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fities. Two feas inclofe you on the right and left: not a fhip to fly to for efcaping. Before you is the Po, a river broader and more rapid than the Rhone: behind you are the Alps; over which, even when your numbers were undiminished, you were hardly able to force a paffage. Here then, foldiers, you must either conquer or die, the very first hour you meet the enemy.

But the fame fortune which has thus laid you under the neceffity of fighting, has fet before your eyes thofe rewards of victory, than which no men are ever wont to wish for greater from the immortal gods. Should we, by our valour, recover only Sicily and Sardinia, which were ravished from our fathers, those would be no inconfiderable prizes. Yet, what are thofe? The wealth of Rome; whatever riches fhe has heaped together in the fpoils of nations; all thefe, with the mafters of them, will be yours. You have been long enough employed in driving the cattle upon the vaft mountains of Lufitania and Celtiberia; you have hitherto met with no reward worthy of the labours and dangers you have undergone. The time is now come, to reap the full recompenće of your toilfome marches over fo many mountains and rivers, and through fo many nations, all of them in arms. This is the place which fortune has appointed to be the limits of your labour; it is here that you will finish your glorious warfare, and receive an ample recompence of your compleated fervice. For I would not have you imagine, that victory will be as difficult as the name of a Roman war is great and founding. It has often happened, that a defpifed enemy has given a bloody battle; and the most renowned kings and nations have by a small force been overthrown. And, if you but take away the glitter of the Roman name, what is there wherein they may ftand in competition with you? For (to fay nothing of your service in war, for twenty years together, with fo much valour and fuccefs) from the very pillars of Hercules, from the ocean, from the utmost bounds of the earth, through fo many warlike nations of Spain and Gaul, are you not come hither victorious? And with

whom are you now to fight? With raw foldiers, an undifciplined army, beaten, vanquished, besieged by the Gauls the very laft fummer; an army, unknown to their leader, and unacquainted with him.

Or fhall I, who was born, I might almost fay, but certainly brought up, in the tent of my father, that most excelJent general; fhall I, the conqueror of Spain and Gaul, and not only of the Alpine nations, but which is greater ftill, of the Alps themfelves; fhall I compare myself with this half-year captain? a captain, before whom should one place the two armies, without their enfigns, I am perfuaded he would not know to which of them he is conful. I efteem it no fmall advantage, foldiers, that there is not one among you, who has not often been an eye-witnefs of my exploits in war; not one of whose valour I myself have not been a spectator, fo as to be able to name the times and places of his noble atchievements; that with foldiers, whom I have a thousand times praised and rewarded, and whose pupil I was before I became their general, I fhall march against an army of men ftrangers to one another.

On what fide foever I turn my eyes, I behold all full of courage and ftrength. A veteran infantry; a moft gallant cavalry: you, my allies, moft faithful and valiant; you, Carthaginians, whom not only your country's caufe, but the justeft anger, impels to battle. The hope, the courage of affailants, is always great. er than of those who act upon the defenfive. With hoftile banners difplayed, you are come down upon Italy: you bring the war. Grief, injuries, indignities, fire your minds, and fpur you forward to revenge.-Firft, they demanded me; that I, your general, fhould be delivered up to them; next, all of you who had fought at the fiege of Saguntum: and we were to be put to death by the extremeft tortures. Proud and cruel nation! every thing must be yours, and at your difpofal! you are to prescribe to us with whom we fhall make war, with whom we shall make peace. You are to fet us bounds; to fhut us up within hills and rivers; but you, you are not to observe the li

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mits which yourfelves have fixed! "Pafs not the Iberus." What next? "Touch not the Saguntines. Saguntum is upon the Iberus, move not a step towards that city." Is it a fmall matter then that you have deprived us of our ancient poffeffions, Sicily and Sardinia? you would have Spain too. Well, we fhall yield Spain, and then-you will pass into Africa. Will pafs, did I fay-this very year they rdered one of their confuls into Africa, the other into Spain. No, foldiers; there is nothing left for us, but what we can vindicate with our fwords. Come on, then. Be men. The Romans may, with more fafety, be cowards: they have their own country behind them, have places of refuge to fly to, and are fecure from danger in the roads thither; but for you, there is no middle fortune between death and victory. Let this be but well fixed in your minds; and once again, I fay, you are conquerors.

$ 22. To Art.

Hooke.

