MASTER NEGA TIVE NO. 92-80536 MICROFILMED 1992 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES/NEW YORK as part of the "Foundations of Western Civilization Preservation Project" Funded by the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES Reproductions may not be made without permission from Columbia University Library COPYRIGHT STATEMENT The copyright law of the United States - Title 17, United States Code - concerns the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material... Columbia University Library reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order v^ould involve violation of the copyright law. AUTHOR: THUCYDIDES TITLE: TWO ORATIONS IN PRAISE OF ATHENIANS PLACE: LONDON DATE: 1759 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFOR M TARGET Master Negative # Original Material as Filmed - Iixisling Bibliographic Record ^88T43 'jI63 "T^r £iigllQh# Selections. „. "^ Thucydides^ ^ ^ • - Two orations in praise of Athenians slain xn battle, ,ed, with reflexions, ^by E. Bentham^. London, Printed for R- and J. Dodsley, tl7593 j-^' 34, 11, 39 p. 20|- cm. ^> .,?- Content3:--Tho oration of Pericles, taken from tho translation of Thucydides, by Dr. Smith, Dean of Clie;:tcr.--The oration of Plato, translated by the late Gilbert VTest, . . ' . Restrictions on Use: TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA REDUCTION RATIO: //A' FILM SlZE:__S^_/>2_^ IMAGE PLACEMENT: I A { II A ) IB IIB DATE FILMED:__V^^£^ INITIALS (S/9 HLMEDBY: RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS. INC WOODBRrDGE7cT r Association for Information and Image Management 1100 Wayne Avenue. Suite 1100 Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 301/587-8202 Centimeter 1 2 3 IMIlMM|IIMlllll|IMMlll|ll Inches I 8 . MM III 1.0 I.I 1.25 ■T-* II 10 11 12 13 14 ijM I 4 Ik 2-8 2.5 yjg '|5 6 3.2 2.2 ^ |3-6 2.0 1.8 1.4 1.6 11 1111 IIM Mill 15 mm in T MflNUFflCTURED TO fillM STfiNDflRDS BY APPLIED IMRGE- INC. mt | p» :» "t^wwmMW^ PWP^P^SW^PPPI^PSi^^^ / ^ I Colmniita ^mbersittp tntbrattti»o{3?rtti$ork LIBRARY \ -?» / **l 'TAT^ZO nPATTnisjfi k\% TWO ORATIONS IN PRAISE OF ki> ATHENIANS .SLAIN IN BATTLE. FROM t: HE GREEK. WITH REFLEXIONS. To yct^ ye^ets eq^i ^avovlooVi HoM. Il, LONDON: Printed for R. and J. Dodsley in Pall-Mall, J. Fletcher and J. Riving TON at the Oxford Ihgatre in Pater-nefter Rtw^ London \ and J. Fletcher, in the 7a;/?, Oxford, MDCCLIX. t ■- [ Price One Shilling. ] u i % 'I T ^--i -^ b > ' :■• ADVERTISEMENT. THE following Reflexions were Jketched out for the inftruSlion and confolation of a Noble Toutb of great hopes, who, in the courfe of the laji year, became nearly interejled in the fubjeSl by the united calls of dutiful and friendly affec- tion. If there be any feafonablenefi in publifiing the Orations themfehes, it is hoped, there will feem to be no impropriety in endeavouring to extend their ufe by publiping the Reflexions. It is indeed the duty of thofe who, tn direSling the courfe of ingenuous education, are apt to pay a particular regard to claffical flu- dies, occaftonally, and by proper examples, to point out their ufefulnefs, and thereby fiew the probability there is of deriving from thence many fubfiantial advantages, this they owe to their own vindication, and to the encouragement of young Gentlemen in that clofenefs of application which ts necejary to givefuccefe to their literary purfuits. It is by habitually inuring themfehes to the accu- racy of verbal criticifm in the exercife of clofe tranflation, that they may learn to transfufe into their own compofttions the beauties of claffical Au- thors, their propriety of diSiion, their elegance of difpofition, and the juflnefs of their fentiments. It was by this kind of working upon the Greek mo- dels that Cicero laid the foundation of his great- tiefs.-^yli the fame time, let them enrich their •^ a 2 imaginations. ADVERTISEMENT. imagijtatiojts, let them Jlrengthen and correSi their judgments by a proper attention to the liberal fa- ences and modern hipries. Uftng thefe means, it will not be long before they may venture to enlarge their flight.and judge for themfehe show far antiefit reprefentations, whether hifloricalorpoliticah under a fimilitude of circumfiances, may be adapted to prefent times : Thence they will naturally proceed to draw forth into common ufe fuch precedents, as may be regarded with reverence, and followed with fuccefs: Jnd, in f:ort, whenever there Jhall be a call for the exertion of their talents as fpeakers, or as aBors, upon the fcene of public tranfaBions, they will exemplify in what they fay and what they do, that rich vein of goodfimfe and excelleiit observations with which claffical Authors abound. And for their encouragement, we may appeal to many bright examples, in this and preceding ages, for the happy influence of thefe ftudies in giving that fuperiority both in debate and aSlion, which perfons thus educated have ever mai?itai?ied. But I hope the prefcfit publication may tend to fo?ne National Ufe, as well as Academical Improvement. VhryhChurch, Oxford, Jan. I, I759« E. B E N T H A M. K{i s ^ > ■ < ' REFLEXIONS Occafioned by ' Two Funeral Orations, ^c. THE funeralOratlons preferved in theworks of Thucydides, Plato, and Lyfias have ever been reckoned among the more valuab k remains of Greek learning. Confidered merely as fketches of the Athenian hifto.7 and polity^ they deferve a place within the not.ce of evety adrnirer of claffical antiquity. But thejna^""^ ofZd fenfe and public fpirit with wh.ch they abound, muft give pleafure to eveiy judiaous reader What indeed can be more generally interefting than the confideration of honours due to perfon! dying in the fervice of the. country? What more noble and genero-^s m the defign- Wh-it more beneficial in the confequence, than rpaT-nt of thofe honours ?--What more erateful to a Britiffi heart-for what can more Lofitely fall in with the vindication of our S aluable national privileges, than the ha. [ 2 ] rangue of Pericles ? What more affbaionate and pathetic than the addrefs which we read in the end of Plato's oration ! How applicable to the many difafters In War! — and In the main, how juft reafoning doth It contain to footh our more private affliaions In the death of friends and relations ! « For thefe confideratlons, as well as for the excellence of their compofition, it feemed not un- becoming my employment as a Tutor, fome years ago, during the late war, to publilh thofe ora- tions, in the original Greek, with large expla- natory notes for the ufe of younger iludents. And It being now thought feafonable to give the English readers a fpeclmen of them, I feem In fome degree Interefted in the publica- tion. At the fame time, while I confefs myfelf highly pleafed with the general plan and fubjedl matter of thefe orations, I cannot but endea- vour to obviate fome wrong Impreffions which may arife from them ; and hint at fome Im- provements well deferving attention, if ever any genius of our own country fliould undertake to imitate them ^—- 1 cannot help teftifying my own fenfe of that honoiM* and gratitude with which All thofe fliould be regarded, to whofe counfels and labours, under God, In the prefent conjundure, the nation owes its fecurity. And \h > ^ [ 3 ] And firft, a very juft exception may be taken to the rough treatment, which Pericles Is repre- fented p. 14. 1. 29. as ufmg towards the female part of his audience — a treatment not eafy to be reconciled with that good fenfe, generofity, and politenefs which the Greek hiftorlans repre- fent to be leading parts In the charafter of Pe- ricles. Be it that modefty and referve * were deemed fo eflentlal to a well-bred lady among the Athenians, that flie rarely could make her appearance with decency beyond the limits of her own apartment, yet, on this melancholy occafion, mothers, daughters, and fifters were called forth into public view as it were by fo- lemn invitation, and therefore had the public fecurity for being proteded from infult. — And highly dlfrefpeftful, if not infulting, it was in the Orator by a dark and ambiguous admonition to reproach them for giving a vent to that ten- dernefs of affecfllon, for which the female heart is peculiarly turned, and which it fliould feem to have been one confiderable part of his bufinefs to excite and encourage. Add to this, that, none being fo deeply affeded In the happlnefs of their future lives by that calamity which the Orator had * Materfaniilias— in Graecia— nee in celebritate verfatur — neque in convivium adhibetur nifi propinquorum, ncque fc- dct nifi in interiore parte aedium, quae gynaconttis appellatur, quo nemo accedit, nifi propinqua cognatione conjundus. — Corn, NepQi in Praef. undertaken [ 4 ] undertaken to deplore, every humane difpofition would be apt to pity and excufe, if not com- mend them, for being hurried into tranfports of grief, however irkfome others might find it to behold. Let it then be a fufiicient cenfure of this paffage to fay, that Pericles was one of thofe ftatefmen, who had got above the feelings of domeftic tendernefs ; a charadler that fuffici- ently accounts for many of thofe diftrefling ca- lamities which befell the Athenians in the Pe- loponnefian war during his adminiftration. Again, we may juftly wonder that the wife Socrates fhould be introduced as fpeaking with fo much futility as we find towards the be- ginning of Plato's Oration. (For though the Oration be reprefented in the dialogue of Plato, intituled Menexenus, as coming from Afpafia s mouth, either He or Plato are anfwerable for the fentiments there adopted.) — All we can fay is this, that a popular audience having their local prejudices, the Orator and Philofopher condefcended to flatter them in that particular, and fpoke frivoloufly, in order that he might appear not quite out of character as an Athenian. The fame apology muft be made, fo far as any can, for his eiKOuraging his countrymen in their ambition and oppreffivenefs, and in the inve- teracy \ i I 5 1 teracy of their hatred towards Barbarians, p. 26, 32. whom they firft ftigmatized with an opprobrious name, and then, in virtue of it, thought themfelves at liberty to ufe them cru- elly, — A maxim, which, by their horrid enor- mities and mercilefs devaftations in war, one would think fome Chriftians too had