virtue," replied the Ionian, “to think it would make a difference in his conduct. He seems to me altogether inspired by delightful sentiments. The generous impulses of his own nature will lead him aright; he needs only the outward accomplishments, the finish of travel, rhetoric and conversation, with a proper self-respect, (which I will engage to teach him if he chooses,) to be a very complete person. The picture promises divinely if one could but animate it."

Cymon hung his head low upon this burst of Ionic impudence. Then Socrates, who seemed half asleep during the narrative and conversation, rose a little on his couch, and fixed his eyes cheerfully but steadfastly on those of the sophist. "O divine stranger," said he, "that is a difficult art which you profess, of teaching men properly to respect themselves; but to me it seems infinitely desirable that they should learn to do so. If any man would teach me this art, I would call him saviour-if the principle I learned from him would suffer me."

"The function of our venerable entertainer," replied the Ionian, "is to teach the art of love and the discipline of honor. Mine, on the other hand, is to inspire self-respect, which I do by the use of certain maxims and instructions, by no means difficult or disagreeable. See," said he, holding out his right hand, "here are the evidences: This diamond I had of a wealthy Agrigentine, for teaching his daughter to hold up her head. The girl learned so easily, she got a confidence in herself at the first lesson, and a month after was the impudentest chit in the city-an example of the effect of my teaching in its excess; her father, who had been grieved by her excessive modesty, was in a transport with the change; I left her, followed by a train of suitors and toadys, whom she disciplined in the prettiest fashion. This emerald I had of a young Italian prince, who stammered through excess of diffidence. I cured him in a twink ling-so that he rose in council, and made a speech for war, without the least knowledge of the policy. His father gave me this ring in full court. This ruby I had of a woman of quality in Cyprus, much given to blushing. By the use of my doctrine she quickly recovered herself, and from the extreme of modesty, rushed into a surprising excess of confidence. She is now a very famous and accomplished courtesan, and amasses

great riches. I would have you to understand, my friends, that I do not carry my instructions to such extremes, unless at the desire of the pupil; I take them with me as far as seems proper for the case. If Master Cymon, for example, should be enamored of some beauty of good family, whom his modesty hinders him from pleasing, I might easily inspire him with a harmless confidence, by the proper maxims regarding women, and the arts of approaching them."

"But that," said Lysis, "would be an invasion on the province of our entertainer."

"Our accomplished friend," said Diotima, with a smile, "would by no means trespass on my province. I am a mere diviner; I profess only to predict the success of enterprises;-he, on the contrary, professes to teach the arts by which they may be brought to a successful issue.”

The Ionian bowed, and seemed well pleased with Diotama's answer. Then Socrates, abating nothing of his steadfast look, spoke again: "Beseech you, sir, is this all your teaching; or is there any thing behind any science, or any universal principles from which you draw your instruction;-or are these sealed up in your own breast?"

"To the wise and mature," replied the other, "I willingly open my principles; and you are one of the wise, if I may judge by the shape of your questions."

The sophist spoke with less confidence, and turned his eyes carefully away from those of the questioner, who seemed no way moved. Then Lysis looked at Diotima, as if expecting her to continue her narrative, which she did as follows:

"Manes' unpopularity increased to that height, he was finally deposed from his office of supreme magistrate, under a false accusation of showing favor to certain Greek merchants in a decision on a case of contraband trade. These merchants purchased a cargo of corn at a village below Heliopolis, which was sold them contrary to the law which gave the Pharao a monopoly of all the corn. With singular effrontery the sellers charged the buyers with the whole weight of the fault, but Manes, notwithstanding a majority of the judges were against him, set the Greek merchants at liberty, and fined their accusers for contempt in bringing the accusation, beside the inflicting the usual penalty for violation of the monopoly.

"At the time of Manes' degradation from the judgeship Pythagoras was with him, and by way of consolation, proposed a journey through Syria, for he had heard much of the Syrians whom Moyses led out of Egypt, and wished to know their customs and opinions. Finding ourselves deserted in the city, we easily consented to the plan, and putting on Greek dresses we descended the Nile and joined a caravan which was just going eastward from Pelusium.