O Art! thou diftinguishing attribute and honour of human kind! who art not only able to imitate Nature in her graces, but even to adorn her with graces of thine own! Poffeffed of thee, the meaneft genius grows deferving, and has a just demand for a portion of our efteem: devoid of thee, the brighteft of our kind lie loft and ufelefs, and are but poorly diftinguished from the moft defpicable and bafe. When we inha. bited forests in common with brutes, nor otherwife known from them, than by the figure of our fpecies, thou taught eft us to affert the fovereignty of our nature, and to affume that empire, for which Providence intended us. Thoufands of utilities owe their birth to thee; thousands of elegancies, pleasures, and joys, without which life itself would be but an infipid poffeffion.

Wide and extenfive is the reach of thy dominion. No element is there, either fo violent or fo fubtile, fo yielding or fo fluggish, as, by the powers of its nature, to be fuperior to thy direction. Thou dreadeft not the fierce impetuofity of fire, but compelleft its violence to be both obedient and useful:

by it thou fofteneft the ftubborn tribe of minerals, so as to be formed and moulded into shapes innumerable. Hence weapons, armour, coin; and, previous to these and other thy works and energies, hence all thofe various tools and inftruments, which impower thee to proceed to farther ends more excellent. Nor is the fubtile air less obedient to thy power; whether thou willeft it to be a minifter to our pleasure or utility. At thy command, it giveth birth to founds, which charm the foul with all the powers of harmony: under thy inftruction, it moves the fhips over the feas; while that yielding element, where otherwise we fink, even water itself, is by thee taught to bear us; the vaft ocean, to promote that intercourfe of nations, which ignorance would imagine it was deftined to intercept. To fay how thy influence is feen on earth, would be to teach the meaneft what he knows already. Suffice it but to mention fields of arable and pafture; lawns, and groves, and gardens, and plantations; cottages, villages, caftles, towns; palaces, temples, and fpacious cities.

Nor does thy empire end in fubjects thus inanimate : its power also extends through the various race of animals; who either patiently submit to become thy flaves, or are fure to find thee an irrefiftible foe. The faithful dog, the patient ox, the generous horfe, and the mighty elephant, are content all to receive their inftructions from thee, and readily to lend their natural instincts of ftrength to perform thofe offices which thy occafions call for. If there be found any fpecies which are ferviceable when dead, thou fuggefteft the means to inveftigate and take them: if any be fo favage as to refufe being tamed, or of natures fierce enough to venture an attack, thou teacheft us to fcorn their brutal rage, to meet, repel, purfue, and conquer.

Such, O Art! is thy amazing influence, when thou art employed only on thefe inferior fubjects, on natures inanimate, or at beft irrational: but whenever thou chufeft a fubject more noble, and employeft thyfelf in cultivating the mind itself, then it is thou becomest truly amiable and divine; the ever

flowing

flowing fource of thofe fublimer beauties, of which no fubject but mind alone is capable, Then it is thou art enabled to exhibit to mankind the admired tribe of poets and orators; the facred train of patriots and heroes; the godlike lift of philofophers and legiflators; the forms of virtuous and equal polities, where private welfare is made the fame with public, where crowds themfelves prove difinterested, and virtue is made a national and popular characteristic.

Hail! facred fource of all these wónders! thyself inftruct me to praise thee worthily; through whom, whatever we do is done with elegance and beauty; without whom, what we do is gracelefs and deformed. Venerable power! by what name fhall I addrefs thee? fhall I call thee ornament of mind, or art thou more truly mind itfelf? it is mind thou art, most perfect mind; not rude, untaught, but fair and polished: in fuch thou dwelleft; of fuch thou art the form; nor is it a thing more poffible to feparate thee from fuch, than it would be to separate thee from thy own existence.

Harris.

$23. The Character of HANNIBAL. Hannibal being fent to Spain, on his arrival there attracted the eyes of the whole army. The veterans believed Hamilcar was revived and restored to them: they faw the fame vigorous counte nance, the fame piercing eye, the fame complexion and features. But in a fhort time his behaviour occafioned this refemblance of his father to contribute the leaft towards his gaining their favour. And, in truth, never was there a genius more happily formed for two things, most manifeftly contrary to each other to obey and to command. This made it difficult to determine, whether the general or foldiers loved him moft. Where any enterprize required vigour and valour in the performance, Afdrubal always chofe him to command at the executing it; nor were the troops ever more confident of fuccefs, or more intrepid, than when he was at their head. None ever fhewed greater bravery in undertaking hazardous attempts, or more prefence of mind and conduct in the execution of them. No hardship