adopted, thereby difgracing that holy name whereby they are called! — -What other judgment can we form of the barbarities exercifed by the Spaniards in America— by Papifts in general, whenever they have power fuflicient, againft Proteftants ? What, of thofe fcenes of military execution that were exhibited throughout Germany near a century and half ago — which were afterwards renewed by the French in the Palatinate ? — and What of their late exaftions throughout our fo- vereign's German dominions? But, be our enemies who they will ; nay, be their provoca- tions ever fo great, Britifli good-nature, and much more Chriftian charity, muft fliudder at thofe dreadful evils which the moft neceflfary war brings on both parties. To fay nothing of the toils and difficulties to which even the vi<3:orious are expofed, Who can rcfledlupon the miferable deaths of fuch multitudes of human creatures, upon the innumerable diftrefles of in- nocent families, the afflictions of relations and friends, the devaftations, inhumanities, and b wickedneffes [ 6 ] wickediiellts of every kind, which are the never-failing attendants of war — and not burn with an honeft indignation againft the authors of fuch calamities, who have no bowels, no confcience to remonftrate againft offering fo coftly a facrifice to the idols of their own refent- ment, ambition, or avarice ! British bravery is built upon truer principles: we have many things juftly dear to us, both civil and facred ; we have genuine religion, we have natural advantages, which our national in- duftry hath honeftly improved; we have our welfare and honour, both common and perfo- nal, to maintain : thefe rights we confider our- felves as both impowered and commanded by God to defend. Hence is it that we do not yield tamely to the enterprizes of our enemies, how- ever formidable for their power or numbers , that we are not difmayed by dangers, nor elated by profperity ; but endeavour to unite the moft compofed moderation with the moft undaunted bravery. This hath hitherto been our national character ; and to this, under God, we owe our fuccelTes. Again, with regard to Athenian liberty — the charms of which are fo much heightened, and the love of which is fo pathetically incul- cated i h [ 7 ] cated throughout thefe Orations — have we not fometimes feen men hurried into fuch vifionary no- tions of Liberty as may endanger it to deftruftion, diffolving that union between the feveral parts of our happy conftitution, to which we owe ourjiopes of its future ftability, and from which we derive our prefent happinefs? — ahappinefs, that with all the burthens we complain of and lament, there is not a nation upon earth with which any reafonable man amongft us can be willing, on reflexion, to change conditions ; at leaft a little experience would foon convince him of the badnefs of fuch a choice. In the hiftory of Athens, and particularly of that war in which the Oration of Pericles was fpoken, we fee much national wealth and many private conveniences much abufed by luxury and extravagance: Great men hereby bringing themfelves into difficulties, and endeavouring to relieve their perfonal diftreffes by involving their country in greater. All having the fame part in the legiflature, we fee ingenious men often vaunting themfelves in fpecious and pom- pous appearances of public fpirit ; and thereby procuring flielter for felfiih projefts, for corrup- tion and treachery. While All -afpired to a larger fliare in the direftion of public affairs, we fee them lofmg all equitable temper b 2 one Ii [ 8 ] one towards another, fierce in their contentions^ diflionouring worthy charafters, and driving thera from their flations ; and thereby bringing to themfelves perpetual difcomfort within, while expofed to moft alarming dangers, till at length they were brought to ruin from without. ' Well therefore may we rejoice in that excellent combination \ whereby the feveral parts of the Britifli conftitution are peculiarly adapted to an- fwer the great purpofes of men's fubmitting ori- ginally to government ; namely, the fecuring our public independence from foreign invafions, and our perfonal rights from mutual encroach- ments. Far from repining at our dependency as Subjects (which is indeed no more than our being referred as merribers of fociety in a beau- tiful fubordination to our head — as the feveral individuals to a common centre of union) well may we honour the memories of thofe Princes who afcertained our prefent happy eftablifliment, and have fince, as we happily experience at this Tery day, made it their glory, by a mild and juft government, to fecure to us the perpetuity of thefe invaluable bleffings. ^ The Brhifli reader may with pleafure review the picture of our civil eftablilliment, in that draught which Polybius (B. 6.) hath ftruck out in theory- as the perfection ofhuman government. And * [ 9 1 And laftly, when we fmile, as fmile we muft when we fee the wife Socrates putting on an air of ferioufnefs, in reciting the legendary tales of Athenian fuperftition, (p. i8) let it not be the difdainful fmile of profanenefs, pro- nouncing '^ all religions to be the fame." It is the height of ignorance and folly, not to know and feel the difference j — of dilingenuity not to acknowledge it. Nay, Socrates himfelf, upon another more ferious occafion, is intro- duced ** lamenting the imperfed:ion of that which he pradtifed, at the fame time expreffing his expedations that God himfelf, by a particular revelation in future time, would fupply the dc- feft. And it is our happinefs to enjoy a reli« gious difpenfation, the moft rational and wor- thy of God, the moft humane and bene- ficial to mankind; confirmed by a variety of the ftrongeft proofs : full of purity in it's pre- cepts, of awfulnefs in it's threatnings, and com- fort in it's promifes; thus dire<5ling and fup- porting each perfon feparately, and at the fame time endearing the members of civil fociety to each other, by the union it enjoins of the fame worfhip, with the profeffion of the fame be- lief and the fame hopes. Neither fliould it here be omitted, what a peculiar dignity the Chriftian doctrine hath ** See Plato's fecond Akibiades. added \ [ 16 J added to the office of a Soldier, what inftruc- tion for the due difcharge of it. — It is true, that peace on earthy and good will to mankind^ was no iiiconfiderable part of the bleffing, which Giir Saviour's coming was intended to produce. Much did he do by precept, by example, by ellurements, by terrors, to preclude the very occafion for a foldier's employment — perhaps all that could be done confiftently with the freedom of man's nature. But fince the world will never be without thofe finful dejiresy from whence come wan andjightings, very fitting it is that ibey who take the fiwrd, who commit and perfiil in lawlefs violence, ihould periJJj by the fiacrd. And as the Magiftrate is ordained by Gody to reftrain all difturbcrs of civil happinefs, the Soldier is commiffioned under him, to re- prcis the invaders of national right. Well therefore mav he from this confidcration aflume new vigour, 7iot to bear the fword in vain^ nor to count bis life dear unto himfelf in this fer- vice to which he is lawfully called : Well may he be daring in his enterprifes, intrepid in dangers, and perfevcring in difficulties ; and from the fame principle, he certainly will be merciful in the midft of conqueft. Nor will the influence of this confidcration be finall upon his own moral conduct. As his profeflion leads him to walk in the midft of death, he •^.nnot cannot fail, without the greateft ftupidity, of being mindful to ftand prepared^ by an habi- tual good life, to meet his God in judgment ; — of ever rememhring Gody and honouring him as Gody by whofe authority alone, a Soldier can in- nocently wield the fword, who alone can cover his head in the day of battle y or reward his being faithful unto death, by givi?ig him a crown of tre. Caj Yet upon the whole, notwithfl:anding the abovementioned exceptions, there are few Britifh readers but will take a pleafure in reviewing thefe monuments of Athenian patriotifinj hap- py, if they go on ' to invigorate and refine their own, upon chriftian principles ! Influenced by thefe, they will, amongft other fruits of them, be led to thank God, for having fupported our gracious Sovereign in his magnanimous refolution to vindicate the • The influence of this belief of a future life, under all the uncertainty and mifrcprefentation of heathen tradition, is well defcribed, Luc an. B. i. v. 466. Inde ruendi In ferrum mens prona vlrls, animxque capaces Mortis : et ignavum rediturse parcere vitae. ^ It would be here unpardonable not to put the reader in mind what excellent helps for this purpofe he may receive from the nine Sermons preached cr\ occafign of the late vjar^ by Archbifhop Seeker. iuft If [ 12 ] juft rights of his Britifh fubjefts and to maintain the proteftant religion, by affifting his great proteftant ally, under circumftances moft affedting to every humane and generous difpofition, and moft difcouraging to himfelf j for having, upon this interefting occafion united, not only the hearts of his whole people in afFedtion to his royal perfon and family, but their very judgments alfo, fo liable to dif^ fer, In approbation of the meafures of his go- vernment ; and for having blefled thofe mea- fures with feveral Important fuccefles : — fuch as have fecured us from any immediate profpeft, as well as from the prefent fufFering of thofe horrid calamities, which have befallen many other countries. To thofe likewife, who have been to us the providential inftruments of this fecurity, is there iiue a large tribute of thankfulnefs. Studious men efpecially, the more unable they feel them- felves either to ward oft the mifchiefs of war, or to find fupport under them, the more hearty ihould they ever be, to concur with their fellow- fubjedis in every proper ad: of ^gratitude, " for that Royal care and proteftion, whereby they arc enabled to purfue their ftudies, and enjoy '^ the bounty of their founders and benefadors in fecurity, free from the miferies and cala- *' mities H €( (i .1 [ 19 ] the genius of our countrymen, and yet con- duced with the fame fimplicity and frugality as was the Athenian. One might anfwer for the good efi'efts of it in animating the courage of thofe who are already engaged in the feryice; nor would it fail to raife in others that martial ipirit, which, fo long as our inveterate enemy retains his antient perfidioufnefs, and continues deaf to the reprefentations of equity and juftice, is in a manner vital to our country. Considering the exigency of the time and the difficulty aud hazard of the employment, the friendly aid of every tongue is wanted to praife, of every hand to applaud ^, the men who venture foremoft in this courfe of honour and duty to their King and Country. My heart is towards the governours of the people that wiU Itngly offered the.nf elves \ Shall it then ftill continue a matter of dif- ficult fpeculation, how it comes to pafs that fo many of diftinguiftied eminence for titles, rank, and fortunes, have lately taken upon them the profeffion of arms? — Detraftion is ever bufy to difparage illuftrious merit. Let us for once hear and refute her malignant fuggeftions. ^ Haec interpofai, ut quofdam nimis jejuno animo, et angufto monerem, uti excellentium civium virtutem imitatione dignam non invidia putarent. Cic. Philip. 