. For this reason, he returned in all haste to Rome, where he informed the senate, " That the defeats, and other mis- fortunes, which had happened to the Carthaginians, had not so much drained them of their forces, as cured them of their folly ; and that, in all probability, instead of a weaker, they had made them a more skilful and warlike enemy ; that their war with the Numidians was only a prelude to future combats with the Romans; and that the late peace was a mere name, for they considered it only as a suspension of arms, which they were willing to avail themselves of, till they had a favourable opportunity to renew the war-" It is said, that at the conclusion of his speech he shook the lap of his gown, and purposely dropped some Libyan figs ; and when he found the senators admired them for their size and beauty, he told them, " That the country * Scipio Africaniis obliged the Carthaginians, at the conclusion of rhe second Punic w;tr, to deliver up their fleet h> the Romans, yield to Ma,s.-,inissa part of Syphux's dominions, and pay the Homuiio teii thousand talents. This peace was made in the third year of the hundred and forty-fourth Olympiad, two hundred years before the Christian era. CATO THE CENSOE. 335 " where they grew was but three days sail from Rome." But what is a stronger instance of his enmity to Carthage, he never gave his opinion in the senate upon any other point whatever, without adding these words -" And my opinion " is, that Carthage should be destroyed." Scipio, sur- named Nasica, made it a point to maintain the contrary, and concluded all his speeches thus " And my opinion " is, that Carthage should be left standing." It is very likely that this great man, perceiving that the people were come to such a pitch of insolence, as to be led by it into the greatest excesses (so that in the pride of prosperity they could not be restrained by the senate, but by their overgrown power were able to draw the government what way they pleased), thought it best that Carthage should remain to keep them in awe, and to moderate their pre- sumption. For he saw that the Carthaginians were not strong enough to conquer the Romans, and yet too re- spectable an enemy to be despised by them. On the other hand, Cato thought it dangerous, while the people were thus inebriated and giddy with power, to suffer a city which had always been great, and which was now grown sober and wise through its misfortunes, to lie watching every advantage against them. It appeared to him, there- fore, the wisest course to have all outward dangers re- moved from the commonwealth, that it might be at leisure to guard against internal corruption.* Thus Cato, they tell us, occasioned the third and last war against the Carthaginians. But as soo'n as it began he died, having first prophesied of the person that should put an end to it ; who was then a young man, and had only a * So we have rendered the last member of the sentence, with the Latin, ut ita opporluniua intestinin mctlis medendiu vacarent. lu Un- original it is, KvafcfKs auruf Tfo; raj s/xshv afiaf?ia; a.*t). fret ret; ; and one of the senses of avp*f is an alleviation, a resource ; so Euripides in Orent. r< iiui* axa-ftp* Tas, io the prv. 336 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. tribune's command in the army, but was giving extraordinary proofs of his conduct and valour. The news of these ex- ploits being brought to Rome, Cato cried out, He is the soul of council ; The rest are shadows vain. This Scipio soon confirmed by his actions. Cato left one son by his second wife, who, as we have already observed, was surnamed Salonius, -and a grandson by the son of his first wife, who died before him. Salo- nius died in his prsetorship, leaving a son named Marcus, who came to be consul, and was grandfather * to Cato the philosopher, the best and most illustrious man of his time. AR1STIDES AND CATO COMPARED. HAVING thus given a detail of the most memorable ac- tions of these great men, if we compare the whole life of the one with that of the other, it will not be easy to discern the difference between them, the eye being at- tracted by so many striking resemblances. But if we ex- amine the several parts of their lives distinctly, as we do n poem or a picture, we shall find, in the first place, this common to them both, that they rose to high stations and great honour in their respective commonwealths, not by the help of family connections, but merely by their own virtue and abilities. It is true, that when Aristides raised himself, Athens was not in her grandeur, and the de- magogues and chief magistrates he had to deal with, were men of moderate and nearly equal fortunes. For estates of the highest class were then only five hundred medimrri ; of those of the second order, who were knights, three hundred ; and of those of the third order, who were called Zeugit, we may ascribe his maintaining his dignity unblemished to the last. For Antipater bestowed the same encomium upon Aristotle the philosopher, in what he wrote concerning him after his death, that, among his other qualities, he had the very extraordinary one, of persuading people to what- ever he pleased. That the art of governing cities and commonwealths is the chief excellence of. man, admits not of a doubt ; and it is generally agreed, that the art of governing a family is no small ingredient in that excellence ; for a city, which is only a collection of families, cannot be prosperous in the whole, unless the families that compose it be flourish- ing and prosperous. And Lycurgus, when he banished gold and silver out of Sparta, and gave the citizens, in- stead of it, money made of iron, that had been spoiled by the fire, did not design to excuse them from attending to economy, but only to prevent luxury, which is a tumour ;uid inflammation caused by riches ; that every one might have the greater plenty of the necessaries and conveniencies of life. By this establishment of him, it appears, that he saw farther than any other legislator ; since he was sensible that every society has more to apprehend from its needy members, than from the rich. For this reason, Cato was no less attentive to the management of his domestic con- cerns, than to that of public affairs ; and he not only in- creased his own estate, but became a guide to others in economy and agriculture, concerning which he collected many useful rules. But Aristides, by his indigence, brought a disgrace upon justice itself, as if k were the ruin and impoverish- ment of families, and a quality that is profitable to any one rather than the owner. Hesiod, however, has said ?. good deal to exhort us both to justice and economy, and ARISTIDES AXD CATO COMPARED. 33<) inveighs against idleness as the source of injustice. The same is well represented by Homer * The culture of the field, which fills the stores With happy harvests ; and domestic cares, Which rear the smiling progeny, no charms Could boast for me ; 'twas mine to sail The gallant ship, to sound the trump of war, To point the polish'd pear, and hurl the quivering lance. By which the poet intimates, that those who neglect their bwn affairs, generally support themselves by violence and injustice. For what the physicians say of oil, that used outwardly it is beneficial, but pernicious when taken in- wardly, is not applicable to the just man ; nor is it true, that he is useful to others, and unprofitable to himsell and his family. The politics of Aristides seem, there- fore, to have been defective in this respect, if it is true (as most writers assert), that he left not enough either for the portions of his daughters, or for the expcnces of his funeral. Thus, iQato's family produced praetors and consuls to the fonrth generation ; for his grandsons and their children bore the highest offices ; whereas, though Aristides was one of the greatest men in Greece, yet the most distressful poverty prevailing among his descendants, some of them were forced to get their bread by shewing tricks of slight- of-hand, or telling fortunes, and others, to receive public alms ; and not one of them entertained a sentiment worthy of their illustrious ancestor. It is true, this point is liable to some dispute ; for po- verty is not dishonourable in itself, but only when it i? the effect of idleness, intemperance, prodigality, and folly. And when, on the contrary, it is associated with all the virtues in the sober, the industrious, the just, and valiant statesman, it speaks a great and elevated mind. For an attention to little things, renders it impossible to do any- thing that is great ; nor can he provide for the wa its of others, whose own are numerous and craving. The great and necessary provision for a statesman is, not riches, but a contented raind, which, requiring no superfluities for Odyis. 1. iv. Q '- 34O PLUTARCH'S LIVES. itself, leaves a man at full liberty to serve the common- wealth. God is absolutely exempt from wants ; and the virtuous man, in proportion as he reduces his wants, ap- proaches nearer to the divine perfection. For as a body well built for health needs nothing exquisite, either in food or clothing, so a rational way of living, and a well- governed family, demands a very moderate support. Our possessions, indeed, should be proportionate to the use we make of them ; he that amasses a great deal, and uses but little, is far from being satisfied and happy in his abun- dance ; for if, while he is solicitous to increase it, he has no desire of those things which wealth can procure, he is foolish ; if he does desire them, ajid yet out of meanness of spirit will not allow himself in their enjoyment, he is miserable. I would fain ask Cato himself this question, " If " riches are to be enjoyed, why, when possessed of a great " deal, did he plume himself upon being satisfied with a " little ?" If it be a commendable thing, as indeed it is, to be contented with coarse bread, and such wine as our servants and labouring people drink, and not to coyet purple and elegantly plastered houses, then Aristides, Epaminondas, Manius Curius, and Caius Fabricius, were perfectly right in neglecting to acquire what they did not think proper to use. For it was by no means necessary for a man who, like Cato, could make a delicious meal on turnips, and loved to boil them himself, while his wife baked the bread, to talk so much about a farthing, and to write by what means a man might soonest grow rich. Indeed, simplicity and frugality are then only great things, when they free the mind from the desire of super- fluities and the anxieties of care. Hence it was that Aristides, in the trial of Callias, said, " It was fit for none " to be ashamed of poverty, but those that were poor " against their wills ; and that they who, like him, were " poor out of choice, might glory in it." For it is ridi- culous to suppose that the poverty of Aristides was to be imputed to sloth, since he might, without being guilty of the least baseness, have raised himself to opulence, by the spoil of one barbarian, or the plunder of one tent. But enough of this. As to military achievements, those of Cato added but little to the Roman empire, which was already very great ; ARIST1DES AND CATO COMPARED. ' 341 whereas the battles of Marathon, Salamis, and Plataea, the most glorious and important actions of the Greeks, are numbered among those of Aristides. And surely Anti- ochus is not worthy to be mentioned with Xerxes, nor the demolishing of the walls of the vSpanish towns, with the destruction of so many thousands of barbarians, both by sea and land. On these great occasions Aristides was in- ierior to none in real service ; but he left the glory and the laurels, as he did the wealth, to others who had more need of them, because he was above them. I do not blame Cato for perpetually boasting and giving himself the preference to others, though, in one of his pieces, he says, " It is absurd for a man either to " commend or depreciate himself;" but I think the man who is often praising himself, not so complete in virtue as the modest man, who does not even want others to praise him. For modesty is a very proper ingredient in the mild and engaging manner necessary for a .statesman ; on the other hand, he who demands any extraordinary re- spect, is difficult to please, and liable to envy. Cato wag very subject to this fault, and Aristides entirely free from it ; for Aristides, by co-operating with his enemy The- mistocles in his greatest actions, and being, as it were, a guard to him, while he had the command, restored the affairs of Athens ; vrhereas Cato, by counteracting Scipio, had well nigh blasted and ruined that expedition of hift against Carthage, which brought down Hannibal, who, till then, was invincible. And he continued to raise sus- picions against him, and to persecute him with calumnies, till at last he drove him out of Rome, and got his brother stigmatized with the shameful crime of embezzling the. public money. As for temperance, which Cato always extolled as the greatest of virtues, Aristides preserved it in its utmost purity and perfection ; while Cato, by marrying so much beneath hi.nself, and at an unseasonable time of life, stood justly impeached in that respect ; for it was by no means decent, ; t his great age, to bring home to his son and daughter-in-law a young wife, the daughter of his secre- tary, a man who received wages of the public. Whether he did it merely to gratify his appetite, or to revenge the affront which his so:, put upon his favourite slave, both the cause and the thing were dishonourable. And the . Q3 342 . PLUTARCH'S LIVES. reason which he gave to his son was ironical and ground- less. For if he was desirous of having more children like him, he should have looked out before for some woman of family, and not have put off the thoughts of marrying again, till his commerce with so mean a creature was dis- covered ; and when it was discovered, he ought to have chosen for his father-in-law, not the man who would most readily accept his proposals, but one whose alliance would have done him the most honour. PHILOPCEMEN. Mantinea, there was a man of great quality and power, named Cassander,* who being obliged, by a reverse of fortune, to quit his own country, went and settled at Megalopolis. He was induced to fix there, chiefly by the friendship which subsisted betwixt him and Crausis,f the father of Philopcemen, who was in all respects an extraor- dinary man. While his friend lived, he had all that he could wish ; and being desirous, after his death, to make io:r.e return for his hospitality, he educated his orphan son in the same manner as Homer says Achilles was educated by Phoenix, and formed him from his infancy to generous sentiments and royal virtues. But when he was past the years of childhood, Ecdemus and DemophanesJ had the principal care of him. They were both Megalopolitans, who, having learned the academic philosophy of Arcesilaus,|| applied it, above all the men of their time, to action and affairs of state. They delivered their country from tyranny, by provid- ing persons privately to take off Aristodemus ; they were assisting to Aratus, in driving out Necocles the tyrant of Sicyon ; and, at the request of the people of Cyrene, * Pausanias calls him Cleander ; and some manuscripts of Plu- tarch agree with him. So it Is also in the translation of Guarini. } Craugis in Pausanias; in the inscription of a statue of Phi lopoemen at Tegeoe ; and in an ancient collection of epigrams. J In Pausanias their names are Ecdelus and Megalophane*. || Arcesilaus was founder of the Middle Academy, and made some alteration in the doctrine which had obtained. TIULOPCEMEX. 