SI 
 
 vi^^r^ 
 
 
 LIBRARY 
 

 *^t. 
 
 •:^5 
 
I 
 
 i 
 
MBHARY. 
 
 ANCIEliT HJeifiOKJl. 
 
 00MPRI3I>'G A GE>-ERAL VIEW OF THE PRINCIPAI, 
 
 EVENTS AND JERAS IN CIVIL HISTORY, FROM 
 
 THE CREATION OF THE WORLD TILL 
 
 THE AUGUSTAN AGE. 
 
 TOGETHER WITH 
 
 AN ALLEGORY 
 
 GENIUS AND TASTE, 
 
 BOUNDED TN THE HISTORY OF ANCIENT ^LITERATURE, 
 
 BY SAMUEL WHELPLEY, A. M. 
 
 Member of the Literary and Philosophical Society of New-York. 
 
 J^EW-YORK. 
 
 I'rUitad ana Published by Van Winkle & Wilej 
 
BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the twenty- third day of 
 November, in the fortieth year of the IndepeDdence of the 
 United States of America, Van Winkle & Wiley, of the said dis- 
 trict, have deposited in this office the title of a book, the right 
 whereof they claim as proprietors, in the words following, to wit: 
 
 " Lectures on Ancient History, comprising a General View of the 
 «» Principal Events and ^ras in civil history, from the creation of 
 " the World till the Augustan Age. Together with an Allegory, on 
 *' Geniup and Taste, founded in the History of Ancient Literature. 
 " By Samuel Whelpley, A. M. Membero/ the Literary and Philo- 
 '•• sophical Society of New York." 
 
 Is CONFORMITY to the act of Congress of the United States, en- 
 titled, " An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing 
 *' the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and pro- 
 •' prietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned;" 
 and also, to an act entitled, " An act, supplementary to an net, 
 " entitled, an act for the encouragement of learning, by securing 
 " the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprie- 
 " tors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and ex- 
 " tending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, 
 " and etching historical and other prints." 
 
 THERON RUDD, 
 Clerk of the Southern District of New- York, 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 TO THE REV. TIMOTHY DWIGHT, D;>^ 
 
 President of Yale ColUge, S^e. Sfc. kc. 
 
 Reverend Sir, 
 
 When you recognise in these pages the 
 winter evening's amusements of a society of 
 young ladies and gentlemen, I am persuaded 
 that your benignant feelings towards that 
 numerous, important, and interesting class, 
 for whose formation and improvement in 
 every thing useful and ornamental, your 
 labours have been so illustriously distin- 
 guished, will not only dictate a cordial ap- 
 probation of amusements so innocent, where 
 time is not past away at the expense of 
 morals, and where a taste is imbibed for the 
 refined and noble pleasures of the under- 
 standing, but will feel a rising desire that 
 the American youth, of both sexes, woijld 
 oftener associate for similar purposes. 
 
 205 
 
 -t} 
 
 •ft* 
 
\ 
 
 .^ DEIFICATION. 
 
 Few branclK^' of knowledge are more im- 
 portant than-iat of history; and, perhaps, 
 after relisi"^' ^here is none that unites more 
 useful ip»-ruction with more pleasui-e ; that 
 affords -'^'^^^^ alike in all professional pur- 
 suit« whether liberal or mechanical ; that 
 ^jtjs elevation, vigour, practical knowledge, 
 Hid real philosophy, to every mind. If, in- 
 deed, there can be a condition conceived of, 
 in which absolute poverty of mnid would be 
 desirable, from persons in that condition let 
 history be withheld. 
 
 It may be asked whether historical know- 
 ledge will enable a man to make a better 
 shoe, or turn over more exactly the clods of 
 his fallow. Perhaps it is a query of deeper 
 import and more difficult solution, whether 
 the labouring classes have any time for read- 
 ing ; or, if they have, whether it would not 
 promote a taste dangerous to industry. 
 These inquiries neither savour of a deep 
 knowledge of human nature, nor of the gene- 
 ral texture of society in our own country. 
 It would be as philosophical to ask, whether 
 a summer''s day has not too much light, or 
 whether a watchmaker may not be too sharp- 
 sighted. If an increase of knowledge dis- 
 pose a mechanic, or labourer, to abandon 
 
DEDICATION. Y 
 
 his class, it must be generally owing to the 
 stupidity, ignorance, and consequent degra- 
 dation of that class to which his occupation 
 confines him. There are few arts or sci- 
 ences incapable of improvement, as there 
 are few occupations which would not appear 
 distinguished and honourable, if honour and 
 distinction attached themselves to the per- 
 sons by whom those arts and occupations 
 are carried on. By being appointed overseer 
 of the common sewers of Athens, Themisto- 
 cles lost none of that honour and distinction 
 attached to his name. 
 
 If the manual arts and occupations are 
 not necessarily founded in ignorance, and 
 do not, by their nature, or by some unknown 
 destiny, condemn mankind to utter darkness 
 and degradation of mind, there are found in 
 various books, and in none more than his- 
 tory, the best incentives to improvement 
 and elevation of mind. Nothing is more 
 evident than that all men cannot be readers, 
 in the more extensive sense of the phrase ; 
 yet, it is equally certain, that the plea of 
 wanting time is but an apology for wanting 
 taste. Let any labouring man keep an ac- 
 count current of his twenty-four hours, and 
 he will see several hours of it offered in 
 1* 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 sacrifice to a more powerful demon than 
 Jaggernaut — (o listless, lifeless, all-devour- 
 ing stupidity. Jaggernaut reigns in India, 
 but stupidity, or as, by a little variation, 
 it may be called, idleness, inaction, ease, 
 thoughtlessness, ennui, inattention, reigns 
 over the globe, and devours a great portion 
 of human life. Many vices prompt to ac- 
 tion, and ^re arduous ; thisf says Addison, 
 assails us at all hours, attacks all classes, 
 even the most active and energetic, and 
 often with success, because to obey it is to 
 do nothing : it is the brother of indecision, 
 and often ends in error and dissipation. 
 
 The sway of this formidable tyrant is 
 peculiarly facilitated over those orders of peo- 
 ple where poverty chills emulation, in whose 
 minds a cheerless prospect is scarcely illu- 
 minated by a star of hope, whose daily 
 labours seem to admit of no alternation but 
 that of rest, and in whom the first rudiments 
 of taste have suffered too severely to admit of 
 any medium between rude and boisterous 
 amusement, and silent inactivity and slum- 
 ber. 
 
 The state of society at any given period 
 seems to present adamantine barriers to the 
 improvement of this class of people. It 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 cannot, however, have escaped the notice 
 of your pervading and benevolent mind, 
 Reverend Sir, that the immense accumula- 
 tion of this unhappy class, nay, the very 
 existence of such a class, must be, in a great 
 measure, chargeable to the government of a 
 country, the selfish and cruel temper, spirit, 
 and maxims of a people, or the resistless 
 force of unpropitious habits, arising from 
 those two sources combined. I rejoice to 
 say that our own happy country has set a 
 better example to the world, in this respect, 
 than almost any nation. Yet how far, alas ! 
 are we from a complete remedy ? The 
 Hebrews, by divine direction, and after them 
 the Lacedemonians, endeavoured to set up 
 barriers against the fatal and deteriorating 
 influence of unequal wealth ; and the free 
 and magnanimous spirit of Rome often at- 
 tempted, but never could achieve it. 
 
 You, Reverend Sir, have the happiness to 
 live in a state where the painful sight of 
 poverty and ignorance is less frequent than 
 in any other part of this country — perhaps, 
 of the v/orld ; whilst you enjoy the conscious 
 felicity of being instrumental, w^ith others, 
 in establishing and promoting an order of 
 things, so honourable to human nature— the 
 
iriii DEDICATION. 
 
 grateful remembrance of which, it will be the 
 pleasm-e and pride of the historian to trans- 
 mit to future times. 
 
 But, notwithstanding the advantages which 
 the poor and ignorant derive from a free 
 government, and from the liberal policy and 
 moral sentiments of a free people, heavy and 
 portentous clouds hang over the prospect. 
 The rage for speculation, the thirst of power, 
 the phrenzy of ambition, the love of luxury 
 and ease, the pride of pomp and ostentation, 
 will bring in their train dependence, igno- 
 rance, servility, degradation, and slavery. 
 
 A hope is entertained that this miniature 
 of seven great nations, which we contem- 
 plate in the distant vale of antiquity, will be 
 read by some who would be appalled at the 
 number and size of the volumes of history. 
 Though it surely cannot answer a similar 
 purpose, yet.it may answer a valuable pur- 
 pose, as comprising historical information 
 in the lighter, less laborious, and more amu- 
 .sing forms of reading. 
 
 As it is natural for all men, and particular- 
 ly writers, to endeavour, if possible, to gain 
 some evidence of success, before the irre- 
 versible decree of the public shall be issued, 
 I cntnnot but hope that this work will meet 
 
DEDICATION. IX 
 
 with your approbation, which the public will 
 not fail to regard as the test of merit. 
 
 With ardent wishes for your health and 
 happiness, I am, Reverend Sir, 
 Your most obedient 
 
 And very humble servant/ 
 
 SAMUEL WHELPLEY* 
 
 New-York, Nov, 20tk, 181S. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Introductory Lecture, - - - 13 
 Lecture IL View of the Antediluvian 
 
 world, - - - 26 
 
 Lecture III. Egypt, - , - 46 
 
 IV. Assyria, - - -65 
 
 V. The Medo-Persian Empire, 86 
 
 VI. Ancient Greece, - - 1 30 
 
 VII. Ancient Greece continued, 155 
 
 — VIII. Ancient Greece continued, 173 
 
 ^ IX. Carthage, - - - 193 
 
 X. Rome, - - - - 226 
 
 XI. Rome continued, - - 247 
 
 XII. The Hebrew State, » 269 
 
 Genius and Taste, an Allegory, - " 297 
 
LECTURES 
 
 ON 
 
 ANCIENT HISTORY 
 
 INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 
 
 The origin, the fortunes, and destiny of this 
 globe, will ever form an interesting subject of 
 speculation to the humaii race. Here we begin 
 to exist ; here the intellectual powers first ex- 
 pand, and we taste the pleasures of knowledge 
 and virtue. From this spot we first look abroad 
 on the regions of existence, and by reflection, 
 come to the idea of space, in which every thing 
 is, and of duration, in which every thing con- 
 tinues. 
 
 To form a proper idea of the comparative mag- 
 nitude, relations, and importance of this earth, 
 we ought, in imagination, to take our stand some- 
 where beyond the limits of the solar system, 
 whence we might see that majestic luminary, the. 
 sun, fixed in the centre, with all his planets, pri- 
 mary and secondary, revolving round him at 
 stated periods, and rapidly turning round their 
 own centres to expose every side equally to his 
 beams. By such an observation we should per- 
 ceive, at once, the figure and motions of the earthy 
 her opacity, the respect she pays tg the sttH, 
 2 
 
14 UfTRODlfCTlON. 
 
 ^found whom she rolls with amazing punctuality : 
 we should also perceive that the moon pays the 
 same respect to the earth which the (^arth does to 
 the sun, travelling round her at stated periods. 
 
 Such a general view of the system would alst 
 inform us, that, though the earth is not the small- 
 est of the bodies wliitr'a move round tho sun, she 
 is by no means the largest. We should be sur- 
 prised to see that a thousand such globes as this, 
 rounded into one majestic world, would not much 
 more than equal the size of the planet Jupiter, 
 and that the earth's journey around the sun is 
 very small compared with that of Saturn aiKi 
 Herschel. Yet the solar system, a beautiful fa- 
 bric, reared in the boundless expanse, seems 
 placed alone. For such is the distance of all tlie 
 fixed stars, that our sun, broad and luminous as^ 
 he is to us, would, from any of them, become but 
 a twinkling star. 
 
 The fixed stars, retired at such immeasurable 
 distance from the neighbourhood of our system, 
 while they present a grand scet)e for contempla- 
 tion, and render the night even more interesting 
 than day, prechide all discov-ry When view- 
 ed through the telescope, they, indeed, increase 
 our astonishment, by showing that their numbers 
 are as incalculable as their distance, and the 
 whole ethereal plain sparkles with ih'iir innumera- 
 ble millions, and is lighted with joy and glory. 
 
 While the eye roves with delight over such 
 boundless magnificence, the mnid must be satis- 
 fied with conjecture concerning the nature and 
 uses of the fixed stars. Yet, judging iro\r- the 
 econom'y of nature, brought nearer to our inves- 
 tigation, we are willing to believe that the starry 
 concave is designed to answer a far nobler pur- 
 pose ^^" ^^ furnish the inhabitants ©f this woM 
 
INTRODUCTION, 15 
 
 with a beaulifui nocturnal canopy. It seems, in- 
 deed, probable, that the tixed stars are ?uns, shi- 
 ning with their own inherent lu.Are ^ tha. Ihey 
 give light to systen's of planets, revolving round 
 them as our planets do round our sun; that they 
 enlighten, adorn, and cherish innunieTable man- 
 sions where creatures capal^le of l-jppiness exist. 
 Their' unalterable posiiions and steady lustre 
 seem to indicate that they are parts of one great 
 system, and convey to us the ide.a of infiiiite 
 'power, -wisdom, and goodness. 
 
 The planets revolving round our sun, in a va • 
 riety of respects, which would be proper to be 
 considered in an astronomical essay, resemble this 
 earth, and seem to be fitted up for the residence 
 of creatures : but even concerning the natures 
 and uses of these, we have no information. Could 
 we stand where we could survey the whole solar 
 system at once, with optics adapted to such a pur- 
 pose, the first idea that would strike us would be 
 its stupendous movement, and the amazing power 
 necessary to such motion. We should next ob- 
 serve the unitbrmity and regularity of all the 
 great motions. All the planets revolve round th« 
 sun, tl>ough at very unequal periods, and turn on 
 their axes from west to east; these com|)licated 
 -motions are kept up with perfect exactness from 
 age to age : no clock, no machine made by man, 
 ever run so true. We should observe tbem with 
 admiration "- v/beeling through the void immense,'* 
 and running tiieir destiried races in nearly the 
 same plane. V/ e should notice the uniformity of 
 their figures, all spherical, all receiving their light 
 from the sun, and paying homage to him as their 
 superior. 
 
 Thus far it seemed necessary to direct your 
 ?.'iews to the frame and order of that.great machine 
 
16 INTEODUCTION. 
 
 in which the world we inhabit forms a subordi- 
 nate wheel. Let us .low forsake our celestial 
 observatory, and tak.. a nearer view of the earth. 
 The ancient nations, for a long time, believed 
 this world to be a flat and boundless plain spread 
 out parallel to the skies and heavens. Experi- 
 IBent, at length, showed that it was a round ball, 
 and that of no very incomprehensible diameter, 
 since it might be travelled round in two or three 
 years. 
 
 This globe is not a perfect sphere. Its rapid 
 rotation on itsai^is is supposed to expand its equa- 
 torial, and diminish its polar, diameter. About 
 three fourths of its surface is water ; though it is 
 not very probable that the depth of the oceans 
 bears any great proportion to the earth's diameter. 
 In the constitution of the globe there is reason to 
 believe that the heavier and denser bodies, obe- 
 dient to the law of gravitation, fell to the centre, 
 and the rarer and lighter substances assumed their 
 stations at the surface. 
 
 To superficial observation it may be thought 
 admirable, that so great a part of the earth's sur- 
 face should be occupied with a barren waste of 
 ocean. It should be remembered, that the tern- 
 perament of the atmosphere which surrounds the 
 globe arises from a due adjustment of tlie propor- 
 tions of land and water. Were there less water 
 on the surface of the earth, the atmosphere would 
 be proportionably more arid ; were there more 
 water, the air would be more humid. In either 
 case, the globe would probably be less favourable 
 to vegetation and animal life than it now is. 
 Were there no oceans, the face of the earth, under 
 the ardent, unabated, and unqualified influence of 
 the sun, would become a barren desert. 
 
 There is usually reckoned two great continents^ 
 
INTRODUCTION, 17 
 
 called the old and the nerv. Europe and Africa 
 are separated from America, on the west, by the 
 Atlantic ocean, and Asia is separated from AmC' 
 rica, on the east, by the Paciiic ocean. There 
 probably is but one continent or main land : for 
 both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans narrow as 
 they recede northwardly ; and the two continent?, 
 growing broader, it is generally believed unite 
 and form but one body about the arctic polar re- 
 gions. 
 
 In viewing the natural history of the globe, 
 one surprising fact strikes our attention The 
 superior importance of the northern parts of the 
 world to the southern. The American continent 
 terminates southwardly at Cape Horn, in south la- 
 titude 55^. The old continent terminates at the 
 Cape of Good Hope, in south latitude 33°. Below 
 these points, the whole southern part of the eartb,- 
 with little exception is one vast ocean. The torrid 
 zone, a belt forty -seven degrees in breadth, lying 
 on each side of the equator, is exposed to the in- 
 tense ardour of a verticle sun. This, wherever 
 inhabited, has, in all ages, been a region of igno- 
 rance, slavery, vice, and misery. 
 
 In the northern temperate zone all the grear 
 nations have existed, and the human race has en- 
 joyed its highest improvement and felicity. This' 
 seems to have been designed by the Creator as 
 the nurgery of men, the storehouse of nations, 
 and the region of intelligence. 
 
 The seas and oceans are diversified with isl- 
 ands, as the continents are with lakes. They lie 
 in clusters, unequally dispersed through the world 
 of waters. The great island of New lr;oIland, 
 lying southward of the Cape of Good Hope, is 
 by some called a continent. This lies in an ir- 
 regularly circular form of more than 1,200 miles 
 2* 
 
18 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 in diameter. But its iron-bound shores, as they 
 are called, render the approach of ve?(Sr:s dange- 
 rous ; and, indeed, the island itself, as far as 
 examined, seems never to promise much import- 
 ance. 
 
 The atmosphere, a transparent elastic fluid, 
 surrounds the globe. This body, which the late 
 discoveries in chymistry have shown to be not 
 simple, but comp(>unded oi several bodies,* is 
 iiighly necessary to animal and vegetable life. 
 
 VVe have already noticed the primary motions 
 of the solar system. Whether these continue by 
 the immediate impulse of divine energy, or by 
 intermediate causes which we cannot explore, is 
 iLncertaiii. But by the movement of the great 
 wheels of nature, innumerable subordinate wheels 
 and springs are moved ; and light and heat, ema- 
 nating from the sun, fill the system with motion, 
 animation, and beauty. The powerful action of 
 the sun on the atmosphere, by rarefying or ex- 
 
 * Dr Priestley has the honour of compleiing the decom- 
 position of air ; and, by some additional experimer.ts of 
 Lavoisier, the air was found to contain twenty-seven parts of 
 oxygen gas, and seventy-three of mephitic 'air ; vhich se- 
 \en«.y-three, upon turther analysis, yielded seventy-two 
 parts of azotic gas, and one of carljonic acid. This is tlie 
 ffiomposition of the air near the surface of tlie earth. 
 
 It has been discovered, by experiment, that the pressure 
 of the atmosphere sustains a column nf quicksilver, of equal 
 |)ase. 30 inches high j and, consequently, there is a pressure 
 equftl to 15 pouiids upon e\er> square inch. 1 he surface 
 of a man's bndy, at a medium is supposed to be about 15 
 squa'e f' et. He must, therefore sustain a weight of more 
 than 33,000 pounds. I he whole pressure of the air, upon 
 the surface of the earth, is equal in weight to a globe of 
 lead 60 miles in diameter. 
 
 By vai- us modes of calculation, it appears that the at- 
 mosphere is about i 5 miles high. It cannot however, be 
 exacily ascertained, since it becomes more and more rare- 
 lied in a certain proportioji to its distance from the surface 
 oX the earth. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1§ 
 
 panding some parts of it more than others, de- 
 stroys its equilibrium, and induces neighbouring 
 columns of denser air to rush forward to restore 
 the balance ; hence originate winds, which are 
 but columns of air put in rapid motion. 'J'he ac- 
 tion of heat on the ocean causes immense quanti- 
 ties of water to ascend by evaporation ; these, 
 forming an aequous gas, compose the clouds, 
 which are borne by winds to distant regions. 
 These particles, awhile suspended in the air, are 
 condensed by cold, and descend in rain and devr 
 on the earth. 
 
 By waters descending from the clouds, springs 
 and brooks, and, ultimately, rivers are formed. 
 These currents of water, favoured by the inequa- 
 lities of the eartli's surface, wind their way 
 through hills and valleys, and, by their own gra- 
 vity, moving wherever they find a descent, at 
 length, with an accumulated volume, return to 
 the ocean. It is a first law of chymistry, that mat- 
 ter is capable of three states, viz., solid, fluid, and 
 aeriform Whether the powerful agency of the 
 sun is gradually producing a change in the pro- 
 portion of solids and fluids on the globe, observa- 
 tion cannot certainly determine. It has beeii 
 thought by some naturalists, that the size of ri- 
 vers has visibly diminished since the days of an- 
 tiquity. It is, indeed, said of the earth and hea- 
 vens, that " they shall wax old as doth a garment ;'* 
 but natural history records no certain facts whicli 
 indicate the decay and dotage of the frame of na^ 
 ture. 
 
 The continual ebbing and flowing of the sea 
 forms a curious and wonderful phenomenon. Th6 
 tides,- in all ages, have excited equal inquiry an^ 
 admiration. Modern philosophy claims the ho- 
 nour of solving the difficulty, and assigning an 
 
20 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 adequate cause for that wonderful appearance. 
 Before the great doctrine of attraction was under- 
 stood, the rejj;ular, universal, and periodical heav- 
 ing of the ocean, might as well have been ac- 
 counted for by supposing the earth was a stu- 
 pendous aninnal, at every huge breath lifting the 
 waters of the ocean. There no longer remains a 
 doubt that the tides are occasioned by the attrac- 
 tion of the sun and moon; their general appear- 
 ance confirms, in all respects, that supposition. 
 
 The globe appears to have been designed as 
 an immense region of animation. The number 
 of genera, species, and individuals of animals, 
 though certainly finite, is truly amazing. Natu- 
 ralists reckon more than 10,000 different races of 
 insects. If all that fly in the air, move on the 
 earth, and swim in the waters were reckoned, 
 many of which are yet unobserved, the amount 
 would be inconceivably great. 
 
 Light and heat may be said to form the soul of 
 the material world ; they seem to have an in- 
 timate connexion with the principles of vegeta- 
 ble and animal life. There is not a particle 
 of matter in the solar system which is at rest, 
 and, probably, not in the whole creation. Dr. 
 Herschel, who, by means of powerful telescopes, 
 has carried his speculations, among the fixed 
 stars, perhaps farther than any other man, is of 
 the opinion that they are all in motion. This 
 opinion he maintains by arguments drawn from 
 analogy, from observation, and from the doctrine 
 of attraction. 
 
 The opinion of philosophers concerning the 
 nature of fire has been extremely various. Many 
 have maintained that it is not a substance, nor an 
 element, but merely a quality of material bodies, 
 ©r, as they style it, the result of chymical affiai- 
 
INTRODUCTION. S'l 
 
 les. I think it safer ground to keep nearer the 
 dictates of plain and common observation. Any 
 person who looks on U\e sun, and con.^iders that 
 be is 1,000,C00 times larger than this earth, and 
 500 times larger than all the planets put together; 
 when tbey perceive his brightness and i'ee' his. 
 heat; when they perceive his rays, condensed by 
 convex lenses, forming the most ardent heat, 
 burning whatever is combustible, and dissolving 
 whatev^er is fusible, they naturally and safely 
 conclude, that fire is a substance ; that the sun 
 is a globe of fire, and that all the fire on earth 
 proceeds from that fountain, a? water does from 
 the ocean ; that all terrestrial fires ; that light- 
 ning, electricity, and every species of heat, 
 both animal and vegetable, shows the presence of 
 that amazing element which surrounds the globe, 
 penetrates -every substance, and, probably, ex- 
 tends through space, till it meets the beams of 
 other suns coming from other systems. 
 
 This was the opinion of the immortal New- 
 ton, and has been adopted by the soundest and 
 most acute philosophers since his time. Nor 
 does it appear to me to have been disputed by 
 any but those whose chymical reveries have be-, 
 wildered their senses, and whose " much learning 
 has made them macL'^ I have used the v/ord 
 element, not in allusion to the old opinion of four 
 elements in nature, Jire, air, earthy and Zi'ater — - 
 there may, indeed, be but one element in 
 nature. All substance, for aught we know, may 
 be one, and, in its simplest state, may be homoge- 
 neous. But in the organization of the universe 
 the Creator saw fit to arrange and modify material 
 bodies, and so to frame our senses, that we 
 should receive different impressions from different -, 
 objects. 
 
%2 NTRODUCTIO.W. 
 
 Whether the influence of the sun continues the 
 planets in motion, cannot Le determined ; but 
 certain it is, that most of the motions on the 
 «artii's, surface, and within the globe, are con- 
 tinually propagated by the sun's influence. 
 Were that entirely withdrawn from the earth, the 
 ■fluids of tiie atmosphere would generally con- 
 dense and f.si] tQ the earth, the w^aters of tbn 
 ocean would uarden into ice, ail animal and 
 vegetable life v. culd cease, and the whole globe 
 would refrigerate into an adamantine m.ass, cold, 
 motionless, and dead. Fire is the moving princi- 
 ple, and, as already said, the soul of the material 
 world. Nor is it impossible that it may be, 
 some way, concerned in the grand and universal 
 law of attraction ; as it is certain that all the 
 planets are continually immersed and moving in 
 the light of the sun ; nay, that even the fixed 
 stars themselves are not placed beyond the ex- 
 <:ursion of each other's beams. 
 
 Do the motions of the planets, or the frame and 
 constitution of ihe visible world, and the continual 
 and rapid changes visible on the face of the earth, 
 indicate an eternal duration of the system — that 
 these motions never began, but were from eterni- 
 ty, and will continue to eternity ? I think they 
 clearly indicate the contrary, viz, that they did 
 begin, and will have an end. 'i'his abstruse phi- 
 losophical inquiry would be improper to be pur- 
 sued in this place. The creation of the world, 
 and the origin of the human race, being immova- 
 bly fixed, on the authority of divine revelation, to 
 those whose leisure and philosophical turn of mind 
 may lead them into such inquiries, it will be 
 profitable and pleasing to examine the light of na- 
 ture. If it do not go hand in iKsnd with revela'- 
 fion, it will never ha fouii4 to contradict if. 
 
iifTRODtJeTroN. 23 
 
 The best modern chronologers fix the time of 
 Ihe creation at 4004 -years before the Christian 
 jera ; the deluge in the year of the world - 656, 
 or 2348 years before Christ ; and the founding of 
 Rome, in the year 753 before Christ. Chronolo- 
 gical disputes are now considered as nearly set- 
 tled, and at an end. Most of the English writers 
 submit to the opinions of Usher, Prideaux, and 
 Bedford. Indeed, most of the catholic writers, 
 than whom perhaps none were more learned in 
 ancient history than Du Pin, agree essentially in 
 the great outline of chronology. The arguments 
 €)n which these points are settled are too volumi- 
 nous to find a place here, and the particular ele- 
 ments from which they are drawn would have 
 little interest. In this place it will be suiTicient 
 to observe, that the extensive and diligent research- 
 es for the knowledge of antiquity, since the re- 
 vival of letters, have been crowned with great 
 success. The body of facts, and collateral testi- 
 monies relative to the four great monarchies, is 
 surprisingly full, considering the length and seve- 
 rity of the reign of Gothic darkness, considering 
 they have made their way to us through centuries 
 of nights. 
 
 1 have given an outline and general character 
 of the globe, regarded as a constituent part of the 
 planetary system, and also as a region of vegeta- 
 ble and animal life. We are called to be spectators 
 and ittiiabitants of that globe after it has existed 
 probably about 5817 years. For if to 4004, the 
 year of the world in which Christ was born, we 
 add 1813, the present year of the christian sera, 
 shall have 6817. 
 
 The sphere of actual observation is, compara- 
 tively, but a point of time and space. The pre- 
 sent moment, which is all we can possess, is ever 
 
'24 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 sliding away. Before us, indeed, opens a bound- 
 less duration ; " but shadows, clouds, and dark- 
 ness, rest upon it." It is not so vvith the past : 
 Providence has given us the lights of history, 
 which offer to conduct us back to the infancy of 
 nature, if we have industry and vigour to pursue 
 their path. 
 
 It is the design of these lectures to give some 
 general view of the rise and fall of nations; of 
 their character, manners, revolutions, and geo- 
 graphical situation. In the present scheme I 
 propose to comprehend a period of 4,004 years, 
 extending from the creation to the Christian aera. 
 This will be comprised in twelve lectures, enti- 
 tled, A General View of Ancient History. The 
 Firsts which is the present one, will be the Intro- 
 duction. The Second will be a view of the ante- 
 diluvian world, including the deluge. The Third 
 will be a view of Egypt. The Fourth, a view of 
 Assyria. The Fifth, a view of Media and Per- 
 sia. The Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth, of Greece. 
 The JVi7ith, of Carthage. The Tenth and Ele- 
 venth, of Rome. The Twelfth, of the Jewish 
 State. 
 
 1 have been induced to adopt this plan from a 
 strong persuasion of its decided preference to 
 one more limited and local. An historical tract, 
 containing a condensed narrative, and a full and 
 ample detail of events might excite more interest, 
 and to some would, certainly, be more pleasing; 
 but it would, ultimately, convey far less instruc- 
 tion. History is less studied, and less systema- 
 tized, in this country than its importance de- 
 mands. Whatever tends to generalize and classi- 
 fy the objects of human knowledge diminishes- 
 the labour of acquisition, and aids the power o£ 
 retention. The almost total want of classifica- 
 
INTPvODUCTIOrV. ZO 
 
 tion in extensive historical details, renders the 
 learning of history slow and laborious, and our 
 stock of knowledge, small and evanescent. A 
 man, from the reading of ten volumes, shall re- 
 tain less than he might acquire from what might 
 be thrown into the pages of a pamphlet, when 
 duly selected, arranged, and classified. 
 
 After giving a concise geographical descrip- 
 tion of each country, { shall divide its history 
 into convenient periods, agreeable to such great 
 revolutions and events as it may contain. 
 
LECTURE If. 
 
 View of the Antediluvian World. 
 
 The histoiy which Moses has given of ihe 
 Greation of the world, and of those events which 
 b^gan the career of human existence, when view- 
 ed by the writer of civil and natural history, ap- 
 pears like a venerable fabric built on grounds 
 which he cannot approach. To all who do not 
 believe in the absolute eternity of the world, that 
 history must hold the first claim to veracity. It 
 asserts nothing repugnant to itself. It is rational, 
 simple, and incomparably majestic. When once 
 it is admitted that the almighty, eternal, and in- 
 finite God can create, the account Moses has given 
 contains nothing but what the best reason of the 
 most enlightened mind, readily approves; no- 
 thing but what might be expected in the conduct 
 of God ; nothing unsuitable to the character of 
 divine inspiration. 
 
 The history of Moses conveys the idea that 
 nothing is eternal and uncreated but God ; that 
 he created the world in six days, and rested from 
 his work on the seventh. We have no certain 
 information that the heavens and earth, compri- 
 sing that system, and those orders of creatures 
 which we know, were the iirst of the Creator's 
 works. There may be regions of existence mil- 
 lions of times more remote from the farthest fix- 
 ed star that we can discover, than that star is 
 fi'om us.. There may be creature?;, yea, thou- 
 
THE AKTEDILUVIAN WORLD. 27 
 
 sands and thousands of orders of creatures, of 
 whose natures and faculties we have no concep- 
 tion. There is, probably, no one creature wh© 
 is acquainted with all the works of the Creator, 
 It is, at least, proper for us to consider that in 
 every period of the duration of the supreme God, 
 he has been able to give life and being, and rea- 
 son, and happines, to creatures ; and it will pro- 
 bably be the delightful employment of immortal 
 creatures to become more and more extensively 
 acquainted with beings of diverse and superior 
 faculties, and with different departments of Jeho- 
 vah's great kingdom. 
 
 Man was made pure^ and holy, and happy, and 
 immortal. But he soon rebelled against his ma- 
 ker, forfeited his favour, and became sinful, mi 
 serable, and mortal. This change in his rnoral 
 character subjected him to various calamities. 
 The first was an immediate change in his place 
 of residence. He was expelled from the garden 
 of Eden, a beautiful region, abounding with eve- 
 yy thing necessary to render life comfortable and 
 delightful. Here he might have lived, without 
 painful care or servile labour, on the abundance 
 which prolific nature, under the perpetual smile 
 of heaven, spontaneously brought forth. 
 
 At the time, however, when sentence of death 
 was pronounced upon him, and he was command- 
 ed to retire from Paradise, an intimation was 
 given him that, as a penitent, both he atid his 
 posteritj; should obtain the favourable notice oi 
 the offended Deity, and should be placed under 
 a government of grace, in a state of probation. 
 ■ "^The scene of these transactions is believed to 
 have been in the country of Mesopotamia, per- 
 haps not tar from the junction of the rivers Tigris 
 znd Euphrates ; but of this we have no cerlaiii 
 
28 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 evidence. The removal of the father and uju- 
 ther of mankind from Paradise, must have pro' 
 duced a great, sudden, and painful change in 
 their modes of living. Though a favouring Pro- 
 vidence still pursued them, and while they Vv^ere 
 beginning to gain experience in husbandry, the 
 truly original and most honourable of all occupa- 
 tions, they were enabled to subsist, in a measure, 
 ©n the natural productions of the earth. 
 
 The opinion has generally prevailed, that the 
 use of flesh was unknown, as an article of food, 
 till after the deluge, in the grant made to Adam 
 of the articles of subsistence, flesh is not men- 
 tioned. In the one made to Noah and his sons, it 
 is expressly named. It is rational to suppose that 
 the deluge might have wrought some changes on 
 the soil and climate which rendered the produc- 
 tion of fruits and vegetables more precarious, and, 
 of course, an enlargement of the grant more need- 
 ful. 
 
 The murder of Abel, the curse and rejectioa 
 of Cain, and the birth and adoption of Seth, are 
 almost the only events related of the immediate 
 family of Adam, after his fall. Nothing could be 
 more deeply interesting to the curious mind than 
 a particular account of the various events of his 
 life. It is not to be doubted that he addressed 
 himself to labour for a subsistence. He and his 
 lovely consort were far less frail, and far less 
 subject to the importunate pressure of imaginary; 
 wants, than we are. Some sort of shelter, at 
 times, they certainly needed ; food they must 
 have, and clothing appears to have been instituted;, 
 and even provided, in the first instance, by God 
 himself. But their rooms were not hung wnth ta- 
 pestry, nor decorated with costly sidei oards of 
 plate. They reposed not on beds of down, no? 
 
THE Ax\TEDlLUVIA.\ WORLD. 29 
 
 were Ihey clad in the labours of the loom, nor the 
 spoils of the silk uorii!. Endued with health 
 and vigour, that should resi'^t the lapse of ages, 
 their countenances, methinks, rivalled the vivid 
 tints of the rose, and their smiles the lustre of 
 the opening morning. 
 
 The world was peopled by the descendants of 
 Cain and Seth, and the other children of Adam 
 whose names are not mentioned. These increas- 
 ed with a rapidity of which we can hardly form 
 an adequate conception. Though the whole race 
 was mortal, yet the age of man was at first ex- 
 tended to the period of almost a thousand years. 
 This great length of human life is frequently re- 
 ferred to by the ancient heathen writers, and the 
 "belief of it had mingled wit!) their traditions and 
 fables, and is there found staled in various formSj 
 both in their writers of prose and verse. 
 
 Adam lived 930 years. Previous to his death 
 he probably saw more of his descendants alive, 
 around him, tiian any monarch, not even except- 
 ing the emperor of China, ever saw of his sub- 
 jects : -cilthougb there are said to be more than 333 
 millions of people in China. It will be surpri- 
 sing to consider that Adam lived with his sen 
 Seth 800 years, with his grandson Enos 695 
 years, with his great grandson Cainan 605 years, 
 with Mahalaleel 535 years, with Jared 470 
 years, with Methuselah 243 years, and with 
 Lamech 56 years. I will here add that Noah 
 lived with Enos, the grandson of Adam, 84 
 years, with Cainan 179 years, with Mshalaleei 
 234, years with Jared 366 years, with Methu- 
 selah 600 years, with Lamech, his father, 595 
 years ; and after the flood, with Shem, his son, 
 350 years, with Arphaxad, his grandson, 348 years, 
 with Salah, his great grandson, 313 years, with 
 3* 
 
30 ANCIENT HISTORV. 
 
 El)er, bis fourth in descent, 283 years, with Pelcg, 
 his fifth in d^^scent, 239 years, with Keu, the sixth 
 in descent, 219 years, with Serug, the seventh in 
 descent, 187 years, with Nahor, the eighth in de- 
 scent, 148 years, and with Terah, the ninth in de- 
 « cent 11 8 years. 
 
 Thus, it appears, that eighty-four of the first 
 years of Noah's life were contemporary with 
 eighty-four of the last of Enos, the grandson of 
 Adam. And that Noah's last 128 years were 
 past with the first 128 years of the life of Terah, 
 the father of Abraham. Through what an im- 
 ineitse range of experience, thought, observation, 
 and action, those men must have passed ! But I 
 reserve this for the close of this lecture. 
 
 It is remarkable, that the subjects of war and 
 government are not mentioned before the deluge. 
 The crime of murder having taken place so early 
 in the fanriily of Adam, leaves little room to doubt 
 that there were wars ; and it is expressly de- 
 clared, that the earth was filled with violence. 
 But the fame of the exploits of antediluvian he- 
 roes was destined to perish in the flood.- It is, 
 indeed, a shame to the human race, that, since 
 the flood, those men have been most famous who 
 have inflicted the most misery on mankind. All 
 history agrees in giving Alexander the Great the 
 first place in the list of fame, and it seems for no 
 other reason but because be was the greatest de- 
 stroyer of mankind. It is little to be doubted, 
 that the sources of his fame, in this world, will be 
 the causes of his deepest regret in the world to 
 come ; and that, what has covered his name with 
 such glory among men, will cover him with shame 
 and everlasting contempt before God. 
 
 The governments in these early times were, 
 doubtless, very simple, and, probably, patri- 
 archal. Originating from such a fountain, we 
 
THE ANTEDILUVIAN WORLD. <fl 
 
 readily perceive they might have been nume- 
 rous. 
 
 Nature seems to give every parent the riglit of 
 commanding his children. And it is v < ry evident, 
 that in ihe early ages parents held the power of 
 life and death over their children. Among the 
 sacient Romans the father had a right to sell his 
 children, in some cases, after they were of age. 
 lii China ih.ere still exists some faint image of 
 patriarchal (uonarctiy. The emperor is consider- 
 ed as ihe father uf liis people ; and Ci:;na is be- 
 lieved, by many, to have been founded by Noah ; 
 consequently, to have derived her customs, man- 
 ners, and traditions, from very ancient sources. 
 
 Whether language was given to our iirst parents, 
 immediately by the Creator, or whether they 
 were left to the impulse of necessity and efforr, 
 of reason, to cultivate their vocal powers, we do 
 not know. To me there seems little reason for 
 supposing language inspired. Language is but 
 the clothing of our thoughts. Human beings, at 
 the moment of their creation, and for some lime 
 after, could have little need, or rather, no possi- 
 ble use for a language of any extent or copious- 
 ness. 
 
 The case has often been supposed of two 
 ■children brought up togetiier, but excluded from 
 all other society, so perfectly as never to hear a 
 word spoken ; it has been asked whether these 
 children would have a language. 1 have read of 
 some experiments tried, in this way, but never of 
 any that were complete and satisfactory. Kollin, 
 Trom^ancient authorities, relates, that Psammeti- 
 cus,,king of Egypt, shut up two infants in some 
 ren-.ote place, and ordered them to be carefully 
 iiouiished, but never to hear a word spoken ; and 
 knowing the sociable temper of the 'ladies, h« 
 
'^SJ ANCIENT HiSTOIii. 
 
 ordered their nurse to have her tongue cut out, tot 
 fear she naight, by accident, speak before them, 
 and ruin his experinnent. At the end of two 
 years, as the old shepherd, to whom the business 
 was intrusted, entered the cell where they were 
 kept, they both exclaimed bekkus, bekkos. The 
 shepherd reported this to the king, who, perceiving 
 the import of these words unknown, ordered in- 
 quiry to be made whether these words belonged 
 to any language. It is said they were found to 
 signify bread in the Phrygian language ; of 
 course, that was acknowledged to be the language 
 of nature, in preference to Ihe Egyptian. 
 
 Shuckford states, that Melabdin Achber, an 
 ancient king of India, tried nearly the same ex- 
 periment, with somewhat similar success. But 
 this, at best, would be a \ery unfair experiment. 
 Our first parents, brought into existence with the 
 highest possible maturity of faculties, or, at least, 
 as far as they could be mature, without experi- 
 ence, favoured with some intercourse with their 
 Creator, and, perhaps, with his angels, might have 
 received some important intimatTons relative to 
 the use of sound in conveying thoughts. These, 
 by long experience, were ma'tured into language. 
 The circumstance of Adam's naming the beasts 
 is commonly urged as a proof that language was 
 inspired. It should be remembered, that in ra- 
 pid and general narratives, events are often sta- 
 ted without precise regard to the order of time. 
 To me it is not likely that all the beasts were 
 brought, at once, and received their names. But 
 when once the idea of distinguishing, by appro- 
 priate names, occurred, the business of naming 
 might have begun, and, at length, after a long 
 series of generations, animals were distinguished 
 
THE ANTEDILUVIAN WORLD. 33 
 
 into species and genera, as well as trees, and 
 plants, and flowers, and insects. 
 
 When we consider tbnt, after a man bad lived 
 500 years, he was still in the prime of life, in full 
 vigour, (and we cannot but imagine that the na- 
 tive vigour of body and mind, in those times, was 
 as much greater than it is now, as human life was 
 longer,) we must conclude, that their improvement 
 in every thing which depended on their own 
 faculties, was very great. Now, a man in seven 
 years becomes an artist. But men who lived 
 900 years would have abundance of time to be- 
 come incomparable artists in every art ; nay, 
 to become great scholars in every science. 
 Admitting human life to have been ten times, 
 and it was in fact thirteen times, longer than it 
 is now, the proportion of advantage was far 
 greater than the mere proportion of time. Let 
 us, for a moment, suppose, that West, the cele- 
 brated painter, who is now 70 years old, had all 
 the vigour of 25 or 30 years, and could continue 
 to pursue his studies and profession for 70 years 
 longer, nay, for ten times 70 years, for 700 
 years, to what pitch of excellence might he not 
 attain ? Let him, for that time, be surrounded 
 with rival artists, and improved by the discove- 
 ries of so many years and ages. The mere 
 prospect of such a term of time to pursue an ob- 
 ject, would give incredible vigour to pursuit, ex- 
 tent to discovery, and perfection to improvement. 
 
 The improvements of language, whatever 
 might have been its origin, must have been ex- 
 ceedingly great. Indeed, it is a general opinion 
 that alphabetic writing might have been, and 
 probably was, of antediluvian origin. Respecting 
 the Egyptian tiaim to the invention of letters^ 
 it can only be said, that letters were very earl/ 
 
34 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 in Egypt, but their exact antiquitj cannot be 
 ascertained. 
 
 Something of the fine arts was certainly known 
 before the deluge. Jabal, the sixth in descent 
 from Cain, was a shepherd, and dwelt in tents ; 
 Jubal, his brother, was a musician, and is called 
 the father of them that handle the harp and the 
 organ. Tubal Cain, another brother of the same 
 family, vvas an instructor of every artificer in 
 brass and iron, and is supposed to be the same as 
 Vulcan, the god of fire. The building of the 
 ark is a sufficient proof of the amazing extent to 
 which some kinds of architecture were known. 
 The ark was a building framed of timber, 517 
 feet long, 94 broad, and 55 feet high ; incom- 
 parably the largest building ever designed to float 
 as a ship on the water ; it was indeed the largest 
 buildijig ever erected of timber, for any pur- 
 pose whatever. Though the dimensions and 
 plan of this stupendous building were prescribed 
 by divine direction, yet there is every reason t© 
 believe that it vvas put together according to the 
 known principles and rules of building. 
 
 Where is the carpenter or builder among us 
 who could construct a building of wood 517 ket 
 long, 94 broad, and 55 high, capable of sustaining 
 the immense burden carried by the ark — 
 perfectly water tight, accommodated with such a 
 numerous variety of rooms — divided into three 
 separate lofts or stories, properly ballasted to 
 keep its upright and level position — -able to 
 sustain the swells and surges of a tempestuous 
 sea, so as neither to be broken, overset, founder- 
 ed, or impaired ? The iron work in this building 
 rnust have been great, and very complicated ; 
 and the whole fabric required amazing skill, 
 either previously acquired, or directly inspired at 
 
THK ANTEDILUVIAN WORLD. OiJ 
 
 the time; such as would certainly imply the 
 necessity of the largest forges or I'urnaces, as 
 well as all the lesser apparatus of iron manufac- 
 tories. 
 
 The whole fabric of the ark required the most 
 thorough and consummate skill of workmen of 
 various desciij)tions, both in timber and iron. 
 .But what could not the unabated ardor, the 
 accumuialed experience, the incessant emulation, 
 ©f 800 years effect? for. taking off nearly a 
 century and a half for what miglit then be called 
 infancy and age, that long period vs^ould be left. 
 The progress of an art for 800 years in a modern 
 nation, gives us no idea of antediluvian skill and 
 progress ; for now, at least once in 30 or 40 
 years, the old workman ceases and a new one 
 begins from childhood, and has all the painful 
 grades of apprenticeship to labor through, and it 
 may often happen that the apprentice, through 
 some detect of taste or talents, will never come 
 tip to the skill of his master. Thus it is im- 
 probable that West, in ail his school of painters, 
 will have an equal, perhaps, indeed, his pupils 
 will be mere daubers in comparison with him. Vet 
 in 800 years what progress is made in art and 
 science ! It is but about 400 years since clocks 
 first appeared in England. Henry De Wick setup 
 a rude one in the tower of Charles the Fifth's 
 palace.* Since that time, what amazing perfec- 
 tion that species of timepiece has acquired 1 
 You will see a watch, perfectly constructed in all 
 Its wheels, on the seal of a lady's ring. A clock 
 you will see wound up by the wind. You wiB 
 
 * The oldest clock now in England stands in the palace 
 of Hnraptou Court, made in 1^4(), in the reign of Henry 
 the B'rghth. 
 
SQ ANCIENT HISTaAY. 
 
 see a Rittenhouse exhibit a clock tliat sball dis- 
 play all the revolutions of the planets. Some 
 watches are so curiously made that they will 
 wind up merely by wearing. Some clocks will 
 play a tune : in short, the noblest and most com- 
 plicated clock perhaps ever made stands in the 
 cathedral church of Strasburgh, and exhibits a 
 variety of objects, motions, and curious phe- 
 nomena perfectly beyond all belief.. 
 
 But what if the artist who made this cathedral 
 clock, had had a race of exertion, competitiony 
 and fame to run, of the prodigious extent of 800 
 years ? Both he, and even Henry De Wick, who 
 lived long before him, at that rate of human life^ 
 would now have been but in their prime. The 
 same may be said of all the great luminaries of 
 science and art who lived in, and since, the revi- 
 val of letters. Erasmus, Grotius, Puflendorf, 
 Montesquieu, Des Cartes, Newton, Locke, Shak- 
 ?peare, Fenelon ; even Galileo, Copernicus, and 
 Kepler, would still have been young men. 
 
 I have urged this point the more, as I am per- 
 suaded that we entertain very incorrect ideas of 
 the state of improvement in the world before the 
 deluge. But, alas ! as they improved in know- 
 ledge, they improved, if that expression be cor- 
 rect, in vice. The state of their morals, at lengthy 
 became so exceedingly corrupt, that the Almigh- 
 ty Ruler determined, by one signal act, to sweep 
 the degenerate race from the earth, preserving 
 ©nly Noah and his immediate family alive. 
 
 Various theories are set up concerning the man- 
 ner of the deluge ; and many of the ablest writers, 
 who have discussed this subject, believe that, at- 
 the time of the deluge, there were some conside- 
 rable changes in the great frame of nature — in the 
 motions of the heavens and earth. They believe. 
 
THE ANTEDILtrVIAN WORLD. 33" 
 
 when the motions of the earth round the sun com- 
 menced, that the axis of the erirth lay at ri2;ht an 
 gles to the plane of her orbit : of course, that the 
 equator and ecliptic coincided. The conse- 
 quence of this would be, that the days and nights 
 would he of equal lengrh in all parts of the world. 
 The seasons would, in that case, have been more 
 temperate, the globe more pleasant, and, proba- 
 bly, more healthy. Hence, they deduce one ar- 
 gument for the shortening of human hie after the 
 flood. This subject is largely discussed in Bed- 
 ford's Chronology, and Shuckford's Ancient His- 
 tory, and in many other books. Such an opi- 
 Bion, were it known to be true, would, conve- 
 iriently enough, account for many things we may 
 observe in the natural history of the world. The 
 only difficulty I see in the way of adopting it is 
 the want of evidence, without which it is not ve- 
 ry philosophical, or safe, to hazard an opinion. 
 
 Bishop Burnet, in his Theory, advances the 
 opinion, that before the deluge, the ocean w-as 
 all subterraneous ; that the land was incrusted 
 over the ocean somewhat like an egg-shell ; that 
 at the deluge, this shield of land was broken up^ 
 and, consequently, sunk, and the waters rose 
 above it. The same difficulty stands in the way 
 of this opinion as of the former; we have no cer- 
 tain evidence of such a fact. Some philosophers 
 have pretended to believe that the deluge was 
 occasioned by a watery comet, whose train swept 
 the earth, and caused a general flood. The ques- 
 tion is, whether there are watery comets ; and, if 
 there are, whether one of them touched the earth : 
 we have no certain evidence of either of these- 
 positions. 
 
 All that I shall advance as a theory of the de- 
 luge is, that from the size of the oceans, and hii- 
 4 
 
3b ANCIENT HTSTOUr. 
 
 midity of the atmosphere, there appears to bcf 
 water sufficient to effect a general deluge. How 
 far the causes of so great an inundation were na- 
 tural, or supernatural, is of no direct concern to 
 us, either as philosophers or theologians ; for 
 the laws of nature are but that due arrangement 
 of causes and effects which the almighty Creator 
 established in his kingdom. A natural cause as 
 fully implies, and as truly accomplishes, the di- 
 vine purpose as a miracle. Matter is as much 
 under the control of Deity as mind, and its laws 
 are but the uniform manifestation of his power 
 and wisdom. 
 
 The deluge forms a conspicuous article in the 
 history of Moses ; but it has, considered as a fact, 
 the advantage of much collateral testimony. Jo- 
 sephus, the Jewish historian, expressly declares 
 that, in all the ancient heathen writers, mention 
 is made of the deluge. I have in my Compend of 
 History given a brief statement of the testimony 
 of heathen writers on that article. It is a fact, 
 that not only the Greek and Roman writers are 
 explicit and full, concerning a general deluge, 
 but it is found in the histories, writings, fables, 
 and traditions, of the Chinese, Indians, and of all 
 the ancient nations of western Asia : we may 
 also add, the savages of America. 
 
 Beside a general combination of historical tes- 
 timony, there is another source of evidence of 
 the deluge. The surface of the earth, in almost 
 every place where observations have been made» 
 exhibits such appearances as a universal deluge 
 might be supposed to have occasioned. Sea. 
 shells and marine productions are found in abun- 
 dance far distant from the ocean, and in situation?, 
 for v/hich nothing can so well account as the sup- 
 position of a general deluge, and, in fact, fa^k 
 
THE ANTEDILUVIAN WORLD. 35? 
 
 wliich nothing can at all account but that suppo- 
 sition ; while, on the other hand, no argument, 
 from the natural history of the earth, can be 
 brought to militate against the supposition. 
 
 The famous argument of Count Borch, so 
 pompously boasted of by an illuminated deistical 
 philosopher, and the doubts of the Abby Recupe- 
 ro, drawn from the strata of the lava of Mount 
 iEtna, may here deserve a moment's attention. 
 By digging down where the eruptions of ^Etna, 
 have successively overspread the ground, they 
 calculate in the following manner : Finding a 
 stratum of earth between each stratum of lava, 
 they say it must have taken such a certain length 
 of time for the earthy stratum to be formed be- 
 tween each stratum of lava ; and the successive 
 strata of lava and earth being too numerous to 
 admit the intervening calculated periods between 
 this and the deluge, or even the creation, accord- 
 ing, to the Mosaic account, that, therefore, the 
 history given by Moses cannot be true. 
 
 Count Borch pretends to prove that Mount 
 5^tna is 8.000 years old, by the different Layers 
 of vegetable earth between the strata of lava as 
 above said. The canon Recupero also discover- 
 ed a stratum of lava which he supposed was depo- 
 sited in the time of the second Punic war, or 
 about 2,000 years ago. But in digging a pit 
 near Jaci, in the neighbourhood of ^tna, he dis- 
 covered seven layers of lava with earth between 
 of considerable tliickness, so that ^tna, by this in- 
 dication, must have stood at least fourteen thou- 
 sand years. 
 
 ^Nothing can be more fallacious or stupid than 
 this argument, if, indeed, it deserves to be digni- 
 fied by the name of argument. Who knows 
 s^hat causes have operated to produce volcanip 
 
40 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 eruptions at very unequal periods ? Who has 
 kept a register of the eruptions of any burning 
 mountain, for one thousand years, to say nothing 
 ©f three or four thousand ? Who can say that the 
 strata of earth were forpied in equal periods? 
 The time for the formation of the uppermost and 
 last is probably not known, much less the respec- 
 tive periods of the lower strata. One might have 
 been formed in a year, and another in a century. 
 This profound naturalist is wholly ignorant of the 
 cause of any one of these terreous strata. He 
 builds one hypothesis on the shoulders of another, 
 and to believe his whole argument requires strong- 
 er faith than to believe a miracle. Faith in a 
 miracle rests on testiinony ; but faith in hi« 
 scheme must be built on an extreme desire t# 
 prove a falsehood.* 
 
 Sanchoniatho, although a very ancient writer oa 
 Egyptian affairs, gives a very detailed account of 
 the antediluvian world, and of a great variety of 
 particular affairs ; but for the most part they are 
 destitute of all rational probability and credit. 
 It is indeed probable that the most valuable and 
 most ancient records of Egypt were burned in the 
 Alexandrian library by Julius Caesar. 
 
 In reviewing the topics passed over in the pre- 
 ceding lecture, they will be seen to assume three 
 important facts, against which skepticism is often 
 beard to lift its voice. The creation of the world, 
 the destruction ot the world by a deluge, and the 
 great length of the lives of the antediluvians, are 
 
 *_ There ia a fact which overturns all Count Borch's rea- 
 soning : 1 he lava which destroyed Herculaneum issued ia 
 the year of Christ 79, or about 1 7. A years ago. This lava « 
 now covered with six layers of lava, all ©f vhioli are flepa- 
 rated by strata of ri«h fertile soil. 
 
THE ANTEDILUVIAN WORLD. 4^1 
 
 facts considered as resting on the authority of the 
 Mosaic history, or, rather, on the authority of di- 
 vine revelation. Concerning two of these facts 
 enough has been already said. As to the doctrine 
 of crea^'on, if matter be not eternal and selt ex- 
 istent, the a( count Moses has given of that great 
 event is by far the most simple, rational, and 
 probable, judging of it by the common rules of 
 evidence. Ihe human mind cannot form a con- 
 ception of any thing more exalted, more sublime, 
 more becoming the greatness and glory of the 
 eternal God, than the method, if I may so call it, 
 stated by Moses; " In the beginning God created 
 the heavens and the earth; and the earth was 
 without form, and void; and darkness was upon 
 the face of the deep : and the spirit of God 
 moved upon the face of the waters. And God 
 said, let there be light, and there was light." 
 
 This last expression is quoted by Longinus, the 
 Greek Rhetorician, as a perfect instance of the 
 sublime. Indeed, if Moses' whole account of the 
 creation be duly considered, it will be found to be 
 ^above the powers and capacity of mortal man. 
 It bears the high and unequivocal stamp of truth. 
 The manner in which the narrative is conducted, 
 as w^ell as the facts stated, tower infinitely above 
 the mean and base imputation of fable and fic- 
 tion — above the conceptions of poets and rhapso- 
 dists. The evidences of the deluge, even were 
 the writings of the Pentateuch annihilated, are 
 fully satisfactory. All antiquity, in China, India, 
 Persia, Arabia, Palestine, Egjpt, are full of it. 
 The face of the globe itself declares it. 
 
 But the very great length of human life before 
 the deluge, is commonly considered as resting 
 wholly on the credit of Bloses' history. This, 
 4'^ 
 
42 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 however, is far from being tlie fact, as every scho- 
 lar versed in Greek and Koman literature knows. 
 The fable of Prometheus, who stole fire from hea- 
 ven, in consequence of which the gods, offended, 
 sent new diseases on earth to cut short human 
 life, is generally believed to refer, expressly, 
 to the family of ISoah. It is stated thus by Ho- 
 
 '' Audax lapeii genus 
 Ignemfraude mala gentibus intulit i 
 Post ignem (jetherea domoy 
 Subductum 7nacies, et novafebrium 
 Terris incubuit cohors ; 
 Semotique prius tarda necessitas, 
 Letlii corripuit gradum.''* 
 
 The impious race of Japhet bold, 
 Stole fire from heaven in times of old 
 The Gods, offended and surpris'd, 
 With new disease mankind chastis'd ; 
 With rapid step and surer blow, 
 Approaching fate, e'er while so slow, 
 Cut short the lives of men below. 
 
 Pliny, the philosopher, says, concerning the 
 great longevity of the ancients, " When plea- 
 sure began to live, life itself expired." 
 
 Man, though fallen and mortal, had he lived 
 according to his better hopes and higher destiny, 
 might, probably, have enjoyed a much longtr 
 life io this world. Had mankind never baT« 
 
THE ANTEDILUVIAN WORLD. 43 
 
 £allen, it is generally believed they would have 
 been immortal. This is so far a dictate of the 
 religion of nature, that all the enlightened hea- 
 then moralists appear to have considered death as 
 a consequence of wickedness. They represent 
 virtue and goodness as immortal. The human 
 body was originally designed for immortality, as 
 well as the mind. " Honor thy father and thy 
 mother, that thy days may be long." Here is one 
 kind of virtue, even by the divine law, connect- 
 ed with long life. It is probable that, even after 
 the curse of mortality had taken place, the human 
 race might, by a course of virtuous conduct, have 
 protracted their days. An experiment, therefore, 
 of this nature was made, when it fully appeared 
 that very long life would scarcely be a privilege, 
 either to the good or the bad ; and, by the ex- 
 treme defection of almost the whole race, man 
 forfeited his life, if I may so say, over again, and 
 it was cut down to the dwarfish size of 120. and 
 soon, of 70 years. Men abused, to such a degree, 
 their privilege of longevity, that it seemed like 
 casting pearls before swine. Indeed, when we 
 consider what immense multitudes die in war, as 
 short as life now is, what truly vast numbers die 
 a voluntary death, by some destructive vice, 
 however much they fear death, one would think 
 mankind thought their lives still too long. 
 
 The great length of life, in the first ages, must 
 have had some connexion with that original 
 strength of constitution given to man ; it might 
 have been designed to exhibit a faint image of 
 that flourishing vigour and immortal youth, which 
 was to have been the lot of unspotted virtue j 
 the last remains of which were torn from the race, 
 jioi merely by the fall of man, but by an exorbi- 
 
4-1 ANCIENT msToav. 
 
 taut course in actual vice and depravity. This- 
 high privilege of a long probation was conferred 
 on the first generations of men, to show the Crea- 
 tor still benignant, still an indulgent father, willing 
 to protract their enjoyments in this life, who had 
 nothing to expect in the life to coine. 
 
 The longevity of the first generations of men, 
 together with its concomitants, Avas not without 
 it3 benefits to all succeeding generations. It gave 
 a ra})idity to their inventions and discoveries, a 
 vigour to their conceptions, a boldness to their 
 plans, of which we can torm no adequate idea. 
 Tliey laid the foundations of art and science. 
 We call those times rude uncultivated ages of 
 barbarity and of darkne.->s. But, let it be consi- 
 dered what they had to do, and what they did. 
 Was Tuba] Cain an instructor of every artificer in 
 brass and iron ? Who discovered iron — found it 
 jn the ore—rermc'd it from its dross? Did Noah 
 build the ark / Who formed his tools — taught hid 
 workmen ? Consider the majesty, strength, ex- 
 quisiteness, and perfection of that building. 
 
 Kad the first generations of men been as frail, 
 &!iOrt-iivcd, and feeblcj as men now are, the y)ro- 
 gress of art and science must have been slow in- 
 deed. 
 
 The number of the antediluvians must have 
 been very great. Admitting the human family to 
 have doubled but once in 40 years., till the time 
 of the deluge, there must have been more than 
 two billions of people, i. e. two millions of mil- 
 lions. But of their names, their exploits, their 
 fame, there is no memorial. The earth once 
 glowed with their labours, and groaned with their 
 wickedness ; but i'hey\, with all the monuments 
 of dieir skill and p.j,verj &unk in the remorseless^ 
 
^HE ANTEDILUVIAN WORLB. 45 
 
 I have past over the period proposed for tbis 
 lecture, ft affords kw topics of minute detail ; 
 but where the footstep of aimighty Ppovidence 
 has past, there are left the traces of divine wis- 
 dom ; and there we may look for useful instruc- 
 fcioa. 
 
4<^ 
 
 LECTURE IIL 
 
 Egypt. 
 
 The eldest daughter of history will engage 
 your attention this evening. She has often been 
 seen in a richer dress, and surrounded with a 
 jnore pompous train. Nor can you have more 
 than a glimpse of her stately form and youthful 
 beauty. Our last lecture was spent in that sha- 
 dowy region which a (ew scattered rays of light 
 have scarcely rescued from oblivion : in the con- 
 templation of events which past " with the yeajs 
 beyond the flood." It was a painful subject, and 
 presented little more to our notice, which could 
 foe definitely surveyed, than the sudden fall of a 
 world of people. We were conducted by a ve- 
 nerable guide, who, while she showed us but iew 
 things, told us the truth. 
 
 When we come on this side the watery waste^ 
 '^ guide of a different character offers her servi- 
 ces : I mean the historic muse. Nearest to her 
 lofty tower lie the fields of modern Europe, 
 They are wide, elevated, and diversified with 
 every kind of prospect. The genius of war, ever 
 jready to 
 
 ** Whelm nations in blood and wrap cities in fire," 
 
 reigns in modern Europe. A little further off, 
 and retired under a heavier shade, lie the ages of 
 Oothic dayknesSi Through these she conduqt^ 
 
you to the elevated destinies, and imperial gran- 
 deur of ancient Rome. Like the Alps amons or- 
 dinary hills and valleys, she towers above all na- 
 tions, and for ages gives law to the world. YoU 
 see her an empire, a republic^ a kingdom, a clan. 
 Still further back, you behold a wonderful people, 
 of less sullen majesty, but of more brilliance of 
 intellect and vigour of genius: there the temple 
 of science displayed its fair columns, and expanded 
 its majestic portal?. Still far distant beyond the^ 
 Greeks, you behold the Persians, the Assyrians, 
 the Egyptians, each flourishing in their day, and 
 filling remoter grounds of the receding prospect. 
 Between these nations and the deluge, there i^ 
 still a wide expanse, through which the Mosaic- 
 history has drawn a single line, like a thread of 
 silver, without breadth. But here the historic 
 muse gives you her perspective, and bids yo« 
 make the best of what you can see. You see he- 
 roes and giants, and gods and demons, blended 
 in a scene which declares itself to be fabulous ; 
 and you perceive yourself to be in the heroic 
 ages. The traditionary tales, the fables, the 
 mythological fictions of the Romans, Greeks, and 
 Egyptians, lie here. Here are the exploits 
 of Theseus, the labours of Hercules, the live? 
 and actions of those men whom credulous and su- 
 perstitious nations deified and adored. 
 