could fatigue his body, or daunt his courage: he could equally bear cold and heat. The neceffary refection of nature, not the pleasure of his palate, he folely regarded in his meals. He made no diftinction of day and night in his watching, or taking reft; and appropriated no time to fleep, but what remained after he had completed his duty: he never fought for a soft, or a retired place of repofe; but was often feen lying on the bare ground, wrapt in a foldier's cloak, amongst the centinels and guards. He did not diftinguish himfelf from his companions by the magnificence of his drefs, but by the quality of his horfe and arms. At the fame time, he was by far the best foot and horfe foldier in the army; ever the foremost in a charge, and the laft who left the field after the battle was begun. Thefe fhining qualities were however balanced by great vices; inhuman cruelty; more than Carthaginian treachery; no refpect for truth or honour, no fear of the gods, no regard for the fanctity of oaths, no fenfe of religion. With a difpofition thus chequered with virtues and vices, he ferved three years under Afdrubal, without neglecting to pry into, or perform any thing, that could contribute to make him hereafter a complete general. Livy.

$24. The SCYTHIAN Ambafadors to ALEXANDER, on his making Preparations to attack their Country.

If your person were as gigantic as your defires, the world would not contain you. Your right hand would touch the east, and your left the west at the fame time: you grafp at more than you are equal to. From Europe you reach Afia; from Afia you lay hold on Europe. And if you should conquer all mankind, you feem difpofed to wage war with woods and fnows, with rivers and wild beafts, and to attempt to fubdue nature. But, have you confidered the ufual courfe of things? have you reflected, that great trees are many years in growing to their height, and are cut down in an hour? It is foolish to think of the fruit only, without confidering the height you have to climb to come at it. Take care left, while you strive to

reach

reach the top, you fall to the ground with the branches you have laid hold on. Befides, what have you to do with the Scythians, or the Scythians with you? We have never invaded Macedon : why fhould you attack Scythia? You pre tend to be the punisher of robbers; and are yourself the general robber of mankind. You have taken Lydia; you have feized Syria; you are mafter of Perfia; you have fubdued the Bactrians, and attacked India: all this will not fatisfy you, unless you lay your greedy and infatiable hands upon our flocks and our herds. How imprudent is your conduct! you grafp at riches, the poffeffion of which only increafes your avarice. You increase your hunger, by what should produce fatiety; fo that the more you have, the more you defire. But have you forgot how long the conquest of the Bactrians detained you? while you were fubduing them the Sogdians revolted. Your victories ferve to no other purpose than to find you employment by producing new wars; for the bufinefs of every conqueft is twofold, to win, and to preferve: and though you may be the greateft of warriors, you must expect that the nations you conquer will endeavour to shake off the yoke as fast as poffible for what people chufe to be under foreign domi

nion?

prive them of what they have. But if you are no god, reflect on the precarious condition of humanity. You will thus fhew more wifdom, than by dwelling on thofe fubjects which have puffed up your pride, and made you forget yourself.

You fee how little you are likely to gain by attempting the conqueft of Scythia. On the other hand, you may, if you please, have in us a valuable alliance. We command the borders of both Europe and Afia. There is nothing between us and Bactria but the river Tanais; and our territory extends to Thrace, which, as we have heard, bor. ders on Macedon. If you decline attacking us in a hoftile manner, you may have our friendship. Nations which have never been at war are on an equal footing; but it is in vain that confidence is repofed in a conquered people: there can be no fincere friendship between the oppreffors and the oppreffed; even in peace, the latter think themselves entitled to the rights of war against the former. We will, if you think good, enter into a treaty with you, according to our manner, which is not by figning, fealing, and taking the gods to witnefs, as is the Grecian cuftom; but by doing actual fervices. The Scythians are not used to promife, but perform without promifing. And they think an appeal to the gods fuperfluous; for that those who have no regard for the efteem of men will not hesitate to offend the gods by perjury.— You may therefore confider with yourfelf, whether you had better have a people of fuch a character, and fo fituated as to have it in their power either to ferve you or to annoy you, according as you treat them, for allies or for enemies. 2. Curtius.

If you will cross the Tanais, you may travel over Scythia, and obferve how extenfive a territory we inhabit. But to conquer us is quite another bufinefs: you will find us, at one time, too nimble for your purfuit; and at another time, when you think we are fled far enough from you, you will have us furprife you in your camp: for the Scythians attack with no lefs vigour than they fly. It will therefore be your wifdom to keep with ftrict attention what you have gain-$25.