3 i:J whose government was in great disorder, they sailed thi- ther, settled it on the foundation of good laws, and tho- roughly regulated the commonwealth. But among all their great actions, they valued themselves most on the education of Philopoemon, as having rendered him, by the principles of philosophy, a common benefit to Greece. And, indeed, as he came the last of so many excellent ge- nerals, Greece loved him extremely, as the child of her old age ; and, as his reputation increased, enlarged his power. For which reason, a certain Roman calls him the last of the Greeks, meaning that Greece had not pro- duced one great man, or one that was worthy of her, after him. His visage was not very homely,* as some imagine it to have been ; for we see his statue still remaining at Delphi. As for the mistake of his hostess at Megara, it is said to be owing to his easiness of. behaviour, and the simplicity of his garb. She having word brought that the general of the Achseans was coming to her house, was in great care and hurry to provide his supper, her husband happening to be out of the way. In the meantime Philopcemeu came, and, as his habit was ordinary, she took him for one of his own servants, or for an harbinger, and desired him to assist her in the business of the kitchen. He pre- sently threw off his cloak, and began to cleave some wood ; when the master of the house returning, and seeing him, so employed, said, " What is the meaning of this, Philo- " pcemen I" He replied, in broad Doric, " I am paying " the fine of my deformity." Titus Flaminius rallying him one day upon his make, said, * What fine hands and " legs you have ! but then you have no belly :" and he was indeed very slender in the waist. But this raillery might rather be referred to the condition of his fortune ; for he had good soldiers, both horse and foot, but very often wanted money to pay them. These stories are subjects of disputations in the schools. As to his manners, we find that his pursuits of honour were too much attended with roughness and passion. Epaminondas was the person whom he proposed his pat- tern ; and he succeeded in imitating his activity, his Pausanias assures us, that his visage was homely, but at the tame time declares that, in point f size and strength, no man in Peloponnesus exceeded him. 3-J4 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. shrewdness, and contempt of riches ; but his choleric con- tentious humour prevented his attaining to the mildness, the gravity, and candour of that great man in political disputes ; so that he seemed rather fit for war than for the civil administration. Indeed, from a child, he was fond of every thing in the military way, and readily entered into the exercises which tended to that purpose ; those of rid- ing, for instance, and handling of arms. Aa he seemed well formed for wrestling, too, his friends and governors advised him to improve himself in that art ; which gave him occasion to ask, whether that might be consistent with his proficiency as a soldier ? They told him the truth ; that the habit of body and manner of life, the diet and exercise of a soldier and a wrestler, were entirely dif- ferent ; that the wrestler must have much sleep and full meals, stated times of exercise and rest, every little de- parture from his rules being very prejudicial to him ; where- as the soldier should be prepared for the most irregular changes of living, and should chiefly endeavour to bring himself to bear the want of food and sleep without diffi- culty. Philopcemen hearing this, not only avoided and de- rided the exercise of wrestling himself, but afterwards, when he came to be general, to the utmost of his power exploded the whole art, by every mark of disgrace, aud expression of contempt ; satisfied that it rendered persons, who were the most tit for war, quite useless and unable to fight on necessary occasions. When his governors and preceptors had quitted their charge, he engaged in those private incursions into Laconia, which the city of Megalopolis made for the sake of booty ; and in these he was sure to be the first to march out, and the last to return. His leisure he spent either in the chace, which increased both his strength and activity, or in the tillage of the field. For he had a handsome estate, twenty furlongs from the city, to which he went every day after dinner, or alter supper ; and, at night, he threw himself upon an ordinary ruattress, and slept as one of the labourers. Early iti the morning he rose and went to work along with his vine-dressers or ploughmen ; after which he re- tu*- a to the town, and employed his time about the public affairs with his friends, and with the magistrates. What he gained in the wars he laid out upon horses or PHILOPCEMEN. 345 arms, or in the redeeming of captives ; but he endeavoured to improve his own estate the justest way in the world, by agriculture I mean.* Nor did he apply himself to it in a cursory manner, but in full conviction that the surest way not to touch what belongs to others, is to take care of one's own. He spent some time in hearing the discourses, and study- ing the writings of philosophers ; but selected such as he thought might assist his progress in virtue. Among the poetical images in Homer, he attended to those which see.T-ed to excite and encourage valour ; and as to other authors, he was most conversant in the Tactics of Evange- lus,-|- and in the histories of Alexander; being persuaded that learning ought to conduce to action, and not be con- sidered as mere pastime, and an useless fund for talk. In the study of tactics, he neglected those plans and diagrams that are drawn upon paper, and exemplified the rules in the iield ; considering with himself as he travelled, and point- ing out to those about him, the difficulties of steep or broken ground ; and how the ranks of an army must be extended or closed, according to the difference made by ditches, rivers, and defiles. He seems, indeed, to have set rather too great a value on- military knowledge ; embracing war as the most extensive exercise of virtue, and despising those that were not versed i in it as persons entirely useless. He was now thirty years old, when Cleomenes, J king - of the Lacedsemonians, surprised Megalopolis in the- night, and having forced the guards, entered and seized the market-place. Philopoemen ran to succour the inha- bitants, but was not able to drive out the enemy, though he fought with the most determined and desperate valour. * Columella says agriculture is next akin to philosophy. It does, indeed, afford a person who is capable of speculation an opportunity of meditating on nature ; and such meditations enlarge the mind. -} This author is mentioned by Arrian, who also wrote a discourse on tactics. He observes, that the treatise of Evangelus, as well as those of several other writers or. that subject, were become of little use in his time, because they had omitted several things as sufficient- ly known in their days, which, however, then wanted explication. Tins ruay serve as a caution to future writers oil this and such like subjects. $ Cleomenes made himself master of Megalopolis in the second year of the hundred and thirty-ninth Olympiad, which was the two - hundred and twenty-first before the Christian era. 346 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. He prevailed, however, so far as to give the people op- portunity to steal out of the town, by maintaining the combat with the pursuers, and drawing Cleomenes upon himself ; so that he retired the last with difficulty, and after prodigious efforts, being wounded, and having his horse killed under him. When they had gained Messene, Cleo- aienes made them an offer of their city, with their lands and goods. Philopoemen perceiving they were glad to ac- cept the proposal, and in haste to return, strongly opposed it, representing to them, in a set speech, that Cleomenes did not want to restore them their city, but to be master of the citizens, in order that he might be more secure of keeping the place ; that he could not sit still long to watch empty houses and walls, for the very solitude would force them away. By this argument he turned the Me- galopolitans from their purpose, but at the same time fur- nished Cleomenes with a pretence to plunder the town, and demolish the greater part of it, and to march off loaded with booty. Soon after, Antigonus came down to assist the Achxans against Cleomenes ; and rinding, that he had possessed himself of the heights of Sellasia, and blocked up the passages, Antigonus drew up his army near him, with a resolution to force him from his post. Philopcemen, with his citizens, was placed among the cavalry, supported by the Illyrian foot, a numerous and gallant body of men, who closed that extremity. They had orders to wait quietly, until from the other wing, where the king fought in person, they should see a red robe lifted up upon the point of a spear. The Achaeans kept their ground as they were directed ; but the Illyrian officers, with their corps, attempted to break in upon the Lacedsemonians. Euclidas, the brother of Cleomenes, seeing this opening made in the enemy's army, immediately ordered a party of his light-armed infantry to wheel about and attack the rear of the Illyrians, thus separated from the horse. This being put in execution, and the Illyrians harassed and broken, Philopcemen perceived that it would be no difficult matter to drive off that light-armed party, and that the occasion called for it. First he mentioned the thing to the king's officers, but they rejected the hint, and considered him as no better than a madman, kis reputation being not yet respectable enough to justify PHILOKEMEX. 3-47 such a movement. He, therefore, with his Megtlopoli- tans, falling upon that light-armed corps himself, at the first encounter pnt them in confusion, and soon after routed them with great slaughter. Desirous yet farther to encourage Antigonus's troops, and quickly to pene- trate into the enemy's army, which was now in some dis- order, he quitted his horse ; and advancing on foot, in his horseman's coat of mail, and other heavy accoutrements, upon rough uneven ground, that was full of springs and bogs, he was making his way with extreme difficulty, when he had both his thighs struck through with a javelin, so that the point came through on the other side, and the wound was great, though not mortal. At first he stood still as if he had been shackled, not knowing what me- thod to take. For the thong in the middle of the javelin rendered it difficult to be drawn out ; nor would any about him venture to do it. At the same time the fight being at the hottest, and likely to be soon over, honour and indig- nation pushed him on to take his share in it ; and, there- fore, by moving his legs this way and that, he broke the staff, and then ordered the pieces to be pulled out. Thus set free, he ran, sword in hand, through the first ranks, to charge the enemy ; at the same time animating the troops, and tiring them with emulation. Antigonus having gained the victory, to try his Ma- cedonian officers, demanded of them, " Why they had " brought on the cavalry before he gave them the sig- " nal ?" By way of apology, they said, *' They were " obliged, against their will, to come to action, because " a young man of Megalopolis had begun the attack too '* soon." " That young man," replied Antigonus smil- ing, " has performed the office of an experienced gene- " ral." This action, as we may easily imagine, lifted Pliilo- pcemen into great reputation, so that Antigonus was very desirous of having his service in the wars, and offered him a considerable command, with great appointments ; but he declined it, because he knew he could not bear to be under the direction of another. Not choosing, how- ever, to he idle, and hearing there was a war in Crete, he sailed thither, to exercise and improve his military talents. When he had served there a good while, alonjr with a set of brave men, who were not only versed : 348 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. the stratagems of war, but temperate besides, and strict in their manner of living, he returned with so much re- nown to the Achaeans, that they immediately appointed him general of horse. He found that the cavalry made use of small and mean horses, which they picked up as they could when they were called to a campaign ; that many of them shunned the wars, and sent others in their stead ; and that shameful ignorance of service,* with its consequence, timidity, prevailed among them all. The former generals had connived at this, because it be- ing a degree of honour among the Achaeans to serve on horseback, the cavalry had great power in the common- wealth, and considerable influence in the distribution of rewards and punishments. But Philopcemen would not yield to such considerations, or grant them the least indul- gence. Instead of that, he applied to the several towns, and to each of the young men in particular, rousing them to a sense of honour, punishing where necessity required, and practising them in exercise, reviews, and mock-battles, in places of the greatest resort. By these means, in a little time, he brought them to surprising strength and spirit ; and what is of most consequence in discipline, rendered them so light and quick, that all their evolutions and movements, whether performed separately or together, were executed with so much readiness and address, that their motion was like that of one body actuated by art internal voluntary principle. In the great battle which they fought with the jEtolians and Eleans, near the river Larissus,f Demophantus, general of the Elean horse, ad- vanced belore the lines, at full speed, against Philopoe- men. Philopcemen, preventing his blow with a push of his spear, brought him dead to the ground. The ene- my seeing Demophantus fall, immediately fled. And now Philopcemen was universally celebrated, as not inferior to the young in personal valour, nor to the old in prudence, * CKCJJV S n-riipix.1 pirn a.raXpia.