14. ^ Judges V. 2. Must i C 20 ] Must we then fuppofe them flmck with that pompoufnefs of military parade, w^hich fo pow- erfully attrafts weak minds by its brilliancy ? — - or, with that love of eafe and fauntering, fb falfely reputed to be the great privilege, indeed the proper calling of Gentlemen ? — Surely the particular time and feafon, in which they court the fervice, abundantly refute the firft calumny ; unlefs indeed we can imagine there to be any thing pleafing in the glittering of inftruments fitted for immediate deftruftion to the beholder, F leafing to hear the drums tumultuous Jound^ ^he viBors Jloouts and dying groans con founds T'ke dreadful biirjl of cannon rend the JkieSy And all the thunder of the battle rife, Addison* As to the other fuggeftion, let any one con- iider the deftrud:ivenefs of laborious marches and tedious watchings, the mifchiefs of inclement feafon s, the inconveniency of ftrait lodging, the unwholefomenefs of encampments^ the fad ne- ceffities of noifome diet, to fay nothing of the toil and peril which attend all military opera- tions, and he will with fliame retraft his idle calumny, and acknowledge that a camp or fliip in time of war, is by no means the place proper for laying fcenes of eafc and luxurious delicacy. Is \i [ 21 ] Is it then the fuppofed privilege of giving a full range to iewd indulgences ? Too often in- deed the arms of military gentlemen have thereby been fuUied in their luftre. But alas! fuch Rangers enjoy their full fcope within the regions of peace, bidding defiance to infamy, regardlefs of the miieries themfelves are likely to fuffer^ and untouched with pity for what they occa- fion, equally deftitute of remorfe for living in daily violation of the divine and human laws in this refpeft. Or, is it a love of domination, which can- not be gratified in its full extent of infolence, till got beyond the coercion of civil power ? Read but the lift of Officers now under confide-' ration, and fee this calumny like wife refuted by the known tenour of their conftant behaviour. However neceflTary they may find it, in fome emergencies, to affume the charafter of fierce^ nefs and rigour, they wait with impatience for the return of that " happy hour which ihall "* AtjXo* oT» 'jretO'CKi ra^ w^o? To» troXijw.oi' iTTj/^sXtjaf, Ka>.ai f^*f SiTioV ' »% f^i TtXo? ^£ cravrtop ^y.^orxToty ctM.a, tKtiva %«^iy raJl*?. Ariftot. Polit. 1. 7. c. 2. S^e more to the fame purpofe, c. 15, Indeed the moral, political, and critical works of this Author cannot be too much recommended. Ea natura rerum ell, P.C. ut, qui fenfum verse gloriae ceperit, quique fe ab fcnatu equiti- bus populoque R. univerfo fenferit civem fe char urn haberi, i^lutaremque reipub. nihil cum hac gloria comparaudum putet. Cic. Phil. 5. d again [ 22 ] again rt&fytc them to the arts of peace, and to the opportunity of fympathizing with their friends and families in the delights of domeftic tendernefs and mild aifeftion. To bring things back into tiieu former ftate of quiet and tran- quillity, whenever there is a probability of fet- tling them upon a fafe and honourable founda- tion, in order to enjoyment, is the intereft of every man of rank and fortune, and may there- fore be fuppofed to be by them moft ardently delired, and fmcerely intended. Neither can the reproach of Indigence — which indeed in itfelf is no reproach — not even this, the poor remaining refource of defamation, can attect the fubjeft of our inquiry. ^What additions to their fortunes could the noble Dukes, Marquifes, Earls, and Lords who have lately been enrolled in their Country's fervlce, and obeyed itands, fathers, fons, brothers, and intimate friends, fe^ms confcious of fome weaknefs in the topics therein fuggefted. He therefore gives the fubjeft a new turn ' with his ufual terfenefs. — But it would betray an unwarrantable fond- nefs for claflical learning, to aflfert the fuffici* ency of what either He or They have oflfered for that purpofe. Nothing can effeftiially atiA univerfally reach fuch melancholy cafes, but the Chriftian principle of humble refignation to the will of God ', who ordereth all things according to his own counfel ; who in all our diftreflfes can, and certainly will, if it be not our own fault, bring good to us out of evil, and turn our very calamities into blefllngs. — For he will certainly bring good : but whether to us, depends on ourfelves. * Confolemur eorum proximos, quibus optima eft haec qui- dem confolatio : parentibus, quod tanta reipublicae praefidia genuerunt : liberis, quod habebunt domeftica exempla vir- tutis : conjugibus, quod iis viris carebunt, quos laudare quam lugere praeftabit : fratribus, quod in fe, ut corporum, fic virtutum fimilitudinem efle confident. Philipp. 14. And >Av [ 34 ] And they, whofe hearts are now yearning after friends and relations that are ftill expofed to the various difafters of war, they hkewife may hap- pOy experience the ufefulnefs of the fame religi- ous principle. — Let them, in this interval of anxiety and fufpence, endeavour to fupport their own minds by that very advice which ferious per- fons would give their friends at their entrance upon a campaign ; " Do your duty, and leave " events to God." In waiting then for thofe events, let them hope the beft , that what their friends have enterprifed generoufly, will profper in their hands, as well with refpecft to their own honour and fafety, as to that of their Country, whofe caufe, in their feveral important fervices, they have undertaken to maintain. i i f A t i t i ' t - 4 4 t t t I I t i t I I t I t I 4 I THE ORATION of PERICLES Taken from the Translation of Thu cy dide s, By Dr. S Mlt H, Dean of Cbejier. THE Q RATION of P LAt O Tranflated by the late \ GILBERT WEST, LL.D. ^fi^^^j^^i^ifii^^iJ^^iiA-^^i'^^f*****-**^****^****^***** « •] V :i \ ARGUMENT FROM /: THUCYDIDES, BOOK II. k A -S '- /r ivas the epblijhed cujlom of the Atheniam every winter, in war-time, to foktmize a public funeral for thofe who had fallen in battle, in the manner as follows. — The bo7ies of the pin were brought to a taber- nacle ereSled for the furpofe three days before, and all were at liberty to deck out the remains of their friends at their own difcretion. But, when the grand froceffton was made, ten cyprefs-coffins were drawn on carriages, one for every tribe, in each of which were feparately contai?ied the bones of all that belonged to that tribe. Onefumptuous bier was carried along empty for thofe that were miffing, whofe bodies couldnot be found amongfl the pin. All who were willing, both citizens and grangers, attended the folemnity ; and the women, ivho were related to the dcceafed, took their ption tiea r \ ( H ) neof thefepulchre groaning and lamenting. They ■ depofited the remains in the public fepulchre, which pod in the finejl fuburb of the city -y—for it had been the conftant cujlom there to bury all ivho fell in war, except thofe at Marathon, whofe extraordinary valour the Athenians judged proper to honour with a fepulchre on the field of battle. Jsfoon as they were interred, fome one feWedfor the office by the public -boice, and ever a perfon in great ejleem for his high underjland- ing, and of high dignity among jl them, pronounced over them the decent panegyric — and this done, they departed. THE " Vl ^ / H \ qp H E FUNERAL ORATION O F PERICLES. MANY of thofe, who have fpoken before me on thefe occafions, have commended the author of the law, which we are now obeying, for having inftituted an oration to the honour of thofe who facrifice their hves in fighting for their country. For my part, I think it fufficient for men, who have approved their vir- tue in aaion, by aftion to be honoured for it— by fuch as you fee the public gratitude now per- forming about this funeral ; and-that the virtues of Many ought not to be endangered by the ma- nagement of any One perfon, when their credit mull prccariouQy depend on his oration, which may be good, or may be bad. Difficult indeed it is judiciouny to handle a fubjcd, where even probable truth will hardly gain affent. The hearer, enlightened by a long acquaintance, and warm in his aflredion, may quickly pronounce every thing unfavourably expreffed, in refpeft to what he wiflies and what he knows i— whilft the A 2 ftranger • -> 4 FUNERAL ORATION ftranger pronounceth all exaggerated, through envy of thofc deeds, which he is confcious are above his own atchievement. For the praifes beftowed on others are then only to be endured, when men imagine they can do thofe feats, they hear to have been done: they envy what they cannot equal, and immediately pronounce it falfe. Yet, as this folemnity hath received its fanflion from the authority of our anceftors, it is my duty alfo to obey the law, and to endeavour to procure, fo far as I am able, the good-will and approbation of all my audience. I SHALL therefore firft begin with our fore- fathers, fince both juftice and decency require wc fhould on this occafion beftow on them an honour- able remembrance. In this our country they kept themfelves always firmly fettled, and through their valour handed it down free to every fince fuc- ceeding generation. Worthy indeed of praife are They, and yet more vforthy are our im*mediate Fathers-, fince, enlarging their own inheritance into the extenfive empire which we now pofTefs, they bequeathed that their work of toil to us, their Sons. Yet even thefe fuccefies we ourfelves here prefent, we who are yet in the ftrength and vigor of our days, have nobly improved, and have made fuch provifions for this our Athens, that now it is all-fufiicient in itfelf to anfwer every exigence of war and of peace. I mean not here to recite thofe martial exploits by which thefe ends were accom- plilhed, I '\ V V^ ' OF PERICLES. 