the general Notion the Historian gives of the Forces of the Country both by Sea and Land the Description he adjoyns of the Ancient Greeks and of those of his own Age the Abridgment he makes of the Persian War is an happy Beginning for his History in as much as there is something great in those Particulars But the Subject of the second Book becomes still more Material by the List of the Allies who engag'd in that War on both sides For he reckons up almost all the Common-wealths of Greece one after another which took contrary Parts they were dispos'd by their Interests and Relations to the two Republicks Athens and Lacedemon of which they were either Allies or Favourers And the Historian bestirs himself here exceedingly by reason of the different Embassies the several States deputed to each other which put the whole Country in Ferment and Commotion by their Factions and Intrigues and all this is still made Greater by the Art he has of Interessing in that War which at the bottom was but of small Moment all the Countries of Greece Sicily and part of Italy the Generals also of the King of Persia who make all a grand Figure in that Expedition and ingaging as one may say Heaven and Earth and all the Elements in that Quarrel to make it more Considerable through those prodigious Circumstances of Eclipses Earthquakes Plagues Famines Mortalities and other Prodigies of which I have already spoken and which he introduces in his History to give a greater Idea of his Subject It must be acknowleged the Wit of the Historian is very Apparent in that part and that so inconsiderable a War as that of two petty Nations could never have been of much importance but by means of that Pompous Retinue of Circumstances it came attended with And herein he can never be sufficiently admir'd whilst we reflect upon the Art he had of supporting a little Subject by Treating it in a Method great and noble He continues his Second Book with the Description of the Condition the Town of Athens was in when the Enemy made a Descent into the Country by Oenoe the first Frontier Garrison on the Coast of Boeotia as also of the Havock Archidamus made about Eleusine whence passing through Acarne he came and posted himself within two Leagues of Athens The Alarm being spread abroad Pericles who at that time had the Administration of Affairs refus'd to convene the People least the Fright they were in should put them upon some Absurdity or Extravagance through too much weakness He relates next the several Enterprizes of each People upon one another without escaping any memorable Action the rest of the Summer as also the Funeral Solemnities the following Winter paid to the Honour of those who were slain in this first Campaign and he Describes the Ceremonies thereof wherein Pericles who had advis'd the War made an Elogy upon those who had lost their Lives in it Probably never Man succeeded more happily than he in infusing Courage into the living by celebrating the memory of the dead and setting before their Eyes the Glory of dying for their Country with their swords in hand especially for a Country so Glorious in all things as was then the Common-wealth of Athens There is nothing in that Discourse but is set off with all that Dignity which shines so Eminently in this Historian The Description of the plague in all its particulars which comes after stands rightly placed for the intermixing that Variety which is requisit to make a History taking The Athenians crusht almost at the same time with a War and Pestilence which laid their Country desolate began to murmur against Perâ—cles who hereupon assembled them in order to incourage them by justifying his management That Harangue howsoever Forcible by those Masterly and Engaging Strokes he gave it had but little Effect upon their Minds who were sensible of nothing but their Misfortunes he was discarded presently and as suddenly restor'd The inconstancy of that People over whom he had gain'd all the Authority his Merit and his Eloquence deserv'd hastned his Death which happen'd not long after The Encomium the Historian makes upon that Great Man affords us a very fine Idea of his Vertue His loss was none of the least Disgraces that fell on Athens in the second Campaign For there being no one left behind of so Eminent a Quality to fill up his place his Successours as equal perhaps in Merit and rivals in Dignity wanting sufficient Power to rein up a People with an absolute hand were Oblig'd for their interests to manage them remisly and to Sooth and Flatter them into Obedience After the Death of Pericles the posture of Affairs was more untoward than formerly Sicily began to be in Commotion and to Arm for Lacedaemon the Siege of Platea was form'd in Boeotia the Assault was Vigorous and the Defence as Resolute That Siege describ'd at length in the second Book falls into a Blockade thence follows the Attempt of the Athenians upon Chalcis to give a Diversion to the Lacedemonians which occasion'd them to enter Acarne to make themselves Masters of the Isles Zacynthus and Cephalenia as also of Naupactus in order to