( t vmTiat vfxv. The Latin transla- tion, esstt etiam singularis omnium cum ignavia inertia, being a little obscure in this passage, though the Greek is very clear, the former English translator entirely omitted it. The passage, however, is of importance, and well deserves the consideration of every military man. f This battle was fought the fourth year of the hundred and forty- second Olympiad, when Philopcemen was in his forty-fourth year. PHILOPOF.MEN'. and as equally well qualified both to fight and to com- mand. Aratus was, indeed, the first who raised the common- wealth of the Achasans to dignity and power. For, whereas, before they were in a low condition, dispersed in unconnected cities, he united them in one body, and gave them a moderate civil government worthy of Greece. And, as it happens in running waters, that when a few small bo- dies stop, others stick to them, and one part strengthening another, die whole becomes one firm and solid mass, so it was with Greece. At a time when she was weak and easily broken, dispersed as she was in a variety of cities, which stood each upon its own bottom, the Achasans first united themselves, and then drawing some of the neigh- bouring cities to them, by assisting them to expel their ty- rants, while others voluntarily joined them for the sake of that unanimity which they beheld in so well constituted a government ; they conceived the great design of forming Peloponnesus into one community. It is true, that while Aratus lived, they attended the motions of the Macedo- nians, and made their court first to Ptolemy, and after- wards to Antigonus and Philip, who ail had a great share in the affairs of Greece. But when Philopoemen had taken upon him the administration, the Achseans finding them- selves respectable enough to oppose their strongest adver- saries, ceased to call in foreign protectors. As for Aratus, not being so fit for conflicts in the field, he managed most of his affairs by address, by moderation, and by the friend- ships he had formed with foreign princes, as we have re- lated in his life. But Plnlopcemen, being a great warrior, vigorous and bold, and successful withal in the first bat- tles that he fought, raised the ambition of the Achaeans together with their power ; for under him they were used to conquer. In the first place, he corrected the errors of the Achae- ans in drawing up their forces, and in the make of their arms. For hitherto they had made use of bucklers which were easy to manage on account of their smallness, but too narrow to cover the body, and lances that were much shorter than the Macedonian pikes ; for which reason they answered the end in fighting at a distance, but were of little use in close battle. As for the order of battle, they had not been accustomed to draw up in a spiral 350 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. form,* but in the square battalion ; which having neither a front of pikes nor shields, fit to lock together, like that of the Macedonians, was easily penetrated and broken. Philopoemen altered both ; persuading them, instead of the buckler and lance, to take the shield and pike ; to arm their heads, bodies, thighs, and legs ; and, instead of a light and desultory manner of fighting, to adopt a close and firm one. After he had brought the youth to wear complete armour, and on that account to consider themselves as invincible, his next step was to reform them with respect to luxury and love of expense. He could not, indeed, entirely cure them of the distemper with which they had long been infected, the vanity of ap- pearance, for they had vied with each other in fine clothe, in purple carpets, and in the rich service of their tables. But he began with diverting their love of show from superfluous things to those that were useful and ho- nourable ; and soon prevailed with them to retrench their daily expense upon their persons, and to give into a mag- nificence in their arms, and the whole equipage of war. The shops, therefore, were seen strewed with plate broken in pieces, while breast-plates were gilt with the gold, and shields and briddles studded with the silver. On the pa- rade the young men were managing horses, or exercising their arms. The women were een adorning helmets and crests with various colours, or embroidering military vests both for the cavalry and infantry. The very sight of these things inflaming their courage, and calling forth their vigour, made them venturous and ready to face any danger. For much expence in other things that attract our eyes, tempts to luxury, and too often produces effe- minancy ; the feasting of the senses relaxing the vigour of the mind; but, in this instance, it strengthens and im- * The Macedonian phalanx occasionally altered their form from the square to the spiral or orbicular, and sometimes to that ef the cuneus or wedge. T'f us rnifui might also be translated to drato up in platoons, the word r*upa, derived from rvcau, signifying band or platoon. But, then, in the original, it would rather have been t*tif*i than rriifai ; besides, the context seems to determine it to the former signification. It was necessary for the phalanx to throw themselver into -the spiral or obicular form, whenever they were surrounded, in order that they might face and fight the enemy on every side. PHILOPffiMEX. 351 proves it. Thus Homer represents Achilles, at the sight of his new armour, exulting with joy,* and burning with impatience to use it. When Philopoemen had per- suaded the youth thus to arm and to adorn themselves, he mustered and trained them continually, and they en- tered with pride and pleasure into his exercise, they were greatly delighted with the new form of the batta- lion, which was so cemented that it seemed impossible to break it. And their arms became light and easy in the wearing, because they were charmed with their richness and beauty j and they longed for nothing more than to use them against the enemy, and to try them in a real encounter. At that time the Achseans were at war with Machani- das, the tyrant of Lacedasmon, who, with a powerful ar- iny, was watching his opportunity to subdue all Pelopon- nesus. As soon as news was brought that he was fallen upon the Mantineans, Philopcemen took the field, and inarched against him. They drew up their armies near Mantinea, each having a good number of mercenaries in pay, beside the whole force of their respective cities. The engagement being begun, Machanidas, with his fo- reign troops, attacked and put to flight the spearmen and the Tarentines, who were placed in the Achaean front ; but afterwards, instead of falling upon that part of the army who stood their ground, and breaking them, he went upon the pursuit of the fugitives ;f and when he should have endeavoured to rout the main body of the Achaeans, left his own uncovered. Philopoemen, after so indifferent a beginning, made light of the misfortune, and represented it as no great matter, though the day seemed to be lost. But when he saw what an error the enemy committed, in quitting their foot and going upon the pursuit, by which they left him a good opening, he did not try to stop them in their career after the fugi- * She drops the radiant burden on the ground ; Clang the strong arms, and ring the shores around. Buck shrink the Myrmidons with dread surprise, And from the broad effulgence turn their eyes. Unmov'd, the hero kindles at the show, And feels with rage divine his bosom glow ; From his fierce eyeballs Jiving flames expire, And flash incessant like a stream of fire. Popt) II. * J- See Polybius, book xi. 352 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. tives, but suffered them to pass by. When the pursuers were got at a great distance, he rushed upon the Lace- daemonian infantry, now left unsupported by their right wing. Stretching, therefore, to the left, he took them iu flank, destitute as they were of a general, and far from expecting to come to blows ; for they thought Machanidas absolutely sure of victory when they saw him upon the pursuit. Atter he had routed this infantry with great slaughter (for it is said that four thousand Lacedaemonians were left dead upon the spot), he marched against Machani- das, who was now returning with his mercenaries from the pursuit. There was a broad and deep ditch between them, where both strove a while, the one to get over and fly, the other to hinder him. Their appearance was not like that ot a combat between two generals, but between two wild beasts (or rather, between a hunter and a wild beast), whom necessity reduces to fight. Philopoemen was the great hunter. The tyrant's horse being strong and spirited, and violently spurred on both sides, ven- tured to leap into the ditch, and was raising his fore feet, in order to gain the opposite bank, when Simmias and Polyaenus, who always fought by the side of Philo- pcemen, both rode up and levelled their spears against Machanidas. But Philopoemen prevented them ; and perceiving that the horse, with his head high reared, co- vered the tyrant's body, he turned his own a little, and pushing his spear at him with all his force, tumbled him into the ditch. The Achaeans, in admiration 01 this ex- ploit, and of his conduct in the whole action, set up his statue in brass at Delphi, in the attitude in which he killed the tyrant. It is reported, that at the Nemean games, a little after he had gained the battle of Mantinea, Philopcemen, then chosen general the second time, and at leisure on account of that great festival, first causid this phalanx, in the best order and attire, to pass in review before the Greeks, and to make all the movements which the art of war teaches, with the utmost vigour and agility. After this, he en- tered the theatre, while the musicians were contending for the prize, lie was attended by the youth in their military cloaks and s.carlet vests. These young men were all well made, of the san.e age and stature ; and though they shewed great respect for their general, yet they PHILOPfEMEV. 353 seemed not a little elated themselves with the many glorious battles they had fought. In the moment that they enter- ed, Py lades the musician happened to be singing to his lyre the Persce of Timotheus,* and was pronouncing this verse with which it begins, The palm of liberty for Greece I won, when the people, struck with the grandeur of the poetry, sung by a voice equally excellent, from every part of the theatre turned their eyes upon Philopoemen, and welcomed him with the loudest plaudits. They caught in idea the ancient dignity of Greece, and in their present confidence aspired to the lofty spirit of former times. As young horses require their accustomed riders, and are wild and unruly when mounted by strangers, so it was with, the Achaeans. When their forcts were under any other commander, on every great emergency, they grew discontented, and looked about for Phflopcemen ; and if he did but make his appearance, they were soon satisfied again, and fitted for action by the confidence which they placed in him ; well knowing that he was the only general whom their enemies durst not look in the face, and that they were ready to tremble at his very narae. Philip, king of Macedon, thinking he ceuld easily bring the Achasans under him again, if Philopceuien was out of the way, privately sent some persons to Argos to assassinate him But this treachery was timely die- covered, and brought upon Philip the hatred and contempt of ail the Greeks. The Boeotians were besieging Megara, and hoped to be soon masters of the place, when a re- port, though uot a true one, being spread among them, that i hilopcemen was approaching to the relief of the besieged, they left their scaling-ladders, already planted against the walls, and took to flight. Nabis, who was tyrant of Lacedsemon, alter Machanidas had taken Mes- sene by surprise, and Philopcemen, who was out of command, endeavoured to persuade Lysippus, then ge- neral of the Achaeans, to succour the Messeniaos ; but * Timotheus was a Dithyrambic poet, who flourished about the ninety-fifth Olympiad, three hundred and ninety-eight years before the Christian era, 354 PLUTARCH'S LIVfcS. not prevailing with him, because, he said, the enemy was within, and the place irrecoverably lost, he went himself; taking with him his own citizens, who waited neither for form of law nor commission, but followed him upon this natural principle, that he who excels should always com- mand. When he was got pretty near, Nabis was inform- ed of it ; and not daring to wait, though his army lay quartered in the town, stole out at another gate with his troops, and marched off precipitately, thinking himself happy if he could escape. He did indeed escape, but Messene was rescued. Thus far every thing is great in the character of Philo- pcemen. But as for his going a second time into Crete, at the request of the Gortynians, who were engaged in war, and wanted him for general, it has been blamed, either as an act of cowardice, in deserting his own coun- try when she was distressed by Nabis, or as an mjseason- able ambition to shew himself to strangers. And it is true, the Megajppolitans were then so hard pressed, that they were obliged to ehut themselves up within their walls, and to sow corn in their very streets, the enemy having laid waste their lands, and encamped almost at their gates. Philopcemen, therefore, by entering into the ser- vice of the Cretans at such a time, and taking a command beyond sea, furnished his enemies with a pretence to ac- cuse him of basely flying from the war at home. Yet it is said, that as the Achaeans had chosen other generals, Philopcemen, being unemployed, bestowed his leisure upon the Gortynians, and took a command among them at their request ; for he had an extreme aversion to idleness, and was desirous, above all things, to keep his talents, as a soldier and general, in constant practice. This was clear from what he said of Ptolemy. Some were commending that prince for daily studying the art of war, and improving his strength by martial exercise, " Who'* said he, ** can praise a prince of his age, that is always " preparing, and never performs :" The Megalopolitans, highly incensed at his absence, and looking upon it as a desertion, were inclined to pass an outlawry against him. But the Achaeans prevented them, by sending their general* Aristasnetus to Megalo- Polybius and Livy call him Ariotsnu;. PHILOPOIMEN. 