5 pliflied, or the refolute defences we ourfelves and our fathers have made againft the formidable in- vafions of Barbarians and Greeks — your own knowledge of thefe will excufe the long detail. But — by what methods we have rofe to this height of glory and power, by what polity and by what conduft we are thus aggrandized, I fhall firft en- deavour to Ihewj and then proceed to the praife of the deceafed. Thefe, in my opinion, can be no impertinent topics on this occafion : the dif- cuflion of them muft be beneficial to this numerous company of Athenians and of Strangers. We are happy in a form of Government, which cannot envy the laws of our neighbours : — for it hath ferved as a model to others^ but is original at Athens. And this our form, as committed not to the FeWy but to the whole body of the people, is called a Democracy, How different foever in a private capacity, we all enjoy the fame general Equality our laws are fitted to preferve, — and fu- perior Honours, juft as we cxcell. The public Adminiftration is not confined to a particular fa- mily, but is attainable only by merit. Poverty is not an hindrance ; fince whoever is able to ferve his country meets with no obftacle to pre- , ferment from his firft obfcurity. The OfHces of the State we go through without obftrudtions from one another; and live together in the mutual en- dearments of private life without fufpicions; not angry 6 FUNERAL ORATION angry with a neighbour for following the bent of his own humour, nor putting on that countenance of difcontent, which pains, tho' it cannot punifli :— fo that in private life we converfe together without diffidence or damage, whilft we dare not on any account offend againft the Public, through the re- verence we bear to the Magiftrates and the Laws, chiefly to thofe em^ed for redrefs of the injured, and to thofe that are unwritten, a breach of which is allowed difgrace. Our laws have further pro- vided for the mind moft frequent intermiffions of care, by the appointment of public recreations and facrifices throughout the year, elegantly performed with peculiar pomp, the daily delight of which is a charm that puts melancholy to flight. The o-randeur of this our Athens caufeth the produce of the whole earth to be imported here, by which we reap a familiar enjoyment, not more of the delicacies of our own growth, than of thofe of other nations. >• In the affairs of War we excell thofe of our enemies, who adhere to methods oppofite to our own. For we lay open Athens to general refort, ' nor ever drive any ftranger from us. whom either improvement or curiofity hath brought amongft lis, left any enemy fhould hurt us by feeing what is never concealed. We place not fo great a con- fidence in the preparatives and artifices of war, as in the native warmth of our fouls impelling us to adion. 1 \ w >>^ |4 V »V OF PERICLES. 7 aftion. In point of Education, the youth of feme people are inured by a courfe of laborious exercife to fupport toil and hardlhip like men-, but we, notwithftanding our eafy and elegant way of life, face all the dangers of war as intrepidly as they. This may be proved by fadts, fince the Lacedae- monians never invade our territories barely with their own, but with the united ftrength of all their confederates. But, when we invade the dominions of our neighbours, for the moft part we conquer without difficulty in an enemy's country thofe who fight in defence of their own habitations. The ftrength of our whole force no enemy yet hath ever experienced ; becaufe it is divided by our naval expeditions, or engaged in the different quarters of our fervice by land. But, if any-wherc they engage and defeat a fmall party of our forces, they boaftingly give it out a total defeat •, and if they are beat, they were certainly over-powered by our united ftrength. What though, from a ftatc of inactivity rather than laborious exercife, or with a natural rather than an acquired valour, we learn to encounter danger? — this gopd at leaft wc receive from it, that we never droop under the apprehenfion of poffible misfortunes, and, when we hazard the danger, are found no lefs courageous than thofe who are continually inured to it. In thefe refpefts our whole community deferves juftly to be adniired, and in many we have yet to mention, Ih I I 4 « FUNERAL ORATION In our manner of living we fliew an elegance tempered with frugality, and we cultivate philo- fophy without enervating the mind. We difplay our wealth in the feafon of beneficence, and not in the vanity of difcourfe. A confefiion of poverty is difgrace to no man ; no efFort to avoid it is dif- grace indeed. There is vifibly in the fame perfons an attention to their own private concerns and thofe of the Public ; and in others, engaged in the labours of life, there is a competent fkill in the affairs of Government. For. we are the only peo- ple who think him that does not meddle in ftate- affairs— not indolent, but good for nothing. And yet we pafs the foundefl judgments, and are quick at catching the right apprchenfions of things j not thinking that words are prejudicial to anions, but rather the not being duly prepared by previous debate, before we are obliged to proceed to exe- cution. Herein confifts our diflinguifhing excel- lence, that in the hour of adion we fhew the greateft courage, and yet debate before-hand the expediency of our meafures. The courage of others is the refult of ignorance: deliberation makes them cowards. And thofe undoubtedly mufl be owned to have the greatefl fouls, who, mqfl acutely fenfible of the miferies of war and the fweets of peace, are not hence in the leafl de- terred from facing danger. In afts of beneficence, further, we differ from the many. We preferve friends, not by receiving, but < ■ f « «» OF PERICLES. 9 but by conferring obligations. For he, who does a kindnefs, hath the advantage over him, who by the law of gratitude becomes a debtor to his bene- faftor. The perfon obliged is compelled to aft the more infipid part, confcious that a return of kindnefs is merely a payment, not an obligation. And we alone arc fplendidly beneficent to others, hot fo much from intercfted motives, as for the credit of pure liberality. I fhall fum up what yec remains, by only adding— that our Athens in ge- heral is the fchool of Greece; and that every finglc Athenian amongft us is excellently formed, by his perfonal qualifications, for all the various fcenes of aftive life, afting with a moll graceful demeanor, ind a moft ready habit of difpatch. That I have not on this occafion made ufe of a pomp of words, but the truth of fadls, that height, to which by fuch a condud this Siate hath rofc", is an undeniable proof. For we are now the only people of the world who are found by expe- rience to be greater than in report-,— the only people who, repelling the attacks of an invading enemy, exempts their defeat from the blufh of in- dignation, and to their tributaries yields no dif- content, as if fubjeft to men unworthy to command. That we deferve our power, we need no evidence to manifeft. We have great and fignal proofs of this, which intitle us to the admiration of the prc- fcnt and future ages. We want no Homer to be the herald of our praife-, no poet to deck off a jj hiftory y lo FUNERAL ORATION hiftory with the charms of verfe, where the opinion of exploits muft fufFer by a ftrift relation. Every fea hath been opened by our fleets, and every land hath been penetrated by our armies, which have cvery-where left behind them eternal monuments of our enmity and our friendlhip. In the jufl defence of fuch a Slate^ thefe vidlims of their own valour, fcornmg the ruin threatened to it, have valiantly fought and bravely died. And every one of thofe who furvive is ready, I am .-P^jf*^'perfuaded, to facrifice life in fuch a caufe. ;| And for this reafon I enlaro;ed fo much on national points, to give the cleareft proof, that in the pre- fent war we have more at ftake, than men whofe public advantages are not fo valuable j and to illu- llrate by aftual evidence, how great a commenda- tion is due to them, who are now my fubjedl, and the greateft part of which they have now received. For the encomiums, with which I have celebrated the SlaU^ have been earned for it by the bravery of ihefe, and of men like ii^efe. And fuch com- pliments might be thought too high and exagge- rated, if paired on any Grecians, but thefe alone. The fatal period, to which thefe gallant fouls are jiow reduced, is the fureft evidence of their merit —an evidence begun in their lives, and completed in their deaths. For it is a debt of juftice to pay fuperior honours to men, who have devoted their lives in fighting for their country, tho' inferior to Others in every virtue but that of valour. Their laft N If i 'i' OF PERICLES. II laft fervlce effaceth all former demerits ;-It ex- tends to the public: their private demeanors reached only to a few. Yet not one of thefe was induced to nirink from danger, through fondnefs of thofe delights which the peaceful affluent life beflows :-not one was the lefs lavifh of his lite, through the Hattering hope attendant upon want, that poverty at length might be exchanged for affluence. One paffion there was in their minds much ftronger than thefe-the defire of vengeance on their enemies. Regarding this as the moft honourable prize of dangers, they boldly rulhed towards the mark, to glut revenge, and then to fatisfy thofe fecondary pafflons. The uncertam event they had already fecured in hope ; what their eves fhewed plainly muft be done, they trufted to their own valour to accomplifh, thinking it more crlorious to defend themfelves and die in the at- tempt, than to yield and live. From the reproach of cowardice indeed they fled, but prefented their bodies to the Ihock of battle; when, "^f ^le of fear, but triumphing in hope, in the doubtful charae they inftantly dropt-and thus difchargsd the d°uty whi€h brave men owe to their country. As for You, who now furvive them— it is your bufinefs to pray for a better fate-but to think it your duty alfo to preferve the .fame fpirit and warmth of courage againft your enemies, not iudaing of the expediency of this from a mere harangue-where any man. indulging a flow oS ^ g ^ words. 