prevent the Athenians Sailing about Peloponnesus But as perplext and imbroil'd as Affairs were through the heat which was diffus'd in the minds of the People and their several ingagements with each other in the end of the second Book they are clear'd off by the Historian with that Easiness and Perspicuity as renders that an Admirable Piece the Naval Battle of the Athenians against the Corinthians at Naupactus and that of the Lacedemonians against the Athenians are describ'd in such a retail of Circumstances as is wonderfully taking with the Reader The Advantages they had over each other being reciprocal there was an endeavour on the Enemies side to surprize the Pirean Haven near Athens which prov'd unsuccessful for want of due Measures in taking the Advantage of the Occasion This Book and the third Campaign conclude with the Thracian War in Macedonia Never History compriz'd so much Matter in so little Room nor so much Action in so few Words If any thing can be found fault with 't is that the Exploits are too closely wound with one another so that the coherence seems somewhat intricate and confus'd and that multiplying of Objects tends only to dissipate the attention of the Reader He begins the Third Book with the Revolt of Lesbos from the Athenians and the Attempt of the Athenians upon Mitylene which sent Embassadors to Lacedemon to demand supplies That Oration is so insinuating and full of Artifice that the Lacedemonians could no way resist it Mitylene is receiv'd into the Alliance of Peloponnesus The Harangue of Cleon upon the Affair of the Prisoners of Mitylene which some were for putting to Death at Athens of which Opinion he himself was and that of Diodotus who was for having them Pardon'd are very strong and perswasive Platea being at last
Celebration of this Festival was heard that saying That at last there was a People in the World born for the safety of all others that cross'd Seas made Wars at its own Cost and Peril to revenge the Oppress'd to establish Laws causing them to be observ'd through the whole Earth and to maintain the publick Security The Historian afterward opens the mystery how Hannibal became suspected by his Country-men upon advice that he entertain'd a constant Correspondence with King Antiochus to oblige him to declare War against the Romans That was it which this Great Man Banisht out of his Country and as it were a Vagabond abroad voted in that Kings Councel that if he would make War as he should do with the Romans he must attack them in their own Territories and Fight them at Rome as he himself had done There is a greatness of Soul and a loftiness of Thought in what the Historian makes him speak and suting with the Character of Hannibal 't is in the Thirty-fourth Book There is something Rare and Uncommon in point of Adventure in the accidental meeting of this Commander and Scipio who was made Lievtenant to his Brother as it is related in the following Book Undoubtedly it creates a very agreeable surprize as it needs must to see two Great Generals who had disputed the Empire of the World at the head of two potent Armies meeting by chance at Ephesus and coldly giving their Opinion as two private Men in a Sedate and unpassionate Discourse of the preheminence of the Greatest Officers who have made the most noise in the World In fine Hannibal suspected by his Citizens and hated by all the World is constrain'd to fly to Ephesus his flight contains several Adventures which render that part of the History very Curious as being of a Man of so great Importance that every Step he makes is Considerable But the Adventure of Scipio accus'd before the People by Q. Petilius for having Converted part of the Spoils of King Antiochus to his own Coffer is more surprizing and remarkable thro' the giddiness of Fortune and the injustice of the Roman People and 't is represented by the Historian with all the dignity so strange an Adventure does require That Man of incomparable Vertue as well as Valour made his Appearance at the Day prefixt by his Accuser But instead of making his Defense to his Accusation presumptuous upon his own Innocence he spoke to the People assembled to Condemn him with a bold and undaunted Gallantry and the Voice of a Conqueror Such was the day wherein I took Carthage beat Hannibal and Vanquisht the Carthaginians let us go to the Capitol and thank the Gods The People surpriz'd at so magnanimous a Carriage left the Accuser and followed Scipio and that Day says the Historian was infinitely more Glorious to him and advanc'd his Honour higher in the Opinion of the People than that wherein he Triumphed over King Siphax and the Carthaginians Dissatisfy'd however with that Treatment which manifested so much Disesteem he Retreated to Linternum a Country-seat of his towards Capua where he dy'd sometime after in the Embraces of his Family as a private Person The Portraicture of Cato delineated in the Thirty-ninth Book on occasion of the Dignity of Censor which he Canvas'd with the Scipio's Valerius Flaccus Furius and other Persons of note in the Senate is a Master-piece 'T is