 The country of Egypt occupies the northeastern 
 corner of the continent of Africa ; is between five 
 and six hundred miles long, and from fifty to one 
 hundred and fifty miles broad. The territory is 
 long and narrow, though of very unequal breadth ; 
 an(f the river Nile, passing from south to north, 
 runs through the plains of Egypt, and falls into 
 the Mediterranean sea by several mouths. It ia 
 tisflally bosnde'd ob the north by the Mediterra* 
 
48 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 nean sea, on the east by the isthmus of Suez and 
 the Red Sea, on the south by iEthiopia, and on 
 the west by Lybia. It extends from the latitude 
 81** north, nearly to the tropic of Cancer. The 
 southern parls of Egypt have an almost vertical 
 sun, in the sommer montiis. 
 
 hain seldom falls in Eo;ypt. The sky is gene- 
 rally serene in every part of the year, and the 
 power of the sun, from May to September, is op- 
 pressive ; yet the climate of Egypt, especially 
 as it anciently was, is perhaps excelled by few- 
 parts of the earth. The defect of rain is compen- 
 sated by copious dews ; and the lands bordering 
 on the Nile are enriched by its inundations to 
 a surprising degree. Dr. Clarke, a late scientific 
 and judicious traveller, who was in Egypt during 
 the invasion of Bonaparte, observes, that bad as 
 the civil and moral state of Egypt now is, it far 
 surpassed all his former conceptions of luxuriancy 
 of vegetation, and fertility of soil. And I beg 
 here to be allowed to recommend his travels 
 through Asia Minor, Palestine, and Egypt, to such 
 as'wish for information relative to those countries. 
 His narrative is simple, judicious, and elegant^ 
 and shows the hand of a master. 
 
 The ancient power and grandeur of Egypt 
 was owing greatly to its extent of commerce. An 
 attentive consideration of the map of the globe 
 will show that Cairo, Alexandria, and Memphis, 
 were, perhaps, situated for a grander scale of 
 commerce than any other great cities not except- 
 ing Constantinople or London. From Alexan- 
 dria, a sail of ten days brought fhem, with ease, 
 into the Grecian islands of i\:e Archipelaao. Ten 
 days more carried them through the Hellespont 
 and Strait of Bosphorus into the Black fcJea, 
 whose great rivers, Boristhenes, Tanais an^ 
 
EGYVT. 49 
 
 others, collected the inland trade of centra] Asia 
 and northern Europe. West of this grand emno- 
 rium, lay ail the northern shores of llie Mediter- 
 ranean, comprising the south of Spain, and f 'ranee, 
 and Italy, and the Islands ; and the southern shores 
 of the same sea, the northern coast of Africa. 
 Besides, but a little distance from Alexandria, 
 east, over land, lay the ports of the Red Sea, 
 some of which had become famous in the days of 
 Solomon and David. From Ezion«Geber, or Be- 
 renice, as it was afterwards called, the Tyrians, 
 Jews, and other nations, anciently, and the mer- 
 chants of Palmyra, in latter times, carried on an 
 immensely rich trade. From the ports of the Red 
 Sea through the Straits of BabehMandel, a few 
 "weeks, and a safe voyage, brought them to India 
 and all its rich islands. 
 
 These advantages were perceived by the per- 
 vading mi^d of Alexander the Great, who built 
 Alexandria. Nor was he deceived ; for in twenty 
 years after he founded this city, which was to 
 bear his name, it became the greatest emporium 
 of trade upon earth. Whatever is known of the 
 fertility of Egypt in our own times, it was once 
 far more teriile and pleasant than it is now. It 
 appears, from various observations, that the sands 
 of the African deserts are gradually spreading fur- 
 ther north, and intrenching more and more on the 
 states of Barbary. Probably the indolence and 
 vice of those nations invite the empire of sand, 
 and hiisfcn its dominion, by neglecting their soil, 
 and 1-iying it open to the desert. 
 
 What settlers first arrived in Egypt after the 
 deluge, it is impossible to say. I shall, however, 
 follow the general opinions of ancient writers on 
 this subject, and consider the kingdom of Egypt 
 as founded by Menes, or Misrainij the grandson 
 
56 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 of Noah, one hundred and sixty years after the 
 deluge. And from this datum shall submit to 
 your consideration the following 
 
 Analysis of the History of Egypt. 
 
 The history of Egypt, as far as regards the pre- 
 sent plan of Lectures, may be divided into three 
 periods. 
 
 I. From the foundation of the monarchy by 
 Menes, 160 years after the flood, to the end of 
 the reign of Psammenitus, who was conquered by 
 Cambyses, king of Persia. This period contains- 
 1663 years. During this time, Egypt was go-- 
 verned by dynasties of its native princes ; in the 
 scriptures generally called Pharaohs. 
 
 II. From the death of Psammenitus, A. C. 525i^ 
 to the death of Alexander the great, A. C. 321.^ 
 This period contains 204 years : during which 
 time the Egyptian history is involved with that 
 of the Persians and Greeks. 
 
 III. From the death of Alexander, A. C. 321. 
 to the death of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, A. C. 
 .20 years. This period contains 301 years. At 
 this lime Egypt becomes a Roman province. 
 
 Egypt remained a province of the eastern Ro- 
 man empire, and was subject to Constantinople, till 
 it was seized by Omar, the third caliph of the 
 Saracens, in the year of Christ 640 : the seat of 
 his empire was Babylon. This dynasty of prin- 
 ces continued till the year 870, when the Egyp- 
 tians set up a caliph of their own, to whom the 
 Saracens of Spain and Africa were subject. But 
 the government of Egypt was soon after seized 
 by the governors or sultans of Babylon and Cairo; 
 and the authority of caliphs or priest'; w^« n.bo= 
 lishedc 
 
EGYPT. 51 
 
 in 1160 Assarredin, general of Norradin, sultan 
 of Damascus, subdued the kingdom of Egypt, 
 and usurped the government of it. His son Sala- 
 din conquered Mesopotamia, Palestine, Damas- 
 cus, and, in the year 1190 took Jerusalem from 
 the Christians. This prince formed a military 
 corps composed of boys taken in war, chiefly 
 from Christian nations, and also purchased of the 
 Tartars. These youths, trained to severe labour 
 and strict discipline, formed, in time, a powerful 
 army ; and they were called Mamalukes, which 
 word signifies slave. The Janizaries, afterwards 
 formed by the Turkish emperors, were procured 
 and trained much in the same manner. 
 
 These Mamalukes became the scourge and ter- 
 ror of the times in which they lived, till, in 1242, 
 they set one of their number on the throne of 
 Egypt. The Mamalukes governed Egypt till 
 1601, when they were conquered by Selimus II. 
 emperor of the Ottoman Turks. Since that time 
 Egypt has been a Turkish province, governed 
 by a viceroy from Constantinople. 
 
 I have been the more particular on the latter 
 articles of this analysis of Egyptian history, a.s, 
 lying beyond the plan of these lectures, it will 
 not be touched again. 
 
 Such is the great outline of the history of 
 Egypt. And here, give me leave to observe, iti^ 
 the outline, the grand contour of objects which 
 impresses the eye and tiie mind. A cast of the 
 eye on a map gives more geographical informa- 
 tion than many hours of mere abstract reflection. 
 A correct outline may easily be filled up ; but 
 without such an outline, there can be no image in 
 the mind. 
 
 There is not a regular account of the rise and 
 progress of Egypt, into a kingdom, to be found 
 
52 ANCIENT HISTOE.Y. 
 
 in history, on which full reliance'caa w placed, 
 The expanded narratives of Eerodo'us and Dio- 
 dorus open before us a wide fiek' J conjecture. 
 in which are interspersed nianj i\-iportant facts. 
 But Egypt 5rst comes to our '-ind in history a 
 powerful monarchy, full of peor"e, of prodigious 
 wealth ; learned, superstitious, aadaiignst. 
 
 In the emigrations of Noah's family after the 
 deluge, it seems rather probable to me that they 
 pnrsued such courses as they had had some know- 
 ledge of before the deluge. I am not able to con- 
 Tince myself that the features of the globe were 
 wholly changed, and formed anew, by that great 
 calamity. You will recollect that it 13 said thre 
 flood rose fifteen fathoms above the tops of the 
 highest mountains ; which implies that there werfe 
 mountains before the deluge. And surely the ori- 
 ginal formation of the earth's surface into hills and 
 valleys, mountains and plains, is a supposition 
 more consistent Vv'ith heabh and pleasantness. A 
 large section of Noah's family probably spread 
 westward to the Mediterranean sea, and, following 
 that shore south through the Isthmus of Suez, ar- 
 rived on the banks of the Nile. It is impossible 
 to say whether Ham, the second son of Noah^ 
 conducted this settlement in company with Mr5' 
 raim, his son ; but it is certain that Egypt was an- 
 ciently called the land of Ham : and by the Ara- 
 bians and others it is stil! called the land of MesrieJ 
 from Mis raim, its first king. 
 
 The arts and sciences weresoe^rly in Egypt 
 that it is impossible to #void the opinion that they 
 were brought, by the second [ounfieri of the -la- 
 man race, from beyond Ihe flc^>d. The first 'rig 
 distin2:uishc;d in bisto/y .liiin- Mr-^ncs, or Mi ,m, 
 is Bn<;ris. \w'm- 'u;:! t!;- • ;<, of " hcbes, ii: "l. ^.per 
 Egypt.' This city is rendeied famous b'y the pea 
 
EGYPT. 5^- 
 
 &f Homer, whose general accuracy in geographi- 
 cal description renders his account worthy of 
 more credit than is generally due to epic poe- 
 try. * 
 
 The Greek and Roman writers of ancient his- 
 tory celebrate its greatness : Strabo says, that 
 Thebes had an hundred gates, from each of which 
 she was able to send out two hundred chariots and 
 ten thousand men ; which, in the whole, would be 
 20)000 chariots, and two millions of men. An- 
 cient Egypt lay in three divisions : Lower Egypt, 
 or the Delta, as the Greeks called it, because sha- 
 ped like their D, lay next to the Mediterranean 
 sea, and was formed into that shape by the branch- 
 ing of the river Nile. The ancient capital of 
 this was Heliopolis (city of the sun.) Middle 
 Egypt lays south of this. Its capital was Mem- 
 phis, very anciently ; and afterwards Cairo, which 
 rose out of the ruins of the ancient Memphis, 
 which stood on the west, as Cairo stands on 
 the east side of the Nile. 
 
 The southern division of Egypt, which lay 
 bordering on Ethiopia, at first made the most 
 splendid figure in history; and Thebes, allowing 
 half for exaggeration, must have been a greater 
 city than is now in Europe. 
 
 During the fitst period of Egyptian history, 
 mentioned in the preceding analysis, the reigns 
 of nearly thirty princes are mentioned, but not 
 in the exact order of succession ; that, with ma- 
 ny other things, is buried in the oblivion of an- 
 tiquity. Th£ first distinguished event, in this 
 period of 1,668 years, was the invasion of Egypt 
 hy the she}Tlierd kings. 
 
 I. The invasion of the shepherd kings is but very 
 imperfectly known. The ablest chionologers 
 and historiaRs differ essentially as tg tUe time 
 5* 
 
5-4. AJfCTENt HISTORY. 
 
 when that event took place. Rollin and Bed- 
 ford, and, I believe, Dr. Clarke and Prideaux, 
 place this invasion about 2,084 years before 
 Christ, or about a centurj after the reij^i of Me= 
 ftes. These pastoral invaders were from the ad- 
 ^cent countries of Asia, from Arabia and Pales- 
 tine, and, it is generaNj believed, from the land of 
 Canaan. It was about this time that Abraham, the 
 renowned patriarch, arrived in Egypt, v/ilh his 
 beautiful consort, Sarah> the fame of whose beau- 
 ty had attracted the notice of the king of Egypt. 
 But the sequel of that simple and eloquent story, 
 as related in the book of Genesis, showed Pharaoh 
 to have been under the influence of a purer mo?alr- 
 ty than usually governs arbitrary and despotic 
 princes. 
 
 But from the history of Abraham, it appears 
 that shepherds in those days were both pov/- 
 erful and opulent. Abraham, with his three 
 friends, and their collected train of servants, were 
 able to pursue and rout an army corar^^ianded by 
 several kings. The shepherd's occupation was 
 then great and honourable, ai^d i^ was by a con- 
 federation of powerful pastoral princes that Egypt 
 was at length invaded, and all Lower Egypt sub- 
 dued. These shepherd kings were followed by 
 a hardy, robust, and warlike race of men, whom 
 the dangers of the wilderness had rendered brave 
 and active, and frequent encounters with the 
 fiercest of the beasts of the forest, had made skil- 
 ful in the use of arms. 
 
 The people settled on the luxuj^ous plains of 
 ^e Nile were, indeed, numerous, but ease and 
 abundance had made them eifemfnate. And 
 what nation can resist the fascinations of wealth, 
 QT the circean cup of luxury ? We have before us 
 the uause ©f the downfall of all the powerful na- 
 
tions of antiquity. Luxurious wealth cannot con- 
 tend with absteinious poverty. Idleness must 
 fall before industry, and indolence before activi- 
 ty. Th^ shepherds of Palestine, or, which is the 
 ^ame thing, the Philistines, invaded and conquer- 
 ed Lower Egypt, and remained in possession of 
 that fertile region 260 years. 
 
 IL The second important event which falls un- 
 der this period of Egyptian history, relates to its 
 Connexion with the history of the Hebrews; I 
 mean the removal of the family of the patriarch 
 Jacob into Egypt. This event, according to 
 Archbishop Usher, took place in the year before 
 Christ 1706. We are deprived of the pleasure 
 of knowing the name, otherwise than by the ge- 
 neral appellation of Pharaoh, of that great and 
 amiable prince v/ho treated the chosen family 
 with such beneficent hospitality. But in this lit- 
 tle portion of history, furnished in the sacred 
 writings, there is an interesting display of ancient 
 life and manners. It appears that Pharaoh, who 
 filled the throne of Egypt when Abraham visited 
 that country, was a prince of most exemplary 
 moral virtue : when he discovered that Sarah, in- 
 stead of being the sister, was the wife of Abra- 
 ham, he restored her to her husband, with a most 
 respectful and affectionate apology for the error 
 into which he had fallen. There is, indeed, very 
 satisfactory and delightful evidence that the na- 
 tions both of Africa and Asia, at that period, were 
 not sunk into that deplorable state of depravity 
 and vice which became so flagrant in subsequent 
 ages. The strictest inquiry into that early pe- 
 riod results in abundant evidence that idolatry- 
 had not yet become general ; but of this we shali 
 have Occasion to speak in a subsequent lecture. 
 
 When Joseph was s©ld a slave ioto Egypt, ii 
 
QQ ANCIENT HrSTORY. 
 
 will be recollected by what a peculiar train of 
 circumstances his triumphant virtue first carried 
 him to the depth of a dungeon, and thence lifted 
 him near to the throne of the monarch. Pharaoh, 
 on this occasion, showed all that sensibility to 
 merit, that high respect for divine providence, 
 that fear of God, and belief in his just and equal 
 government, that might be looked for in an amia- 
 ble and virtuous prince. He immediately sends 
 to Jacob, the venerable patriarch, inviting him to 
 remove, with his family and effects, into the most 
 fruitful and pleasant part of Egypt. Jacob ac- 
 cepted the generous offer, and was received, by 
 the king and all his subjects, with every mark of 
 kindness. 
 
 Nor did this kindness receive the least remis- 
 sion during the reign of this noble monarch ; nor, 
 as we can learn, during the life of Joseph orj)f 
 his brethren. When Jacob was brought before 
 Pharaoh, and told him that he was a shepherd, 
 the sacred historian remarks, that every shepherd 
 was an abomination to the Egyptians. This, it 
 is believed, was owing to the former wars and 
 depredations of the shepherd kings who subjuga- 
 ted lower Egypt, as already noticed. There 
 seems to be an allusion to the same thing when 
 Joseph, in the course of his experiment, insinu- 
 ated that his brethren might be spies. It is in- 
 troduced as a familiar idea — as an event that was 
 very common m those times, " Or else, by the 
 life of Pharaoh, ye are spies." 
 
 According to Usher, the oppression of the 
 Hebrews commenced about 130 years after 
 Jacob removed into Egypt, when a new king had 
 arisen that knew not Joseph. This, the kame 
 ■ learned author supposes to be Rameses-Miamun. 
 The policy of this inhuman monster, to prevent 
 
EGYPT. 57 
 
 Ihe increase of the Hebrew nation, hy drowning 
 their male children, gave the life and fortunes of 
 Moses, the great lawgiver of the Hebrews, their 
 peculiar turn. Thermutis, Pharaoh's only daugh- 
 ter, and heir to his throne, finding Bloses wrapt 
 m his little rushy ark, ready to be swallowed up 
 by the Nile, or devoured by the monstrous 
 crocodiles which infest that river, took him up, 
 and, moved by his uncommon beauty, and per- 
 suasive tears, she preserved him, and ultimately 
 adopted him as her son. Yet, according to the 
 opinion of Josephus, the Jewish historian, Moses 
 was early apprised of his high and arduous 
 destiny. When he had grown to be a child of 
 some size, Pharaoh one day called Moses into 
 his presence, told him he had adopted him as the 
 son of his daughter, and set the gorgeous crown 
 of Egypt on his head, heavy with gem's and gold. 
 Moses", actuated by some unknown impulse, 
 threw the crown disdainfully on the ground, and 
 set his foot on it. The magicians, from this, pre- 
 dicted that Moses should one day humble the 
 monarch of Egypt. 
 
 Their prediction was verified, though not in 
 the reign of this monarch. Amenophis, the son 
 and successor of Miamun, in attempting to pur- 
 sue the Israelites through the Red Sea, v/as there 
 destroyed with all his army. 
 
 III. "^The reign and conquests'ofSesostris forms, 
 hy far, the most splendid ssra of this period of 
 Egyptian history. Were it possible to place full 
 confidence in the accounts given of this great 
 monarch, we should see abundant matter of the 
 hii^hest admiration. But it must not be con- 
 cealed that it is doubtful, whether Sesostris^ was 
 the father or the son of that prince who perished 
 iii the Red Sea, The latter opinion was adoptei^ 
 
58 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 by Archbishop Usher. In his reign, all Egypt 
 was united under one head. To give a digjiity 
 to the birth of this prince, all the male children, 
 born the same day with him, were brought to 
 court, and educated in the style of the noblest 
 princes. They were iniired to the severest ex- 
 ercises and greatest hardships, that they might 
 be prepared for war, and they were educated 
 with a view to presiding in counsels, governing 
 provinces, and commanding armies. 
 
 Whilst he was on an expedition against the 
 Arabians, his father died, and imniediately, it is 
 said, he formed the vast design of conquering the 
 world. This was about the year 1491 before 
 Christ. The oSicers of his army were formed 
 Out of those youths who had been educated with 
 him, trained to every martial exercise, and in- 
 spired with the love of glory. He first subjugated 
 the most considerable nations of Africa, and 
 made tbem tributal^y. 
 
 A flee^ of 400 sail was equipped, and hastened 
 down tiie Red Sea, the ports and shores of which 
 he took care to secure ; and, after vast prepara- 
 tions, he moved into Asia, through the Isthmus of 
 Suez, with an army of six hundred thousand 
 foot, tweqiy-seven thousand chariots, and twenty 
 thousand horse. How this immense army could 
 be supported in a march to India beyond the 
 Ganges, the writers of history must leave for 
 their readers to discover, if tliey can. Herodo- 
 tus declares, that in every part of Asia Minor he 
 saw the monuments of the victories of Sesostris. 
 History makes him victorious wherever iie went. 
 He returned, at length, to Egypt, enriched with 
 the spoils of the most opulent nations in the 
 world, together with an immense multitude of 
 captives. Sesostris drew a plan of his marches 
 
?:gypt. 69 
 
 :and encampments ; and this, it is believed, was 
 the first attempt of any thing like a general map 
 that ever was made. Eratosthenes, the first 
 Grecian geographer, was aided by this rude out- 
 line of Sesostris. The name of Sesostris is 
 ranked with those of Hercules, Bacchus, Semi- 
 ramis, Cyrus, Alexander, Genghis Khan, and 
 Tamerlane, each of which, in their day, march- 
 ed through these countries, spreading misery and 
 desolation, covered their souls with the blood of 
 millions, and seemed determined to wrest from 
 death himself his legitimate title o( king of terrors. 
 
 The reign of this great prince was long, and 
 marked with signal prosperity. It is recorded, 
 to his honour, that he was as mild and benignant to 
 his subjects as he was terrible to his enemies ; 
 and though he filled Egypt with splendid mpnu- 
 ments of his power, he imposed no labour nor 
 exorbitant exactions on his subjects. His charac- 
 ter, drawn by the amiable Fenelon, in his Te- 
 lemachus, is one of the finest productions of the 
 pen, and is not excelled by that of any prince in 
 ^ctitious poetry. 
 
 IV. If we except Sesostris, the ancient kings of 
 Egypt were not remarkable as warriors. Their 
 Successive reigns were, however, distinguished by 
 those stupendous monuments which have been 
 able to resist the rage of elements, the desolations 
 of war, and the lapse of numerous years. Very 
 many of them still triumph over time and decay, 
 and, for any thing we can discover, might last a 
 thousand ages. But in viewing these lofty re- 
 mains of antiquity, we are led to reflect on the 
 mind, temper, and genius of the people by whom 
 they were constructed. Egypt is very beauti- 
 fully styled the cradle of science : and the Egyp- 
 tians were a stately, grave, contemplative peo- 
 
60 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 pie. Their ideas of dignity bordered on solem- 
 nity and superstition. A gloomy grandeur over- 
 spread their minds, which were fond of mystery, 
 religion, and especially of the occult sciences of 
 astrology and divination. 
 
 The kings of Egypt, who were so profuse of 
 their monuments, and filled the kingdom with 
 temples, towers, obelisks, pyramids, and laby- 
 rinths, were not unmindful of objects of national 
 advantage. The extensive plains about the Nile 
 Ihey cut into numberless canals, artificial lakes, 
 and reservoirs of water. While, at the same time, 
 with mounds and banks they secured their gar- 
 dens and plantations from a surplus of water. The 
 finest wheat, perhaps, in the world, was raised on 
 these rich plains, and is still raised there ; for 
 Egypt is, at this day, considered as the granary 
 of Constantinople. Their flax was anciently 
 much celebrated. The fine linen of Egypt was 
 famous to a proverb. They took the lead in this 
 article, as much as Holland and Flanders have in 
 modern Europe. 
 
 V. From the reign of Sesostris the Egyptian 
 monarchy rather declined in power and sp4en- 
 dour ; and in the latter periods of the Assyrian 
 empire, it was partially, if not wholly, subjected 
 to Babylon, though not permanently. Egypt 
 preserved its independence till in the reign of 
 Cambyses, the son and successor of the great 
 Cyrus. Invaded by that prince, it made a feeble 
 resistance, and Psammenitus was taken with his 
 capital, Memphis, and Egypt became a province 
 of the Persiart empire ; in which state it remained 
 204 years. 
 
 This forms the second period of Egyptian his- 
 tory. On this I shall say very little. A nation, 
 Acting as a satellite to a guperior power, is not 
 
EGYPl*. 61 
 
 ..uled by its own authority, nor conducted by its 
 own energies, and is no longer itself. Indeed, 
 the most correct and ample narratives of those re- 
 mote times. are blended with hypothesis and ob- 
 scurity. Dr. Gillies justly remarks, that Philip, 
 king of Macedon, is the first monarch of ancient 
 times whose civil and political history is well' 
 known. Egjpt, during the period before us, 
 presents us with the struggles and conflicts of the 
 Greeks and Persians for empire. This great con- 
 test was terminated and closed in the triumpjj 
 and death of Alexander. Conquest, in ancient 
 times, was more easily made and lost than at the 
 present day. The Egyptians, in the troubles 
 that succeeded the short and disastrous I'eign of 
 Cambyses, revolted and threw off the Per.siau 
 yoke ; nor were they fully reduced and provin- 
 ciated till in the second year of the reign of 
 Xerxes the Great, 484 years before Christ. About 
 40 years after the partial conquest of Cambyses, 
 Xerxes the Great marched into i^gy})t, completed 
 the conquest of that once flourishing kingdom, and 
 teduced it to a state of extreme bondage and de- 
 pression. Eighteen years after this, tiie Egj^p- 
 tians were aided in another revolt by the Athe- 
 nians, having made Inarus, prince of Lybia, their 
 king. Artaxerxes, who was then on the throne oi 
 Persia, after losing one great army, reduced them 
 ©nee more to a state of abject submission. 
 
 Thus, during a long period, while the energies 
 of the Persian empire were wasting aw^ay, this 
 unhappy people made successive attempts to re- 
 gain their freedom. But we shall pass over this 
 unpleasant period, and proceed immediately to 
 the Grecian dynasty, in which this famous peo" 
 pie rose once more to dignity, honour, and inde- 
 pendence, la the partition of JUexander's exten- 
 6 
 
$% ANCIENT HISTORR. 
 
 sive dominions, Egypt fell to Ptolemy. This ce- 
 lebrated prince and accomplished general was 
 one of the four great officers who shared the spoils 
 of the world, which had been laid at the feet of 
 Alexander. There are few princes mentioned 
 whose history abounds with more interesting 
 events: his whole life may be said to have been 
 a series of great actions. He was considered, by 
 historians, as the natural son of Philip, king of 
 Macedon. Educated in the same court with 
 Alexander, and personally attached to him, he 
 resembled him in bravery, but was less cruel 
 and ambitious. In the conquest of Persia and 
 India, he attended Alexander, and was generally 
 near his person, i[i every form of danger. He 
 slew one of the kings of India with his own hand, 
 and was instrumental in taking the rock Ornus, 
 always before deemed impregnable. 
 
 This prince brought with him a great accession 
 of territory to the Egyptian monarchy, although 
 not remarkably ambitious of conquest. His reign 
 was equally long and prosperous ; and he had 
 the art of uniting the glory and happiness of his 
 subjects with his own fame. Nor were the Egyp- 
 tians less happy in his successor, Ptolemy Phila- 
 delphus. This monarch restored Egypt to its an- 
 cient ascendancy over all kingdoms, as a school 
 of philosophy and science. By the assistance of 
 the celebrated Demetrius Phalereus, he formed 
 by far the noblest library the world ever saw : in 
 the destruction of which, in the time of Julius 
 Caesar, the interests of literature sustained an irre- 
 parable, as well as an incomparable loss. 
 
 The dynasty of the Ptolemies, from the acces- 
 sion of Ptolemy (Soter, as he was surnamed) till 
 the death of Cleopatra, continued upwards of 290 
 years, the whole of which period coroprehepded 
 
but eleven reigns* The Ptolemies must have 
 reigned, on an average, 27 years ; probably, the 
 longest average reigns known in history. Whilst 
 this must be regarded as an evidence of the heal- 
 thiness of Egypt in those times, it also proves 
 the equanimity, mildness, and prudence of the 
 kings and people of Egypt. Yet, during this pe- 
 riod of their history, their power, importance, 
 and felicity, underwent a great and evident de- 
 cline. 
 
 The fortunes of this ancient and powerful peo- 
 ple were now verging towards their last and in- 
 terminable decline. The nations whom th* 
 Greeks conquered were made better ; those con^ 
 quered by the Romans were utterly ruined. Af- 
 ter the two first Ptolemies, no one of that race of 
 princes was distinguished by any very remarka- 
 ble virtue or excellence. Several of them were 
 remarkable for nothing but their vices. 
 
 The unfortunate Cleopatra, thought by some 
 to have been the most accomplished and fascina- 
 ting woman in all antiquity, was the last of the 
 successors of Alexander, who governed Egypt. 
 In the fame of her beauty, and the extremity of 
 her misfortunes^ she bears a strong resemblance 
 to Mary, Queen of Scotland ; and we must say, 
 ivith the eloquent Hume, her vices are forgotten 
 in her unparalleled sufferings. Julius Caesar had 
 already partially conquered Egypt. But the 
 final conflict for the empire of the world was to 
 take place between Octavius and Mark Antony ; 
 and that conflict was occasioned by the arts of 
 this perfidious beauty. Antony had abandoned 
 the virtuous and accomplished Octavia, the sistei- 
 of Octavius, afterwards Augustus. Their quar- 
 rel was decided in a battle at sea, near Actium, 
 Antony, defeated, fled into Egypt, and there put 
 
64 ANCIENT HISTaRY, 
 
 an end to his own life. Cleopatra, to avoid the 
 disgrace of being carried to Rome in triumph, 
 caused herself to be bitten by a serpent, of which 
 she died. 
 
 Of the revolutions of Egypt, after she became 
 a Roman province, we took some notice in the 
 analysis of this history. 
 
 It is with nations as with individuals, they 
 have their youth, their manhood, their decline*^ 
 A glance into the vale of antiquity, where w^e 
 may survey the fleeting forms of nations and em- 
 pires, inspires a pleasing melancholy. We are. 
 ready to say of a Sesostris, O that he had been 
 as good as he was great ; and of a Cleopatra, O 
 ^at she had been as virtuous as she was beauti- 
 ful. Let us rise up from this contemplation of 
 other times, with the reflection that this is oiir 
 day — our time ajid place of action. 
 
6^ 
 
 LECTURE IV, 
 
 Assyria, 
 
 The Assyrian empire, in its utmost extent, em"- 
 ^bracing Nineveh and Babylon, is the subject of 
 the present lecture. Nineveh was founded bj 
 Ashur, who had the honour of giving name to 
 this first of empires, and it was called Ninevelr, 
 after Ninas, his son and successor, Babylon was 
 founded by Nimrod, and the commencement of 
 this great city was the tower of Babel. Both 
 Ashur and Nimrod were nob!y born. Ashur was 
 the second son of Sbem, and Nimrod the eldest 
 son of Chush, the son of Ham. Of their maternal 
 ancestry we have no information. 
 
 Nineveh fast rose to power, conquest, and do- 
 Biinion. The opinions relative to the foundatioa 
 of Nineveh are exceedingly various. BerosuSf the 
 Chaldean, dates the founding of the empire 131 
 years after the flood. Cassiodorus supposes an 
 interval of more than four centuries between 
 these events. Usher extends this interval ta 
 1,085 years. Others reduce it to 581 years. 
 The opinions of the learned are still far more va- 
 rious concerning the duration of the Assyriaa 
 empire. Ctesias, Diodorus, and others, make it 
 1,360 years; Justin, 1,300: Castor, 1,280; Sy- 
 nuUus, 1,460; Scaliger, 1,306; Eusebius, 1,240; 
 Paterculus, 1,070; Herodotus, 520; while Ap- 
 nian makes the whol& duration of the Assvrian. 
 6* 
 
66 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 Median, and Persian empires not to exceed 90# 
 years. 
 
 From these discrepant opinions it will at once 
 appear that the most elaborate inquiry into these 
 very ancient dates, promises little more than fa- 
 tigue and uncertainty. In this lecture I have 
 followed the opinions which appeared the most 
 plausible, and they are comprised in the analysis 
 which follows. 
 
 The Assyrian history may be divided into the 
 following periods : 
 
 I. From the respective foundations of Nineveh 
 and Babylon, which, probably, were laid about 
 a century and a half after the deluge, (say in the 
 jear 2,198 before Christ, although the exact 
 time cannot be ascertained,) till the subjection 
 of Babylon to Nineveh, by Ninus, in the year 
 1,758 before Christ, including a period of 440 
 years, 
 
 II. From the subjection of Babylon to Nine- 
 veh, A. C. 1768, to the death of Sardanapalus, 
 and the revolt of Media and Babylon ; or the 
 dismemberment of the Assyrian empire, A. C. 
 770, including ten centuries. 
 
 WI. From the dismemberment of the empire^ 
 when Arbaces took Media, Pul, or Ninus the 
 younger, took Nineveh, and Belesis took Baby- 
 lon, A. C. 770, until the conquest of Babylon by 
 Esarhaddon, A. C. 680, including a period of 9i 
 years. 
 
 IV. From the union of Nineveh and Babylon,. 
 in 680, until the final destruction of Nineveh, 
 under Saracus, by the Medes, in the year before 
 Christ 606, containing 74 years. 
 
 V. From the fall of Nineveh, 606, to the fall 
 of Babylon, A. C. 538, when taken by Cyrus-. 
 A perij&d of 68 ye.ar.«. 
 
ASSYR'A. :€'i. 
 
 Of the state of those countries wheje once the 
 Assyrian empire flourished, we shall give a con- 
 cise view in the close of this lecture. 
 
 The first period- of the Assyrian history pre- 
 sents few incidents. Two great cities rose soori 
 after the deluge, nearly equal in opulence and 
 power. Nimrod, the founder of Babylon, at- 
 tempted to usurp the £';overnment of the world. 
 Nimrod signifies a rebel. The Jevvish Targum 
 says, *' Nimrod began to be a mighty man in sin, 
 «k murderer of innocent men, and a rebel before 
 Ihe Lord.'* The Jerusalem Targam saith, *' He 
 was mighty in hunting and in sin, before God • 
 for he wsk a hunter of the children of men."' 
 The Targum of Jonathan Ben Uzzel saitb, 
 '* From the foundation of the world, none was 
 ever found like Nimrod, po^verful in hunting, and 
 rebellious against the Lord." The Septuagint 
 calls him a surly, or doglike giant ;* the Arabic, 
 a terrible tyrant ; the Syriac ealls him a warlike 
 giant. 
 
 Ninus was equally aiabitious, and, probably, 
 more prudent — of course, more successful in the 
 institution he founded, than Nimrod. 1 shall., 
 however, not pursue the splendid detail of vic- 
 tories and conquests usually ascribed to Ninus» 
 and especially Semiramis, his queen and succes- 
 sor. Some ancient writers relate, that Ninus, 
 after having subjugated all the nations of western 
 Asia, left his empire to the sole management of 
 h^ queen Semiramis, who extended her conquestSr 
 through India, and nearly to the Pacilic ocean ; 
 that she adorned her capital with m.any illustrious 
 monuments of her powerful and fortunate reign, 
 and, at length, left her domicio)JS to her son 
 
BB AjrCIfiNT HISTORY. 
 
 Ninyas. These events stand on nearly the same 
 footing with those related of Sesostris ; and, ad- 
 mitting they have any foundation, great allowance 
 must be made for exaggeration. The great and 
 pervading mind of Sir Isaac Newton thought 
 them little worthy of notice. And it is the ge- 
 neral opinion of the best informed, that clear 
 historical light extends not far beyond the aera of 
 Nabonassar. Another important 'lEra commenced 
 within five years after that : the year of the build- 
 ing of Rome was A. C. 752, the sera of Nabo- 
 nassar, A. C. 747 — they corroborate each other. 
 
 V/hen the family of Noah began to increase, 
 after the deluge, the desceadants of Ham asso- 
 ciating, formed the germ of a lasting and power- 
 ful institution. On the plains of Shinar thejr 
 began to build a tower of amazing and stupen- 
 dous strength and loftiness. Whether this was 
 designed as a place of retreat, in case of a se- 
 cond deluge, whether as an astronomical obser- 
 vatory, whether as an impregnable castle in time 
 of war, or whetlijer to aggrandize some great man, 
 as an imperial palace, we cannot determine. 
 But, in this enterprise they were cliecked by 
 the miraculous confounding of their language, 
 not, however, till they had reared a fabric whose 
 towering summit was never equalled by any- 
 subsequent structure. 
 
 The variety of opinions concerning the con^ 
 fusion of language may be reduced to two hy- 
 potheses : the first understands the event to 
 have been literal : That, whereas, all the human 
 family actually spoke one language, by an imme- 
 diate act of divine power, their language was 
 ch. iji^ed from one to many. Of course, that 
 •when they b^gau to speak to each other the.y 
 
A9St5llA. 69 
 
 were not understood, and a scene of indescriba- 
 ble confusion, and, as we may suppose, of terror^ 
 ensued. The building was dropped, and the 
 people dispersed abroad. The other method 
 supposes this account to be wholly figurative : 
 but, that a spirit of discord arising, tiiey were 
 no longer able to act in consor*, or by united 
 counsels, and so fell into contention, probably to 
 fighting, and were dispersed abroad. 
 
 By whatever means, the family of Ham kept 
 possession of the tower and plain, which, from 
 the confusion that had taken place there, was 
 called Babel, and the city where it stood B? by- 
 Ion. The precise place where the three sons of 
 Noah settled is not known. It is generally 
 thought that Noah himself removed eastward. 
 Ashur, the second son of Shem, removed north- 
 eastward from Babylon, and built Nineveh on the 
 east side of the river Tygris, 150 miles from Ba- 
 bylon. This city, in wealth, powder, and mag- 
 nificence, was little inferior to Babylon, and of- 
 ten took its turn to reign over that proud city. 
 
 The fate of these cities, as well as the condi- 
 tion of the country round them, is unknown for 
 the space of 1000 years. The loss of the li- 
 brary of Alexandria, noticed in the preceding lec- 
 ture, probably buried these ages in darkness. Yet 
 to husband our scanty materials in the best man- 
 ner possible, I have noticed the opinion of some 
 ancient authors, who affirm, that about 440 years 
 after the building of Babylon it was contjuered 
 by the king of Nineveh, and became subject to the 
 Assyrian empire in the year 1758 before Christ. 
 And, sterile as it may appear, this completes 
 our first period of the Assyrian history. 
 
 Second period, 988 years. Whether this empire 
 remained iin'shaken durinsi ten centuries that fol- 
 
70 ANCIENT HIStORV. 
 
 low, we cannot pronounce. Various writerSj 
 however, contend, that it did, and they give a con- 
 tinued list of the successive reigns. The absurdi- 
 ty of this statement is shown in Rees' Cyclopedia, 
 under the article Assyria. The land of Shinar, 
 where Babylon stood, was in the days of Abra- 
 ham governed by a king called Amraphel. The 
 whole account given in sacred history of this 
 prince makes him more resemble the chieftain of 
 a banditti than the ruler of a great empire. Yet 
 this was in the period now in question. The con- 
 quest of Asia by Sesostris was also about tiiis 
 time. He must have subdued both Babylon and 
 Nineveh, if any such cities existed in his time. 
 
 Near the close of the period under considera- 
 tion, Sardanapalus is monarch of the Assyfiaa 
 empire, which in his day comprehended both 
 Media and Babylon. He reigned at Nineveh, 
 but was totally lost in voluptuous indolence, and 
 vicious amusement. iVIedia, then rising to empire, 
 contained a brave and warlike people ; and Ba- 
 bylon, impatient of the tyranny of a monarch s6 
 inactive and feeble, they both revolted, and at 
 one time lifted the standard of rebellion. Arbaces, 
 governor of Media, appears to have conducted this 
 revolution, which was to dismember and break 
 down the Assyrian empire. Arbaces was one of 
 those great characters which have distinguished 
 the rise and aggrandizement of every nation. 
 
 Sardanapalus, supinely wrapt in ease and 
 pleasure, neither foresaw the gathering storm, nor 
 was able to find a shelter from its utmost fury. He 
 was crushed, not without great efforts, however, 
 to prolong a life of infamy ; and on the stage 
 which he forsook, three men, of distinguished em- 
 inence in history, appeared. Belesis, a Chaldean 
 priest, whose counsels and active services had 
 
ASSYKIA. 71 
 
 raised bim high in the esteem of Arbaces, obtain- 
 -ed the government of Babylon, and Pul, who in 
 his subsequent life showed himself capable of 
 empire, obtained the government of Nineveh. 
 
 Babylon, however, and Nineveh, appear to 
 have been designed by the strong and projecting 
 genius of Arbaces but as viceroyalties, depend- 
 ant on his pleasure ; although he allowed their 
 respective governors to assume the title of king. 
 The events, which frustrated this purpose of Ar- 
 baces, and, in the end, clothed the governors of 
 Nineveh and Babylon with absolute dominion, 
 were they known, could not obtain a place in this 
 lecture. 
 
 , Third period, 91 years. "VVe are now to con- 
 
 gjtemplate the Assyrian monarchy in a definite 
 
 form, and, as Sir Isaac Newton contends, in its 
 
 first form. Arbaces, who had become a powerful 
 
 monarch in Media » seems to have been sufficiently 
 
 occupied in concerns which drew his attention from 
 
 Mesopotamia ; and both Babylon and Nineveh 
 
 were left to establish their own independence. 
 
 ^.Belesis, the governor or kino; of Babylon, is the 
 
 •r;Same as Nabonassar, the founder of the famous 
 
 chronological ara which bears this name. 
 
 On his accession to the government he found 
 the ancient Chaldean year incorrect ; for, con- 
 sisting of twelve months, with 30 days to a month, 
 it was completed in 360 days. The deficiency 
 of five days and six hours in each year was made 
 up, by adding what they called the emholimean 
 month, once in about six years. This rendered 
 the years of unequal length. Nabonassar adopt- 
 ed the Egyptian time, which reduced the year to 
 365 days. This at first was thought correct, but 
 ultimately was found to fall short six hours : — so 
 that every successive year took place six hours be- 
 
72 ANCiEiNT HISTORy. 
 
 fore the sun arrived at the same point in the 
 ecliptic ; of course, in about 1460 years the be- 
 ginning of the year would run back through every 
 point ill the ecliptic, and would take place four 
 times on each day of the year; and 1460 j'-ears 
 of Nabonassar's e^ra would be 1459 years of the 
 Julian calendar. 
 
 This famous sera of Nabonassar, which began 
 on the 26th day of Peburary, in the year before 
 Christ 747, is the point of time to which Bedford 
 brought down his ancient history and chronology; 
 and from ■which Dr. Prideaux began his incompa- 
 rable work, entitled, The Connexion of the Old 
 and New Testaments, with the history of the Jews 
 and neighbouring nations. And this, as already 
 said, was five years after tke Varronean sera, or 
 the building of Rome. 
 
 Nabonassar evinced no less ability in directing 
 the affairs of his kingdom that* in matters of usej 
 
 lu 
 
 science. In the few wars which he carried on, 
 lie was generally prosperous, and the affairs of 
 Babylon, long depressed by the jealous tyranny 
 of a haughty rival and mistress, now wore a 
 .t^ourisking aspect. Nabonassar reigned 12 years, 
 and was succeeded by his son Merodach-Baladan. 
 This is the Chaldean monarch who sent an em- 
 bassy to congratulate Hezekiah, king of Judah,. 
 on the recovery of his health. 
 
 The length of the reign of this prince is not 
 known ; nor have any of the events of his adminis- 
 tration escaped oblivion. There is still less 
 known of his successors ; nor are we now far dis- 
 tant from the time that Babylon is again united 
 to the empire of Nineveh, or, as it is often called, 
 the first Assyrian empire. Let us return to the 
 history of that city. 
 
 Of the kings of Nineveh, after the dismember' 
 
ASSYRIA. 73 
 
 ment of the empire of Sardanapalus, very differ- 
 ent accounts are given. Rollin considers Pul, 
 whom I have just mentioned as concerned with 
 Arbaces and Belesis in the dismemberment of the 
 empire, as the father and predecessor of Sardana- 
 palus. I have followed, in this respect, the ar- 
 rangement of Assyrian history in Rees' Cy- 
 clopedia. Other writers insist, that Nabonassar 
 was not the same as Belesis, but wa> the son of 
 Tiglath-pileser, one of the successors of Pul. 
 
 Having succeeded in the overthrow of Sarda- 
 napalus, and dismemberment of his empire, Pul 
 marched westward, and carrying victory where- 
 ever he went, spread far and wide the terror of 
 his arms. He invaded Menehem, king of Isr^.el, 
 in the second year of his reign, and would at 
 that time have completed the conquest of the 
 ten tribes; but he was prevailed upon to retire, 
 by a present of a thousand talents of silver. He 
 did not retire, however, until he had promised 
 them his alliance and protection ; which promise, 
 in the mouth of a great conqueror, is worse thaa 
 the deadliest threat. 
 
 Pul, after having subjugated several nations in 
 Syria and Palestine, returned to Nineveh in tri* 
 umph, and was, in the opinion of Sir Isaac New- 
 ton and several other writers, the real founder of 
 the Assyrian empire^ \ et the authority of Bed- 
 ford, Shuckford, and Prideaux, in matters of this 
 nature, must certainly be preferred to his, whom 
 I consider as a better astronomer than chrorolo- 
 ger. Prideaux affirms, that the Assyrian empire 
 had existed 1,300 years before the reign of Sanda- 
 napalus. 
 
 According to the excellent article of Assyrian 
 history in Rees' Cyclopedia, Pul was succeeded 
 by Tiglath-pileser, his eldest son, in Niueveh. 
 7 
 
74 ANCIENT HISTOllV. 
 
 The Assyrians of Nineveh were now formidabk' 
 jn all the west of Asia, in Syria, Palestine, and 
 the countries west of the Euphrates. Tiglath- 
 pileser conquered Damascus, and carried away 
 the Syrians into captivity. This transportation 
 of the inhabitants ol conquered countries seems 
 to have been a peculiar trait in the policy of the 
 Assyrian monarchs. By the kings of Babylon 
 and Nineveh, most of the inhabitants of Palestine 
 first and last, were either slain or carried into cap 
 tivity. Tiglath-pileser, after a reign of Iti years 
 was succeeded by Shalraaneser. The only en 
 terprize of this prince with which we are ac 
 Quainted, is his invasion of Phenicia, and subver 
 sion of the kingdom of Israel He made a pro 
 gress through these countries with an overwhelm 
 iug force. He laid siege to the city of Samaria 
 bul here he met with considerable resistance 
 Hoshea, who was then on the throne of Israel 
 had withdrawn his allegiance from the Assyrians 
 and had made application to So, or Sabaeus 
 king of Ethiopia, for aid. The Assyrian monarch 
 determined on ample vengeance, after wasting all 
 the open country, laid siege to Samaria, a fortress 
 of great strength. It cost him the labour of three 
 years to reduce it ; but, at length, worn out by 
 fatigues, and depressed by famine, this powerful 
 and populous city fell before the conqueror. The 
 king of Israel was loaded with chains, in which 
 condition the stern tyrant caused him to pass the 
 j-em^iinder of his days. The people of the ten 
 tribes, as many as could be discovered and col- 
 'lected together, were sent into the remote regions 
 of Media, whence they never returned. 
 
 The subversion of the kingdom of Israel took 
 place about 250 years after their revolt from the 
 house of David, under Jeroboam, the son of Ne« 
 
ASSYKIi.. 
 
 75 
 
 bat. During this long period, they had been 
 sunk deep in idolatry and all the vices prevalent 
 in the nations by which they were surrounded. 
 They afford a striking instance how lost a nation 
 may be to all sense of its true interest. Moses, 
 their great legislator, had told them what to ex- 
 pect as the consequence of such a course. They 
 were warned by many prophets. They were re- 
 proved by the voice, and by the hand of Provi- 
 dence. As they pursued the footsteps of the hea^ 
 then nations, they were subjected to their cala- 
 inities, and given up to desolation and ruin. Whe- 
 ther they, like the Jews, still exist as a nation, 
 has been the subject of various inquiries. The 
 sanguine feelings of projecting theorists have ena- 
 bled them to discover this long-lost nation among 
 the Tartars, the Turks, the Indians, and other na- 
 tions. It is doubtful whether they ever appear. 
 The probability is, that they blended with those 
 Asiatic tribes among which they lived. Their 
 propensity to this, even before their dispersion, 
 was too great to be restrained. 
 
 Shalmanezer was succeeded in the Assyrian 
 throne by Sennacherib, his son, A. C 719. 
 Little is known of the life and actions of this 
 prince but what is derived from the sacred scrip- 
 tures. As Shalmanezer had extirpated the 
 kingdom of Israel, Sennacherib determined to 
 complete the subjugation of all Palestine. 
 Hezekiah, who was then reigning at Jerusalem, 
 had refused to pay the tribute stipulated by Ahaz 
 to the Assyrian monarch. This was considered 
 as a suitable pretext for invading Judea. Ac- 
 cordingly, Sennacherib approached with a power- 
 ful araiy, and destroyed every thing before him. 
 As he was moving forward, like the slow progress 
 of a mighty inundation, he received a submissive 
 
76 A^CIEKT HISTORY. 
 
 embassy from Hezekiah, imploring his clemency^ 
 and begging peace, on any condition. Senna- 
 cherib, who exceeded all his predecessors in 
 haughtiness, returned a contemptuous answer to 
 Hezekiah, and replete with expressions of de- 
 iiance to the god of Israel. He cautioned him 
 not to rely on tlie protection of God, for there 
 was no god that was able to deliver out of his 
 hands. He judged, indeed, of the God of Israel 
 by the irapotency of those deities with whom he 
 had been acquainted. This message he sent by 
 Rabshakeh, one of his generals, with a great body 
 of forces. At the same time he gave the king of 
 Judah to understand that he must expect to share 
 the fate of the king of Israel, and go with his 
 people into captivity, at no distant day. 
 
 Before Sennacherib had reached Jerusalem he 
 received intelii;rence that Tirhakeh, king of 
 Ethiopia, was on his march to give him battle. It 
 is thought by rtoliin that this information reached 
 him during the absence of Rabsliakeh, who, as 
 already noticed, was sent with a blasphemous 
 message to terrify the king of Judah, and to 
 €omtnand him to come to Lachish, where the 
 Assyrian monarch then lay, and make submission 
 to him by a present. For in this manner had 
 Shalmaneser first drained the kingdom of Israel 
 of all its treasures, and then dragged its in- 
 habitants into captivity. 
 
 Sennacherib, on receiving new? of the approach 
 of an army of Lthiopians and Egyptians, broke up 
 from before Lachish, and marched towards Egypt. 
 Some writers siy that he was here defeated with 
 great loss. Others, and I <hink with more proba- 
 bility, that he routed the Ethiopian army, and 
 marched immediately into Egypt, which country 
 he ravaged with fire and sword. On his return to 
 
AssYraA. 77 
 
 Judea he wai^ rejoined by Rabshakeli, and now 
 prepared to set down before Jerusralem. 
 
 'J'he conduct of the king of Judah on this 
 trying occasion is worthy of particular notice. 
 On receiving the insoleni and blasphemous letter, 
 he went into the temple of God, and spread his 
 ca':^e before that awful being, who is the King of 
 Kings and Lord of Lords. He received a gra- 
 cious answer from God, and was assured that 
 the threatening storm should be dissipated with- 
 out approaching; Jerusalem, We are not allowed 
 to dwell on particulars. The Assyrian army 
 was smitten by pestilence, and nearly ail de- 
 stroyed. Sennacherib retUmeu in haste, and 
 Tfv'ith shame and mortification, to his own domin- 
 ions. But there the avenging hand of the in- 
 sulted majesty of the iiniver&e pursued him. A 
 conspiracy was raised against him by his cw^n 
 sons, and he was smitten in the house of Nisroch, 
 his god. 
 
 Sennacherib was succeeded in his throne by 
 his son Essarhaddon, in whose reign the empire 
 of the Assyrians of Nineveh appears to have 
 gained its utmost height. All the neighbouring 
 nations seem to have fallen under the power of 
 these ambitious, haughty, and warlike princes. 
 Even Media and Babylon, which after the fall 
 of Sardanapalus rose into independent states, 
 were again reduced and reannexed to the empire 
 of Nineveh, and, indeed, all the nations of 
 western Asia, and also of Africa, as far as worthy 
 of the ambition of a conqueror, fell under this 
 extensive dominion. 
 
 And it was now, in all probability, that the 
 
 city of Nineveh appeared in its utmost splendor. 
 
 For the wars and conquests of these despotic and 
 
 cruel tyrants, were wars of exlerrainatign. They 
 
 7^ 
 
^8 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 had no regard to the claims of humanity and 
 mercy. They seemed, indeed, utterly lost to 
 all human feelings. They were not moved by 
 the cries of millions ; neither had age or infan- 
 cy, nor the tears of beauty, nor the charms of 
 virtue, any influence on their adamantine hearts. 
 They seized, they plundered, they slew and 
 laid waste wherever they came ; and the wealth 
 of nations was swept and heaped together to gra- 
 tify the pride and luxury of one. 
 
 We have no particular account of the actions 
 of Essarhaddon. In the year 668 before Christ, 
 he was succeeded by Baosduchinus, and he by 
 Chyniladon. Nabopolassar, the general of the 
 armies of this prince, revolted from him, and 
 erected Babylon into an independent kingdom. 
 The kings of Nineveh, after Essarhaddon, rapid- 
 ly declined ; and as the best details of the reigns 
 of tliese kings is not to be relied on, presenting, 
 indeed, little better than a scene of confusion and 
 uncertainty, we shall hasten to the catastrophy of 
 Nineveh. Chyniladon was succeeded by Sarac, 
 the last of the kings of Nineveh. 
 
 Babylon and Media had once before conquer- 
 ed Nineveh ; but the final hour of retribution, for 
 this ancient and abandoned metropolis, was now 
 approaching. Cyaxeres, king of the Medes, and 
 Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who had late- 
 ly succeeded his father Nabopolassar, now com- 
 bined their iorces, and invaded Nineveh, The 
 siege terminated in the reduction of the city ; 
 Sarac was slain, and an end was put to this cruel, 
 voluptuous, and very ancient people, A. C. b06 ; 
 74 years from ibe conquest of Babylon by Es- 
 sarhaddon, and 165 years from the accession oi 
 Pul to the throne of Nineveh. 
 
 There can be no question that Nineveh was 
 
ASSYRIA. IM 
 
 one of the largest cities of ancient times. When 
 Jonah wes sent to prophecy against it, the scrip- 
 tures declared it to contain six score thousand 
 persons who could not discern their right hand 
 from their left, meaning children in, and near, in- 
 fancy. What city in Europe contains 120,000 in- 
 fants ? Nineveh mast then have contained near- 
 ly a million of people. But the prophecy of 
 Jonah is supposed to have been some time before 
 the reign of Sardanapalus. It was far more op- 
 pulent and powerful in the last dynasty of it« 
 princes. 
 
 Thus perished the first Assyrian empire. The 
 city, which for ages had oppressed the nations of 
 the earth, in her turn, sunk in ruin, and Babylon 
 was left unrivalled. Here a fabric of power and 
 Splendor rose, which no age or nation has eclipsed. 
 Concerning this city and empire history is far 
 more clear and definite. Histories have reached 
 our times, written by men who were eye-wit- 
 nesses of the greatness and magnificence of Ba- 
 bylon ; though not till its glory had faded, and 
 its dominion passed away. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar was a monarch of great abili« 
 ty and ambition. The extent of his dominion^ 
 the splendor of his capital, the greatness of his 
 resources, the lustre of his talents, gave him a 
 pre-eminence over all the monarchs of ancient 
 limes. No city ever equalled Babylon in the 
 grandeur of its plan and general features. An 
 exact square of 15 miles on each side was sur^ 
 rounded by a wall carried to the incredible height 
 of 380 feet. These amazing barriers were form- 
 ed of brick cemented with bitumen to the soli» 
 dity of granite, and were so broad on the top 
 that several chariots might i-un abreast. Still 
 rising above these, at proper ^nterva^J^, W6i| 
 
80 ANCIENT fllSTORi'. 
 
 towers, which added strength and beauty to thf} 
 vVhole. By such walis the structures olBabykjs 
 we-e enchjsed. You have too otten read their 
 description to require particularity. A traveller 
 ■who should come within sight of such a city 
 wo'jlfi doubt whether he beheld the svorks of 
 mortal men, or whether it were not ialiabited by 
 a ra( e of giants. 
 
 Which of all these amnziiM; monuments of in- 
 dustry and patient labour, ptTpetuated the me- 
 mory of the ancient founders of this city, we are 
 not informed. They had, probably, lisen by 
 degrees, and at far ditferent times. Yet Babylon 
 ' was now at its sumniit, and was soon to experi* 
 ence its final and fatal reverse. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar, when seated on his throne, had 
 many impedimirnts to remove in his carf er of 
 conquest and aiiibitlon. Jcruialerii had formerly 
 set at defiance the kings: of Nineveh, and Sen- 
 nacherib had lost an army in Judea, and, as sontG 
 writers say, another in Egypt, or rather in a bat- 
 tle with the Egyptians and Ethiopians. He 
 therefore invaded Jucjea, and laid siege to Jerui- 
 .salem. A prince of a far different character from 
 Hezekiah now CiWed the liuone of David, and the 
 protection of Providence was Avithdravvn from the 
 •lewish state. The siege of the capital was loDg^ 
 and severe, but terminated in the complete de- 
 sitructioii of Jerusalem, and, what can scarcely be 
 read but with a tear of regret, the ruin of the 
 finest and noblest temple ever built by man. But 
 of this we shall speak in a subsequent lecture. 
 The Jews were carried to Babylon, and dispersed 
 into various provinces of the Chaldean empire. 
 
 The conqueror next invaded the city of Tyre j 
 but here he met with a resistance scarcely paral- 
 leled in th^ annals of history. Tyre was then the 
 
ASSYRIA. 81 
 
 •queen of commercial cities: she, indeed, be2;aii 
 the career of naval commerce, and was, prohnbJy, 
 the strongest city in the world. Her ships Jiad 
 wafted to her the treasures of the shores of the 
 Mediterranean and Euxine seas ; and from the 
 ports of the Red Sea she had received liie wealth 
 of the trade of India, inexhaustible in every age. 
 The strength of the Tyrians by sea rendnred 
 them impregnable to the attacks of a land army. 
 The siege of Tyre lasted thirteen years ; during 
 which time, the king of Assyria tried every mode 
 of attack, and employed every stratagem of war 
 known in his day. 
 
 How impossible it is to conquer a people de- 
 termined to be free ! We have before us a noble 
 proof of the power of commerce. Whilst the 
 king of Babylon was making slow advances to- 
 wards the accomplishment of his sanguinary pur- 
 pose, (for be had at his command the weait'i and 
 power of Asia,) the Tyrians built a new city oa 
 an island a little distance from the shore. Thither 
 they removed their effects ; and when the old 
 city was at last given up to the conqueror, 
 he found nothing in it. This new Tyre soort 
 eclipsed the glory of the former city, and flourish- 
 ed till the time of Alexander the Great. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar next carried his arms into 
 Egypt. that country was for a moment inun- 
 dated, not with the fertilizing streams of the fa^ 
 ther of waters, but with the ruthless tide of war, 
 which no barriers could check ; before which, 
 goes terror and alarm, and whose path is marked 
 with famine, desolation, and mournful solitude. 
 
 It is but another step, and we have finished our 
 rapid survey of the history of this great nation. 
 
 The reign of Nebuchadnezzar was long and 
 splendid, subject, however, to various reverses^ 
 
8^ ANCIENT HISTORV. 
 
 which, according to the testimony' of the sacred 
 writers, were sent upon him to t';:'ch him his de- 
 pe: :jen''e on the Almighty Sovereign. The in- 
 terpretation of his wonderful ream:: showed him, 
 far beyond the power of al moral lessons, the 
 wisdom, majesty, and glory of God. The pre- 
 servation of the three childrcj; from his devouring 
 furnace, taught him the pow^e. of God ; and his 
 own experience, when driven from men to dwell 
 with the beasts of the eartli, till seven times past 
 over hnn, taught him the justice of God. 
 
 The indistinct and imperfect views we hare of 
 this monarch seem like contemplating a tower 
 by twilight : we perceive a greatness that is 
 sublime and terrible. The same may be said of 
 his kingdom, when considered in its L'tm.ost ex- 
 tent. It embraced all western Asia, probably the 
 north of Africa, and whether any in Europe we 
 <cannot say. Nor was his capital inferior to the 
 Cionarch it contained, or the dominion of which it 
 Was the splendid luminary. Its proud structures 
 lifted their giant forms in triumph over all the 
 temples, lowers, and palaces ever to rise on earth, 
 and seemed to claim the homage of all future 
 kingdoms. It was, indeed, as superior to them 
 as gold is superior to silver, and brass, and iron ; 
 or, as the head is superior to the other members. 
 
 After Nebuchadnezzar, four monarchs rose in 
 succession ; but to wear and disgrace the diadem. 
 Evil Merodach, the son and successor of this great 
 prince, soon fell by a sudden insurrection : the 
 armies of the Medes and Persians slew Neri- 
 glissar : the third reigned but nine months, and 
 was taken off by conspiracy : the fourth, and last, 
 was Belshazzar, who was slain when Babylon 
 was taken by Cyrus. 
 
 The successors of Nebucha^lnezzar were weak 
 
ASSYRIA. 83 
 
 and vicious; and little remained of the power 
 and magnificence of that great monarch, but what 
 was enclosed in the walls of Babylon, when i y- 
 rus, with an army of Medes and I'ersians, inva- 
 ded Chaldea. Yet, who but Cyrus could have 
 reduced Babylon? A wall, 360 feet high, 87 
 feet thick, which had lain hardening for ages, and 
 become like one solid rock— towers at no great 
 distance in every part — the city full of people — 
 well watered— provision in vast abundance for 
 years — the gates a solid plate of brass, which, 
 had they even had cannon, would scarcely have 
 received impression — what daring spirit could 
 hope to scale those walls or unbar those gates? 
 In this siege, I am often reminded of the decla- 
 ration of a" fallen angel, in the poem of Milton: 
 
 *' The towers of heaven are filled with armed watch. 
 Often the bordering deep encamp their legions." 
 
 Indeed, for an invading army to look up fo the 
 lofty walls of Babylon, would be like looking up 
 to heaven. With what astonishing force missile 
 weapons would fall from that height ! 
 
 But Cyrus knew that what man can build, man 
 can destroy. The river Euphrates run through 
 the city. This river Cyrus turned out of its 
 channel into an artificial lake, above the city. 
 From the bed of this lake the clay had been ta- 
 ken, which was used in raising the structures of 
 the city. The Persian army marched down the 
 channel, and entered the city by the river gates. 
 This was at the time of a public feast ; the people 
 were buried in wine and sleep ; the king of Ba^ 
 bylon was slain, and the city shared the fate of 
 cities taken by storm. Thus ended the first of 
 
S4 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 the four fjjreal monarchies, after existing, in some 
 forni, 1,660 years. 
 
 In the four great monarchies, the Assyrian, 
 Persian, Greek, and R.omjm ; the first is blyled 
 the head of gold. Its dominion was !ang — its 
 territories extensive — its wealth and power great. 
 Little, however, is known of the Assyrian peo- 
 ple. Iheir manners, and customs and general 
 §;haracter, as a people, past away with tr>dr-em- 
 pire, and w^^ can fovm no very correct judgment 
 of them as men. 'i'ijey seem to have wanted 
 that serious and ft^teiy character which distin- 
 guished the people of Egypt; and, at the same 
 time, were less affable, elegant, and gay, than 
 the Persians — whose history will be the subject 
 of the next lecture. 
 
 One of their customs, for the sake of the ladies 
 faere present, may be thought worthy of notice. 
 The 3'oung ladies who proposed themselves as 
 candidates for matrimony, were, on a certain day 
 of (lie year, put up at public sale. It was com- 
 mon for them to fetch a price according to their 
 beauty But what is remarkable, the price for 
 whi."h the great beauties were sold, was given as 
 a dowry to those of ordinary or homely ieatures. 
 This kept the balance about equal, and ladies of 
 inferior beauty married as advantageously as 
 those possessed of the highest personal charms. 
 I hope this will not be understood as fiction; it 
 gives us a specimen of ancient prudence. 
 
 And since I have suggested this topic, I will 
 close this lecture by a correlative remark. What- 
 ever may be urged in favour of the superior wis- 
 dom of the aucients, there is one article in which 
 modern times rise transcendantly above all anti- 
 quity ; I mean the equal consideration — the deli- 
 cate respect paid to the female sex. In the ancient 
 
ASSYRIA. .86 
 
 Astiatic monarchies, their lot was little bettex 
 than the deplorable lot of slaves. This differ- 
 ence in favour of the moderns is ascribed, by 
 some, to the influence of chivalry. It may be 
 traced, however, to a higher source — to the no- 
 ble and sublime doctrines of Christianity. There 
 the sexes are considered as engaged in an equal 
 race of glory and virtue, begun here, but to rua 
 parallel through an immortal state of exalted im- 
 provement and felicity. 
 
81 
 
 LECTURE V 
 
 7 7k' Medo-Pcrsian Einjnrc. 
 