12 FUNERAL ORATION words, may tell you, what you yourfelves know, as well as he, how many advantages there arc in fighting valiantly againft your enemies — but ra- ther making the daily-increafing grandeur of this community the objed of your thoughts, and growing quite enamoured of it. And, when it; really appears great to your apprehenfions, think again, that this grandeur was acquired by brave. and valiant men ; by men who knev/ their duty, and in the moments of adlion were fenfible ot fhame, who, whenever their attempts were unfuc- cefsful, thought it dilhonour their country fhould ftand in need of any thing their valour could do for it, and fo made it the moft glorious prefenL Beftowing thus their lives on the public, they have every one received a praife that will never decay, a fepulchre that will always be moft illuftrious— not that in which their bones lie mouldering, buc that in which their fame is preferved, to be on every occafion, when honour is the employ of either word or aft, eternally remembered. ' This whole earth is the fepulchre of illuftrious men; nor is it. the infcription on the columns in their native foil alone that fhews their merit, but the memorial of them, better than all infcriptions, in every foreign nation, repofited more durably in univerfal remem- brance, than on their own tomb. From this very moment, emulating thefe noble patterns, placing your happinefs in liberty, and liberty in valour,' be prepared to encounter all the dangers of war. Fpr, to be lavifh ^i life is not fo noble in thofe whom \ ^'\ OE PERICLES. »3j 'VvKom misfortunes have reduced to mifery and de- fpair, as in men who hazard the lofs of a comfortable fubfiftence, and the enjoyment of all the bleffing^ this world affords, by an unfuccefsful enterprize. Adverfity, after a f(?ries of eafe and affluence, fink^ peeper into the heart of a man of fpirit, than the ftroke of death infenfibly i:eceived i;i the vigor o^ yjfe and public hope. For this reason, the Parents of thofe who ara i;iow gone, whoever of them may be attending^ tiere, 1 do not bewail, — I Ihall rather comfort. It; is well known to what unhappy accidents they were liable from the moment of their birth ; and that happinefs belongs to men who have reached ^e moft glorious period of life, as thefe now have, \vho are to you the fource of forrow,^ — thefe whofe life hath received its ample meafure, happy in its continuance, and equally happy in its conclufion. I know it in truth a difficult tafk to fix comfort in thofe breafts, which will have frequent remem- brances, in feeing the happinefs of others, in what they once themfelves enjoyed. And forrow flows not from the abfence of thofe good things which we have never yet experienced, but from the lofs pf thofe to which we have been accuftomed. They who are not yet by age exempted from iflfue, ijiould be comforted by the hope of having more. The childre;n yet to be born will be a private benefit t^o fome, in caufing them to forget fuch as no Ipnger are, and will be a double benefit to their country. J4 FUNERAL ORATION country, in preventing its defolation, and providing for its fecurity. For thofe perfons cannot in com- mon juftice be regarded as members of equal value to the public, who have no children to expofe to danc^er for its fafety. — But You, whofe age is al- ready far advanced, compute the greater Ihare of happinefs your longer time hath afforded for fo much gain, perfuaded in yourfelves, the remainder will be but fhort, and enlighten that fpace by the olory gained by Thefe. It is greatnefs of foul alone that never grows old-, nor is it wealth that delights in the latter ftage of life, as fome give out, fo much as honour.— To You, the Sons and Brothers of the deceafed, whatever number of you are here, a field of hardy contention is opened. For him, who no longer is, every one is ready to commend ; fo that, to what- ever height you pufh your deferts, you will fcarce ever be thought to equal, but to be fomewhat in- ferior to thefe. Envy will exert itfelf againft a competitor, whilft life remains ^ but when death flops the competition, affeftion will applaud with- out reftraint. If after this it be cxpefted for me to fay any thino- to Tou, who are now reduced to a ftate of Widowhood, about female virtue, I Ihall exprefs it all in one fhort admonition :— It is your greateft: glory not to be deficient in the virtue peculiar to your fex, and to give the Men as little handle as pofTiblc * Iv i y w OF PERICLES. 15 poffible to talk of your behaviour, whether well or ill. I HAVE now dlfcharged the province allotted me by the laws, and faid what I thought moft perti- nent to this alTembly. Our departed friends have by fadls been already honoured. Their children, from this day till they arrive at manhood, rtiall be educated at the public expence of the State^ which hath appointed fo beneficial a meed for thefe and all future relifts of the public contefts. For, wherever the greateft rewards are propofed for virtue, there the beft patriots are ever to be found.— Now, let every one refpedively Indulge the decent grief for his departed friends, and then letire* TH§ / V tHfe FUNERAL ORATldN O F PLATO. WHATEVER was requifite to be done for thefe brave men, hath been per- formed on our part: They have re- ceived their Buei, and are now proceeding on their fated Journey^ difmiffed with thefe public Hondurs paid to them as well by the whole State, as by their own Families and Friends. But to make thefe honours complete, fomething remains to be [aid, which not only the Laws require to be ren- dered unto them, but Reafon dfo. For an eloquent and wcU-fpoken Oration impreffes on the minds of the audience a lafting admiration of great and vir- tuous aftions. But the prefent occafion demands, an Oration of a particular kind ; an Oration that may at one and the fame time do juftice to the Dead •, animate and fcothe the Living ; excite the Children and Brethren of the Deceafed to an imi- tation of their virtues j and adminifter comfort to the Fathers and the Mothers, and whoever of their remoter Anccftors are yet alive. And where Ihall ■ wc » FUN. ORAT. OF PLATO. tj we find an Orator equal to fuch a talk ? Or with what Topic fhall we begin the praifes of thofe brave men, who when living made their friends happy by their virtues, and with their deaths purchafed the fafety of all who now furvive ? A s they were in fome meafure indebted to na- ture for their virtue, it is in my opinion neceffary to begin their Panegyric with an account of their original : for that they were virtuous was owmg to their being fprung of virtuous Anceftors. Let us then celebrate, in the firft place, their noble Birth V and in the fecond, their Nature and Edu- cation j and afterwards, by exhibiting their Anions to view, make it appear that thefe alfo were vir- tuous, and fuch as correfponded to all thofe advantages. First then, as to the nobility of their defccnt : They are fprung from a race of Anceftors, not adventitious, not tranfplanted from 1 know not where, but natives of the foil, dwelling and living really and properly in their own country j nurfed. not like other nations by a ftep-mother, but a parent, the very land which they inhabited •. m which they now lie buried ; the foil which bred, which nurfed them, and which, as her own, has again received them into her bofom. It is highly reafonable therefore to beftow fome encomiums on this Mother ; and the rather, becaufe the nobihty of thefe her Children will at the fame time, and m C ^^ V ^J I iS FUNERAL ORATION the fame proportion, be illuftrated and adorned. This Country indeed deferves to be celebrated by all mankind, not only by us her Children, and that upon many accounts, but principally becaufc flie is a favourite of Heaven, of which the rivalry of the Gods, who contended for her, and the dc- cifion that followed thereupon, is a clear evidence. And how can any mortal reafonably pretend to refufe praife to that country, which the Gods have vouchfafed to honour? Another topic of Pane- gyric is this, that at the very time when the earth bred and produced animals of all kinds, both wild and tamie, This Country of ours preferved her purity •, refufed to bring forth favage beafts ; and among all animals chofe to produce Man only, who furpafies the reft in underftanding, and who alone hadi inftituted Laws for the obfervation of Juftice, and the worHiip of the Gods. To what I here advance, that this earth is the genuine parent of our Forefathers, I muft obferve, that every thino- that brings forth is provided with nourifli- ment for what it has produced ; and that a Woman is proved to be really and in fad: a mother from her beintr fupplied with native fountains of nourifli- ment for the fuftenance of the child. The like fubftantial evidence of her having brought forth Man hath this our Country and Mother ; for flie alone at the fame time, and flie firjl produced the ufeful grain of wheat and barley, the proper and the beft food of man : fo that it is evident flie was the parent of this fpecies of Animals s and to her thcfc 1 ■ 1 \ OF PLATO. 