pleasant to see how Resembling it all is upon the Notion a Man has of the Austerity of Vertue in that Great Man For that portraicture is so singular in all the features that compose it that whether it is like nothing or whether it resembles its original all is touch'd off with an admirable Air. That which the Historian brings him in speaking against the Luxury of Women in the Thirty-fourth Book to put in Execution the Oppian Law which regulated the Expense of Habits and retrench'd the Prodigality therein and against the Nocturnal Devotion describ'd in the Thirty-ninth Book wherewith they mixt all the Horror of the most dissolute Practices and abominable Debauchery in the World has much of the Spirit of a rigid Censour of Manners The Speeches he makes against the Disorders which the Wars of Asia had brought into Rome by infusing Effeminacy Licentiousness and a Prostitution of Youth which tended to its utter Ruine bear the Stamp of a sincere and Great Man who contributed with the Old Senators to the Preservation of that Wisdom Probity Hatred of Injustice love of Equity and horrour of Vice which prevail'd in the Senate at that time And all this has its Effect in the End of that Decade where the Historian presents us with the Spirit and Character of the Republick then subsisting The Death of Annibal who had retir'd to Prusias King of Bithynia after the Defeat of Antiochus having Poisoned himself to avoid falling into the Hands of Flaminius is very moving at the End of the Thirty-ninth Book One is concern'd to see so great a Man Die in such a manner and that Particular prepar'd so finely with such remarkable Events is of a singular Excellence But it must be acknowleg'd that nothing is more pompous or magnificent than the Entrance of the Forty-third Book where Livy sets forth the Generality of the People of Greece and Asia after the subduing Macedonia sending their Embassadours to Rome to implore the Protection of the Senate and to submit themselves to the Republick All that Part is describ'd in that Triumphant Character which usually accompanies the happy Conquerours The Historian himself there strikes on such a Key as lets us know he is Apprehensive of the good Fortune of his Country and the Merit of his Subject The Defeat of Perses in the Forty-fourth Book happening upon occasion of an Horse that escap'd the Hands of his Servants and was the Cause of the Battle which the Two Armies incamp'd upon the opposite Banks of a little River would willingly have avoided has something surprizing in it and indeed nothing is finer in an History than great Events caus'd by trifling Accidents as this which is very Remarkable upon the Wonder it raises The Oration the Embassadours of Rhodes make before the Senate in the Forty-fifth Book is fine lofty and eloquent nothing comes nearer the Discourses Thucydides attributes to the Deputies of States and Common-wealths in his History of the Peloponnesian War Nothing can be more fitly compar'd with him in that very Kind in which his Excellence lay nor is there any thing more like that manner of speaking he gives the Towns and States whose History he Writes Paulus Emilius's Voyage through Greece after he had Conquer'd it his Visiting the Provinces to observe what was Remarkable for Antiquity or for the Rarity and Excellence of the Work is handsomely Describ'd in the Forty-fifth Book Every Town has its peculiar Character its Order and Distinction and the Historian by giving us a fine Notion of the Country heightens the Victories and Advantages
Youth hearing Herodotus read his History at the Solemnity of the Olympick Games fell a Crying through a gallant Jealousy and a sense of Emulation Which gave occasion to Herodotus to Complement the Father of the young Gentleman as giving an infallible earnest of his future Glory In short he was an honest Man the severity of his Morals and his Piety are to be seen in several places of his Works where he ever talks like a man of excellent Principles never advancing of his own Head any Maxim of dangerous consequence And his Discourse carries always in it a Masculine air of Vertue Take for an Instance what he says of a famous Commander that was put to Death by the Syracusians after his Defeat Thus fell Nicias who of all his Cotemporaries least deserv'd to dy in such a manner as having always been a zealous Worshiper of the Gods And by the Character of his Integrity which appears in all his Writings he discovers the true bottome of his Heart and the Purity of his Manners which is the Quality Aristotle chiefly requires in a Discourse when he says it can never be agreeable to the Subject when 't is insufficient to give you the manners of the Speaker and a Discourse is nothing worth where the manners of the man are naught for 't is a Rule that one should be conformable to the other Which is the particular Character of this Author who never fails to create a good Opinion of himself in the Minds of those that read him Anaxagoras was his Master in Philosophy and Antiphon in Rhetorick by both which his Mind was form'd in that solid and sensible manner