 Havincx traced an iinsteailj course through 
 those labyrinths of conjecture and fiction which 
 lie beyond the verge of authentic history, we 
 break into a broader path, where fairer regions 
 interest the eye, and multiplied objects of exami- 
 nation crowd the mind. The light of history, 
 during the first 3,000 years of the world, shone 
 with an uncertain beam. The boundary line, 
 between the age of conjecture and that of cer- 
 tainty, lies but a small distance before the birth 
 of Cyrus ; I mean, the eera of Nabonassar, no- 
 ticed in the last lecture. The deluge, with un- 
 distinguishing violence, swept behind the veil, 
 save a small remnant, the millions of the old 
 world — their arts— their sciences — their virtues— 
 their vices— even their name. 
 
 Egypt, for many ages, the nursery of art and 
 science, which, under the great Sesostris, gave 
 law, from tlie shores ot the Euxine to the banks 
 of the Ganges, was now suffering a long and 
 wasting depression ; buried in superstition, she 
 is condemned to obscurity, till she shall rise in a 
 renovated form, from the chaos of Alexander's 
 empire. 
 
 Assyria, the venerable mother of empires, had, 
 long since, passed the zenith of her glory, and 
 was just ready to sink before the arras of CyruSj. 
 
PERSIA. 87 
 
 the hero of Persia. A power was rapidly rising 
 to revolutionize Western Asia, and establish the 
 prophecy of Daniel, by the dominion of the 
 " breast and arms of silver," (Dan. ii. 32 ) or 
 the empire of the Modes' and Persians, which is 
 to be the subject of the following lecture. 
 
 In attempting an historical view of what is 
 commonly called the Medo-Persian empire, I 
 shall proceed according to the following arrange- 
 ment : 
 
 I. Give some account of the origin and for- 
 tunes of Media and Persia, previous to the birth 
 of Cyrus. 
 
 II. The history of Cyrus to the death of Cy^ 
 axares, or when Cyrus became sole master of the 
 empire. 
 
 III. A view of tiie great events, or epochas, 
 from the death of Cyaxares, to the contpaest of 
 Babylon, by Alexander the great. 
 
 !V. The government, arts, sciences, manners, 
 customs, and antiquities of the Persians. 
 
 V. Their religion, together with some account 
 of Zoroaster, their prophet. 
 
 I. Media is not found on the men of modern 
 Asia. Anciently it was an extensive empire, 
 stretching round the southern and western shores 
 of the '...aspian Sea. Eastward lay v.hat is call- 
 ed Tartary, or Central Asia. Persia hounded it 
 iouth, and Assyria west. Laying ' .Iwoen dis- 
 "lant parallels of latitude, it was suijject to the 
 extremes of heat and cold. The norihern pro- 
 ^ inces, for the most part, buried in snow, and ge- 
 nerally barren, but the southern, enjoying a de- 
 lightful tem{>erature, an almost spont^^neously 
 })roductive soil, insomuch that it may now be 
 ronsidercd as the Eden of Persia. 
 
 rrom the Itcot light that can be thrown upon 
 
tt ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 the subject, it appears that Media was peopled 
 by Madai, the son of Japhet, the son of Noah, 
 soon after the dispersion. It gradually grew 
 into a considerable empire, and was finally sub- 
 jugated by its more powerful neighbour, Assy- 
 ria, and remained a territorial government for a 
 long time. When the Assyrian empire was dis- 
 iToembered under Sardanapalus, (B. C. 710,) Me- 
 dia became again independent. From this time 
 to the commencement of the reign of Cyrus, elap- 
 sed a period of 176 years, including a succession 
 of five raonarchs. 
 
 Dijoces was the first king. By a series of the 
 most subtle and politic measures, he raised him- 
 self to the throne, established a firm prerogative 
 upon the anarchy which preceded ; civilized his 
 barbarous subjects ; built the famous city of Ec- 
 batania ; effected, in his country, an increase of 
 physical strength and military discipline ; and, af- 
 ter a reign of 63 years, closed his illustrious ca- 
 reer, in the field of battle, on the plains of Ra- 
 gaw, before Nebuchadnezzar, king of Assyria. 
 He was succeeded by Phraortes, who reigned 22 
 years, and fell before Nineveh, in attempting tp 
 revenge his father's death. 
 
 His son, Cyaxares, an ambitious, wise, and 
 politic prince, resumed the hereditary contest, 
 and after a series of various fortune, in concert 
 with Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, besieged 
 Nineveh, took it, and levelled with the earth that 
 towering monument of human perseverance and 
 glory. Afterwards he carried his victorious 
 arms south as far as Egypt, conquered Persia, and 
 returned to Ecbatania laden with immense spoil, 
 and attended by captive monarchs. 
 
 Under this monarch Media became settled 
 into a permanent and powerful empire. Cyaj^a- 
 
PERSIA. BV 
 
 les, aftc? a yeign cf 40 years, left his throne to 
 his son Astyages, who is called, iu scripture, 
 AuGsiicnis. AUhough he enjoyed a long reign of 
 35 years, nothing appears to have occurred wor- 
 thy of notice, except the bloody animosity which 
 was excited between Media aud Babylon, by the 
 violent conduct of Evil Merodech, and which 
 ended only when Babylon fell. Astyages gave 
 his daughter Mandane in marriage to Cambyses, 
 a king., or, as he is sometimes called, a noble- 
 man of Persia. The fruit of this marriage was 
 the illustrious Cyrus, the most faultless prince 
 tiiat ancient history can boast. 
 
 Directly south of Media lay an extensive range 
 cf territory known, in ancient and modern geo- 
 };raphy, by the name of Persia. It was bounded 
 east by India, soirlh by the Persian Gulph and 
 Indian ocean, v^'cst, by the Assyrian empires, ex- 
 tending upwci'ds of 1,800 miles in length, and 
 1,000 ui l-readlh. 
 
 The climate of this country varies according 
 to iis latitude. In t!je northern, and mountainous 
 regions, especially in the neighbourhood of the 
 Immej.sc chain of Taurus or Ararat, which tra- 
 verses Asia from the Black Sea to the bay of Ben- 
 gal, and which crosses Persia, the air is severely 
 cold ; in the central part it is temperate, clear, 
 and very delightful. But tlse southern provinces 
 lie beneath a constantly burr.ingsun. aud their ex- 
 tended plains are subject to be swept by pestilen- 
 tial winds Travellers, in all ages, have repre- 
 sented Persia as very populous, and the preseni es- 
 timate is between 30 and 40 millions of peopie- 
 It is said to embrace upwards of 600 cities and. 
 towns, several of which contain from one to three 
 and four hundred thousand inhabita its. Ispahan, or^ 
 as it is now called, Spahaun, contains d50,000 ir.- 
 8* 
 
so ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 habitants. Persia is watered by fewer rivers thaa 
 any other known country of equal extent. Tiiis 
 defect, in connexion witli corrupt vapours, and ex- 
 cessive heats, renders this country generally un- 
 wholesome, and gives the Persians a pale and 
 sallow complexion. 
 
 The early part of the Persian history has been 
 dressed in such various, far.-tastical, and fictitious 
 robes, that it is in a measure lost. Historians 
 have at different times attempted to strip it of fa- 
 ble and ornament, and expose its true history, 
 but little or nothing satisfactory has been accom- 
 plished. The various catalogues of kings which 
 we have differ so essentially that an attempt to 
 reconcile them would be utterly fruitless. 
 
 We are told in scripture that Persia, or Paras, 
 as it is called by Daniel, was anciently called 
 Elam ; and that it was peopled by Elain, the son 
 of Shem, about the time that Media was settled 
 by Madai, at the dispersion. 
 
 At the time of Abraham, we find Chedorlaomar, 
 king of Elam, or Persia, a considerable monarch 
 in his day, having conquered several kingdoms 
 of Asia, From this period their authentic histo- 
 ry is lost. They wtre probably early subjugated 
 by the Assyrians, who carried all before them, 
 and remained a long time subject. They after- 
 wards recovered their freedom, but were soon 
 obliged to resign it again to the Medes, as I have 
 already noticed, and remained tributary to them, 
 though under their native monarchs, to the time 
 of Cyrus. Cambyses, of the royal family of 
 Achamenus, married Mandane, the daughter of 
 Astyages, king of Media, and became the father 
 of Cyrus, who was born to free his native coun- 
 try from slavery, to restore the captivity of Jeru- 
 
PERSIA. 91 
 
 salem, and to establish one of the most powerful 
 empires that ever existed in Asia. 
 
 Having given some account of the origin and 
 fortunes of Media and Persia previous to the birth 
 of Cyrus, we shall proceed, 
 
 11. To the history of that great man. Cyrus 
 was born in the year before Christ, 599. At 12 
 years of age he accompanied his mother Man- 
 dane in a visit to the court of Media. Astyages 
 was soon charmed with the promising appearance 
 of his grandson, insomuch that he retained him in 
 Media, where he remained four or five years. The 
 young plant began already to extend its branches, 
 and promised to become a mighty cedar. The 
 affability of his temper, the simplicity of his de- 
 portment, the serenity of his countenance, the 
 sincerity of his heart, and, above all, the prowess 
 of his arm, excited the admiration of the court, the 
 camp, and the halh The Medes, both noble and ig- 
 noble, proved, by their attachment, that Cyrus was 
 fully deserving, if not destined, to wear a crown. 
 
 At 17 years old, he returned to his father's 
 court, followed by the affectionate blessing of the 
 Medes, and welcomed with enthusiasm by his na- 
 tive Persians. In the inconsiderable wars which 
 were at times waged with neighbouring nations, 
 Cyrus was always victorious, always generously- 
 rewarded the brave, always mercifully spared 
 the conquered. As his father Cambyses advanced 
 in age, he gradually associated Cyrus with him 
 in the government, the burden of which he was 
 obliged to bear. Thus he lived till he was 40 
 years old. But the prime of his life was not use- 
 lessly wasted ; a new sera in the military tactics of 
 Persia began with him. A course of discipline 
 was established which, in a short time, rendered 
 the Persians the best soldiers in Asia. The arts 
 
92 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 of peace were cultivated, civilization rapidly ad« 
 vanceJ, and this barbarous, enslaved, and unimpor- 
 tant people, under the transibraMng genius of 
 Cyrus, suddenly became so forniidable that uiey 
 vvere accused by trieir neighbours of already 
 aspiring to the dominion of Asia> 
 
 Astyages, the king of Media, died, and left his 
 dominions to his son Cyaxares, who was but one 
 year older than Cyrus. Nereglissar, the king of 
 Babylon, pursuing the council of his predecessors, 
 thought the death of Asiyages a favourable crisis 
 to aim an exicrminating stroke at the growing 
 power of Media, levied an immense army of 
 250,000 men from the populous regions west of 
 the Euphrates, and placed himself at their head. 
 Cyaxares. having lately assumed the. reigns of go- 
 vernment, was justly alarmed at those extensiVe 
 preparations, which threatened not only to rob 
 bim of crown and empire, but suddenly to extin- 
 guish his flatteriug expectations that Media would 
 rise to the empire of Asia. Unterrified, howe- 
 ver, by the awful crisis, he rapidly concentrated 
 his force, with the resolution of extreme resistance, 
 and sent for aid into Persia, with an express de- 
 mand that Cyrus should be invested with the 
 command of the auxiliaries. 
 
 The demand met with a prompt compliance. 
 From the peculiar nianner in which Cyrus levied 
 bis army, we may suppose his comprehensive 
 genius already embraced, in a measure, that vast 
 scheme of conquest which he afterwards executed. 
 He first chose 200 of those who, trom childhood, 
 had been his companions in toil atifd in ease, to b^ 
 the commanders of his army. He then command- 
 ed each of the 200 to choose four men for subordi- 
 nate officers, vVbkb srmoHJited to 1,000. Finally. 
 
PERSIA. 93 
 
 each of the four chose 30 of the best soldiers he 
 couid find. When ail were marshailed, Ihey 
 amounted to 31,000. An army thus appointed, 
 might well be capable of greatly achieving. 
 
 At the head of this body Cyrus joined his 
 uncle Cyaxares, already preparing to march. In 
 joint command they moved towards the borders 
 of Assyria, after Cyrus had reduced the king of 
 Arminia, from a revolt, obtained in the father an 
 immoveable ally, and in the son, the interesting 
 Tigranes, a bosom friend. 
 
 Nereglissar, the king of Babylon, having con- 
 centrated an immense force of 200,000 foot and 
 60,000 horse, advanced towards Media and met 
 the Medes and Persians, of not half their number, 
 not far from the boundaries of the two eirpires. 
 A general battle was fought, and Cyrus was com- 
 pletely victorious. For although Cyaxares had 
 an equal command, yet the masterly genius of 
 Cyrus demanded, and obtained the undivided 
 honour of the laurel. 
 
 The unfortunate king of Babylon was slain, and 
 Cro3Sus, king of Lydia, who succeeded to the 
 command, was driven in confusion from the field, 
 his army dispersed, and his camp abandoned \q 
 the Medes and Persians. Such was the fortune 
 of the first campaign, which gave a strong com- 
 plexion to the succeeding contest. The throne 
 of Babylon was imtnediately filled by Laboroso- 
 archod, whosa cruelties, in a few months, urged 
 his subjects to seek a last redress, by sacrificing 
 him to their vengeance. Labynif, or, as he is 
 called m Scripture, Belshazzar, was crowned in 
 his stead. Belshazzar appears to have been a 
 voluptuous and wicked prince, careless of the 
 great duties of a monarch, and intent only upon 
 the pleasures of sense : but he had a partner 
 
04 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 equal to the grand employment. Nitoclcs, his 
 mother, inherited the great talents of her father, 
 Nebuchadnezzar, and, by a vigorous administra- 
 tion, protracted, for some time, the fate of her 
 abandoned son. Her name stands upon the re- 
 cords of time, in the list of women who have been 
 able, by a supremacy of genius, to pieserve the 
 honour of the throne— to give momentum to the 
 concerns of an extensive empire, and beautifully 
 to biend the delicacy of a female with the ma- 
 jesty of a crou'n. 
 
 In tije mean time, a vigorous plan of opera- 
 iions was pursued by Cyrus, in reducing the 
 strong holds of the Assyrians, and gradually pre- 
 paring an unobstructed march to Babylon. The 
 remonstrances of Nilocles, seconded by the near 
 approach of the Persians, roused the Assyrian 
 king to prevent, if possible, the fall of his empire. 
 Aided by immense treasures, and extensive alli- 
 ances, he forn::cd a combination of powers to 
 overwhelm the Persians at once, and levied an ar- 
 my of 4i'0 000 men from Egypt to the shores of 
 the Eurine. Crfjesus, king of Lydia, was ap- 
 pointed to the supreme command. Lydia was a 
 fmaji kini^dom on the eastern shore of the it]gean 
 Sea, northwest from Babylon. Crcesus, its king, 
 was one of the ablest generals of his time, and was 
 also the greatest patron of science, being the in- 
 timiate friend of almost all thb philosophers of the 
 age, and so rich, that his name, even among us, 
 is a common proverb. The place of general ren- 
 dezvous was Thymbra, a small town not far 
 from Sardis, the capital of Lydia, on the river 
 Pactolus. 
 
 No sooner did Cyrus hear of the vast force 
 that was concentrating against him, than he deter- 
 mined upon one of those plans, the success of 
 
95 
 
 wljich depencis not upon physical stronglh, bat 
 celerity of execution. With about 80,000 men, 
 he immediately marched across the broad territo- 
 ries of the Assyrians, 1,200 miles, in quei^t of 
 400,000. He found them at Thymbra, and 
 without hesitation offered them battle. When the 
 line of battle was formed, Croesus perceived that 
 he might easily surround the Persians, and made 
 his dispositions accordingly. The wings were 
 commanded to wheel and attack the Persians in 
 flank and rear. But the penetrating eye of Cy- 
 rus quickly saw, and defeated, the plan. He dis- 
 posed his columns so that tlicy fought without 
 disorder, and presented a formidable front in 
 every direction. At^ter a short and close conflict, 
 the wings of the Assyrian army gave way, and 
 were pursued with gre."t slaughter. But 100,000 
 Egyptians, forming the centre of the army, in 
 close order, sheltered by a bridge of shields, firm- 
 ly resisted, and threatened fatally to shake the 
 Persian columns. The Persian army was already 
 fringed with the slain, and the hardy Egyptians 
 were upon the point of breaking their central 
 front, when Cyrus returned from the fierce pur- 
 suit, animated with the certainty of victory. Per- 
 ceiving that this was the eventful moment, he fell 
 with the force of a mountain torrent upon the 
 flank of the Egyptians, who fought with unabated 
 fury. Thousands after thousands fell, and would 
 have continued to fall, had not Cyrus, who weli 
 knew the passive bravery of the Egyptians, and 
 regretting that such excellent soldiers should thus 
 perish, without benefit to themselves or their 
 cause, offered them terms which they could not 
 with honour decline. They not only submitted 
 to the victor, but immediately volunteered in hfe 
 
96 ANCIENT HISTORV. 
 
 service, and from that time became a distinguish- 
 fid section of his army. 
 
 Thus closed the famous battle of Thymbra : 
 another bloody wreath to bind the brow of Cy- 
 rus, and establish his fame as the first warrior up- 
 on the theatre of the world. This battle deci- 
 ded the fate of Lesser Asia. Cyrus pursued his 
 fortune : Arabia and Syria successively fell be- 
 fore him, till at length, the great Babylon stood 
 alone upon the banks of the Euphrates, and 
 frowned upon the conqueror, angrj' at his past 
 success, and defying his future attempts. 
 
 The same Providence, which had before made 
 known, by the mouths of Isaiah and Daniel, that 
 Babylon should fall, had endued Cyrus with a 
 mind not to be diverted by apparent difficulties ; 
 not to be frustrated by real impediments. He 
 encamped beft>re the city, and commenced a 
 regular siege. Here we must again admire that 
 activity and expansion of mind which suggested 
 the adoption of a stratagem completely successful. 
 Among the many monuments of the power and 
 wisdom of Nebuchadnezzar, there was one which 
 ROW became the means of the fall of Babylon. 
 At some distance from the city, there were im- 
 mense reservoirs, dug for the purpose of receiv- 
 ing the redundant water of the Euphrates, and 
 of preventing the fatal effects of occasional inun- 
 dations. Several canals formed a communicatioiit 
 between these reservoirs and the river. By open- 
 ing these canals, the water might easily be turned 
 from its natural course, the bed of the river be- 
 left dry, and a free passage into the heart of the 
 city laid open. 
 
 The public festivals of the Babylonians, were 
 generally celebrated with the most extravagant 
 riot, drunkenness, and debauchery, and frequently 
 
PERSIA. y7 
 
 continued for several days without intermission. 
 C/rus chose the night preceding one of these fes- 
 tivals for the execution of his plan. The course 
 of the river was suddenly stopped ; the arniy, ia 
 two divisions, in siience raarched under the wall 
 upon the north and south sides of the city, defeat- 
 ed the feeble resistance of a few drunken guards, 
 and, without loss of biood, introduced themselves 
 into the midst of that proud capital. 
 
 While Cyrus was taking undisputed possession 
 of the city, a scene of a very ditferent character 
 was passing in the palace of Belshazzar. This 
 devoted monarch had, as usual, invited the nobles 
 of his court, and the princes of the empire to a 
 splendid entertainment. Nothing was wanting to 
 increase the pleasure of the eye, of the ear, of 
 the palate. They exhausted the golden goblets, 
 which were sacrilegiously plundered from the 
 temple of Jerusalem — they appeased their appe- 
 tite with the most luscious viands — they listened 
 to strains of lascivious music. When, suddenly, an 
 awful vision struck them into a death-like silence — 
 A hand, the finger of God, appeared writing upon 
 the wall, '* Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin." 
 The astrologers, the iuterpreters, the Magi, who 
 used to fill the ear of Belshazzar with dreams 
 and predictions of his future glory, were asto- 
 nished and dumb at the sight. Till, at. length, 
 Daniel, the proohet of Jehovah, who had long 
 and faithfully S€/ived the king,*in the quality of 
 prime minister, addressed the terrified monarch. 
 He firmly reproved him for his idolatrous, wicked, 
 a^d abandoned life— he appealed to the enor- 
 mous crimes he had been guilty of against his 
 miserable subjects, and, against God ; — then point- . 
 ing to the inscription on the wall, he thus spoke : 
 '' This is the interpretation of the thijig.— God 
 -9 
 
98 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 hath nuip.bered thy kingdom, and finished ii; 
 thou art Vveit^lied in the balances, and found want- 
 ing ; thy kmgdouj is divided, and given to the 
 Medes and Feisians," 
 
 Cvms was already at the gates of the palace. 
 The^alarm was sounded, and the impious Belshaz- 
 zar, rushinj; ffoiii the hall, sword in hand, vvas 
 met by the Persians, and instantly cut to pieces, 
 with all his attendajits. When the last sun de- 
 ricended, this proud monarch looked from' his 
 lofty battlements, and knew not, or thought not, of 
 an arm tbat was able to humble. At mJdnight, 
 from the midst of rt veky, be is called to answer 
 the demands of r('tr!')utive justice. • 
 
 The death of Belshazzar, as you have already- 
 heard, put a period to the second Assyrian em- 
 pire, B.C. 536. The reduction of Babylon was 
 lollo^ved by the submission of all the Assyrian 
 territories, and the empire of Cyrus was bounded 
 north by the Caspian and Black seas, east by 
 India, south hy the Arabian Sea and E.thiopia, and 
 west by Lybia, the Mediterranean, and Archipe* 
 lago ; comprehending Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, 
 Arabia, Assyria,. Arinenia, Media, and Persia ; 
 embracing, as Gibbon says of the Roman empire, 
 jn after ages, " the fairest parts of the earth, and 
 the most civilized portion of mankind." Cyrus 
 and Cyaxares, or, as he is called in Scripture^ Da- 
 rius the Mede, in a short time established the 
 government upoti an inanovable base. They 
 divided the empire into 120 provinces, according 
 to the prophet, and appointed satrapa^, or govern- 
 ors over them. Three persons were also, from 
 among the wisest men in the kingdom, selected to 
 inspect the conduct ©f the satraps, and render 
 an account to the king. The first of these was 
 Baniel; the prophet, uaiversaUy acltjiowledge^. 
 
PERSIA. 29 
 
 astiJG wisest maji in the east. He was exglted 
 to the high station of priirie minister by Nebu- 
 ciiadnezzar, and had served in' that capacity 65 
 years. How different an aspect would the world 
 now wear could such rnen be cliosen to direct 
 the alTairs of nations 1 
 
 Two years after the fall of Babylon, Cyaxares, 
 the uncle, and Oambyses, the father of Cyrus, 
 died, and he was left sole master of the new em- 
 pire, B. C. 534. 
 
 Ill, According to the plan adopted, we are to 
 give a view of the great events, or epochas, from 
 Cyrus' accession to the united thrones of Media 
 and Persia to the conquest of Babylon by Alex- 
 ander the Great. This period extends from B. 
 C. 534 to B. C, SSO, comprehending 204 years. 
 
 1. The first transaction worthy of notice in 
 this period is the celebrated edict of Cyrus, 
 granting liberty to the Jews to return and rebuild 
 t|ie temple of Jerusalem, which had been de- 
 stroyed 70 years before by N-cbuchadnezzar. 
 Daniel, who was anxiously waiting for the close 
 of the period allotted for the captivity to expire, 
 knew that the time was come, and by showing to 
 Cyrus that his own name had been already 
 standing upon the rolls of Isaiah's prophecy up- 
 wards of 1.00 years, as the chosen instrument of 
 this glorious deliverance, obtained from him a 
 royal privilege to restore the captive Jews, and 
 renewedly to consecrate a temple to the Lord of 
 Hosts. 
 
 2. The next circumstance which engages our 
 attention is the death of Cyrus, which happened 
 7 years after the death of Cyaxares, 9 years after 
 the fall of Babylon, and 30 years after he began 
 the war with the Assyrians'. According to our 
 ideas of prosperity, it may seem matter of regret 
 
100 ANCIENT mSTOHY. 
 
 that he did not Jive longer to enjoy the fruits of 
 his labours in the council and in the field ; that 
 after a life of 63 years, filled with great actions, 
 he was permitted but 7 years to wear a crown. 
 But why should he live longer? He had liberated 
 his native country from the abject condition of a 
 dependent state ; he had hastened the progress of 
 civilization by salutary institutions ; he had ful- 
 filled the designs of Providence, by destroying the 
 *' head of gold," and substituting the " breast 
 and arms of silver ;" he had restored the captivi- 
 ty of Jerusalem ; he had established the empire of 
 the Medes and Persians upon so firm a basis, that 
 notwithstanding the weakness and violence of 
 many of his successors, it remained unshaken up- 
 wards of 200 years. What more was necessary ? 
 While he had any thing to do, he was active and 
 persevering, and when he had nothing to do, he 
 died. If we do the same, we do nobly ; we shall 
 also reign, and, instead of a crown of diamonds, 
 we shall wear a crown of glory. 
 
 Cyrus died at 70 years of age. He left two 
 sons, Cambyses and Smerdis, the former of whom 
 was appointed his successor. To enter into a 
 particular narration of the actions of every suc- 
 ceeding king, would be beyond the design of this 
 lecture. I shall just state the order of succes- 
 sion, with the length of the several reigns, and 
 then proceed to the consideration of the most im- 
 portant events. Cambyses reigned 7 years ; 
 Smerdis, 8 months ; Darius Hystaspes, 36 years ; 
 Xerxes I., 21 years; Artaxerxes Longimanus, 41 
 years; Xerxes II., 45 days; Sogdianus, a few- 
 days ; Darius Nolhus, 1 9 years ; Artaxerxes Mne- 
 mon, 46 years ; Ochus, 21 years ; Arses, 2 years ; 
 Darius Codomannus, 6 years. 
 
 3. Cambyses was of a disposition directly con« 
 
PERSU, IQl 
 
 trarjrto thatof his father Cyrus. Madness and 
 cruelty, in the extreme, were the distinguishing 
 traits of bis character. He undertook two expe- 
 ditions, one against Egypt, the other against Ethi- 
 opia. Succeeding in the first, and fully glutting 
 his vengeance by tiie most unprovoked cruelties, 
 jhe attempted the latter. An immense army was 
 raised, and ambassadors sent to the king of Ethio- 
 pia, demanding submission. The king, in re- 
 turn, presented Cambyses with a bow of great 
 strength which he used, adding, that until the 
 Persians could learn to use such arms, they must 
 not hope to conquer the Ethiopians. Enraged at 
 this answer, Cambyses ordered his army imme- 
 diately to march, unfurnished with provision for 
 such an undertaking. Several days they traver-i 
 sed the desert in quest of the Ethiopians, till, at 
 length, hunger reduced them to the dreadful alter- 
 native of killing every tenth man as food for the 
 rest A great part of the army being lost, Cam- 
 byses returned to Egypt, where he appeased his 
 mortitied pride by redoubled cruelties towards 
 his innocent subjects. He murdered his brother, 
 his sister, his friends, and his enemies, with the 
 same uamingled and relentless malice. He was 
 succeeded by Smerdis, the usurper, who was ta- 
 ken off by a CQuspiracy, after haying reigned but 
 8 months. 
 
 A. The family of the great Cyrus becoming 
 extinct, Darius Hystaspes, a distant branch of the 
 royal family, was elected to the crown. Two 
 or three events in his reign we shall notice. In 
 order to establish himself more firmly on the 
 throne, Darius determined upon some great ex- 
 pedition. We have already observed, that about 
 120 years before, the Scythians had broken from 
 the F/i\ds.of the .Danube aad Neistqr iato Asia 
 9* 
 
102 ANCIENT mSTORV. 
 
 Minor, and held that country in subjection 28 
 years. Under pretence of revenging this irrup- 
 tion, Darius collected a vast army of 700,000 men, 
 and marched to the Bosphorus of Thrace, a nar- 
 row strait between Europe and Asia, near which 
 is now situated the city of Constantinople. Leav- 
 ing a strong guard at this pass, he crossed the 
 strait on a bridge of boats, reduced Thrace, and 
 marched into Scj'thia. Unwilling to risk the 
 event of a general battle, the Scythians pursued a 
 kind of predatory warfare, defeating the strag- 
 gling parties of Darius, laying waste the country, 
 auid cutting off the provisions, till he found him- 
 self under the necessity of making good his re- 
 treat, or perishing with his vast army. He pre- 
 ferred the former, and returned with as much ex- 
 pedition as possible to the Bosphorus. In the 
 mean time, the Scythians had proposed to the 
 lonians, who were left to guard the pass during 
 the absence of Darius, to break down the bridge, 
 and thus cut off the retreat of the Persian army. 
 Miltiades, chief of the Thracian Chersonese, a co- 
 lony of the Athenians, who warmly embraced this 
 opportunity of throwing off the Persian yoke, and 
 freeing his country from slavery, approved the 
 proposal, and advised the lonians to break down 
 the bridge. But his advice was opposed, and he 
 was obliged to seek safety by flight. This was 
 one cause of the bloody war which soon after 
 broke out between the Greeks and Persians. 
 
 Darius, thus baffled in his Scythian expedition, 
 tried his fortune in another direction, and was 
 successful in subduing the greater part of India to 
 his dominion. 
 
 After his return from his Indian expedition, he 
 found that the Grecian colonies of Asia Minor, 
 which had long before been established upon the , 
 
PERSIA. 10'3 
 
 eastern snores of the Mediterranean, and were 
 become powerful, had revoited under Aristagoras, 
 their satrap, or governor, and were aided in their 
 attempt to recover thejr treedom by the Atheni- 
 ans. An army of lonians, being joined by a 
 body of Athenians, burnt the city of Sardis, but 
 Vv'ere soon after defeated and dispersed, and the 
 A^atic Greeks again reduced to their former state 
 of subjection. 
 
 This was the determining stroke. Darius, from 
 that time, resolved to make war upon Greece, and 
 more fully to evince his resolution, ordered his 
 cup-bear«r every day to proclaim in his ear at 
 dinner, " Remember the Athenians." Appoint- 
 ing Mardonius, iiis son-in-law, an inexperienced 
 young man, generalissimo of all his sea and land 
 forces, he commanded him to invade Greece. 
 Accordingly, i\Iardonius landed in Macedon, anc^ 
 having first lost his fleet in a storm, with 20,000 
 men, was defeated by a small body of Thracians, 
 who suddenly fell upon him, and finished the 
 campaign by prudently returning to Persia with 
 what force? he had remaining. Attributing the 
 failure of this expedition to its true source, want 
 of experience and skill in Mardonius, Darius next 
 appointed Datis and Artaphernes, the one a Mede, 
 the other a Persian, to the command. To carry 
 the appearance of moderation, Darius sent heralds 
 to Athens and Sparta, demanding " earth and wa- 
 ter," which was the token of submission. The 
 heralds were thrown into a ditch, and told to carry 
 earth and water from thence. This insult was 
 quickly followed by the appearance of Datis at 
 the head of 100,000 foot and 10,000 horse, oa 
 the plains of Marathon. By the advice of Mil- 
 tiades, the Athenians, unsupported by their allies, 
 i\)iom the terror of the Persian army had silencetj^ 
 
1p4 AKCIEiST HISlORY. 
 
 determiued to support the unequal contest to the 
 utmost. Tiiey armed their slaves, and though 
 but 10,000, marched to meet their enemies. The 
 Athenian armj had ten commanders, who exer- 
 cised the office alternately ; but, following the ex- 
 ample of Aristides the Just, they unanimously re- 
 signed the chief command, to Miltiades ; a memo- 
 rable instance of rival claims to distinction vyyl- 
 lingly resigned for the public good. 
 
 itiiltiades posted his army in such a manner 
 that it could not be surrounded, being flanked by- 
 woods, and defended in the rear by a mountain. 
 By this position he put it out of the power of the 
 Persian cavalry to manoeuvre to advantage, and 
 proved that the fate of a battle depends upon the 
 foresight of a commander, and that this quality 
 cannot be counterbalanced by numbers. After 
 the first onset, the centre of the Athenian army, 
 being by far the weakest, could not sustain the 
 force of the Persians, but, overpowered by ten 
 times their number, were obliged gradually to 
 give ground. But they still continued to fight 
 with the fury of despair, and every inch of ground 
 that wa? gained, was bought with the lives of 
 thousands. In the mean time, the wings of the 
 Athenian army, their chief dependence, routed 
 the Persians, and pursued thera with incredible 
 slaughter. They returned from following the 
 flying foe just in time to prevent the utter ruin of 
 their centre, which was nearly sinking under the 
 pressure of vastly superior numbers : with an im- 
 petuosity not to be resisted, they rushed upon the 
 roar of the Persian army, and shortly decided tbe 
 fate of the day. 7'he Persians were routed, and 
 fled with all speed to their ships ; but were pur- 
 sued by the Athenians with unremitted destruc- 
 tion., till tbey finally arrived in Asia,, having lois4 
 
peHsia. 10$ 
 
 ;i great part of their army and fleet. Thus ended 
 the second endeavour of Darius to subjugate 
 Greece. Their attempt v/as made in an unhappj 
 season. Greece, now in the prime of life, was 
 literally crowded with heroes and statesmen, and 
 was able, by the terror of her arms, to shake an 
 empire comprehending almost half of Asia, to its 
 base ; and to give more importance to a territory 
 Hot larger than New-Jersey than all the world 
 could claim beside. 
 
 6. The next event worthy your notice took 
 place ten years after the one we have been con- 
 templating, namely, the invasion of Greece by 
 Xerxes. Darius died soon after the battle of Ma- 
 rathon, and was succeeded by his son, Xerxes 
 the Great. As soon as he was seated upon the 
 throne, he resolved, contrary to the advice of bis 
 wisest counsellors, and they were but few, (being 
 mostly surrounded by vicious and effeminate pari- 
 sites,) to revenge the flames of Sardis and the 
 bloody plain of Marathon by the annihilation of* 
 the Grecian states. Three years were spent in 
 extensive preparations throughout his vast domi- 
 nions. The Carthaginians, at that time power- 
 ful, were induced to invade the Grecian colonies 
 of Sicily, with an army of 300,COO men. Hamil- 
 car, landing in Sicily, was shortly defeated, and 
 his array sold for slaves by Gelon, tyrant of Sy- 
 racuse. 
 
 Xerxes at length collected his forces upon the 
 sea shore, and having ostentatiously cut a canal 
 through Mount Athos, to avoid the necessity of. 
 doubling a promontory with his fleet ; having coa-> 
 structed a bridge of boats, a mile and a quarter 
 in length, which was destroyed by a storm ; hav.-i 
 iiig thrown a pair of fetters into the sea, and giv-- 
 €B it a hundred stripes for thus daring to insult th^ 
 
106 AKCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 Honour of his majesty, and having constructed b. 
 second bridge, he prepared to cross. But first 
 he would gratify his royal vanity by a general- 
 review of all his sea and laud forces. A high 
 tower had been constructed- near the shore for 
 his reception ; this he ascended : 4,^'00 ships and 
 galleys sbadod tiie sea, and the plain of Abydos 
 was covered with the immense multitude. One 
 miliion seven hundred thousand foot, and 80,000 
 horse, composed his land army, while the naval 
 forces amounted to 617.610 men, the whole at- 
 tended by an equnl numljer of servants, women, 
 grooms, &-C. ; so ihrit the whole was found to con- 
 sist of the astonishing number of 6,283,220, fall- 
 ing little short of the census of the whole United 
 Stales for the year 1800. Doubtless it was the 
 largest army ever brought into the field; the 
 greatest monument of regal folly upon the record 
 of fame ; and it is only upon the uniform testimo- 
 ny of autaor> upon this subject that the statement 
 can be crediide. 
 
 While viewing this vast collection, with th« 
 greatest transports of joy and self-gratulatioia, 
 Xerxes was observed suddenly to burst into a flood 
 of tears Being asked by bis uncle the cause of 
 this sudden transition, he is said to have replied, 
 " one huntlred years hence not one of this im- 
 mense multitude will remain alive." A moral^ 
 lesson upon the fleetness of time from the mouth of 
 a vnin and ambitious prince, of which we ought 
 not to be insensible who live in an age of a su* 
 blimer philos :phy— the- philosophy of universal 
 hensvolence. In seven days, without intermission, 
 tJie army was transported from Asia to Europe. 
 Xerxes-3vas ..obliged to march as expeditiously as 
 possilde, .to supply his immense multitude witU 
 provision^. This led a Qertaia citizen of Abde- 
 
PERSIA. 107 
 
 ra to observe, " We may thank the gods for 
 Xerxes' moderation, in being salisfied with one 
 naeal a day." 
 
 ' The Athenians and Spartans, deserted as usual 
 by all their allies in the hour of danger, appoint- 
 ed Themistocles and Leonidas to the command 
 of their respective armies. Xerxes was advanc- 
 ing from the north, and threatened, ere long, to de- 
 luge Attica and the Peloponnesus with his millions, 
 when Leonidas, with 4,000 men, seized the pass 
 of Thermopylae, the only way by which Xerses 
 could com.e into Attica, and determined to perish 
 rather than yield the pass. Xerxes approached, 
 and, observing this handful of men, sent heralds to 
 demand their arms. Leonidas returned in answer, 
 *' come and take them." Stung with this reph^, 
 the king ordered the Medes to go with manacles, 
 and fetch them to him bound. But after a short 
 conflict, they were obliged to seek safety by 
 flight. The famous immortal band, consisting of 
 10,000 brave soldiers completely armed, next at- 
 tempted to subdue the stubborn courage of the 
 Greeks, but were repulsed with great loss. The 
 Persians then tried their fortune, but met an ip"- 
 nominious defeat. Xerxes began now to be sick 
 of his expedition, and to despair of being able 
 with his millions to conquer these 4,000 Greeks, 
 when a perfidious deserter informed him of a se- 
 cret passage round the mountain ; 10,000 men were 
 instantly despatched, who appeared in the rear of 
 the Greeks. Leonidas, perceiving that all was 
 lost, resolved to sell his life as dearly as possible, 
 and sending away the auxiliaries, he remained 
 with his 300 Spartans and about as many Thes- 
 pians, and prepared for battle. In the first onset 
 that was made Leonidas fell. Five times thej 
 were attacked on all sides, and five times the 
 
108 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 Persians were driven back with dreadful slaughter. 
 At length, overpowered by numbers, and literally 
 buried under the weapons and bodies of their en- 
 emies, they all fell, except one, who escaped to 
 Sparta, to announce what a bloody trophy his 
 countrymen had raised to their memory. Leoni- 
 das holds the palm of courage ; nor have the an- 
 nals of time, found his rival. 
 
 On the same day of the battle of Thermopylae, 
 the Grecian fleet of 120 sail had an engagement 
 with the Persian, of about 1,000, in which the 
 Greeks had considerably the advantage. A short 
 time afterwards, the two fleets came to another 
 engagement at Salamis, where Themistocles was 
 completely victorious. The Greeks lost 40 ships, 
 and the Persians 200. Xerxes, who was an eye 
 witness of this battle, now took the alarm, and 
 leaving Mardonius with 300,000 men, hastened 
 back to the Hellespont, for fear the Greeks would 
 break down his bridge of boats, and forever cut 
 off his return. His army being pressed by famine, 
 and he more pressed by terror, he left them be- 
 hind, and arrivnig at the Hellespont with a few 
 attendants, found his bridge had been dispersed 
 by a storm, and w^as obliged to cross in a small 
 iishing boat. In this style he again landed in his 
 ©wn dominions, extremely mortified at his dis- 
 grace, and fully determined never again to at- ' 
 tempt the subjugation ©f the hardy and magnani- 
 mous Greeks. 
 
 Mardonius, with his 300,000 men, after having 
 ravaged the open country of Attica, came to a 
 general battle with Aristides and Pausanias, the 
 Grecian commanders at the city of Platae. Al- 
 though the Persians appeared to be animated by 
 an unknown courage, and Mardonius signalized 
 himself by hjs p.ersonal valour, yet they were ut* 
 
PERSfA. 109 
 
 ('erly routed, and Mardonius slain. The treasure 
 of the Persian camp was immense, and richly 
 rewarded the Grecian soldiers for their patriotism, 
 their privations, and their bloody battles. On 
 the san;ie day of the battle of Platcea, the Grecian 
 fleet, agreeably to the direction of the oracle, 
 " to delend themselves with wooden walls," ob- 
 tained an equally illustrious victory over the re- 
 mainder of the Persian fleet at the promontory 
 of Mycale. This final stroke annihilated the 
 Persian tbrce, and, from among such a constella- 
 tion of patriot heroes as the world has seldom 
 seen, gained for Tbemistocles the prize of the 
 most glorious achievement. 
 
 Thus closed the famous invasion of Greece by 
 Xerxes the Great. B. C. 479. Why he is surna- 
 ined the great, I shall leave you to unravel. From 
 this time till the retreat of 'the 10,000, elapsed a 
 period of 78 years, in which nothing remarkable 
 took place except the invasion of Persia by Agesi- 
 iaus, king of Sparta. He bid fair to have redu- 
 ced the Persian em.pire, but was suddenly called 
 to bear arms in a different direction. The narra- 
 tive of petty wars with the states of Greece, the 
 Cyprians, and Egyptians, of revolts of provinces, 
 of treasons and oppressions, would be uninterest- 
 ing, and we shall therefore proceed to the next 
 epocha. 
 
 6. The retreat of the 10,000 Greeks from the 
 heart of the Persian empire, forming one of the 
 most brilliant actions recorded in history, will, for 
 a moment, engage our attention. Conddering the 
 difficulties to be surm.ounted, this is universally 
 allowed to be the noblest retreat through an ene- 
 my's country that was ever performed ; and has 
 placed the name of Xenophon on a level with that 
 of the greatest commanders. Darius Nothus dv» 
 
i 1 ANCIENT HISTORY . 
 
 jng, left two sons, Artaxerxes Miienion, and Cy- 
 rus the younger. Artaxerxes was no sooner seat- 
 ed on the throne, than he detected a conspiracy to 
 depose him, at the head of which was his brother 
 Cyrus. Cyrus was seized, and condemned to 
 death, but by the influence of Parasatis, his mo- 
 ther, Artaxerxcs was prevailed upon to send him 
 back to his government in Asia Minor. Cyrus, 
 as soon as he was at liberty, pursuant to his object 
 of dethroning his brother, pretended a quarrel 
 with a neighbouring satrap, and openly coUected 
 forces wherever they were to be obtained : 
 r*3,000 men were collected, of whom 12,000 
 were Peloponnesian Greeks, commanded by Cle- 
 archus, the Spartan, and after a tedious march of 93 
 days, or nearly 1,800 miles, Cyrus arrived at Cur- 
 raxa, a small town not far from Babylon, where 
 Artaxerxes lay with an army of 1,000,000 men. 
 A battle was fought, long and bloody. The Greeks 
 were victorious wherever they struck, and had it 
 not been for the impetuous valour of Cyrus, might 
 have gained the field. But he suddenly perceiv- 
 ing his brother at a little distance from the edge 
 of the battle, cried out, " I see him, I see him," 
 threw himself into the midst of the king's guards, 
 and cutting his way, attacked Artaxerxes in per- 
 son. The fate of the day depended upon the is- 
 sue of this unnatural conflict. Seldom, or never, 
 have mankind witnessed such a shocking scene. 
 For some time the roj^al brothers fought with des- 
 perate fury for the crown of Persia, like a lyon 
 and tyger contending for the empire of the de- 
 sert. Artaxerxes' horse fell under him, and he 
 received several wounds, when his guards dis- 
 charged at once a shower o^ arrows at Cyrus, the 
 moment he raised his faulchion to give the fatal 
 stroke ; at length, covered with wounds, he sprung 
 
PERSIA. ill 
 
 into the aipjs of Artaxerxes, v.h-Tj received him 
 upon the point of his javelin ; Cyras fell, and in- 
 stantly expired. His army, thus deprived of its 
 leader, fought for a long time, with an ill-directed 
 valour, till, being surrounded by overwhelming 
 numbers, they v, ere cut to pieces, or dispersed, 
 except the Greeks, to the number of 10,000, who, 
 repulsing every attack, still maintained their 
 ground, and refused to capitulate. 
 
 Artaxerxes, perceiving that the Greeks were 
 determined to resist to the last, gave them per- 
 mission to depart to their own country ; secretly 
 giving orders, however, to his generals, and the 
 nations they were obliged to march through, to 
 intercept them, and, if possible, to cut off their 
 retreat. 
 
 The generals of the Greeks being all cut off 
 by treachery, they first chose several persons \o 
 conduct the army in this dangerous adventure. 
 Among these was Xenophon, a young man of 
 extraordinary talents as a soldier, a statesman, 
 and scholar. The narrative he has given us of 
 this expedition is justly ranked among th^ 
 noblest historical efforts, and has obtained for him 
 the titleof the " Hume of Greece." Without any 
 delay, they commenced their march, in the form 
 of a hollow square, the baggage and attendants in 
 the centre. Having continued a lew days, march- 
 ing with little molestation, the Persian army 
 appeared behind them, ready to take every ad- 
 vantage, and throw every obstruction in their 
 way. Often they were suddenly attacked, but 
 the constant vigilance of Xenophon, aided by 
 the intrepidity of the Greeks, defeated every 
 attempt, and prevented every ambuscade. 
 
 Tiie broad and deep river I'igris at length 
 stopped their progress, and having no boats to 
 
3 12 AXCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 cross, this band of heroes resolved, to cross tlie 
 lofty ridges of the Carducian mountains. Leav- 
 ing behind their beasts and slaves, they began to 
 ascend the mountains. The beii^hts and narrow 
 defiles had been seized by the native moun- 
 taineers, and detachments of the Persian army» 
 and thus every sqmmit was to be gained by dint 
 of valour, every defile to be cleared by the edge 
 of the sword. After a continued struggle for 
 seven days, they crossed the mountains, and 
 descended upon the plains of Armenia. But 
 here a new trial awaited them, upon the bank of 
 a river 200 feet broad which they must cross. 
 The Persian army was close upon their heels, 
 and another Armenian army was posfed upon 
 the opposite bank to dispute their passage. They 
 crossed, however, the water in some places up to 
 their armpits, beneath showers of missile weap- 
 ons, drove the Armenians, and gained the open 
 country. 
 
 After traversing several deserts, and passing 
 the Euphrates near its source, they were obliged 
 to face death in a different, and more dreadful 
 form. The snow lay upon the ground to a great 
 depth, at the same time a cutting north wind blew 
 in their faces, and almost prevented their 
 breathing. Many lost their eye-sight, many 
 had their hands and feet frozen, so that thej' 
 perished — many died of hunger — many sunk in 
 the snow, " stretched out, bleaching in the 
 northern blast,'" a miserable prize to gratify the 
 exasperated Persians. Thus they marched for 
 several days. They crossed the territories of 
 tlie Phasiaus, and Chalybes, the most fierce, 
 barbarous, and warlike people of Asia, defeating 
 them in several engagements, and constantly 
 ftruggling v>'ith the winds, and sleet, and snows 
 
PERSIA. HS 
 
 of that iuhospKable region, till they gained the 
 summit of Jecqua, the highest mountain in that 
 country. Suddenly a conTused shout was raised 
 by the van, which soon prevailed throughout the 
 army, mingled with the joyful exclamation " the 
 sea, the sea!" The soldiers in an extacy of 
 joy, embraced their general, and dropping upon 
 their knees, testified their gratitude to their gods,^ 
 with floods of tears. The distant prospect of 
 the Euxine, v^hose heaving bosom would soon 
 bear them to their native shores, melted their 
 hearts, always inflexible in toil, in hunger, and in 
 blood. They erected a pile of stones upon the 
 top of the mountain, as a trophy to tell their 
 story to succeeding generations. 
 
 After surmounting one more ridge, the moun- 
 tains of Colchis, and defeating a final attempt to 
 oppose their return, they descended upon the 
 shores of the Euxine. Here they embarked, and 
 after a prosperous voyage, again landed in Asia 
 Minor, whence they had started 15 months be- 
 fore ; after having accomplished a retreat of 2,325 
 miles through an enemy's country. Although 
 constantly harassed by their enemies, and pressed 
 by various other misfortunes, they triumphed 
 over all, and performed one of the most illustrious 
 exploits in the annals of military fame. 
 
 7. However interesting this portion of history 
 may be. we must draw it to a close, after taking 
 a slight view of its last and dying struggle. 
 About 50 years after the retreat of the 10,000, 
 Darius Codomannus ascended the throne, .and 
 was destined to be the last of his race, and to 
 seal with his blood the fate of Persia. Another 
 gun was rising in Europe, whose zenith lustre was 
 to eclipse all other luminaries. 
 
 Turn we now from the fading splendors of 
 19* 
 
il4 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 the Persian court, and from the energies of the 
 empire of Cyrus, wasted and dissipated by 
 weakness and folly, to the last struggles in which 
 Persia sunk under the arm of the tirst of con- 
 querors. 
 
 The Grecian states had appointed Alexander 
 generalissimo of the army, and his first project 
 was the conquest of the Persian empire. The 
 battle of Granicus was the first blow that was 
 struck, in which the Persians were defeated, and 
 Alexander pushed his march into the heart of the 
 empire. 
 
 Alarmed at the progress of the Macedonian 
 conqueror, Darius assembled his forces at Baby- 
 Ion, to the number of 500,000 men, headed them 
 in person, and marched to meet Alexander. The 
 march of this great army was conducted in the 
 usual style of Asiatic monarchs in this day. And 
 as the idea we may obtain of the custom of the 
 age, is curious and important, a short description 
 of the order of Darius' march will not be unac- 
 ceptable in this place. The sacred fire, borne 
 on five altars, and attended by the magi and 365 
 youths dressed in scarlet, preceded the army : 
 then came the chariot of Jupiter, drawn by white 
 horses, and followed by the " Steed of the Sun," 
 splendidly caparisoned. Ten chariots came next, 
 sculptured with gold and silver. Twelve na- 
 tions, forming the vanguard of the cavalry, then 
 appeared, and were followed by the " Immortal 
 Band," of 10,000 foot, all wearing golden collars 
 and robes, stiff with embroidering and precious 
 stones. Next advanced a body of 15,000, enti- 
 tled the " King's Relations," sumptuously clothed. 
 Then came Darius, seated on a chariot-lhrone, 
 supported by the Persian deities, cast in pure gold, 
 nnd shaded by the spreading wings of a golden 
 
PERSIA. . 115 
 
 eagle. His purple robe was spangled with jew- 
 els of surpassing beauty, and immense value. He 
 was attended by 200 of his nearest reiatiOxis, and 
 followed by 10,000 horsemen. The rear of the 
 army, 30,000 foot, came next, and were followed 
 by 400 of the king's horses, led. At some dis- 
 tance behind were Lysigambis, the king'i moUier, 
 bis wives and female relatives, to the number of 
 nearly 400, in the most costly altire ; 600 mules, 
 and 300 camels, bearing the royal treasure, and 
 guarded by archers, next approach ; and the 
 splendid cavalcade was closed by an immense 
 number of chariots and horses, carrying the ladies 
 of the ofTicers, and attended by companies of light- 
 armed infantry. 
 
 Instead of gold and silver, and embroidered 
 robes, the phalanx of Alexander was covered with 
 polished mail from head to foot. Their hardy 
 frames were inured to abstinence and severity of 
 climate, and strangers to the inebriating influence 
 of luxurj'. 
 
 When Alexander heard that Darius had arrived 
 at the city of Issus, he hastened to meet him. A 
 battle was fought. The close order and heavy- 
 armour of the Macedonian phalanx gave them so 
 decidedly the advantage, that the Persians were 
 soon routed, and all resistance ceased, except 
 from some Greek auxiliaries, who firmly stood 
 their ground, till from twenty, they were reduced 
 to eight thousand. Then they retreated, and re- 
 turned home, leaving Alexander sole master of 
 the field. Darius fled ; his camp and family fell 
 into the hands of the victor. The cities of Da- 
 mascus, Gaza, Susa, and Persepolis, containing 
 the treasures of the crown, were taken. 
 
 The unfortunkte Darius, after many attempts to 
 retrieve himself, was obliged to take refuge in 
 
116 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 Media, whither he was pursued by Alexander. 
 Bessus, the general of Darius, thinking to pur- 
 chase the favour of Alexander, treacherously 
 assassinated his royal benefactor, and left hitn 
 *' weltering in his blood." Alexander shortly 
 after coming up, was shocked at the sight of the 
 unhappy Darius, 
 
 Deserted at his utmost need. 
 By those his former bountj^ fed ; 
 On the cold earth expos'd he lies, 
 With not a friend to close his 6305, 
 
 Thus perished Darius Codomannus, in the 6tb 
 year of his reign. (B. C. 330,) and with him fell 
 the empire of the Medes and Persians, which had 
 continued, from the accession of Cyrus, 204 
 years. The taking of Babylon by Alexander, 
 will be noticed in our view of the Grecian history. 
 
 Having now gone over the portion of history 
 proposed, it may be proper to present a short 
 analysis of the whole. 
 
 From the accession of Cyrus, B. C. 534, to 
 the conquest of Babylon by Alexander, B, C. 
 330, was 204 years. This period is divided, ac- 
 cording to the remarkable events, as follows : 
 
 1 From the accession of Cyrus, B. C. 534, 
 to the invasion of Ethiopia by Cambyses, B. C. 
 524, containing 10 years. In this time the Jews 
 were restored, Cyrus died, and Cambyses con- 
 quered Egypt. 
 
 2. From the invasion of Ethiopia by Camby- 
 ses, B. C. 524, to the invasion of Scythia by Da- 
 Tius Hystaspes, B. C. 514, containing 10 years: 
 during this time Cambyses died, Smerdis, the 
 Magian, succeeded, was assassinated, and Darius 
 Hystaspes ^vas elected to the throne. 
 
117 
 
 S. From the invasion of Scytbia, B. C. 614, 
 to the battle of .Mcrathon, B. C. 490, containing 
 24. years : : dm'ing this period happened (]ie in- 
 vasion of India by Darius, and his rupture with 
 the Greeks, which led to the battle of. Marathon. 
 
 4. From the battle of Marathon, B, C. 490, 
 to the invasion of Greece by Xerxes, B. C. 480^ 
 containing 10 years : the death of Darius, the 
 accession of Xerxes, and his truly famous inva- 
 sion of Greece, as before related. 
 
 5. From the invasion of Xerxes, B. C. 4&0, 
 to the retreat of the 10.000, B. C. 401, contain- 
 ing 79 years: six Persian kings flourished without 
 fame in this period, waged unsuccessful wars, 
 and were lyrants at home. 
 
 6. From the retreat of the 10,000, B. C. 401, 
 to the conquest of Babylon by Alexander, B. C. 
 330, containing 71 years ; four Persian kings 
 reigned and perished without a grateful memorial; 
 dominion was transferred from Asia to Europe. 
 
 It would be desirable to give some account of 
 Persia, from the conquest of Alexander to the 
 present (.Uy. Time, however, will permit us only 
 to mention the grand epochas. 
 
 After the dismemberment of Alexander's em- 
 pire, Persia fell to Selmeus, B. C. 232. His de- 
 scendants governed Persia, under the name of 
 Parthia, till 235 years after Christ. The Romans 
 often attempted to subdue them, but always fail- 
 ed, and the names of Sapor, Hormisdas, and 
 Chosroes, are as illustrious in Asia as those of 
 Auguotus, Trajan, and Constantine in Europe. 
 In the year of our Lord 655, Persia was conquered 
 by the Saracens, under Omar, and remained sub- 
 ject to them till it was again conquered by Ta- 
 merlane, the Tartar, A. D. 1400. His succes- 
 sors, of the Sophi race, were driven out hy the 
 relebrated Thamas Kouli Khan, about A. D. 
 
1I§ ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 1700. Kouli Khan conquered India, Usbeck. 
 Tartary, and almost the whole of Turkey. He 
 was iinally murdered for his enormotj5 cruelties, 
 A. D. 1747, and was succeeded by Kerim Khan. 
 He died in 1779, eighty years old, and was con- 
 sidered as the greatest hero of iiis age, and the 
 glory of Persia. In 1792, the successor of Ke- 
 rim was expelled from the throne by Akan Ma- 
 homined Khan, who is, in all probability, now 
 master of the Persian empire. 
 
 IV. The government, arts, sciences, manners, 
 Customs, and ai)tiquities of the Persians, are next 
 to be considered We shall make a (ew observa- 
 tions upon each in their order. 
 
 1. The strenuous administration which was 
 established by Cyrus, had too much influence up- 
 on the internal constitution of the empire to be 
 materially altered by the weakness and extrava- 
 gance of his successors. The establishment of re- 
 gular posts and couriers, attributed to Cyrus, 
 rendered the conveyance of intelligence over that 
 vast empire rapid and certain. By this means, 
 rebellions were quickly crushed, conspiracies 
 easily frustrated, and the conduct of satraps, or 
 governors, more open to cognizance. The crown 
 was hereditary, always descending to the eldest 
 son. The prerogative of the king was absolute. 
 Secluded from the eyes of the vulgar, he was ge- 
 nerally reverenced as a deity, and his commands, 
 however unjust, cruel, or extravagant, had the au- 
 thority of law, as well as the sanction of a reli- 
 gious obligation. 
 
 A great veneration for their monarch v/as 
 always a remarkable trait in the character of 
 the Persians, and was cherished by the many 
 laws that were made respecting the majesty of 
 the crown, and the penalties annexed, as well p: 
 
PERSIA. lU 
 
 {he seclusion (he monarchs themselves always 
 maintained. Under the successors of ('yrus, 
 tiie administration of affairs was mostly entrusted 
 to favourites, those pestilent harpies, which 
 always infest the courts of absolute princes, and 
 render their despotism doubly despotic. Tq 
 incur the displeasure of one of these was to 
 offend the kins:; in the most heinous manner, an(i 
 his indignation was to be dreaded almost as 
 much as that of the gods. 
 
 The satraps, or governors, of the different 
 provinces of the empire, holding their offices 
 upon the tenure of royal pleasure, and usually 
 jealous of each other's iniluem e, were employed 
 in securing the confidence of the people by n 
 equal distribution of justice, reward of meit, 
 and punishment of crime, >;s a first recommenda- 
 tion to the throne ; likewise in conciliating the 
 favour of the king, by assiduously embracing 
 tlie views of his tavourites '^Ihus the prosecu- 
 tion of private interest subserved the important 
 purpc>ses of general justice and prosperity. 
 Tills cannot be said to have always been the 
 case. But it appears to have been the spirit of 
 the Persian constitution and government, during 
 the period we have been contemplating. Their 
 laws were generally equal and salutary, and are 
 acknowledged to have exceeded Khose of all the 
 heathen nations. To inspect the execution of 
 these laws formed a principal part of the king's 
 business. " Rise, sir," said an officer to hina 
 every morning, *' and think of performing those 
 duties for which Aromasdes has placed you on 
 the throne." Education was very particularly 
 attended to, especially that of the king's sons. 
 At 14 years of age, four men of the first distinc- 
 tion, were appointed t© instruct them. Tke iiist 
 
120 ANCIENT HTSTORt. 
 
 taught them prudence ; the second, justice ; the 
 third, teEnperance : and the fourih, fortitude. 
 Although it too often happened that instead oP 
 prudence they learned rashness; instead of 
 justice^ iniawity; instead of temperance, voluptu- 
 t^usness ; and instead of fortitude, piisiUanimitij. 
 
 2. The Persians seem never to hnre been &' 
 very enterprising people. Their contempt i'di" 
 commerce rendered it impossible for them ever' 
 to derive the benefits of foreign improvement ;. 
 and, consequently, their progress in the tine arfs, 
 which the Greeks were carrying rapidly to per- 
 fection, was either very slow, or }>erfeclly 
 stationary. They have in all ages been ceiebra- 
 led for some kinds of manufacture, particularly 
 the making of gold-thread, embroidery, and 
 leather. Their carpets, at this day, cover the 
 floors of the rich in all parts of the world. But 
 ip the higher branches of manufacture they 
 have never excelled, and are said,, by travellers, 
 at the present day to be almost entirely ignorant 
 qI painting. ' ', 
 
 P 'Thoy were an agricultural people, and befot-e 
 the fail of Babylon so poor that they had no 
 clothing but skins, no drink but water, and lib 
 medium of exchange but the produce of the 
 earth. Gold was first coined by Cyaxares, the 
 cotemporary of Cyrus, and by Darius, whence 
 thin pieces of money were called darics. But 
 after the conquest of Assyria, which had for cen- 
 turies been the seat of luxury, the Persians be- 
 gan to wrap their hardy bodies in silk and 
 embroidered garments, till, under the last of their 
 monarchs, they had utterly lost the spirit of the 
 sentiment, that *' virtuous poverty is better than 
 ykeloatik^ with diamonds." Those artg. whjcls 
 
PERSIA. 121 
 
 .advance, were supplanted by those which destroy 
 a nation. 
 
 3. The Persians, before the days of Zoroaster, 
 who lived in the reign of Darius Hystaspes, 
 were generally ignorant in the extreme. Even 
 the magi, who were the doctors of the nation, 
 were confined to some vague opinions in philoso- 
 phy and astronomy, together with the precepts 
 of the then prevalent religion. Masters of the 
 prejudices and superstitions of the people, 
 they spent their lives, not in the researches of 
 science, but in the enjoyment of a plentiful 
 revenue, or in the management of state affairs, 
 with which thej had much to do, on account of 
 their popular influence. Zoroaster instructed them 
 in the first principles of astronomy, mathematics 
 and physic: but their chief science was their 
 system of theology, which we shall have occasioa 
 to notice. 
 
 4. Authors are very copious upon the manners 
 and customs of the Persians. We shall notice a 
 few of them. The Persians were moderate in 
 their eating, but always drank to excess. They 
 were remarkably attached to their friends ; and 
 ingratitude was considered one of the most heinous 
 crimes, being punished by the laws in the se- 
 verest manner. This excellent practice has been 
 peculiar to them. They always have been the 
 most polished people of all the cast, and their 
 hospitality to strangers is very remarkable. A 
 stranger can hardly insult a Persian more than 
 by leaving his house without eating and drinking; 
 for they suppose, that for every entertainment 
 they give to a stranger, Oromasdes commissionji 
 a blessing to rest upon their family. Their usual 
 mode of salutation, if the persons were of equal 
 Tank, was a kist upon the lips ; if one were a lit 
 
 H 
 
122 ANCIENT lllfcTOitY. 
 
 tie inferior, upon the chenk. The common peo- 
 ple always prostrated themselves beibre the no- 
 bility. The Persians may be said to have been, 
 emphatically, a ceremonious people, the strictest 
 attention being always paid to every punctilio be- 
 tween relatives and friends, as well as strany;ers. 
 All their important transactions were replete with 
 ceremony. It is said that they had five kinds of 
 marriages, all distinguished by different scries of 
 ceremonies ; one ol" which is worthy of notict;, 
 namely, " the marriage of the dead." When a 
 young person died in celibacy, one was hired to 
 marry him or her, shortly after the funeral : this 
 arose from an opinion of the happiness of a mar- 
 riage state in a future world. Their funeral ce- 
 remonies were remarkably solemn. When any 
 person died, the body was placed upon a high 
 tower, and after a long series of rites, in which a 
 word is not spoken, because the grave is the re- 
 gion of perfect silence, the oiiiciating priest 
 ended the solemn ceremony by pronouncing, 
 *' Our brother, while he lived, was of the four ele- 
 ments ; now he is dead, let each take his own; 
 earth to earth, air to air, water to water, fire to 
 fire." The corpse was then left to waste, or be 
 devoured by the fowls of heaven. Their annual 
 and casual festivals were very numerous, and ge- 
 nerally continued from three to five and ten days, 
 in the most sumptuous manner that rank and for- 
 tune could justify. 
 
 5. There remain to this day some of the no- 
 blest specimens of architecture in Persia that the 
 world affords. The majestic ruins of Palmyra 
 and Persepolis testify, in strong language, the 
 power, perseverance, and grandeur of the nations 
 • which once peopled the plains of Asia. Irregu- 
 lax m5iise& of huge stones, marble porticoes. 
 