355 polls, who, though he differed with Philopcemen about" matters of government, would not suffer him to be decla- red an outlaw. Philopcemen, finding himself neglected by his citizens, drew off from them several of the neighbour- ing boroughs, and instructed them to allege that they were not comprised in their taxations, nor originally of their dependencies. By assisting tham to maintain this pretext, he lessened the authority of Megalopolis in the general assembly of the Achaeans. But these things happened some time after. Whilst he commanded the Gortynians in Crete, he did not, like a Peloponnesian or Arcadian, make war in an open generous manner, but adopting the Cretan customs, and using their artifices and slights, their stratagems and ambushes, against themselves, he soon shewed that their devices were like the short-sighted schemes of children, when compared with the long reach of an experienced ge- neral. Having greatly distinguished himself by these means, and performed many exploits in that country, he returned to Peloponnesus with honour. Here he found Philip beaten by T. Q. Flaminius, and Nabis engaged in war both with the Romans and Achseans, He was immediately chosen general of the Achaeans ; but venturing to act at sea, he fell under the same misfortune with Epaminondas ; he saw the great ideas that had been formed of his courage and conduct vanish in consequence of his ill success in a naval engagement. Some say, indeed, that Epaminondas was unwilling that his countrymen should have any share of the advantages of the sea, lest of good soldiers (as Pla- to expresses, it)* they should become licentious and dis- solute sailors ; and therefore chose to return from Asia and the isles, without effecting any thing. But Philopcemen, being persuaded that his skill in the land service would ensure his success at sea, found to his cost how much experience contributes to victory, and how much practice adds in all things to our powers ; for he was not only worsted in the sea-fight for want of skill; but having fitted up an old ship, which had been a famous vessel * This observation occurs in Plato's fourth book De Legibus; and from this passage of Plutarch, it appears, that there, instead of t>uium, we should read pmiftu*. The ancient Greek is not pro- perly expressed. Indeed, there are no type* for it. 356 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. forty years before, and manned it with his townsmen, it. proved so leaky, that they were in danger of being lost. 1'nding that, after tliis, the enemy despised hii as a man that disclaimed all pretensions at sea, and that ftey had in- solently laid siege to Gythium, he set sail again ; and as they did not expect him, but were dispersed without any j-recaution, by reason of their late victory, he landed in the night, burnt their camp, and killed a great number of t hem. A few days after, as he was marching through a diffi- cult pass, Nabis came suddenly upon him. The Achse- ans were in great terror, thinking it impossible to escape out of so dangerous a passage, which the enemy had al- ready seized. Bat Philopocmen, making a little halt, and seeing at once the nature of the ground, shewed, that skill in drawing up an army is the capital point in the art of war. For altering a little the disposition of his forces, and adapting it to the, present occasion, without any bustle, he easily disengaged them from the difficulty ; and then falling upon the enemy, put them entirely to the rout. When he saw that they fled not to the town, but dis- persed themselves about the country, as the ground was woody and uneven, and on account of the brooks and ditches impracticable for the horse, he did not go upon the pursuit, but encamped before the evening. Conclud- ing, however, that the fugitives would return as soon as it grew dark, and draw up in a straggling manner to the city, he placed in ambush, by the brooks and hills that surround- ed it, many parties of the Achaians with their swords in their hands. By this means the greatest part of the troops of Nabis were cut off: for not returning in a body, but as the chance of flight had dispersed them, they fell into their enemy's hands, and were caught like so many birds* ere they could enter the town. Philopcemen being received on this account with great honour and applause in all the theatres of Greece, it gave ome umbrage to Flaminius, a man naturally ambitious ; for, as a Roman consul, he thought himself entitled to much greater marks of distinction among the Achaeans than a man of Arcadia ; and that as a public benefactor, he was infinitely above him, having by one proclamation set free all that part of Greece which had been enslaved PH1LOPCEMEN. 357 by Philip and the Macedonians.* After this, FlaminiuB made peace with Nabis ; and Nabis was assassinated by the ./Etolians. Hereupon Sparta being in great confu- sion, Philopcemeti seizing the opportunity, came upon it with his army, and partly by force, partly by persua- sion, brought that city to join in the Achaean league. The gaining over a city of such dignity and power made him perfectly adored among the Achaeans. And, indeed, Sparta was an acquisition of vast importance to Achaia, of which she was now become a member. It was also a grateful service to the principal Lacedaemonians, who hoped now to have him for the guardian of their libeity. For which reason, having sold the house and goods of Nabis, by a public decree, they gave the money, wliich amounted to a hundred and twenty talents, to Philopoe- men, and determined to send it by persons deputed fiom their body. On this occasion it appeared how clear hi integrity was ; that he not only seemed, but was a virtuous man. For not one of the Spartans chose to speak to a person of his character about a present ; but afraid of the office, they all excused themselves, and put it upon Timolaus, to whom he was bound by the rights of hospitality. Timo- laus went to Megalopolis, and wa entertained at Philo- poemen's house; but when he obsenred the gravity of his discourse, the simplicity of his diet, and the integrity of manners, quite impregnable to the attacks and deceits of money, he said not a word about the present, but having assigned another cause for his coming, returned home. He was sent a second time, but could not men- tion the money. In a third visit he brought it out with much difficulty, and declared the benevolence of Sparta to him. Philopcemen heard with pleasure what he had to say, but immediately went himself to the people of Laceda*mon, and advised them not to try to tempt good men with money, who were already their friends, and of whose virtues they might freely avail themselves ; but to buy and corrupt ill men who opposed their measures in council, that, thus silenced, they might give them the less trouble ; it being much better to stop the mouths of * Dacier reads JLaceAem&niin*, but does not mention his autho- rity. 353 PLUTARCH'S LIVE*. their enemies than of their friends. Such was Philopce- men's contempt of money. Some time after, Diophanes being general of the Achaeans, and hearing that the Lacedaemonians had thoughts of withdrawing from the league, determined to chastise them.* Meanwhile they prepared for war, and raised great commotions in Peloponnesus. Philopoemen tried to appease Diophanes, and keep him quiet ; repre- senting to him, " That while Antiochus and the Romans " were contending in the heart of Greece with two such '* powerful armies, an Achaean general should turn his " attention to them ; and, instead of lighting up a war at " home, should overlook and pass by some real injuries." When he found that Diophanes did not hearken to him, but marched along with Flaminius into Laconia, and that they took their route towards Sparta, he did a thing which cannot be vindicated by law and strict justice, but which discovers a great and noble daring. He got into the town himself, and though but a private man, shut the gates against an Achxan general and a Roman consul, healed the divisions among the Lacedaemonians, and brought them back to the league. Yet, afterwards, when he was general himself, upon some new subject of complaint against that people, he re- stored their exiles, and put eighty citizens to death, as Polybius tells us, or, according to Aristocrates, three hundred and fifty. He demolished their walls, took from them great part of their territory, and added it to that of Megalopolis. All who had been made free of Sparta by the tyrants he disfranchised, and carried into Achaia ; except three thousand who refused to quit the place, and those he sold for slaves. By way of insult, as it were, upon Sparta, with the money arising thence he built a portico in Megalopolis. Pursuing his vengeance against that unhappy people, who had already suffered more than they deserved, he added one cruel and most unjust thing to fill up the measure of it ; he destroyed their constitu- tion. He abolished the discipline of Lycurgus, compelled them to give their children and youth an Achaean educa- tion, instead of that of their own country, being per- The same year, Caius Livius with a Roman fleet defeated that f Antiwchus, near Ephesus. PHILOKEMEN'. 350 siladed that their spirit could never be humbled, while they adhered to the institutions of their great lawgiver. Thus brought, by the weight of their calamities, to have the sinews of their city cut by Philopoemen, they grew tame and submissive. Some time after, indeed, upon application to the Romans, they shook off the Achaean customs, and re-established their ancient ones, as far as it could be done after so much misery and corrup- tion. When the Romans were carrying on the war with An- tiochus in Greece, Philopcemen was in a private station. And when he saw Antiochus sit still at Chalcia, and spend his time in youthful love, and a marriage unsuitable to his years, while the Syrians roamed from town to town with- out discipline and without officers, and minded nothing but their pleasures, he repined extremely that he was not then general of the Achaeans, and scrupled not to declare, that he envied the Romans their victory ; " For had I been " in command,'' said he, " I would have cut them all in *' pieces in the taverns." After Antiochus was over- come, the Romans pressed still harder upon Greece, and hemmed in the Achaeans with their power ; the orators too inclined to their interest. Under the auspices of Heaven, their strength prevailed over all ; and the point was at hand, where fortune, who had long veered, was to stand still. In these circumstances, Philopoemen, like a good pilot, struggled with the waves. Sometimes he was forced to give way a little and yield to the times ; but on most occasions maintaining the conflict, he endeavoured to draw all that were considerable, either for their elo- quence or riches, to the side of liberty. Aristaenetus the Megalopolitan, who had great interest among the Achae- ans, but always courted the Romans, declared it in coun- cil as his opinion, " That they ought not to be opposed " or disobliged in any thing. 1 ' Philopoemen heard him with silent indignation ; and at last, when he could re- frain no longer, said to him," And why in such haste, " wretched man, to see an end of Greece ?'' Manius,* the Roman consul, after the defeat of Antiochus, moved the Achaeans to permit the Lacedaemonian exiles to return, and Titus seconded him in his application ; but Philo- pcemen opposed it, not out of any ill-will to the exiles, * Manius Acilius Glabris. 30o PLUTARCH'S LIVES. but because he was willing they should be indebted for that benefit to himself and the Achxans, and not to the favour of Titus and the Romans ; for the next year, when he was general himself, he restored them. Thus his gallant spirit led him to contend with the prevailing powers. He was elected general of the Achaeans, the eighth time, when seventy years of age ; and now he hoped not only to pass the year of his magistracy without war, but the remainder of his life in quiet. For as the force of distempers abates with the strength of the body, so in tke states of Greece, the spirit of contention failed with their power. Some avenging deity, however, threw him down at last, like one who, with matchless speed, runs over the race, and stumbles at the goal. It seems, that being ia company where a certain general was mentioned as an extraordinary man, Philopcemen said, " There was " no great account to be made of a man who suffered " himself to be taken alive." A few days after this, Dinocrates the Meiseniaii, who was particularly on ill terms with Philopcemen, and, indeed, not upon good ones with any one, by reason of his profligate and wicked life, found means to draw Messene off from the league ; and it was also said that he was going to seize a little place called Colonis.* Philopcemen was then at Argos, sick of a fever ; but upon this news he pushed to Megalapolis, and reached- it in one day, though it was at the distance of four hundred furlongs. From thence he presently drew out a body of horse, consisting of the nobility ; but all young men, who from affection to his person and am- bition for glory, followed him as volunteers. With these he marched towards Messene, and meeting Denocrates on Evander's hilL/j- lie attacked and put him to flight. But five hundred men, who guarded the flat country, sud- denly coming up, the others, who were routed, seeing them, rallied again about the hills. Hereupon, Philo- pcemen, afraid of being surrounded, and desirous of saving his young cavalry, retreated upon rough and difficult * There is no such place known as Colonis. Livy (lib. 39) calls it Coroxe ; and Plutarch probably wrote Corona, or Coronis. Strabo mentions the latter as a place in the neighbourhood of Messene. f- Evander's kill is likewise unknown. Polybius, and after him Pausanias, mentions a hill called Evan (which name it probably had from the cries of the Bacchanals), not far from Messene. PBILOKE1 ground, while he was in the rear, often turning upon the enemy, and endeavouring to draw them entirely upon himself. Yet none of them dared to encounter him ; they only shouted, and rode about him at a distance. As he often faced about, and left his ir.ain body, on account of his young men, each of whom he was solicitous to put out of danger, at last he found himself alone amidst a number of the enemy. Even then they durst not attack him hand to hand ; but hurling their darts at a distance, they drove him upon steep and craggy places, where he could scarcely make his horse go, though he spurred him continually. He was still active through exercise, and for that reason his age was no hindrance to his escape ; but being weakened by sickness, and extremely fatigued with his journey, his horse threw him, now heavy and encumbered, upon the stones. His head was wounded with the fall, and he lay a long time speechless, so that the enemy, thinking him dead, began to turn him, in order to strip him of his arms. But finding that he raised his head and opened his eyes, they gathered thick about him, bound his hands behind his back, and led him off with such unworthy treatment and gross abuse, as Philo- poemen could never have supposed he should come to suffer even from Dinocrates. The Messenians, elated at the news, flocked to the gates. But when they saw Philopcemen dragged along in a manner so unworthy of the glory of his achievements and trophies, most of them were touched with pity and compassion for his misfortune. They shed tears, and contemned all human greatness as a faithless support, as vanity and nothing. Their tears, by little and little, turned to kind words, and they began to say, they ought to remember his former benefits, and the liberty he had procured them by expelling the tyrant Nabis. A few there were, indeed, who, to gratify Dinocrates, talked of putting Philopoemen to torture and to death, as a dan- gerous and implacable enemy, and the more to be dreaded by Dinocrates, if he escaped after being made prisoner, and treated with such indignity. At last they put him in a dungeon called the treasury,* which had neither air nor light from without, and which having no * The public treasure was kept there ; and it was *hut up with in immense stone, moved to it by an engine. Liv. L XDX. / of. II. R 302 PLUTARCH S LIVES. doors, was closed with a great stone. In this dungeon they shnt him up with the stone, and placed a guard around it. Meanwhile, the Achaean cavalry, recollecting them- selves after their flight, found that Philopcemen was not with them, and probably had lost his life. They made a stand, and called him with loud cries, blaming each other for making a base and shameful escape by aban- doning their general, who had been prodigal of his own life in order to save theirs. By much search and inquiry about the country, they got intelligence that he was taken prisoner, and carried the heavy newS to the states of Achaia ; who, considering it as the greatest of losses, re- solved to send an embassy to demand him of the Messe- nians ; and in the meantime prepared for war. While the Achaeans were taking these resolutions, Dinocrates, who most of all dreaded time, as the thing most likely to save Philopcemen, determined to be be- forehand with the league- Therefore, when night was come, and the multitude retired, he opened the dungeon, and sent in one of his servants with a dose of poison, and orders not to leave him till he had taken it. Philopce- men was laid down in his cloak, but not to sleep j vex- ation and resentment kept him awake. When he saw the light, and the man standing by him with a cup of poi- son, he raised himself up, as well as his weakness would permit, and, receiving the cup, asked him, " Whether " he had heard any thing of his cavalry, and particularly " of Lycortas ?" The executioner answering that they almost all escaped, he nodded his head in sign of satis- faction ; and looking kindly upon him, said, " Thou " bringest good tidings, and we are not in all respects " unhappy." Without uttering another word, or breath- ing the least sigh, he drank off the poison, and lay down again. He was already brought so low that he could not make much struggle with the fatal dose, and it dispatched him presently. The news of his death filled all Achaia with grief and lamentation. All the youth immediately repaired with the deputies of the several cities to Megalopolis, where they resolved, without loss of time, to take their revenge. >"or this purpose, having chosen Lycortas * for their ge- * This was in the second year of the hundred and forty-ninth Olympiad. Lycortas was father to Polybius the historian, who wa.