to those Studies which lay the main Foundation of his Character But as excellent as he was at these Sciences he however knew the World better than Books The Acquaintance he had with Socrates Plato Critias Alcibiades Pericles and all the Great Men of that Age which was the Politest and of the finest Tast that has ever been among the Greeks gave the finishing stroke so as to fit his Mind with these noble Idea's and Principles which make an absolute Gentleman and an accomplisht Historian For besides that no man ever wrote in a more brave and disinterested manner without the least reserve to his Resentment he has moreover said nothing but withal imaginable Candor He was so utter an Enemy to all manner of disguise that he could not away with any thing that should I don't say wound but give the least Offence to Truth never advanceing any Maxime that lookt not towards the Good of the Publick the Love of which was engraven in his Heart He was so tender and scrupulous of honour that he has not fail'd in his History to treat the Athenians well even those at whose Hands he had receiv'd the greatest Indignities concealing nothing which might be to the Advantage of Cleon and Brasidas the principal Authors of his Banishment For it was principally through the Intriegue of Cleon his Rival that he was Banisht his Country for not having succour'd Amphipolis whither he was commanded and it was during his Exile that he wrote his History finding more leisure and better instructions in the Enemies Affairs amongst whom he liv'd as he declares in his Fifth Book in which he speaks of his Banishment and his Retirement among the Lacedemonians by whose means he got acquainted with the Mystery of Affairs which he had no possibility of knowing any other way His Lady that he Married bringing him a vast Fortune he made use of it to collect his Memoirs and he disburst considerable Summs to the Lacedemonian Commanders to be instructed in the Truth of those things which his own Party for their own Interest had disguis'd The Passion he had for Study and the Pleasure he took in it made his ill Fortune sit easier upon him by giving him Resolution 'T is not known that he ever attempted his Restoration the Honours that were due to him seem'd odious since he thought it a shame to ask them and having thro' Modesty never been forward before his Exile to make his way up to the Helm he thought himself now utterly incapable of doing it being suspected by the Citizens He retreated to Egina a small Island of Peloponnesus where he began to work upon his History His Exile lasted Twenty Years and he Died before he had finisht it 'T is his great Glory to have said nothing against his Conscience as Dionysius Hallicarnassensis assures us in his own words and that was One of his more special Qualities Cicero gives him almost the same Encomium and 't is the Testimony the Learn'd of all Antiquity have given of him who have extoll'd his Sincerity above his other Vertues He had the Fortune to serve his Country both with his Sword and Pen being engag'd in most of the Expeditions he Describes And having through the Employs the Republick had intrusted him with obtain'd an intire Knowledge of the Affairs of his own Country as well as the Interests of the Lacedemonian Common-wealth for the Particulars of which he was wholly oblig'd to his Exile This gave him opportunity of preparing himself for his Undertaking with a Diligence which scarce had its Precedent And it may be said never Historian took Pen in hand better furnisht with Instructions which he collected out of the different Interests of the Two Nations whose History he undertook It may be farther added that never Author had a greater Passion for Vertue or a greater Aversion to Injustice than Thucydides He Died in Thrace in the Fiftieth Year of his Age before his Work was finisht Xenophon who Compleated it adjoin'd the War of Sicily and the other Wars of Greece to enlarge his History This is all we have been able to gather concerning the Person of Thucydides for his Historian Marcellinus has rather given us the History of his Mind than of his Life We are still more in the dark as to the Particulars of Livy's Life than that of Thucydides For whether he had a greater Unconcernedness for Publick Business and his own Promotion or had more of the Philosopher than Thucydides whether he was of a more studious Constitution and was destin'd to live retir'd in Silence and Obscurity certain it is we know very little of his Origin his Employments his Adventures or the condition of his Fortune in general Only thus much that he was of Padua contrary to Sigonius's Opinion who would have him Born in a Village near that Town call'd Apona producing for this the pretended Testimony of Martial in one of his Epigrams 'T is plain too he was of an honourable Family since it had the Honour of sending out Consuls of the Roman Common-wealth That he liv'd under the Empire of Augustus that he Dedicated some Dialogues to him upon the Questions debated in those Times relating to Philosophy whereby he got into that Emperors acquaintance and good opinion that he after wrote a Treatise of