"Our party consisted of about one hundred of both sexes, slaves and free. We carried a great quantity of goods for the trade of interior Asia. The baggage camels were loaded with the cloths and fine manufactures of Egypt; knives, swords, chariots, harness, utensils of brass, and finely wrought furniture; together with a great store of grain for sustenance and traffic. On the second day of our journey, Dione fell sick, and while we waited for her recovery in a Syrian village, on the third day she died. And now permit me to dwell for an instant upon the fate and the character of Dione, that I may render some justice to her worth. On the second day of her fever, which was the third of our journey, we made a couch for her in the court of the caravanserai, an inclosure of four walls, in which was a spring of cold water, which we named the water of grief; but Dione named it the fountain of immortality. To her it had a sweet taste, but to us it seemed brackish and bitter. Pythagoras, who had a perfect knowledge of medicine, exerted all his art to save the life of our friend, but the mark of death soon appeared in her face. At the hour of sunrise of the third morning she rose suddenly on her couch, and calling me to her in a clear sweet voice, threw her arms about my neck, and in that posture expired with a smile upon her lips. Let us with a decent care refrain from describing, or even fancying, the agonies of the final hour, or the grief of those witnesses whose life was, for the time, but a living death.

"Among those who have connected themselves among my friends, and whom I too have so accounted, this good girl must have the first praise; for that in true temper and fullness of spirit I have not known her equal among women. In her I seemed to see a proof, that though virtue be a teachable thing in its forms and its ideas, the capacity for it is a divine gift, and not impartable. Her

knowledge of the true and the sincere flowed from her as the water from a deep spring, calmly and constantly. She knew no science, and needed none;she knew no experience of misfortunes, and needed none-she esteemed herself so lightly, her thoughts dwelt upon others in no spirit of contrast; but in admiration, or in love, or in pity. Her motions were composed, and dignified in their simplicity. Her face rayed out no vanity, and shone with no complacency-nor did the absence of a smile impair its sweetness; the misery of another infused no selfish horror into its expression. Her love appeared in her actions only, and her anger in silence and averted looks. Only one thing moved her to jealousy, that another should have behaved more honorably than herself. She was the measure of conscience, and the rule of equity, and if she looked for any pleasure, it was in the contemplation of its being shared by another. To me--burning as I was with vain pride and the false passion of knowledge, and happy only in the display of conversational graces the clear character of Dione stood in contrast. Her habitual silence and stately composure, bred in me a feeling akin to jealousy, nor could I always endure to hear her praises; though I affected often to advise her mild spirit, and spoke of her promising youth with an air of elderly satisfaction: now she is with the gods, and mingled in their spheres."

"You describe the character of your friend," interrupted the Ionian, "in a manner perfectly elegant. One would almost be willing to lose a friend for the pleasure of paying them such a tribute."

That would be in accordance with the wish of a certain wise Athenian whom I knew," said Socrates, "who preferred to be absent from his friends that he might enjoy the pleasure of writing to them."

"It is indeed a luxury," said Lysis, "to be compared with no other-the luxury of discovering the most generous and friendly desires, without the necessity of putting them to the test; and therefore, without the danger of finding them warped by the cross purposes of one's own selfishness."

"Yes," exclaimed the Ionian, with a peculiar animation, "it is this petty intercourse of necessity and familiarity, which debases and fritters down the no

ble sentiments of friendship. I would have men live to each other as the gods do in heaven (if, indeed, there be such a place, which I doubt), each on a throne of his own, connected by no belittling intimacies, but observing each other at a respectful distance, in a manner perfectly universal and magnanimous. Ah!—that were a divine friendship!"

"I am loth," said Socrates, "to jar the nerves of so delicate a thought; but I have been assured by some very pious persons, that the friendships of the deities are even closer than our own; so close, it is said, are their intimacies, one of them cannot do the least trifling thing, without the presence of all the others; and it is further related that nothing more perfectly symbolizes their friendship, than the union of two lovers, or of a mother and her infant; when they eat off the same dish, drink from the same cup, move together, do the same acts, think the same thoughts, and forever, like Venus' doves, are together and inseparable."

"So was it, O excellent man," said Diotima, "with Dione and myself, the better with the worse; for we were one and inseparable; and I am persuaded of the goodness of the spirit which united

us."