* in 'the action, and might be then about twenty years of age. PlIILOPCEME.V. 33 nerai, they entered Messene, and ravaged the country, till the Messcuians, with one consent, opened their gates -and received tliem. Dinocrates prevented their revenge by killing himself ; and those who voted for having Phi- lopoemen put to death, followed his example.* But such as were for having him put to the torture, were ta- ken by Lycortas, and reserved for more painful punish- ments. When they had burnt his remains, they put the ashes in an urn, and returned, not in a disorderly and promis- cuous manner, but uniting a kind of triumphal march with the funeral solemnity. First came the font, with crowns of victory on their heads, and tears in their eyes, and attended by their captive enemies in fetters. Poly- bius, the general's son, with the principal Achaeans about him, carried the urn, which was so adorned with ribbons and garlands that it was hardly visible. The march was closed by the cavalry, completely armed and superbly mounted ; they neither expressed in their looks the me- lancholy of such a mourning, nr the joy of a victory. The people of the towns and villages on the way flocked out, as if it had been to meet him returning from a glo- . rious campaign, touched the urn with great respect, and conducted it to Megalopolis. The old men, the women, and children, who joined the procession, raised such a ', bitter lamentation, that it spread through the army, and was re-echoed by the city, which, besides her grief for Philopoemen, bemoaned her own calamity, as in him she thought she lost the chief rank and influence among the Achasans. His interment was suitable to his dignity, and the Messenian prisoners were stoned to death at his tomb. I Many statues were set up,f and many honours decreed L him by the Grecian cities. But when Greece was in- volved in the dreadful misfortunes of Corinth, a certain I Roman attempted to get them all pulled down,;}; accusing him in form, as if he had been alive, of implacable enmity * -rums fr aixtzi; vriusfmt; ius, Livy, and all the other historians, write it Flamininus. In- deed, the Flaminii were a very different family from the Flaminini. The former were patricians, the latter plebeians. Caius Flaminius, who was killed in the battle at the lake of Thrasymenus, was of the plebeian family. Besides, some manuscripts, for instance the Vulcofo an Anon, and one that Dacier consulted, have it Flamininus ; which would be sufficient authority to correct it. But that would occasion^ some inconvenience, because Plutarch has called him Flaminius in t)ther places, as well as here in his life ; and, indeed, several modern writers have done the same. T. Q. FLAMISIUS. 3.3 and good actions, he took more pleasure in those whom he could assist, than in those who could give him assistance ; looking upon the former as persons who afforded room for the exertion of virtue, and the latter as his rivals in glory. From his youth he was trained up to the profession of arms. For Rome having then many important war upon her hands, her youth betook themselves betimes to arms, and had early opportunities to qualify themselves to command. Flamming served like the rest, and was first a legionary tribune under the consul Marcellus,* in the war with Hannibal. Marcellus fell into an ambus- cade and was slain ; after which Flaminius was appointed governor of Tarentum, newly retaken, and of the country about it. In this commission he grew no less famous for his administration of justice, than for his military skill ; for which reason he was appointed chief director of the two colonies that were sent to the cities of Narnia and Cossa. This inspired him with such lofty thoughts, that over- looking the ordinary previous steps by which young men ascend, I mean the offices of tribune, praetor, and aedile, he aimed directly at the consulship. Supported by those colonies, he presented himself as a candidate. But the tribunes, Fulvius and Manlius, opposed him, insisting that it was a strange and unheard of thing, for a man so young, \vho wis not yet initiated in the first mysteries of govern- ment, to intrude, in contempt of the laws, into the highest office in the state. The senate referred the affair to the suffrages of the people ; and the people elected him con- sul, though he was not yet thirty years old, with Sextus ^Elius. The lots being cast for the provinces, the war with Philip and the Macedonians fell to Flaminius ; and this happened very fortunately for the Roman people, as that department require I a general who did not want to do every thing by for:.. >l>nce, but rather by gentle- ness and persuasion. T r Macedonia furnished Philip with a sufficient number of men for his wars, but Greece was He was appointed a tribune at the age of twenty, in the fourth year of the hundred and forty-second Olympiad. Consequently he was born in the first year of the hundred and thirty-eighth Olym- piad, which was the year of Rome 526. Livy tells us, he was thirty. three veors of age, when he proclaimed liberty to Greece. R 3 36G PLUTARCH'S LIVES. his principal dependence for a war of any length. She it was that supplied him with money and provisions, with strongholds and places of retreat, and, in a word, with all the materials of war. So that if she could not be dis- engaged from Philip, the war with him could not be de- cided by a single battle. Besides, the Greeks as yet had but little acquaintance with the Romans ; it was now first to be established by the intercourse of business; and, therefore, they would not so soon have embraced a fo- reign authority, instead of that they had been accustomed to, if the Roman general had not been a man of great good nature, who was more ready to avail himself of treaty than of the sword, who had a persuasive manner where he applied, and was affable and easy of access when applied to, and who had a constant and invariable regard to justice. But this will better appear from his actions themselves. Titus, finding that Sulpitius and Publius,* his prede- cessors ia command, had not entered Macedonia till late in the season, and then did not prosecute the war with vigour, but spent their time in skirmishing to gain some particular post or pass, or to intercept some provisions, de- termined not to act like them. They bad \vacted tl.c -, car of their consulate in the enjoyment of their new honours, and in the administration of domestic affairs, and towards the close of the year they repaired to their province ; by which artifice they got their command con- tinued another year, being the first year in character of consul, and the second of proconsul. But Titus, ambitious to distinguish his consulship by some important expedition, left the honours and prerogatives he had in Rome ; and having requested the senate to permit his brother Lucius to command the naval forces, and selected three thousand men, as yet in full vigour and spirits, and the glory of the field,f from those troops who under Scipio had sub- dued Asdrubal in Spain, and Hannibal in Africa, he crossed the sea, and got safe into Epirus. There he found Pub- lius encamped over against Philip, who had been a long * Publius Sulpitius Gatba was consul two years before. Publius Villius Tappulus was consul tbe year after Sulpitius, and next be- fore Flaminius. . } ar-fi* tnu.Mi/K n? (be edge of the v T. Q. FLAMINIUS. 36? time defending the fords of the river Apsus and the ad- joining straits ; and that Publius had not been able to ef- fect any thing, by reason of the natural strength of the place. Titus having taken the command of the army, and sent Publius home, set himself to consider the nature of the country. Its natural fortifications are equal to those of Tempe ; but it is not like Tempe in the beauty of the woods and groves, and the verdure of valleys and delicious meads. To the right and left there is a chain of lofty mountains, between which there is a deep and long chan- nel. Down this runs the river Apsus, like the Peneus, botli in its appearance and rapidity. It covers the foot of the hills on each side, so that there is left only a narrow craggy path, cut out close by the stream, which is not easy for an army to pass at any time, and, when guarded, is not passable at all. There was some, therefore, who advised Flaminius to take a compass through Dassaretis along the Lycus, which was an easy passage. But he was afraid that if he removed too far from the sea, into a country that was barren and little cultivated, while Philip avoided a battle, he might come to want provisions, and be constrained, like the gene- ral before him, to retreat to the sea without effecting any thing. This determined him to make his way up the mountains sword in hand, and to force a passage. But Philip's army being possessed of the heights, showered down their dart and arrows upon the Romans from every quarter. Several sharp contests ensued, in which many were killed and wounded on both sides, but none that were likely to be decisive. In the meantime, some shepherds of those mountains came to the consul with the discovery of a winding-way, neglected by the enemy, by which they promised to bring his army to the top in three days at the farthest. And to confirm the truth of what they had said, they brought Charops, the son of Machatas, prince of the Epirots, who was a friend to the Romans, and privately assisted them out of fear of Philip. As Flaminius could confide in him, he sent away a tribune with four thousand foot and three hundred horse. The shepherds, in bonds, led the way. In the day time they lay still in the hollows of the woods, and in the night they marched ; for the moou was R4 308 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. then at full. Flaminius having detached this party, let his main body rest three days, and only had some slight skirmishes with the enemy to take up their atten- tion. But the day that he expected those who had taken the circuit to appear upon the heights, he drew out his forces early, both the heavy and li^ht-armed ; and divid- ing them into three parts, himself led the van, marching his men along the narrowest path by the side of the river. The Macedonians galled him with their darts ; but he maintained the combat notwithstanding the disadvantage of ground ; and the other two parties fought wirti all the spirit of emulation, and clung to the rocks with astonishing ardour. In the meantime the sun arose, and a smoke appeared at a distance, not very strong, but like the mist of the hills. Being on the back of the enemy, they did not ob- serve it, for it came from the troops who had reached the top. Amidst the fatigue of the engagement, the Romans were in doubt whether it was a signal or not, but they inclined to believe it the thing they wished ; and when they saw it increase, so as to darken the air, and to mount higher and higher, they were well assured that it came from the fires which their friends had lighted. Hereupon they set up loud shouts, and charging the enemy with greater vigour, pushed them into the most craggy places. The shouts were re-echoed by those behind at the top of the mountain. And now the Macedonians fled with the utmost precipitation. Yet there were not above two thousand slain, the pursuit being impeded by the difficulty of the ascent. The Romans, however, pillaged the camp, seized the money and slaves, and became absolute masters of the pass. They then traversed all Epirus, but with such order and discipline, that, though they were at a great distance from their ships and the sea, and had not the usual monthly allowance of corn, or convenience of markets, yet they spared the country, which at the same time abounded in every thing. For Flaminius was informed that Philip, in his passage, or rather flight, through Thes- saly, had compelled the people to quit their habitations and retire to the mountains, had burnt the towns, and had given as plunder to his men what was too heavy or cum- bersome to be carried off j and so had in a manner yielded T. Q. FLAMINIUS. 