Eloquence to his Son which Quintilian made great account of that he began his History at Rome for the convenience of such Memorials as were necessary which were Recorded in the Annals in the Capitol and for the better distinguishing Truth from fabulous Traditions wherewith the Originals of the City of Rome abounded that he retired some time after to Naples to avoid disturbance in his Study that he recited to Augustus and Mecenas some parts of his History wherewith they were sensibly affected that Augustus upon the esteem he conceived of him made choice of him for a Tutor to form the Mind of his young Son Claudius who afterwards was Emperour Pliny Junior says the reputation of this great Man began already to make such a noise in the World that a Stranger came to Rome from the farthest part of Spain purposely to see Livy whose Renown had spread it self far and near in his own Country After the death of Augustus he return'd to Padua where the Citizens received him with extraordinary honours He dy'd in the fourth Year of the Reign of Tiberius His abode at Rome and the Favour of Augustus gave him opportunity of furnishing himself with Knowledge necessary to his Design The Zeal for his Undertaking which was great and extraordinary so fixt him to his Closet and gave him so little disquiet for the Concernments of his Fortune that his Life thereby became a little obscure being he was Oblig'd to sequester himself from a more publick Conversation and live private that he might give himself wholly up to that grand Work he had in hand He must needs have had a Soul prodigiously great to form the project of so vast and laborious an Enterprize For in short what ever Genius a man has 't is only a greatness of Spirit can produce those exalted and generous Sentiments that make the beauty and excellency of a noble Work Livy also was One of the Worthiest Men of all Antiquity We need only read him to think well of him his manner of Writing ever giving us a great Idea of his Probity You would conclude from his air of Speaking that he knew not what vanity was He has not only never spoken of himself nor any thing that belongs to him in his History but likewise we had been ignorant in what times he Wrote had it not been for a word that by chance escap'd him concerning the Temple of Janus which was now shut says he by Augustus having been so but once before since the Reign of Numa He began his History in a strain of Modesty which seems so Admirable to me that I cannot believe a discreeter Author ever appeared in the World See what is the Scope of that History which has been the most absolute Master-piece of Antiquity and the Admiration of all Ages I am uncertain whether the History I write of the Actions of the Roman People since the Foundation of Rome will be a Work worth any consideration and tho' I were perswaded of it I durst not say it for it is a matter c. The rest of that Exordium which I offer not to Copy since 't is in the hands of all Men is answerable to the beginning and is sufficient to shew the Spirit of the Author Never Man promis'd so little in Beginning a Work that promis'd so much He comes not without trembling to the opening his Design Diffident of his own strength in the sustaining so great an Enterprize But 't is only in order to give us more that he suffers us to hope so little he is not timorous but because he is wise and ordinarily a Man is no farther Modest than he is Judicious And this Character of Modesty is the finest amongst all the Qualities of an Author that is Meditating some great thing nothing creates a greater notion of his Judgment than his Distrust It is a proof of his Capacity that he is sensible of the weightiness of his Subject and 't is the greatest Testimony can be given of the Honesty of an Historian For what a Fund of Discretion and good manners must he needs have that can stifle all Pride so natural to Mankind and do himself Justice without Flattery See wherein Livy is worthy of Admiration as soon as he opens his Lips But after he has given us so mean an Opinion of himself by the small Regard he makes of his own Performances he lets us into a multitude of Lights he discovers a profoundness of Mind an extent of Genius a fruitfullness of Imagination in fine a Thousand Beauties and infinite Treasures which we attend not to when we only reckon upon what he promis'd us For his Sincerity it Underwent the severest Trial that possibly could be without being Corrupted The Reputation he was in with Augustus and that Favour to which he had advanc'd him were not Motives sufficient to hinder his speaking Honourably not only of Pompey but also Cassius and Brutus the greatest Enemies of that Emperour honouring the Memory of the Conquer'd in the Face as one may say of the Conqueror and Recommending to the World as Honest Men the Murtherers of Caesar in the Presence of Augustus because they were Lovers of their own Country 'T is this which Cremutius Cordus thought impossible to be sufficiently Praised in Titus Livy as we are assur'd by Tacitus Such