123 
 
 covered with sculptured ornamenis, Tvith here and 
 there the broken shaft of a lofty pillar, are all that 
 remain of those stupendous edifices which seem- 
 ed destined to endure when thousands of genera- 
 tions should have rolled away. The palace of 
 Persepolis, one of the noblest structures ever 
 reared, at the instigation of Thais, a celebrated 
 courtezan, was burnt in a fit of intoxication by 
 Alexander the Great. Two pillars of beautiful 
 fluted marble, 14 feet in circumference, and 54 
 feet high, adorned with specimens of exquisite 
 sculpture, are still standing before the mouldering, 
 formless ruins of the palace At this day, the 
 contemplation of these melancholy tropiiies fills 
 the iniagination of the traveller with vi-ions of 
 ancient grandeur, pleasant, and mournful, and 
 sublime. But a dark cloud is seen suspended 
 over them, while the finger of time inscribes up- 
 on the shattered marble, ^' Why dost thou build 
 the hali, son of the winged days? Yet a few 
 years, the blast of the desart comes, and howls in 
 thy empty court."* 
 
 V. For several centuries after the deluge, the 
 knowledge of God and the principles of true reli- 
 gion were preserved by the descendants of Noah. 
 But when mankind became more immerous, tradi- 
 tionary knowledge was grndually obscured and 
 lost, by an increased corruption of sentiments and 
 depravation of manners. Ignorant of true philo- 
 sophy, and desirous of assigning adequate causes 
 ibr the various appearances in the natural world, 
 they were led to attribute an agency to thcnj 
 Vi'hich belonged only to the Governor of the uni- 
 verse, and to revere them as the at'biters of their 
 destiny. The sun and moOn, whose powerful 
 
 * Ossiiin. 
 
124 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 effects were the most obvious, were first adored, 
 till gradually their religion grew into an enor- 
 mous system of idolatry. It is, however, univer- 
 sally admitted, in honour to the Persians, that 
 they were the last nation who fell into idolatry ; 
 and it is doubted, by many writers, whether they 
 ever did. 
 
 The prevalent religion of Persia, before Zoro- 
 aster, their prophet and reformer, is usually 
 known by the name of magiism, or, the worship 
 of God under the symbol of fire. It originated in 
 Persia, and spread into India. The religion of 
 Assyria was sabiism, or, the worship of the host 
 of heaven, under the symbols of images. Sabi- 
 ism, at different times, gained some footing in 
 Persia, but could never overcome their abhor- 
 rence of abasing the Deity, by a representation of 
 him under any image, except fire, which they 
 deemed the purest and simplest element. 
 
 After the death of Smerdis, the magian and 
 usurper, the successor of Cambyses, the son 
 of Cyrus, the magian religion fell into disrepute, 
 and was gradually losing ground in Persia, when 
 it was again revived by one of the most extraor- 
 dinary men that has ever appeared. Zerdusht, 
 or, as he is called by the Greeks, Zoroaster, the 
 founder, or rather the restorer of the magian reli- 
 gion. The result of the researches of the great- 
 est orientalists, respecting the life and character 
 of this remarkable personage, is as follows : 
 
 He was a Jew, born in Palestine, and for seve- 
 ral years served in the capacity of a servant to 
 one of the prophets who were carried to Babylon 
 in the captivity of Nebuchadnezzar. Prideaux 
 supposes, that it was the prophet Daniel with 
 whom he lived. In this manner he became tho- 
 roughly acquainted, not only with the gener;?^. 
 
125 
 
 .-.chcme of the Jewish religion, as taught in tke 
 Pentateuch, being born and educated in it, but 
 likewise with the spirit aiid purify of that reli- 
 gion, as professed and [iractised by his master 
 Daniel. Endued by nature with a mind capable 
 of embracing the most extensive views, and with 
 learning and subtlety sutlicient to carry those 
 views into full eilx-^ct, he nsnired to secure to hiui- 
 s elf, by tiie pretence of a prophetic mission, a 
 reputatioti and dignity siniiUir to that which Da- 
 niel possessed. Accordingly, he retired from the 
 world, and lived for many years in a cave, vvheie 
 lie pretended to have received revelations, and to, 
 have been instructed in the doctrines and cere- 
 monies of the religion he was about to establish. 
 Here he composed the zendavesta, or niagian 
 bible, comprising 12 volumes of 100 skins of vel- 
 lum each. The word zendavesta signincs, "' a 
 tinder box." This book, containing articles of. 
 i'aith and practice, together with the life of the 
 author, Zoroaster feigned to have received from 
 heaven. Ibey say, that the prophet, in a vision, 
 was taken into the expanse of heaven, where he, 
 saw the empyreal circle, diffusing an interminable 
 lustre ; from the midst of which, Oromasdes talked 
 with him, gave him the holy zendavesta, and the 
 eternal fire to burn upon his altar. 
 
 After having niatured his plan, Zoroaster made 
 his appearance at Ecbatana, in Media, which had 
 always been the principal seat of the raagian re- 
 ligion, in the reign of Darius Hystaspes. Al- 
 though the magian religion had fallen into dis- 
 grace amiong the nobility, yet the prejudice of the 
 people, confirmed by long habit, was in its favour. 
 and was the foundation of Zoroaster's scheme. 
 A better one he could not have chosen. His first ' 
 inn9Tation^ respected their faith. They had been 
 J. i " 
 
l^Q AMCJENT HrSTORY. 
 
 accustomed to believing that two etcrnril priuct- 
 r)les of good and evil existed, and were contend- 
 Ino- for the r;overnment of .the world. But Zoro- 
 ;istc r t.'.u^ht them, ihat there was but one God, 
 " incorruptible, eternal, and unbegotfen ; the 
 autiiorofall good, the most excellent of all beings, 
 and the wisest of all intelligent natures; the fa- 
 ther of equity, tlie parent oi good laws, self-in- 
 ,<-iructed, self-stifiieient, and the first former of na- 
 lure." That there are two powerful created in- 
 teliigenccs, the one light, which is the author of 
 good ; the other, darkness, which is the au'hor ot 
 evil. That in this world, these two angels are 
 contending for the victory, but there will arrive a 
 day of judgjiient, in which the angel of darkness 
 ehall bedrivenvvilh hi? follou'ers into a region of 
 darkness and misery, to suffer everlasting torments 
 lor their evil deeds. But, that the angel of light 
 shall go, With his followers, to dwell forever in 
 tiiat pure light atid joy which eternally ema- 
 tKit^s fiom the burning throne of Oromasdes. 
 
 .-nother alteration which Zoroaster effected 
 >vas the creation of nrc-tenijdcs, in which vvor- 
 '#np vvaSto be perforuied. Before his time the 
 Persians hnd always paid tlieir devotions in the 
 upen air, on liic tops of mountains, and in solita- 
 rv rjlaces, because they thought it derogatory to 
 |he rn«i»^.-ly of hpaven to suppose OrouiasdevS cir- 
 • 'krmscribed l;y temples. But Zoroaster, by convin- 
 cing them ihat though Oromasdes was not con- 
 ihud to- any place, yet it wasabsolutely necessa- 
 iV to have a temple ; in order to preserve the 
 jrj'.c red lire, th(; symbol or shadow of Deity, which 
 he had brought from heaven, from being extin- 
 guished by any casuahyv they erected pyrea, or 
 i^i-e-le moles, al! over the dmrure: <ihdi have them 
 
PERSIA. IZi 
 
 ' To give you some idea of their practical rules, 
 T have transcribed the live grand precepts of the 
 zendavesta, which they considerought logovern- 
 the conduct of every individual. 
 
 1. '* To have shame ever with them, as a 
 remedy against sin ; for a man would never op- 
 press his inferiors, if he had any shame ; a man 
 would never steal, if he had any shame ; a man 
 would never lie, if he had any shame. But be- 
 cause this is laid aside, men are ready to commit 
 any crimes." 
 
 2. " To have fear always present with them ; 
 and that every time the eye twinkled, or closed 
 its lids together, that they should stand in fear, 
 kst they should not go to heaven." 
 
 S. "" That whensoever they are to do any thing, 
 to think whether the thing be good or bad ; whe- 
 ther commanded or forbidden in the zendavesta." 
 
 4. *' That whatsoever of God's creatures they 
 should first behold in the morning, it should be a 
 monitor to put them in mind of their thanksgivings 
 to Oromasdes, that had given such good things for 
 men's use." 
 
 5. " That whensoever they pray by day, they 
 should turn their faces towards the sun ; and when 
 by night, towards the moon, for these were Oro- 
 masdes' witnesses, most contrary to Lucifer, who 
 loveth darkness more than light." 
 
 Thus, as was proposed, have we viewed an 
 important period of history. 
 
 In glancing the eye back upon the prospect 
 which has been presented, we are struck with a 
 remarkable peculiarity. The Persian empire 
 rose suddenly, and fell as suddenly. Instead of 
 toiling through a long, tempestuous, and feeble 
 infancy, like most other nations, it broke into 
 existence; like Pallas from the brain of Jupiter, 
 
ilQ ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 in full armour, strength, and beautr. Led by 
 Cyrus, a mild and vivifying sun, it flourished, the 
 envy and admiration of the world ; till, at length, 
 as in a moment, it withered and perished beneatU. 
 the scorching influence of another sun, wliich , 
 suddenly appeared, flaming in the western hemis- : 
 pht/^re. The wild hero of Macedon swept these 
 fail regions with the bezom of destruction, and,lt 
 for a season, the praises of Cyrus were drownecij^^ 
 in the fame of Alexander the Great. But at tht^sl 
 distant day we can better appreciate their meritsjife 
 and learn to love the one, while we ailmirejlbj^^ri 
 other. ■■ ' - 
 
 The way is now prepared to pass into Europe, 
 where we shall be welcomed by scenes which 
 expand and elevate, instead of prostrating the 
 human mind. There we shall behold the Genius 
 of Liberty training her bold proselyte to virtue, 
 intelligence, and perennial glory. You have 
 wandered long upon the banks of the Nile, and 
 been introduced to the court of Sesostris, but not 
 a scene has been presented congenial to the soul. 
 A dark miniature of ignorance, superstition, and 
 tyranny, has only met the eye. We have led 
 you across the vast regions of Asia, and have 
 loitered upon the banks of the Euphrates, but 
 degradation, war, and cruelty everywhere mark 
 the paralyzing presence of despotic monarchy. 
 While here and there an illustrious character has 
 appeared, like a meteor, glancing through the 
 gloom, and cresting, with a momentary flame, the 
 foaming billows. The mellow tones of an ^oliaii 
 lyre may soothe to slumber — the syren voice of 
 slavery, clothed like an angel of light, may allure 
 to pleasure, even behind the grate of the dun- 
 geon — the silver trumpet of J'ame may send its 
 animating notes full #n the ear, and the praise of 
 
PERSIA. 12S 
 
 a tyrant, borne upon the blast, be heard with de- 
 light : but if there existed a land in which liberty 
 long flourished, in which y^enius, and wisdom, 
 and intelligence, and virtue, were not subject to 
 the direful visitations of despotism — in which the 
 nursling of freedom was not strangled in its cra- 
 dle, to that land we turn with selitiments of con- 
 genial pleasure and exalted admiration. Such a 
 land was ancient Greece. Our next evening's 
 amusement will be an excursion to that delightful 
 region ; and if we are not successful in gathering 
 a cluster of flowers where they first bloomed, on 
 the borders of the Pierian fountain, and where 
 the Muses themselves once delighted to rove, we 
 hope, at least, to b^ able to tell you whe.re they 
 may be found. 
 
130 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 Ancient Greece, 
 
 From the survey of Egjpt, Assyria, and Per- 
 sia, we turn to the Greeks, to whom the nations 
 of the ear'h are indel*ted for the productions of 
 refined taste, exalted genius, and elegant litera- 
 ture. The nations beyond the Greeks present a 
 clouded prospect. It is like viewing a landscape 
 by the light of the moon, whose pale lustre often 
 yields to a passing shadow, and never penetrates 
 the deep valleys nor retired dells. The light of 
 Grecian history brightens into sunshine ; would 
 that it presented nothing but scenes of which the 
 day were not ashamed ! 
 
 As the Grecian history is designed to occupy 
 three successive lectures, I propose this evening 
 to set 'before you some remarks on the genius ^ 
 literature, ciiid arts, of that astonishing people, 
 who claim an ascendency over all nations : — and, 
 considering what they invented, improved, and 
 perfected, may cheerfully be allowed the palm. 
 For surely, after practising upon their models for 
 twenty-five centuries, if all the world is still 
 behind them in sculpture, architecture, poetry, 
 and eloquence, they must be allowed to be the 
 masters of mankind. 
 
 The few incidents of their civil history, and 
 great revolutions, which we shall be able to con- 
 dense intoa lecture, will derive advantage'and im- 
 pression from an account of the nature and origin 
 
GREECE. 131 
 
 G»r that exalted genius which eiiaoled them to 
 conquer, to govern, and to instruct. 
 
 Genius consists in quickness and perspicuity 
 of apprehension, coinprebensiveness and strength 
 of intelligence, and decision and celerity of 
 conduct. Genius, says Zimmerman, is that power ■ 
 of mind by which we seize an object in all its 
 bearings and relations at one view. But without 
 labouring after definitions, the man of genius is 
 one who possesses the various powers and 
 faculties possessed by men in general, but to an 
 uncommon degree. It facilitates the operations 
 of reason, or rather substitutes intuition in its 
 stead. It countervails the want of experience, 
 and prevents the painful labours, tedious delays, 
 and dangerous errors, necessary to obtain it. Of 
 course, " it begins where experience ends." 
 
 The Greeks probably possessed more genius 
 than any other nation ; and to this was owing 
 their astonishing discoveries and progress in the 
 arts of peace r.nd war. To this it was owing 
 that you see in Philip of Macedon the first 
 rudin.ients of diplomatic science ; in Pyrrhus 
 the tirst form of a regular encampment ; in 
 Pythagoras the first notions of the true system of 
 the universe ; in the amphyctionic council the 
 first principles of a confederated republic ; and in 
 all the states of Greece, the true origin of civil 
 liberty. This enabled Homer to give the world, 
 tiot only the first, but the most finished and per- 
 fect epic poem ever formed ; and Domesthenes 
 to pronounce, if not the most copious, elegant, and 
 pleasing, yet the most pointed, impressive, and 
 forcible orations ever delivered. 
 
 No subject is more complicated than the de- 
 velopment of the character of a nation, and of 
 the causes of their prosperity and decliHe, 
 
132 ANCIENT HISTORV. 
 
 Many things are to be viewed in the tivofold 
 light of cause and effect ; many causes have an 
 influence through unseen channels, and with in- 
 visible and silent energy, produce distant snd 
 dissimilar effects ; and on what small pivots the 
 greatest events often turn cannot have escaped 
 the notice of any well-informed and coatempla- 
 tive mind. I' /^ ! 
 
 Liberty first chose, and has ever choVeh, h^r 
 favourite residence on hills and mountains. It 
 cannot be doubted that the climate and face of 
 the country in Greece had a powerful influence 
 on the ancient inhabitants of that romantic 
 country. The passions of the mind are like 
 storms at sea : when they raise a whirlwind on 
 an extensive plain, it will travel till it finds a 
 barrier. Tyrants and conquerors have always 
 succeeded on the great plains of Asia. But the 
 steely spirits of the Alps fostered the fire of 
 liberty, til! a tyrant arose, who, on plains, has 
 the stride of a giant, and on rocks and mountains 
 the flexibility of a serpent. 
 
 The Grecian Peloponnesus is a beautiful 
 peninsula, uniting every advantage of a continent 
 and island. The Archipelago, lying round it, 
 is sprinkled with pleasant islands, rising, like 
 emeralds, on the heaving bosom of the deep. On 
 the eastern shore of this narrow sea the lesser 
 Asia presents some of the most agreeable coun- 
 ^tries in the world ; where Troy once flourished^ 
 where Crccsus, king of Lydia, displayed his 
 magnificence, and where the faithful Artimesia 
 reared a mausoleum to perpetuate the memory of 
 her affection. 
 
 The Peloponnesus was approached hy land 
 over the isthmus of Corinth, on which a city of 
 tjaat ostfiie flourished foi ages, till it was over» 
 
GRfeECE. 133 
 
 turned by the power of Rome. Without this 
 isthmus stood Athens, one of the finest cities in 
 the world, the ancient seminary of nations, the 
 eentre of arts and sciences, the mistress of taste 
 and elegance. 
 
 Some of the boldest lines and finest touches of 
 nature's pencil were in ancient Greece. I say 
 ancient Greece, for if it were possible for a stupid 
 barbarous nation to deform the face of nature, 
 to spoil and undo what Almighty Providence has 
 done, the Turks would have transformed this 
 feeautiful region. Indeed, if one could have seen 
 that country, as it was in the days of Agamemnon 
 and Clytemnestra, or on the morning of that day 
 when Miltiades drew out his little band of heroes 
 to the battle of Marathon, I fancy he would 
 scarcely know it by its present appearance. 
 
 Its mountains are bold and lofty ; they rear their 
 summits as if to inspect the transactions of the 
 clouds, or contend with (he spirits of the storm. 
 The verdure of the hills is uncommonly bright, 
 and their variegated attitudes, and peculiar forms, 
 display magnificence and beauty. Their sloping 
 rales, like the verdant avenues of a. vast garden, 
 wind through colonnades of hills and mountains, 
 where an endless variety of prospect invites the 
 eye to rove with wonder, or rest with pleasure. 
 "i he landscape is completed by springs, and brooks, 
 and rivers, which pursue their frolick course, and 
 dash like liquid silver from the hills, and along 
 the plains and vales, presenting their crystal bosom 
 as a mirror to the ardours of the sun, or, in the 
 tranquillity of night, reflect the spangled robes of 
 heaven. 
 
 The unrivalled scenery of ancient Greece 
 sfiemed to declare it the land of poetry and ro- 
 ?Jiance, the lan^ ef freedom^ patriots, and ker«e*,» 
 12 
 
i34 A:^icIENT history. 
 
 While, it affected the imagination with bold im- 
 ages, and inspired grand sentiments and sublime 
 tbou^hts, its pure air and wholesome streams gave 
 high heaith and iiorid vigour. Its fruili'ul soil and 
 temperate seasons rendered subsistence easy, and 
 life long and secure. In these advantages, which, 
 in the aggregate, exceeded those of any other coun- 
 try, \vc may see some of the causes of the supe- 
 rior genius of the Greeks. 
 
 This surprising people possessed another ad- 
 vantage over all nations ; but whether this was 
 a cause or an effect of their genius and mental 
 powers may be thought a question involving 
 doubt. The Greek language, whether we take 
 our opinion of it from the Vvriters of the Augustan 
 age, or from tlie unequalled fabric come down to 
 owr times, was the most noble, the mo^t perfect, 
 the mostexqui'^ite ever formed. The Koman lan- 
 guage was a majestic and highly finished lan- 
 guage. But let an ear which can judge of mu- 
 sic hear a passage of Homer well read, and im- 
 mediately after a passage of Virgil, and he will 
 say that Homer is the softest, the sweetest, the 
 grandest, and, in all respects, the best. 
 
 The Grecian language, in oratory w as bold, so- 
 norous, and commanding ; in poetry it was incom- 
 parably versatile, flexible, powerful, and harmo- 
 nious ; in history it w^as grave, chaste, and dignifi- 
 ed ; in fable, allegory, metaphor, and epigram, 
 it was pointed, condensed, full of thought. In 
 the strains of Sappho you hear the voice of pas- 
 sion — the heart is touched by the lamentations 
 of hopeless despair. In Theocritus' beautiful 
 vision of ancient landscape, you hear the groves 
 sigh for Adonis: you see his wounds bleeding, 
 while the lovely sisters of the bow mourn his un- 
 timely fall, aaUjWith unutterable grief, turn from 
 
GREECE. iS5 
 
 fhe Fcene, and, by a resistless charm, you join 
 the- procession, and become one of the mourners* 
 
 But when the thunder of the warlike muse 
 po-ars in the voice of [lomer ; when you hear 
 the Clang of Apollo's bov/, and see the glittering 
 arrow mark its path u'ith li.^ht, you treinl)Ie for 
 the victim, and, hurried by the poet across the vale 
 of 3,0U0 years, you stand an astonished spectator 
 of the scene. 
 
 iA tsnguage of such powers, of such resistless 
 fascinations, must, as already noticed, have been 
 the cause and the effect of Grecian genius. It 
 was the cause, for it could render soul visible to 
 souL The energy of such inj-piring sounds was 
 every moment felt — and felt by all classes of peo- 
 ple ; and Crassus, the orator, [Tully de Oratore,] 
 somewhere remarks, that the mechanics of Athens 
 were niol'e eloquent than the orators of other na- 
 tions. Such a mean of conversation prompted 
 the Greeks to every thin^ great and noble. 
 
 The perfection of this language was also the 
 eSect of Grecian genius. For unless we under- 
 take to believe that it was inspired, and taught 
 immediately from heaven, we must suppose it was 
 wrought up by degrees, to its utmost sti-ength 
 and elegance, by long and persevering efforts. 
 
 The Grecian genius derived its force and gran- 
 deur from another source no less conspicuous — 
 their forms of government. The first, and, per- 
 haps, the most natural, of all governments, is de- 
 spotic monarchy. Nations. generally begin and 
 end with this. In the first formation of the Gre- 
 cian states, they were governed by tyrants, as 
 they were then called, which word signified 
 much the same as king or monarch. It is some- 
 what remarkable, that about the time Saul was 
 elevated to the throne in Israel, the Grecian states 
 
13ft ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 abolished monarchy, and established a republican 
 form of government. I cannot but consider this 
 revolution as owing, in a good measure, to the 
 bold and variegated features of their country, so 
 highly favourable to intellectual vigour and €«« 
 pansion. '-'' 
 
 But long before this revolution, the Greeks had 
 given a proof of their political veisdom, in form- 
 ing a federal government. At the city of Ther- 
 mopylee, a place afterwards rendered famous by 
 the bravery of Leonidas, in resisting the army of 
 Xerxes, the Grecian states assembled, by two re- 
 presentatives from each state. This confedera- 
 tion was begun some time before the Trojan war, 
 and at length embraced all the Grecian states, 
 both within and without the Peloponnesus. Their 
 meeting was held twice a year, and was called 
 the Amphictyonic council, from Amphictyon, the 
 king of Athens, who was on the throne when the 
 confederation was formed. It continued till abo- 
 lished by Alexander the Great, and was a princi- 
 pal source of the power and elevation of the states 
 of Greece. 
 
 The general fabric of the Grecian government 
 was more like our own than that of any other na- 
 tion. The power of the Amphictyonic council 
 was more limited, and less legislative, than that of 
 our congress ; and the Grecian states were less 
 consolidated than ours. But the Amphictyonic 
 council, at times, exercised legislative, execu- 
 tive, and judicial powers. It is a trait of all the 
 ancient governments, that they kept the several 
 departments of government less separated and dis- 
 tinct than the moderns. 
 
 ' Every American should read the history of 
 Greece. There he will see what small states are 
 lo expect when confederated with large ones. 
 
There, be will see, lirst, LacedeiJioa,next Athens, 
 then Thebes, ana at last Corinth, directing the 
 'general councils of that nation. If we resemble 
 the Grecian states in their good, as well as bad 
 traits, it will be well for us. If we especially 
 resemble them in a duration^ under one form of 
 governmeut for 800 years, and become the greatest 
 power on earth, it will be happy. 
 
 The freedom of the Greeks was, no doubt, a 
 source whence the elevation of their sentiments 
 flowed '. it was the fountain of their genius. 
 
 There was a peculiar felicity in many of their 
 public institutions, to promote great and noble 
 sentiments. Among the foremost of these, may 
 be reckoned their games : and of these, the Olym- 
 pic were the most celebrated. Nothing could 
 exceed their magnificence ; nothing could equal 
 the ambition which prevailed, to come off a con- 
 queror in these splendid competitions. They 
 were designed as a display of strength, activity, 
 skill, and courage. The man who was a con- 
 queror here, ever after had the right to a place 
 hy the side of his prince, or commander, in the 
 fieid of battle, 
 
 Iphitus, prince of Elis, aided by Lycurgus, the 
 Spartan legislator, was the second founder, or re- 
 storer of these games. A beautiful plain near 
 Olympia, in the Peloponnesus, was chosen for 
 this grand exhibition. Here a superb gymna- 
 sium was erected, and all the plain was adorned 
 with gardens, porticos, columns, arches and pa- 
 laces. Every fifth year this splendid scene re- 
 turned, and as it drew nigh, a more brilliant as- 
 sembly convened than was perhaps ever seen oa 
 any stated occasion. The sovereign princes of 
 all the adjacent countries came, attended by 
 tKeijT courtiers and nobility. Ladies, withoul: 
 12'^ 
 
J 38 AxVCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 whom no assembly can be august or truly splen- 
 lild, honoured this scene of beauty and magnifi- 
 cence. From their presence, ijideed, its.' chief 
 interest arose. *;. '« ' • ^ m^ Jj- 
 
 The foot and chariot races, wrestling, hoxxng^ 
 throwing the coit, and what they called the pan- 
 cratium, which united boxing and wrestling, 
 Were the principal exercises of the competitors. 
 Their object was fame and glory. The sordid 
 motive of making money was the last that could 
 liave been thought of on those occasions. But 
 whilst strength, agility, and bravery were the 
 great objects to be promoted and honoured, the 
 intellectual powers were not forgotten. At these 
 games were exhibited every competition of men- 
 tal excellence. Orations were delivered, poems 
 was exhibited, every specimen of art and sci- 
 ence, thought worthy of an occasion so grand, 
 was produced and inspected by solemn forms of 
 audience and examination. The poets, orators, 
 philosophers, and wits, were never absent from 
 these games : the painters, statuaries, architects, 
 and, in short, all the renowned artists, came hither 
 to display their talents, and to earn the recom- 
 pense of applause, which, if deserved, they were 
 siire to gain. 
 
 These games opened a grand court, in which 
 p\\ excellence v/as impartially tried and nobly re- 
 warded. Its influence in expanding the mind 
 and ennobling the genius of the Greeks, cannot be 
 doubted. I recollect with what pleasure I read 
 of a youth, whose name 1 have forgotten, who 
 iiad been contending and come off victor in the 
 pancratium. The conflict was terrible, and pro ■ 
 tracted to a surprizing length. His antagonist had 
 great strength, and was evidently superior in 
 every thing but invincible courage. The youth 
 
V/RSECE. 139 
 
 was alien ioiloJ, and sojnetimes was supposed ac- 
 tually slain. But rising from every fall, he re- 
 iwwtd the strife, and, gathcrii>g courage from de- 
 leat, and resolution from despair, at, length he 
 prevailed, contrary to every one's expectation. 
 But he was, covered with vvoimds, and dr<?nched 
 iij blood. As they \y.e,re leading him away, one 
 of his acquaintance asked him, wiih a satyrical 
 a if, what he had got by. his victory ? '' / ,now have 
 a'^rigkt,'' replied, ije, " to fight by the side of mij 
 prince.'''' 
 
 ..-> ;Piutarch has celebrated the almost unparalleled 
 geod foiitune of, Philip of Macedon, who, on the 
 same day, received intelligence that hi§ army 
 bad won a victory, his wife iiad borne him a son, 
 and that he bad been conqueror in the Olympic 
 chariot race. In the immortal stanzas of Pindar, 
 these games ar.e celebrated, and their influence 
 on the genius and passions set forth ; .and, with- 
 out doubt, Irliero, king of Sicily, owes more of 
 his fame to his victories in these games than to 
 his crown and sceptre, and probably more to the 
 penof Pindar than to eiiher. 
 
 The state of nations, vviien the Grecian repub- 
 lics rose, gave them an original cast of mind, and 
 added a new ingredient in their genius and cha- 
 racter. Their retrospect of the world, Jiud the 
 state of human knowledge, as it, came to them, 
 raised them to a new and more exalted level 
 than any other nation had assumed. Cecrops 
 and Danaus were from Egypt, Cadmus froin 
 Phenicia, , and Pelops from the Lesser Asia. 
 While the states, bounded by these great and 
 enterprising chieftains, were slowly rising to ma- 
 turity and strength, three great empiies melted 
 ivway. 
 ,r ^The gloom of Egypt grew darker ; that ancient 
 
Hd ANCIENT HISTORY, 
 
 iTaiion bowed with years and descended to tlis 
 tqtwb. 'ii^e raighty pyramids and sepiiichral 
 domes toid the traveller what Egypt once was.- 
 In these venerable shades ihe Grecian phiioso- 
 phers loved to wander ; nor was the gloom so pal- 
 pable but thai they gathered many jewels, au4\ 
 n^^de accej-sions to the stores of knowledge._-,niiE 
 ...Tne Assyrian empire, that Jion whose ro^v^-k^, 
 so oiten resounded through the plains of ;Asia," 
 also became silent in the dust. The coiifusioa 
 of Babel had ceased. Her walls and towers >tood 
 in awful silence, and afforded, in many parts, a 
 peaceful covert to wild beasts and solitary birds. 
 The Persian empire still remained ; but as Greece 
 rose to maturity, she tottered to her fall. 
 
 Greece had both the wing and the eye of the 
 eagle. With such a mass of antiquity and decajf' 
 t)n the one hand, she saw new and powerlul iii^: 
 stitutions rising on the other. Carthage, on ths; 
 base of the African pyramid, she saw monopo^.. 
 lizing the sea, and in Italy there lay an infant 
 whose very cries might hush the roar of the iion, 
 and whose first struggles renewed tJ^e rememj', 
 trance of Hercules in his cradle. Her sages trai^ 
 veiled far in quest of kn^^xfecl^^BBiiMyri^.^^^ 
 iri pursuit of fame. .-/.. ., ,_\^ . „;c«,J •^ ,:^ 
 
 .With these adventitious advantages to improve, 
 expand, and polish the Grecian genius, '1 ret 
 mark, in the last place, there must have been aa 
 original and distinctive difference and superiuritj 
 in her favour- How often is this exempliiied in 
 brothers of the same family. The Egyptians 
 and Assyrians are allowed to have been the de- 
 scendants of Ham ; the Medes and Persian- of 
 Shem, and the Greeks and Romans of Japliet, 
 Let not the sceptic smile , at thi^ re.maiJi* 5>\l'.?AiJ^ 
 say-pthat I see in t|}? ■,ini:^ani;fi,;^0'^^ S^j^^' 
 
GREECE. 141 
 
 striking fulfilment of one of the most ancient of 
 all predictions. Noah said, in his last blessing 
 pronounced upon his sons, *' God shall enlarge 
 Japhet, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, 
 and Canaan shall be his servant.** This enlarge- 
 ment may first be considered as enlargement of 
 mind-^a more liberal endowment of intellectual 
 powers. This early blessing took efiect in those 
 amazing powers of mind which mark the Grecian 
 character : it took effect when the Greeks con- 
 quered Persia and India — and fully, when the 
 Romans subdued Asia and Africa. 
 
 The Grecian genius was vigorous, elastic, and 
 sprightly. The Greeks were a people of more 
 gayety, vivacity, and sprightlines, than, perhaps, 
 any of the ancient nations of note in history. 
 The Egyptians had much gravity and solemnity 
 in their deportment ; the Chaldeans, also, as far 
 as we can discover, were proud, stately, and 
 distant ; the Persians seemed to possess more ur- 
 banity ; but their whole deportment and inter- 
 course was a system of ceremony. The Greeks 
 were lively and volatile, facetious and inquisitive ; 
 but they were fierce in their resentments, and 
 cruel and bloody in their revenge. 
 
 Such being the genius and character of this fa- 
 mous people, we are prepared to enter upon the 
 consideration of their learning and arts. 
 
 The history of the sciences is like a great river 
 whose volume of water is the aggregate tribute of 
 10,000 springs. As well might you trace out all 
 the fountains that replenish the Amazon as all 
 those individuals who have contributed to bring 
 the sciences to their present state. But many of 
 the springs of science have flowed down from the 
 bills of ancient Greece — many may be traced 
 fe2£k to the banks of the Nile. 
 
142 a:i:cjent histoiiy. 
 
 Of poets, the Greeks claim the first and tlie 
 greatest. It is, however, hiif;h!y probable that 
 there were poets of eiuinenl talents ajid distin* 
 gui:-l;!'d excelience before the days of iionjer, 
 Foelrj is an art which must have arrived at per- 
 fection by repeated efforts, a,iid progi'essiye step3. 
 As well mi^h|; we suppose that Ossian was the 
 lirst cf ail the Scottish baids, because we know 
 of none before him, as tiiat Homer was the tirsl 
 of poets. Me had his rivals, his patterns, and his 
 contemporaries ; but if we except Hesiod, thej 
 are lost in oblivion. I confess^ i would rather 
 have the reputation and powers of the man who 
 wrote the Paradise Lost than of the man who 
 wrote the [liad ; yet no man will presunse to say • 
 that any nation hasescelled the Greeks in tlie art 
 of poetry. If their epic poet has ever had a rival, 
 their pastoral has not. Who ever shall rc;id the 
 Idyls of Theocritus will close the book and say, 
 as was said by David, the French painter, and 
 with much more truth, th'i.<i inan. has no rival. . 
 
 I'he Greeks were the first of the ancient na" 
 ticns that excelled in oratory. Rome did, indeed, 
 dispute with them the palm of eloquence, and we 
 cannot here erect a tribunal to try this digniiied 
 cause. Our decision must be summary. I be- 
 lieve few men vvliohave. read the orations of Ci- 
 cero and Demosthenes would not choose to be 
 the Roman ; yet that choice may be guided by 
 other motives than those of eloquence. The 
 halo which beamed round the Kopjan oralor was 
 more broad aud luHtinous. The urbanity, the 
 lustre, the glory of; the man relieved his eloquence 
 on a ground like the azure of heaven on which a 
 star twinkles. The ei.oquence of the Keman was 
 rich, that of the Gie^ij was stroDs;. 
 
 In sculpture and statuary, the Greeks were ne- 
 
GREECE. 143 
 
 ver equailed. To the name of Phidias the artists 
 of a]J nations paj homage. Who, to see the rough 
 and senseless marble drawn from the quarry co-aid 
 imagiiie to what beauty, elegance, grace and per- 
 fection it might be wrought ? what elevation of 
 sentiment, what strength of expression, what 
 variety of passion ? No art is more a test of 
 genius than that of the statuary. it seems 
 almost to approach creative powers: it tran- 
 scends the powers of tongues, or pens, or pen- 
 cils. Such was the celebrated groupe of Ni- 
 ebe, one of tiie finest pieces of Grecian statuary. 
 While ber lovely children are pierced by the 
 avengiiig arrows of Apollo, the noble matron, over- 
 whelmed with astonishment, and motionless in si- 
 leni grief, is petrified, and turns to marble ; yet, still 
 writhing in all the agony which no words can 
 paint, her eyes turned towards heaven, at her 
 feet her children lie dead, while the angry deity 
 with a frown has drawn his bow, and is ready to 
 send another death t"ul shaft. 
 
 The world has never seen any thing of the kind 
 equal to the Grecian architecture They found 
 the proportions which constitute simplicity, gran- 
 deur, and beauty. Were there no deeper causes 
 to lament and detest the ambition of conquerors, 
 suilicieut cause might be seen in the waste and 
 desolation of the noblest monuments of ancient 
 genius and taste An anecdote of Mummius, the 
 Roman consul, who destroyed Corinth, the second 
 of the Grecian cities, will show how little the 
 value of the aits was understood. After barba- 
 rou-ly tearing down, burning and destroying some 
 of the finest edilices ever buiit, he collected to- 
 geiner some pictures and statues of most exquisite 
 workman>iii|', and sent j.hem off towards Kome. 
 Bat he told- tliose who had the care of them to be 
 
144 ANCIEJJT HISTOIIV. 
 
 cautious and not lose tbera ; for if they did, they 
 should be at the expense of getting new ones made. 
 Little did this barbarous tyrant consider that the 
 like of those inimitable productions of art would 
 never be made. - 
 
 The Greeks claim as well the father of histori- 
 ans as of poets. For although they do not claioat 
 history as their invention, yet, if we except the 
 sacred writings, and a few others, of doubtful 
 character, history began with them. So perfect 
 was the history of Herodotus, that when he read 
 before the Athenian assembly that splended pro- 
 duction, they called his nine books after the nine 
 Muses. Xenophon, who, as a commander, per^ 
 formed ©ne of the greatest achievements recorded 
 in history, (I refer to the retreat of the 10,000j. 
 mentioned in the last lecture,) produced a piece of 
 feistorical narrative perhaps never excelled. 
 
 Their mathematical powers and acquisitions 
 were above all eulogium, Euclid's elements of 
 geometry, one of the noblest piles of pure science 
 ever erected, still instructs the schools of all po- 
 lite nations in the principles of demonstration. 
 To that the literati of the whole world resort as 
 to the storehouse of jiathematical reasoning. 
 Let that book, and all that has been drawn from 
 it, be struck out of existence, and out of memory, 
 and the mathematical sciences would sink in 
 darkness : it would be like drawing the iron, 
 out of the fabric of a ship or house— of which, 
 the immediate consequence would be its disso- 
 lution. 
 
 The foundations were laid for astronomy, and 
 most of the branches of natural philosophy, by 
 the Greeks, or the nations that went before them. ^ 
 And the Greeks, if they did not invent and disco- ^ 
 ver> they took care to be the wiser fpr what otfeer i. 
 
GREECE. 345 
 
 rtations had discovered : — they let nothing escape 
 them pniioticed ; and nothing passed through 
 their hands unimproved. They knew all the 
 astronomica] circles of the sphere ; bad divided 
 the heavens into constellations, and were able to 
 foretell eclipses of the sun and moon. 
 
 They bad discovered tlie obliquity of the 
 ecliptic, and ihe variously inclined planes of the 
 orbits of the several planets. They bad not, in- 
 deed, the advantage of viewing the heavens 
 through the powerful telescopes of modern times ; 
 of course, they failed of many discoveries which 
 without glas.ses, never could have been made. 
 Kepler's laws of the planetary motions, and New- 
 ton's laws of gravitation, together with the use of 
 glasses, constitute the principal improvements in 
 modern astronomy. The true system of the uni- 
 verse was understood by Thales and Pythagoras. 
 Those eminent philosophers bad discovered that 
 the sun was the true centre of the system, and 
 that the earth, with the other planets, revolved 
 round the sun. 
 
 The moderns, it must be confessed, have ma% 
 some noble additions to the mathematical sci- 
 ences. Logarithms, algebra, and fluxions, in 
 addition to the facility of numerical calculation, 
 derived from the Arabians of the middle ao-es, 
 makes our arithmetic far superior to the Grecian! 
 B^ut Euclid's Elements evinced more vigour of 
 faculties, and solidity of reason than all the ma- 
 thematical productions of modern times. i am 
 in doubt whether it be not the noblest monument 
 of science ever raised by mortal man. 
 
 If, as some say, the wisdom of a nation is to be 
 
 looked for in their maxims, proverbs, and fables, 
 
 I know of no finer field thau Grecian literature 
 
 presents ia these respect j. What similar pro- 
 
 13 
 
14(3 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 ductioi) ever equalled the fables of Esop ? What 
 uninspired maxims ever surpassed those of the 
 sages of Greece ? Thej discovered a deep know- 
 Jedge of human nature ; they saw the motives of 
 conduct ; few principles of morality and ethics 
 escaped their observation. And it will be found 
 that such writers as Erasmus, Grotius, Montes- 
 quieu, Puffendorf, and Bacon, those luminaries in 
 the revival of letters, drew from this a'ncieht'stOFe- 
 house. • •, : . 
 
 In the entire and comprehensive science of hu- 
 manity, I am in douSt whether all the boasted 
 polish of modern tirr.es has added a shade or ray 
 of excellence, except what is immediately ou'inij 
 to Christianity. But the ancient Greeks banished 
 their best and greatest men. What do the mo- 
 derns ? If such a thing as an honest statesman 
 appear once in a century, he is bound in the 
 chain of public sentiment, and laid quietly in the 
 dungeon of oblivion But the ancient govern- 
 ments were cruel. What are the modern ? They 
 hold out one set of motives to the people, and act 
 from another. The ancient governments had more 
 of force and violence, but more sincerity : the 
 modern art of government consists in concealment. 
 
 But in several of the ancient nations, and the 
 Greeks among others, there was a nobleness of 
 character, an ingenuousness of sentiment, which 
 makes it appear desirable to have lived among 
 such a people : they abounded in that disposi- 
 tion termed generosity. But to discover the amia- 
 ble traits in their character, it must be caretully 
 contemplated with some other ligiit than merely 
 that of history. It lie-^ dispersed through their 
 writings, and will be found scattered over the 
 broad field of their literature. Hence may be 
 deduced the importance of the study of ancient 
 
147 
 
 languages. As it is quite itnpossiljle to form an 
 idea of a countenance by mere description, so to 
 develop the character of a nation, is beyond 
 ilfie power and province of history. We must 
 know their thoughts, their sentiments, their modes 
 of con^versation. 
 
 In these various respects, the Greeks possessed 
 great and unrivalled excellence- With a genius 
 expansive, free and strong, a language of copious 
 modulation and peculiar harmony, their mental 
 powers were attuned to magnanimous designs and 
 generous dispositions. Alexander, when he was 
 retiring from an intervievv with Diogenes, power- 
 fully affected with his greatness of sou!, exclaim- 
 ed. to his attendants. " If I were not Alexander, I 
 ■would rather be Diogenes." 
 
 I'A lively and strong imagination generally 
 unites with great sensibility These were emi- 
 nently characteristic of the Grecian people. I 
 |)ave somewhere read a curious anecdote of an old 
 man, who was a stranger at Athens, who went 
 one evening into the theatre. As he approached 
 the seats of the Athenian youth, they pressed to- 
 gether in such a manner as to leave him no place 
 to be seated ; he was, therefore, compelled to 
 stand in a situation very conspicuous and embar- 
 rassing, and exposed to ridicule. The Lacede- 
 monians, who held age in great veneration, per- 
 ceiving his confusion, and touched with pity, by 
 a general sympathy, all rose at once to offer him 
 a seat. Tlse volatile Athenians, struck w-ith such 
 urbanity, suddenly gave a thunder of applause. 
 The old man replied, " The Athenians know 
 what is good — the Lacedemonians practise it.*' 
 
 No nation was ever more susceptible of a sub- 
 lime and generous friendship. This noble pas- 
 fjion of the mind is the evidence and the mea- 
 
148, ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 sure nf human ha])piness. The want of it, fills 
 life with 3>iisery, in f-vei y form ?/■><} degree. Nei- 
 ther wealth nor faiifii', neither pnisperity nor pow- 
 er, without it, can give joy to the heart. Ex- 
 ternal circumstances are adventitious to happi- 
 ness — friendship is essential. Other intellectual 
 and mental endowments surround the human cha- 
 racter with lustre, as viewed by others ; this lovely^, 
 affection is the soul s perpetual sunshine ; it is- 
 that which makes us conscit)us that we are happj^f 
 in onrselves. In reading the characters and ac- 
 tions of this magnanimous nation, the glow of thi:^ 
 sentiment diffuses over all a vernal warmth and 
 brightness. Indeed, something of this air prevails ' 
 in all the ancient nations ; and I have been ready 
 to inquire, whether the human race, in its aggre- 
 gate capacity, does not resemble an individual : 
 whether, as it grows old, and removes farther dis- 
 tant from the morning of time, and the youth of 
 society, it does not resemble an old man, whom 
 the chill of lime has rendered avaricious, 
 
 ** And froze the genial current ot" the soul ;'* 
 
 whom misfortune has rendered sour, and continual 
 disappointment distrustful ? 
 
 Whoever shall read Cicero's charming Essay 
 on Friendship, will not be able to avoid the be- 
 lief, that bis mind had been nurtured in a fairer 
 climate — a mental horizon of brighter luminaries, 
 whose mild influence called forth flowers of richer 
 fragrance gand beauty. There we see such men 
 as the immortal Scipio, and Sca?vola — men of the 
 first eminence the world ever produced — men, 
 equally great as statesmen, as philosophers, as 
 commanders. When a moment of leisure allowed 
 Ihem respite from the arduous callings, devoting 
 
GREECE, 14C| 
 
 ihemseives to llie pure and elevated pleasures of 
 friendship, which they cherished wiih the inno- 
 cence and simplicity of childhood, enjoyed with 
 the raptures of youth, and adorned with the ma- 
 jesty of unaffected greatness. 
 
 Nor did any ancient nation excel the Greeks 
 in this generous vein of sentiment. They seemed 
 to live for the interest and happiness of their 
 friends. Solon's rule for measuring human hap- 
 piness, proposed to Crcesus, king of Lydia, was,-' 
 '' to live in love, and die in peace. '^ And he told 
 the haughty monarch that Cleobis and Biton, two 
 obscure young men, who spent their time in per--- 
 forming their duty to their country and the godsj'^ 
 in acts of kindness to their friends, and of filial '^ 
 piety to their mother, were happy men. >S 
 
 With the Greeks, personal attachment had-B 
 more influence, and private interest less, than'^ 
 with almost any other nation. Xerxes the Great-^ 
 was much surprised when a Greek, who was ad^- 
 mitted to his confidence, told him that the Greeks 
 did not fight for money. " And pray,^' said he, 
 *' what thenilo they fight for?" " They fight," 
 said the other, " for glory." The brave men who 
 fought and fell with Leonidas, at the Straits off 
 Thermopylffi, were led by love to their country, ' 
 to their leader, and to one another, and by the 
 love ot glory. 
 
 The Greeks gave an honourable evidence of '^ 
 love to their country, by resigning their lives for -'' 
 its welfare ; and, perhaps, they did this in a man- '! 
 ner more unequivocal, and more frequently, thart"^^ 
 any other nation. Every reader has heard the'i 
 story x)f Codrus, king of Athens. An oracle had'^-^ 
 foretold, that a nation, whose king should fall itf^ 
 battle, should be victorious. '1 he Athenians-;^' 
 were then engaged in a dangerous war with tW"' 
 13* 
 
J5Q ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 Heraclidae, But as the Heraclidae had heard the 
 same oracle, they determined not to kill the king 
 of Athens, and to use the greatest care to preserve 
 his life. For this a special order was given. The 
 patriot king, perceiving how diificult it would be 
 for him to be slain in the common course of events, 
 dressed himself in disguise, and going out to the 
 enemy's array, he drew a dagger and wounded a 
 soldier. At this they fell upon him and killed him, 
 not knowing who he was. According to the oracle, 
 the Athenians were victorious ; and as a testimo- 
 ny of their gratitude to Codrus, whom they ho- 
 noured as the saviour of his country, they passed 
 a law that no man should ever more reign in 
 Athens, under the title of king. They gave the 
 administration, therefore, to arehons,or chief ma- 
 gistrates. 
 
 But this sentimental, magnanimous people, had 
 an ardour of character, a warmth of attachment 
 to their friends, of which we seem able to form no 
 conception : and whenever we read to what sub- 
 limity of soul it often carried them, we are com- 
 pelled to confess we are strangers to such feelings ; 
 and we cannot but think meanly of that cold me- 
 diocrity, or lukewarm indifference, which charac- 
 terizes the society and the age in which we live. 
 When the scenes of real life have once dispelled 
 the fleeting illusions of youth, where is a man's 
 friends ? Some, perhaps, are dead ; they were 
 snatched away before the blossom of profession 
 could ripen into fruit, or be blasted by interest : 
 others, launched into divergent pursuits, look back 
 after him, at times, with vacant gaze, as we be- 
 hold a distant sail at sea lying on a different 
 course, and are ready to despise his failure, or 
 envy his success. If he is rich, he may thank his 
 Wealth for presenting society in a mask, behind 
 
GREECE. 151 
 
 which it is impossible for him, at once, to distin* 
 guish the basilisk from the dove. 
 
 ;*{|T" And'Wliat is friendship but a name, 
 ■' A charm thiit lulls to sleep, 
 
 A shade that follows wealth and fame, 
 Jl^ut .leaves the Avrelch to weep?" 
 
 .s, bshivjo 
 
 . >If $ man is rich, a large class court his favour, 
 iri hopes of deriving benefit from his influence; 
 another class come near him, in hopes of attracting 
 a particle of gold from the contact ; many tharp 
 «yes and nimble fingers watch him for some 
 advantage of his good nature, negligence, igno- 
 rance, or generosity, actuated by as noble a 
 motive as the vulture which approaches a carcass. 
 Alexander the Great, than whom few men pos- 
 sessed more penetration, said, very shrewdly, 
 concerning two of his most intimate friends, 
 " Craterus loves the king, Hepheesiion loves 
 Alexander." And when Charles the Fifth had 
 laid aside his crown and sceptre, and become a 
 private man, his greatest grief and mortification 
 was to perceive how suddenly an immense crowd 
 of friends, admirers, and flatterers, vanished : 
 that whilst as a monarch he had thousands to 
 adore him, as a man he bad not a friend to par- 
 ticipate his pleasures, to soothe his sorrows, or 
 to close his eyes. 
 
 In the history of Syracuse there is an account 
 of two young Grecian noblemen who lived in 
 the reign of Dionysius the tyrant. They had 
 for a long time cultivated the strictest intimacy 
 and friendship, and pursued a conrse < f life 
 unimpeachable. But the spirit of liberl; I'leva- 
 lent among the Greeks, had on various occasions 
 appeared ; and many had fallen victims to the 
 
152 ANCIENT HISTOftk*. 
 
 suspicion of the tyrant. At length, one of tiie 
 two friends was seized by Dionysius, and was 
 condemned to die. But as he had business abroad, 
 of consequence to his family, which he v/isbed 
 to settle before his death, he applied to the king 
 for permission to go, and his friend offered him- 
 self as a hostage, to reinaiii in prison till his 
 return," or to die in his stead if he should not 
 return. The king accepted the substitute, and 
 the reputed criminal went his journey. 
 
 When the time appointed for the execution of 
 the sentence drew near, the criminal had not 
 leturned ; and every body now began to believe 
 that he had made his escape, and left his friend 
 involved in ruin. The one detained in prison 
 maintained, however, with unshaken confidence, 
 that bis friend would return, unless prevented by 
 death, or unavoidable necessity, in which case 
 he should submit to his fate without repining. 
 
 The day and the hour arrived : no criminal 
 appeared. An immense crowd of people, 
 
 as- 
 
 Syracuse, and from all parts of Sicily, 
 sembled to see the result of so strange an 
 event. Dionysius himself expressed great un- 
 easiness ; but as he suspected it had been a plan 
 contrived to screen the offender, he was determin- 
 ed to inflict the sentence on the hostage. The 
 sufferer was led to the scaffold. He ascended 
 with undaunted air and firm step ; but, lest the 
 honour of his friend should be tarnished, he re- 
 quested as much delay as the forms of proceedings 
 in such cases, would admit. What vvas the as- 
 tonishment of the whole concourse when in this 
 critical moment the cry of Damon, Damon, was 
 henrd from an extreme part of the assembly. 
 He approached with haste a^d terror lest he had 
 pome too lale, and impeded by the greatness o^ 
 
GREECE, 153 
 
 the crowd, lie drew his sword and forced his way 
 through the throng, till he rushed into the arms of 
 his friend. But here a scene ensued which 
 might baffle the pen of Shakspeare. Nor is it 
 possible to say whether the sublimity of their 
 friendship, or their contempt of death, excited 
 the greater admiration. If the king was amazed 
 at the return of Damon, he was more amazed to 
 see Pythias still resolutely determined to die in 
 his stead. In «hort, the contest now was which 
 should die. Each one saw stronger reasons for 
 wishing his friend to live than to live himself j 
 each one claimed the right of being the sacrifice. 
 
 While the two friends were engpged in this 
 unparalleled dispute, the tone of public sympa- 
 thy rose to perfect phrenzy, and the haughty 
 monarch feared that compassion for the victim 
 might suddenly change into fury, and hurl him 
 from his throne. He felt that a tyrant's power is 
 not equal to the power of virtue, and that a man. 
 is greater than a monarch. He rose from his seat,': 
 and embracing the two friends, with tears in his 
 eyes pronounced a free pardon, bade them both 
 live for each other's sake, and desired they woylql 
 admit him as the third, in a bond of union so 
 noble and so sacred. Such was the friendship of 
 Pythias and Damon. 
 
 Were one of you under sentence of death, 
 where is your friend, who would enter your 
 dungeon, clothe himself in your chains, and 
 expose himself to your fate, thatyou might go on 
 business to some other country ? Nay, who, on 
 your return, would dispute your claim' to the 
 scaffold, and to death ; would violently tear you 
 from the execution, and die in your place ? 
 
 There beams not a flame of such ardor in 
 fhis wintry region. Sacred friendship, where 
 
154 ANCIENT HISTOHV. 
 
 hast thou spread thy pavillion? Dost thou 
 linger on t!ie sunny plains of India — on the 
 stormy cliffs of Greenland — or some sea-girt 
 isle far in the bosom of the deep ? Or hast thou 
 forsaken our race, and returned to thy native 
 skies? 
 
 These are some of the traits of that nation 
 whose history is to be the subject, of our next 
 lecture. Since the fall of ancient Greece no 
 nation has risen so much resembling her as the 
 United btates. But, unhappily, we resemble her 
 least in those points most essential to our durabUi- 
 ty, felicity, and greatness. We resemble- her 
 least in her extreme frugality, temperance, virtue, 
 and patriotism. We more closely copy the fahe 
 splendor of Pericles than the strict economy of 
 Lycurgus, and we have made greater progress in 
 luxury in 37 years than Greece made in tea 
 centuries. 
 
155 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 Ancient Greece — coniimied. 
 
 Tre history of Ancient Greece, is the history 
 of Sparta, Athens, Thebes, Corinth, and Mace- 
 don. One or the other of these powerful states 
 led the rest, and virtually gave law to the whole. 
 Writers reckon the constituent parts of Ancient 
 Greece to be Macedonia, Thessaly, Epirus, 
 Greece Proper, and the Peloponnesus. These 
 territories were bounded on the north by Thrace 
 and Illyria, east by the Archipelago, south by 
 part of the Mediterranean sea, and west by the 
 Ionian, another part of the same sea ; compre- 
 hending a considerable part of what is now called 
 Turkey in Europe. 
 
 The fortunes and revolutions of the country of 
 Greece owe much of their fame and splendour 
 to the eloquent writers, and great geniuses of that 
 distinguished country, yet they do not wholly de- 
 pend on that source of authenticity and credit. 
 Other monuments exist which speak a language 
 more sublime and universal. Fragments of ma'r^ 
 hie show us where the hand has moved, and the 
 eye directed of transcendent genius. Nor do 
 these marble remnants exist in small portions. 
 They cover those lands not only occupied by 
 Central Greece, but where her armies marched, 
 her colonies settled, and her arts flourished. 
 
 The light of history gives some notices of the 
 Greeks, as early as loQO years before the chris 
 
IB& ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 tian ffira. The exploits of their heroic ages art 
 embellished with the utmost etfulgence of wit 
 and genius ; and in the display of these consists 
 their entire utility. In the following lectures, 
 the Grecian history will be considered uncler fou^ 
 great periods. 
 
 The Jlrst of these extends from the foundation 
 of the states of Greece to the end of the Trojan 
 war. 
 
 The second, from the close of the Trojan war 
 to the end of the Persian invasion, or the bat- 
 tle of Plataea. 
 
 The third, from the battle of Platasa to the 
 death of Alexander. 
 
 The fourth, from the death of Alexander to the 
 death of Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, when the 
 last great division of Alexander's empire became 
 a province of the Romans. 
 
 The Grecian history, properly speaking, lies 
 between the Trojan war and the death of Alex- 
 ander the Great ; for before the Trojan war it is, 
 iu a great measure, fabulous, and after the death 
 of Alexander, it is absorbed and lost in the history 
 of new and independent monarchies. The Pelo- 
 ponnesus, including the small state of Attica, 
 which lay without the Corinthian isthmus, formed 
 by far the most important part of Greece, and 
 generally contained the plot of Grecian history; 
 though sometimes it spreads far into Europe, and 
 still farther into Asia. 
 
 The sacred history, indeed all antiquity, favours 
 the belief, that the Greeks were descended from 
 Japhet, tbe son of Noab. From Javan, it is 
 believed, the general appellation of Jones, or 
 lonians, took its rise ; as the Hebrew Javan is 
 ^^asily t'lrned into the Greek Ion. This subject 
 we canuot pursue. In very early tioaes there 
 
GREECE. 157 
 
 'Were' a number of iucJependent tribes settled in 
 the Pelupoanesus. The principal ol these were 
 the Acliaiaiis, Argives, Eieans, iViessenians, Arca- 
 dian!), a^d Lacoiiians, vviiose capital was Sparta, 
 or LRd«deiilonr 
 
 According to the testimony of the Grecian wri- 
 ters, the peojiie ol Greece, at first, lived in near- 
 ly a' .lavage slate, without social coaibiDaiion, law, 
 or government. In this wild state Ctcrops found 
 the country of Attica, 1556 years before Christ. 
 As Cecrops was an emigrant fromE^ypt, he was 
 acquainted with the learning, arts, and policy of 
 that refined and scientiiic people, and was able 
 to recommend and introduce many important 
 regulations. He divided Attica into twelve dis 
 tricts, combined them under a regular form of 
 government, induced them, partly by force and 
 partly by persuasion, to renounce their savage 
 way of life, and to dwell together in towns and 
 cities. He founded the Areopagus, a civil in- 
 stitution, which was destined to become the most 
 renowned, perhaps the most dignified, court ever 
 formed. Before this grand court all the great 
 causes of tlie nation were tried — all the important 
 questions and interests of the people were delibe- 
 rated, and every subject of deep interest was 
 discussed. 
 
 This instttulion continued through every pe- 
 riod of ti»e Athenian commonwealth, and pre- 
 ^served it^ dignity and splendor in the worst of 
 times.; It was generally composed of men re- 
 markable for wisdom, integrity, and abilities ; 
 and the wisdom of this august body of men was 
 the continual bulwark of that renowned republic. 
 
 Oranaus was the successor of Cecrops, but it 
 is not known in what year before Christ. Nor 
 i« there anv action of his recorded worthy of par 
 H 
 
J.58 ANGIKNT HIRTORY. 
 
 iicuiar notice. But Amphictyon, the thiid king 
 pf Athens, JmiriOrtalized his name by the confede- 
 ration noticed in our last lecture. He combined 
 together the twelve slates of Greece, in a general 
 (Council at Thermopyls, where they sent their 
 representatives twice a year. To this institution, 
 doubtless more than io any other, was owing the 
 security^ prosperity, and grandeur of ancient 
 Greece. And it rnaj^ be considered as the parent 
 pf all political confederacies of any consistency 
 or duration. 
 
 Their first care, when they convened, was {<?. 
 pfFer sacrifices to the gods, and regulate the con- 
 jserns of religion. And in this they exhibited an 
 fxample of piety wliich it would be well for 
 chrisiian nations to follow. The interests and 
 concerns of every state were here made the sub- 
 ject of profound investigation and careful provi- 
 sion. 
 
 The Athenians were first in almost every im- 
 provement ; and most of the great and important 
 Institutions of Greece originated in Athens, al- 
 though r^pavia was nearly as ancient. About 4Q 
 years after {:.'ec!ops louuded the commonwealth of 
 Athens, Lelex founded tliat of Laconia, who've ca- 
 pita! was Lacedemon. Lelex was a desrendanj 
 of Abraham ; and it appears that the Lacedcmo- 
 loians considered t!;<:ti!-i^Ives as brethren of the 
 Jeu>. It! iiK; j;21': (;n:i|)iur of the first book of 
 ''laccabees, ihcr:' h a letter iroin Areus, king of 
 ■acedemon, to Onia^-;, high priest of the Jews, un- 
 der the administration of Jonathan, brother of Ju- 
 jias Maccabeus, recognising that relation, and pro- 
 posing the strictest amity and alliatice between 
 llje Jewish and Spartan commonweallhs. 
 
 While the states of Greece were rapidly pro- 
 gressing in civilization and po v^'er, their colonie? 
 
GREECE- 160 
 
 Spread vvide, and tlie fine islands of the Archipe- 
 lago were peopled with innumerable swarms ot 
 people from Ihe surrounding countries. They 
 spread across the sea eastwardly, and arrived on 
 the beautiful shores of the Lesser Asia. In the 
 course of two centuries the flourishing kingdoro 
 of Troy arose, and Troy had become one of the, 
 most splendid cities of western Asia. 
 
 The Greeks were always severe and vindictive 
 to their colonies. Various causes of enmity and 
 jealousy had arisen between Greece and this 
 flourishing section of her foreign settlements. 
 Though Troy had long been independent of that 
 people from whom they originated, it appears that 
 the Greeks kept upon them a jealous and haughty 
 eye, and were willing there should be some cause 
 of complaint and contention. 
 
 A case of this nature occurred in tlie treache- 
 rous conduct of Paris, the son of Priam, king of 
 Troy. 
 
 A powerful alliance had been formed between 
 the states of Lacedemon and Argos. Tyndarus, 
 king of Sparta, had married his two daughters, 
 Clytemnestra and Helena, to the two princes of 
 Argos, Agamemnon and Menelaus ; the latter 
 of whom succeeded to the Spartan throne, in the 
 right of his wile Helena. This princess is re= 
 presented by the poets as the most perfect beauty 
 of ancient times. 
 
 The opulent and luxurious court of Priam, 
 king of Troy, had become a school of intrigue, 
 treachery, and vice. The sons of Priam were 
 celebrated, some of them for bravery, and others 
 for those vices which have overthrowm the most 
 powerful states. Ilector, Priam's eldest son, was 
 the greatest hero, the most gallant and accom- 
 plished prince of Asia. Paris, another son <?( 
 
160 ANCIEIVT HISTORY. 
 
 Priam, possessed every quality of a finished cour- 
 tier, and was accounted the most beautiful man ot' 
 his time. 
 
 Paris, Induced by the hospitality of the Spar- 
 tan court, and probably by the fame of Helena, 
 for whose hand in marriage the most illustrious 
 princes of the time had been rivals, visited Me- 
 nelaus, and was received with every mark of ho- 
 nour and distinction among the Lacedemonians. 
 But to requite this kindness, he prevailed on the 
 queen of Sparta to abandon her husband, and 
 make her escape from Greece. According to 
 Homer's authority, she went with Paris to Troy ; 
 but other writers assert, that the vessel in which 
 she sailed was driven into Egypt, and that she was 
 detained there till after the iall of Troy. 
 
 The Greeks, with great justness, resented this 
 injury, and her husband, Menelaus, and his bro- 
 ther Agamemnon, king of Argos, the two most 
 powerful princes of Greece, prevailed on the grand 
 council of the Amphictyons to make war on Pri- 
 am, king of Troy. A numerous army was assem- 
 bled, the command of which was given to Aga- 
 infmnon, who was thence styled kihg of kings. 
 This army crossed the sea from Greece to Apia 
 Minor; not, hov/ever, without great delays, and a 
 variety of injpt'd'ments, which .seemed often to 
 threaten to render the whole expedition unsuc- 
 cessful. And there can be no doubt, had the 
 Greeks struck immediately at Troy, the city must 
 have fallen before the-n ; as the Trojins at first 
 bad no force pqu';! to a conflict with the princes 
 of Greece. The Trojans at length grew formida- 
 ble by alliances, and by learning the art of war 
 from their invaders; and the nations of the Les- 
 ser Asia joined in one common cauic to repel the 
 armies of the Greeks. 
 
GREECE. 161 
 
 In this story Homer laid the plot of his epic 
 poem. Perhaps a subject equally favourable in 
 point of time, events, and circumstances, can be 
 found no where else in the annals of the world. 
 The age of poetry must lie near that of fiction. 
 Genius must be more mature than taste ; it can 
 therefore only fall on that approximation of 
 society towards refinement, which lies between 
 savage barbarity and high refinement. The 
 events must be selected out of the solemn twilight 
 of antiquity; must be distant in time and place, 
 in order that fiction and machinery may be 
 furnished as their aid may be necessary. 
 
 Milton's Devil and Homer's Achilles stand on 
 nearly equal footing, in point of amiable qualities, 
 and moral virtues. They appear equally proud, 
 fierce, revengeful, and merciless. Achilles some- 
 times wept, and Satan felt regret over the inno- 
 cence, weakness, and danger of our first parents. 
 