869 up the country to the Romans. The consul, therefore, made a point of it to prevail with his men to spare it as their own, to march through it as laud already ceded to them. The event soon shewed the benefit of this good order ; for as soon as they entered Thessaly, all its cities declared for them ; and the Greeks within Thermopylae longed for the protection of Flaminius, and gave up their hearts to him. The Achaeans renounced their alliance with Philip, and by a solemn decree resolved to take part with the Ro- mans against him. And though the TEtolians, who, at that time, were strongly attached to the Romans, made the Opuntians an offer to garrison and defend their city, they refused it ; and having sent for Flaminius, put them- selves in his hands- It is reported of Pyrrhus, when from an eminence he had first a propect of the disposition of the Roman army, that he said," I see nothing barbarian like in the ranks " of these barbarians." Indeed, all who once saw Flami- nius, spoke of him in the same terms. They had heard the Macedonians represent him as the fierce commander ol a host o* biub:.r;?.ns, who was come to ruin and destroy, and to reduce all to slavery ; and when afterwards they met a youn^ man of a mild aspect, who spoke very good Greek, ;u;0. \\ :s a lover of true honour, they were ex-- trcmely taken \\iih him, and excited the kind regards of their cities to him, as to a general who would lead them to liberty. After this, Philip seeming inclined to treat, Flaminius came to an interview with him,* and offered him peace and friendship with Rome, on condition that he left the Grecians free, and withdrew his garrisons from their cities. And as he refused those terms, it was obvious, even to the partisans of Philip, that the Romans were not come to fight against the Greeks, but for Greece against the Ma- cedonians. The rest of Greece acceding voluntarily to the confe- deracy, the consul entered Bceotia, but in a peaceable manner, and the chief cf the Thebans came to meet him. They were inclined to the Macedonian interest, on ac- count of Brachyllas ; but they honoured and respected' * See Polybius, book xvii. R5 ^70 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. Flaminius, and were willing to preserve tae friendship of both. Flaminius received them with great goodness, embraced them, and went on slowly with them, asking various questions, and enteitaining them with discourse, on purpose to give his soldiers time to come up. Thus, advancing insensibly to the gates of Thebes, he entered the city with them ; they did not, indeed, quite relish the thing, but they were afraid to forbid him, as he came so well attended. Then, 39 if he had been nowise master of the town, he endeavoured by persuasion to bring it to declare for the Romans ; king Attalus seconding him, and using all his rhetoric to the Thebans. But that prince, it seems, in his eagerness to serve Flaminius, exerting him- self more than his age could bear, was seized, as he was speaking, with a giddiness or rheum, which made him swoon away. A few days after, his fleet conveyed him into Asia, and he died there. As for the Boeotians, they took part with the Romans. As Philip sent an embassy to Rome, FlaminJus also sent his agents to procure a decree of the senate, prolonging his commission if the war continued, or else empowering him to make peace ; for his ambition made him apprehensive, that if a successor were sent, he should be robbed of all the honour of the war. His friends managed matters so well for him, that Philip failed in his application, and the command was continued to Flaminius. Having re- ceived the decree, he was greatly elevated in his hopes, and marched immediately into Thessaly, to carry on the war against Philip. His army consisted of more than twenty-six thousand men, of whom the ^Etolians furnished six thousand foot and three hundred horse. Philip's forces were not inferior in number. They marched against each uther, and arrived near Scotusa, where they proposed to decide the affair with the sword. The vicinity of two such armies had not the usual effect, to strike the officers with a mutual awe ; on the contrary, it increased their courage ;uid ardour ; the Romans being ambitious to conquer the Macedonians, whose > valour and power Alexander had rendered so famous, and the Macedonians hoping, if they could beat the Romans, whom they looked upon as a more respectable enemy than the Persians, to raise the glory of Philip above that of Alexander. Flaminius, therefore, exhorted his men to behave with the greatest courage and T. Q. FLAMIN1US. 3?1 gallantry, as they had to contend with brave adversaries in. so glorious a theatre as Greece. On the other side, Philip, in order to address his army, ascended an eminence without his camp, which happened to be a burying-place, cither not knowing it to be so, or in tTie hurry not attend- ing to it. There he began an oration, such as is usual before a battle ; but the omen of a sepulchre spreading a dismal melancholy among the troops, he stopped, and put off the action till another day. Next morning at day-break, after a rainy night, the clouds, turning into a mist, darkened the plain ; and as the day came on, a foggy thick air, descending from the hills, covered all the ground between the two camps. Those, therefore, that were sent out, on both sides, to seize posts or to make discoveries, soon meeting unawares, engaged at the Cynosccphalcc, which are sharp tops of hills standing opposite each other, and so called from their resemblance to the heads of dogs. The success of these skirmishes was various, by reason of the uneven ness of the ground, the same parties sometimes flying and some- times pursuing ; and reinforcements were sent on both, sides, as they found their men hard pressed and giving way ; till at length, the day clearing up, the action became general. Philip, who was in the right wing, advanced from the rising ground with his whole phalanx against the Romans, who could not, even the bravest of them, stand the shock of the united shields and the projected spears.* But the Macedonian left wing being separated and intersected by the hills,f Flarninius observing that, and having no hopes on the side where his troops gave way, hastened to the other, and there charged the enemy, where, on account of the inequality and roughness of the country, they could not keep in the close form of a phalanx, nor line their ranks to any great depth, but were forced to fight man to man, in heavy and unwieldy armour. For the Macedonian phalanx is like an animal of enormous strength, while it keeps in one body, and The pike of the fifth man in file projected beyond the front. Thers was, therefore, an amazing strength in the phalanx while it stood firm. But it had its inconvenicncies ; it could not act at all. except in a level and clear field. Polyb. lib. xvii, sub fin. f* Plutarch makes no mention of the elephants ; which, accord- ing to Livy and Polybius, were very serviceable to Flaminjus. 372 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. preserves its union of locked shields ; but when that is broken, each particular soldier loses of his force, as well because of the form of his armour, as because the strength of each consists rather in his being a part of the whole, than in his single person. When these were routed, some gave chace to the fugitives ; others took those Macedo- nians in flank who were still fighting. The slaughter was great, and the wing, lately victoriou*, soon broken in such a manner, that they threw down their arms and fled. There were no less than eight thousand slain, and about five thousand were taken prisoners. That Philip himself escaped was chiefly owing to the ^tolians, who took to plundering the camp while the Romans were busied in the pursuit, so that at their return there was nothing left for them. This from the first occasioned quarrels and mutual re- proaches ; but afterwards Flaminius was hurt much more sensibly, when the ./Etolians ascribed the victory to them- selves,* and endeavoured to prepossess the Greeks that the fact was really so. This report got such ground, that the poets and others, in the verses that were composed and sung on this occasion, put them before the Romans, The verses most in vogue were the following. Stranger ! unwept, unhonour'd with a grave, See thrice ten thousand bodies of the brave ! The fierce -iEtolians, and the Latin power - Led by Flamioius, rul'd the vengeful hour ; Emathia's scourge, beneath whose stroke they bled, And swifter than the roe, the mighty Philip fled. Alcaeus wrote this epigram in ridicule of Philip, and purposely misrepresented the number of the slain. '1 he epigram was indeed in every body's mouth ; but Flaminius was much more hurt by it than Philip ; for the latter pa- rodied Alcaeus as follows. Stranger ! unleav'd, unhonour'd e'en with bark, See this sad tree, the gibbet of Alca-us J * Polybius informs us, that the Macedonians in the first en- counter had the advantage, and beat the Romans from the tops of the mountains they had gained. And he affirms, that in all pioba- bility the Romans would have been put to flight, had they not been supported by the JStolian cavalry. T. Q. FLAMINIUS. 373 Flaminius, who was ambitious of the praise of Greece, was not a little provoked at this ; and therefore managed every thing afterwards by himself, paying very little re- gard to the Aitolians. They, in their turn, indulged their resentment ; and when Flaminius had admitted proposals for an accommodation, and received a:i embassy for that purpose from Philip, the Italians exclaimed in all the cities of Greece, that he sold the peace to the Mace- donian, at a time when he might have put a fi;:al period to the war, and have destroyed that empire which first en- slaved the Grecians. These speeches, though groundless, greatly perplexed the allies ; but Phihp, coming in person to treat, and submitting hiirs^lf and his kingdom to the discretion of Flaminius and the Romans, removed all sus- picion . Thus Flaminius put an end to the Avari He restored Philip his kingdom, but obliged him to quit all claim to Greece ; he fined him a thousand talents ; took away all his ships except ten ; and sent Demetrius, one of his sons, hostage to Rome. In this pacification, he made a happy use of the present, and wisely provided for the time to come. Fcr Hannibal, the Carthaginian, an inveterate enemy to the Romans, and now an exile, being at the court of Antiochus,* exhorted him to meet fortune, who opened her arms to him; and Antiochus himself, seeing his power very considerable, and that his exploits had already gained him the title of the Great, legan now to think of universal monarchy, and particularly of setting himself against the Romans, Had not Fl. irinius, there- fore, in his great wisdom, foreseen this, and made peace. -j- Antiochus might have joined Philip in the war with Greece, and those two kings, then the most powerful in the world, have made a common cause of it ; which would have called Rome again to as great conflicts and dangers, as she had experienced in the war with Hannibal. * This is a mistake. Hannibal did not come to the court of Antiochus till the year after Flaminius had proclaimed liberty to Greece at- the Isthmian games; Cato and Valerius Flaccus, who were then consuls, having sent an embassy to Carthage to complain of him, f- Polybius lulls us, Flaminius was induced to conclude a peace upon the intelligence he had received, that Antiochus was marching towards Greece with a powerful army ; and he was afraid Philip might lay hold on that advantage to continue the war. 374 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. But Flaminius, by thus putting an intermediate space of peace between the two wars, and finishing the one before the other began, cut off at once the last hope of Philip, and the first of Antiochus. The ten commissioners now sent by the senate to assist Flaminius advised him to set the rest of Greece free, but to keep garrisons in the cities of Corinth, Chalcis, and Demetrias, to secure them in case of a war with Antiochus. But the ^tolians, always severe in their accusations, and now more so than ever, endeavoured to excite a spirit of insurrection in the cities, calling upon Flaminius to knock off the shackles of Greece ; for so Philip used to term those cities. They asked the Greeks, " If they " did not find the chain very comfortable, now it was " more polished, though heavier than before ; and if they " did not consider Flaminius as the greatest of bene- " factors, for unfettering their feet, and binding them " by the neck." Flaminius, afflicted at these clamours, begged of the council of deputies, and at last prevailed with them, to deliver those cities from the garrisons, in order that his favour to the Grecians might be perfect and entire. They were then celebrating the Isthmian games, and an innumerable company was seated to see the exercises ; for Greece, now enjoying full peace after a length of wars, and big with the expectation of liberty, had given into these festivals on that occasion. Silence being com- manded by sound of trumpet, an herald went forth and made proclamation, " That the Roman senate, and Titus Quinctius Flaminius, the general and proconsul, having vanquished king Philip and the Macedonians, took off all impositions, and withdrew all garrisons from Greece, and restored liberty, and their own laws and privileges, to the Corinthians, Locrians, Phocians, " Eubceans, Achaeans, Phthistae, Magnesians, Thessalians, " and Perrhaebians." At first the proclamation was not generally or distinctly heard, but a confused murmur ran through the theatre j some wondering, some questioning, and others calling upon the herald to repeat what he had said Silence being again commanded, the herald raised his voice, so as to be heard distinctly by the whole assembly. The shout which they gave in the transport of joy, was M> pso- T. Q. FLAMINIUS. 373 digious, that it was heard as far as the sea. The people left their seats ; there was no farther regard paid to the diversions ; all hastened to embrace and to address the preserver and protector of Greece. The hyperbolical ac- counts that have often been given of the effect of loud shouts, were verified on that occasion. For the crows which then happened to be flying over their heads, fell into the theatre. The breaking of the air seems to have been the cause ; for the sound of many united voices being violently strong, the parts of the air are separated by it, and a void is left, which affords the birds no support. Or perhaps the force of the sound strikes the birds like an arrow, and kills them in an instant. Or possibly a circular motion is caused in the air, as a whirlpool is produced in the sea, by the agitations of a storm. If Flaminius, as soon as he saw the assembly risen, and the crowd rushing towards him, had not avoided them, and got under covert, he must have been surrounded, and, in all probability, suffocated by such a multitude. When they had almost spent themselves in acclamations about his pavilion, and night was now come, they retired ; and whatever friends or fellow-citizens they happened to see, they embraced and caressed again, and then went and concluded the evening together in feasting and merriment. There, no doubt, redoubling their joy, they began to recollect and talk of the state of Greece. They observed, That notwithstanding the many great wars she had been engaged in for liberty, she had never gained a more secure or agreeable enjoyment of it than now, when others had fought for her ; that glorious and impor- tant prize now hardly costing them a drop of blood or a tear. That, of human excellencies, valour and pru- dence were but rarely met with, but that justice was still more uncommon. That such generals as Agesi- laus, Lysander, Nicias, and Alcibiades, knew how to manage a war, and to gain victories both by sea and land ; but they knew not how to apply their success to generous and noble purposes. So that if one excepted the battles of Marathon, of Salamis, Plataea, and Ther- mopylae, and the actions of Cimon upon the Euryme- don, and near Cyprus, Greece had fought to no other purpose but to bring the yoke upon herself; all the tro* phies ehe had erected were monuments of her dishonour, 3/6 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. " and at last her affairs were ruined by the unjust ambi- tion of her chiefs. But these strangers, who had scarce a spark of anything Grecian left,* who scarce retained a faint tradition of their ancient descent from us, from whom the least inclination, or even word in our behalf, could not have been expected ; these strangers have run the greatest risk,f and submitted to the greatest labours, " to deliver Greece from her cruel and tyrannic mastersj " and to crown her with liberty again " These were the reflections the Grecians made, and the actions of Flaminius justified them, being quite agreeable to his proclamation ; for he immediately dispatched Len- tulus into Asia, to set the Bargylliaiis free, and Titillius^ into Thrace, to draw Philip's garrisons out of the towns and adjacent islands. Publius Villius set sail in order to treat with Antiochus about the freedom of the Grecians under liim. And Flaminius himself went to Chalcis, and sailed from thence to Magnesia, where he removed the garrison, and put the government again in the hands of the people. At Argos, being appointed director of the Nemean games, he settled the whole order of them in the most agreeable manner, and on that occasion caused liberty to be proclaimed again by the crier And as he rassed through the other cities, he strongly recommended to them an adherence to law, a strict course of justice, and domes- tic peace and unanimity. He healed their divisions ; he restored tl.cir exiles In short, he took not more plea- sure in the conquest of the Macedonians, than in recon- ciling the Greeks to each other j and their liberty now * According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Rome was stocked with inhabitant* r.t first chiefly from those Grecian colonies which had s=e*t)'jd in i h of Italy before the time of Komi. In-. J- The former ti n- .