was Livy for his Moral Accomplishments and what respects his Person and it seems that something had been wanting to the glory or rather the good fortune of a People that was Master of the World had they fail'd of so great a Man for their Historian 'T is that which has doubtless occasion'd that Famous Inscription found at Padua in the Year One Thousand Four Hundred and Thirteen in the Church of St. Justina Ossa Titi Livii Patavini omnium mortalium judicio digni cujus prope invicto calamo invicti populi Romani res gestae conscriberentur Thus then we see Two truly Vertuous Historians But to conclude this Head the Vertue of Thucydides seems more Admirable than that of Livy The former has afforded a kind Treatment even to his Enemies who could not make him abate the least of his Integrity and the Vertue of the later soar'd not quite so high since it went no farther than causing him to speak well of the Enemies of Augustus his Protector This is what may be Collected of the Persons and Morals of both Historians Let us now examine their Intellectual Vertues which we cannot know better than by a Comparison of their Characters CHAP. III. The Comparison of their Characters AS the Lines of a Face are expos'd to view so 't is no hard matter to discover them but the lineaments of a Mind from whence proceed the differences of a Style and Character are so Obscure and Imperceptible that without a very singular insight nothing of them can be known Take however what Ancient Authors have left us of Thucydides who were best able to know his Character
very Advantagious in those two Characters The fierceness of the first however softned it seems by the Religion of the second is set off the more by that kind of contrast which is pleasanter in History than in painting Those petty Battles under the first Kings and kinds of Apprenticeships the Roman People serv'd in War against their Neighbours are heightned by the Expression of the Historian who can when he pleases animate little things with an Air of Grandeur The Engagement of the Horatii and Curiatii for the Decision of the Fate of Rome and Alba is an Adventure that Beautifies all that part for 't is admirably related The expulsion of Kings which is the greatest Event in the two first Ages of Rome is render'd more remarkable by Lucretia's Exploit who Stabb'd her self before her Husbands face for having been dishonour'd by young Tarquin and the making that Circumstance the most material in that Revolution recommends the Relation more effectually to the Reader interessing his Affection by so surprizing an Adventure All the Consequences of that Revolution become more considerable by a Foundation so Solid and of so great a Lustre Scaevola's attempt is Painted in the Second Book with all the Colours so great Heroick and extraordinary a Design is capable of The love of his Country to which that Design ow'd its Conception the contempt of Life upon which it was form'd the Proposition that Gallant Gentleman offer'd the Senate in ambiguous Terms that so he might Merit their Approbation without incurring Disgrace that undauntedness of Action and Resolution of Soul and Courage in revenging on himself the miscarriage of his Blow all is of that Spirit and Elevation as is hardly to be parallel'd And 't is impossible a description of a like Enterprize should be supported with more astonishing Circumstances with more disdainful Language or greater Sentiments Porsenna King of Clusium who was besieging Rome amaz'd at so prodigious an instance of Valour demanded Peace of the Romans and that Peace was the product of so desperate an Undertaking But finally that Probity he attributes to a People grown Fierce and Untractable by the constant practise of Arms that justice and clemency they exercis'd in the very pride and heighth of their Victories that love of glory he ascribes to them that noble Pride from whence he draws their principal Character that greatness of Soul loftiness of Thoughts the Dignity of the Roman Name inspir'd them with the Ingenuity of the Senate in its Suffrage instanc'd in their taking Generals from the Plough That Spirit of Wariness Frugality Innocence and Equity so much practis'd and had in Honour in the raw and unpolisht Beginnings of the Common-wealth The publick Spiritedness of Brutus who Sacrificed his Childen to the Safety of his Country The Poverty of Curius who after he had inrich'd the Republick with the Spoils of the Enemy had not wherewith to Bury him Moreover those grand Maxims engrav'd in all Hearts truly Roman never to brook Disgrace The Resolve of the Senate after the Defeat by Hannibal at Cannae never to hearken to a Proposal of Peace those Idea's of Equity intimately impress'd on their Minds that great Sense of Honour Fidelity love of their Country and Liberty Their incomparable Knowledge in the Art of War the Severity of preserving the Laws of War in their utmost Extent that invincible Patience in Dangers and Hardships and all those other Vertues wherewith the Author has stor'd his History in innumerable Examples are the most usual Strokes he gives for