"An old story you tell us, my friend," said the Ionian, addressing Socrates, "of this union, or friendship of the gods; but for me, I observe first, that as the office of a deity must be compared with the function of a king, these divine friendships should be perfect impossibilities; as much so as are intimacies between magnanimous mortals here. Diotima, as befits her amiable nature, and her office as a love-prophet, would fain see a divinity in these kinds of connections— but observe the injury the soul suffers by submission to the whims of another. That a lover is a slave, no wisdom is needed to see; he is subjected to all manner of indignities. That it is not agreea ble to that freedom of the soul which I profess to teach and to cultivate, need not be urged. Men should not be subject to each other, and if any passion subjects us to the caprice of another, we should endeavor to subdue it. Hence the fearless confidence of those who subdue that excessive modesty which depresses the soul. Hence the superior happiness of those whom nature has endowed with the gift of indifference; they are not harassed and perplexed, pulled

this way and that; made fools of by love, fear, desire, ambition, religion, patriotism, or the dread of poverty. Let us then subdue within ourselves this troop of tyrannical impulses, and learn to regard men and things, nay, life itself, with a high indifference. In a word, let us respect ourselves sufficiently."

"I was not disappointed, then," said Socrates, "in my expectation of a discourse of wisdom from you, accomplished sir. You might be Metrodorus of Ephesus, who is indeed a golden rule to his pupils."

"I am that same Metrodorus,' said the lonian smiling; "my opinions are very current, I may say prevalent, in Ionia, especially among the better classes, whose station in life allows them to exercise a proper degree of self-respect."

"How is this?" exclaimed Lysis; "did you say that one must be rich and idle to profit by your doctrines?"

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Independent, one must be, certainly," said the Ionian, "to profit by a doctrine such as mine; for you will easily perceive, that no slave or dependent person can exercise true liberty. As for idleness, if you please to slur an elegant leisure with that name, I will make no objection; names are of slight moment."

"How is it, then, that you teach your doctrines to young persons dependent on their parents?"

"My instructions," said the Ionian, "tend to liberate the young from any unnecessary dread of their fathers; a condition very injurious to the fine enthusiasm of youth."

"And how for the citizens of a state," added Socrates; "do you liberate them, too, from any unnecessary bondage to the laws and customs?"

"I profess to do as much," continued the Ionian," and who does not see the absurdity of excessive reverence for a set of temporary regulations: while we find it safe and convenient, it is excellent to obey the laws; but surely you and I are as able to enact or abrogate laws as the Athenian assembly. We might even do better than they! I see nothing sacred in these regulations! they are for a popular purpose, and may be set aside at pleasure. Why should I, then, harass myself with a gratuitous reverence for laws which work me no benefit? Indeed, Socrates, I should be happy to hold a disputation with you on this or any other point of morals, when the occasion is convenient: I see you do not agree with

me.

But now let us listen to our venerable entertainer."

Saying so, Metrodorus threw himself into an easy attitude, reclined nearly prostrate, with his eyes fixed on the silver cup which he held empty in his right hand; the fingers of the left, which his position required him to stretch out upon the table, being employed in rolling little bread balls, or keeping slow time to a sort of peacock's music, or hero-music, audible only to himself. Seeing her guests attentive, Diotima resumed her narrative:

"On the third day after her death," continued she," we caused the body of our friend to be buried, the nature of her malady forbidding its preservation. Then we mounted fleet horses, and rode swiftly over the desert until night; hoping to rejoin our company at Sidon. But the gods gave us another destiny. In the night, in our tents, midway between Sidon and Egypt, we were set upon by robbers, and my husband slain defending me, by a spear thrust at him from behind. The robbers bound Pythagoras and myself, and setting us together on a strong courser, galloped fast over the hills to a city of Judah which is named Jerusalem. Here we were carried bound into the market-place, and exposed for sale. While we stood there half dead with grief and the sense of our mutual misfortunes, exposed to the examination of the buyers, who used no ceremony with us, a venerable man came by, who stopped when he saw us, and gazed attentively on my face.

"Are not you,' said he, speaking in Egyptian, the wife of Manes, the Hieropolitan ?

"I answered that I was, and gathering hope from his inquiry, I told him by what misfortunes I had been brought to Jerusalem. When the old man had heard my story, to which he listened with a patient attention, he said that God had now given him an opportunity, which he had long looked for, of requiting Manes for his own redemption out of captivity; for that he himself had been a slave in Egypt and was his freed-man. So saying he pulled a purse of gold from under his girdle and paid down my ransom to the keeper. Happy as I was to have fallen into such hands, the thought of leaving Pythagoras was intolerable to me. I urged the old man to purchase him also; but he remained as if deaf, and giving me time only to embrace my friend, whose

grief at parting was at least equal to my own, I followed my new master to his home with many tears.