- l>as entirely mistaken the str.se of this The Greek runs thus : HT:I rag piyirus xi lu~.cn KXI fttiij -AAJZ ^tffnrw "^aA'Twv xai vvfaLtiwi i\lu&n- fVfn. His trail--;-;! n runs thus: Aos retrieved Greece from htr vitrts and deepest extremities, kdn rescued her out of the hands of insulting fa fruits, a,id reinstated her ih her former lilx It is plain he v.as led into thi iuistake by misunderstanding the Latin, beyond which language he had no ambition to go. Hi wa.-i- mit pericutu et Utboriuu.-, Cr < _;igra^icn<- et tyran~ ;;/?, at-jue in libertatem. restit: ^ Polybius and Livy call Lira Luciiis Stertinius. T. Q. FLAMIXIL.?. 3T7 appeared the least of the benefits he had conferred upon them. It is said that when Lycurgus the orator had delivered Xenocrates the philosopher out of the hands of the tax- gatherers, who were hurrying him t<> prison for the tax paid by strangers, and had prosecuted them for their inso- lence, Xenocrates afterwards meeting the children ef Ly- curgus, said to them, " Children, I have made a noble ** return to your father for the service he did me ; for all " the world praise him for it." But the returns which attended Flaminius and the Romans for their bei.eficence to the Greeks, terminated not in praises only, but justly procured them the confidence of all mankind, and added greatly to their power. For now a variety of people not only accepted the governors set over them by Rome, but even sent for them, and begged to be under their govern- ment. And not only cities and commonweakhs, but kings, when injured by other kings, had recourse to their protection. So that, the divine assistance too perhaps co-operating, in a short time the whole world became sub- ject to them. Flaminius also valued himself most upon the liberty he had bestowed on Greece For having de- dicated some silver bucklers, together with his own shield, at Delphi, he put upon them the following inscription. Ye Spartan twins, who tamed the foaming steed, Ye friends, ye patrons of each glorious deed, Behold FhiKi'";:- ;. 'f Eneas' line, Presents this off*., ing at your awful shrine. Ye sons of love, your generous pnths he trod, And snatch'd from Greece each little tyrant's rod. He offered also to Apollo a golden crown, with these verses inscribed on it. See grateful Titus homage p*y To thee, the glorious god of day ; See him with gold ihy locks adorn, Thy locks which shed th' ambrosial morn. O {;rant him fame and every gift divine, Who led the warriors of JSneas' line. The Grecians have had the noble gift of liberty twice conferred upon them in the city of Corinth ; by Flami- nius then, and by Nero in our times. It wa granted 3/8 PLUTARCH'S LIVES.' both times during the celebration of the Isthmian game?, Flaminius had it proclaimed by an herald : but Nero himself declared the Grecians free, and at liberty to be governed by their own laws, in an oration which he made from the rostrum in the public assembly. This happened long after.* Flaminius next undertook a very just and honourable war against Nabis, the wicked and abandoned tyrant of Jjacedxmon ; but in this case he disappointed the hopes of Greece. For though he might have taken him pri- soner, he would not ; but struck up a league with him, and left Sparta unworthily in bondage ! Whether it was that he feared, if the war was drawn out to any length, a successor would be sent him from Rome, who would rob him of the glory of it ; or whether in his passion for fame, he was jealous of the reputation of Philopcemen ; a man who on all occasions had distinguished himself among the Greeks, and in that war particularly had given wonderful proofs both of courage and conduct ; insomuch that the Achzans gloried in him as much as in Flaminius, and paid him the same respect in their theatres. This greatly hurt Flaminius ; he could not bear that an Arca- dian, who had only commanded in some inconsiderable wars upon the confines of his own country, should be held in equal admiration with a Roman consul, who had fought for all Greece. Flaminius, however, did not want apo- logies for his conduct ; for he said, " He put an end *' to the war, because he saw he could not destroy the " tyrant without involving all the Spartans in the mean- " time in great calamities."f The Achaeans decreed Flaminius many honours ; but none seemed equal to his services, unless it were one pre- * Two hundred and sixty-three years. f- Livy touches upon this reason ; but at the same time he men- tions others more to the honour of this great man. Winter was now coming oh, and the siege of Sparta might have lasted a con- siderable time. The enemy's country was so exhausted, that it could not supply him with provisions, and it was difficult to get convoys from any other quarter. Besides, Villius was returned from the court of Antiochus, and brought advice that the peace with that prince was not to be depended upon. In fact, he had already entered Europe with a fleet and army more numerous than before. And what forces had they to oppose him, in case of a rupture, if Flaminius continued to employ his in the siege of Spar- ta ? Lit. 1. xxxir. c . 33, 34. T. Q. FLAM IK I US. 3/9 ".,!, which pleased him above all the rest. It was this. 'ihe Romans who had the misfortune to be taken prison- 01 s in the war with Hannibal, were sold for slaves, and dispersed in various places. Twelve hundred of them were now in Greece. That sad reverse of fortune made them always unhappy, but now (as might be expected) they were still more so, when they met their sons, their brothers, or their acquaintance, and saw them free while they were slaves, and conquerors while they were cap- tives. Flaminius did not pretend to take them from their masters, though his heart sympathized with their distress. But the Achasans redeemed them at the rate of five minie a man, and having collected them together, made Flami- nius a present of them just as he was going on board ; so that he set sail with great satisfaction, having found a glorious recompense for his glorious services ; a return suitable to a man of such humane sentiments, and such a lover of his country. This indeed made the most illus- trious part of his triumph. For these poor men got their heads shaved, and wore the cap of liberty, as the custom of slaves is upon their manumission ; and in this habit they followed the chariot of Flaminius. But to add to the splendour of the show, there were the Grecian helmets, the Macedonian targets and spears, and the other spoils, carried in great pomp before him. And the quantity of money was not small ; for, as Itanus relates it, there were carried in this triumph three thousand seven hundred and thirteen pounds of unwrought gold, forty-three thousand two hundred and seventy of silver, fourteen thousand five hundred and fourteen pieces of coined gold called Phi- lippics ; besides which, Philip owed a thousand talents. But the Romans were afterwards prevailed upon, chiefly by the mediation of Flaminius, to remit this debt ; Philip was declared their ally, and his son, who had been with them as an hostage, sent home. After this Antiochus passed over into Greece with a great fleet and a powerful army, and solicited the states to join him. The ./Etolians, who had been a long time ill-affected to the Romans, took his part, and suggested this pretence for the war, that he came to bring the Gre- cians liberty. The Grecians had no want of it, for they \rere free already ; but, as he had no better cause to assign, they instructed him to cover his attempt with that splendid pretext. 380 PLUTARCH'S LIVE.S. The Romans, fearing o - this account a revolt in Greece, as well as the strength of Antiochus, sent the consul, Manius Acilius, to command in the war, but ap- pointed Flaminius his lieutenant,* for the bake of his in- fluence in Greece. His appearance there immediately confirmed such as were yet friends in their fidelity, and prevented those who were wavering from an entire de- fection. This was effected by the respect they bore him ; for it operated like a potent remedy at the beginning of a disease. There were few, indeed, so entirely gained and corrupted by the ^Etolians, that his interest did not prevail with them ; yet even these, though he was much exasperated against them at present, he saved after the battle ; for Antiochus, being defeated at Thermopylae, and forced to fly, immediately embarked for Asia. Upon this, the consul Maniui went against some of the /lito- liatis, and besieged their towns, abandoning others to Philip. Thus great ravages were committed by the Ma- cedonians among the Dolopians and Magnesians on one hand, and among the Athamanians and Aperantians on the other ; and Manius himself, having sacked the city of Heraclea, besieged Naupactua, then in the hands of the TEtolians. But Flaminius, being touched with com- passion for Greece, went from Peloponnesus to the con- sul by water. He began with remonstrating, that the consul, though he had won the victory himself, suffered Philip to reap the fruits of it ; and that while, to gratify his resentment, he spent his time about one town, the Macedonians were subduing whole provinces and king- doms. The besieged happened to see Flaminius, called to him from the walls, stretched out their hands, and begged his interposition. He gave them no answer, but turned round and wept, and then immediately withdrew. Afterwards, however, he discoursed with Manius so ef- fectually, that he appeased his anger, and procured the /Etolians a truce, and time to send deputies to Rome, to petition for favourable terms. But he had much greater difficulties to combat, whea he applied to Manius in behalf of the Chalcidians. The consul was highly incensed at them, on account of the According to Livy, it was not Titus, but Lucius Quicctius, who was appointed lieutenant to Glabrio. T. Q. FLAMINIUS. 381 marriage which Antiochus celebrated among them, even after the war was begun ; a marriage every way unsuitable as well as unseasonable ; for he was far advanced in years, and the bride very young. The person he thus fell in love with was daughter to Cleptolemus, and a virgin of incomparable beauty. This match brought the Chalci- dians entirely into the king's interest, and they suffered him to make use of their city as a place of arms.* Af- ter the battle he fled with great precipitation to Chalcis, and taking with him his young wife, his treasures, and his friends, sailed from thence to Asia. And now Manius, in his indignation, marched directly against Chalcis ; Fla- minius followed, and endeavoured to appease his resent- ment. At last he succeeded, by his assiduities with him, and the most respectable Romans who were likely to have an influence upon him. The Chalcidans, thus saved from destruction, consecrated the most beautiful and the noblest of their public edifices to Titus Flaminius ; and such inscriptions as these are to be seen upon them to this day. " The people dedicated this Gymnasium to Titus " and Hercules ; the people consecrate the Delphinium " to Titus and Apollo " Nay, what is more, even in our days a priest of Titus is formally elected and de- clared ; and on occasions of sacrifice to him, when the libations are over, they sing an hymn, the greatest part of which, for the lesgth of it, I omit, and only give the conclusion. While Rome's protecting power we prove, Her faith adore, her virtues love, Still, as our strains to heaven aspire, Let Rome and Titus wake the lyre ! To these our grateful altars blaze, And our long paeans pour immortal praise. The rest of the Grecians conferred upon him all due honours ; and what realized those honours, and added to their lustre, was the extraordinary affection of the people, which he had gained by his lenity and moderation. For if he happened to be at variance with anyone, upon ac- count of business, or about a point of honour, as, for in- stance> with Philopcemen, and with Diophanes, general of 382 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. the Achaeans, he never gave into malignity, or carried his resentment into action, but let it expire in words, in such expostulations as the freedom of public debates may seem to justify. Indeed, no man ever found him vindic- tive, but he often discovered a hastiness and passionate turn. Setting this aside, he was the most agreeable man in the world ; and a pleasantry, mixed with strong sense, distinguished his conversation. Thus, to divert the Achzans from their purpose of conquering the island of Zacynthus, he told them, " It was as dangerous for them " to put their heads out of Peloponnesus, as it was for " the tortoise to trust his out of the shell." In the first conference which Philip and he had about peace, Philip taking occasion to say, " Titus, you come with a nu- " merous retinue, whereas I come quite alone ;" Flami- iiius answered, " No wonder if you come alone, for you " have killed all your friends and relations." Dinocrates, the Messenian, being in company at Rome, drank until he was intoxicated, and then put on a woman's habit, and danced in that disguise. Next day he applied to Flami- nius, and begged his assistance in a design which he had conceived to withdraw Messene from the Achaean league. Flaminius answered, " I will consider of it j but I am " surprised that you, who conceived such great designs, " can sing and dance at a carousal." And when the ambassadors of Antiochus represented to the Achseans, how numerous the king's forces were, and, to make them appear still more so, reckoned them up by all their dif- ferent names. " I supped once," said Flaminius, " with *' a friend ; and upon my complaining of the great num- " ber of dishes, and expressing my wonder how he could " furnish his table with such a vast variety ; be not un- tc easy about that, said my friend, for it is all hog's flesh ; " and the difference is only in the dressing and the sauce. " In like manner, I say to you, my Achaean friend, be " not