the compleating of their Character This was the Spirit that reign'd in the Common-wealth in those troublesome Times when the Power of the first Consuls was balanc'd by the Institution of Tribunes to bear up the people against the Encroachments of the Nobles After the Second Carthaginian War and the Defeat of Hannibal the taking of Numantia the Conquests of Sicily and all Greece we may observe other sort of Manners and a quite different Spirit introduc'd in the Republick through that abundant Prosperity their Arms brought in Politeness and love of Gentile Arts a delicacy of Palate and the Study of Learning began to be establisht in Rome and to give quite another Countenance Mode and Lustre to the Government which the Historian has admirably laid open in all its Circumstances The Second Part also that remains of his History or rather the Two last Decades are incomparably better than the First For as to the Second which contains the Succession of Wars against the Samnites against the People of Etruria and Lucania against the Gauls against King Pyrrhus against the Tarentines the first Punick War made by Attilius Regulus and that against the rest of the People of Italy we can say nothing of since all that Decade is intirely lost Finally Scipio and Laelius who were the perfectest Models of that Politeness which was through the Study of Learning set up at Rome and who were themselves the Worthiest Gentlemen of the Republick compleated the Perfection of that State already so far advanc'd causing the love of Eloquence and Poetry and all Arts and Sciences to flourish in it and 't was by their Example and the Converse and Familiarity with the Greeks which the Romans had just Conquer'd that they Civiliz'd themselves utterly banishing out of their Republick that rude surly and unmannerly Carriage their constant dealing in Arms had introduc'd 'T was then this Victorious People began to Plume it self upon the Notion their Prosperity and Success had inspir'd them with that they were born to be Lords and Governours of the rest of the World And from thence it was that the love of Liberty and the thirst of Glory so much possest them This is the Image Livy gives us of them after the Second Punick War and during the Third these are the principal Ingredients of their Character For Plenty had not as yet debauch'd the Minds of a People Vertuous upon so good Principles as the Romans were There runs through the whole Character of Scipio who was at the Head of Affairs a Spirit of Religion which shews that Vertue alone was in greater Reputation at Rome than ever one need only see the Air the Historian makes him speak in in his African Voyage the Discourse he makes in the Twenty-ninth Book in his Departure from Sicily abounds with all the Sense of Piety an honest Man is capable of Cato gives his Voice in the Senate against the Luxury and Dress of Women in the Thirty-fourth Book with the same rigour he would have done in Plato's imaginary Republick Every thing savours of Vertue both in the People and in the Senate And nothing better manifests the Spirit wherewith the Senate govern'd the Republick at that time than the Verdict it pass'd upon the two Ambassadors Marcius and Attilius Commission'd to the King of Persia who gave some uneasy Suspicions to the Romans as being a Man of Courage and Understanding They said in accounting for their Negotiation
to make an Assault upon the Romans ever at Rome it self There is nothing in other Histories comparable to the Portraicture this Author makes of the March of this General 'T is all of a Force and Expression above the common level 'T is the noblest Scene of the whole History and the Consequences perfectly answer the Beginning where the Historian after having Pictur'd Hannibal and Represented him more Terrible through his Vertues than his Vices as taken up as he is with that mighty Object he falls upon his Matter that he may express the Particulars and loose nothing at all of it every step he makes him take in despight of Danger as he passes the Alps is terrible All the Circumstances are dismal and ghastly and the Picture of Danger is imprinted almost in every Word and every Syllable Thence he soars in the Expansion that his Subject gives him which is so spacious so copious as to give him Scope for the following Books and all the Third Decade For Hannibal is the Leading Subject of it all The most notorious Adventures of that War are the Battle fought upon the Banks of the Trasymenian Lake in Tuscany wherein there were above Fifty Thousand Romans kill'd upon the spot and the rest of the Army taken or routed The Battle of Cannae far more Bloody than the former in which were above Forty-five Thousand slain Nothing in Nature is describ'd in so moving a Strain the Terrour and Confusion Hannibal casts in the Face of Rome by those bloody Victories are express'd in such a way as never any other History could reach There are such Draughts and such Colours as were unknown to all Historians besides The Consequences of those Two Battles were still more Terrible a general consternation run through