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ed: catching at more, you may lofe what you have. We have a proverbial faying in Scythia, That Fortune has no feet, and is furnished only with hands to diftribute her capricious favours, and with fins to elude the grafp of thofe to whom fhe has been bountiful.-Yougive yourfelf out to be a god, the fon of Jupiter Ammon it fuits the character of a god to bestow favours on mortals, not to de

JUNIUS BRUTUS over the dead Body of LUCRETIA, who had ftabbed berfelf in confequence of the Rape of TARQUIN.

Yes, noble lady, I fwear by this blood which was once fo pure, and which nothing but royal villany could have polluted, that I will purfue Lucius Tarquinius the Proud, his wicked wife, and their children, with fire and fword: nor will I fuffer any of that family, or of

any

any other wha oever, to be king in Rome.-Ye gods, I call you to witnefs this my oath!

There, Romans, turn your eyes to that fad fpectacle !-the daughter of Lucretius, Collatinus's wife-fhe died by her own hand! See there a noble lady, whom the luft of a Tarquin reduced to the neceffity of being her own executioner, to atteft her innocence. Hofpitably entertained by her as a kinfman of her hufband, Sextus, the perfidious gueft, became her brutal ravifher. The chafte, the generous Lucretia could not furvive the infult. Glorious woman! but once only treated as a flave, fhe thought life no longer to be endured. Lucretia, a woman, difdained a life that depended on a tyrant's will; and fhall we, fhall men, with fuch an example before our eyes, and after five-and-twenty years of ignominious fervitude, fhall we, through a fear of dying, defer one fingle inftant to affert our liberty? No, Romans; now is the time; the favourable moment we have fo long waited for is come. Tarquin is not at Rome: the Patricians are at the head of the enterprize: the city is abundantly provided with men, arms, and all things neceffary. There is nothing wanting to fecure the fuccefs, if our own courage does not fail us. And fhall those warriors, who have ever been fo brave when foreign enemies were to be fubdued, or when conquefts were to be made to gratify the ambition and avarice of Tarquin, be then only cowards, when they are to deliver themfelves from flavery?

Some of you are perhaps intimidated by the army which Tarquin now commands: the foldiers, you imagine, will take the part of their general. Banish fuch a groundlefs fear: the love of liberty is natural to all men. Your fellow-citizens in the camp feel the weight of oppreffion with as quick a fenfe as you that are in Rome; they will as eagerly feize the occafion of throwing off the yoke. But let us grant there may be fome among them who, through bafenefs of fpirit, or a bad education, will be difpofed to favour the tyrant: the number of thefe can be but fmall, and we have means fufficient in our hands to reduce them to reafon. They have left us hof

tages more dear to them than life; their wives, their children, their fathers, their mothers, are here in the city. Courage, Romans, the gods are for us; thofe gods, whofe temples and altars the impious. Tarquin has profaned by facrifices and libations made with polluted hands, polluted with blood, and with numberless unexpiated crimes committed against his fubjects.

Ye gods, who protected our forefathers! ye genii, who watch for the prefervation and glory of Rome! do you infpire us with courage and unanimity in this glorious caufe, and we will to our laft breath defend your worship from all profanation. Livy.

§ 26. Speech of ADHERBAL to the RoMAN SENATE, imploring their Assistance against JUGURTHA.

Fathers!

It is known to you that king Micipfa, my father, on his death-bed, left in charge to Jugurtha, his adopted fon, conjunctly with my unfortunate brother Hiempfal and myself, the children of his own body, the adminiftration of the kingdom of Numidia, directing us to confider the fenate and people of Rome as proprietors of it. He charged us to use our beft endeavours to be ferviceable to the Roman commonwealth, in peace and war; affuring us, that your protection would prove to us a defence against all enemies, and would be instead of armies, fortifications, and treasures.

While my brother and I were thinking of nothing but how to regulate ourselves according to the directions of our deceafed father, Jugurtha-the most infamous of mankind! breaking through all ties of gratitude and of common humanity, and trampling on the authority of the Roman commonwealth-procured the murder of my unfortunate brother, and has driven me from my throne and native country, though he knows I inherit, from my grandfather Mafiiniffa, and my father Micipfa, the friendship and alli ance of the Romans.

For a prince to be reduced, by villany, to my diftressful circumstances, is calamity enough; but my misfortunes are heightened by the confideration, that I

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