19 thefe proofs hold more ftrongly than to a Womap. For this great Mother did not moft certainly, m breeding and producing, copy after her Daughters, but they after her : neither did flie grudge the world thefe her fruits, but generoufly difpenfed them to other nations. For her children flie m the next place brought forth the olive, the fup- port of toil ; and after flie had thus nounfhed and reared them up to manhood, flie brought them Deities for their Governors and Inftruftors, whofe names it is unneceflary to mention in this place. We all know who furniflied us with the necef- faries and fecurities of life ; who inflruaed us m the arts requif.te for our daily fupporf, ^vho gave us, and who taught us the ufe of arms for the de- fence of our Country. Our Anceftors, thus born and thus brought up, framed a Government, of which it may not be improper to fpeak a few words. For Government is the nurfe of men ; a loodone, of virtuous men-, a bad one, ofw.ked Ln That thofe who went before us were edu- " d under a good government, is neceffary to Tw •. for indeed it was owing to the advantage ofbe ngbred under a good governrnent, that both they and their defcendants, the fathers of the de- ceafed became virtuous. The form of Govern- m t Jhen was, as it now is, an Jrijlocracy: Un er Th s forn) of Government we ftiU live, and for te n.oft part have done fo from that tmie to tb.s Let odiers calV it a i....--., or by what name i. lii^ 20 FUNERAL ORATION they pleafe : It is in truth an Arijlocracy founded on the good-will of the People. We have always had Magiftrates invefted with kingly power, fome of whom were hereditary, others eleftive : but the People were generally the moft powerful, and they always beftowed the authority and power of the ftate upon thofe whom they judged the moft worthy. No man was excluded for the meannefs, the obfcurity, or the poverty of his family •, nor advanced for the contrary qualifications of his Anceftors, as is pradtifed in other ftates. Their choice was limited to one point. Whoever was eftemcd to be wife and good, he had the authority^ and he the power. The caufe of this equal go- vernment among us was the equality of our ori- ginal. For other ftates are compofed of men of every country, and of different extraftions j whence their governments are unequal -, Tyrannies or OH- garchiesy in which one part of the people look upon the other as Slaves, and They upon them as Matters. But we, who are all Brethren, born of one and the fame parent, difdain to be the Slaves or the Lords of one another. On the contrary, the natural equality of our births compelled us to feek after a legal equality in our government, and forbad us to yield any fubjeftion among ourfelves, excepting only to the Wife and Virtuous. Hence it came to pafs, that all our anceftors, the fathers of the deceafed, and they themfelves, being thus nobly born, thus nqrfed up in liberty, exhibited in all their conduft, as well private as public, a number i OF PLATO. 21 number of great and glorious Adions for the fer- vicc of mankind •, thinking it their dnty as well to proteft Grecians againft Grecians, as to maintain the general liberty of Greece againft all foreign in- vaders. How they repelled the invafions of Eumolfus, of the Jmazons, and of other enemies before them, and in what manner they defended the ylrgives againft the Thebans, and the Herachdes againft the Jrgives, the time will not permit me fully to relate : befides, their virtues having been finely celebrated by the poets in their melodious fongs, the world hath been already acquainted with them ; fo that we fhould but difgrace our- felves in attempting the fame fubjefts in fimpie profe. For thefe reafons therefore I think proper to pals over thefe matters. Juftice hath been done to their merits. But I think myfelf obliged to recall the memory of thofe exploits, which, worthy as they were, the poets have not thought worthy of their notice, and which are now almoft buried in oblivion; that, by fetting forth the praifes of the great men who performed them, I may woo the poets to admit them into their fongs and verfes. The chief of thefe are the adions of our forefathers, the children of this foil, who held the hands of thofe Lords of JJiay the Per/mns, when they attempted to enQave Europe ; whofe virtues therefore in the firft place deferve to be comme- morated, and to be praifed. To give their merit its proper luftre, we ought to take a view of it in that period of time, when all Jfia was in fubjedion ] 22 FUNERx^L ORATION to the third king of the Perfian race. The firft of thefe was Cyrus^ who by his own great abiHties freed his countrymen the Per/tans^ endaved the Medes his Mafters, and brought under his domi- nion the reft of Jfia as far as jEgypt, His fon fubdued Mgyp^ and as much of Libya as was ac- ceflible, by his arms. Darius^ the third king, ex- tended the hmits of his empire by his land-forces as far as Scythia, and by his fleets made himfeif mafter of the fea, and of the iflands, infomuch that no one durft ftand up in oppofition to him. The very opinions of mankind feem to have been fub- dued ; fo many, fo powerful, and fo warHke were the nations which were bowed to the Perfian yoke. This Darius, accufing us and the Eretrians of an attempt upon Sardis, made that a pretence for fending an army of 500000 men on board his fhips and tranfports, and a fleet of 300 fail j over which he appointed Datis to be general, ordering him, under the forfeiture of his head, to bring back the Eretrians and Athenians captive. Datis failing to Eretria, againft a nation, which of all the Greeks had at that time the greateft reputation for valour, and was moreover very numerous, fub- dued them in three days \ and that none of them might efcape, he took this method of fearching the whole Ifland. Caufing his troops to march to the utmoft limits of the Eretrians, and extend themfelves from fea to fea, he ordered them to join their hands, and fweep the country, that he might be able to aiTure the king, that not a man had \ OF PLATO. 23 had efcaped him. With the like defign he paflcd from Eretria to Marathon, imagining he had no- thing to do but to clap the fame inevitable yoke upon the neck of the Athenians, and carry them oft; as he had done the Eretrians. During thefc • tra'nfadtions, part of which were accompliflied, and part yet in execution, no nation of the Greeks offered to ftir to the afiiftance either of the Ere- trians or the Athenians, except the Lacedaemonians, and they did not join us till the day after the battle. The reft, ftruck with terror, and prefer- ring their prefent fafety, kept quiet at home. By thi^ one may form a judgment of the bravery of thofe men, who received the attack of the Barba- rians at Marathon, chaftifed the arrogance of Afia, and were the firft who erefted trophies for their viftory over a barbarous enemy •, by their example inftrufting others, that the power of Perfla was noc invincible, and that wealth and numbers muft yield to virtue. I call thofe men, therefore, not our mtural, but our civil Fathers alfo, the fathers of our liberty, and of the liberty of all Europe. For the Grecians, furveying this day's work, were taught by their Marathonian mafters to hazard new battles in the defence of their country. Upon thefe, therefore, ought we in reafon to beftow the firft Palm, and give the fecond to them, who after- wards fought and conquered in the fea-fights of Salamis and Artemifium. He who would go over the feveral aftions of thefe brave men, enumerate the many difficulties they had to ftruggle with, both 24 FUNERAL ORATION both by Sea and Land, and tell how they fur- mounted them, would have much to fay. But I fhall only mention what appears to me to be the greateft exploit after that of Marathon. For by that viftory the Greeks had been only taught, that upon land it was pofiible for a fmall number of Grecians to overcome a multitude of Barbarians i but that at fea they were able to effeft the fame thing, was not yet evident. The Perfians had the reputation of being invincible at fea, by the fupe- riority of their numbers, their riches, their naval Ikill, and ftrcngth. Now what is moft praife- worthy in thofe brave men, who fignalized them- felves at fea, is, that they did thereby, as it were, loofen thofe bands of terror, which had held the Grecians fo faft bound, and caufed them no longer to ftand in awe of numbers, whether of fliips or men. From thefe two aftions, this of Salamis and that of Marathon, all Greece was inftrufted and accuftomed not to be afraid of the Barbarians, either by land or fea. The third great exploit for the deliverance of Greece, as well in order as in degree, is the aftion of Plataea ; in the glory of which the Lacedemonians and Athenians had an equal part. This great, this arduous enterprize was atchieved, I fay, by thefe two nations, and for this their merit they are now celebrated by us, and will be by our pofterity to the lateft times. After this many ftates of Greece ftill fided with the Barbarian, and the King himfelf was reported to have a defign of invading Greece once more. I It y OF PLATO. 25 It would then be highly unjuft not to take notice of thofe alfo, who completed the work of their forefathers, and put the finiftiing hand to our deli- verance, by fcouring the feas of every thing that had the name of Barbarian, and driving them within their own limits. Thefe were they, who were engaged in the naval fight at Eurymedon, m the expeditions to Cyprus, to ^gypt, and many other places. Thefe ought we, therefore, to com- memorate, and to acknowledge our obligations to them, for having taught the great king to fear, to attend to his own fafety, and not to be plotting the overthrow of Greece. This war againft the Barbarians did our commonwealth, with her own forces only, draw out to the very dregs, for her own fecurity, and that of her Allies. Peace being made, and Athens being now in her higheft glory, there fell upon her, what is moft commonly the lot of the fuccefsful, firft a rivalry in fome other ftates of Greece, and from thence jealouly, which drew her, tho' unwilling, into a war againft Gre- cians : upon the breaking out of which war, the Athenians fought a battle with the LacedxmomanJ at Tanagra for the liberties of Boeotia. Tho' the ifTue of this battle was doubtful, yet the following Aftion proved decifive : for fome of the Allies of the Boeotians having deferted thofe to whufe affiftance they came, our Counrrymen having on the third day after obtained a vidtory, we reco- vercd to a fenfe of their doty thofe who without reafon had fallen off from it. Thefe brave men P having ^ !