the Heart of Italy the Romans were Deserted by all their Allies the People was Allarm'd and the whole Body of that great Republick till that time Victorious was in a violent Commotion except the Nobility and Chief Men whom Scipio caus'd to Swear with a Dagger at their Throat that neither any of them nor the remaining Officers should abandon the Republick in that present Conjuncture and there was that Fierceness at Rome after that last Defeat that it was not lawful to make mention of a Peace with Hannibal Their Minds were shaken but not dejected and 't was the Resolution of the Great Men which inspirited the People and re-establisht Affairs The Wars of Sicily against Hieron and his Sons that of Numidia against Syphax were the Consequents of the Second Punick-War But in the Twenty-sixth Book the Historian describes the new impressions of Fear Hannibal caused in Rome when he pitch'd his Camp before the City and advanc'd as far as the Porta Collina near the Temple of Hercules whence he took a Turn upon the Walls to take the Model of it But the Conqueror of Rome Retreated on his own accord and he whom the Vertue of his Enemies could not Vanquish was subdued by his own Vices and the Pleasures of Capua where he was for some time Posted and he was heard to say in his Retreat that one while he only wanted an Inclination and other time good Fortune to make him Master of Rome The Idea the Historian gives us in that Place of a Veteran General hardened to the Fatigues of War and coming to soften himself in Italy in the Embraces as one may say of Pleasure is very agreeable and of an extraordinary Beauty The Affairs of Sicily having oblig'd Marcellus to Besiege Syracuse Archimedes was there killed by Two blundering Souldiers who took the Diagram of a Geometrical Demonstration he was drawing upon the Sand to be Conjuring which is a singular and surprizing Incident in that place But after all nothing is Comparable to the Picture the Author gives us of young Scipio in the End of the Twenty-sixth Book where he Represents him Commission'd General of the Roman Army into Spain to give a Diversion to the Progress of Hannibal in Italy That Victorious Youth at Twenty Four Years of Age was of a ripe and consummate Prudence And though he perform'd Exploits of Arms that astonisht his Enemies tho' in One Day he took New Carthage in which the Carthaginians had a numerous Garrison He yet obtain'd greater Victories by his Vertue than his Valour For when he was presented with Mandonius's Lady a Prince of Spain and Two of his Nieces exceedingly Beautiful he sent them back with these Words That though for the sake of his own Integrity and the publick Discipline of Rome it lay upon him to secure from Violence whatever was Sacred yet their own Consideration was still a greater Engagement to do them Justice since in their Misfortunes they were not forgetful of themselves nor of their Vertue And having shew'd the same Respect to another Spanish Prince whose Princess was presented to him of a more accomplisht Beauty than the other he sent her back to her Husband with a great summ of Mony offer'd for her Ransome That Prince charm'd and amaz'd with so great Bounty Proclaim'd in his Country There was arriv'd in Spain a Young Roman Qualify'd like the Gods that carried on his Conquests as well by his Vertues as his Arms. Nothing can be finer and the image the Historian gives us of the Young Victor produces an admirable Effect through the Opposition he makes of his Vertue against Hannibal's Vices 'T is only by his good Nature and Clemency that Scipio Triumphs over the Carthaginians whereas Hannibal Triumphs over the Romans by Savageness and Violence The one is Plundering Provinces and Battering Towns whilst the other is winning the Hearts of the People and Captivating their Souls by his Beneficence and Goodness The last Books of this Decade contain the mighty Progress of Scipio's Arms in Africa Hannibal is recall'd to the Succour of Carthage where he was Defeated Carthage taken and Scipio Triumphantly return'd from Africa to Rome Thus the End of this Decade by its Opposition to the Beginning where Hannibal drives on his Victories uncontroul'd is one of the finest Places of the History especially by the new Road the Young Roman takes to Glory contributing more to the Conquests of the Republick by setting in the Minds of the People the Reputation of the Roman Vertue than by giving Battle For that Reputation becoming the Admiration of the Conquer'd Nations was more Victorious than their Arms. After the Defeat of Carthage the Glory of the Roman Name soar'd to a greater Heighth The Victorious People whose Renown was spread far and near began to be lookt upon as the Deliverer of other Nations Thus Gloriously it is Represented by Livy in the Fourth Decade The Athenians Oppress'd by Philip the last of the Name King of Macedon implor'd the Assistance of the Senate Publius Sulpitius was sent thither who having Subdued all Greece Proclaim'd Peace to all the People by his Lievtenant Quintius and restor'd them their Liberty and in a Publick Assembly for the