 This war had now been protracted for nearly 
 ten jears, and many of the principal heroes on 
 both sides were slain, when the Greeks began to 
 despair of taking the city, and were on the point 
 of returning to their native country. Hector, the 
 formidable hero of Troy, was indeed slain, but the 
 Greeks, on their part, had lost Achilles, in whose 
 arm their utmost confidence was placed. In 
 this moment of discouragement, they adopted a 
 stratagem, as a last attempt, which, if it failed of 
 success, would put an end to the war, by the loss 
 of most of their bravest heroes. They built a 
 fabric, in the figure of a horse, of amazing size ; 
 its hollow caverns they filled with armed men, 
 chosen from the bravest and most daring spirits. 
 Pretending this machine as an offering o Minerva, 
 they had the address to prevail on the Trojan 
 to convey it into the citadel, for which purpose 
 they took doAvn a portion of the wallj as it coula 
 J 4* 
 
1612 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 not be admitted at any of the gates, by reason 
 of its size. 
 
 This plan succeeded to their utmost wish. In 
 the dead of night the heroes issued from their 
 concealment, slew the gu&rd-, opened the gates of 
 the city, and let in the hostile army. The city 
 was taken, nor was ever destruction more com- 
 plete, or national vengeance more exemplary. 
 The story, however, of the wooden horse is 
 discredited by some writers, who say that JEne^s, 
 Antenor, and Polydamas, three Trojan princes, 
 let in the Greeks, by treachery, into the Sccan 
 gate, over which there was placed the statue of a 
 horse ; in allusion to which the poetic fancy of 
 Virgil dresses up the account in the manner he 
 presents it in the ^neid. 
 
 If the Greeks had occasion to triumph in the 
 destruction of Troy, they had equal reason to 
 deplore their own calamities, in their return to 
 their native country. For whilst their armies 
 were gradually wasting away, in the hostile 
 fields, of Asia, their several states at honie 
 sustained material changes. On their arrival the 
 heroes who had conquered Troy found enemies, 
 still more dangerous, in their own dominionn. 
 This absence had given ri^;e to f^iciions, usurpa- 
 tions, revolts, and revolutions. 
 
 Idomeneus and Philoctetes v/ere expelled from 
 their dominions. Agamemnon w^ts murdered by 
 bis wite imm.ediately after his return ; Menelaus 
 and Ulysses wandered for a long time, the latter 
 not returning till alter many years. In short, the 
 states of Greece, after the Trojan war, seemed 
 likely to return back to the barbarous state from 
 whence they had risen. Nor has the demorali- 
 zing effect of war been more seen in any of the 
 ancient nations. Scenes of the most enormous 
 
GREECE. i63 
 
 barbarity, treachery, and cruelty, v/ere exhibited 
 in every state of Greece; and several centuries 
 of wretchedness and disorder followed the 
 Trojan expedition. 
 
 Nearly a century after the fall of Troy, a 
 revolution happened in Greece, which falls more 
 clearly wiilim the verge of the regular annals of 
 that nation. From Argos and ryJycene,a power- 
 ful section of the PelopcnneKUS, the family ol 
 Hercules had been driven by Pelops a Phrygian. 
 The descendants of Pelops, from whom, indeed, 
 the peninsula derived its name, held the ascen- 
 dency in the Peloponnesus till about 80 years 
 after the Trojan war. The courts of the princes 
 of this atrocious dynasty were distinauished by 
 the perpetraiion of the most flagrant and enor- 
 mous crimes. Here the Grecian tragedians 
 found an ample field, and abundant materials for 
 tbr^ir famous tragedies. The atrocities of those 
 infamous princes, from their peculiar nature and 
 character, in all probability tirst excited the de- 
 sign of tragedy. But, unhappily for mankind, 
 many other princes beside the house of Pelops 
 have furnished materials for the tragic muse. 
 
 The tieraclidse, after several fruitless attempts, 
 at length, under Eurysthenes and Procles, were 
 able to expel the Peiopidffi from Lacedemon, 
 and seized the government of that powerful 
 state. But an sera, in Greece, does not occur of 
 any considerable importance till the legislation 
 of Lycurgus. To this, therefore, we shall imme- 
 diately proceed. But here it is proper to ob- 
 serve, that all the states of Greece had laid aside 
 the monarchical form of government, and had 
 adopted the republican. Athens, perhaps, ex- 
 hibited the simplest form of a deraocratical 
 republic which the world ever saw. All the 
 
164 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 important questions of the state were discussed 
 and !^ettlf-d in the assembly of the people, 
 which was act a representative, or elective body, 
 but a body composed of every free citizen, con- 
 vened as occasion required. 
 
 Yet few nations have been more strict and cau- 
 tious in the terms of naturalization. An alien 
 could only become a citizen of Athens in the 
 fourth in descent, or his great-grandchildren, and 
 that by the perpetual residence of each grade in 
 the series of descent, within the territories of At- 
 tica, or in such parts of Greece as their laws pre- 
 scribed. Fevv regulations are more essential to 
 the welfare of a state than those which relate to 
 the naturalization of aliens. 
 
 Nothing, says Roliin, in profane history is bet- 
 ter attested, yet nothing more incredible, than 
 the fabric of the Spartan government raised by 
 Lycurgus. The states of Greece rose but slow- 
 ly out of that wretched and disordered state, 
 which is the inseparable companion of a govern- 
 ment badly framed and executed. The people 
 were still uncivilized ; they had no written laws ; 
 the authority of the council of Amphictycns was 
 weak, and the states were continually harassed by 
 war, revolutions, and anarchy. 
 
 About 880 years before the christian sera, Ly- 
 curgus, the Spartan lav/giver, was born. He was 
 the son of Eunomus, one of the two Spartan kings 
 in whom the power of government was jointly 
 vested. He might have raised himself to the un- 
 divided throne, but he generously waved his 
 claim to royal power, and declined the honour, as 
 well as the labour and danger, of that elevated 
 station, in favour of Leotichides, the legal heir, 
 who was then in infancy. Iphitus, prince oi Elis,, 
 had been assisted by Lycurgus in restoring the 
 
eREEcc. 165 
 
 Olympic games, of the nature and influence of 
 whicij we spake in the preceding lecture. This 
 event had a happy effect on the Grecian repub- 
 lics ; it recalled their unsettled and roving tempers 
 to new objects of emulation, and new pursuits of 
 glory. 
 
 But the ambition of Lycurgus aimed at a no-= 
 blcr object than royalty: he aspired to a higher 
 elevation than the throne of a monarch. Instead 
 of beneblting the Lacedemonians, by administering 
 wisely a corrupt and defective plan of govern- 
 ment, he formed the design of rendering their go- 
 vernment more perfect, more efficient ; and in 
 the f-nd be reared himself a stupendous monument 
 of wisdom, energy, and legislative powers. To 
 accomplish himself more fully for this arduous at- 
 tempt, he travelled abroad, and visited the wisest 
 nations of his time. The island of Crete had 
 been famed for the wise laws and regulations of 
 Minos. From exploring those institutions, he tra- 
 velled and surveyed the legislative systems of 
 Asia and Egypt. His stay abroad was protract- 
 ed, which gave the Spartans a more exalted idea of 
 his accumulated wisdom, and increased their de* 
 sire to see the commencement of his intended in- 
 novations. 
 
 Nor '.vouid be, on his return, enter on his great 
 work ti;! he had consulted the Delphian oracle, 
 by which he was informed that his republic should 
 be the most perfect ever formed. The oraclp 
 moreover declared him the friend of the gods. 
 With this extent and majesty of preparation, Ly- 
 curgus proceeded to effectuate a scheme of go- 
 vernment which had been the result ot bis ex- 
 tended researches ; in which, however, still more 
 praise is due to his profound knowledge, penetra- 
 tion and foresight — to the vast resources and gi- 
 
^66 AJJCIEAT HISTORV. 
 
 gantic powers of his understanding, tliaTi tn 
 what he had gleaned from experience and obser- 
 vation. 
 
 An intermediate body between the chief magis- 
 trate and the people was his first and most impor- 
 tant constitutional provision. He lT)rmed a senate^ 
 consisting of i28 persons ; these, together with the 
 two kings, who sat with thejn, made a body of SO 
 persons, which formed the highest branch of the 
 legislative organ. They stood between the king 
 and the people, as a barrier to check and repress 
 the encroachments of either. This senate was 
 composed of men advanced in years, and eminent 
 for wisdom and integrity. 
 
 Another body was, some time afterwards, added 
 to the Spartan government, consisting of five per- 
 sons, called the Ephori ; these answered, in a great 
 measure, to the Roman tribunes. This was a su- 
 preme court of very great powers ; as they had 
 a right, on proper evidence, or even on suspicion, 
 to impeach any man in the commonwealth ; not 
 even excepting the kings themselves. We may 
 form some judgment of the just equilibrium of 
 the Lacedemonian government, and of the man- 
 ner in which it must have been executed, when 
 we understand that this frame of government 
 stood unshaken and unimpaired for 700 years: a 
 proof not only of the wisdom of the government, 
 but of the temperance, unanimity, and modera- 
 tion of the Lacedemonians. 
 
 This astonishing people^ according to a French 
 maxim I have somewhere lately read, hud little 
 constitution, and much government. The articles 
 of their constitution were, indeed, (aw and sim- 
 ple, but their regulations deep and radical. The 
 people, at this time, generally were very poor. 
 All the land was in a few hands. How can we 
 
ORKECE, lu, 
 
 imagine this great legislator remedied this defect ? 
 In a way as inconceivable to us as the love of Py- 
 thias and Damon. He induced the holders of 
 lands to consent to an equal division of all the 
 lands throughout the state. By what unknown 
 art he carried this point, it is impossible to con- 
 ceive, unless we may believe that people in 
 those times held property with a looser hand than 
 they do now. This point, however, he accom- 
 plished ; and the lands of Laconia were actually 
 divided into 50,000 shares, and those of Sparta in- 
 to 9,000, and equally distributed. 
 
 Another regulation, still more surprising, he 
 carried into complete effect, which was the abo- 
 lition of the use of gold and silver. He caused 
 that the current coin should be iron, and that so 
 heavy, that a cart and oxen were necessary lo car- 
 ry of it to the value of 100 dollars. This measure 
 essentially affected all the arts of luxury, struck 
 at the root of those useless elegancies, which he 
 con-sidered as incompatible with strict economy 
 and sound morals. 
 
 Lycurgus proceeded further to abolish all pos- 
 sible indulgence to luxurious living. He caused 
 all the citizens to eat at public tables, in which 
 the diet was exactly prescribed by law. At each 
 table fifteen persons were seated, each one of 
 which was required to furnish one bushel of flour, 
 eight measures of wine, five pounds of cheese, 
 two pounds and a half of figs, and a small sum of 
 money, to defray the culinary expenses. Every 
 person was obliged to eat at these tables ; and 
 so rigid were they in this requisition, that king 
 Agis was reprimanded, and punished, for eating 
 at his own table, in company with his queen, af- 
 ter returning from a military expedition, in which 
 Ve had been victorious. 
 
168 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 'J'he grand object of the institutions of Lycur- 
 |us was, to form a brave, powerful, and warlike 
 people. This object he accomplished, but he 
 left the mind unformed. Had he paid a pro- 
 portionable attention to the cultivation of the in- 
 tellectual and moral powers, the Lacedemonians 
 would have been superior to every nation that 
 ever existed. Here he failed of promotino; the 
 true dignity and happiness of mankind. Yet, it 
 must be confessed, he formed the most vigt^rous, 
 economical, finiij and resolute society of men 
 ever seen. 
 
 An attempt of the Athenians, about two centu- 
 ries after this, to regulate and new-model their go- 
 vernment, was far less successful. The freedom 
 and boldness of the Athenians, and the ambition 
 of their leaders, was a continual source of dissen- 
 sion, and their assemblies at length became so 
 turbulent and seditious, that they were often 
 threatened with anarchy or despotism. Draco, 
 one of their ablest statesmen, was requested by 
 the people to attempt a reform in their constitu 
 tion. His laws became a remedy far more terri- 
 ble than the disease they were intended to re- 
 move. He made every offence capital, without 
 regard to its nature or aggravations. It was said 
 of him, therefore, that his laws were written with 
 blood. 
 
 The laws of Draco were, indeed, the first writ- 
 ten laws ever promulgated in Greece. This was 
 624 years before the christian £era. As might 
 have been expected, the lively sensibility of the 
 Athenian people could not long sustain the pres- 
 sure of these sanguinary institutions. Every sen- 
 timent of justice must revolt from that law which 
 punishes the slightest violation of duty as the 
 most atrocious act gf wickedness, and equals in 
 
«REECE. 169 
 
 pain and infamy the venial offender with the 
 most abhorred, abandoned villain. 
 
 The institutions of Draco, however, and the ca- 
 lamities they drew after them, lasted 20 years, 
 when Sobn, the wisest and the most amiable of 
 all the Grecian legislators, introduced a salutary 
 reform into the government of Athens. He dimi- 
 nished nothing of its republican form, but endea- 
 voured to relieve the burdens of the poor ; and one 
 of the first measures of the new system was, a re- 
 lease ot the poor from the debts and the various 
 exactions by which they were pressed. He ren- 
 dered every department of the government more 
 just, more definite, more energetic, and moulded 
 the Athenian republic into its noblest form. 
 
 The famous court called the Areopagus had 
 been long established; a regulation was made by 
 Solon, that none could hold a seat in this august 
 body but such men as had held the office of ar- 
 cbon, or first magistrate of the republic. They 
 >vere men venerable for age, wisdom, and inte- 
 grity. And what is remarkable of this court, they 
 always sat at night, or when the hall of their ses- 
 sion was darkened, that no external object might 
 influence the operation of the mind, or any casual 
 impression on the senses warp the judgme^nt from 
 strict and impartial truth. The orators who 
 were admitted to speak before this court, were 
 allowed to make no exordium, digression, or pe- 
 roration. Such was the reputation of this Athe- 
 nian council, that distant nations often appealed 
 to its decision. Even the Romans sometimes 
 brought causes of importance, which were too in- 
 tricate to be determined by their senate, before 
 this august tribunal, of whose superior compe- 
 tency they did not pretend to doubt. 
 
 Beside the Areopagus, Solon instituted another 
 15 
 
170 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 council or assembly, of 400 ; 100 iVom each tribe. 
 In Ibis assembly all matters of importance were 
 proposed, agitated, and considered, before they 
 went to the great assembly of the people, by whose 
 vote alone a final decision could take place. This 
 body formed a kind of portico to the general fa- 
 bric, or assembly of the people, and had great 
 influence, by giving form and direction to such 
 matters as were ultimately designed for popular 
 discussion. Here they were placed in their true 
 light ; and this assembly acted as a kind of grand 
 jury, in which bills were prepared, and subjects 
 arranu;ed, for the consideration and decision of the 
 lower house. 
 
 We have taken a brief survey of the govern- 
 ment of two of the leading states of Greece. It 
 will be sufficient to remark that there was a gene- 
 ral resemblance through the whole — the smaller 
 states copied from the larger ; and though in most 
 of them there were some remains of monarchy, 
 yet they were a free people, aad knew their own 
 rights better, and enjoyed them more fully, and 
 much longer, than any of the ancient nations. 
 
 The history of Greece is the history of go- 
 vernments, and its details are deeply interesting 
 to all nations, who acknowledge the obligation 
 of constitutions, and the authority of laws. Na- 
 tions who once gain their freedom, remain free 
 till they give themselves a master, and rivet their 
 chains by their own voluntary acts. Thus did all 
 the states of Greece ; thus afterwards did the Ro- 
 man republic ; and thus have done all the free go- 
 vernments of Europe. 
 
 The situation of the Lacedemonians in the Pe- 
 loponnesus ; the extent and fertility of their ter- 
 ritories, but especially the influence of the insti- 
 tutions of Lycurgus, give tliem as obvious supe- 
 
GREECE. 17| 
 
 riority to all the Grecian states. This they took 
 care to evince on every convenient occasion. And 
 as early as the reign of Cyrus, they were so for- 
 midable, as to interfere in the atfairs of Asia. 
 When Cyrus invaded Crcesus, king of Lydia, they 
 had promised aid to the Lydians, and their relief, 
 which might have protracted the Lydian monar- 
 chy, vvas in forwardness, but did not arrive in 
 time to be of use to Crcesus. They had sent 
 an ambassador to Cyrus with a message peculiar- 
 ly characteristic of their nation. The Spartan 
 ambassador told Cyrus if he invaded any of tht 
 Grecian allies, that the Lacedemonians would 
 know how to punish his injustice. 
 
 Cyrus replied, that if his health was spared, he 
 hoped to give them greater cause of complaint 
 than the invasion of their allies. He then, no 
 doubt, meditated the invasion of Greece ; but this 
 he was never able to accomplish, and it was pro- 
 bably well for him that he never did conflict with 
 the rising fortunes of that warlike nation. Their 
 warfare vvas, indeed, formidable, and had they 
 maintained their primitive vigour and martial 
 spirit, they would have presented a barrier to the 
 armies of Rome. 
 
 The territorial advantages of Sparta were far 
 superior to those of Athens. But the Athenians, 
 by their arts, commerce, and colonies, gradually 
 progressed in wealth and resources, and became 
 formidable by sea, as well as by land. It was 
 both the wisdom and felicity of the Greeks that 
 their wars were seldom wars of conquest or in- 
 vasion, and their ambition did not aim at extent 
 of empire ; their dominions, at the time of the 
 Trojan war, were nearly as large as they were in 
 any subsequent period of their history, til.1 we 
 
172 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 arrrive at the aem of Alexander's conquest : under 
 him their system was changed. 
 
 The Persian power was the great and formida- 
 ble object with which the Grecian states and colo- 
 nies had constantly to conflict. We have already- 
 considered the extent of the Persian dominions, 
 and they lay bordering on the Greeks, from the 
 Hellespont through all the western shores of Asia, 
 and the north of Africa. As the Greeks grew 
 powerful, they planted their colonies on the 
 coasts of Asia Minor, and in the islands. This 
 was agreeable to their general policy, and they 
 conquered less, and colonized more, than any 
 nation, of equal power and resources, in ancient 
 times. 
 
IT 
 
 LECTURE VIIL 
 
 Ancient Greece — continued. 
 
 The states of Greece could not extend their 
 territories east or south, without interfering with 
 the Persians. That great empire presented a 
 barrier, t>om the Hellespont to Egypt, and had 
 engrossed many islands along the coast. The 
 ambition of the Greeks led them rather to colo- 
 nize and settle, than to conquer and destroy. Yet 
 their fleets and their colonies often could not avoid, 
 and as often sought, a collision with the arms of 
 Persia. And as they understood both the use of 
 arms and the power of sophistry better than the 
 Persians, they gradually gained upon the masters 
 of Asia. At first, the innumerable armies, and 
 exhaustless wealth of the Persians, seemed to have 
 little cause to fear a handful of Greeks, situated 
 in the rocks, and hills, and islands of Europe ; 
 for one of the smallest of the Persian provinces 
 could marshal a larger army than all Greece ; 
 and as it was known that the Greeks were poor, 
 they presented no object, at first, which could in- 
 vite an invader. It is not improbable, that when 
 Cyrus demanded who the Lacedemonians were, 
 he did not, indeed, know of any such people. 
 
 The Persian monarchs did not long remain in 
 ignorance ; they soon had sufficient to remind 
 them of Greece, in general, and of Sparta and 
 Athens, in particular. The Athenians by sea, 
 an(4 the Lacedemonians by land, first became 
 15* 
 
174 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 troublesome, and, at length, formidable to the 
 Persians. And the history of these two states is 
 a full and fair experiment of the comparative va- 
 lue and importance of agriculture and commerce. 
 The Lacedemonians, who not only held Laconia, 
 but the rich and valuable lands of the Messenians, 
 and were masters of half the arable land in the Pe- 
 loponnesus, were the most perfectly agricultural 
 people that perhaps ever existed. We have seen 
 Lycurgus abolisi)ing the use of gold and silver 
 among them. They were allowed to wear no- 
 thing but what they could make. Domestic manu- 
 factures were carried on in every house. Silks, 
 and gay clothing, and foreign luxuries, were com- 
 pletely prohibited. See them seated at their 
 public tables, fifteen in a set, and partaking of 
 their celebrated black broth. And as to their 
 houses, Lycurgus allowed them no tools in build- 
 ing but the hatchet and saw. 
 
 But, perhaps, it will be said they were free, 
 independent, and happy. As to their happiness, 
 we must judge of it as we can, from our know- 
 ledge of what constitutes the essence of human 
 felicity. They had many ingredients in their 
 dish of happiness which would taste bitter to us. 
 With regard to freedom, they were strangers to 
 that heavenly privilege. They held in their ser- 
 vice a nation of slaves. The Helots, a people 
 who lived among them, and performed all their 
 servile labour, were, perhaps, as numerous as 
 thei? masters. These wretched beings resem- 
 bled much, in thejr situation and deplorable des- 
 tiny, the slaves of our .-oufhern states. They were 
 doomed to intense, intoierable. and interminable 
 bondage. They viere regarded as much the pro- 
 perty of the ovvnerso: lands on t-vhich they laboured 
 as the horses and cattie who laboured with them. 
 
GREECE. 175 
 
 They often raised horrible insurrections and 
 massacres, in hopes of gaining their freedom. To 
 guard against these, all the vigilance of the laws, 
 all the rigours of their jealous tyrants, all the 
 watchful energies of a military force, were con- 
 tinually employed. If, instead of abolishing the 
 use of gold and silver, Lycurgus had abolished the 
 horrible oppression of the Helots, a nation as me- 
 ritorious in the sight of heaven as their proud 
 masters, he would have conferred a greater obli- 
 gation on mankind, in all his institutions, there 
 was scarce a tinge of philanthropy. His great 
 ©bject was, the aggrandizement of one class of 
 human beings, supported by the depression and 
 misery of another. 
 
 The Lacedemonians never traded — they knev^^ 
 no luxury — they lived in houses built of rough 
 materials — they lived at public tables — fed on 
 black broth, and despised every thing effeminate 
 or luxurious. They were a race of soldiers; 
 equally stern and tierce both in peace and war. 
 In vain you look for one lovely trait of character : 
 and they never became either a numerous or a 
 polished people ; and were never a happy peo- 
 ple, as far as happiness has any connexion with 
 the cultivation of the humane and tender feelings. 
 
 The Athenians, whose territory of Attica was 
 not remarkably fruitful, early became commer- 
 cial ; their power on the sea soon grew terrible to 
 the fleets of Persia, and even of Carthage. Their 
 colonies became numerous, and their foreign set- 
 tlements flourishing. Tiiey carried their arts 
 abroad, and, in return, brought home the commo- 
 dities of other nations. By these means, and un- 
 der the influence of a long series of events, the 
 Athenian state rose to a height of power which 
 set every nation at defiance, and enabled her to 
 
176 ANCIENT HISTORT. 
 
 triumph over the utmost efforts of the Persian 
 mon.-^rchs. 
 
 Defensive wars are often as beneficial, as 
 offensive are ruinous to a nation. From the 
 time of Cyrus, the invasion and subjugation of 
 Greece had been a favourite object with the 
 Persian courts. Cyrus himself threatened a 
 visit to the peninsula, and the provocation t© 
 accomplish this purpose increased in every suc- 
 ceeding reign, till it was attempted by Darius 
 Hystaspes, and after him by Xerxes the Great, 
 as noticed in the lecture on Persia. These de- 
 fensive wars neither exhausted the resources, nor 
 broke the spirit of the Greeks. 
 
 But at the close of the Persian invasion, a scene 
 of ambition and intrigue ensued, which embroiled 
 the states of Greece ; and the happiest period of 
 that enlightened and enterprising people no 
 sooner arrived, than it was past forever. The 
 power and splendor of the Athenian common- 
 wealth had long been an object of jealousy to the 
 Lacedemonians. At the battle of Marathon the 
 genius of Athens was displayed, and in the 
 various operations of the Persian invasions, the 
 Athenians assumed that superiority to which their 
 wealth, numbers, and diversity of talents seemed 
 to justify their title. Sparta had very recently 
 made a most daring attempt to subvert and ruin 
 the Athenians. A strong and secret influence 
 had been used in the general councils of Greece, 
 to procure a decree that the Greeks should hold 
 no vvalied town without the Peloponnesus. The 
 reason alleged was, that, as it would probably 
 fall into the hands of an enemy, it would furnish 
 them with a fortress from which they might act 
 successfully against the Peloponnesian states. 
 This measure was set on faot by L^coilpvpn'^ 
 
GREECE. 177 
 
 tnd was aimed directly at Athens, which was 
 without the peninsula, and was daily becoming 
 wore strongly fortified. The impolicy of this 
 measure was as obvious as its injustice was 
 flagrant. Subsequent events showed how much 
 the safety of all Greece depended on the power 
 of Athens. 
 
 Two men at this time flourished in Athens, 
 who were able to thwart the ambitious projects 
 of Sparta, and to defend their country from 
 foreign invasion. Aristides, surnamed the justy 
 and Themistocles, to whom the states of Greece 
 owed more than to any other individual. The 
 vigorous policy of these two great men conducted 
 their countrymen through the dangers and 
 calamities of the Persian war, which was closed 
 at the battle of Piataea. 
 
 But few states or individuals can bear eleva- 
 tion. Athens, no longer dreading the resentment 
 of her haughty rival, assumed an attitude which 
 excited general alarm and indignation. Under 
 the authority of Pericles, the|Athenians sent a 
 mandate to all the states of Greece to assemble 
 at Athens, to make arrangements for repairing 
 the ruined temples, and doing honour to the gods. 
 No man ever made so splendid a figure in Athens 
 as Pericles: in eloquence he fell little short of 
 Demosthenes, and in the talents of the statesman 
 and commander, he might compare with the 
 most eminent of the Greeks. In many points of 
 character he resembled Pompey among the 
 Romans. There was a dignity of carriage, 
 blended with manners the most fascinating ; bis 
 mind and manners were formed to magnificence 
 and greatness. 
 
 Had his ambition stopped at making Athens 
 the arbiter of Greece, he would have been le:;s 
 
178 ANCIENT HISTOF^Vo 
 
 ■censurable ; but he must be the head of Athen?. 
 The liberties of Greece had a greater enemy in 
 Pericles than in Alexander. Pericles laid the 
 foundation, Philip built the walls, and Alexander 
 completed the fabric, of despotism. 
 
 The order of Pericles for convening:; the states 
 of Greece at Athens was received with various 
 emotions : hy some it was obeyed, by others 
 treated with inattention. The Spartans heard it 
 with indignation, as the signal for demanding 
 homage. The Peloponnesian states generally 
 adhered to the Lacedemonians, and they now de- 
 termined, in a body, to resist the measures of the 
 Athenians. On this occasion it is said that Peri- 
 cles exclaimed in the Athenian assembly, ^' I 
 behold war with wide and rapid steps advancing 
 from the Peloponnesus." 
 
 Whilst both parties were waiting in suspense, 
 from what local cause this momentous conflict 
 would arise, the fatal blow was struck in an un- 
 expected quarter. 
 
 The city of Corinth had planted a colony in 
 the island of Corcyra, now called Corfu. The 
 Corcyrians, grown wealthy and powerful by trade, 
 had adventured on a conflict with their mother 
 country ; but the Corinthians, proving more than 
 a match for this colony, the latter applied to 
 Athens for aid. The Athenians, who were nearly 
 equal to all Greece in naval force, uniting with 
 the Corcyrians, Corinth was overpowered, and 
 sent to Lacedemon, as the only source whence 
 effectual aid could be expected. The Lacede- 
 monians were prompt to obey the call, consider- 
 ing any cause just that would humble their 
 haughty and powerful rival. 
 
 Thus Greece was involved in a war which 
 lasted 27 years : n«r <5id It cease to rage till 
 
• (iREECE« lis 
 
 Aiiieas, the finest city of ancient tmaes, was taken, 
 her walls and towers destroyed, her beauty de- 
 faced, and her glory for ever tarnished. Nor was 
 there a spot in Greece where this relentless war 
 of passion did not spread its flames, and exhaust 
 its fury. 
 
 From the effects of this disastrous conflict, 
 Greece never recovered. Her wealth was ex- 
 hausted ; her fairest cities ruined ; lier territories 
 ravaged ; the spirit of her first institutions exter- 
 minated — nor did she see another moment of tran- 
 quillity. In her history, after the close of this 
 disastrous war, we see little but intrigue, treache- 
 ry, and ambition, ready to employ any expedi- 
 ent. Treaties made and violated ; alliances 
 formed and broken ; activity which resembled 
 the struggles of insanity, and the involuntary 
 spasms of disease. 
 
 Lacedemon, and the states which adhered iij^ 
 her party, suffered little less than Athens, over 
 whom tU^y triumphed. Although the allied states 
 were elated when Athens fell, and so mad was 
 their joy on the day that Athens was destroyed, 
 that they ordered her walls to be demolished to 
 the sound of martial music, and the most extrava- 
 gant demonstrations of joy, yet their own ruin 
 was involved. 
 
 The ashes of the cities and villages, which 
 perished in the Peloponnesian war, were scarce- 
 ly cold, when another conflict began, of shorter 
 continuance, but still more fierce and bloody. 
 BcBotia, a stale lying north of the Peloponnesus, 
 which bad never been of much consequence in 
 the wars or counsels of Greece, now took its turn 
 to reign. Among this inconsiderable people a 
 man had risen, destined to eclipse the glory of all 
 tl>e corwmaiiders of the Grecian republics^ Th^ 
 
180 ANCrENT HISTORV. 
 
 Boeotian war now pointed its avenging columns at 
 the Peloponnesus, and was aimed principal]}' at 
 Sparta. Since the fall of Athens, the Spartan 
 commonwealth had assumed a haughty attitude, 
 and seemed to give law to all Greece. 
 
 Epaiiiinondas, with talents as splendid as those 
 of Pericles, was the last virtuous and patriotic 
 commander of those times. Roused by the in- 
 justice and folly of the Lacedemonians, he assum- 
 ed the reins of the administration in Thebes, and 
 with a course of conduct to which a stain of ambi- 
 tion could not cleave, he appeared at the head of 
 an army, determined to redress the wrongs of his 
 countrymen. The conduct and valour of Agesi- 
 laus, barely rescued the Lacedemonians from the 
 fate of Athens. Their country was ravaged, 
 their choicest troops slain in battle, and their na- 
 tional pride and loftiness of soul were brought 
 down and humbled. They were rendered weak 
 and impoverished, but no adversity could make 
 them wise ; nor could any change restore the age 
 of glory which was past. 
 
 BoBotia rose and fell with Epaminondas ; du- 
 ring his administration she was at the head of 
 Greece ; but her importance was co-extensive 
 only with his life. The effects of his greatness, 
 however, proved one source of the ruin of his 
 .country, and of the utter destruction of Thebes. 
 Epaminondas directed the education of Philip, 
 king of Macedon. That great statesman and 
 warrior, from the maxims and instructions of the 
 Theban general, formed plans of future conduct, 
 which rendered him the arbiter of Greece. Philip, 
 when a youth, was sent as a hostage to Thebes, 
 and as he was nephew to the king of Macedon, 
 the dignity of his rank, and still more his amiable 
 behaviour, and uncommon talents, recommended 
 
GREECE. 181 
 
 him to the patronage of Epaminondas, who edu- 
 cated him with his own son, and bestowed on him 
 an ecjual share of his attention. The young Ma- 
 cedonian prince profited in tliis illustrious school, 
 as his subsequent life and fortunes sufficiently 
 evince. 
 
 After the comnoencement of the Peloponnesian 
 war, the history of Greece presents a gloomy pi&- 
 lure. To the common calamities of war, a civil 
 war adds the rage of the most direful and vindic- 
 tive passions. When friends become enemies, 
 hatred is quickened by the sting of ingratitude — 
 the contentions of a brother are like the bars of a 
 castle. No battle is so dreadful as that where 
 friends and acquaintance fill the opposing ranks 
 and conflicting columns. The recollection of 
 former friendship, obliterated by personal injury, 
 benevolent affections, exterminated by abuse and 
 insult, gives resentment its sternest frown, bathes 
 the sword in poison, and renders death more 
 dreadful. 
 
 When once the alarm of war was propagated 
 by the blast of civil discord, Greece never expe- 
 rienced another moment of tranquillity. The Pe- 
 loponnesian and Boeotian wars inflicted wounds 
 that were incurable. Their demoralizing effects 
 on the popular governments of Greece could ter- 
 minate in nothing but dissolution. Restless ambi- 
 tion was perpetually toiling for power, under the 
 watchword of liberty ; and whether it was peace 
 or war, the dread catastrophe moved slowly on, 
 urged by ten thousand hands. While power and 
 wealth boldly avowed their object, intrigue plot- 
 ted in darkness, or behind a mask, and the insult- 
 ed confidence of the people, wherever it was 
 placed, was disappointed. 
 
 Phocion, the last of the Athenian statesmen of 
 iincorrupted integritv, was one day debating witk 
 '16 ^ ^ 
 
182 ANCIENT HTSTORV. 
 
 Demosthenes respecting the measures of Philip., 
 when Demosthenes, in a passion, cried out, '' Pho- 
 oion, the Athenians, in some of their mad fits, will 
 one day kill you!" Phocion replied, "Should 
 the Athenians ever come to their senses, they will 
 kill you." But that they never did ; nor could 
 any virtue of an individual retrieve their fall, or 
 procrastinate their doom. 
 
 Eight years after the death of Epaminondas^ 
 Alexander the Great was born. His father, Phi- 
 lip, one of the most artful and ambitious princes 
 of antiquity, had prepared the way for the ag- 
 grandizement of Macedonia. The Greeks had 
 grown so corrupt, tumultuary, and depraved, that 
 a master was now rather a privilege than a cala- 
 mity ; and a master was provided for them, who 
 fixed their wavering character, by the hand of 
 despotism and the chains of a tyrant. 
 
 No prince was more nobly born than Alexan- 
 der. He reckoned Hercules among the ancestors 
 of his father, and his mother traced her descent 
 from Achilles, the Grecian hero. From his earli- 
 est years Alexander discovered an ardour of mind, 
 an elevation of genius, and solidity of judgment, 
 which few ever equalled. When he was yet 
 very young, he used often to say, on hearing of 
 his father's victories, that his father would win 
 ill the victories, and leave nothing for him to do 
 when he should become a man. 
 
 He seemed to be formed for equal vigour and 
 activity, both of body and mind. Pbilonicus, a 
 Thessalian, brought a horse, of remarkable strength 
 and beauty to Philip, which he offered for 13 
 talents. VVhen they took the horse into a field to 
 try him, he was found so vicious and unmanage- 
 able, that Philip told his owner he would not pur- 
 chase him, and Philonicu^ was leading him off. 
 
when Alexander, then quite a boy, who was pre- 
 sent, was heard to sny, with great vexation and 
 anger, «' What a horse they are losing for the 
 want of address and boldness to manage him I" 
 His father, hearing what he said, asked him if he 
 intended to reproach those who were older than 
 himself? " Yes," said Alexander, " I can manage 
 this horse better than any body else." His fa- 
 ther ordered him to try the experiment ; on 
 which Alexander, taking hold of the bridle, spake 
 gently to the horse, and, as he was leading him 
 along, laid his hand on the horse's mane, and drop- 
 ping off his mantle, lightly bomided on his back, 
 then gradually slackening the rein, he suffered 
 the horse to accelerate his movement, and he was 
 directly seen on full speed. After a few mo- 
 ments, when the horse showed the disposition id 
 abate his swiftness, Alexander applied the whip, 
 and thus kept him on speed till his fury was tho- 
 roughly abated; then returning to the place 
 where the company stood viewing with astonish- 
 ment the intrepidity of the young prince. When 
 he alighted, Philip exclaimed, with tears of joy, 
 says Plutarch, «' O my son, look thee out a king- 
 dom equal to thy great soul ; Macedonia is too 
 little for thee." This was the famous horse Bu- 
 cephalus, which Alexander rode in his conquest 
 of Persia. He died jn India, and the conqueror 
 built a city on the spot where he died, called 
 Bucephalia. 
 
 Ambassadors from the Persian monarch cominr 
 to Macedon, in the absence of Philip, Alexander, 
 though quite a boy, conversed with them; asked 
 them the distance of the Persian capital ; what 
 forces the king of Persia could bring into the field i 
 what the Persian government was ; what was the 
 character of the king ; how he treated his ene 
 
184 ANCIENT HISTORV. 
 
 mies ; what were the directest ways into Persia. 
 Alexander was educated by Aristotle. The mas- 
 ter, says Dr. Gillies, was able to govern the 
 minds, the scholar the bodies, of men. 
 
 When Alexander was 16 years old, Philip, on 
 an expedition against Byzantium, made him his 
 lieutenant in Macedonia, and committed to his 
 care his great seal, entrusting him with the ma- 
 nagement of his most important concerns. Du- 
 ring this period, Alexander marched against the 
 Medarans, who had revolted, took their city by- 
 storm, drove out the inhabitants, put others there 
 in their stead, and called the city Alexandrinopo- 
 lis. But in the famous and dangerous battle of 
 Cheronea, Alexander first charged the Greeks, 
 was foremost in every danger, and, it is said, once 
 saved the life of his father. 
 
 Notwithstanding the ardour of this prince in 
 battle, and his continual and rapid course of ac- 
 tion, he was fond of science, and was a proficient 
 in every brarch of polite literature. But Homer's 
 Iliad was his favourite book ; this he usually laid 
 under his pillow by night, and often carried in 
 his pocket by day. No prince was more gene- 
 rous than Alexander; all the use he seemed to 
 desire to make of money was, to bestow it on his 
 friends, and reward the services of his soldiers. 
 
 When Alexander was 20 years of age, his father 
 died, and left a kingdom begirt with enemies, and 
 a throne environed with treachery. No youth 
 ever evinced more firmness or vigour. Every 
 successive blow which he struck was fatal to his 
 enemies, and effectual to its purpose He march- 
 ed north, and quelled a rebellion in Thrace and 
 lllyria. He advanced to the banks ot' the Danube, 
 and awed the barbarous tribes into obedience. 
 There a report reached him that the states of 
 
 i 
 
GREECE. 185 
 
 Greece had revolted, in consequence of a report 
 of his death. In eleven days he was before 
 Thebes, which city he took by storm, and executed 
 the most severe and awful vengeance, putting a 
 part of the inhabitants to the sword, and selling 
 the rest for slaves 
 
 The invasion of the Persian empire was now 
 to be carried into effect. This was Alexander's 
 grand object from the time he ascended the throne, 
 and probably long before. The Peloponnesian 
 states, awed by the fate of Thebes, had assembled 
 at the straits of I'hermopylce, and declared their 
 resolution to assist him in the Persian war ; and 
 Alexander hastened thither to receive the sub- 
 missions and congratulations of those states who, 
 in the days of Miltiades, would have met him in 
 hostile array, and received him on the point of 
 tiieir spears. But now, " how fallen, how chang- 
 ed I" They were now fit for nothing but to grace 
 the triumph of a conqueror ; they were, therefore, 
 willing to do that humble office. 
 
 By the time another commander could have 
 made up his mind, Alexander was on his march, 
 and he crossed the Hellespont into Asia, before 
 another would have got his army in motion. He 
 entered the Persian territories, but found all quiet, 
 no army to oppose his progress, to watch his mo^ 
 tions, or to give him battle. 
 
 The Persian empire was extensive, and could 
 wealth and numbers have availed, Darius Codo- 
 mannus need not have feared twenty such armies 
 as Alexander's. For, had he lost a million of men, 
 he had a million more to lose, and still could have 
 outnumbered Alexander, twenty to one. Darius, in 
 many points of character, resembled Lewis XVI, 
 He is represented as one of the most amiable of 
 the Peraian monarchs. But his hand was not 
 16* 
 
lo6 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 formed to hold the reins of empire with steadi- 
 ness, strength, and dignity. He knew how to 
 basii in the splendours of a court, but was utterly 
 unqualified to repel the dangers, or direct the 
 operations, of the fields of war. 
 
 The ct lebrated Memnon, the Rhodian, was the 
 only commander whose skill and valour Alexan- 
 der respected ; and had his advice been strictly 
 followed, the Greeks might have been repelled 
 with ease. Memnon advised not to fight with 
 Alexander, but to retreat before him, and remove 
 as much as possible all subsistence for his array, 
 by laying waste the country, and merely harass- 
 ing him by flying parties. But such measures 
 were thought unworthy a nation containing 40 mil- 
 lions of people. And Memnon himselr dying 
 soon after, Alexander was freed from any appre- 
 hension of danger from that quarter. 
 
 The grand monarch even disdained the idea 
 of fighting with an enemy so contemptible, but or- 
 dered his satraps to seize the mad boy, and bring 
 hiio bound to Suza, and to transport all the Ma- 
 cedonians to the farther shore of the Red Sea. 
 On the banks of the river Granicus a Persian 
 arm.y was ready to execute the order of Darius. 
 But they found the mad boy not easily bound. 
 Here the astoni^-^ht'd Persians beheld a scene, of 
 which they never before Ijad any conception. 
 
 The river was deep and rapid, its channel 
 rocky, its opposite banks covered with a hostile 
 army. These appearances could not intimidate 
 the youthful warrior. His cavalry entered the 
 river, followed by the Macedonian phalanx. Him- 
 self commanded the right, and Farmenio the left. 
 They passed unbroken through the rapid stream, 
 under showers of darts and arrows, and every 
 form of missile weapons. As they ascended the 
 
aREECEf IBl 
 
 opposite bank they closed with the Persian line, 
 and the conflict was furious and bloody. 
 
 Nothing could stand before such intrepidity 
 and valour: the Persians fell in multitudes, and 
 none escaped but by flight. This brilliantvicto- 
 ry inflamed the courage of the conquerors, and 
 spread consternation through Persia. 
 
 The news of this disaster reached Darius at 
 Babylon, who, contrary to the advice of his wisest 
 counsellors, immediately determined to march in 
 quest of the enemy. Alexander visited the prin- 
 cipal cities along the coast of Asia Minor. But 
 no memorable event occurred previous to the bat- 
 tle of Issus, some brief details of which were giv- 
 en in the lecture on Persia. 
 
 At Issus and Arbela the two decisive battles 
 were fought, and the melancholy fate of Darius, 
 who was destined to fall by the hand of an as- 
 sassin, has been already noticed in a former lec- 
 ture. It is not easy to say why mankind have so 
 readily and generally allowed Alexander the first 
 place among heroes and conquerors ; unless it be 
 owing to Grecian eloquence, which forms the 
 ground in which the diamond is set. If the great- 
 ness of a man's achievements is measured by the 
 greatness of the impediments he overcomes, cer- 
 tainly what Hannibal did in Italy was incompa- 
 rably more arduous than what Alexander did in 
 Persia or India. Consider the Roman armies, 
 which Hannibal defeated — even Marcellus and 
 Fabius cuuld not stand before him. He did not, in- 
 deed, conquer Rome, but that was the fault of 
 Carthage, iiis army was not adequate to the re- 
 duction of Rome. No talents in a commander 
 can countervail the want of an army. 
 
 Neither can the military exploits of Alexander 
 compare with those of Julius Csesar, which FIh- 
 
188 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 tarch clearly shows in his comparison of there 
 two great commanders, notwithstanding his great 
 and evident partiality for the Greeks. But this 
 we shall more fully consider in a future lecture, 
 when we speak of the actions of Julius Caesar. 
 
 From the conquest of Persia, Alexander pro- 
 ceeded eastward, and crossed the river Indvis to- 
 wards India. In this immense excursion he had an 
 abundance of skirmishing, and some considerable 
 battles, which, nuthnit; ou- their distance (nun 
 home gives them any exiraoidinary claim to ad- 
 miration His taking the rock Ornus, deserves the 
 name of a bold adventure, rather than a iiii- 
 litary operation. A fortress, on the top of a rock, 
 deeined inaccessible in every place but one, was 
 held by a strong garrison, 'i'he ascent to tliis 
 fortress was so narrow, that but one person could 
 go up at a time. It is said that neither Hercules 
 nor Bacchus could take this strong hold, and from 
 time immemorial it had been considered as im- 
 pregnable. Alexander, in careTully reconnoiter- 
 ing, discovered a place where he thought it might 
 'be ascended in a different direction. 
 
 In the night, therefore, whilst he was making fi 
 feint to attack the rock in the usual ascent, a par- 
 ty of his men, headed by Ptolemy, afterwards-, 
 king of Egypt, succeeded in climbing the rock orv 
 the opposite side; and whilst the men in the for- 
 tress were guarding the common ascent, and look- 
 ing earnestly that way, they were suddenly at- 
 tacked iVom behind, and perceived a body of 
 the Greeks in the fortress, 'i'hey were amazed, 
 and concluded that they must be something more 
 than human, threw dovvh their arms, and surren- 
 dered without striking a blow. 
 
 Alexander's war with Porus, king of India, was 
 !*urelv not wanting either in courage or conduct. 
 
GREECE. l^B 
 
 but it was indeed inconsiderable, and had it been 
 on the borders of Greece, would scarcely have 
 been noticed by historians. Porus had about, 
 20,000 men. 
 
 Yet wiien the whole line of Alexander's opera- 
 tion is considered, it appears grand and noble, if 
 such a destroyer of the species can be justly term- 
 ed noble ; the various extremes of danger he pas- 
 sed through gives a sublime idea of protecting 
 Providence. The ancients called it good fortune , 
 and Cicero places it among the four chief quali- 
 ties of the great commander. The most difficult 
 of Alexander's achievements was the reconciling 
 the Macedonians to his plans of ambition ; and 
 especially settling the quarrels, and obliterating 
 the resentments, raised against him in his fits of 
 drunkenness and ungovernable passion ; which, 
 after the reduction of Persia, grew frequent and 
 troublesome. 
 
 The four most amiable characters and greatest 
 men in his army he murdered with the most wan- 
 ton cruelty. Clitus, a brave and faithful officer, 
 who saved the life of Alexander at the battle of 
 Granicus ; Parmenio, to whose valour and con- 
 duct he owed perhaps more than to his own, he 
 barbarously murdered, because he had, on bare 
 suspicion, murdered his son Philotas, one of his 
 noblest and most active officers. But perhaps the 
 most wicked and atrocious of his murders was 
 that of Calisthenes, the philosopher, merely be- 
 cause he would not be guilty of the baseness and 
 impiety of paying him divine honours, and ac- 
 knowledging him to be a god. 
 
 On Alexander's return from India he arrived at 
 Babylon, and was making preparations to repair 
 that city, and restore it to its ancient splendour; 
 but a mightier hand than his had prepared other 
 
IdO ANCIE.NT HISTORY- 
 
 work for him. Every ray of his former virtueb., 
 all his amiable traits of character, had forsaken 
 him, and he had become a formidable object of 
 ffride, dissipation, cruelty, and rage. When Ke- 
 phsestion, one of his favourite officers, died, he in- 
 vaded a province, and murdered all the inhabitants 
 as a sacrifice to appease his departed shade, and 
 to honour his memory. 
 
 Jn the midst of this enormous course of v/ick- 
 edness, he was seized with a fever, brought on by 
 intemperance, and died suddenly at Babylon. 
 With him ceased the movements of that great 
 machine of power and influence which his ener- 
 gies had put in motion. His empire soon became, 
 in a measure, quiescent under four great divisions^ 
 which were seized by four of his principal offi- 
 cers. Cassander shared Macedon and Greece ; 
 Lysimachus, Thrace, and the countries about the 
 Hellespont; Ptolemy had Egypt. Lybia, Arabia, 
 Syria, and Palestine ; and Seleucus, Chaldea, 
 Persia, and the East. 
 
 Alexander perished in the 32d year of his age, 
 and 12th of his reign. He seemed naturally to 
 possess many amiable traits of character ; but 
 these were overrun and obscured by his ambition. 
 But even his ambition itself, and every other ra- 
 tional endowment, was so crushed and trampled 
 down beneath the frantic fury of his passions, 
 that no confidence could be placed in him, and 
 there was no safety near him. The whole of his 
 power and wealth were employed in the perpe- 
 tration of crimes too atrocious and horrid for 
 conception. A man, to gain his favour, must 
 abandon all claim to manhood — must be a slave, 
 a brute, a monster, like the tyrant he basely 
 adored as a god. 
 
 The prosperity of Alexander's arms, and th& 
 
GREECE. 151 
 
 ?^access of his enterprises, have spread a lustre 
 over his vices, and shielded him from universal 
 abhorrence. But let his character be stripped of 
 that false and gaudj splendour, and viewed in its 
 true light, and he must appear one of the most ex- 
 ecrable of all the human race. The midnight 
 robber and murderer is often impelled by hunger 
 and by want ; he enters the house of a stranger, 
 and violates no tie of gratitude; a train of cir- 
 cumstances render it at least probable, that Alex- 
 ander began his career of blood by the murder of 
 his father. His life was a scene of bloodshed ; 
 and, for the most part, the blood of those that had 
 never done him an injury. That by the consent 
 ©fall polite nations this man should stand first on 
 the list of honourable fame, where he certainly does 
 stand, is reproachful to the human character — is a 
 disgrace to mankind. 
 
 ** One murder makes a villain, millions a hero." 
 
 Under the successors of Alexander the Greda 
 states rapidly declined. Their military and po= 
 litical importance vanished away ; yet still, in the 
 Augustan age, Athens was respected as a venera- 
 ble school of science ; though even then the day 
 of poetry and eloquence was long past. Those 
 noble arts never reside with a base, degenerate 
 people. 
 
 The aera of Grecian glory was in the days of 
 Themistocles and Aristides. Her most splendid 
 period was under the administrations of Cimon 
 and Pericles ; and the foundation of her ruin was 
 effectually laid in the Peloponnesian war, and by 
 the men who were the authors of that war. The 
 height of prosperity has proved the brink of ruin 
 t<9 manv natioas. 
 
i9| ANCIENT HISTOnv. 
 
 With sublime and mournful pleasure, we con- 
 template the rise and fall of nations. It is a me- 
 lancholy reflection, that, in every age, they have 
 laboured with more assiduity, expense, and vigour, 
 to ruin and destroy, than to establish and build 
 up. The art of war has taken the lead of every 
 other art and science, and has been the grand ob- 
 ject of nations. But in considering the fall of 
 nations, the chief thing to be deplored is, not 
 that they have laboured to destroy one another, 
 but that they have ruined and destroyed them- 
 selves. The enormous vices and infatuated po- 
 licy of all the ancient nations, was the source of 
 their destruction. But for this, the states of 
 Greece might have flourished till this day. The 
 ruin of every nation may be charged to the am- 
 bition of men who prefer their own interest to the 
 public good ; who seek their own aggrandize 
 jnent in the ruin and misery of millions. 
 
 Lb- 
 
193 
 
 f/CCTURE IX. 
 
 Carthasre. 
 
 o 
 
 '• The great object of travelling," says Dr. 
 Johnson, " is to visit ti]e shores of the Mediter- 
 ranean." Here all the great empires, whose his- 
 tories to us form the most interesting sources of 
 inquiry, were born, flourished, and died. Here 
 the arts and sciences have been carried to their 
 utmost height. Here the mind, in its most im- 
 proved state, has made the greatest excursions 
 into philosophy, religion, and politics. Upon 
 these shores are yet crumbling many monuments, 
 once the witnesses of illustrious deeds, but now 
 the melancholy trophies of all-subduing lime, they 
 " whisper the last echoeij of the world's ap- 
 plause." Egypt, Assyria, Persia, and Greece, 
 have successively past in review. But before we 
 visit Rome, we must again cross the Mediterra- 
 nean, to contemplate, for a short time, the second 
 and last great empire that Africa produced, viz., 
 Carthage. We are principally induced to this, 
 in order to give a narrative of those wars which 
 preceded its fall, and which determined the em- 
 pire of the world, as also to contemplate one of 
 the greatest generals of ancient times. 
 
 The city of Carthage stood upon a peninsula 
 projecting into an arm of the Mediterranean, 
 about 50 miles in circumference. The isthmus 
 connecting it with the continent of Africa, was 
 between three and four miles over, and secure i^ 
 17 
 
jj94 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 by a wall. Its harbours were good, and proiect- 
 ed by double walls, affording a secure position in 
 time of war, and an excellent emporium in time 
 ol' pe»ce. 
 
 Although the territories of Carthage, in the 
 early ages of that empire, were comparatively 
 small, yet-, in the times of the Punic wars, they 
 were very extensive ; comprehending almost all 
 tie northern section of the African pyramid, the 
 greater part of Spain, the islands of the Mediter- 
 ranean, Majorca, Minorca, Ivica, and the princi- 
 pal part of Sicily. This vast territory embraced 
 numerous powerful nations, and populous cities, 
 among which Carthage stood first, containing 
 700,009 inhabitants. Lying wholly within the 
 temperate, zone, their climate was unexception- 
 able ; to which, if we add a soil whose fertility 
 ivas, perlsaps, never excelled, it will not be sur- 
 prisiijg thai tliey so long maintained an ascen- 
 dancy among the nations then llourishing. 
 
 Various are the opinions respecting the ssra of 
 the fcirudation of Carthage. They may all, how- 
 ever, be reduced to two. The tiiot is, that Car- 
 Ihsce was founded by a colony v.liich fled from 
 Canaan in the time of Joshua, B. C. 1316. The 
 other opinion is, that it was founded by Elisa, or 
 Dido, who fled with a colony from Tyre, to avoid 
 the avaricious Pvgmaiion, her broihcr, king of 
 that city, B. C. 889. 
 
 The truth seems to be tins: During the 
 ionquest of Canaan, many of the iiihabitants of 
 that country, in separate companies, fled to 
 -'Uffcrent pads, and planted colonies in Asia 
 Muior, and along the northern and southern 
 chores of the Rlediterranean sea. Several of 
 -;he£e colonies in after ages grew into powerful 
 ■tales, while others, mingling with the inhabitantr, 
 
CARTHAaE. i05 
 
 among whom they settled, were insensibly lost. 
 We find Lacedemon, in particular, as has been 
 noticed, claiming an affinity with the Jevv:^, and 
 deducing; tiieir original from the ancient inhabit- 
 ants of Palestine In like manner, Carthage, 
 according to universal opinion, was founded by 
 a company of Canaanites, probably during the 
 numerous emigrations which took place in the 
 time of Joshua. For nearly 600 years, however, 
 it remained very insignificant, and almost of 
 dubious existence, when a circumstance occurred 
 at Tyre, which was followed by a short emer- 
 gence of Carthage from obscurity. Pygmalion, 
 a prince distinguished for his unbounded avarice 
 and cruelty, tyrannized over the city of Tyre« 
 He murdered Sicharbas, or Sicheeus, the husband 
 of his sister Dido, designing to possess himself of 
 his great riches. But Dido, obtaining permission 
 to visit a southern part of Phoenicia, secretly 
 conveyed the wealth of her husband on board of 
 a few vessels, and being joined by many persons, 
 whom the fear of the tyrant, the friendship of 
 Dido, or the prevalent spirit of adventure had 
 allured, set sail for the coast of Africa, and 
 landed at Carthage, in all probability by design, 
 where the old colony had been settled for several 
 hundred years. 
 
 The rank of Dido, her immense wealth, and 
 surpassing genius, immediately gave her so far 
 the ascendancy, that she was placed at the head 
 of the colony. The city was considerably en- 
 larged, its name changed, and its commerce ex- 
 tended ; which circumstances, together with the 
 colouring afforded by Virgil, have led succeeding 
 ages to attribute the origin of Carthage to Dido, 
 500 years later than the circumstances of their 
 history will allow. 
 
196 ANCIENT HISTOILV. 
 
 We ought here, perhaps, to notice the attempt 
 of Sir Isaac Newton to reconcile the anachro- 
 nism of Virgil, and make i^'.neas, the Trojan 
 prince, and Dido, cotemporary. But we have 
 only space to observe, that the most approved 
 chronologers treat that story as a poetical fiction , 
 designed rather as an interesting adventure to 
 heighten the dignity of the poem, than as an 
 historical allusion, to transmit the memory of a 
 fact. Dido lived 270 years after the Trojan 
 Vv^ar. 
 
 We shall consider the history of Carthage 
 under the several periods into which it naturally 
 divides itself Carthage was destroyed B. C. 
 143. Ii\ Therefore, we date its commencement 
 from the conquest of Canaan by Joshua, B. C. 
 1316, its duration will be 1173 years. But if 
 from the reign of Dido, B. C. 889, it will 
 amount to but 746 years ; and this is the period 
 usually allotted by historians. 
 
 I. The first division extends from the accession 
 of Dido, B. C. 889, to the year B. C. 412, 
 containing 477 years. The knowledge we have 
 of the events of this period consists rather in 
 scattered hints than a connected series of facts. 
 We shall notice some of them. The fame of the 
 emigration, settlement, riches, and beauty of 
 Dido, soon spread into the neighbouring territories 
 of Africa, and excited in many princes an ambition 
 to obtain her hand in marriage. Among the rest, 
 larbas, the most powerful monarch of that 
 country, preferred his claim to this honour, by a 
 solemn embassy to Dido. Knowing his power to 
 extirpate by the edge of the sword her diminutive, 
 but llourisiiing state. Dido evaded his request for 
 a short time ; tiil, finding no means of avoiding 
 his claim, she ordered a pile to be- erected in 
 
CXRTHAGE. 197 
 
 the middle of the city, upon pretence of sacrifi- 
 cing to tiie manes of her murdered husband. 
 Whether she would not violate an oalh she had 
 made, or feigned to have made, never again to 
 marry, or whether she did not relish the idea of 
 a matrimonial state with her barbarous and 
 tawny neighbour, is not known ; but when the 
 pile was already kindling into flame, she sud- 
 denly ascended it, and drawing a concealed 
 poniard from her vest, she plunged it into her 
 bosom, and expired, leaving to her friends a 
 grateful memorial of her virtues, and to pos- 
 terity the illustrious title of the founder of 
 Carthaginian greatness. 
 
 For upwards of 300 years posterior to the 
 death of Dido, history is almost void of any 
 notice of Carthage. Their government appears 
 to have been fluctuating, their commerce ex- 
 tending, their wealth and power rapidly accumu- 
 lating. Foreign wars began to engage their at- 
 tention, and tiie reigns of Cyrus and Cambyses 
 were distinguished by many examples of Cartha- 
 ginian prowess. 
 
 The close of the period under consideration is 
 marked with several circumstances of considera- 
 ble importance. Since the commencement of 
 their state, the Carthaginians had been tributary 
 to their more powerful African neighbours. Con- 
 siderable conquests had been made in Sicilj and 
 Spain, before they were able to free themselves 
 from this odious yoke. Unsuccessful attempts 
 had, from time to time, been made, till, at length, 
 with a determined eftbrt, they conquered the 
 Numidians, Mauritaniajis, and various other 
 nations, and rendered themselves masters of a 
 great territory, unincumbered with exactions. 
 
 During this struggle a remarkable circum- 
 17^ 
 
198 ANCIENT HISTOllY. 
 
 stance occurred. A contention arose between 
 Carthage and Cyrene, a neighbouring city, 
 respecting the boundary ot" their territories. It 
 was determined tliat two persons from each city 
 should start at the same time, and that wherever 
 they met, there should be the boundary. Two 
 Carthaginian brothers, called Phikeni, according- 
 ly started, and met the Cyrenians a considera- 
 ble distance beyond the disputed boundary. 
 The Cyrenians, pretending that they had been 
 deceived, refused ix) submit, unless the Philoeni 
 should consent to be buried alive on the spot. 
 They willingly oflPered themselves a sacrifice foi 
 their countrymen, and were entombed without 
 delay. Patriotism more unshaken cannot be 
 conceived, much less practised. 
 
 It is not known when the Carthaginians first 
 obtained looting in Spam. It must have been 
 very early, however, since, in their first con- 
 quests of any importance, their vast armies were 
 principally recruited, and their treasury re- 
 plenished, from that country. The inhabitants of 
 Spain were a hardy, warlike race, and their 
 mines afforded an abundant supply of gold and 
 silver to maintain them as auxiliaries in fighting 
 the battles of Carthage. But a small part of 
 Spain was under the power of Carthage till the 
 time of the second Punic war. It remained for 
 Hannibal to open a passage to the Pyrenees — to 
 the Alps — to the plains of Italy. The islands 
 of Malta and the Baleares, or, as they are now 
 called, Majorca, Minorca, and Ivica, early fell 
 into their handa, and furnished an excellent re« 
 source for auxiliary soldiers. 
 
 Carthage had lor many years been attempting 
 to obtain a permanent looting in Sicily, when 
 
CARTHAGE. ] 99 
 
 Xerxes the Great projected his famed expedition 
 into Greece. The Carthaginians promised to in- 
 vade the Grecian colonies of Sicily on his be- 
 half, but rather to gratify their own ambition. 
 After three years' preparation, an army of SOU, 000 
 men, composed of Africans, Spaniards,'Baleare&ns, 
 Gauls, and Ligurians, under the command of Ha- 
 tnilcar, embarked for Sicily. They landed, and 
 formed the siege of Hymera. But Gelon, tyranf 
 of Syracuse, falling suddenly upon them, totally 
 defeated them. Those not killed were gene*- 
 rally taken prisoners, and sold for slaves. Ha- 
 milcar, seeing all was lost, threw himself into the 
 flames, after having in vain sacriliced many hu- 
 man victims to Saturn, the great god of the Car- 
 thaginians. Terrified by this unexpected stroke, 
 the Carthaginians sued for peace, which Geloa 
 granted on reasc^iable terms. One article of this 
 treaty is remarkable. They w^ere directed to 
 "abstain from human sacrifices;" a barbarous 
 custom they had received from their ancestors, 
 the Pha'nicians, and which they ever retained. 
 
 II. The second division of this history extends 
 from B. C. 412, to the commencement of the first 
 Punic war, B. C. 275, containing 137 years. 
 This period passed away in wars with the Syra- 
 cusans, who were at this time at the hei^^ht of 
 their power, and who were led by commanderF 
 whose names are distinguished upon the rolls of 
 fame. Such were Dionysius, the elder and 
 younger, Timoleon, and Agathocles. The Car- 
 thaginians, recovering from the blow they had re- 
 ceived from Gelon, broke the treaty, and renewed 
 the war in Sicily. Hannibal, the son of Cisco, 
 was sent over with a large army, who took the 
 ancient city of Selinus, massacred 16^000 of the 
 wretched inhabitants in the most barterous msm- 
 
200 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 ner, and sold the rest as slaves into Africa. Ad- 
 vancing to the siege of Agrigentum, he, together 
 with most of his army, was swept off by the 
 plague ; a fit recompense for his unprovoked cru- 
 elties. Imilcar, who succeeded, was soon after 
 obliged to sue for peace, which was readily 
 granted by Dionysius, who had just usurped the 
 government of Syracuse, and wished for an op- 
 portunity to settle himself on the throne. 
 
 As soon as Dionysius found himself in a situa- 
 tion to prosecute the war, he made a sudden 
 irruption into the Carthaginian territories, laying 
 waste every thing with tire and sword. But 
 having lost his fleet, and being repulsed in seve- 
 ral engagements, he was forced to retire and shut 
 himself up in the harbour of Syracuse, which was 
 closely besieged by Imilcon, the Carthaginian 
 general. Crowned with the most flattering suc- 
 cess, and already master of almost all Sicily, Imil- 
 con congratulated himself with the idea of closing 
 tiiis long and bloody war by the reduction of Sy- 
 racuse, the proud capital of Sicily. But his ex- 
 pectations were suddenly blasted ; a terrible 
 plague broke out among the soldiers, which thin- 
 ned their ranks, and damped their courage to such 
 a degree, that Dionysius, by a vigorous sally, en- 
 tirely defeated them, iniilcoi} begged and ob- 
 tained the liberty of returning to Carthage with 
 the remainder of his shattered army. Upon his 
 arrival, declaring his intention not to survive his 
 fall, or rather dreading the rage of his dismayed 
 countrymen, who always made it a point to sacri- 
 fice to their gods an unsuccessful general, he de- 
 voted himself to a voluntary death, and plunged 
 his dagger into his bosom. 
 
 This calamity was followed by another, which, 
 fur a '.vhile, seemed more alarming and dangerous 
 
CARTOAGL. 201 
 
 io their city. The Africans, always cherishing 
 a secret hatred and jealousy towards the Cartha- 
 ginians, suddenly broke into a general revolt, be- 
 ing filled with rage, because Imilcon had left 
 their countrymen exposed to all the fury of the 
 victorious Dionysius. They collected in immense 
 multitudes and marched to the gates of the city. 
 But, happily for Carthage, they were headed by 
 no general capable of extensive enterprise, or 
 steady views Venting their rage for some time 
 against the naked walls, and beginning to suffer 
 for provisions, they gradually dispersed. 
 