*•' Kl 26 FtJNERAL ORATION having fought againft Grecians for the hberty of Grecians, and delivered thofe whofe caufe they had undertaken to defend, were the firft after the Perfian war, upon whom the Commonwealth con- ferred the honour of being buried in this public Coemetery. After this the war became more ge- neral ; all Greece fell upon us at once, and ravaged our country, ill requiting the favours they had received from this City. But the Athenians having defeated their enemies in a fca-fight, and taken prifoners in the ifland of Sphadleria their leaders the Lacedasmonians, when it was in their power to have put them to death, Ipared their lives, for- gave them, and made peace with them ; thinking, that altho' in a war againft Barbarians nothing lefs than their utter ruin fhould be aimed at, yet that in a war between Grecians and Grecians the con- teft fhould be carried on as far as victory indeed, but that the common interefl of Greece ought not to be facrificed to any particular refentment. Are not thcfe brave men, therefore, worthy to be praifed, who were engaged in that war, and who now lie buried here ? They, who made it appear, if indeed it was a queftion, whether in the firft Perfian war another nation was not at leaft equal to the Athenians : they, I fay, who made it ap- pear that fuch a queftion was intirely groundlcfs. Thefe men made the fuperiority of the Athenians fufHciently evident, by their coming off viftorious in that war, in which all Greece took part againft them, and worfting in battle, with the forces of Athens i *■ Kfi OF PLATO. 27 Ath'-ns only, thcie who had fet themfelves up for the Chiefs of Greece, tho' they could pretend to no more than an equal fhare with the Athenians m the.r viftones gained over the Barbarians. -^ tter the peace arofe another horrible and unexpected war, in which many brave men fell, who here he buried. Some of thefe erefted many trophies m Sicily, to which country they had failed in order to protea the Leontines in their liberties, whom we were bound to affift by folemn treaties. But before they could arrive, the pafTage being long the Leontines were reduced to extremities, and difabled from yielding them any affiftance j tor which reafon they gave over the attempt, and were unfortunate ; tho' it muft be owned, their enem.es thofe againft whom they came to fight, behaved with fuch virtue and moderation, that they de- ferved far greater praife than fome who were only confederates in that war. Others fignalized them- felves in the Hellelpont, by taking all the fti.ps of the enemy in one day, and by feveral other vifto- ries 1 ftyled this a horrible and unexpefted war, beclufe fome of the ftates of Greece carried their enmity to this city fo far, as to prefume to fend an embafly to the king of Perfia, their and our moft inveterate enemy, to invite, upon their own parti- cular views, that Barbarian into Greece, whom, for the common caufe. they had formerly joined with us to drive out of Europe •, thus uniting in a league againft Athens all the Greeks and Barba- rians. Upon which occafion the ftrcngth and D 2 valour / 2S FUNERAL ORATION valour of this ftate became moft confpicuous, For our enemies looking upon Athens as already van-. quKhed, and having feized fome of our fhips at Mitylene, Thefe gallant men (for fo they confefs- edly were) whom we now commemorate, went to^ their relief with fixty fail, and boarding the enemy's, (hips, gained a vidtory over them, and delivered their own allies, but met with a lot unworthy of their valour; for their bodies were not, as they ought to. have been, taken up out of the fea, but had their burial there. And furely they dcferve to be re- membered ever with praife and honour. For by their valour we came off victorious, not in that engagement only, but throughout the whole war ; and through their bravery was it that our com- monwealth gained the reputation of being invin- cible, though attacked by the united forces of all mankind. Neither hath this reputation been falR- fied in fa<5l. For we were conquered, not by oyr enemies, but by our own difientions. As to Them we remain invincible even to this day. But we have vanquilhed, have fubdued ourfelves. After thefe tranfaftions, a calm cnfuing, and a peace be- twixt us and other nations, a civil war broke out, which was carried on in fuch a manner, that, if by the decree of heaven diirention.5, mult neceffarily arife, a man would pray that his country might be. fo and no otherwife diltempered. For how eafily, how much like friends and fellow-citizens, did the people of the Piraeus, and thofe of the City, run into a reconciliation with each other! and V^ith how. If- } '' OF PLATO, 29 how much moderation did they lay afide their hoftility againft thofe of Eleufis, contrary to the expectations of all Greece! All which is to be afcribed to no other caufe than their confanguinity, the natural bafis of firm and real friendfhip. We ought not therefore to pafs over in filence even thofe, who in this war were flain on either fide ; but, as far as in us lies, endeavour to reconcile them to' each other •, praying and facrjficing upon thefe occafions to thofe Daemons who have the com- mand and direftion over them, inafmuch as we purfelves are reconciled. For they did not attack each other out of hatred and malice, but from the malignity of their Fortune. Of this we ourfelves are living evidences, who, being of the fame com- ^non original with them, have forgiven each other, both what we did, and what we fuffered. After this the city had reft, and enjoyed a profound peace, cafily pardoning the Barbarians, who having been ill enough treated by this ftate, returned it but as they ought. But ftie could not help refent- ing the behaviour of the Greeks, when fhe called to mind tj^ie benefits they had received, and the retribution they made, by uniting with the Barba- rians, depriving us pf our fliips, to which they formerly owed their own deliverance, and pulling down our walls, in return for our having faved theirs frpm ruin. The city then' having taken the refolution not to give for the future any afliftance to the Greeks, whether opprefled by Grecians or Barbarians, remained quiet: upon which the Lacedaemonians, so FUNERAL ORATION Lacedaemonians, imagining that Athens, the Pa- tronefs of liberty, was fallen, and that now was the time for them to purfue their proper bufmefs, the enOaving of others, fet immediately about it. I need not enlarge upon what followed. Thofe tranfadions are neither of an ancient date, nor per- plexed by a variety of Aftors. We all know in what a confternation the chief ftates of Greece, the Argives, the Boeotians, the Corinthians, applied to this city for fuccour; and what was the greateft miracle of all, that the king of Perfia himfelf was reduced to fuch a ftraight, as to have no hopes of fafety from any other quarter, than from this very city, whofe deftrudion he had fo eagerly purfued. And, indeed, if Athens can be juftly accufed of any thing, it is of having been always too compaf- fionate, too much inclined to falve the wounds of the afflidted. For at this very time Ihe was not able to perfevere, and to keep to her refolution, of not affifling thofe in the prefervation of their liberties, who had malicioufly and defignedly in- jured her. She yielded, fhe affifted them, and by that alFiftance refcued them from flavery, and gave them their liberty, till they fhould think fit to en- fiave themfelves again. She had not indeed the affurance to aft fo prepofterous a part, as to fend the king of Perfia any fuccours i fhe bore too great a reverence to the trophies of Marathon, of Salamis, and PJatasa : yet by conniving at the afTiftance given him by Fugitives, and fuch as voluntarily entered into his fervice, (he was con- kmiy f'i Iff # H i^ r4v OF PLATO. 51 fcffedly the caufe of his prefervation. At this time (he repaired her fortifications and her fleets, and prepared again for war •, finding herfelf under the neceflity of entering into one with the Lacedaemo- nians, for the protedion of the Parians. The king of Perfia, on his part, as foon as he faw the Lacedemonians had given over all thoughts of carrying on a war by fea, took umbrage at the Athenians •, and refolving to break the peace, de- manded thofe Grecian fl:ates, which were upon the continent of Afia, to be delivered up to him (thofe very ftates which the Lacedaemonians had formerly confented to give up) as the condition of his con- tinuing his amity with us and our allies. This Demand he did not imagine would be complied with, and he made it only that he might, upon its being rejeded, have a fair pretence for breaking the treaty. But he was miftaken as to fome of his Allies -, for the Corinthians, the Argives, and the Boeotians determined to comply with his demand, and even entered into a treaty with him, which they confirmed upon oath, to give up the Greeks upon the continent of Afia, provided he would furnifh them with money. But we, and we alone, had not the aflfu ranee to abandon thofe ftates, much lefs to fwear to fuch a treaty. That the city of Athens is fo fpirited and fo frank, fo con- ftant and fo hearty in the common caufe, and as it were by nature fo averfe to the Barbarian, muft be afcribed to her being wholly Greek, without any mixture of foreign alloy. For none of your foreign / tUNERAL ORATION foreign Heroes, Pelops, Cadmus, ^gyptus, Da- naus, and many others, who, though living under Grecian Laws, were Barbarians by extraftionj hone of thefe, I fay, are of the number of our Citizens. We are genuine Greeks, no Half-Bar- barians. Hence proceeds the genuine and una- dulterated enmity of Athens to all Barbarians. Wherefore we were once more left alohe, for re- fufing to do an aftion fo infamous and fo impious^ as that of delivering up Grecians into the hands bf Perfians. But being reftored to what we had been deprived of in the former war, by the affift- ince of Heaven we profecuted this with more fuc- cefs. For becoming once again mailers of a fleet, having rebuilt our walls, and recovered our colo- nies, we Were foon freed from a war, which our fenemies were very glad to get rid of. In this war We loft indeed many gallant men, fome at Corintfa by the difadvantage of their fituation, others at Lechseum by treachery. Nor were they lefs gal- lant, who faved the king of Perfia, and drove the Lacedaemonians out of the feas. Thefe are the men I would call to your remembrance, and in honouring and praifing fuch as Thefe it becomes all of you to join. Such were the exploits of thofe brave men, who here lie buried -, fuch were the exploits of thofe others alfo, who, though unhappily deprived of burial, died like them in the fervice of their country: exploits many and great indeed, as hath been re- lated ', t OF PLATO. 