astonished at the number of Antiochus's forces, at " these pikemen, these halberdiers and cuirassiers ; for they " are all Syrians, only distinguished by the trifling arms " they bear." After these great actions in Greece, and the conclu- sion of the war with Antiochus, Flaminius was created censor. This is the chief dignity in the state, and the crown, as it were, of all its honours. He had for col- T. Q. FLAMIN1US. 383 league the son of Marcellus, who had been five times con- sul. They expelled four senators, who were men of no great note ; and they admitted as citizens all who offer- ed, provided that their parents were free. But they were forced to this by Tercntius Culeo, a tribune of the people, who, in opposition to the nobility, procured such orders from the commons. Two of the greatest and most powerful men of those times, Scipio Africanus and Mar- cus Cato, were then at variance with each other. Fla- minius appointed the former of these president of the se- nate, as the first and best man in the commonwealth ; and with the latter he entirely broke on the following unhappy occasion. Titus had a brother named Lucius Quinctius Flaminius, unlike him in all respects, but quite abandoned in his pleasures, and regardless of decorum. This Lucius had a favourite boy whom he carried with him, even when he commanded armies and governed pro- vinces. One day, as they were drinking, the boy, making his court to Lucius, said, " I love you so tenderly, that, *' preferring your satisfaction to my own, I left a show " of gladiators to come to you, though I have never seen " a man killed." Lucius, delighted with the flattery, made answer, " If that be all, you need not be in the " least uneasy, for I shall soon satisfy your longing." He immediately ordered a convict to be brought from the pri- son, and having sent for one of his lictors, commanded him to strike off the man's head, in the room where they were carousing. Valerius Antias writes, that this was done to gratify a mistress. And Livy relates, from Cato's writ- ings, that a Gaulish deserter being at the door with his wife and children, Lucius took him into the banqueting- room, and killed him with his own hand ; but it is proba- ble that Cato said this to aggravate the charge. For that the person killed was not a deserter, but a prisoner, and a con- demned one too, appears from many writers, and parti- cularly from Cicero, in his treatise on Old Age, where he introduces Cato himself giving that account of the matier. Upon this account, Cato, when he was censor, and set himself to remove all obnoxious persons from the senate, expelled Lucius, though he wae of consular dignity. His brother thought this proceeding reflected dishonour upon 384 PLUTARCH'S himself ; and they both went into the assembly in the form of suppliants, and besought the people with tears, that Cato might be obliged to assign his reason for fix- ing such a mark of disgrace upon so illustrious a family. The request appeared reasonable. Cato, without the least hesitation, came out, and standing up with his col- league, interrogated Titus, whether he knew any thing of that feast. Titus answering in the negative, Cato re- lated the affair, and called upon Lucius to declare upon oath whether it was not true. As Lucius made no re- ply, the people determined the vote of infamy to be just, and conducted Cato home with great honour from the tribunal. Titus, greatly concerned at his brother's misfortune, leagued with the inveterate enemies of Cato, and gaining a majority in the senate, quashed and annulled all the contracts, leases, and bargains which Cato had made, re- lating to the public revenues, and stirred up many and violent prosecutions against him. But I know not whe- ther he acted well, or agreeably to good policy, iu thus becoming a mortal enemy to a man who had only done what became a lawful magistrate and a good citizen, for the sake of one, who was a relation indeed, but an un- worthy one, and who had met with the punishment lie deserved. Some time after, however, the people being assembled in the theatres to see the shows, and the senate seated, according to custom, in the most honourable place, Lucius was observed to go in an humble and dejected man- ner, and sit down upon one of the lowest benches. The people could not bear to see this, but called out to him to go up higher, and ceased not until he went to the consular bench, who made room for him. The native ambition of Flaminius was applauded, while it found sufficient matter to employ itself upon in the wars we have given account of. And his serving in the army as a tribune, after he had been consul, was regarded with a favourable eye, though no one required it of him; but when he was arrived at an age that ex- cused him from all employments, he was blamed for in- dulging a violent passion for fame, and a youthful impe- tuosity in that inactive season of life. To some excess of this kind seems to have been owing his behaviour with T. Q. FLA.MINIUS. 385 respect to Hannibal,* at which the world was much offended For Hannibal, having fled his country, took refuge first at the court of Antiochus. But Antiochus, after he had lost the battle of Phrygia, gladly accepting conditions of peace, Hannibal was again forced to fly ; and, after wandering through many countries, at length settled in Bithynia, and put himself under the protection of Prusias. The Romans knew this perfectly well, but they took no notice of it, considering him now as a man enfeebled by age, and overthrown by fortune. But Fla- minitis, being sent by the senate upon an embassy to Prusias about other matters, and seeing Hannibal at his court, could not endure that he should be suffered to live. And though Prusias used much intercession and entreaty in be- half of" a man who came to him as a suppliant, and lived with him under the sanction of hospitality, he could not prevail. It seems, there was an ancient oracle, which thus pro- phesied concerning the end of Hannibal : Libyssan earth shall hide the bones of Hannibal. He, therefore, thought of nothing but ending his days at Carthage, and being buried in Lybia. But in Bithy- nia there is a sandy place near the sea, which has a small village in it called Libyssa. In this neighbourhood Han- nibal lived. But having always been apprised of the timidity of Prusias, and distrusting him on that account, and dreading withal the attempts of the Romans, he had, some time before, ordered several subterraneous passages to be dug under his house, which were continued a great way under ground, and terminated in several different places, but were all undiscernible without. As soon as lie was informed of the orders which Flaminius had given, he attempted to make .his escape by those passages * Flaminius was no more than forty-four years of age, when he went ambassador to Prusias. It was not, therefore, an unseason- able desire of a public character, or extravagant passion for fame, which was blamed in him on this occasion, but an unworthy per- secution of a great, though unfortunate man. \Ve are inclined, however, to think, that he had secret instructions from the senate for what he did ; for it is not probable, that a man of his mild and humane disposition, would choose to hunt down an old unhappy warrior ; and Plutarch confirms this opinion afterwards. roi. IL 386 PLUTARCH'S LIVES. but finding the king's guards at the outlets, he resolved to kill himself. Some say, he wound his cloak about his neck, and ordered his servant to put his knees upon his back, and pull with all his force, and not to leave twist- ing, till he had quite strangled him. Others tell us, that, like Themistocles and Midas, he drank bull's blood. But Livy writes, that having poison in readiness, he mixed it for a draught ; and taking the cup in his hand, '* Let us deliver the Romans," said he, *' from their cares " and anxieties, since they think it too tedious and dan- *' gerous to wait for the death of a poor hated old man. '* Yet shall not Titus gain a conquest worth envying, or " suitable to the generous proceedings of his ancestors, " who sent to caution Pyrrhus, though a victorious ene- " my, against the poison that was prepared for him." Thus Hannibal is said to have died. When the news was brought to the senate, many in that august body were highly displeased. Flaminius appeared too officious and cruel in his precautions to procure the death of Hannibal, now tamed by his misfortunes, like a bird, that, through ago, had lost its tail and feathers, and suffered to live so. And, as he had no orders to put him to death, it was plain, that he did it out of a passion for fame, and to be men- tioned in after times as the destroyer of Hannibal.* On this occasion they recollected, and admired more than ever, the humane and generous behaviour of Scipio Africanus ; for when he had vanquished Hannibal in Africa, at a time when he was extremely formidable, and deemed invincible, he neither insisted on his banishment, nor demanded him of his fellow-citizens ; but, as he had embraced him at the conference which he had with him before the battle ; so, after it, when he settled the conditions of peace, he offered not the least affront or insult to his mis- fortunes. It is reported, that they met again at Ephesus ; and Hannibal, as they walked together, taking the upper hand, Africanus suffered it, and walked on without the least concern. Afterwards, they fell into conversation If this was really the motive of Flaminius, and nothing of a political tendency entered into this dastardly destruction of that great general, it" would hardly be possible for all the virtues, all The triumphs of the Romans, to redeem him from the infamy of so base an action. T. Q. FLAiilSIUS. 387 about great generals ; and Hannibal asserted that Alexan- der \v;;s the greatest general the world had ever seen, that Pyrrl us was the second, and himself the third. Scipio smiled at this, and said, " But what rank would you *' have placed yourself in, if I had not conquered you " " O, Scipio P' said he, " then I would not have placed " myself the third, but the first." The generality admiring this moderation of Scipio, found the greater fault with Flaminius for taking the spoils of an enemy whom another man had slain. There were some, indeed, who applauded the thing, and ob- served, " That while Hannibal lived, they must have looked upon him as a fire, which wanted only to be blown into a flame ; that when he was in the vigour of his age, it was not his bodily strength, or his right hand which was so dreadful to the Romans, but hia >.y and experience, together with his innate ran. cour and hatred to their name ; and that these are not altered by age ; for the native disposition still overrules the manners; whereas fortune, far from re- maining the same, changes continually, and, by new hopes, invites those to new enterprises who were ever at war with us in their hearts." And the subsequent events contributed still more to the justification of Flami- nius. For, in the first place, Aristonicus, the son of a harper's daughter, on the strength of his being reputed the natural son of Eumenes, filled all Asia with tumult and rebellion ; and, in the next place, Mithridates, after such strokes as he had met with from Sylla and Fimbria, and so terrible a destruction among his troops and officers, rose up stronger than ever agabst Lucullus, both bv sea and land. Indeed, Hannibal was never brought so low as Cams Marius had been ; for Hannibal enjoyed the friendship of a king, from whom he received liberal sup- plies, and with whose officers, both in the navy and army, he had important connections ; whereas, Marius was a wanderer iiv. Africa, and forced to beg his bread. But the Romans, who had laughed at his fall, soon after bled, in their own streets, under his rods and axes, and pro- strated themselves before him. So true it is, that there is nothing either great or little at this moment, which is sure ta hold so in the days to come ; and that the changes we have ta experience, only terminate with our S2 338 PLUTARCH'S LTV, For this reason some tell us, that Flaminius did not do this of himself, but that he was joined in commission with Lucius Scipio, and that the sole purpose of their embassy was to procure the death of Hannibal. As we have no account, after this, of any political or military act of Fla- minius, and only know that he died in his bed, it is time to come to the comparison. FLAMINIUS AJND PHILOPCEMEN COMPARED. IF we consider the extensive benefits which Greece re- ceived from Flaminius, we shall find that neither Phi- lopotmen, nor other Grecians more illustrious than Philo- poemen, will stand the comparison with him. For the Greeks always fought against Greeks ; but Flaminius, who was not of Greece, fought for that country. And at a time when Philopcemen, unable to defend his fel- low citizens who were engaged in a dangerous war, passed over into Crete, Flaminius having vanquished Philip in the heart of Greece, set cities and whole nations free. If we examine into their battles, it will appear, that Phi- lopcemen, while he commanded the Achaean forces, killed more Greeks than Flamiaius, in asserting the Grecian cause, killed Macedonians. As to their failings, ambition was the fault of Flami- nius, and obstinacy that of Philoposmen. The former was passionate and the latter implacable. Flaminius left Philip is his royal dignity, and pardoned the ,s i-rt U7>;, x, T. A. would have run '/$ iri 39O PLUTARCH'S LIVES. Philopoemen shewed himself no less serviceable and active among the Achseans, when in a private capacity, than when he had the command. For when commander in chief, he drove Nabis out of the city of Messene, and restored the inhabitants to their liberty ; but he was only in a private station when he shut the gates of Sparta against the general Diophanes, and against Flamiaius, and by that means saved the Lacedaemomians. Indeed, - nature had given him such talents for command, that he knew not only how to govern according to the laws, but how to govern the laws themselves when the public good required it ; wot waiting for the formality of the people's appointing him, but rather employing them when the occasion demanded it. For he was persuaded, that, not he whom the people elect, but he who thinks best for thepeople, is the true general. There was undoubtedly something great and generous in the clemency and humanity of Fiaminius towards the Grecians ; but there was something still greater and more generous in the resolution which Philopcemen shewed in maintaining the liberties of Greece against the Romans. For it is a much easier matter to be liberal to the weak, than to oppose and to support a dispute with the strong. Since, therefore, after all our inquiry into the characters of these two great men, the superiority is not obvious, perhaps we shall not greatly err, if we give the Grecian- the palm of generalship and military skill, and the Roman that of justice and humanity. END OF THE SECOND VOLUME. Printed by Mundtll, Doig, and Stevenson, Edinburgh. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below MAIN OCT A.M. LOAN CESK 1 2 1964 P.M. 112UI2|3l4|S|fi &AU AUG; ws^S L ^CTJCD-WB 01985 SEC'D LD-UBC JUL 8 198 10m-ll, '50(2555)470 3 1158 00319 7182 A 000216922 ' '