 After some more fruitless campaigns on both 
 sides, the Carthaginians concluded another treaty 
 with the Syracusans, B. C. 382. 
 
 JNot satisfied, however, with the advantages 
 which were possessed on either side, the treaty 
 was again broken under Dionysius II., a mildand 
 generous prince, who had succeeded his father on 
 the throne of Syracuse. The commencement of 
 this war was marked by a singular circumstance, 
 which affords a strong reason why so little of the 
 Carthaginian history has been transmitted to us. 
 On account of a treasonable correspondence which 
 was carried on by a Carthaginian with Dionysius^ 
 the Greek language was, by a lav/ of the senate 
 of Carthage, universally prohibited. The Gre- 
 cian literature, which was spreading wide as Gre- 
 cian fame extended, was thus, by a public act, 
 for ever excluded the walls of Carthage. It serves 
 strongly to mark that narrow and calculating spi- 
 rit, for which they were notorious. It breathes 
 not that high sentiment, and generous feelings 
 which rendered the Greeks the pride of the an- 
 cient world 
 
 Frora this time till the year B. C. 338, a blood}" 
 'var was waged with the Syracusans and Corin- 
 
202 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 thians, under the celebrated Timoleon, with il* 
 success on the part of the Carthaginians. At 
 length they were constrained to treat with Ti- 
 moleon upon humiliating terms. 
 
 In the year B. C. 316, Agathocles was chosen 
 general of the Syracusan army. An ambitious, 
 bold, and enterprising man, he soon found means 
 to place the crown upon his head He suddenly 
 broke into the Carthaginian territories in Sicily, 
 and with sweeping devastation made himself mas- 
 ter of many populous cities, till his progress was 
 stopped by a Carthaginian army before Agrigen- 
 tum. A general battle was at length fought, and 
 the plains of Hymera were covered with the 
 slain. Agathocles was obliged to retire and shut 
 himself in the fortress of Syracuse, whither Ha- 
 milcar pursued him. While Hamilcar was ciosely 
 pressing the siege, Agathocles conceived a plan 
 which proved at once that he was a consummate 
 general. Although possessing but one city in the 
 whole island of Sicily, and tha*t one closely be- 
 sieged by a powerful army, he determinea to 
 change the seat of the war from Syracuse to Car- 
 thage. Having collected a small sum of money, 
 sufficient only to defray his present expenses, he 
 embarked a small army of 14,C00 men in a few 
 vessels, broke through the Carthaginian fleet, and 
 landed in Africa. In order to preclude all hope 
 of retreat, and more effectually to prepare his 
 soldiers for his desperate plan, he seized a torch, 
 and set fire to his ship, exhorting them to do the 
 same. Fired with enthusiasm, they followed his 
 example, and in a few hours the fleet was no 
 more. A more daring adventure is not recorded 
 in the annals of history. A coward will fight like 
 a hero when he cannot fly. 
 
 Ifnwilling to give his army time to reflect on 
 
CARTHAGE. 203 
 
 what they had done, Agathocles marched directly 
 towards Carthage, spreading terror and dismay 
 through all the territory. The Carthaginians, 
 supposing that their army was utterly lost, aban- 
 doned themselves to despair, and acted as if Aga- 
 thocles was already master of the city. In a few 
 days, however, finding that all things in Sicily 
 were safe, they resumed their courage, and pre- 
 pared to meet the Syracusans in the open field. 
 An army, vastly superior to that of Agathocles, 
 commanded by Hanno and Bomilcar, met him, 
 and might have obtained an easy victory, if ihey 
 had contended with a general whose talents were 
 on a level with their own. But, by a skilful dis- 
 position of his forces, as well as by taking ad- 
 vantage of their superstitious feelings to favour 
 his cause, Agathocles obtained a complete victory. 
 The Carthaginians attributed their defeat to the 
 anger of Saturn, because they had sacrificed to 
 him children of poor and obscure parents, instead 
 of those nobly born. Anxious to appease their 
 offended deity, 200 children of the noblest fami- 
 lies were thrown into the flames. Beside which, 
 300 of the principal citizens voluntarily devoted 
 themselves as a sacrifice to this bloody divinity ; 
 such was the religion of this people. Mothers 
 throwing their children from their bosoms into 
 the arms of a flaming statue, and fathers beating 
 cymbals to drown their piercing cries. 
 
 Their afl'airs still remaining in a desperate 
 situation, notwithstanding their sacrifices, the 
 Carthaginians were obliged to recall Hamilcar 
 from Sicily. But he, hoping to force Agathocles 
 to return to the defence of his own country, only 
 sent off a small body to the relief of Carthage, 
 and remained where he was ; till the Syrac*isans, 
 watching a favourable opportunity, made a sud- 
 
204 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 den irruption, and gained a most decisive victory - 
 Thus again perished the hopes of obtaining the 
 sovereignty of Sicily. In the mean time, Agatho- 
 cles gained another victory over the Carthaginians, 
 entirely cleared the open country, and prepared to 
 lay close siege to Carthage itself; by the reduction 
 of which he promised himself the ability of con- 
 firming the title he had assumed of King of 
 Africa. 
 
 But now the tide of prosperity, upon which he 
 had so long and exultingly floated, began to ebb. 
 Circumstances demanded his presence in Sicily. 
 Leaving Archagathus, his son, to prosecute the 
 war, he sailed for Syracuse. An unfortunate 
 expedition into the interior of Africa, by which 
 the army was greatly diminished, changed the 
 face of affairs. Perceiving that the ^yracusans 
 were not invincible, the Carthaginians, under 
 Hanno, a great commander, made a determined 
 sally, and entirely defeated their enemies. Agatho- 
 cles, hearing of this disaster, made all haste to re- 
 turn and retrieve it, but he came too late. He was 
 entirely routed in another long and bloody bat- 
 tie ; and, in order to avoid assassination by his 
 son, or, rather, to avoid another disgrace, he 
 secretly withdrew to Syracuse, where he soon 
 after was poisoned, leaving his name deeply en- 
 graved upon the imperishable tablets of fame. 
 His army shortly put to death his two sons ; and 
 he concluded a treaty with the Carthaginians. 
 
 From this time, to the commencement of the 
 first Punic war, history dwells on the exploits of 
 Pyrrhus, the illustrious king of Epirus, who 
 espoused the cause of Syracuse. When he had 
 for some time acted a distinguished part in Italy 
 and Sicily, he found himself unable to break 
 fhe iron power of Rome, and retired from the 
 
CARTHAGE, £05 
 
 Stage, with this prophetic obsen^ation, " What a 
 line field of battle do we leave to the Romans and 
 Carthaginians.'* He knew that Carthage and 
 Rome were now the only candidates for the em- 
 pire of the world. He well knew that the jea- 
 lousy of one could only be extinguished in' the 
 utter ruin of the other. But little did he think 
 how many thousands must bleed upon that vvide 
 field of battle, ere the contest should find a close. 
 
 in. The third division of the Carthaginian 
 liistory extends from the commencement of the 
 first Punic war, B. C. 275, to the end of the 
 third, or the fall of Carthage, B. C. 143, con- 
 taining 182 years. It will be impossible for us 
 Id descend to a minute detail of all the circum- 
 stances which attended these celebrated wars. 
 We shall note a few things in the first, and pro- 
 ceed to the second, which is by far the most im- 
 portant. 
 
 Rome and Carthage bad gradually been ex- 
 tending their territories, and became more and 
 more formidable to the world, as well as to each 
 other. As heavy clouds slowly advance from 
 opposite directions, and threaten each other with 
 lightning and storm, so these powerful nations, 
 urged by opposite claims, mutual jealousies, and 
 high-toned menace, waited only a favourable 
 crisis, to rush into each other's deathful em- 
 brace, A pretext was not wanting. An enemy 
 cannot long want an opportunity of showing his 
 malice, however mean and insignificant the occa- 
 sion. 
 
 A Roman legion had taken possession, by vio- 
 lence, of the town of Rhegium, situated upon the 
 Italian shore of the straits separating Italy and 
 Sicily, and treated the inhabitants in the most licen- 
 tious manner. A body of Campanians, belonging to 
 
20b ANCIENT HlSTORVr. 
 
 the army of Syracuse, imitated their example, 
 and took violent possession of Messina, another 
 town, opposite to Rhegium, on the Sicilian shore. 
 The Romans punished their perfidious soldiers, 
 and restored Rhegium to its old inhabitants. But 
 the Campanians, rather than submit to the Syra- 
 cusans, admitted a Carthaginian detachment into 
 the city, which immediately took possession of 
 the citadel. A part of the citizens, however, 
 dissatisfied with this, invited the Romans to come 
 and take them under their protection. The thing 
 was warmly debated in the Roman senate, and 
 the application rejected by them. But the peo- 
 ple, having now a fine opportunity of breaking 
 with the Carthaginians, and willing to humbla 
 their haught}'- rival, or, rather, to establish theii?. 
 own supremacy, revoked the order of the senate, 
 and sent a body of soldiers to Messina. Dread- 
 ing the consequence of the Carthaginians obtain- 
 ing a footing in Italy, and prompted by thirst of 
 empire, the Romans were willing to sacrifice the 
 demands of justice, by joining the Syracusans, 
 and to follow the call of ambition and inte- 
 rest. Thus do nations, as well as individuals, 
 prostitute their honour, in the cause of every 
 passion thai shall chance to occupy their bo- 
 som. 
 
 The Romans, under Claudius, made t-hemselves 
 masters of Messina. This was the first attempt 
 at invasion that they ever made out of Italy. 
 When the news of these circumstances arrived at 
 Carthage, a large army was immediately col- 
 lected and sent to Messina, but they were soon 
 met by a Roman army, under Appius Claudius, 
 and entirely defeated. This was a terrible blow 
 to Carthage ; it detached from their interest the 
 i^yracusans :— tt l;ud open the greater part of 
 
PARTHAGE. ^O^^ 
 
 Sicily to the Romans, and cast a heavy shade 
 over the prospects of the Carthaginians, which was 
 not dispelled till the unparalleled progress of 
 
 Hannibal. , ^ , • • 
 
 In the next campaign, the Carthaginians were 
 again unsuccessful, being defeated before Agri- 
 aentum, which fell into the hands of the Romans. 
 As this city, next in power and wealth to Syra- • 
 cuse, was the general resort of the Carthaginians, 
 most of their important possessions tell with it. 
 The Carthaginians, however, possessed one ad- 
 vantao-e, which would effectually prevent the 
 Romans reaping much benefit from their con- 
 quests, and bar them from universal empire ; this 
 was their great maritime power. The Carthagi- 
 nian squadrons floated without molestation in every 
 sea then navigated. Whereas the Romans had no 
 fleet, having been hitherto confined to Italy. 
 Under these circumstances, their talent for ex- 
 pedients became necessary, and was exerted with 
 
 effect. 
 
 In a short time they collected, or built, a con- 
 siderable fleet, and to compensate for their great 
 inferiority, invented a kind of corvus, or crow, 
 which was a heavy beam, with grappling irons 
 fastened at the end, and erected them in the 
 prows of their vessels. The command of this 
 fleet was given to Duillius, the consul. The Car- 
 thaginians, astonished at first at the sight ot a 
 Roman fleet, yet, sure of victory, advanced to the 
 charge with great satisfaction. Duillius closed 
 with them, and suddenly dropping his grappling 
 machines, so fastened the Carthaginian vessels 
 that they could not manffiuvre. Amazed at tins 
 new species of combat, they fought in disorder 
 for some time, and were finally defeated, a great 
 
 number of their vessels being sunk and taken. A 
 
208 ANCIENT HISTORY'. 
 
 few escaped. Duillius, returning to Rome, was 
 honoured with a naval triumph, the first that was 
 ever gained by a Roman. Of the beaks of the 
 Carthaginian ships taken in this battle, a Rostrum, 
 which word signifies " a beak," was erected, from 
 which the Roman orators used to declaim, and 
 which is now standing a memorial both of the 
 prowess and eloquence of the Romans. 
 
 The fate of Sicily was not yet decided. Ha- 
 milcar Barcas, the father of the great Hannibal, 
 who was at the head of the Carthaginian forces 
 in th^t island, made the most of his means, gained 
 several advantages, and so far retrieved his cause, 
 as to be able again to face the Romans in the open 
 field. Several engagements at sea had taken 
 place, but they were undecisive. At length, in 
 the ninth year of the war, the illustrious Regulus, 
 admiral of the Roman fleet, determined to strike 
 a decisive blow, and to put a stop, if possible, to 
 the profuse waste of blood and treasure, by the 
 destruction of the Carthaginian power. Having 
 collected all the Roman vessels, he sailed in 
 quest of the Carthaginian fleet, and found it oa 
 the southern shore of Sicily. The two fleets 
 being disposed with the utmost skill, the battle 
 was fought in three divisions. Although the Car- 
 thaginian ships were far superior in swiftness, in 
 size, and strength, yet the Romans, by means of 
 their grappling irons, brought them to so close an 
 engagement, that it differed but little from a 
 battle on land. After a long and bloody contest, 
 the Carthaginians ^vere broken and dispersed, and 
 Regulus found himself master of the sea. 
 
 Pursuant to his plan, he immediately sailed to 
 Africa, landed, and marched towards Carthage. 
 The inhabitants of Carthage, recovering from the 
 terror into which an unexpected disaster alway'f 
 
CARTHAGE. 209 
 
 threw them, called Hamilcar from Sicily, who 
 soon appeared, ready to stop the destructive pro- 
 gress of Regulus. But his opposition was of no 
 avail. An unfortunate position, in a mountainous 
 Country, where the elephants, which formed an 
 important part of the army, could not act, gave 
 Regulus an easy victory, and cost the Carthagi- 
 nians 22,000 men. In addition to thi.- misfortune, 
 a defection of Numidia, and several other allies, 
 reduced Carthage to the very brink of ruin. In 
 this critical state of their affairs, however, they 
 unexpectedly found a deliverer in Xantippus, the 
 Lacedem-onian, at the head of a small body of 
 Greek mercenaries. The arrival of Xantippus, 
 whose reputation, as the most skilful general of 
 iiis day, had long preceded him, revived the 
 desponding spirits of the C^arthaginian soldiery. 
 His success was answerable to his fame. By 
 taking advantage of an unlucky mistake of Re- 
 gulus, he entirely defeated the Romans, delivered 
 Carthage from its dreadful suspense, took Regulus 
 himself prisoner, and gained an unfading laurel 
 for his brow. It is said, by some authors, that the 
 Carthaginians, jealous of the glory of Xantippus, 
 murdered him on his return home. But the most 
 respectable historians reject the story as false. 
 The Carthaginians soon after gaining the ascen- 
 dancy at sea, seemed to bid fair once more to 
 threaten the existence of the Roman republic. 
 
 But their good fortune was of short continu- 
 ance. Asdrubal, the Carthaginian general in Si- 
 cily, lost a great army in a m.ost unprecedented 
 manner. Some Sicilian nierchants hav ing brought 
 great quantities of wine into the camp, which the 
 soldiers drank to excess, Metellus, the Roman 
 consul, informed of what was passing, attacked 
 'iiem in the heat of intoxication, and cut them to 
 IB'- 
 
2iO 
 
 ANCIE.NT HISTORY. 
 
 pieces. But we cannot dwell upon parllcuiari-. 
 Various was the success of the war. Hanriilcar, 
 who stands second to Hannibal among the Car- 
 thaginian warriors, gained many advantages ; 
 but the Romans, by making a better use of their 
 victories, were eventually masters of the field. 
 An end was at last put to the first Punic war by 
 the Homans in a splendid victory at sea. So Z€a^ 
 lous were they to humble the Carthaginians on 
 their element, that when their fleet was utterly 
 destroyed, another was immediately constructed 
 at private expense, and manned by volunteers 
 of the first rank in the Roman republic. Luta- 
 tius, who commanded this armament, brought 
 the Carthaginians to an action as soon as possible., 
 for fear of their being reinforced by Hamilcar, 
 whose name had become more dreadful to the 
 Romans than an army. He obtained a signal 
 victory. The senate of Carthage, informed of 
 this disaster, exhausted in their resources, and 
 trembling for the progress of the victorious army, 
 submitted to the terms of a most humiliating 
 treaty. 
 
 Thus closed the first Punic war, of 24 years* 
 continuance, during which the contending powers 
 had gained little, but lost much. Like two tygers 
 of equal strength, having long prosecuted a bitter 
 conflict, wearied out with continued struggling, 
 and covered with blood and wounds,' they volun- 
 tarily suspended the issue, till renovated strength 
 should enable them to strike with surer and more 
 decisive blow. 
 
 The interval between the first and second Pu- 
 nic wars, of 24 years, was marked by one or two 
 events of note. No sooner had Carthage freed 
 herself from the Romans, than she found herself in 
 a quarrel witjh another enemy, raore dangerous io 
 
CARTHAGE. 211 
 
 Ihe state. The mercenary soldiers who had been 
 led by Hamilcar for many years past in Sicily, 
 hy the impolitic measures of the senate, were suf- 
 fered to collect in a body at Sicca, where they 
 were waiting the payment of their arrears. The 
 treasury of Carthage had been exhausted, and 
 their demands could not be answered. Enraged 
 at this disappointment, knowing their own 
 strength, and the weakness of Carthage, and urged 
 by the influence of seditious leaders, they broke 
 into open rebellion, took and plundered several 
 eities in the vicinity of Carthage, and, finally, 
 threatened that city. 
 
 The Carthaginians, attempting to remonstrate, 
 were answered with furious insult, and the most 
 horrid imprecations. Spendius and Matho, the 
 principal leaders, one a slave, the other a Roman 
 deserter, knowing that death awaited them pro* 
 vided peace was made, exerted themselves to 
 the utmost to inflame their soldiers, and prevent 
 an accommodation. They stoned and put to 
 death, in the most barbarous manner, all the pri- 
 soners they took. One hundred Carthaginian no- 
 blemen, together with Gisco and Hannibal, dis- 
 tinguished generals, were crucified at one time. 
 For three years the war was carried on in this 
 inhuman manner, till it was finally finished by 
 Hamilcar, who defeated the mercenaries in a ge- 
 neral battle, and retorted their cruelty, by crucify- 
 ing Spendius, Matho, and the other leaders of the 
 rebellion. 
 
 Following the example of the mercenaries in 
 Africa, the Carthaginian army in Sardinia revolt- 
 ed, murdered their leaders, and took possession 
 of the island. Notwithstanding an existing treaty, 
 the Romans took this opportunity of aiming ano- 
 ther blow at Carthage, embraced the cause of the 
 
S-t^ ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 mercenaries, robbed the Carthaginians of the 
 island of Sardinia, and made them pay 2,000 
 talents. This iniquitous transaction was, doubt- 
 less, one of the causes of the second Punic war, 
 Hamilcar, from that moment, determined to em- 
 brace the first occasion that might offer, to re- 
 venge the stab his country had received in her de- 
 pressed and helpless situation ; but he did not 
 live long enough to accomplish his object. His 
 son Hannibal was destined to prosecute his views, 
 and take a double retribution. 
 
 Soon after, Hamilcar departed to take the com- 
 mand in Spain. Before he went, his son Hanni- 
 bal, but nine years old, desired leave to accom- 
 pany him. Hamilcar consented, but first caused- 
 him to lay one hand upon his sword, and the ether 
 upon the altar, and swear eternal enmity to the 
 Romans. He did so, and kept his oath. Hamil- 
 car, having commanded nine years in Spain, and 
 conquered a considerable part of that country, 
 was killed in battle. He was succeeded in the 
 command by his son-in-law Asdrubal, who dying 
 after five years, left the command to Hannibal, 
 then 26 years old. His great talents, beauty, and 
 personal accomplishments, made him the idol of 
 his soldiers. 
 
 Carthage had long since showed many symp- 
 toms of " rottenness*' in the republic. The citi- 
 zens had become wealthy, luxurious, and eftemi- 
 nate. But the most alarming indication of decay 
 and approaching dissokition, was that which may 
 emphatically be called the disease of republican 
 governments — political factiona. The people 
 were now divided between two great families, a: 
 the head of which were Hannibal and Hanno, 
 But the shining talents of Hannibal bore down. 
 \\\ opposition, and enabled him to cariv into ex- 
 
CARTHAGE.. 213 
 
 ecution Ibe vast scheme which he had for a long- 
 
 time been meditating. Twenty- four years had 
 elapsed since the conclusion of the first Punic war. 
 The Carthaginians had in some measure recover- 
 ed their former level ; the conquests of Hamilcar 
 in Spain had replenished their treasury, and dis- 
 ciplined an army. Hannibal was already in 
 Spain, and without delay prepared for the inva- 
 sion of Italy. 
 
 Although in most cases it is certainly true, thai 
 a fortuitous or extraordinary concurrence of cir- 
 cumstances, rather than intrinsic greatness, ele- 
 vate men to the highest places in the temple of 
 fame, yet, if there ever lived a man who owed 
 his elevation to original genius and expansion of 
 mind, the honour belongs to Hannibal, the Car- 
 thaginian. We cannot but be struck with this re- 
 flection, if we follow him, not as a harassing ene- 
 my, but as a fellow soldier, through his arduous 
 achievements. 
 
 The circumstance which led more directly to 
 the second Punic war, was the unjust acquisition 
 and retention of the island of Sardinia by the Ro- 
 mans. But the immediate cause of the war was 
 the taking of Saguntum, the capital city of Spain, 
 which stood on the river Iberus, now called the 
 Ebro, the boundary of the Roman territory. Af- 
 ter a difficult siege of nine months, the principal 
 inhabitants of Saguntum, obtaining no relief from 
 Rome, made a funeral pile of their treasures, 
 their wives, and children, and threw themselves 
 into the flames. A resolution not unlike that of 
 Palafox, in the bloody siege of Saragossa. Sagun- 
 tum was taken and plundered by Hannibal. 
 
 Roman ambassadors were sent to Carthage, 
 complaining of the infraction of the treaty, and 
 offering peare or war. They embraced the lat-' 
 
214 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 ter. Returning through Spain, the ambassadors 
 endeavoured to make an alliance with the Span- 
 iards, biit they were told to " seek allies where 
 the fate of Saguntum was not known." 
 
 Hannibal, before he commenced his march to- 
 wards Italy, sent 40,000 Spaniards into Africa, 
 for the defence of that country, and left 15,000 
 Africans in Spain, under the command of his bro- 
 ther Asdrubal. He was obliged to cross the Py- 
 renean mountains, to march through the centre of 
 Gaul then inhabited by fierce and warlike nations, 
 and, finally, to surmount the snowy ridges of the, 
 Alps, a distance of above 1,000 miles, before he 
 eould arrive upon the plains of Italy. These 
 difficulties, however, served only to exercise his 
 various talents. After having subdued four or five 
 nations south of the Pyrenees, and lost a conside- 
 rable part of his army in battles and sieges, he 
 crossed those mountains and arrived upon the 
 banks of the Rhone. Upon a general review of 
 his forces, they were reduced to 60,000 foot and 
 9,000 horse. 
 
 The Gauls, terrified at the success of Hannibal, 
 and enraged at the progress of an army through 
 the heart of their territory, had assembled upon 
 the banks of the Rhone to dispute his passage. 
 Knowing the impossibility of crossing in the face 
 of so powerful an army, Hannibal sent a detach- 
 ment to pass the river a few miles higher, and at- 
 tack the camp of the Gauls. They succeeded. 
 The Gauls, seeing their camp in flames behind 
 them, and Hannibal crossing before them, were 
 suddenly siezed with a panic, and fled with all 
 possible speed. Five days were spent in trans- 
 porting the army across the Rhone, which was 
 rendered extremely difficult on account of the 
 elephants refusing to approach the water. By 
 
CARTHAGE. 215 
 
 means ot large rafts, covered with earth, they 
 were deceived, and at length carried over. 
 
 After four days march, they came to the foot 
 of the Alps. Their towering Euininits, lost amid 
 the clouds, seen in distant prospect for several 
 days, had excited the apprehensions of the Car- 
 thaginians to such a degree, that it required all 
 the subtlety, authority, and persuasion of Hanni- 
 bal, to prevent their return to Spain. When they 
 began to ascend, a nearer view of stupendous 
 precipices, ridges surmounting ridges crowned 
 ■with everlasting winter, realized their apprehen- 
 sions, and called for the strongest exercise of 
 fortitude. They had gone too far to recede. An 
 attempt to return, by exposing their fears, would 
 increase their dangers, and multiply their ene- 
 mies in the rear. They must ascend or perish, 
 iiere and there was a hut upon the point of a 
 crag, or brow of a precipice, inhabited by a few 
 jiaked savages, whose meager frames and fierce 
 .countenances afforded an appalling picture of this 
 inhospitable region. After nine days' incessant 
 toil, suffering, and danger, the army arrived at 
 the top of the Alps. Here they halted two days 
 to refresh themselves, and contemplate, perhaps, 
 the most beautiful prospect that the world affords . 
 the plains of Italy, where they expected a full 
 reward, lay beneath them 
 
 The difficulties in descending were, if possible, 
 greater than those of ascending. At one time, 
 in particular, through the treachery of his guides, 
 Hannibal was led into a defile, which, after a 
 gentle declivity, terminated in a monstrous pre- 
 cipice, 1,000 feet deep. After dispersing the 
 Gauls, who thought now to destroy him, and who 
 rolled immense stones down upon his soldiers, he 
 cut a passage in the solid rock, around the edge 
 
S16 ANCIENT WiSTOPa'. 
 
 of this precipice, and thus saved his army. But 
 we cannot dwell. Suffice it to say, that after 
 conquering every possible difficulty that occurred, 
 and performing an exploit never attempted be- 
 fore, he erected his standard upon the plains of 
 Italy. Since the passage of the Pthone, he had 
 lost more than half his army, which now amount- 
 ed to but 26,000 men. — Few, indeed; but after 
 what they had done, what could they not do 1 
 
 Hearing that Scipio, the Roman general, had 
 crossed the Po, and was marching to meet him at 
 the head of his legions, Hannibal joyfully struck 
 his tents, and advanced to the combat. The two 
 armies met upon the banks of the Ticinus, and 
 Scipio, though far superior in numbers, expe- 
 rienced a total overthrow. This victory was 
 principally owing to Hannibal's Numidian caval- 
 ry, whose motions were unconfined upon those 
 vast plains between the Po and Ticinus. The 
 remains of the Roman army retired to Trebia, 
 where they were reinforced, and made a stand, 
 waiting the approach of Hannibal. They did not 
 wait long. The Carthaginians, animated by their 
 late victory, were upon the banks of the river 
 Trebia almost before the Romans had time to 
 form upon the opposite bank. 
 
 Upon discovering the rash, impetuous, and am- 
 bitious character of his antagonist, Sempronius, 
 the successor of Scipio. Hannibal easily drew him 
 into an engagement, and entirely routed him. 
 After this battle he w^ent into v/inter quarters, 
 and employed himself in confirming the fickle 
 virtue of the Gauls ; and by means of various dis- 
 guises, and the many languages he is said to have 
 understood, discovered and defeated every 
 •treachery. 
 
 Early in the spring Hannibal marched into 
 
CARTHAGE. 2 1 7 
 
 Ktruria, whither he was pursued by Flaminius, 
 a restless, obstinate, and rash general. After 
 manoeuvring some time, Hannibal decoyed him 
 into a narrow defile, between lake Thrasymene 
 and the mountains, and in a general battle killed 
 15,000 Romans, and Flaminius himself. After 
 these repeated overthrows, the Romans made 
 ehoice of Fabius, the dictator, a man capable of 
 acting against Hannibal. He adopted an entirely 
 different mode of warfare. Knowing the impo?:- 
 sibility of defeating the Carthaginians in the 
 open field, he determined to harass and starve 
 them out. Hannibal, having attempted in vain to 
 provoke Fabius to combat, began to tremble for 
 his further prosperity, and at last fell into a snare, 
 like that he had laid for Flaminius, being shut 
 up in a narrow defile. By a strange stratagem, 
 however, he extricated himself, and outwitted 
 even Fabius himself. Collecting all the cattle in 
 the army, he tied branches to their horns, and 
 having set fire to them, in the dead of night drove 
 them up the hill towards Fabius' camp, and 
 while the Romans were preparing for an attack, 
 Hannibal, in silence, led out his army, and 
 escaped Shortly after, Hannibal defeated Mi- 
 nucius, Fabius' colleague, and had like to have 
 destroyed him. 
 
 Fabius' command expiring, he was succeeded 
 by Varro, of an opposite character. Hannibal 
 rejoiced that he had no longer to contend with 
 that crafty policy which had reduced him to 
 the brink of ruin. 
 
 The Romans on this occasion made their last 
 and greatest eflfort to conquer Hannibal. Instead 
 of four legions, each 4,000 foot and 300 horse, 
 they made their army, exclusive of allies, to con- 
 -ist of eight legions, each 6.000 men. So thai 
 19 
 
 \ 
 
218 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 40,000 native Romans stood in the ranks. The 
 Roman army amounted to 86,000 men ; Hanni- 
 bal's were but 60,000 ; but his main dependence 
 was the 20,000 who had crossed the Alps, and 
 gained his former victories. After marching and 
 countermarching for some time, the two armies 
 came to a general battle at Cannae, in the southern 
 part of Italy. Hannibal's usual good fortune did 
 not desert him. The conflict was truly bloody. 
 60,000 Romans, among whom were 80 Senators, 
 and a vast number of the nobility, were stretched 
 upon the field, before the struggle ceased ; and 
 when the Romans fled, so ardent were the Car- 
 thaginians in the pursuit, that Hannibal cried out 
 to them, " Stop soldiers, spare the vanquished." 
 He despatched his brother Mago immediately to 
 Carthage with an account of his successes, and a 
 demand for more men ; with him he sent three 
 bushels of gold rings, drawn from the fingers of 
 knights and senators. 
 
 Hannibal had now arrived at the summit of his 
 good fortune, and had the Carthaginian senate 
 unanimously concurred in sending him necessary 
 aid, we see no reason to doubt that Rome herself 
 would have fallen before him. 
 
 It is usual with Maherbal to charge Han- 
 nibal with a fault in not marching directly to 
 Rome, after the battle of Cannae ; but the small- 
 ness of his army, the great population of Rome, 
 together with the height and strength of the walls, 
 furnish a plea tor his conduct sufficiently strong, 
 independent of his consummate talents. It is also 
 said, that suffering his soldiers to live in the lux- 
 urious and inebriating pleasures of Capua ruined 
 him. That certainly was an injury ; but there 
 existed a cause more powerful and eiFectual to his 
 fall. The faction of Hanno, his inveterate ene« 
 
CARTHAGE. 218 
 
 mv had gained the ascendency in the senate of 
 Carthage, and were determined to sacrifice every 
 thine, even the most vital interests of the republic, 
 to effect his destruction. They obtained their 
 wish ; but his ruin was only the precursor of a 
 more awful ruin that shortly descended upon their 
 own heads, and annihilated the republic of Car- 
 thage. . „ 
 
 Hannibal was abandoned to his fate. He re- 
 ceived no reinforcements ; his army was reduced 
 to 20,000 ; his brother Asdrubal, in attempting to 
 join him from Spain, was defeated, killed, and 
 his head was thrown over the palisade into his 
 camp. At this shocking sight, Hannibal cried, 
 *< It is done ! I have lost my hope, I have lost 
 my fortune 1" Notwithstanding these multiplied 
 disasters, he maintained his ground, gained many 
 great victories, and, with his little band of heroes, 
 gave the Romans more difficulty than any other 
 general they ever contended with. For 17 years 
 he wandered about in Italy, often in sight, and 
 under the walls of Rome ; but the extent of that 
 great city rendered it impossible for him to in- 
 vest it, and, therefore, it was beyond his power. 
 If hard fighting could have reduced it, many 
 times it would have fallen. 
 
 At length, however, a man arose who delivered 
 Rome from her formidable enemy. Cornelius 
 Scipio was sent into Spain to take the command 
 of the Roman armies. When he had defeated 
 the Carthaginians in several battles, and reduced 
 a considerable part of their territory there, he de- 
 termined to transfer the seat of the war to Africa, 
 knowing that Hannibal would be recalled, and, 
 in all probability, influenced by the examples of 
 Agathocles and Ree;ulus. He landed in Africa, 
 and marched towards Carthage. As he expected^ 
 
^20 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 a deputation was immediately sent to Italy, com- 
 manding Hannibal's return. 
 
 The crisis was past. Hannibal received his 
 order with expressions of indignation, gnashed his 
 teeth, and burst into a flood of tears. He saw 
 the prize, for which he had toiled so many years, 
 plucked from his hand by the wanton malice of 
 his own countrymen. " Hannibal," he exclaim- 
 ed, " is not vanquished by the Romans, but by 
 Carthage. Hanno has completed the ruin of my 
 family, by the destruction of Carthage." He 
 obeyed the summons : but had Italy been his 
 native country, he could not have left it with 
 more regret. Arriving at Carthage, he made the 
 best dispositions that circumstances would permit. 
 Obliged to fight, and certain of defeat, on ac~ 
 count of Scipio's vast superiority in cavalry^ 
 Hannibal had a conference with Scipio, and en- 
 deavoured to accommodate, but in vain. The 
 dispute must be decided by the sword ; and the 
 battle of Zama, soon after fought, put an end to 
 the second Punic war. Scipio gained the sur- 
 name of Africanus, but Hannibal lost no glory. 
 It is said, that in two days after this battle was 
 fought, Hannibal was 300 miles distant, collecting 
 another force. But, in the mean time, a peace 
 was concluded by Scipio with Carthage upon the 
 most disgraceful terms, which closed the second 
 Punic war, B. C. 188, after it had continued 17 
 years. 
 
 The interval between the second and third Pu- 
 nic wars is distinguished by no events worthy of 
 notice, except the various fortune of Hannibal, 
 That enmity which he had sworn to the Romans, 
 when but a child, grew with his years, became 
 keener with every battle he fought, and now had 
 become so interwoven with his feelings, tliat he 
 
CATtTHAGE. 221 
 
 seemed only to live for an opportunity of satia- 
 ting hiS veiii,eance. After the peace was made, 
 his reputation was so high, that his countrymen 
 placed him at the head of the governmeni. All 
 the departments of the state immediately felt his 
 energy. The treasury, which had been exliaust- 
 ed, and which was usually replenished by oppres- 
 sive exactions, he filled by a skilful management 
 of the finances. The system of bribery and fa- 
 vouritism, which pervaded all ranks of office, he 
 abolished — the laws, under his regard, were car- 
 ried into impartial execution — justice ceased to be 
 prostituted to interest — in short, his administra- 
 tion fully evinced his desert of a civil, as well as 
 of a military crown. When his vigorous system 
 of government had been felt for some years, the 
 people began agiin to be restive, the senate to 
 be jealous, and the old faction of Hanno to gain 
 the ascendency, Grounciie3s complaints, and 
 false accusations were sent lo Rome, to effect his 
 ruin. The Romans, who never felt safe while 
 Hannibal was alive, even w ithout an army, seized 
 the first opportunity that olTered to destroy him. 
 Ambassadors were sent to Carthage, upon pre- 
 tence of inquiring into the truth of these accusa- 
 tions. Hannibal, hearing of their arrival, and ap- 
 prised of their real design, werd on board a ves- 
 sel and fled to Tyre, and thence to Antioch, in 
 search of Antiochus, king of Syria. From Anti- 
 och he went to Ephesus, w here he was received 
 by Antiochus in the most Mattering manner. Af- 
 ter some time he engaged the king in a war with 
 the Romans. But instead of adopting the mode 
 of w'arfare which Hannibal proposed, Antiochus, 
 prompted by envy of the Carthaginian's fame, 
 pursued a plan directly contrary. The conso- 
 
2X2 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 quence of which was, that he was defeated by 
 the Romans ahnost without loss of blood. 
 
 During Hannibal's residence at the court of An- 
 tiochus, Scipio came as ambassador from Rome. 
 One day, as they were conversing, Scipio asked 
 Hannibal who he thought the greatest general 
 that ever lived ? He replied, " Alexander, king of 
 Macedon." «' Who next ?" " Pyrrhus." " Who 
 is the third ?" continued Scipio. Hannibal then 
 named himself. " But what would you have 
 said," added he, *' had you vanquished me ?" 
 " I would," replied Hannibal, " have ranked 
 myself above Alexander, Pyrrhus, and ail the ge- 
 nerals the world ever produced." He might have 
 done it, as it is. 
 
 Receiving no further protection from the igno- 
 ble Antiochus, he took sanctuary among the Gor- 
 tynii, in the island of Crete. But here, in dan- 
 ger of being robbed, he filled some vessels with 
 lead, and deposited them in the temple of Diana, 
 while he concealed his gold and silver in hollow 
 brazen statues, and thus escaped. From thence 
 he fled to the court of Prusias, king of Bythiniaj 
 whom he stirred up to war with the Romans. 
 Hannibal himself obtained many victories over 
 Eumenes, by the strength of his genius, and the 
 variety of his stratagems, rather than advantag-e of 
 force. Prusias growing sick of the war, and the 
 Roman ambassador demanding Hannibal, he con- 
 sented to deliver him into their hands. But the 
 Carthaginian, finding it impossible to escape, and 
 determined not to surrender himself, took some 
 poison, which he always carried about him, and 
 thus spoke : " Let us deliver the Romans from 
 the anxiety with which they have so long beeu 
 tortured, since they cannot wait with patience an 
 old man's death." After reprojiching the vile* 
 
CARTHAGE. 
 
 ns 
 
 uess of the Romans, and cursing Prusias for thus 
 delivering his friend and guest to be murdered^ 
 be swallowed the poison, and died, at 70 yeijrs of 
 age. 
 
 Hannibal did not, like Alexander, experience 
 an uninterrupted current of good fortune ; but it 
 we judge of him by what he actually did, whe- 
 ther fortune was favourable or adverse, we shall 
 see strong reason to set him before Alexander, it 
 fiot before every general that has ever lived. 
 
 Thirty-nine years after the close of the second 
 Punic war, the .third began, which continued three 
 ■years. The Romans kept a watchful eye upon 
 Carthage, and as soon as they saw it began to 
 revive and flourish, their hatred and jealousy be- 
 gan again to appear. Put the principal cause ol 
 ihe hist Punic war was the conduct of Cato, a 
 leading character at Rome. So constant and ac- 
 tive was his hatred, that it is said he never made 
 a speech in the senate, upon any occasion, but 
 he closed it v/ith, " Carthage must be destroyed.'* 
 The settlement of a dispute between Carthage 
 and Numidia was the pretext, and the destruction 
 of Carthage was the object. The first intimation 
 which the Carthaginians received of their hostile 
 intention, was an order to deliver up 300 young 
 noblemen, as hostages for their future conduct. 
 Terrified at this demand, yet fearing to disobey, 
 the- hostages were sent to the Roman camp. 
 Scipio then made known the second part of this 
 iniquitous business, and demanded the surrender 
 of all their ships, military engines, and small 
 arms. The Carthaginian senate perceiving, at 
 last, the object of the Romans, yet dreading the 
 consequences of a refusal, again submitted, and 
 Carthage was entirely disarmed. The consul, 
 imagining tiie Carthaginians incapable of resist- 
 
224 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 ance, in the last place let them know that it wag 
 a decree of the senate of Rome that Carthage 
 should be destroyed, and ordered them all to 
 abandon it in three days. The city was filled 
 with terror and confusion. Tears and prayers 
 moved not the inflexible Romans, till, driven to 
 desperation, the people shut their gates, and de- 
 termined to hold out to the last extremity. With 
 incredible exertions they sustained a siege of three 
 years, during; which time they equipped a fleet, 
 the women cutting off their hair to furnish ropes. 
 But, by unskilful management, they lost it, and 
 were defeated in several assaults. The city was 
 at length so closely invested, that all supplies 
 were cut off, and the miserable citizens driven to 
 the necessity of subsisting upon the flesh of each 
 other for a considerable time. The consul Ame- 
 lianius at last obtained possession of the city, after 
 a bloody conflict of six days, witli little intermis- 
 sion, and levelled it with the ground, B. C. 146, 
 746 years from its foundation. The treasu^res car- 
 ried to Rome amounted to 4,470,000 pounds 
 weight of silver. The Roman senate decreed 
 that it should never be rebuilt, denouncing dread- 
 ful imprecations upon whoever should attempt it. 
 Thus fell Carthage, the second, if not the first, 
 city in the world, more by the intrigues of its 
 factious citizens, than the arms of Rome. 
 
 The war between Rome and C-arthage, whether 
 we consider the extent of preparation, the vast 
 resources, or the prize contended for, was con- 
 ducted with the firmest spirit — the most extreme 
 and protracted exertions, and resulted in the most 
 obvious effects, on the world, of any war recorded 
 in historj^ Other great nations that fell were 
 palsied with vice, and presented an immense 
 fabric, unwieldy, weak, and tottering to its fall, 
 
CARTHAGE. 225 
 
 Rome and Carthage were like two warriors in 
 th'^ meridian of their strength, capable of terrible 
 efforts to annoy or resist. When Carthage fell, 
 Rome was left without a rival. She had other 
 wars which were just sufficient to keep her weap- 
 ons bright ; she had other conquests, sufficient to 
 keep her treasures full. Rome's formidable 
 enemies, after Carthage fell, were among her 
 citizens To her fortunes and destiny we shall 
 next direct your nttnntion 
 
LECTURE X. 
 
 Rome, 
 
 No object in ancient history presents a form 
 so majestic and well defined as the Roman 
 empire. The Grecian institutions were separated 
 into small portions, and could not make one entire 
 impression. The nations and empires still more 
 ancient are, from that circumstance, involved in 
 obscurity, and covered with darkness. The 
 Roman state is like a river which begins from a 
 small fountain, and runs a long way without 
 much accumulation of waters : it then becomes a 
 majestic torrent, " its waves roll in light," and, 
 at length, reach the ocean. 
 
 In the present lecture, the Roman history will 
 be considered to the conquest of Carthage — in 
 the subsequent one, to the reign of Augustulus, 
 and the subversion of the western empire, by the 
 Goths and Vandals. 
 
 The eloquent pen, and bold imagination of 
 Virgil, has deduced the descent of the Romans 
 from ancient Troy. This idea suited not only 
 the fictions of the poet, but the pride and ambition 
 of the Roman character, and was peculiarly 
 soothing and agreeable to the nation. For, as the 
 Greeks conquered and triumphed over Troy, the 
 Romans had very recently done the same to the 
 Greeks: the descendants of the Trojans had 
 now conquered the conquerors of Troy. 
 
 ^neas, a Trojan prince, when Troy was 
 
ROME. 227 
 
 destroyed by the Greeks, collected the remains 
 of his countrymen, and, after spending several 
 years in coasting about the Mediterranean sea, 
 he at length afifected a settlement in Italy, near 
 the mouth of the river Tyber ; and forming a 
 union with Evander king of the Latins, the 
 Trojans and Latins ultimately became one 
 nation, known afterwards by the appellation of 
 Romans. 
 
 From jEneas a succession of princes is enume- 
 rated ; and the wars in Italy, carried on by 
 -Eneas and Ascanius, his son, form the subject of 
 the latter part of Virgil's poem. 
 
 The city of Rome was founded by Romulus 
 753 years before the christian sera : it has now 
 been a city of note and importance 2,567 years. 
 No city on earth has enjoyed equal fame, con- 
 sequence, and duration. 
 
 The first inhabitants of Italy were dispersed 
 in tribes or clans, independent of each other, 
 and without a regular form of government or 
 established laws. The fertility of the soil, and 
 mildness of the climate, oflfered an easy subsis- 
 tence, and the extensive peninsula was early 
 covered w ith a numerous population. Romulus, 
 at the head of a small tribe, gave his name to 
 the people, who were called Romans, and laid 
 the foundations of a city destined to render his 
 name famous through every age of the world. 
 
 The reign of this founder of a mighty empire 
 was long and prosperous. For 37 years he was 
 vigorously employed in establishing the people 
 of his small realm, and rendering secure the 
 foundations of his throne. In a continued series 
 of military enterprises he was successful, and 
 generally came off victorious, and his little state 
 became a terror to all its neighbours. 
 
228 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 It may not be useless to take some notice of 
 the government of this kingdom, which for several 
 centuries contained little more than one city. 
 By this means we may be able to form some 
 general ideas of the nature of the kingly gov- 
 ernments of those early times. The government 
 of the Roman state, though monarchical, was 
 not despotic. Romulus was assisted in the 
 cabinet by a senate of an hundred men, who 
 were chosen for their gravity, discreetness, age 
 and wisdom. The important concerns of the 
 state were managed by the advice and aid of 
 this venerable body, who were called fathers, or 
 patricians. 
 
 The authority of the senate was enhanced by 
 the consideration that the monarchy was elective^ 
 but under what particular regulations does not 
 appear. Nor are we acquainted with the mode of 
 electing senators, w^ho, it seems probable, held 
 their office for life. 
 
 Romulus, though destroyed by an insurrection, 
 was enrolled among the gods, and divine honors 
 were paid to him. An author, with very pert 
 sarcasm, remarks, that he whom the Romans could 
 not endure as a man, they were willing to 
 worship as a god. And it must be confessed 
 that he was not the most exceptionable of the 
 deities. 
 
 Numa Pompilius, a prince of great wisdom 
 and virtue, succeeded Romulus. He is honoured 
 as the founder of the laws and religion of Home. 
 To these important regulations he directed his 
 chief attention. Numa was a Sabine of the city 
 of the Cures, and, in honor to his nation, the 
 Roman assembly were always addressed under 
 the appellation of Quirites. The duration and 
 prosperity pf the Pvoman state was probably 
 
ROME. 229 
 
 owing to this great and v/ise legislator, althou^^h 
 he made (e\v wars, and, perhaps, no addition to 
 their territories. 
 
 During the four succeeding reigns of Tullus 
 Hostilius, Ancus Martius, Tarquinius Priscu?, 
 and Servius Tullus, there were no material 
 changes in the Roman state. Through these 
 long reigns, all of which were of a warliiie 
 character, uniformity prevails ; there v/ere many 
 victories and defeats on such a scale as might be 
 expected from a kingdom not 20 miles square. 
 But in the reign of Tarquin, surnamcd the Proud, 
 events of the greatest importance occurred, 
 which resulted in a revolution of the government, 
 and abolition of monarchy. 
 
 Tarquin, the seventh, and last king of Rome, 
 bad made his way to the throne by intrigue 
 and violent usurpation ; had murdered all the 
 family of Tarquinius Priscus, the next heirs of 
 the throne, except Lucius Junius Brutus, who 
 feigned himself an idiot, to escape the rage of the 
 usurper. But the administration of Tarquin 
 was of the same character as the measures by 
 which he had obtained the sovereignty. A 
 haughty and cruel tyrant, he had laid aside the 
 advice of his council, and his government was 
 violent, oppressive and unjust. Yet such was 
 his energy, vigilance, and power, that no one 
 dared to seek redress. 
 
 An event took place which furnished the 
 people with the pretext and the opportunity of 
 dethroning the tyrant. Sextus, the king's son, 
 in the absence of his father, had offered violence 
 to Lucretia, the wife of Collatinus, a senator of 
 high rank, and great influence at Rome. The 
 illustrious Lucretia sent for her father and hus- 
 bandj who were then abroad, serving in the army 
 20 
 
230 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 of T.irquin, and informed them of lier misfoiLUiic. 
 DesirintT ti em to avenge her wronjis on the 
 perrdious house of Tarquin, she drew a poniard 
 froiii her robe, and, phuT^ing it into her bosom, 
 expired before their eyes. 
 
 While tliey stood round her lifeless corse, 
 overwhelmed with grief and despair, their at- 
 tention was suddenly arrested by the appearance 
 of a character as extraordinary as the calamity 
 of the mon>c;n was great. Among others whom 
 the rumor of Lucretia's death had drawn together, 
 Junius Brutus, the reputed fool, was present, and 
 while ail were drowned in tears, and held in 
 silent suspense, Brutus suddenly seized the 
 bloody dagger, and holding it up toward heaven, 
 excl.Timed, " Be witness, ye gods, that from this 
 moment 1 proclaim myself the avenger of the 
 chaste Lucretia's cause — from this moment I de- 
 clare myself the enemy of Tarquin and his 
 bloody house : henceforth my life shall be em- 
 ployed in opposition to tyranny, and for the 
 freedom and happiness of my country." 
 
 With this he presented the dagger to the rest, 
 and caused them to swear the same oath. The in- 
 surrection was general, and when the news of 
 these transactions reached the army, the defec- 
 tion fron. the tyrant was rapid ; the soldiers and 
 the citizens were animated by one spirit, and 
 Tarquin made his escape into voluntary exile. 
 His restless and active spirit, however, could not 
 rest, and he lived to inflict many calamities upon 
 his country. He was perpetually fomenting new 
 wars, and rousing the enemies of Rome to acts of 
 hostility and dangerous invasions. 
 
 The Roman people proceeded to new-model 
 the government and, instead of a king, thex-^ 
 appointed two consuls, whose powers in the ag 
 
ROME. 231 
 
 gregate were little inferior to those of the kings, 
 but, with this material difference and dirninvition, 
 that the consuls divided the power between them, 
 and were elected every year. 
 
 The expulsion of Tarquin was 245 years ^fter 
 the building of Rome, at which time ti,-: nrru^d 
 of Grecian glory had nearly arrived : Brbyon 
 had fallen, and the Persian empire was on the 
 decline. 
 
 Whether it was owing to the revolution in ^.he 
 Roman government, or to a concurrence of otuer 
 causes, w^e cannot say, but the Roman.'=; vow be- 
 gan to extend their territories. They had, soon 
 after the expulsion of Tarquin, several dangtMous 
 wars from each of which they rose more warlike 
 and terrible, to extend their conquests. The 
 illustrious Brutus was the great progenitor of 
 Marcus Brutus, vVho conspired with Cas-sius against 
 Julius Caesar. The family of Brutus had not lost 
 its patriotism in the days of ("oBsar, but the 
 Roman people had lost their virtue, and v»^ere 
 not ready to second the last of that illustrious 
 race as they did the first. 
 
 Junius Brutus did not long enjoy the freedom 
 he gave his country. Tarquin prevailed on the 
 Veians to espouse his cause; who, immediately 
 raising an army, advanced towards Rome, with 
 an intention of re-establishing the tyran*: on his 
 throne. Brutus and Collatinus, who wev«^ first 
 appointed consuls after the revoluiion, at the 
 head of the Roman forces, marched out against 
 them, and a severe battle was fought. The Ro- 
 mans were victorious, but the victory cost them 
 dear ; many of their best men were slain : but the 
 one chiefly to be lamented, was the illustrious 
 Brutus. Aruns, the son of Tarquin, in the heat of 
 the battle saw the brave Roman, and encountered 
 
232 
 
 ANCIENT IIISTOKV. 
 
 him ill single combat. They both fell dead, hy 
 mutual wounds. 
 
 No Roman ever left behind him a more grate- 
 ful remembrance than Brutus : the matrons of 
 Rome mourned for him annually, and his family, 
 during the times of the republic, held the highest 
 Tank in the state. 
 
 Though Tarquin failed of his grand object, In 
 was encouraged, by the death of Brutus, to prose 
 cute still more vigorously his schemes for reco 
 vering his throne. He prevailed on Porsenna, 
 king of Hetruria, probably the most powerful 
 prince in Italy, to engage in a war with the Ro 
 mans, for his restoration. Porsenna, aft^r seve 
 ral battles, in which the Romans were defeated 
 marched to Rome, and laid siege to the city 
 The Romans now began to display that singular 
 courage and patriotism which re«idered them so 
 famous in history, and so formidable in war. 
 
 Mutius, a Roman youth, went out to the He- 
 fcruscan camp, and making up to a groupe where 
 the king was standing with some of his officers, 
 drew a dagger and stabbed, as he supposed, the 
 king to the heart. It was the king's secretary, 
 whom he had mistaken for the king. When 
 Mutius was examined, he told Porsenna that he 
 was a Roman, and that there were 300 young 
 warriors like himself, who had sworn the king's 
 destruction. You must prepare, therefore, said 
 he, for their attempts ; and you shall see that a 
 Roman can suffer as well as act ; with this he 
 thrust his hand into the fire, and suffered it to 
 burn with entire composure. 
 
 The impulse of generosity in a barbarian is as 
 sudden as that of anger and revenge. Porsenna, 
 amazed at such bravery and fortitude, dismissed 
 Mutius with honour, and immediately proposed 
 
HOME. 23,3 
 
 terms of peace to the Romans, which they ac- 
 cepted, and the war, which had threatened the 
 existence of the Roman state, was terminated. 
 
 The cities, and states, and nations of Italy 
 gradually melted away before the Roman re- 
 public ; nor is it probable that any nation, ancient 
 or modern, ever made so many wars lor conquest, 
 or were actuated by an ambition so stern, un- 
 relenting, and perpetual. They fought for do- 
 minion ; the cold, deadly, and blasting ambition 
 of power was their ruling principle. In Nebu- 
 chadnezzar's dream, of an image representing the 
 four great monarchies, the Assyrian was the gold, 
 Ihe Persian the silver, the Grecian the brass, the 
 Roman the iron. Like iron, the prophet Daniel 
 foretold, they should break in pieces and bruise 
 the whole earth. They resembled iron in their 
 abundance, unloveliness, and strength. The tem- 
 ple of Janus, built by Numa, to be shut only in 
 timecf peace, was never shut but three times for 
 the space of more than 1,200 years. 
 
 The Roman military tactics differed essentially 
 from the Grecian. Instead of the phalanx, the 
 Roman integral military corps, was the legion, 
 which possessed some essential advantages over 
 the phalanx, and, perhaps, in some respects, was 
 inferior to it. In the phalanx the men were 
 ranged in close order, which rendered their 
 column impenetrable, and gave them power to 
 make an impression ; but must often have de- 
 prived them of the effect of free action and rapid 
 movement. 
 
 The Roman legion, according to the nature ai;id 
 proper use of their armour, was, it is probable, 
 the most efficient corps ever formed. In its last 
 and most finished state, when in service, it con- 
 tained 12,000 men. It received great improve- 
 20- 
 
234 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 ments from Julius Ccesar, and the Antonines, The 
 legion contained ten cohorts, and each one com- 
 manded by 8 prefect, and 55 companies, com- 
 manded bV a centurion. The first cohort always 
 held the place of honour, consisted of 1,105 sol- 
 diers, and the other cohorts of 555, amounting in 
 the whole to 6,100. Their armour was a helmet 
 with a lofty crest, a breast-plate, and sometimes a 
 coat of mail, greaves on the legs, and a shield, 
 commonly called a buckler, four feet in length, 
 and two and a half in breadth, made of an oval 
 form of thin light wood, and covered with ox hide 
 and plates of brass ; this they wore on their left 
 arm : their spear or jnlu7n was about six feet 
 long, terminated with a triangular point of steel, 
 18 niches long. This dreadful javelin, when 
 
 " Launched from the vigour of a Roman arm," 
 
 often pierced helmets, breast-plates, and buck- 
 lers, and for close engagement, is considered by 
 some as the most formidable weapon of war ever 
 used. It was thrown at the distance of six or ten 
 yards, and cavalry seldom chose to come within 
 its reach. 
 
 A body of cavalry, consisting of ten troops or 
 squadrons, belonged to each legion. The first 
 troop of 132 was attached to the first cohort. 
 The remaining troops consisted of 66 men each, 
 and the whole cavalry of a legion was 726 men. 
 A legion in battle array was ranged eight deep, 
 with an interval of three or four feet between 
 each man, both in rank and file ; and the cavalry, 
 unless local circumstances forbid, were disposed 
 in the wings. The moment the pilum was thrown, 
 they drew their swords, which were short broad 
 two-edged, and sharp pointed, and closed with 
 
2Si 
 
 the enemy. The Roman evolutions and nia- 
 ncEuvres in battle vs'cre so quick, as to be almost 
 unperceived by the Gneray. By tbis^art, Casar 
 often saved his amiy, and prevented the loss of 
 men. Orders properly given, and executed v/ith 
 celerity, almost insure a victory ; but this can 
 only take place where every soldier has s\i(^i- 
 cient self-command to hear and understand his 
 orders. 
 
 Beside the infantry and cavalry of a legion, a 
 number they c'dVitd exjjcditi^ or light armed, to- 
 gether with servants, attendants, and men who 
 had the care of the baggage, made each full le- 
 gion, in the latter periods of the empire, to be 
 about 12,000 men. The camp of two legions 
 was an exact square of 700 yards. This was 
 levelled, and the tents were pitched in regular 
 broad streets, and surrounded by a rampart 
 twelve feet high, surrounded by a trench, twelve 
 feet broad and deep ; in the centre was the 
 praetorium, or general's head quarters. In this 
 camp the most perfect order, cleanliness, and 
 discipline prevailed. The Roman encampment 
 rendered their wars successful more than almost 
 any other part of their military system ; and 
 such was the vigour and discipline of their ar- 
 mies, that one of these strong fortresses, for 
 such the camp might be styled, could be con- 
 structed by them in a few hours' time. When 
 their camp was to be abandoned, the soldiers 
 would load themselves with their armour, kitchen 
 furniture, and provisions for many days, and 
 with such incumbrance, would march twenty 
 miles in six hours. 
 
 From various facts, it is evident that the Ro- 
 mans were men of great bodily strength and acti- 
 vity ; they were accustomed to running an* 
 
236 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 leaping in full armour, which, Dr. Gibbon re 
 marks, a modern soldier could scarcely carry. 
 But in modern armies athletic exercises are too 
 much neglected. The cultivation of these would 
 give soldiers a great advantage in battle. Q,uintus 
 Curtius relates an anecdote of one of the athletce in 
 Alexander's army, who challenged a soldier of 
 uncommon strength and vigour, to a single com- 
 bat. The soldier was to be clad in complete ar- 
 mour, with helmet, breast-plate, coat of mail, 
 sword and spear, and the athleta was to be 
 naked, with only a common walking-stick in his 
 hand. 
 
 Alexander, who was fond of every display of 
 dexterity, determined to see the combat, and 
 ordered them to fight before the army. At the 
 time appointed, the antagonists appeared, and 
 made ready to begin the conflict at the word 
 of the king. Every body trembled for the 
 wrestler, who appeared naked and unprotect- 
 ed, save by his little stick. The soldier ap- 
 peared stern and very terrible, brandishing a 
 glittering spear, and rough with iron. The sol- 
 dier flung bis spear, which the other avoided by 
 a sudden inclination of his body. The athleta, 
 from a great distance, sprang upon his enemy, 
 and, with one bound, passed almost directly over 
 the head of the stern warrior, giving him a severe 
 blow either with hand or foot, and it could scarce- 
 ly be distinguished with which. The enraged 
 champion suddenly turned about to see where 
 his enemy was, who again approached, and with 
 a blow of his rod knocked down his armed foe, 
 sprung upon him, and would have killed him, but 
 the king, loth to lose so good a soldier, put an 
 end to the combat. The battle drew on the 
 soldier who was defeated, so much ridicule, and 
 
ROME. 237 
 
 he was so slung with the attention the king 
 paid to the wrestler, that he killed himself in 
 rage and vexation. Courage, strength, and acti- 
 vity are a soldier's best weapons, in the mo- 
 ments of close engagement ; with these he will 
 be formidable, let his weapons be what they may. 
 In an army, not only exercises properly mili- 
 tary, should be regularly performed, but every 
 other athletic exercise, where strength and acti- 
 vity are requisite. 
 
 The Roman republic was adorned with many 
 distinguished men, who shone with no less lustre 
 as patriots than as warriors. Cincinnatus, Cori- 
 olanus, Camillus, and Fabricius., exhibited the 
 character of the patriot in a light which, perhaps, 
 has no parallel in history. 
 
 Fifty years after the expulsion of Tarquin, the 
 Roman people had fallen into political dissen- 
 sions, which threatened the existence of the re- 
 public. Invaded by the Equi and Volsci, their 
 army was defeated, and the fierce disputes which 
 agitated the state, had paralized all their exer- 
 tions, and rendered them a prey to those nations 
 over whom they had often triumphed. Quintus 
 Cincinnatus lived retired, on a little farm of four 
 acres of land, from which, by his own labour and 
 industry, he maintained his family. A rage for 
 office, and the more than madness with which 
 offices are bestowed on the vilest miscreants in 
 society, is the plague and torment, the ruin and 
 perdition, of all republics. 
 
 Cincinnatus, sickened with a scene So shocking 
 and disgustful to a great and generous spirit, pre- 
 ferred to live in retirement and poverty. But in 
 the last exigence of public calamity, the senate 
 appointed him dictator, which office comprehend- 
 ed all the powers of absolute sovereignty. The 
 
238 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 Romans had not become so blind, as to prefet im- 
 mediate and entire destruction, to tiie government 
 of a wise and honest man. 
 
 Cincinnatus assumed the government of the 
 state and army, and marching out against the 
 Equi and Volsci, defeated them, and returned to 
 Rome in triumph, bringing spoils of immense 
 value, which he had taken in the war. It would 
 be natural to suppose, that Cincinnatus took care 
 to make his own fortune, when he had freed the 
 state from danger, and filled her coffers from the 
 spoils of an enemy. According to the laws of 
 Rome, he had a right to a large share in the trea- 
 sures which he acquired. But this great man re- 
 stored to the public treasure what he had a right 
 to keep, and returned to the cultivation of his lit- 
 tle farm, which he declared was sufficient for hi'S 
 subsistence 
 
 The story of the illustrious Camillas still more 
 clearly exhibited the strong traits of patriotic vir- 
 tue. By a blamciess life, and the most important 
 services to his country, he had acquired greater 
 reputation than any other man in the state. His 
 virtues, so far from securing him from the envy 
 and malice of enemies, raised against liim a storm 
 of persecution which nothing could resist. He 
 was banished from his country, and driven into 
 disgraceful exile 
 
 The cruelty and ingratitude of his countrymen 
 did not alienate his affection. When he had re- 
 mained some time in banishment, he heard that 
 Rome was besieged by Brennus, king of the 
 Gauls, who, having vanquished whatever force 
 he found to oppose his progress in the field, had 
 closely invested the city, and threatened its utter 
 destruction. This Brennus. next to Hannibal, 
 was the most dangerous enemy Rome ever had. 
 
ROME. 239 
 
 A collection of the Gallic tribes had crossed the 
 Alps, and effected a settlement at the foot of those 
 mountains, on the Italian side. Thej were thence 
 called Cisalpine Gauls, and had been gaining 
 ground in that region for many years. Brennus, 
 a very warlike prince, was willing to make war 
 on the Romans, and had invested Clusium, a city 
 of Tuscany, in alliance with the Roman state. 
 
 The Roman senate, on so near an approach of 
 this formidable chieftain, sent an embassy to de- 
 mand his reasons for invading that city. Bren- 
 nus haughtily answered, that the right of valiant 
 men lay in their swords. And suddenly raising 
 the siege of Clusium, he marched with haste to- 
 wards Rome, and defeated a Roman army thrown 
 in his way. On approaching the city, such was 
 the consternation of the inhabitants, that many 
 fled to neighbouring cities to escape the storm ; 
 and the remnant, a few of the bravest and most 
 determined spirits, took refuge in the capitol, a 
 fortress of great strength, and prepared to stand 
 the fury of a siege. 
 
 The Roman state now seemed nearer extinc- 
 tion than it ever did, till taken by Alaric, king of 
 the Goths, many centuries afterwards. Yet the 
 fortunes of this brave people prevailed, and were 
 able to repel the storm. No vestige of the Ro- 
 man state now remained but the capitol ; the 
 Gauls had full possession of the city, which they 
 had plundered, and, in a great measure, burnt to 
 the ground. Such an occasion as does not occur 
 in many ages, was now offered to a man to dis- 
 play the soldier and patriot. 
 
 Camillus, still in exile, was informed of the 
 perilous state to which his country was reduced. 
 The fame of his virtues and talents enabled him 
 *o collect a small army of such men as are al- 
 
240 ANCIENT HISTORV. 
 
 ways to be found ready to embark in a new en- 
 terprize. As be drew near the Roman territories 
 his former friends flocked to his standard, and his 
 army became sufficiently powerful to attack the 
 Gallic monarch. The Gauls were defeated, and 
 cut in pieces, almost to a man. Camillus entered 
 Rome in triumph, and delivered his country from 
 this dangerous enemy, and acquired the honour- 
 able title of the second founder of the Roman 
 state. 
 