33 lated V but more and ftill greater yet remain untold ; to enumerate all which u\any whole days and nights would fcvce (iiffice. It is the duty therefore of all and of evt^ry particylar man to bear thefe things in mind,, aa^^ as i:i battle, to exhort the children of fuch Farthers not to quit their rank, in which their angeftors have placed them, by a bafe and cowardly retreat. Accordingly, I myfclf, O ye Sons of virtuous men, do now exhort you, and, as long as I Ihall remain among you, will never ceafe reminding and exhorting you, to ufe your utmoft endeavours to furpafs them in virtue. But upon this occaflon it is my duty to tell you what your Fathers, when they were going to expofe their lives for their country, commanded us to fay to thofe whom they left behind, in cafe any accident fliould befall themfelves. I will repeat to you what I heard from tl>eir own mouths, and. what, if I may judge from the difcourfe they then held, they would now gladly fay to you themfelves, were it in their power. Imagine therefore you hear them fpeaking. Thefe were their words : '> Q Children! That ye are Sons of virtuous Fathers, is evident from our prefent circumftances. For having it in our option to live with difhonour, we have generoudy made it our choice to die, ra- ther than bring ourfelves and our pofterity into difgrace, and reflect infamy back upon our parents and forefathers ; perfuaded as we were, that the life of one who difhonours his family, is not worth E living. V 34 FUNERAL ORATION living, and that fuch a man can have no friend either here upon Earth among mankind, or among the Gods hereafter in the realms below. It be- hoves you therefore to bear thefe our words in remembrance, to the end that all your under- takings may be accompanied with virtue ; afTuring yourfelves, that without virtue every acquifition, every purfuit is bafe and infamous. For wealth can add no dignity to an unmanly mind. The riches of fuch an one are for others, not for himfelf. Neither are beauty and ftrength of Body, when joined with bafenefs and cowardice, to be deemed ornamental, but difgraceful rather ; fmce, if they make a man more confpicuous, they at the fame time make the bafenefs of his Soul confpicuous alfo. Wifdom, in like manner, feparated from Juftice and the reft of the virtues, is not Wif- dom, but Cunning. Wherefore in the firft place, and in the laft, and throughout the whole courfe of your lives, it is incumbent upon you to labour with all your faculties to furpafs us and your pro- genitors in glory. Otherwife be well aflured, that in this conteft of virtue, if we remain vidorious, the viftory will cover us with confufion, which, on the contrary, if obtained by you, will make us happy. The moft efteftual way for you to fur^ pafs us, and obtain this vidory, is fo to order your conduft, as neither to abufe nor wafte the glory Jeft you by your Anceftors. For can any thing te more ignominious for a man, who would be thought fomething, than, to receive honour, net. from I j^fi !.< \ h OF PLATO. 5$ from his own merit, but from the reputation of his forefathers ? Hereditary honour is indeed a noble and fplendid Patrimony. But to enjoy a fair eftate cither in fame or money, or for want of a proper fupply of wealth and glory of your own, not to be able to tranfmit it to your pofterity is infamous and unmanly. If you endeavour after thefe things, you will be welcome to us and we to you, when- ever your refpeftive fates (hall condudl you to us in the world below: but if you difregard them, and become profligate, not one of us fhall be willing to receive you. Thus much be fpoken to our Chil- dren : But to our Fathers and our Mothers, if any of them Ihould furvive us, and it fhould be thought neceflary to adminifter comfort to them, fay, that it is their duty patiently to bear misfortunes, when- ever they happen, and not to give themfelves up to grief : otherwife they will never be without for- row J for the ordinary occurrences of life will afford fuiHcient matter for afflidion. They fhould feek to heal and mitigate their troubles in the remembrance, that, as to the mofl confiderable point, the Gods have heard their prayers. For they did not pray that their Children might be immortal, but virtuous and renowned. And This, the greateft of all bleilings, they have obtained. It is not eafy for mortal man to have every thing fall out according to his wifhes in this life. Be- fides, by bearing their misfortunes with refolution and fortitude, they will gain the opinion of being Ihe genuine parents of magnaniqnous children, and E 2 of ^t FUNERAL ORAtiON of being themfelves men of courage and magna* nimity ; whereas, by finking under their forrows, they will raife a fufpicion of their not being our Fathers, or Thofe who fhall praife us will be thought to have moft grofsly flattered us ; neithef of which things ought to come to pafs. They themfelves rather (hould bear chief tcftimony td our praife, fhewing by their aftions that they are indeed Men, and the Fathers of Men. The old proverb, Not too much of any things feems to be well faid, and in faft it is fo. For he, who hath with- in himfelf all that is neceffary to happinefs, of near the matter, and who doth not fo depend upon other men, as to have himfelf and his affairs in a perpetual fluftuation, according to their good or ill conduft, He, 1 fay, is beft provided for this life ^ He is moderate, He is prudent. He is a Man ; and He upon all occafions, whether he obtains or lofes an eftate or children, will pay the grcateft regard to this Proverb : for, placing all his confidence in himfelf, he will neither be too much elevated with joy, or too much deprefled with forrow. Such men we fliould think worthy to be our Fathers 5 fuch we wifh them to be, and fuch we affirm they are; fuch likewife are we now proved to be, by neither murmuring nor trembling at death, tho* we were to meet it this inftant. And this fame ftate of mind do we now recommend to our Fathers and our Mothers ; intreating them to make ufe of fuch fentiments as thefe thro* the remaining part of their lives j and to be perfuaded, that they will do \ I f ^ i t I i. «-# OF PLATO* g> do us the greateft pleafure, by not weeping and lamenting for us; thatj if the Dead have any know- ledge of what paffes among the Living, their afflifting themfelves, and bearing their misfortunes heavily, will be very unacceptable to us ; where* as, on the contrary, their bearing their afflkSions iightlyj and with moderation, will be nioft pleafing. Our lives and aftions are now going to have an end j but fuch an end^ as among Men i3 deemed moft glorious ; which therefore ought rather to be graced with honour, than fuUied with lamentations. By taking care of our wives and children, by edu- cating the latter, aud turning themfelves and their minds wholly to fueh-like employments, they will the more readily forget their misfortunes^ and lead a life more exemplary, more agreeable to reafbn^ . and more acceptable to us. Let this fuffice to be fpoken on our part to our relations and friends. To the Commonwealth we recommend the care of our Parents and Children ; befeeching Her to give Thefe an honourable education, and to cherifli Thofe in their old age, in a manner worthy of them : but we are fenfible that, without this re- commendation, all proper care will be taken of them.'t These things, O Children, and ye Parents of the deceafed, have they given me in charge to fay to you on their part -, and I have moft willingly, and to the beft of my power, executed their com- mands. On my own part, and for their fakes, I 2 ' befeech '^ ly ^ FUNERAL ORATION befeech you, ye Sons! to imitate your Fathers; You, Fathers, to take comfort for the lofs of thefe your Sons ; afluring yourfelves, that both in our public and in our private capacities, we will take care of you and cherifh your old-age, as the re- fpedive duties and relations of every one of us .may require. Ye yourfelves well know what pro- vifions the Commonwealth hath made ; that by exprefs laws (he hath ordered care to be taken of the children and parents of thofe, who die in bat- tle ; and hath given it in charge to the chief ma- giftrate, to take them, above all others, into hi& particular protection ; that the latter may be guarded from all injuries, and the former not be fenfible of their orphan ftate, nor feel the want of ^ a father, whofe place the commonwealth fupplies, by affifting in the care of their education while they are children, and, when they are grown up to manhood, difmiffing them to their fcveral voca- tions with an honourable prefent of a complete fuit of armour. And this Ihe docs, not only with a view of intimating to them, and reminding them of the occupations of their fathers, by prefenting them with thofe implements of valour, which their fathers had fo glorioufly employed 5 but alfo that being arrived to the full ftrength, and furnilhed with the armour of a Man, when they firft go to take pofleflion of their Houihold-Gods, they may fet out with a good omen. Moreover, ihe fails not from time to time to pay thefe anniverfary honours to the Deceafed 5 taking upon her to per- form is 1 I OF PLATO. 39 form in general, with regard to them, whatever is due to each from their refpeftive relations ; and to complete all, by exhibiting games of different kinds, equeftrian and gymnaftic, mufical and poe- tical, fhe effeftually fupplies the offices of Sons and Heirs to Fathers, of Fathers to Sons, and that of Guardians and Prote6lors to their Parents and Kindred ; difcharging at all times all and every part of the duties that belong to All. Learn, therefore, by reflecting upon thefe things, to bear your affliftions with more patience j for by fo do- ing you will acft the moft friendly part as well to the dead as to the living, and be better able to give and receive comfort, to cherifh and affift each other. And now having jointly paid the tribute of your forrow to the Deceafed, as the law direfts, you may all depart. F J N I S, f* V t < r '^ ^ V ^' J'X COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 0032016867 N ft*.' •'■'. < : -its ..X'.