 From a depression so deep and alarming, this 
 astonishing people immediately rose more war- 
 like, more formidable, more fortunate. An event, 
 however, of a very different character, about this 
 time, laid more strongly the foundation of the 
 state, and evinced a capacity for legislation, as 
 well as for the tumultuous and sanguinary scenes 
 of war. Some time after the adoption of the 
 republican form of government, tribunes of the 
 people, as they were called, were created. They 
 bore some resemblance to the ephori in Sparta, 
 and were considered as the immediate guardians 
 of the people. The tribunes held a seat near the 
 doors of the senate-house, and were occasionally 
 called in to deliberate, and ratify the laws of the 
 senate and consuls. 
 
 The tribunes, by professing to advocate the 
 cause of the people, and to resist the aggressions 
 of the senate and consuls, were always tumultu- 
 ary and violent, often infringed, and at last over- 
 turned the government of the state, and destroyed 
 the liberties of Rome, in the perpetual dictator- 
 ship of Sylla. Sixty years after the republic 
 began, the different orders of the state had be- 
 come so hostile to each other, and tumults and 
 seditions become so frequent and fierce, that the 
 
ROME. 241 
 
 wisdom and talents of Cincinnatus saved the state 
 from ruin. 
 
 To remedy these evils", this magnanimous peo- 
 ple adopted a measure which shows them supe- 
 rior to their condition and state of improvement 
 as barbarians. They determined to introduce a 
 body of written laws, of which hitherto thej had 
 been wholly destitute ; nor was the mode they 
 adopted to procure these laws less to their honour 
 than the laws themselves. 
 
 Posthuraius, Sulpicius, and Blanlius, three 
 senators of distinguished rank and great wisdom, 
 were sent on a solemn embassy to visit the states 
 of Greece, examine their laws, and from them 
 to select a code adopted to the Roman state and 
 government. After a year*s diligent inquiry, 
 they returned, and reported the result of their 
 researches into the most celebrated systems of 
 Greece. These laws were digested into ten 
 tables ; and two others being added some time 
 after, formed the truly famous twelve tables of 
 Roman laws. 
 
 It is much to be regretted, that the laws of the 
 twelve tables did not survive the ages of gothic 
 darkness ; together with many other monuments 
 of ancient learning and wisdom, they perished 
 in the general wreck of intelligence, literature, 
 and genius ; and we can judge of their excellence 
 by a few fragments only which remain. 
 
 The Roman government, notwithstanding these 
 tumults and contentions, did not become funda- 
 mentally corrupt till some time after the fall of 
 Carthage. Plutarch informs us that money was 
 not distributed at elections in Rome, till near the 
 time of Julius Caesar, and that disgraceful prac- 
 tice did not begin in Greece till about the close 
 of the Peloponnesian war. 
 21 
 
242 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 The cities in the middle parts of Italy had ge- 
 nerally fallen under tl^e power of Rome ; the 
 triumph overBrennus extended their territories far 
 north ; the war of the Samnites next occupied 
 the arms of the republic in the south, and the 
 reduction of this warlike people cost the Romans 
 a great and protracted effort. When it was well 
 nigh terminated, an enemy appeared, before 
 whom it was expected the Roman commonwealth 
 would fall an easy victim. From the ruins of the 
 Grecian republics, the history of these times was 
 adorned with one great commander. Pyrrhus, a 
 prince of Epirus, when very young, was de- 
 livered as an hostage to Ptolemy king of Egypt. 
 Here he soon began to evince that excellence of 
 mind, and greatness of character, which raised 
 him to a fame little inferior to that of Alex= 
 ander. 
 
 Pyrrhus found his native country in the utmost 
 disorder, and his paternal dominions usurped by 
 the kings of iMacedon. He soon seated himself 
 on the throne of his ancestors, and had he not 
 turned his arms towards Italy, he probably would 
 never have found his equal. Formed as a general 
 on the maxims of Epimanondas and Alexander, 
 he partook of the excellencies, and was free from 
 some of the faults, of both. The Samnites ap- 
 plied to Pyrrhus, and little doubt was enter- 
 tained, that by the skill and fortunes of that ac- 
 complished warrior, they would be more than a 
 match for the Romans. But their conflict was 
 with fortune still superior. 
 
 Pyrrhus accepted the invitation, and prepared 
 to cross from Epirus over into Italy, with an ar- 
 mament which he judged sufficient, according to 
 the Roman phrase, to give peace to Italy. But, 
 )0n his passage, his armament was greatly injured 
 
hy a storm, and his force reduced to near half its 
 original size. Confident, however, in his superior 
 skill, he landed in th*^ south of Italj, and found a 
 Roman army ready to receive him. This was 
 the first conflict which the Romans had with a 
 foreign enemy, and is remarkable for being the 
 first time the Grecian phalanx was brought to act 
 against the Roman legion. The Romans fought 
 with great bravery, but were overpowered by the 
 skill and valour of Pyrrhus, who, on this occa- 
 sion, made that memorable declaration, so often 
 quoted on similar occasions. When he vvas com- 
 plimented on his victory over the Romans, he 
 lifted up his hand and exclaimed, " Another such 
 a victory will ruin me." 
 
 Pyrrhus soon discovered his force insufficient 
 to contend successfully with Rome. He return- 
 ed to Greece, under pretence of raising a great 
 army, but he never visited Italy again, where he 
 iound a nation whom neither eloquence could per- 
 suade, gold corrupt, nor skill and power over- 
 come. It is the general opinion of ancient wri- 
 ters, that Alexander, had he entered Italy, would 
 have experienced the foriune of Pyrrtius. But 
 Alexander judged better than to attempt an im- 
 pression on Italy, or to face the Romans, who, 
 hardy as his own Macedonians were, were still 
 more hardy and robust than they, and who, if 
 conquered, had neither gold nor wealth to glut 
 the rapacity of a conqueror. 
 
 From the war of Pyrrhus, the Roman state 
 laid off her armour, in the proud attitude of con- 
 quest and triumpho All Italy was clear ; the im- 
 mense peninsula, from the Alps to the Sicilian 
 strait, was now an integral part of the dominion 
 of the republic. And, by a policy as liberal as 
 profound, the conquered nations of Italy were 
 
iZ-14 ANCIE^'T HISTORY. 
 
 soon amalgamated to a solid mass of empire, com- 
 prising ten millions of people. They were no 
 longer nations in alliance, but one people, wrought 
 into a uniform fabric of power. The Romans, 
 in the early state of the republic, were as mild 
 and v/ise to nations they had conquered, as they 
 were stern and terrible to their enemies ; (1 speak 
 of the conquests in Italy ;) but they were, in 
 every period of their state, a military government. 
 Every citizen was a soldier, and every soldier 
 was a man of rank. 
 
 Tullus Hostillus had divided the citizens of 
 Rome into five classes, according to the amount 
 of their property. From these classes, the sol- 
 diers who composed the armies of the state, were 
 drawn. From these classes, the great mass of the 
 lowest order of people was totally excluded ; and 
 they were more numerous than all the five classes 
 together. Caius Marius was the first Roman com- 
 mander who enlisted the lowest class of men in- 
 to the Roman army. This class were generally 
 menial servants, yet their number was so very 
 great, that several times they revolted and rose 
 in rebellion, and once had like to have overturn- 
 ed the state. And those powerful men, who 
 finally subverted the government, did it by drawr 
 ing those people into their service. 
 
 But, at first, the Roman citizens and soldiers 
 were patriots. War was their occupation, and 
 they composed a nobler army than any other na- 
 tion could boast of. They were not drawn from 
 the common sewers of the state, but from the no- 
 blest and choicest spirits of the free citizens of 
 Rome. When at home, their civil and municipal 
 laws generally breathed the spirit of equity and 
 justice. The laws of the twelve tables, as far as 
 we can judge of them from the fragments that re- 
 
ROM£, 245 
 
 main, were a surprising fabric of civil and muni- 
 cipal jurisprudence. What is remarkable, some 
 of their precepts were almost, word for word, pre- 
 cepts of the law of Moses. If Lelex, the founder 
 of the Spartan commonwealth, was a Hebrew, it 
 is not improbable that many of the Spartan laws 
 were from the Mosaic code. It is certain that 
 the division of the lands by Lycurgus resembled 
 the distribution of the land of Canaan, among the 
 tribes of Israel by Joshua. 
 
 The first Roman character, though not remark- 
 able for traits of beauty, exhibited an outline of 
 boldness and grandeur to which no other nation 
 has an equal claim. They had more gravity, 
 and more sincerity than the Greeks, and were 
 less inclined to cruelty, though more ambitious 
 and addicted to war, for the sake of conquest and 
 dominion. Till the time of Alexander, the great- 
 *:St wars of the Greeks were obviously defensive ; 
 those of the Romans, for conquest. 
 
 After the expulsion of Pyrrhus from Italy, the 
 Roman state stood collected in its strength, and 
 for a while it remained uncertain towards what 
 object, or in what direction, her vast power would 
 act. There seemed little opportunity, and still 
 less provocation, for them to break out in any dis- 
 tant enterprise. Transalpine Gaul, now called 
 France, was separated from them by the Alps, 
 over whose snowy summits, and pathless defiles, 
 if they passed, the Gauls were numerous and 
 powerful, but poor — the war would be dange- 
 rous, and victory without reward. The island 
 o( Sicily lay west, but this was a seat of the se- 
 verest wars, where the powerful armaments of 
 the Greeks and Carthaginians had often been de- 
 feated and destroyed. East of Italy lay Greece, 
 yet powerful and warlike j while Africa, Spain, 
 21"^ 
 
246 AN'CIENT HISTORY. 
 
 the islands and seas, were occupied by the Car- 
 thaginians, whose commerce engrossed the wealth 
 of the world, and whose fleets gave law to the 
 ocean. 
 
 It was for the Romans to invade Greece or 
 Carthage ; for by these two powers they were 
 environed on three sides, and by the fierce and 
 hostile nations of Gaul and Germany, on the other. 
 They chose Carthage, which they judged the 
 easier task. The result was, the most protract- 
 ed and vigorous conflict recorded in ancient his- 
 torj^ 
 
 A view of this memorable war was given in our 
 last lecture. At the close of the Punic wars, 
 when a rival power no longer existed, we see 
 Rome at her utmost period of vigour ; but it is 
 painful to reflect, that every step of her progress 
 was marked with blood. But while the philan- 
 thropist sees much to deplore, the historian anc^ 
 philosopher will find much to admire and applaud, 
 and must allow the Romans to have been tke most 
 powerful and warlike of the ancient nations. 
 No nation embraced a more wide and extensive 
 range of character. Where shall we look for 
 greater splendour of talents than in Cicero — for 
 more patriotism than in Cato — for more bravery 
 than in Ceesar— for a ixiore illustrious female than 
 Lucretia ? 
 
:247 
 
 LECTURE XI. 
 
 Rome. — continued. 
 
 The fall of Carthage, which took pla.ce 143 
 years before the christian tera, was the first event 
 which visibly changed the character, and impaired 
 the morals of the Roman people. This had 
 been predicted, in reply to Cato, who used to 
 close all his speeches, in the senate with 
 *' Delenda est Carthago.''^ " Carthage must be 
 destroyed.-' Scipio, on the contrary, insisted that 
 the fall of Carthage, would inflict on Rome an 
 irreparable injury. His prediction proved true, 
 ^nd, indeed, fell far short of the truth. The 
 ^amazing wealth of Carthage introduced into 
 Rome a style of luxury unknown in any former 
 'period. Together with that, ambition of a new 
 5brm soon began to exhibit features of an alarming 
 i:haracter. The direct collision and open hostili- 
 ty of parties were soothed and silenced by deep 
 ii'itrigue, and crafty management. Men of enter- 
 p rise, versed in the arts of Grecian policy, from 
 tlie courts of Asia, and from the scenes of 
 African wealth and splendor, poured into Rome a 
 torrent of poison, and fraught with more diseases 
 ll lan Pandora's box. 
 
 From Carthage alone more than two thousand 
 tons of silver and gold was brought to the trea- 
 s.ury of Rome, and a booty of equal value 
 Tplundered from other cities, Sicily, and the 
 .islands. Marcellus, who conquered Sicily, and 
 
248 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 brought the spoils of Syracuse, and many other 
 opulent cities to Rome, is said to have been the 
 first who introduced foreign luxuries into the 
 Roman capital. There was still so much virtue 
 remaining in the city that Marcellus was im- 
 peached, and tried for his life before the people. 
 The Sicilians complained of him for making 
 w^arwith their gods, and plundering their temples; 
 and the Konians accused him of destroying the 
 industry of the people, and impairing the virtue 
 of the state, by altering the style of living, and 
 filling the city with shows and curiosities which 
 diverted the laboring classes of people from their 
 work. 
 
 Marcellus was acquitted, and no prosecution of 
 this nature was ever more set on foot in Rome ; 
 for on the fall of Carthage, Italy itself was 
 almost inundated with the means of luxury, and 
 dazzled with the splendours of wealth. The 
 great men of Rome now possessed wealth, which 
 tliey associated with the idea of power; and a 
 scene was passing in Greece, separated from 
 them only by a narrow sea, which taught them 
 how to climb to that elevated summit. The 
 virtue of the Grecian republics was now for 
 ever extinct, and Greece presented nothing but a 
 variegated sceje of tyranny, disorder, and misery. 
 The art of acquiring* popularity, and of gaining 
 the suffrages and services of the great mass of the 
 people, was now the grand study at Rome— the 
 lesson had been learnt in Greece. When men 
 of the most integrity and virtue are most populai; 
 in any country, the people of that country may- 
 be called a wise and virtuous people. And the 
 character of a nation may be known by ih^ 
 character of the men whom they choose to rule 
 over them. 
 
ROME. 249 
 
 It is the disease and calamity of free govern- 
 ments that men of the most art, intrigue, and 
 ambition will acquire the reins of government. 
 They leave no means untried, they stop at no 
 expedient, and they never fail, at last, to accom- 
 plish their end. When their ambition is gratified, 
 the nation over whose virtue they triumph is 
 ruined, and sinks deep in destruction. It is 
 owing to the force of this maxim that there is not 
 a free government on earth but our own. Had 
 it not been for this, the Roman republic might 
 have existed till this day, free, powerful, and 
 happy, the ornament, the admiration, the envy 
 of the world. 
 
 From the conquest of Carthage to the birth of 
 Christ, the Roman history may be divided into 
 four parts : 
 
 1. The conquest of Greece. 
 
 2. The conquest of Asia. 
 
 3. The conquest of Europe. 
 
 4. The civil wars. — Though these events did 
 not succeed one another exactly in this order; 
 being in some measure blended, and anticipating 
 one another, yet this order rather prevailed than 
 any different order. 
 
 The Romans having seized the immense do- 
 minions of Carthage, and being already masters 
 of Numidia, by the will of Massinissa, they now 
 held all the north of Africa except Egypt. They 
 were masters of the islands of the Mediterranean, 
 of Sicily, and of Spain ; though Spain required 
 to be conquered a second time, and when defend- 
 ed by the arms • of the brave and generous 
 Sertorius, they cost the Romans an effort of 
 fourteen years. But Egypt, under the Ptolemies, 
 was still powerful, and a war in Europe was 
 preferred to another in Africa. 
 
250 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 The successors of Alexander, reigning over 
 Macedonia and Greece, by their weakness, im- 
 policy, and vice, held out the signal of attack^ 
 and the republic of Rome poured her conquering 
 legions into that devoted country. Though 
 some of the Roman writers pretend this was a 
 greater war than the Punic, it could certainly be 
 so only in name. For among all the successors 
 of Alexander, in Macedon, Syria, and Egypt, 
 there seems to have been but one great man who 
 deserved a place in the first class of heroes and 
 statesmen ; that was Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, 
 who could not contend with the Romans. 
 
 The four immediate successors of Alexander, 
 Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy, 
 were men of vigorous talents, and trained by 
 Philip and Alexander, they were by no means 
 dull scholars in the art of war ; and Ptolemy evin- 
 ced great talents as a statesman, and great merit 
 as a monarch. Indeed, I have elsewhere re- 
 marked, that the Grecian dynasty of Egyptian 
 princes, under the name of Ptolemy, were the 
 ablest princes which ever governed Egypt ; and 
 as far as long reigns and regular successions indi- 
 cate the wisdom of a government, and happiness 
 of a nation, the Ptolemies must hold a high rank 
 in an estimate of ancient monarchs. They were 
 certainly the last branch of Alexander's empire 
 which fell before the Romans. 
 
 In Macedon and Greece, the government was 
 like the troubled ocean. Conspiracy, treason ^ 
 revolution, and bloodshed, soon left them without 
 powerj and when invaded by the Roman armies, 
 there was not sufficient faith and virtu<2 in the na- 
 tion to maintain the unequal struggle with Ro- 
 man bravery and discipline. Paulus Emillius, 
 the adopted son of Scipio, who conquered Car- 
 
ROMi:. 251 
 
 ihage, led Perseus, king of Macedon, in triumph 
 to Rome ; and Macedonia, and all Greece, and the 
 neighbouring states, received the Roman yoke. 
 
 It is amazing and incredible what changes a 
 few years produce in the temper, character, and 
 habits of a nation. The Greeks were now as 
 pusillanimous and base as they were brave and 
 magnanimous in the days of Themistocles. The 
 progress of the Roman arms through these once 
 warlike states cannot be read but with sensations 
 of pain and disgust. Some of them yielded even 
 without a struggle ; choosing, probably, to change 
 masters at as cheap a rate as possible. 
 
 When 1 remember what Greece was in the 
 times of Solon and Lycurgus — when I see Leoni- 
 das with 300 men, whose bodies were clad in 
 steel, and vt^hose souls were like so many bright 
 flames of courage and love of glory, moving to 
 meet Xerxes at the head of his five millions — and 
 but a few years after, see a Roman army travers- 
 ing all Greece, with little or no resistance — de- 
 molishing their walls — plundering their cities — 
 giving law to a timorous, degraded, submissive 
 race of people — I cannot but mourn the vicissi- 
 tude of human affairs, and the fading glory of 
 earthly things. 
 
 In the history of the world, an empire is but a 
 bubble : it is reared with toil and ambition — it 
 rises on the ruins of other institutions like itself — 
 it becomes the sport of passion-— its foundations 
 are dissolved, and it sinks in a deluge of blood ! 
 One would be ready to conclude that Rome, after 
 the conquest of Carthage and Greece, was free 
 from trouble ; that Italy presented a scene of 
 glory and felicity, without a tempest, and without 
 a cloud. The reduction of Greece was an sera of 
 importance in the Roman history ; but was not 
 
^52 AN'CrENT iiisroHY. 
 
 the sera of hcv happiness. That period, if such 
 31) one ever existed, was long past. 
 
 To judge of the happiness of a nation, or of an 
 individual, by power and splendour of rank, is to 
 adopt an erroneous ground of judging. The 
 throned monarch might often envy the happiness 
 of his meanest slave ; and whilst an empire gives 
 law to many nations, and the terror of its name is 
 universal, it may be one wide scene of misery. 
 This was the condition of Rome, after she rose 
 to the height of power. 
 
 It is impossible to determine how far the intro- 
 duction of Grecian literature was beneficial to the 
 Roman people. It is even difficult to discover, 
 what proportion of the entire people of Italy 
 were able to read and w^rite, or how far the asra 
 of Grecian literature influenced their condition* 
 If their taste was improved, their manners soften- 
 ed, and their general character made more pleas* 
 ing, yet, the introduction of the fine arts, the in- 
 fluence of wealth, and the vast prevalence of lux- 
 ury, wrought a fatal change on their morality ; 
 and, while it enabled one part of society to spread 
 the snare, it prepared and disposed the other part 
 to rush into it. By whatever means a part of 
 society become very opulent, by the same means 
 a far greater number will become dependent, 
 poor, and dissolute. 
 
 Victories, triumphs, luxury, idleness, ease, and 
 elegance, filled Rome and all Italy with millions of 
 wretches, abandoned of all principles of virtue, 
 seeking for pleasure through riot, indulgence, and 
 wickedness ; trained in the school of vice, and apt 
 at every crime and atrocity, perpetrated through 
 dark intrigue, or public tumult. With the litera- 
 ture, policy, and arts of Greece, the multitude of 
 characters pf this cast, very numerous before, be- 
 
ROME, 253^ 
 
 eajne immense and overwhelming. The descend- 
 ants of the ancient Romans were few, in compari- 
 son with them ; and of that few, the greater part 
 were wholly corrupted by riches, pleasure and 
 ambition. They united their utmost efforts to 
 make a thorough and perfect extermination of all 
 that remained of ancient Roman virtue. They 
 succeeded but too completely. 
 
 Talents and virtue had ceased to be considered 
 the requisites for the great ofiices of the state ; 
 and among the popular arts by which the suffrages 
 of the people were to be obtained, feasts, enter- 
 tainments, public shows, andlargesses were now 
 constantly resorted to. Happj' would it have 
 been for the Rom.an people, had these been the 
 only measures used to gain the favour of the 
 public. From these base measures they pro- 
 ceeded to others, far more criminal. They 
 drew the powers of legislation into their service, 
 and every law that was passed was directed with 
 a perpetual aim to some popular interest. Laws 
 were no longer formed for the good of the nation, 
 but to gratify the views of aspiring men. But 
 the fate of all republics has been uniform. Men 
 of unshaken integrity, who will not flatter and 
 deceive, are branded with the odious epithet of 
 tyrants, and enemies to the people, while a race 
 of harpies, setting themselves up as the friends of 
 the people, and as the guardians of civil liberty, 
 have usurped all power, and plunged their coun- 
 try in destruction. 
 
 The theatre of war and conquest was still wide. 
 The kingdoms of Syria and Egypt — a wide 
 territory expanding from the Black Sea through 
 Asia Minor, through Palestine, and into Egypt, 
 still invited the Roman standard, and promised 
 more wealth, and more triumphs. The eager 
 22 
 
254 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 pursuit of these objects still delayed for a while 
 the catastrophe of Roman liberty, and did not 
 allow the demasjogues of Rome to forge, nor the 
 people to rivet, the chains of complete and abso- 
 lute despotism. 
 
 The kingdom of Syria fell first. From the 
 times of Hannibal, the fatal blow had been struck 
 to that tottering fabric of power. Hannibal, as 
 noticed in a former lecture, when he saw his own 
 country no longer able to contend with Rome, 
 applied to Antiochus, king of Syria, offered him 
 his services, and projected the plan of a w^ar 
 ao-ainst the Romans, which under his own warlike 
 genius might have been successful. But Antio- 
 chus, though the advice of Hannibal was evi- 
 dently sound and correct, took directly the op- 
 posite course. As a warrior, he was indeed the 
 antipode of Hannibal, and the result of his own 
 miserable project speaks the panegyric of Han- 
 nibal's advice. Antiochus was jealous of the 
 fame of the Carthaginian, and, fearing that the 
 plan projected by him would redound more to his 
 credit than to his own, he rejected his advice. 
 
 Instead of making a descent on Italy, as Han- 
 nibal advised, he sent an army into Greece, 
 where the Romans met him, and annihilated his 
 army almost without loss on their part. Antio- 
 chus purchased a peace of the Roman senate with 
 a heavy tribute, and the loss of a considerable 
 portion of his kingdom. 
 
 Syria remained, however, an independent mo- 
 narchy, more than a century after this, and was 
 destined to grace the triumph of Pompey, sixty- 
 five years before the birth of Christ. The Ro- 
 mans, in their Asiatic wars and conquests, found 
 but one enemy who was truly great and formida- 
 ble. Mithridates, king of Pontus, is considered as 
 
ROME. 255 
 
 the second hero who ever took the field against 
 the Romans ; indeed, if we except the imme- 
 diate danger of Rome after the battle of Canns, 
 Mithridates was a more powerful and formidable 
 enemy than even Hannibal himself, at least from 
 adventitious advantages. 
 
 In a reign of nearly sixty years, Mithridates 
 was a troublesome, daring, and almost invincible 
 adversary of Rome. Whilst very young the Ro- 
 mans had interfered in a dispute between him and 
 the king of Bythinia, and had taken from him 
 the sovereignty of Cappadocia. Implacable in 
 resentment, he watched a favourable moment, 
 and took a revenge on the Romans almost un- 
 paralleled in the annals of time. In one night 
 he massacred 1-50,000 Romans, including every 
 Roman found in his dominions. So horrible a 
 slaughter roused the Roman state, and the consul 
 Aquilius was sent against him with a powerful 
 army. The consul was taken prisoner, and his 
 army nearly destroyed. Lucius Sylla followed 
 with another army, and having obtained some ad- 
 vantage over the king of Pontus, a peace was 
 concluded, in which he was restricted to his own 
 paternal dominions. 
 
 But Mithridates, without the least regard to the 
 treaty, or thinking himself justified in violating 
 faith with a nation who had now subjugated the 
 greater part of the civilized world, was imme- 
 diately at the head of 160,000 infantry and 16,000 
 cavalry. With this formidable force he overrun 
 all the Roman provinces in Asia, and, crossing 
 over into Greece, with the rapidity of a whirl- 
 wind, subjugated all Greece and Macedonia, sa- 
 crificing to his vengeance every Roman who came 
 in his way. 
 
256 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 LucuUus, one of the ablest of all the Roman ge- 
 nerals, was sent against this warlike prince ; but 
 the distance of the enemy, and the difficulties of 
 marching an army so far through hostile countries, 
 rendered the expedition dangerous, and the ser- 
 vice incomplete. The Roman discipline and im- 
 proved tactics of this period gave Lucullus an 
 advantage, which, however, the intrepid bravery 
 and consummate talents of Mithridates embarass- 
 ed with danger and difficulty. 
 
 Lucullus, on his arrival in Asia, found Mithri- 
 dates employed in the siege of Cyzicus, a city 
 Jying on the Propontis. The city was built on 
 an island of the same name, which Alexander 
 had connected with the continent by two bridges, 
 and since his time it had been considered as the 
 key of Asia Minor. Lucullus compelled the king 
 of Pontus to raise the siege, and at length de- 
 feated him in battle ; but bj the intrigues at Rome, 
 where Porapey was engrossing all power, Lucul- 
 lus, who was a near connection of Cato, the fa- 
 mous patriot, was recalled, his year of com- 
 mand being at an end. Luculius, because he 
 could not be made the tool of Fompey, was re- 
 called, and dismissed from office, and Glabrio, a 
 tool indeed, and such a kind of tool as ambitious 
 men often see fit to invest with the command of 
 armies, was sent to Asia to finish the war. 
 
 Glabrio was soon defeated, and so complete 
 was the destruction of his army, that Cicero, in 
 his oration before the Roman* senate, declared 
 that there was not a man left to bring the dis- 
 tressing intelligence ; and that the news of the 
 calamity was propatjiated by the voice of rumor. 
 In consequence of this disaster, Pompey was 
 sent with another army against this powerful 
 monarch. But an army could not arrive till a'Ji 
 
ROME. 257 
 
 Asia had been again overrun, and all Greece— 
 and a panic had seized the city of Rome itself, 
 lest Mithndates, so rapid were his movements, 
 should land his army in Italy, and invest Rome. 
 
 The decisive battle between Pompey and 
 Milhridates was fought on the plains of Pharsalia, 
 where Pompey himself was afterwards over- 
 thrown by Juliu3 CcBsar, and where, in modern 
 times, Tamerlane defeated Bajazet, and liberated 
 Europe from the dominion of the Turks. Mithri- 
 dates, overpowered by the superior fortunes of 
 Rome, retired into Asia, where his resources 
 seemed now in a measure to f^iil him. Yet he 
 assembled a powerful army near the bajiks of the 
 Euphrates, and gave battle once more to Pompey, 
 but with a similar result. He fled to Tigranes, 
 king of Armenia, who was his son-in-law. There 
 he was treacherously abandoned by his unnatural 
 relation, who, in hopes of making a merit with the 
 Romans, violated the ties of nature, and excluded 
 the fallen Mithridates from his kingdom. The 
 kingdom of Tigranes was made a Roman pro- 
 vince. But nothing could break the spirit of 
 Mithridates, who had now sustained a war of 
 40 years with the most powerful people on 
 earth. He fled into Scythia, and there planned 
 an invasion of Italy, intending suddenly to break 
 into the heart of the Roman empire, and risk 
 every thing in a last attempt. But he was now 
 70 years of age, though with almost unabated 
 vigor and activity. He sent a messenger to 
 Pompey, demanding terms of peace ; but Pompey, 
 desirous of getting him in his power, returned 
 answer, that no peace could be granted unless 
 Mithridates came in person. The veteran war- 
 rior understood but too well w^hat this implied. 
 His subjects revolted from him, and crowned his 
 22* 
 
'258 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 son Pharnaces king in his stead. Mithridates, 
 now seeing all was lost, took a dose of poison, 
 which proving unable to destroy his iron frame, 
 he stabbed himself, but the blow was ineffectual, 
 and at length he prevailed on one of liis atten- 
 dants, to give him the fatal wound, in the 72d 
 year of his age, 63 years before the christian eera. 
 The news of his death filled the Roman empire 
 with joy and exultation, and was the true pane- 
 gyric of his greatness. 
 
 Mithridates was certainly a man of the most 
 astonishing powers. It is said that he was 
 master of 24 languages, and that in tlie course of 
 his reign he had conquered that number of na- 
 tions. He was remarkably skilled in physic and 
 botany, and was an elegant master of Grecian 
 literature ; having written several able and learned 
 productions. As a warrior his fame is almost 
 unrivalled ; he moved an army with greater 
 celerity than Hannibal, his deliberative powers 
 were no way inferior to those of C^sar, and his 
 attack was as well timed and fierce as that of 
 Alexander. His resources were inferior to those 
 of any other of the great commanders who com- 
 prise the first class. 
 
 Few of the Asiatics, after the ancient Assyrians 
 and Persians, were warlike ; and in all those 
 regions where he reigned he was the only great 
 man of his time. He was cruel and sanguinary 
 to his enemies and rivals, and he is accused of 
 being most perfidiously treacherous and false. 
 But the Roman writers accuse him ; and indeed 
 if he was more guilty of these crimes than the 
 Romans he must have been chargeable with 
 more than human guilt. He resisted the power 
 of Rome for 40 years, when at the zenith of her 
 power, and for boldness, extent, and security df 
 
ROME. £59 
 
 policy, he surpassed all his contemporaries; and, 
 however extravagant it may be thought, Cicero 
 declared him the greatest monarch that ever sat 
 on a throne. 
 
 During the period of Roman history now before 
 us, this martial people found another enemy, 
 who sufficiently exercised their courage and 
 military prowess. And although a little prior in 
 point of time to the wars of Mithridates, 1 have 
 introduced it in this place, as it will lead to the 
 last article of civil history which I propose to 
 notice in this lecture. It will also reflect light 
 on a period of African history subsequent to the 
 fall of Carthage. 
 
 Massinissa, king of Numidia, in the first part of 
 the Punic wars, had yielded essential service to 
 Carthage. lie was a prince, though of small 
 dominion, of great abilities and bravery in war, 
 and for awhile had united his resources to those 
 of the Carthaginians with great effect. The 
 Numidian cavalry were superior for swiftness 
 and courage, and had acquired a universal reputa- 
 tion. The elder Scipio, however detached 
 Massinissa from the interest of Carthage, by a 
 masterly reach of policy which seldom occurs to 
 any but such as are born to conquer and govern. 
 At the defeat of Asdrubal, in Spain, a nephew of 
 Massinissa fell into the hands of Scipio the con= 
 queror. This young prince was ti-eated wilii 
 every kind of respect by Scipio, who, after a. 
 while returned him to the king of Numidia with a 
 strong escort, and loaded with rich presents to his 
 uncle. By the persuasions of the restored cap- 
 tive, and probably by the still more powerful 
 eloquence of gold, Massinissa withdrew trom his 
 alliance to Carthage, and evrr after was firm U 
 the interest of the Koman's, 
 
260 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 It is not easy to pronounce on the policy of 
 this conduct : its effects were obvious ; for it un- 
 questionably accelerated tlie fall of Carthage, 
 and gave all Africa to the Romans. In the deci- 
 sive battle of Zama, where Hannibal and Scipio 
 acted the last scene of the bloody drama, Massi- 
 nissa aided in the destruction of a neighbour, in 
 v.'hose fate that of his own kingdom was involved. 
 Yet, perhaps, his subserviency to the Romans was 
 preferable to the capricious tyranny of the san- 
 guinary factions of the senate of Carthage. 
 
 Blassinissa, on his death, left his kingdom to be 
 divided by Bcipio, the younger, among his three 
 sons ; and the division was accordingly made, 
 with great equity, by that exalted statesman and 
 hero. But, by the death of two of them, the 
 whole kingdom of Numidia fell to Micipsa, who 
 transmitted it to his two sons, Hiempsal and Ad- 
 herbal, and a nephew, whose name was Jugur- 
 tha. The name and wars of Jugurtha are im- 
 mortalized by the eloquent pen of Sallust. This 
 prince united the great qualities of the hero and 
 statesman with every tiding that can render the 
 human character base and detestable. He trea- 
 cherously murdered Hiempsal, and when Adher- 
 bal appeared befere the Roman senate to implore 
 aid against the false and bloody usurper, Jugur- 
 tha was able to maintain his cruse by bribery and 
 falsehood. Indeed, equity was no longer to be 
 expected from that once august body, whose 
 edicts were at sale to the highest bidder, and 
 whose laws spread more widely, and diffused 
 more deeply the poison of corruption. 
 
 When the senate of Rome perceived that Ju- 
 gurtha used their favour to secure his own inde- 
 pendence, which, by their neglect, he had ce- 
 iDented with the blood of all who stood in his 
 
ROME. £61 
 
 way, they resorted, as usual, to war. With the 
 loss of several armies, they at length led the 
 daring rebel in chains : he adorned the triumph 
 of Caius Marius, and expired in prison at Korae, 
 
 The war of Jugurtha kindled a flame in Italy, 
 which, together with millions of lives, and the 
 choicest blood of the Fioraan nation, extirpated 
 the liberties of '^'oine, and condemned the whole 
 human race to the relentless chains of tyrants for 
 1,5';0 years. Metellus had been sent against Ju- 
 gurtha, but his efforts were, in some degree, pa- 
 ralyzed by the rage of factions at home ; and the 
 vigorous resistance of a brave, daring, and subtle 
 adversary, bid fair to protract the war. At this 
 time, a man appeared in Rome of a character as 
 extraordinary as the emergency of the times in 
 which he lived was peculiar. 
 
 Caius Marius was a man of great vigour of 
 mind, and his gigantic size and strength of body 
 rendered him an object of admiration and terror. 
 Though a plebeian by birth, and educated in the 
 rude scenes of a remote country viJlage, he early 
 showed the talents of a soldier and commander. 
 Repairing to Rome, where he saw every thing 
 was become venal, and where monstrous corrup- 
 tion unveiled her most deformed and hidious fea- 
 tures, he, though a commoner, preferred a claim 
 to the consulate ; and, though expressly contrary 
 to the letter and spirit of the constitution, and the 
 uniform practice of the state, he was elected con- 
 sul. At the head of an army, he marched against 
 Jugurtha. But his army was raised in a manner 
 as novel, as his own appointment had been ex- 
 traordinary, lie neglected the five classes of ci- 
 tizens into which the Roman state was divided, 
 and enlisted men from the lowest and menial 
 order. 
 
26i2 ANCIENT HISTORV. 
 
 But this army, under his powerful hand, be- 
 came formidable, and defeating Jugurtha, he com- 
 pelled him to take refuge at the court of Bochus, 
 king of Mauritania. Marius, therefore, sent an 
 ambassador to that court to demand that Jugurtha 
 should be delivered up to the Romans. This im- 
 portant business was entrusted to Lucius SvHa, 
 a man of deep intrigue, perfidious temper, 'and 
 daring ambition. Sylla transacted this business 
 with so much adroitness, that an impression pre- 
 vailed at Rome, that the merit of subduing Jugur- 
 tha was his, and the honour due to him, and not 
 to Marius. Rome, Italy, and the world, were di- 
 vided between these two men, who both demand- 
 ed a triumph, and w^ere both worthy of a gibbet 
 or a cross. 
 
 A civil war ensued, and Rome was ruined. As 
 one or the other party prevailed, the opposite 
 party fell under the most horrible proscriptions, 
 and at every turn, Rome, and Italy itself, were 
 deluged in blood. Remorseless as death, and fu- 
 rious as a whirlwind, these two monsters in human 
 form, were able to embroil the world, and to 
 draw forth and exhaust the resources which had 
 been swelled by the plunder of ail civilized na- 
 tions. 
 
 Sylla prevailed ; and while Marius obtained the 
 blood-stained title o( Father of his ccvjitry, Sylla 
 was made perpetual dictator ; an office which 
 empowered him to consign to death every man in 
 the state, whose villanies had not rendered him 
 necessay to the tyrant, or whose virtues had made 
 him worthy to live. 
 
 The war of Marius and Sylla was but the be- 
 ginning of the calamities of Rome. They laid 
 the foundation of two factions, whose continued 
 collisions agitated the commonwealth to its cen- 
 
Ii03IE. Zb 
 
 tre, and sifted out of it every thing which could 
 not assimilate to the order of the most despotic 
 government of ancient times. Sjlla remained 
 undisputed master of Rome for some years, and 
 like an archer, from day to day, singled out tlie 
 victims of his vengeance, and dipt his arrous in 
 the best blood of the noblest and last of the an- 
 cient republics. 
 
 The wars of this period gave a new tone to the 
 public mind. Men of virtue and discernment 
 saw clearly that the civil liberty of this great na- 
 tion was at an end, though the leaders of each 
 party, at every step of their progress, professed 
 an exclusive aim at the good of their country and 
 the freedom of the people — a profession which an 
 ambitious tyrant never fails to make. 
 
 Whilst the luminaries v/hicb enlightened and 
 adorned this great republic were ail hastening 
 from the horizon, one of distinguished lustra 
 rose to give, as it would seem, the last glory to 
 the Roman character and name. During the atro- 
 cities of Sylla, the younger Cato was still very 
 young ; he was probably the most remarkable 
 instance of inflexible truth and sincerity that 
 ever adorned any nation. When he was a boy 
 about fourteen years old, his master, Sarpedo, 
 used to be invited to take him sometimes to the 
 house of Sylla. One day Sylla had caused some 
 person to be put to death, and Cato, seeing a 
 number of persons about the house of the dic- 
 tator weeping, and in great sorrow, turned to his 
 master Sarpedo and said, " Why does not some- 
 body kill Sylla ?" *' Because," replied Sarpedo, 
 " every body fears him." '* Give me a sword," 
 said Cato, " and I will kill him, and relieve them 
 from that fear." So firm was the temper, and 
 intre^iid the spirit of the youthful patriot, that 
 
264 ANCIENT IIISTORI. 
 
 his precfiptor hastened him away from the hou;;e> 
 and carefuily kept watch over him, lest he should 
 actually attempt so bold and hazardous an en- 
 terprise. 
 
 Scarce was Sj-lla removed from the stage 
 4\hich he had crowded with scenes of tragic hor- 
 ror, when he was followed up by men of more 
 extensive views, reiined ambition, and daring 
 courage. Pompey revived the spirit of faction ; 
 and the two, monstrous demons, avarice and 
 ambition, let loose on an immense mass of people, 
 again prepared the Romans to butcher and de- 
 stroy one another. Pompey had returned from 
 Ihe conquest of Asia, filled all Rome with his 
 triumphs, and dazzled the people of the vast 
 capital with exhibitions of his munificence and 
 glory. 
 
 Pompey seemed destined to be the master of 
 the Roman empire ; for the pyramid of power, 
 shaped upward, was now taking such a form 
 as to admit of but one man to stand on the apex. 
 But Pompey and the vrhole world were disap- 
 pointed and astonished by the appearance of a 
 man, in whom the civil and military genius of 
 Rotr.e made a display of their utmost strength 
 and perfection. Pompey had been raised high 
 by the vast extent of his talents and resources, 
 and whi]«^t he was planning for himself, on a 
 scale of calculation vast as the world, and high 
 as the throne of Cyrus, or Alexander, Julius Cas- 
 gar had consumed five years in the hidden realms 
 of central Europe, where, with nerve of steel and 
 geniub of fire, he had conquered the fierce and 
 martial tribes of Gaul, Germany, and Britain. 
 
 ■Phe world was now to witness a conflict be- 
 tween its two greatest men, bui formed in different 
 jsehools. Pompey was the favourite child pf 
 
ROME» 265 
 
 fortune. He had budded, blossomed, and grown 
 mature under an ardent sunshine ; — great in his 
 own mind — great in his fortune — great in his 
 friends — and great in all his plans and successes. 
 Like a laurel under a genial sun, his shaft was tall, 
 bis branches bold and towering, his foliage deep 
 and luxuriant : of a man he was the finest, per- 
 l^aps the loveliest figure that Rome ever reared. 
 
 But Caesar, though he boasted, indeed, of his 
 family, was trained in a harder scheol. He 
 grew slowly overshadowed by greater men. 
 When ready for action, he was conveyed to a 
 region where labour, without recompense, and 
 without rest, required all his powers ; where the 
 howl of the midnight savage added nothing to 
 his repose ; where long marches, winter cam- 
 paigns, and dangerous battles, allowed him not 
 even to dream of luxuries. Csesar was like the 
 oak of the northern hill, which, while the storni 
 is wasted on its brow, gathers a deeper root 
 unseen. 
 
 But though Pompey and Ceesar were on the 
 theatre of action, there was another man with 
 them, for whose fame and glory I would freely 
 barter all the laurels of both. Cato never bow- 
 ed — was not corrupted — was not awed — neither 
 could he fear the power, nor court the favour, 
 of those men whose traffick was in kingdomso 
 Whilst their ambitious schemes were forming, he 
 saw their aim at a distance ; he did whatever one 
 man cojld do, and more than any other man could 
 have done, to rescue his country; but such can- 
 dour, such integrity, such boldness, such intrepid, 
 and undaunted zeal, rode safely through the storm, 
 in the midst of the factions of Rome, he was like 
 a rock around whose sides the waves roar, and 
 rerapests beat, in vaiia. 
 
 23 
 
260 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 At Pharsalia the fortune of Rome was decided, 
 and CcEsar triumphed. But the triumph of the 
 wicked is short. Ca?sar had shed too much inno- 
 cent blood to be sutTered by eternal wisdom to 
 remain long on the lofty summit to which he had 
 ascended through slaughter, perfidy, and guilt.— 
 A conspiracy hurled him in a moment from the 
 throne to the grave. But the people of Rome, who 
 were liberated from the government of a tyrant 
 by his death, instantly joined in pjTsait of Brutus 
 and Cassius, by whom he had beco slain. 
 
 There has been a period hi the history of every 
 free government, when the people would be no 
 longer free. Take, from them one tyrant, and 
 they vvill immec'ateiy set up another. The war 
 between Auguslu"- Cssai a^d Mark Antony was 
 not a war for liberty ; nor did Julius Crcsar de- 
 stroy the liberties of Rome. They were funda- 
 mentally destroyed before either of the Caesars 
 existed. 
 
 The history of Rome from the commencement 
 of the imperial government, with some excep- 
 tions, presents one wide scene of corruption, 
 dissipation, and decay. They were in little 
 danger of invasion. The empire was iramen$e5 
 its resources equal to its extent of dominion ; but 
 it is impossible not to observe a rapid deteriora- 
 tion in manners, morals, dignity of character, 
 and happiness. 
 
 The Romans were peculiarly unfortunate in 
 their emperors. The greater number of them 
 were mere tissues of vice, cruelty, and weakness. 
 But it was my intention to discontinue this rapid 
 survey of Rome at the accession of Augustus to 
 the imperial throne. This event took place iu 
 the thirtieth year before the birth of Christ. 
 The national character of the Romans was 
 
ROME. 26? 
 
 exceedingly different from that of tiie Greeks 
 Perhaps the character of all nations takes its 
 chief lines from early and local circumstancee. 
 The Romans were grave, dignified, and contem- 
 plative in their manners and deportment. Their 
 literature shows strongly this trait ; of course, 
 when softened by benevolence and civility, they 
 were more interesting than the Greeks. Their 
 literary excellence was rather reflected than 
 original. For, till after the conquest of Greece, 
 the Romans were in a state of barbarity, as far 
 as want of science could constitute that state ; 
 yet they showed themselves noi incrtpribie of 
 science. Their Livy, Tacitus, and Sall:»si, evince 
 a transcendent degree of classic excellence. Their 
 Virgil and Horace, among poets, ccnnot fall into 
 a second class. The current of f?.r;n;on, and, per- 
 haps, the august tribunal of tasu, has generally 
 set Homer before Virgil in point of excellence ; 
 yet I appeal to every feeling reader, that he 
 oftener pays to the Latin, than to the Greek, the 
 tribute of a tear. If poetry is the language of 
 passion, that poetry is best which dissolves the 
 heart, and enkindles the soul v/ith raptures. 
 Few have wept or nn.ourned over Homer — few 
 have read the melting numbers of the Mantuan 
 bard without both. 
 
 In general literature few persons beyond the 
 Gothic ages surpassed the Roman orator. I have 
 doubted whether a man in ancient times had 
 more general science than Cicero : and in 
 eloquence there is a competition between him and 
 Demosthenes which will probably never be 
 settled. In a belief of the doctrine of a future 
 and just retribution, it is melancholy to consider 
 how little moral virtue the Roman people pos- 
 sessed. Their continual rage for war; the years 
 
tQB ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 and ages through which their course was marked' 
 with blood ; the cries and groans of nations, 
 recorded against them, cannot be considered but 
 with awful apprehension. A righteous provi- 
 dence has disposed of them, and their memorial 
 should be viewed by us as a beacon set up for 
 our instruction. 
 
 The history of the Hebrew state, the last in 
 our proposed course, will next engage our at- 
 tention. 
 
269 
 
 LECTURE XII, 
 
 The Hcbrcrv State. 
 
 A TREE whose living and imperishable root 
 was early planted by the hand of God, whose 
 trunk rose high, and whose spreading branches 
 have furnished shade and fruit for the nations, 
 seems now to stand before us. Abraham was 
 the tenth in descent from Noah, of the line of 
 Shem, the founder of the ancient church of God, 
 and the father of the promised Messiah. 
 
 The removal of Abraham from the country of 
 Mesopotamia, into the land of Canaan, by divine 
 direction, commences the history of the Hebrew 
 church and nation. As yet God had distinguish- 
 ed no family, and it remained uncertain what 
 special course the dispensations of moral light and 
 divine grace would lake, when God commanded 
 Abraham to retire from his native country, and 
 from his father's house, into the land of Canaan, 
 which place, he was assured, should be the future 
 inheritance of his posterity, and the seat of the 
 divine oracles. 
 
 After a residence of some years in the land of 
 Canaan, God entered into a covenant with 
 Abi'aham, and the rite of circumcision was in- 
 stituted. In this covenant were promised to 
 Abraham and his seed many temporal blessings, 
 and particularly the land of Canaan, as an in- 
 heritance ; also, that the Messiah should be born 
 «f Abraham's seed ; through faith in whom, both 
 23* 
 
270 AXCIENT HISTORY, 
 
 Jew and Gentile should inherit eternal salvatioR 
 By virtue of God's promise to Abraham, his 
 natural ofifspring, provided they did not forfeit by 
 rebellion, were entitled to all the temporal 
 blessings of the covenant, and such as had faith 
 in Christ, to all the blessings of eternal salva- 
 tion. In Abraham'? covenant, the requirements 
 and promises were adapted to each other. 
 There was a temporal and spiritual part. Abra= 
 ham's faith and holiness were required of all ; 
 and to such as possessed them, Abraham's blessing, 
 in its whole extent, was promised. 
 
 We behold Abraham, the noblest of the 
 patriarchs, settled in the promised land, not, 
 however, as a proprietor, but merely as a sojourn- 
 er, and dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob. 
 The character and conduct of Abraham were 
 such as procured him a more honourable appella- 
 tion than any other mortal man ever obtained. 
 He was called the friend of God. Every good 
 man is, in a gense, the friend of God ; but the 
 phrase applied to Abraham was used in its ap- 
 propriate sense, which signifies intimacy, and 
 cordial union and correspondence. 
 
 The passages of the life of Abraham, recorded 
 by Moses, give us the most exalted opinion of his 
 character, for amiableness, piety, justice, and 
 wisdom. Though he resided in Canaan in tents, 
 and occasionally removed from place to place, 
 his wealth had become great, and the inhabitants 
 of the country held him in the utmost veneration. 
 To the reputation of a patriarch, a sage, a prifice 
 of exalted wisdom and virtue, they seemed to 
 respect him for what he was — the peculiar friend 
 and favourite of God They entertained for 
 him a deep, awful veneration, as a great and 
 hoiy prophet. Is or did they less fear him as a 
 
THE HEBREW STATE. 271 
 
 iieio than a prophet. Abimeleck, king of Gerar, 
 and Pharaoh, king of Egypt, treated him as a 
 friend and an equal ; and in his residence near 
 them, they showed a high regard to honour, 
 h^viitality, and religion. 
 
 -:ihe military prowess of Abraham was con- 
 spicuous, and very remarkable, in the invasion 
 of Amraphel, king of Shinar, on the allies of 
 Abraham. Amraphel, supposed to be the king 
 of Babylon, with three other kings, invaded 
 the kings of Sodom, and obtaining a victory 
 over them, had sacked those cities, and carried 
 otr the family of Lot, Abraham's nephew, with 
 many captives and much booty. Abraham arm- 
 ed his trained servants, said to be about 300, and 
 with his three friends, Anor, Eschol, and Mamre^ 
 near whose territories he resided^ and, it is pro- 
 bable, their joint forces, he pursued the ar- 
 my of the confederate kings, and dividing his 
 force into three bodies, attacked them from three 
 several directions at the same time. A great 
 slaughter ensued, the enemy was defeated, and 
 all the captives and plunder recovered. Abra- 
 ham returned in triumph, and restored to Lot 
 whatever he had lost, as well as to others who 
 had been his fellow sufferers. 
 
 What is greatly to the honour of the patriarch, 
 when offered an ample compensation for his im- 
 portant and dangerous service, he declined the 
 smallest consideration. ISo far from waging an 
 unnecessary war, for the base motive of gain or 
 conquest, he had repelled an invasion, and termi- 
 nated gloriously a war of defence, wiifao-ji dis- 
 tressing those whom he had served by enormous 
 exaction, or tarnishing his glory by a mercenary 
 reward. 
 
 One of the most extraordinary circumstances in 
 
«72 APJCIENT IIISTORV. 
 
 the life of Abraham, was the peculiar way in 
 which God chose to try his fidelity. Isaac, the 
 child of promise, from whom the great Messiah 
 was to descend, was born to Abraham at a very 
 advanced period of life. Every circumstance — 
 the great age of his parents, his birth by express 
 promise, and the vast hopes centring in him, 
 rendered him an object of deep interest to the 
 family of the patriarch, and raised the fondest 
 affection of his aged parents. 
 
 A sudden cloud shaded all their hopes and pros- 
 pects, when God commanded Abraham to go to 
 Mount Moriah, and offer this his son and heir a 
 burnt sacrifice to God The trial was inexpressi- 
 ble. An enlightened and sincere worshipper of 
 the true God must feel an abhorrence of human 
 sacrifice which no tongue can describe. The di- 
 vine promise, that Isaac should be the father of 
 nations, seemed to torbid — the ardour of paren- 
 tal hope and tenderness must revolt— and then, 
 that he must do the horrid deed with his own 
 hand — must hear the piercing cry, the fainting 
 wail, the dying sob -must witness the last ago- 
 ny, the pale countenance, the faded eye of the 
 djinglamb, which had been nourished in his bo- 
 som, and which, of all creatures on earth, was 
 the dearest 
 
 To estimate this trial, we must consider the 
 great age of the venerable patriarch and his con- 
 sort. They were far past those years of vigour 
 when we endure pain with firmness, and sorrow 
 with fortitude. Age brinos on a peculiar tender- 
 ness towards children and youth, and an equal 
 abhorrence of inflicting or witnessing pain. View 
 the venerable pair, their heads whitened with the 
 snows of age, doting on their beloved Isaac, the 
 heir of all their wealth now verging toward? 
 
THE HEBREW STATE. 273 
 
 manhood : all their 'earthly comfort lay in him ; 
 he was to close their eyes, and bear their name 
 to posterity. 
 
 How could Abraham take away the lovely 
 boy from his aged mother, to slay him on a dis- 
 tant mountain, and burn his body a sacrifice, 
 without telling her who had been the faithful and 
 lovely companion of all his years ? It is impossi- 
 ble ! — He must have done it. And yet how dan- 
 gerous is the contagion of overwhelming grief! 
 Passion is like fire : as a servint, it is useful — as 
 a master, it is terrible. Abraham was too good a 
 man to let passion drown the voice of equity. He 
 communicated, I presume, the awful secret to Sa- 
 rah, and allowed her the opportunity to take a last 
 embrace — a parting look — to weep and pray in 
 secret. For it is certain, Isaac was not informed 
 of his destiny till the event could be no longer 
 concealed. 
 
 I cannot but imagine the aflPecting conversa- 
 tions which occurred between Abraham and Sa- 
 rah, and the intense, ineffable struggle, between 
 parental tenderness and duty to God ; and how, 
 at length, they were able to rest the mournful sub- 
 ject in the hand of infinite goodness. Abraham 
 repaired to the place appointed, and leaving his 
 servants at the foot of the mountain, with his son 
 ascended to the spot where he expected to part 
 with all his earthly comforts. Isaac knew they 
 were going to ofler a sacrifice, and admiring to 
 see no victim, made inquiry of his father what 
 victim he expected to offer ? " God," replied the 
 patriarch, " will provide himself a lamb for the 
 sacrifice." Prophetic declaration ! This was 
 not far from the spot where the Lamb of God, 
 slain from the foundation of the world, was aftei'- 
 wards offered. But let me not torture your feel- 
 
274 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 ings by approaching too near this awful transac- 
 tion, which, excepting Abraham and his son, none 
 witnessed but the all-seeing God and his invisi- 
 ble angels ; nor debase a scene, by imperfect de- 
 scription, which no words can paint. 
 
 Abraham was prepared to execute the divine 
 command, when, lo ! the sovereign voice from 
 heaven said unto him, '* Lay not thiiir hand on the 
 lad ; for now I know that thou fearest God, since 
 thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, 
 from me." No reprieve was ever more grateful ; 
 nor can imagination conceive the delightful flood 
 of joy, gratitude, and rapture, which rushed on 
 the glorious patriarch at this august moment. He 
 had overcome nature's utmost force, and come off 
 a conqueror. His son was restored as from the 
 dead — his conscience bore an honourable witness, 
 and spoke peace — the voice of God from heaven 
 approved him — -surrounding angels, if they saw, 
 must have smiled and clapped their wings in tri- 
 umph ; and, behold, a lamb caught in a thicket, 
 furnished an offering to his hand ! The rite per- 
 formed, he descended the mountain, not alone, 
 but with his dear son by his side ; and, raethinks, 
 he hastened, as on wings of lightning, to bear 
 the glad news to his aged consort, who, if she 
 knew what was depending, waited with mourn- 
 ful resignation the return of Abraham, to announce 
 to her that her son was no more. 
 
 The life of Abraham would furnish matter for 
 not only one, but many lectures. But the ex- 
 tent of ground necessary to be surveyed, forbids 
 me to dwell longer on this article ; nor can we be- 
 stow proportionable attention on the history of the 
 subsequent patriarchs, as biography is not so much 
 the object of these lectures as the general outline 
 of civil historv. 
 
THE HEBREW STATE, 275 
 
 The patriarchs, Isaac and Tacob, with life and 
 character similar to that of Abraham, engage the 
 attention of one who reads the sacred history. 
 Their lives are full of passages ijteresting to the 
 heart of pious sensibility, and the simplicity and 
 force of the narrative is without a parallel in 
 profane history. By a singular concurrence of 
 events, the family of Jacob was removed into 
 Egypt, 1,705 years before the christian a.Ta. 
 Though consisting then of but 60 or 70 persons, 
 they soon increased, and became a nation. When 
 Jacob was on his way into Egypt, God appeared 
 to him, in Beerskeba, and proniised to bless him, 
 to preserve his family in Egypt, and to return 
 them to the land of promise. 
 
 The patriarchal family was rer.eived by the 
 king of Egypt with great kindness. It is pleasing 
 to perceive the hospitality, the noble simplicity, 
 the kind and generous attention to strangers, 
 wdiich marked the customs, and exalted the cha- 
 racter, of those, early limes. Tht po:npou3 glare 
 of ostentation, the idle round ot ];;, ip'd ceremony, 
 the perpetual change of false cuir-piupients. which 
 often die on the tongue into (he hisse:. of bjp.o- 
 crisy, were unknown in those great and Wvorthy 
 families, whose politeness was sincerity and 
 affection. 
 
 During the reign of that prince, who had wit- 
 nessed the virtues, and been the companion of Jo- 
 seph, and who appears himself to have been a 
 wise and virtuous prince, the family of Jacob 
 were held in esteem and honour. They obtain- 
 ed an advantageous settlement in the land of Go- 
 shen, which Pharaoh told Joseph was the best 
 part of the country. Beside this proof of the 
 royal favour, Joseph was desired to select from 
 his brethren men of integrity and capacity for 
 
276 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 business, to be employed in the service, and un- 
 der the pay and patronage of the king, who had 
 formed an exalted opinion of the whole Hebrew 
 family. 
 
 The prosperity and increase of the Israelites in 
 Egypt, and, probably, the tradition which pre- 
 vailed in Jacob's family, that thej^ should at some 
 period of time be carried out of Egypt, and be- 
 come a great nation in Palestine, might have 
 awakened the jealousy of the Egyptians. Whilst 
 the Israelites increased with amazing rapidity, 
 and were distinct in iheir manners and morals 
 from the people of Egypt, the. latter grew cor- 
 rupt, and their governiiient became oppressive. In 
 building those vast structures and enormous public 
 works, the tyrannical government of Egypt found 
 it convenient to use them as servants and labour- 
 ers. 
 
 The virtues of Joseph were now remembered 
 by the haughty and vvicked princes of Egypt with 
 ungrateful jealousy ; the Israelites were vvatched, 
 and, as by their numbers and force, the event of 
 their emigration seemed not far distant, rigorous 
 bondage was inflicted, and cruel and sanguinary 
 means employed to prevent what Israel antici- 
 pated with hope, and Egypt with anxiety and 
 alarm. 
 
 Extremity of distress and oppression some- 
 times immediately precedes deliverance. When 
 it was perceived how rapidly the Hebrews in- 
 creased, notwithstanding the rigour of their bond- 
 age, an order was issued for destroying all their 
 male children, immediately after their birth. 
 This horrid mandate was put in force with unex- 
 ampled barbarity. This intolerable cruelty^ 
 which, in the list of national sufferings, stands 
 alone and unrivalled, tliey bore for a considers- 
 
THE HEBREW STATE. 277 
 
 ble time, but with what temper and feelings ma j 
 be easily imagined. 
 
 It has been a question, whether a Providence 
 that may be called special, attended the people 
 of Israel. The circumstances of their history 
 were more extraordinary than those of other na- 
 tions, and, certainly, the hand of Providence 
 seems to have been more visible. Joseph, the 
 son of Jacob, was first sold into Egypt, where his 
 good conduct first raised him to favour in a pri- 
 vate station ; then, by his great virtue, he v/as 
 thrown into a dungeon ; from that depressed state, 
 he was, by the same virtue, exalted near to the 
 throne of Pharaoh, and became a father to Pha- 
 raoh and his kingdom : all Egypt, through him, 
 was blessed of God, and he was made the pre- 
 server and protector of the chosen race. 
 
 In the period of history now before us, the 
 deep sorrows and heavy sufferings of the Israel- 
 ites, prepared a man to be the deliverer of Egypt. 
 Moses was the son of Amram, the son of Kohath, 
 tlie son of Levi, the son of Jacob. He was born 
 3,573 years before the birth of Christ, and 132 
 years after Jacob's removal into Egypt. It is 
 probable that the parents of Moses had received 
 intimations of his future destiny. The care they 
 took to save him from Pharaoh's bloody edict, 
 was favoured, not by a common, but very re- 
 markable providence. It threw him into the im- 
 mediate family of the cruel monarch, and secured 
 for him the affection of Thermutis, Pharaoh's on- 
 ly child, and presumptive heir. Under this pa- 
 tronage, yet in the bosom of his own family, he 
 ivas cherished and reared to manhood, with that 
 kind of education which qualified him for his ar- 
 duous work. 
 
 Strong and unerring is the hand of Jehovah, 
 24 
 
.Ziii ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 and when He forms an instrument, it shall lack 
 nothing necessary to the ends ibr which it is 
 made. The tcebl^ resistance of blind mortals is 
 made with equal facility to concur, and their op- 
 position and their aid are turned alike to ac- 
 com;)lish the plan of God. In no case does tliis 
 remark a|)ply with more resplendentevidencethan 
 in the life of Moses, and the redemption of Israel 
 from Egypt. Joseph was sent into Egypt through 
 malice ; — he saved those who sent him thither; — 
 as Pharaoh made strong and strict the bonds of 
 Israel's servitude, divine Providence made bro^d 
 and open a way fur their escape. Moses was 
 included in a bloody edict, intended to check 
 the increase of a family whom God had declareid 
 should be as tlie stars of heaven for multitude ; — 
 that edict made him a prince — a deliverer to 
 Israel — a scourge to Egypt. 
 
 The uncommon endowments and fortunes of 
 Moses must have made him no less an object ot 
 hope to his own nation, than of fear and jealousy 
 to their oppressors;, and, being arrived at man- 
 hood, he was prompted to take sumi-nary vee- 
 geance on an Egyptian whom he saw abusing one 
 of his Hebrew brethren.. This act becoming 
 public, he was forced to abandon Egypt, and 
 f'scaping into Arabia, he resided there forty 
 years. There God appeared to him in the vision 
 of the burning bush, and commissioned him tQ 
 return to Egypt, informing him that the time for 
 the deliverance of Israel was fully come. 
 
 Armed with a ponerlul rod, with which after- 
 wards he pcit';>r:nrd many si^ns and wonders, he 
 repaired to Egypt, appeared before Pliaraoh, and 
 demanded, in the name of God., 'he liberation of 
 the Hebrew nation. Fharaoh rijj)lied, that "He 
 diet nut know the Lord, neither would he ober 
 
THE HEBREW STATE. 27^ 
 
 iiis voice." This bold and impious decIaratio!i 
 was follo\Yed by a similar course of conduct. 
 The plagues of Egypt were inflicted, m rnpid 
 succession, one after another, without any salu- 
 tary effect OH Pharoah ; for God had assured 
 Moses that he would harden Pharaoh's heart.-- 
 The infamy and guilt already attached to this 
 monster of cruelty, were peculiarly great ; that 
 beni,<^n and restraining Providence, which watches 
 oveA^en for their good, was withdrawn, and he 
 was for ever abandoned of the spirit of goodness, 
 to fill up the measures of his wrath. His bbnd- 
 iiess to his true interest, his duty, and his danger, 
 was providentially increased ; and he was sur- 
 rendered to the baleful influence and direction ot 
 the powers of darkness, who seek the destructioa 
 
 of men. . ^ 
 
 The station and character of this king of bgyp. 
 Tendered the termination of his course, and the 
 history of his life, famous ; but in the obscure 
 shade of private life, many persons are forsaken 
 of all goodness, and are as truly given over to 
 bardne^ss of heart as he was. Their fate is simi- 
 lar to his, although they are not, like him, raised 
 up for an example and a warning to mankind. 
 
 When the moment of Israel's departure out oi 
 Egypt drew near, the feast of the passover was 
 instituted. They were commanded to slay a 
 Iamb for each house ; to sprinkle of its blood 
 upon the posts of their doors ; to roast its flesh 
 with fire, and to eat it with bitter herbs. Their 
 doors were then to be shut, and no one was to 
 go out abroad till morning, fo? fear of the destroy- 
 / incr angel. 
 
 "This was a solemn night to the HebreAvs, b\u 
 far more awful to the Egyptians. At midnight 
 a minister of divine wrath went forth, and smote 
 
280 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 all the first born in the land of Egypt, both Jrnian 
 and beast. Death was in every house, and de- 
 struction stared in every face. A cry arose at 
 midnight ; the mournful wail and shrieks of terror 
 resounded from house to house, and from city to 
 city. A scene of sorrow so heart-rending, so ex- 
 tensive — an alarm so deep and dreadful, never 
 fell on any other nation. 
 
 Against this terrific moment the Hebrews had 
 been ordered to be in readiness :— they had eaten 
 the passcver with their loins girt, their staves in 
 their hand, and shoes on their feet. While hor- 
 rible shouts of terror, and loud lamentations were 
 bursting, in every place, on thp stillness of mid- 
 night, the order was given to march in haste. 
 With such preparation as could be made for so 
 extensive and sudden a movement, the immense 
 throng of the Hebrew family got in motion, and 
 proceeded on their journey. 
 ( They proceeded, by divine direction, not 
 in a line of march towards the isthmus of 
 Suez, but towards the Ked Sea. Various pur- 
 poses were to be answered by this, but the 
 reason assigned was, that they might avoid the 
 powerful and hostile tribes which dwelt near the 
 isthmus. God intended to give their departure 
 an additional triumph in the destruction of their 
 oppressors. A cloud, the majestic token of God's 
 presence, went before them. They moved in 
 haste, but in perfect security; but as they were 
 now encamping near the Red Sea, they perceived 
 the army of Pharaoh bearing furiously down upon 
 them. They were probably ignorant of war, 
 unarmed, and unprepared for battle. The army 
 of Egypt in those days, usually consisted of 
 400,000 men. 
 
 When Pljaraoh perceived the Hebrews actually 
 
THE HEBREW STATE. 281 
 
 leaving his dominions, and began to reflect on the 
 loss of their services, and the diminution of his 
 resources, his pride returned, and ail his san- 
 guinary passions awoke. He rej^retted what be 
 had done, ana immediately put bis army in mo- 
 tion, determining, atone blow, to gratify bis re- 
 sentment by complete revenge. Especial. y when 
 he understood, that, instead of crossing the isth- 
 2nus into Asia, they had gone towards the Red 
 Sea, and were entangled in the mountains, which 
 on either hand rendered their escape impossible. 
 He did not consider that God was the God of 
 armies, and gives victory or defeat according to 
 his pleasure. 
 
 The utmost terror and confusion spread over 
 the Hebrew camp on the approach of Pharaoh, 
 The people ran to Moses, and upbraided him of 
 leading them into a snare to destroy them. Their 
 nu-mberSj which were amply sufficient for de- 
 fence, amounting to 600,000 men, were of no 
 avail, being unarmed and undisciplined. But 
 the cloud which had led the host of Israel sud- 
 denly removed, and stood between them and the 
 army of Pharaoh ; and during the night was a 
 piUar of light to Israel, and as a wall of palpable 
 darkness to the Egyptians. And Moses said to 
 the people, " Fear ye not, stand still and see the 
 salvation of the Lord." 
 
 And Moses stretched out his rod over the sea, 
 and it was divided. It is impossible to conceive 
 of the awful grandeur of this scene. The divi- 
 sion of the sea is represented as somewhat pro- 
 gressive, and by the agency of wind. An army 
 marching on dry land, between two walls of wa- 
 ter, was a stupendous display of divine power, 
 though the water was probably carried to a dis- 
 tance. For three millions of people to pass in a 
 24* 
 
282 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 body sufficiently expanded to carry them over in 
 a few hours, the path must have been wide ; pro- 
 bably, several miles. The Egyptians seem to 
 have entered the sea in the night ; for, *' in the 
 morning watch, the Lord looked upon the host 
 of the Egyptians, and troubled them, and took off 
 their charriot wheels." As the daylight dawned 
 they probably became acquainted with their dan- 
 ger, and attempted a retreat. But, ah! it was 
 too late. Their retreat was impeded, and soon 
 cut off by the return of the sea. The roaring 
 flood swept them away : not one of them escaped; 
 So perfectly is that work accomplished which 
 eternal Providence undertakes. 
 
 The song which Moses and the people of Israel 
 sang in consequence of their great deliverance, is 
 an exalted' strain of thanksgiving, gratitude, and 
 devotion, worthy of that sacred inspiration to 
 which it holds an indisputable claim. " I will 
 sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed glori- 
 ously ; the horse and his rider hath he thrown in- 
 to the sea. The Lord is a man of war, the Lord 
 is his name." 
 
 Three months after the departure of Moses frorn 
 Egypt, he arrived at the foot of Mount Sinai, in 
 Arabia, and encamped his numerous host before 
 that mountain, consecrated through all ages by 
 the fame and majesty of the events which there 
 occurred. At every turn of this eventful history, 
 we are astonished with new wonders — we are in- 
 structed with new rays of light and glory. 
 
 It seems to have been in consequence of man's 
 apostacy, that the Almighty God determined to 
 reveal himself to his creatures, not only as the 
 creator, preserver, and governor of all, but as 
 the redeemer and saviour of sinners. But favour 
 to rebels could not be shown in violation of th« 
 
THE HEBREW STATE. 283 
 
 tjaim oi'justice. Previous, therefore, to an atone- 
 mont, aa exhibition of the divine law was neces- 
 sa>y : and as the Messiah was to be the son oi 
 Abraham, to that distinguished family the dispen- 
 sations of truth were made, and the oracles of 
 God committed. 
 
 inspired eloquence alone can do justice to the 
 fiassafjfe of historv now before us ; and it would 
 ?ieed inspiration as well to conceive, as to de- 
 cvibe, the Almighty Jehovah descending on 
 Mount binai, and giving law to a nation. Behold 
 three millions of people, like an ocean, spread out 
 at tne foot of the mountain, solemn, pale, and 
 'rembling — every eye iixed : what silence — what 
 terror — vvbat astonishment 1 A cloud of fearful 
 iieight, and frowning darkne.-s, hovers on the 
 mount — a cloud eniolding, and, at times, dis- 
 ciofing ineffable brightness. The world is shaken 
 hy thunders — lightnings dart their awful blaze ; 
 and the dreadful voice of a trumpet, with strong, 
 protracted blast, announced the presence of the 
 Eternal Power! At length the thunders were 
 hushed — the voice of the trumpet ceased — and a 
 voice from the intolerable splendours of consum- 
 ing flames — a voice, wiiich conveyed more terror 
 ihan the trumpet, or thunder, or earthquake, pro- 
 nounced the ten precepts of the decalogue, com- 
 monly called the Moral Law. 
 
 Bloses ascended the mountain, and, amidst this 
 awful display of divine glory, received from the 
 hand of God two tables of stone, on which the ten 
 • 'ommands were engraved. Beside these, he re- 
 f^eived a body of ceremonial and municipal laws, 
 adapted to the Ilebrew state and nation. These 
 iaws contain plenary evidence of their divine 
 origin. Their purity, dignity, and wisdom^ 
 .^hun-i^ntly evince their inspiration j and they are 
 
~B4 ANdlEM HlsrORY. 
 
 the fountain whence the wisest nations in the 
 world have derived iheir best laws and ablest 
 systems of jurisprudence. 
 
 The symbols of divine glory disappeared, it is 
 probable, soon after the Decalogue was pronoun- 
 ced. But Moses was detained in the mount 40 
 days. This long and unexpected absence of Moses 
 began to give rise to various conjectures, and ex- 
 cite tumults in the Hebrew camp. Concluding 
 he might never return, with a fickleness and in- 
 fidelity truly astonishing, they determined to go 
 back to Egypt. Regardless of the rigorous bond- 
 age they had suffered, or might again suffer there ; 
 forgetful of the plagues which had fal'en on Egypt 
 on their account, and of their unparalleled delive- 
 rance at the Red Sea; and, especially, unmind- 
 ful of the terrible and glorious manifestation of 
 God, so recently made on the mountain so near 
 them, they called on Aaron, whose authority was 
 next to that of Moses, to make for them a golden 
 calf; an image, probably, of the god Apis, whom 
 the Egyptians worshipped. 
 
 When they had now consummated this horrible 
 act of rebellion and idolatry, God apprised Mo- 
 ses of their defection, and threatened suddenly 
 to destroy them. Moses, with great anxiety, 
 hastened down the mountain, carrying the tables 
 of stone in his hand. When he approached the 
 camp, and saw them dancing before the image 
 Avith songs and shouts of joy and exultation, en- 
 raged at their miserable infatuation, and infamous 
 revolt, he threw the tables out of his hand, and 
 dashed them in pieces, at the foot of the moun- 
 tain. 
 
 There seems to be no excuse for Aaron's con- 
 duct in this atrocious business ; nor did he at- 
 lempt to make one. VVhen Moses demanded hovy 
 
THE HEBREW STATE. 285 
 
 he came to hearken to the voice of the people, 
 and comply with their impious request, in reply, 
 he simply stated the fact, without vindication. 
 God was greatly offended with Aaron, but, at the 
 request of Moses, he was pardoned ; as were also 
 the congregation for their most criminal rebel- 
 lion. 
 
 With equal interest and pleasure we might 
 trace the history of this people to their settle- 
 ment in the land of promise. But the shortness 
 of the time allowed for this lecture warns me to 
 lay before you a more general and rapid view of 
 the Hebrew history. 
 
 They lay about nine months before Mount 
 Sinai, during which time every direction neces- 
 i>ary to their journey, their treatment of other 
 nations, their entrance into Canaan, their settle- 
 ment, and whole future conduct was given. Their 
 order of march was prescribed, and the men 
 capable of bearing arms were embodied, armed, 
 officered, and, in a degree, disciplined. Instead 
 of a huge unwieldy mass of people they now 
 appeared, in great order, moving under military 
 standards and signals. No army ever moved 
 with more regularity, or equal majesty. They 
 proceeded in four great divisions, each com- 
 prehending three tribes. The tabernacle, the 
 priesthood, pretorium, and great officers were near 
 the centre, whilst the four grand divisions formed 
 a kind of hollow square surrounding them on 
 every side. 
 
 God was their king, and the angel of his pre- 
 sence went before them, wrapped in awful 
 darkness, and covered in a cloud, which in the 
 night became a pillar of fire. The heavens 
 rained bread about their camp, the rocks of the 
 desert gave them water ; the deadly vapour 
 which slumbers on arid plains couid not hurt 
 
286 ANCIENT IIISTOUY. 
 
 them, vind they were taught to heal the bite of 
 the serpent by a glance of the eye. 
 
 But from Sinai a march of a few days brought 
 them to Canaan ? No ! In the wilderness of 
 Arabia they wandered forty years, and not a 
 man who came out of Egypt with Moses, except- 
 ing Caleb and Joshua, entered the land of Canaan. 
 They had indeed proceeded successfully to the 
 borders of Canaan, and a delegation of twelve 
 men were sent as spies to explore the country. 
 Ten of these men brought back an account 
 which alarmed and discouraged the w^hole con- 
 gregation ; wherefore, revolting from Moses, they 
 again took the resolution to return to Egypt, 
 when the fearful sentence w^as declared that they 
 should die in the wilderness. 
 
 In the lapse of 40 years, filled with revolt, 
 insurrection, and misery, this sentence was ex- 
 ecuted, and Moses himself, who had offended 
 God at the waters of Meribah, was forbidden to 
 go into Canaan, although, his administration con- 
 tinued till the august moment arrived, when the 
 Hebrew nation w as to pass over Jordan into the 
 promised land. Moses ascended a iiigh moun- 
 tain, from whose summit be saw, in one exten- 
 sive prospect, the hills and valleys of that beauti- 
 ful country, called the glory of all lands. In 
 the opposite direction lay the Arabian desert, 
 and the devious path where he had been wander- 
 ing 40 years with a' rebellious people. They 
 were gone, and their bones rested in the desert. 
 At the foot of the mountain lay the camp of 
 Israel, and the people, who saw him ascend, and 
 knew he was never to return, had bedewed this 
 final farewell v/ith floods of tears. Who ever 
 stood in a situation more solemn, more interesting, 
 than Moses on the top of Pisgah ? With calm 
 
THE HEBREW STATE. 287 
 
 resiiinalion to providence, with triumphant faith 
 in God, he there closed his eyes on mortal scenes, 
 and in a moment penetrated the veil that hides 
 the bright and blessed vision of eternal glory. 
 
 No mortal ever finished a career of greater 
 usefulness to men, of more honour to God, of 
 more intrinsic worth or awful splendour. God 
 himself declared that Moses was not a prophet, 
 for he was more than a prophet : he was 
 the immediate agent or vicegerent of God, in 
 a mission, which was inferior to none but that 
 of the Messiah. The law was given by Moses, 
 but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 
 
 Joshua succeeded Moses in his high command, 
 and in those great and special endowments 
 necessary to complete the settlement of the 
 nation of Israel, in that country which was pro- 
 mised to their fathers. He immediately crossed 
 the river Jordan, and crushing all opposition, he 
 subjugated the nations of Canaan, and, marking 
 out the particular inheritance of the tribes by lot, 
 before his death, he saw the nation of Israel 
 settled in peace, flourishing, independent, and 
 happy. 
 
 'J'o those who acknowledge the divine right to 
 punish and destroy wicked nations, as well as to 
 select the instruments by which that work shall 
 be accomplished, there is no difiiculty in vindica- 
 ting this invasion and extermination of the nation 
 of Canaan. If the divine governor has a right to 
 destroy cities or nations by earthquakes, famine, 
 or pestilence, he certainly has an equal right to 
 accomplish the same work by the instrumentality 
 of other nations. The writer of the history ot 
 modern Europe boldly and blasphemously de- 
 clares, that *' the God of Moses delighted in 
 
"288 AJfCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 cruelty and blood;" an observation which ouglj' 
 to be expected from none but an atheist. 
 
 From the entrance of Joshua into the land of 
 Canaan, till the accession of Saul to the kingdom 
 of Israel, was 376 years. The sacred history 
 gives us but an imperfect sketch of this period. 
 Fifteen judges, either successive or collateral, aid- 
 ed in the government of Israel, betw^een the 
 administration of Moses, and the accession of 
 Saul : Joshua, Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, 
 Gideon, Abimelech, Tola, Jair, Jeptha, Ibzau. 
 Elon, Abdon, Samson, and Samuel. Several of 
 these, in different parts of the country, governed 
 at the same time, during the priesthood of Eli 
 and Samuel. 
 
 Under the administration of the judges, thf^ 
 Hebrew nation discovered a strong and constant 
 propensity to the religion of the surrounding na- 
 tions ; and were often guilty of idolatry. They 
 had frequent wars with the neighbouring nations, 
 and some civil wars ; were elevated and de- 
 pressed, and experienced the usual vicissitude of 
 human affairs ; but they gradually grew more 
 powerful by the extent of territory, increase of 
 wealth, and general improvement. Lowman, 
 in his learned essays on the civil government of 
 the Hebrews, has shoun the superior wisdom 
 of their municipal regulations and moral laws. 
 To that work, incomparable in its kind, those 
 may safely be referred who desire thoroughly to 
 investigate this subject. 
 
 During this period of the history of the He- 
 brews, their government is called by some s. 
 Theocracy. God was their supreme mora) ruler, 
 as he is of all other nations ; but he was more 
 than this to the people of Israel ; he was thei: 
 itolilical head, their civil governor, their kii),2. 
 
THE HEBREW STATE. 289 
 
 This he had promised to Abraham : *' I will be 
 their God, and they shall be my people." 
 
 When, therefore, under Samuel's administra- 
 tion, the people requested a king to be set over 
 them, God was displeased, and told Samuel 
 that they had rejected Him from being their king. 
 They desired their throne might be taken from 
 God, and occupied by a man. The divine 
 government was too pure, just, and wise ; they 
 wished for something more licentious, more cor- 
 rupt, and suited to their depraved character and 
 inclination. 
 
 Saul was elevated to the throne in the year 
 1,075 before Christ. This deterioration and fall 
 of the Hebrew government took place at the 
 time when the Grecian states showed marks of 
 increasing light and wisdom ; for about this time 
 the system of despotic government was abolished 
 in the states of Greece, and the republican form 
 was introduced ; yet Jehovah did not reject this 
 chosen people, though they had rejected him 
 from being their king, and showed an equal de- 
 sire to reject him likewise as their God. 
 
 Saul conducted like most despotic princes; he 
 began well, but soon relapsed into violence, 
 liscentiousness, and oppression. He was re- 
 proved, and chastised, having the advantage and 
 patronage of the greatest and wisest of all the He- 
 brew judges, to direct his counsels, and aid his 
 inexperience. But Saul was, at length, rejected, 
 and the throne reverted from the tribe of Benja- 
 min to that of Judah. David, the son of Jesse, 
 who was in the sacred line of the Messiah, next 
 assumed the government. David was one of the 
 greatest of princes ; equally able in peace and 
 war, to direct a nation, to secure advantages, and 
 repel dangers. Under his reign, the kingdom of 
 25 
 
290 ANCIENT HISTORV. 
 
 Israel acquired its utmost height. All western 
 Asia submitted to his arms, and he reigned in 
 great glory over Syria and Palestine. 
 
 Though David's character was stained by 
 crimes, and his house and kingdom disturbed by 
 severe calamities, yet he transmitted his extensive 
 dominions to Solomon, his son, under whose pa- 
 cific administration the famous temple was erect- 
 ed at Jerusalem, and the kingdom of Israel freed 
 from wars, and governed by a prince of unparal- 
 leled wisdom, now appeared in its greatest 
 •splendour. 
 
 The balance of human affairs seldom long 
 maintain a perfect equilibrium. Towards the 
 close of Solomon's long reign it began to fluctuate, 
 and Rehoboam, his son and successor, a weak and 
 contemptible prince, dashed to the sround a cup 
 of blessings which had now overflow.n for nearly 
 a century. Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, raised 
 a rebellion, and ten tribes revolted from the house 
 of David, leaving only Judah and Benjamin. 
 
 'j'he kiHgdom of Israel, as it was now called, 
 in distinctton from that of Judah, in revolting 
 from the house of David, also revolted from the 
 worship of God ; and from this period to their 
 captivity and subversion, their course was uni- 
 form. They maintained almost perpetual war 
 M'ith the successors of David, and were in no 
 de':^ree distini^uished from the heathen nations, 
 ijnfees by greater advantages, deeper guilt and 
 in^^ratitude. The kingdom of Israel, however, 
 maint:iined its independence 252 years from this 
 revoU. At length, invaded, as noticed in our 
 Assyrian lecture, by Sahnanazer, king of Assyria, 
 the country was laid waste, the cities and vil- 
 hv^cs destroyed, the capital, Samaria, after a 
 sie^o of mure than two years, was destroyed. 
 
THE HEBREW STATE. 291 
 
 nnJ the whole people, who had escaped the ra^ 
 vages of this exterminating war, were carried 
 into captivity to the remote parts of Bledia, 
 whence they never returned. 
 
 The kingdom of Judah now stood alone, like 
 a tree whose trunk is rifted by the bolts of hea- 
 ven, and, deprived of its most numerous and 
 spreading branches — its beauty is defaced, its 
 verdure faded, and it totters to its fall. God had 
 promised them protection, if they kept his 
 statutes ; nor was it possible for them not to per- 
 ceive how clearly, how strongly, this promise had 
 been fulfilled. The fate of the kingdom of Israel 
 thundered in their ears, but they were deaf; — 
 the course of providence, with terrible convic- 
 tion, shone with awful brightness ; but they 
 would not see. They were accused of idolatry, 
 profaneness, and breach of the sabbath. 
 
 But the people of Judah were sent into cap- 
 tivity, nvhere they remained 70 years ; and their 
 return from that state closes the sacred history of 
 ih^Old Testament. The edict for the restoration 
 of the Jews was given by Cyrus, on the first year 
 of his accession to the empire of Asia. It was 
 many years after this before the captivity was re- 
 stored, the temple rebuilt, and the new order of 
 the Jewish state established. By continual in- 
 trigues, carried on at the Persian court, the affairs 
 of the Jews were embarrassed and retarded. The 
 elevation of Esther to the imperial throne of Per- 
 sia, greatly promoted their interest ; and the wis- 
 dom of Daniel and his three friends, and the sur- 
 prising triumph of Mordecai, the Jew, over Ha- 
 man, produced an extensive influence in their 
 favour. 
 
 But when the Persian empire fell under the 
 power of Alexander the Great, the Jews were 
 
292 ANCIENT HISTORY. ' 
 
 exposed to the arbitrary and violent councils of 
 the Grecian dynasty of the Seleucidffi. The set- 
 tlement of Alexander's empire exposed the feeble 
 and defenceless state of the Jews to desolating 
 and ruinous invasions. The several rival kings 
 in Egypt, Syria, and Macedon, made incursions 
 on each other, and all the countries within the 
 reach of their armies were, from time to time, 
 swept over with the besom of war. In one of 
 these hostile enterprises, Ptolemy Soter poured 
 his forces into Judea, and sacked Jerusalem, 
 though Alexander himself had spared the city, 
 from reverence to the God who was worshipped 
 there. 
 
 But from the kings of Syria the Jews received 
 the greatest indignities, and experienced the most 
 severe and protracted sufferings. Antiochus Epi- 
 phanes took and plundered Jerusalem, put many 
 of its inhabitants to the sword, profaned the tem- 
 ple, and interdicted, on pain of death, the wor- 
 ship of the true God. 
 
 A man appeared, at this period of extreme de- 
 pression, whose name has been famous in every 
 subsequent age. Matthias, a priest, who dwelt 
 in an obscure village of Judea, retired with his 
 five sons, one of whom was the famous Judas 
 Maccabseus, into a secret place of rendezvous, and 
 collecting a small force, he at length made head 
 against the Syrian army. Matthias and his sonSj 
 for many years, repelled the Syrians, and per- 
 formed prodigies of valour, scarcely equalled in 
 the annals of history. 
 
 But we cannot proceed to further details. The 
 time between the restoration of the captivity and 
 the birth of Christ, was long, dreary, and of little 
 comfort to the Jewish state. The Persians and 
 Greeks, and, at length, the Romans, from time to 
 
THE HEBREW STATE. 
 
 293 
 
 time, exercised cruelties, and heaped indignities 
 upon them. The period of their glory and hap- 
 piness was past. Whatever they suffered from 
 foreign states, they were still severer sufferers 
 from internal broils and factions. The cause of 
 all their sufferings was one and the same — a de- 
 parture from the law and covenant of their God. 
 
 Yet, in the rapid revolutions of the great pow- 
 ers which lay round them, they sometimes had 
 respite, and under the indirect influence of the 
 civil wars of Rome, Judea became a state of con- 
 siderable importance, and the perfidious and san- 
 guinary Herod obtained an extensive fame lor 
 policy and for arms. 
 
 But this prince was suddenly alarmed by the 
 arrival of persons drest in the habit of sages, 
 from the east, who declared they had seen a star 
 in the east, indicating the birth of a great person- 
 age ; and that they had come to worship him, 
 who was born king of the Jews. Herod and his 
 court heard this intelligence with great sensibi- 
 lity, and as an opinion was prevalent that the 
 great Measiah was about to make his appearance. 
 Herod was filled with apprehension, and 6nding 
 - Bethlehem to be the predicted birth-place of 
 this personage, he determined to make sure of 
 his victim, by the destruction of all the infants 
 of that region. Like a second Pharaoh, he per- 
 petrated that horrid act ; striking at random to 
 make sure of an uncertain mark. 
 
 O ambition I on what horrid crimes dost thou 
 not push thy votaries ! what a retribution hast 
 ihou in store for mankind ! 
 
 The Son of God was indeed born, and his birth 
 
 bad been celebrated in heaven, and announced by 
 
 angels to the earth, but he was conveyed bej-ond 
 
 the shafts of this bloody tyrant. To him the 
 
 ^5* 
 
294 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 rites and sacrifices of the law all pointed ; in him 
 the types and shadows were all to be fulfilled; 
 for his sake the tribe of Judah had been pre- 
 served, and the Jewish economy brought down 
 from distant antiquity, through the collisions and 
 dissolution of the mightiest empires. 
 
 His life was perfect, his doctrine was divine, 
 but his kingdom was not of this world. The 
 law which on Mount Sinai he proclaimed with a 
 voice of thunder, he now came to obey— to fulfil 
 — to satisfy — to magnify. His life was a course 
 of perfect obedience ; his precepts contained a 
 complete system of moral instruction ; and his 
 sufferings made atonement for sin — for his nature 
 was divine as well as human. 
 
 On the cross he sustained the entire penalty of 
 the divine law. To this, all nature, through all 
 her departments, gave awful and resistless testi- 
 mony. The sun was darkened — the rocks were 
 rent — the earth was shaken. In the grave, and 
 under the power of death, his humiliation was 
 complete, and was finished. Death could not 
 hold him who had triumphed over sin. He rose 
 from the dead^ — showed himself to a multitude of 
 witnesses — ascended iii glory to the throne of the 
 universe, where he now reigns. He is the 
 blessed and only potentate, the king of kings, 
 
 AND LORD OF LORDS. 
 
 His empire is all worlds ; His subjects are all 
 creatures : his kingdom is immutable ; his reign 
 is eternal. 
 
 In twelve lectures we have glanced an eye at 
 the kingdoms, states, and revolutions of antiquity. 
 They took somewhat more time in their actual 
 accomplishment than I have taken in this 
 desultory survey. But how unstable are all 
 human concerns ! tbey are like passing billows^^ 
 
THE HEBREW STATE. 2ti 
 
 like the dream of night. There is but one 
 kingdom whose glories are immutable —the king- 
 dom of the b'esoed God : there is but onj victory 
 whose laurels shal] never Tide — a victory over 
 sin : there is but one moral affection w^hjch shall 
 cover the soul with glory, and enlighten it with 
 eternal sunshine — pure benevolence. 
 
GENIUS AND TASTfi. 
 
GENIUS AND TASTE. 
 
 ALLEGORY. 
 
 FOUNDED IK 
 
 THE HISTORY OF ANCIENT LITERATURE. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 If every part of a metaphor cannot be sup- 
 posed to be precisely adapted to the subject in- 
 ended to be illustrated by it, it is, doubtless, 
 far more true of an allegory, which is but a me- 
 taphor extended, or, perhaps, more properly 
 speaking, a series of metaphors. The ingenu- 
 ous criiic will also observe, that this difficulty 
 is not diminished in allegories of a historical na- 
 ture, where a narrative, in order to be continu- 
 ous and complete, must consist in parts, which, 
 perhaps, no force of invention can adapt to the 
 main object of the allegory ; in which a resem- 
 blance in the general outline and principal parts 
 is the most that can be desired or expected. 
 
 f6 
 
GENIUS AND TASTE, &c. 
 
 Genius was born in Egypt, towards the close 
 «f that happy period when the Gods swayed 
 the sceptre over men.a He was the youngest 
 son of iVIercury ;•» bui, as his mother was an Egyp- 
 tian iady, it seemed for awhile doubtful whe- 
 ther the ethereal essence of divinity would pre- 
 dominate in his constitution, or whether, like his 
 mother, he would be mortal. 
 
 No sooner had he forsaken his cradle, than he 
 began to manifest extraordinary endowments. 
 His surpassing beauty attracted no less the ad- 
 miration of the multitude, than did his piercing 
 eye and lofty mind the envy and jealousy of his 
 elder brothers,*^ of which he had many. His 
 surprising progress in every accomplishment, and 
 the increasing partiality of his father, seemed to 
 foretell his future accession to the throne of 
 Egypt. 
 
 As might be expected, therefore, a plot was 
 laid for his destruction ; and, indeed, through 
 some infelicity, either in the climate or his man- 
 ner of life,^ he seemed to be sickly. He was 
 probably formed for too much activity and ex- 
 
304 GENIUS AND TASTE. 
 
 ertion, to flourish under the relaxing arJouii oi 
 an African sun.e 
 
 Mercury, at length, though with great reluc- 
 tance, yielded to the inriperious dictrites of ne- 
 cessity, and, calling to him his favourite son, 
 signified to him that he must leave his native 
 country. He gave him all necessary instructions 
 for his perigrinations, which he foref-aw would be 
 extensive Then, taking him into his wardrobe, 
 he clothed him in a dress suited to the dignity of 
 his rank, and the nature of his travels, and hav- 
 ing assured him of iiis perpetual affection and 
 paternal remembrance, he ordered him to proceed 
 on his journey. 
 
 Kis under-dress was of the purest white, over 
 which he wore a robe of light azure, bespangled 
 with stars ; and it was the peculiar advantage 
 of this dress that it would never tarnish or de- 
 cay/ As Genius had been educated in the same 
 school with the children of Mars and Apollo, he 
 was a proficient in all the graces of the palestrae, 
 in all gymnastic exercises,? and he understood 
 the use of every weapon ; yet he took none with 
 him but a bow and quiver, whose arrows were 
 never to be exhausted. These he could use, if 
 necessary, for his support h or defence, and, at 
 all times, for his amusement.i A garlsnd of laurel 
 and amaranthus covered his head, and shaded his 
 temples. 
 
 Thus equipped. Genius forsook Egypt, and 
 travelled eastward^ In crossing the Isthmus of 
 Suez, he first fell among the Hebrew nation, 
 inhabiting the land of Canaan. He there left 
 some monuments of the grandeur of his mind,* and, 
 indeed, had he not been destined to visit greater 
 nations, and to extf-nd his influence over larger 
 portions of mankind, he seems to have been 
 
AN ALLEGORY. 305 
 
 willing to have made there a permanent resi- 
 dence. 
 
 Genius made no stay in Arabia or Assyria. In 
 his rapid excursion through those nations, he 
 merely scattered some rude characters of Egyptian 
 science, and posted on to Persia, from which he 
 was in equal haste to be gone.'" When he crossed 
 the river Indus, he found himself so much disgust- 
 ed with a supine effeminate people, that he pro- 
 cured himself transported through all India in a 
 covered chariot, that he might escape imperti- 
 nence," and expedite his journey. 
 
 He proceeded on to China ; but what reception 
 he met with there, how long; he remained, or with 
 whom he cultivated an intimacy, history does not 
 determine. The most we can learn of his adven- 
 tures in that country is, that he met with great 
 opposition from several powerful champions, 
 called, if I mistake not. Prejudice, Ignorance, 
 Economyj Experience, and Habit- These pow- 
 erful demagogues formed a junto, and placed Ex- 
 perience at their head," which combination, 
 though, perhaps, accidental at first, grew, at 
 length, into an institution of such extent and so- 
 lidity, as for ever to hold the human mind in ab- 
 ject slavery,? 
 
 While Genius was deliberating whither he 
 should next direct his course, he received advices 
 from his father recommending his return to 
 Greece. Without regret, therefore, he abandon- 
 ed a country in which he had long repined, and 
 often sickened ; where the calm and fertile plains 
 of Asia, loaded with the cumbrous pomp of luxu- 
 rious magnificence, were likely to inebriate the 
 mind, and rouse into action nothing but the am- 
 bition of conquerors, and to give sharpness and 
 26* 
 
306 GENIUS AND TASTE. 
 
 vi2;our to nothing but the terrors of despotic 
 power. 1 
 
 ih) now felt al! his powers revive as he ap- 
 proached the lofty hills and delightful valleys of 
 Greece. His form acquired new beauties, and. 
 his robps additional lustre, whiie he hastened to 
 be introduced to the Muses, whom, as yet, he had 
 never ^een. Calliope and Clio were delegated 
 fiom that lovely circle to welcome his arrival.'" 
 They met him at the foot of Parnassu?, and with 
 cordial salutation, fascinating smiles and com- 
 pliments, offered to conduct him to the summit, 
 where the rest of the Pierian sisters were wait- 
 ing to receive him. 
 
 But Geniu-% mindful of the instructions of his 
 divine parent, modestly declined, for the present, 
 so distinguished an honor ; preferring an intro- 
 duction to them singly, and less formal. This he 
 begged might be accomplished by Calliope, from 
 time to time, as she saw him duly prepared for 
 the mterview. For, indeed, the free, noble, and 
 sprightly air of that immortal nymph had deeply 
 engaged the attention, and won the confidence, of 
 the youth .s 
 
 Clio was indeed very lovely, but the grave 
 and serene dignity of her address was far less 
 charming to genius than the majestic but fanciful 
 figure, the melodious voice, and intrepid elegance 
 of the heroic muse.t 
 
 As they ascended the mountain, Genius felt a 
 pleasure before unknown. The hill was both 
 steep and high, but, like the progress of fire 
 towards heaven, the youth, thus attended and 
 supported, seemed to rise without exertion. In 
 the niidst of a scene so charming, where the 
 music of birds, the murmur of rivulets, andthe 
 gentle whispers of the grove filled the air with 
 
kS ALLEGORY. 307 
 
 wild and artless melody— no prospect was ever 
 more rich, grand or enchanting The flourishing 
 verdure of nature, variegated in hills and val- 
 leys — rivers seen v/andeiing at a distance, through 
 opening vistas, and mountains, whose summits 
 reached the clouds, presented before him some 
 of the linest touches and grandest lines of Na- 
 ture's pencil." 
 
 After ascending far towards the elevated sum- 
 mit, they turned aside to a grotto, which Apollo 
 had ordered to be dressed and decorated for the 
 reception and luture accommodation of Genius. 
 Though formed by the hand of Nature, its inner 
 recesses excelled even the proportions of Art. 
 The apartment seemed cut out of a rock of por- 
 phyry, stratified with irregular waves of gold and 
 azure, resembling the colours of the sky and 
 ocean at the rising of the sun.'^ 
 
 Till this interesting moment, Genius had neither 
 known the extent of his own power, nor the nature 
 of his perfections. 
 
 On entering the grotto, he was surprised to per- 
 ceive it filled with a glorious, but mild lustre, 
 which always faded away when he retired. The 
 Muses smiled at his surprise, and informed him 
 thai he derived the pow er and privilege of being 
 the luminary of his own grotto, from his consan- 
 guinity to the Gods ; and, moreover, that who- 
 ever in his absence should attempt to enter it 
 Tvith an artificial light, would find it a perfect 
 dungeon.y 
 
 Calliope found it no easy matter to repress the 
 curiosity of her sisters, till the moment proper for 
 their introduction arrived. Each of them w^as de- 
 sirous of gaining a new admirer — a passion from 
 which even immortal bosoms are not free. They 
 appeared before Genius in those robes, ornament?^ 
 
0)08 GENIUS AND TASTE. 
 
 and graces, in which they usually attended the 
 assemblies of the Gods, in the chambers of Jove.^ 
 
 But Genius,, though conscious of his high de- 
 scent, from his long retirement and seclusion from 
 celestial beings, in addition to his natural reserve, 
 had become diffident.*^ From their visits, in 
 general, he derived little pleasure, and vi^as rather 
 dazzled with their lustre, than captivated with 
 their charms. Euterpe seemed, to him, to be 
 greatly wanting in dignity of character. Thalia 
 was too voluptuous and sensual ; Terpsichore too 
 vain, airy, and trifling; Erato too languishing 
 and effeminate ; Polyhymnia too void of great- 
 ness and elevation of sentiment ; Urania too 
 cold, prudish, and scientific ; Clio too uniform, 
 serious, and stately 5 and Melpomene too solemn 
 and mournful. JSone but Calliope possessed those 
 charms which rendered the frequency of her 
 visits desirable and interesting.^ 
 
 Genius soon perceived in her the indubitable 
 marks of sincere and high attachment. He fan- 
 cied, indeed, that more was indicated than the 
 ardour of common friendship ; for it must be 
 owned, that if he had any foible it was vanity. 
 Jn short, he, at length, sincerely believed that 
 the queen of the Muses was in love with him. 
 Improving, therefore, a favouiable monient to dis- 
 close his passion, he made bold to offer her his 
 band in marriage. The Goddess, with a benig- 
 nant smile, assured him, that unalterable destiny 
 forbad her uniting herforlur.es with those of any 
 one, whether divine or human.«= 
 
 Arguments, enforced with eloquence irresistible 
 as her charms, compelled his understanding to as- 
 sent to her commanding reasons, from which, how- 
 ever, his heart, at times, revolted. She often 
 assured him of her inviolable regard, and that, on a 
 
AN ALLEGORY. 
 
 309 
 
 more mature acquaintance vviili her sisters, he 
 would be convinced that they were equally worthy 
 of his esteem, and rliat he would be entitled to 
 equal affection from them ail But what she 
 more insisted on was, that the Gods would pro- 
 vide him a companion, in whose friendship and 
 society he would forget all other attachments, 
 and experience the purest felicity. 
 
 It is the privilege of the offspring of the Gods 
 to be exempted from the lasting torments of dis- 
 appointment and despair. Genius bore this re- 
 pulse with a fortitude not unworthy of his name ; 
 yet the soft sensations of melancholy would often 
 steal upon his mind, like a transient cloud over 
 a summer sky. Calliope was then in her youth, 
 and by far the loveliest of the Muses. The Ce- 
 lestials often gazed upon her with admiration, and 
 all the Nymphs and Graces beheld her with envy 
 and jealousy , and the Queen of Beauty could hardly 
 be admired in her presence. When seen at a dis- 
 tance through the Parnassian bowers, approach- 
 ing the grotto of Genius, she appeared like the 
 morning star decorating the first blushes of Aurora. 
 The days of Genius, however, now past on with 
 felicity. No conceivable circumstance could 
 have heightened the elegance of his rural habi- 
 tation, or the refined pleasures of his amuse- 
 ments. Around him lay some of the finest scenes 
 in nature ; below him flourished a country, in- 
 habited by a free and happy people, whose towns 
 and villages diversified the wide prospect, and 
 regaled the eye when wearied in conteioplating 
 the wild luxuriance of nature. Not far above him 
 were the bowers of the Muses, whose melodious 
 lays, sometimes accompanied by the harp of 
 Apollo, were wafted to his ear along the still 
 breezes of night. 
 
310 GENIUS AND TASTE. 
 
 In the mean time our hero enjoyed continual 
 accessions of knowledge. Highly endowed with 
 that strength of intuition, which he inherited from 
 his paternal stock, he saw things in their relations 
 and consequences. His eye, with rapture, ex- 
 plored the starry pages of Nature's glorious vo- 
 lume, or traced, in humbler characters, truths 
 equally legible and sublime.'i 
 
 He made wide excursions through various coun- 
 tries, provinces, and cities ; and whenever he re- 
 turned to Parnassus, the Muses received and wel- 
 comed him with demonstrations of joy. He now 
 began to enjoy an elevated pleasure in the con- 
 rersation of Clio and Urania ; and though the 
 ardour of his attachment to Calliope retained its 
 strength, yet, from the more lively air and diver- 
 sified strains of the other Muses he often derived 
 great pleasure. 
 
 He learned, in time, to be pleased, and even 
 captivated, with the mournful airs of Melpomene, 
 who, often retiring from the joyful songs of the full 
 chorus, alone, by some murmuring streams, be- 
 wailed the children of misfortune, the miseries 
 of hapless love, or the untimely fall of heroes. 
 
 The merit and perfections of Genius had been 
 already represented by the Muses in the full 
 assembly of the Gods ; and, to add to his happi- 
 ness, he received a visit from his father, by 
 whom he was informed, that by an irreversible 
 decree of the celestial powers, he should never 
 die— that even the destinies had declared him 
 immortal. 
 
 Yet the cup of his felicity was not full. 
 Though exalted by nature, acquirements, and 
 situation, he found no proper associate The 
 chasm, on either hand, between him and 
 Gods, or mortals, seemed too great to be passed 
 
AN ALLE60RY. 311 
 
 over. This consideration would frequently throw 
 a shade over his solitude, and a transient melan- 
 choly into his social hours. 
 
 But now an event took place of very deep 
 concern to the future life and history of Genius. 
 He had but recently returned from an excursion 
 abroad, when he was surprised by the approach 
 of all the Muses, led by Apollo himself. In the 
 centre of this splendid groupe was a young lady 
 of graceful form, who advanced leaning on the 
 arm of Clio. Though with an air of delicacy, 
 somewhat approaching to languor, and wanting 
 the fiery and florid vigour of the daughters of Jove, 
 her appearance was surpassingly elegant and 
 beautiful. " The Gods, O Genius, present you 
 with a companion," said Apollo, " the resem- 
 blance of vvhose character to yours will render 
 your union lasting, and your destinies the same. 
 Her name is TASTE. Greece claims the honour 
 of her birth ; and the delicacy of her constitution 
 shows that her father was a mortal, as does her 
 perennial beauty and unfading bloom, the supe- 
 riority of her maternal stock. But the names of 
 her parents are unknown." 
 
 However delicate and important the present 
 crisis might have been, the Gods require no time 
 for deliberation ; and Genius, whose origin was half 
 divine, always decides without delay. As for 
 Taste, her love for Genius was coeval with their 
 first interview, and was to be co-extensive with 
 their duration. Their nuptials, therefore, were 
 solemnized in the presence of Apollo, and cele- 
 brated by the Muses.« 
 
 They were famed in all the cities of Greece, 
 through which, at times, they travelled with pomp 
 and splendour. At Parnassus their court was 
 frequented by persons of distinction, and was 
 
312 GENIUS AND TASTE. 
 
 visited by strangers of note, from distant coun- 
 tries and nations/ 
 
 Though, in honour to our terrestrial race, the 
 union of this exalted pair had borne a resem- 
 blance to the marriage bond, yet their semi-ce- 
 lestial origin and nature raised them far above the 
 habitudes of mortals ; and, particularly, that 
 their marriage was not to result in offspring, a 
 constitution adapted to repair the waste of mor- 
 tality. Their connubial felicity was more re- 
 fined and noble, and was a perfect stranger to 
 the instinctive desires of sexual pleasure. Their 
 loves were pure and immortal as the loves of 
 angels, and they regarded all as their children 
 whose productions in art or science, or whose pro- 
 gress in knowledge and virtue, had raised them 
 to high distinction, above the rest of mankind, 
 and made them the pride and ornament of their 
 country. To every mind susceptible of their 
 ethereal inspiration, they felt and evinced all the 
 ardour of parental love ; and under the influence 
 of this constitution, their children became nu- 
 merous, and their family widely dispersed over 
 the hills and valleys of Greece. 
 
 Their influence was more constant and imme- 
 diate, more general, and far more effectual, than 
 that of the Muses. Every art and science, every 
 pursuit and enterprise, of this whole nation 
 seemed, for awhile, to claim their patronage, and 
 evince their power and presence. Under their 
 eye rose those splendid and magnificent temples 
 and palaces which, but for the ravages of war, 
 would still have triumphed over the waste of 
 time and seasons, furnishing to all nations in- 
 dubitable and incomparable evidences of their 
 reign. Their inspiration could make " the mar- 
 We speak, and the brook murmur down the 
 
AN ALLEGORY. 3i3 
 
 jiuinted landscape." Their progress was marked 
 with beauties, and wherever they protracted their 
 stay it seemed doubiful whether the beauties of na- 
 ture or art would excite most surprise and admi- 
 ration. 
 
 The face of affairs, at lerxgth, began to chan^^e. 
 The din of arms, the rage of civil war, and the 
 prevalence of despotic power, in that once happy 
 country, presented before G'cnius objects the 
 most repulsive, and scenes unspeakably dis- 
 gusting. He grew discontented and melancholy, 
 and, at length, began to retire from public view.K 
 He withdrew to his favourite grotto. <ind deter- 
 mined for ever to abandon an ungrateful people, 
 who had been indebted to him for their chief 
 happiness and glory. 
 
 But in the bosom of retirement, where he con- 
 versed only with the Muses, the shafts of adversity 
 were still able to reach him, and wound his sensi- 
 bility. It began to be rumoured that Taste, his 
 lovely consort, whom he could by no arguments 
 persuade to retire with him from public life, was 
 engaged in an amour with Fashion, and availed her- 
 self of the absence of her husband to appear pub- 
 licly with him on all occasions. For awhile he re- 
 garded this but as a calumny forged by his ene- 
 mies, but too soon he was confirmed in his sus- 
 picions by the testimony of several of the 
 Muses.h 
 
 Fashion was, of all fops the most egregious, 
 of all coxcombs the most conceited, and of all 
 fools the most profound. His prime ministers 
 were Vanity and Vice. The chief personages 
 of his court and palace were Stupidity, Pride, 
 Flattery, Deceit, and Servility. Taste, when 
 first introduced to this new circle, could not 
 forbear drawing comparisons to their expense. 
 27 
 
314 GENIUS AND TASTE. 
 
 But the splendour of Fashion, the fascinating ad- 
 dress of Flattery, the lofty manners of Pride, 
 and the artless ease of Stupidity, daily won upon 
 her confidence, subdued her aversion, and at last 
 wore away her prejudices ; and she, for awhile, 
 became unmindful of her noble and generous part- 
 ner, who languished in oblivion. 
 
 The historian must, however, confess, that 
 this perversion and revolt of Taste was rather 
 an error of her understanding than her heart, 
 where no sentiment derogatory to the purest rules 
 of virtue ever found a moment's residence. But 
 endowed by nature with the most delicate sensi- 
 bility, and formed to shine and please in the most 
 splendid circles of life, she had incautiously mis- 
 placed her confidence in those whom she con- 
 sidered as the inseparable friends of Genius, her 
 true and only lord, being led too far by the false 
 and insidious pomp of external pageantry. 
 
 She was soon made sensible of her error. To 
 her unutterable surprise, she was informed, that 
 Genius had forsaken Parnassus, and it was not 
 known whither he was gone. Overwhelmed with 
 grief, and in the utmost consternation, she repair- 
 ed to his wonted bower: no vestige of its former 
 beauty was left — silence and solitude reigned 
 there. The lamp was extinguished, the lovely 
 train of attendants were no longer seen, and the 
 various ornaments of the grotto destroyed. 
 
 So altered, indeed, was the place, that she. ne- 
 ver would have discovered its true situation, had 
 it not been for a marble column, of massy size, on 
 which were inscribed the names of Homer, Solon, 
 Themistocles, and Phidias, which stood at the 
 entrance of the grotto. 
 
 Near that former seat of all her youthful plea- 
 sures she saw the plaintive Melpomene, who, 
 with mournful accents, confirmed all her fears. 
 
AX ALLEGORY- 315 
 
 by assurances that Genius was no longer to be 
 found in Greece. No mourner was ever more 
 sincere ; but she saw her error too late. Like 
 many other ladies, she had too incautiously listen- 
 ed to the voice of adulation, and had been too 
 sensible to the allurements of Fashion. 
 
 Nothing could exceed the grief and regret of 
 Taste, when she perceived herself abandoned by 
 Genius, whom she so fervently adored. Instead, 
 however, of giving herself over to despair, she 
 summoned fortitude to her aid, and endured her 
 affliction with heroic virtue. Her perfect know- 
 ledge of the character of Genius induced her to 
 believe, that either pitying her frailty, or con- 
 vinced of her innocence, he would not fail to 
 communicate to her the place of his abode, and 
 invite her, once more, to be his companion, in some 
 country where he might find a habitation. 
 
 In this hope she had an unwavering confidence, 
 from the consideration that, though Genius was 
 possessed of superior powers, yet his alliance and 
 cooperation with Taste, was productive of eflfects 
 no less conducive to his own personal happiness 
 than his extended and permanent reputation. 
 . Her expectations and hopes were soon realized. 
 Genius, upon a little reflection, perceived that 
 Taste had no power to resist the tyranny or fluc- 
 tuation of Fashion, or to correct the endless ab- 
 surdities of his court ; and that her excellencies 
 could only appear when exerted under the direc 
 tion of his eye ; and that even his own lustre could 
 appear to best advantage when aided by her deli- 
 cate hand. Taste was, at length, agreeably surpris- 
 ed by a cordial invitation, under his own signature, 
 soliciting her to come and rejoin him at Rome. 
 With this invitation she readily complied, no less 
 from the love she bore to her illustrious and long- 
 
516 OENIUS AND TASTE. 
 
 lost partner, than from bcr disgust and indignitj at 
 the Greeks, who, by insensible degrees, withdrew 
 from her all confidence, insulted her in all public 
 places, expelled her from their assemblies, and 
 she had the mortiticalion to see herself neglected 
 and abandoned, even at the court of Fashion.' 
 
 Nothing could excel the magnificence of her 
 reception at Rome; and her meeting with Genius 
 was marked with #\ery possible testimony of 
 joy and affection. Thtiir union was now more 
 perfect than ever, being proved by experience, 
 endeared by absence, and rendered wise by 
 adversity. Yet Taste, from her natural temper 
 and constitution, was more fond of society, 
 Genius more attaciied to retirement. This cir- 
 cum.stance, instead of exciting uneasiness, or 
 awaking former jealousies, was a source of mutual 
 pleasure, as it led to a happy combination of 
 artificial elegance, and native simplicity. 
 
 In this new region they enjoyed m.any days of 
 prosperitj^, and the remembrance of their former 
 misfortunes was- obi iterated. The flow of dura- 
 tion, though it does not impair the faculties of 
 immortals, yet may introduce gradual changes in 
 their characters, pursuits, and enjoyments. Ge- 
 nius, from increase of years, and the vicissitudes 
 of fortune, had acquired a graver air and turn of 
 thought, and a certain majesty, correspondent to 
 the greatness and extent of the lloman empire. 
 Taste, no less delicate than in the bloom of 
 youth, and as beautiful as on her wedding day^ 
 pursued a course of conduct more amiably cor- 
 rect, in every part of which a soi't and plaintive 
 sweetjjess was transfused, more charming to the 
 eye of Genius, and more fascinating to the heurt 
 of iSensibility, than the gravity of widom, the 
 briJJiancy of wit, or the pomp of erudition."^' 
 
NOTES. 
 
 (a) Egypt is justly styled the cradle of science* 
 There g-enius bejjan his career. 
 
 (b) Mercury was the inveotor of letters, and tlie 
 God of eloquence, poetry, music, &c. 
 
 (c) It has been remarked, perhaps, however, with 
 more humour than depth, that nature makes up the 
 want of primogenitTire to young-er children, by more 
 liberal endowments of an in'tellectual nature. Eve- 
 ry one knows the import of the phrase "an elder 
 brother." 
 
 (d) The native gravity of tlie Eg-yptian character 
 prepared the way for that deep and g-loomy supersti- 
 tion which g-ave a sickly cast to their national insti- 
 tutions, and ting-ed the v/liole stream of ancient 
 literature which ^owed from Ihem. 
 
 (e) Science and genius could not fmd a lasting 
 residence in the torrid climes of Africa. Carthage 
 was the only free state, and Egypt and Carthage the 
 only powerful and civilized nations ever known in 
 Africa. 
 
 "The parent sun him?elf 
 Seems o'ertLat world of .«la\es to tyiannize." 
 
 (f) True genius never appears in a mean and servile, 
 much less in a borrowed, dress. Indeed, the real 
 habiliments of genius undergo little variation. In ail 
 agey they are illustrious, beautiful, grand. 
 
 (t) Such ought to be the education of every scholar. 
 Probably the most radical fault in the plan of modena 
 cdiiciviioti is its extreme effeminacy. 
 
-318 IV'OTES. 
 
 (Ij) Dnt alas ! modern forests arc wonderfully stefils 
 of g-a.iie, unless it be of uacleau beasts, not fit for the 
 table, 
 
 (i) The pleasures of tlie mind, which result from a 
 combination of science and genius, seem to form the 
 proper amusement of an immortal intelligence. 
 
 (k) Genius disnlayed but its first rudiments ia 
 Egypt. Ti)e rude proportions and enormous size ol* 
 their pyramids^ obelisks, sphynxes, and labyrinths, 
 sbov/ed greatness, but iso taste, elegance, or beauty. 
 Though Alexander's successors, the dynasty of the 
 Ptolemies, restored learning to Egypt, yet their 
 genius led theni rather to exploi-e the dark regions 
 of occult science, tiian useful, knowledge, or elegant 
 improi^ement. 
 
 (1) The siiblimity of the sacred writings stands 
 unrivalled. 
 
 (m) Assyria and Persia have done little in thecatise 
 of literature. Aud what they did was in very an- 
 cient ages. The Arabians of the middle ages have 
 been respectable in literature. 
 
 (n) The IndianBrahmins, however, pretend to more 
 knowledge than all the world beside. They believe 
 that Brurmna, their founder, vvho was inferior only to 
 God Almighty, lived some hundreds of thousands of 
 years ago. But their learning is of too sacred a 
 nature ever to be made known. It is all locked up ia 
 the sacred Shansciit character, which they only under- 
 istand. 
 
 (o} It is thought that the Chinese know nothing of 
 the beautiful or sublime in writing. They must, of 
 course, be strangers to poetry and eloquence; and, I 
 think, to most of the pleasuies of the imagination. 
 They rely wholly on their own experience, and hold 
 in contempt and abhorrence all the improvements of 
 other nations. The fashion of the dress of all classes 
 is regulated by law, and descends, unaltered, from age 
 to age. This single circumstance must operate upon 
 the refined and elegant taste of the ladies, like an 
 embargo upon commerce-^inustdestroy it. 
 
 (p) The internal policy of China may be nearly all 
 comprehena'fd in one ,word — subordination. Ail 
 their institutions, whether civii, inilirary, mui'icipal. oK 
 moral, :ook towards this u^ their uliu;ir:tt3 obier- 
 
NOTES. 3i& 
 
 (q) Asia, though the nohlest portion of the g-lobe, 
 and embracing every advantage of soil and climate ; 
 though society there began its race, and was there 
 restored from the desolations of the deluge, and the 
 ruins of the fall, yet was never enlightened by the 
 cheering beams of civil liberty. The night of despot- 
 ism seems there destined for ever to brood over a 
 still gloomier night of moral darkness. 
 
 (r) The meeting of Genius with the Muses will he 
 considered as referring to the commencement of 
 elegant Grecian literature ; and as it is allowed that 
 poetic composition preceded prose, and as Homer's 
 writings were not only the morning, but the mid-day 
 of Grecian poetry, 1 trust no one will question the 
 propriety of introducing Genius first to Calliope and 
 Clio, the epic and historic Muses. 
 
 (s) The epic is the most majestic and important 
 kind of poetr}', and forms the most fascinating- object 
 to a truly great genius. Perhaps, indeed, Homer's 
 Iliad may be considered as the first corner stone of 
 elegant literature, and even of important science. 
 From that inimitable production may be drawn a true 
 picture of ancient manners'. It is a fountain whence 
 the geographer, the historian, the statesman, and hero, 
 may draw useful instructions. And, indeed, when the 
 christian reads there of the reverence the heathens 
 paid to their gods, he may well blush for his own 
 practical atheism. 
 
 (t)As poetry has more attractions for genius in 
 the ruder state of nations, so history may be regarded 
 among the last literary accomplishments of a nation. 
 A perfect historic style is one of the most arduous 
 and ditficult of all literary accomplishments, and there 
 have been as few elegant historians as great poets. 
 A thousand persons may write a narrative, among 
 nvhom one shall not be found who writes with 
 simplicity, dignity, elegance, and ease. 
 
 (u) It is impossible to develop the extensive com- 
 binaiiou of causes of the extreme difference in the 
 genius of nations. There can be little doubt that 
 their geographical situation is among those causes. 
 The abundance and purity of the springs and rivulets 
 of Greece, the boldncsss and variety of their hills 
 
320 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 and mountains, the picturesque and grand prospects of 
 their country, and the serenity ofiheir seasons, gave 
 health and vig-our to the bocly and mind. 
 
 (x) True g-enius ever relies on its own native 
 energy: its resources are in itself, and without art, 
 it easily surpasses the utmost elforts of art. 
 
 (y) Great natural genius clothes the mind with a 
 lustre which no art, no industry can acquire.. 
 
 ^z) The Grecian genius was^ honoured by all the 
 muses. They excelled as much in pastoral as in 
 heroic poetry. Since the days of Theocritus, no poet 
 ever drew such inimitable, such, fascinating pictures 
 of nature. In the drama, who ever surpassed Sopho- 
 cles and Euripides? In history, Herodotus, Thucy- 
 dides, and Xenophon, still reign. In philosophj-, 
 Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, if we consider the dis- 
 advantage under which they laboured, have never 
 been rivalled. Thales and JPythagoras explored the 
 true system of astronomy. Piiidias, Apelles, and 
 Praxitiles, in statuary, painting, and architecture, 
 were never equalled. Their catalogue of heroes was 
 completed by Alexander, and of orators by the incom- 
 parable Demosthenes. The iVTuses, when they appear- 
 ed before the Genius of the Greeks seem to have put 
 on all their best robes and brightest ornaments. 
 
 (a) Great genius is said 1o be diffident and modest; 
 which probably proceeds from a delicate sensibility. 
 Stupidity generally settles all the muscles of the face 
 into a kind of torpid apatli}, which no common shock 
 can ruffle or disturb. 
 
 (b) The lioroic muse smiles only on genius of the 
 utmost magnitude and lustre. Homer, Virgil, and 
 Milton, have been almost her only favourites among 
 men. There is, iudped, another heroic poet who 
 seems to have been but little noticed. Ossian yields 
 not to Homer in strength, boldness, and fire, nor to 
 Virgil in delicacy of conception. In point of richnesi 
 and variety of matter, however, they far excel him. 
 
 (c) The rauses wed only by iheir inspiration. 
 
 (d) The progress of the Grecian sages and philoso- 
 phers in truth and inorabty cannot be observed with- 
 out emotion" of delight and admiration. They re- 
 g-arded the religion of Jupiter, Juno, &c., and the 
 
NOTES. 321 
 
 heathen inytholog-y, with as much contempt as we do, 
 and were as sensible of its absurdity. The}' believed 
 in the immortality of the soul, the eternity and 
 spirituality of God, and the great principles of moral 
 and civil justice. Indeed, it is somewhat surprising- to 
 observe how few truly origmal ideas on those sub- 
 jects are found in Puffendorf, Montesquieu, and even 
 Paley. Paley's notion of moral virtue is, ia fact, 
 little ia advance of those entertained 2,000 years 
 ag-o. 
 
 (e) The union of Genius and Taste will be consi- 
 dered as referring- to that period of Grecian history in 
 which all the aris and sciences were in the big-best 
 state of prosperity and perfection; a time soiiicfbing- 
 difficult to ascertain. Their greatest poet must rave 
 lived before that period, and their greatest orator 
 after it. 
 
 (f) It is DO easy matter to form an adequate idea 
 of the splendour and majesty of the Grecian genius, 
 or of the glor;,' that nation derived from their elegant 
 literature. Cicero remarks, that an Athenian mecha- 
 nic, or labourer, was master of greater eloquence than 
 the literati of other nations. 
 
 (^•) The ambition of demagogues, and the folly of 
 the ignorant populacc^ has ruined all republics. The 
 Peloponnesian war laid the foundation for the ruin of 
 Greece, although genius and taste flourished there at 
 a later period. 
 
 (h) The decline of taste is visible in the literary pro- 
 ductions of a nation, r.or less is the retreat and seclu- 
 sion of genius. The question may, perhaps, be agita- 
 ted by the critics of future ages, whether, at the pre- 
 sent time, English literature shows any indication of 
 t!ie retirement of Genius, or of any marked civiliiit's 
 between Taste and Fashion. I hope they will not suf- 
 fer Calliope to sit in judgment on this question. I al- 
 so hope, that no one, at thai time, will happou to re- 
 member, that our critics and reviewers preferred 
 Southey to Scott, which savours a little of my Lord 
 Fashion. 
 
 (i) Mr. Addison remarks, that fashion governs all 
 things, even to the features of tlie face ; tl.at certain 
 lineaments grow antiquated, and are laid aside as eld 
 
322 NOTES. 
 
 fashioned. Hence statesmen are observed to look 
 profound, clerg-ymen reverend, lawyers cunning, phy- 
 sicians mysterious, and commercial men keen. But 
 fashion never bungles so much as with true taste and 
 criticism, which depend on immutable rules. If fash- 
 ion interfere with language, grammar and etymology 
 vanish; if with the fine arts, genius and taste take 
 their flight ; if with music, the ear of sensibility sick- 
 ens at the sound. 
 
 But it is said that taste varies, and even sometimes 
 vrithout deterioration. It is scarcely to be doubted, 
 that, in every species of excellence there is a stand- 
 ard ; nor do the various and contradictory tastes of 
 different nations, concerning the beauty of the human 
 countenance, prove to the contrary, but rather evince 
 the corrupting influence of my Lord Fashion. The 
 Roman admiration of little foreheads, as a striking 
 part of female beauty, or the Chinese delight in little 
 feet, even too little to admit of firm and graceful move- 
 ment, adds nothing to the argument thai there is no 
 standard of beauty. The ignorance of the Chinese, 
 and, indeed, of all the Asiatic nations, of the counter- 
 point in musig, their abhorrence of the simultaneous 
 movement of several parts together, as mere Gothic 
 jargon, which amounts to the exclusion of harmony, is 
 no proof that a standard of excellence in music is not, 
 in a measure, attainable. There may be a series of 
 sounds, which would reach the maximum of melody ; 
 and a simultaneous combination, the maximum of 
 concord or harmony ; though it is probable such a 
 series, and such a combination, were, as yet, never 
 discovered. Though it must be admitted, that, since 
 in the series of sounds necessary even to perfect melo- 
 dy, the nature, the quantit}', the quality, and duration 
 of every distinct sound, in relation to every other one 
 in the series, must be duly regulated or chosen, and in 
 all these respects b}^ trial only, it would lie beyond the 
 reach of finite skill to discover them. 
 
 The variety and discrepancy of tastes may be as 
 forcibly urged to prove :he depravation of taste, as 
 that there is no standard of beauty. And it cannot be 
 denied, that there may be a combination of figure. 
 
NOTES. 323 
 
 colour, and expression, which would constitute perfect 
 beauty : and, if taste be truly defined " a power to re- 
 ceive pleasure from the objects of nature," a mind pos- 
 sessed of that " power," in its highest perfection, 
 would acknowledg-e the perfection and supremacy of 
 that beauty, as soon as perceived. 
 
 (k) The very great difference in the genius, taste, 
 and character of the two greatest and most polished 
 nations of antiquity, forms a curious and interesting 
 subject of speculation. The Greeks were lively, vo- 
 latile, inquisitive, and humorous ; the Romans stern, 
 grave, thoughtful, and commanding. But when the 
 Romans imbibed the spirit of Grecian literature, and 
 became a scientific people, a new and most happy 
 combination was formed. The Grecian vivacity was 
 tempered with dignity, and the Roman acerbity soften- 
 ed into mildness. And whatever may, or can be 
 said, of the genius of the Greeks, yet no reader of sen- 
 sibility ever read Virgil's iEneid without greater plea- 
 sure than he felt in reading Homer's Iliad. The same 
 ■will be the result of a comparison between the Gre- 
 cian and the Roman orator. 
 
 But this concession, if such it may be called, in fa- 
 %'our of the Roman genius, is more than compensated 
 in other arts and sciences. Even with the advantage 
 of Grecian models and artists, such as they were, the 
 Romans could never reach the excellence of Grecian 
 statuary and architecture. The edifices which form- 
 ed the magnificence of the Roman capitol, and consti- 
 tuted the splendour of that imperial city, though such 
 as Avould certainly tlirow all modern cities into the 
 shade, if not sink them almost into insignificance ; 
 though they derived an awful grandeur from their size 
 and numbers, and evinced great excellence in their 
 materials and workmanship, yet, could the same eye 
 have had the advantage of viewing the Roman capitol 
 and the Athenian Acropolis, each in the zenith of their 
 glory, the former would have suffered a total eclipse 
 in the comparison. The hill of Athens, crowned with 
 the Parthenon, and covered with lofty structures of 
 Pentelic marble ; their snowy whiteness, their unpa- 
 ralleled grace and proportions, their vast extent, con- 
 cealed and overlooked in the svmmetrv of their forms, 
 
324 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 and unity of their parts; and these, again, obscured by 
 the ineffable magnificence , and exquisite ornaments 
 which met the eye at every step, and presented new 
 beauties at every turn ; the chasteness and simphcity 
 of their style, the brightness of their pohsh, the bold- 
 ness of their elevation, and grandeur of their plan, 
 gave,«ri^TTc&^^ b'6fh~drgenitis'~and taste superior to all 
 iia*fon^,and of which lli^ liuman )%Qe could now form 
 m) concepitioii, bu| far ll^^i^ogijme^ts of their great- 
 |iess tvhich still remain. " Ftiit J^um.''* 
 
 IJBRAM.Y. 
 
 N.YORK 
 
Mi-ii 
 
i^'mmir^. 
 
 

 0068098308 
 
 PHOTOCOPy/^