"We entered a court, in a narrow street that ran next the wall of the city. From the court, my master led me into an upper chamber, which overlooked the wall and opened into a corridor connected with it by a wooden platform thrown over the space below. The privilege of building this platform between his own house and the wall, belonged to every keeper of the walls in time of peace-an office which my master used for his own advantage, for he converted his house into a receptacle of contraband goods, which his smugglers brought thither in. the middle of the darkest nights; and he, letting down a cord, drew up the packages and bestowed them.

"The name of this old man was Beraliel, which means, shadow of God. For the first seven days he left me to myself, sending a little Jewish girl with food to my chamber twice in each day. I passed the time uneasily, and soon began to be so weary of my solitude, which was unbroken save by the momentary appearance of the child, I could have endured the meanest company in the world and have been grateful for it. With all this I felt more and more sensibly the terrible losses that had fallen upon me in such quick succession. I had hardly time to feel the force of one before it was followed by another."

"Did you ever learn the particulars of Pythagoras' escape, or whether he remained long in slavery," said Cymon.

"I never again saw him," continued Diotima, "nor heard of him, until I came to Athens. I then learned that he fell into the hands of a Sidonian Merchant, who was so charmed with his discourse and character, he gave him his liberty, and furnished him with money and merchandise for his eastern expedition. After several years of travel he went over to Italy and established a school of science.

On the morning of the eighth day Beraliel entered my chamber. He had on a rough sleeved robe, girded at the waist and gathered close at the throat, without collar or ornament. His beard, which was black and wiry, reached down to his girdle, and the whole bush of it moved in a disagreeable manner when he spoke. In one hand he held a scroll with writing materials, and in the other a woman's dress of the fashion of his people. I came forward as he entered, and kneeling

before him, would have kissed his hands but for the dress in one and the scroll in the other, which prevented me; in lieu of either, I took up the hem of his garment, and saluted that, though I remember it smelt of fish. Without letting go the scroll or the linen, (for it seemed impossible for Beraliel to let anything go, of which he once had hold,) he commanded me to rise, and when I did so, kissed my forehead, which brought his beard all over my face like a furze-bush. Then he sat down upon a bench at one side of the room, and bidding me sit by him, which I obsequiously did, he began to open his intentions. I was to live with him, in the capacity of a housekeeper, for as long a time as he himself had been a servant to Manes-which was for the space of a year; after which I should receive a sum of money, the same which Manes gave himself, and be at liberty to go where I pleased. Such were Beraliel's notions of gratitude.

"I had anticipated a worse fate, and could not complain. Resolving to make the best of my destiny, I took the Jewish dress and put it on before him, with which he seemed much gratified, and sending for the little girl, a niece of his, he bade her kiss me and call me aunt, and then added, that I should have the freedom and the care of all his house, except a particular chamber near my own, of which he carried the key at his girdle. Then, unfolding the scroll, he desired me to sign my name to it. This I did, in the Egyptian chararacter. He then read the instrument aloud, translating it word for word, into Egyptian. Its purport was, that I had agreed to serve him for a year, (adding the several particulars of our agreement,) and declaring the obligation he owed my former master, and his desire to requite it exactly. On such a scale did Beraliel measure his justice, which he mistook for gratitude. Everything he did bore the impress of the same conscientiousness. He carried his frauds upon the revenue, as I afterwards learned, just far enough to indemnify himself for the withholding of his salary as warden of the walls. He cheated the smugglers who supplied him as far, and no farther, than they defrauded him. He revenged himself evenly of his enemy, and retaliated all injuries, according to the law of his nation, with a perfect and singular fidelity-in a word, Beraliel was indeed the

shadow, and not the substance, of good; a just man devoid of mercy and of honor. Nevertheless, he was the favorite of his city.

"I lived out my year with this piece of legality, serving him according to the letter. I kept his house in order, and did the required offices without repining. He would have had me adopt his own religion; but I conceived too ill an opinion of the doctrine from his application of it, and resisted his persuasion to the last, suffering him only to instruct me in the articles of his faith, which, indeed, I could not conceal an inclination to learn."

Pray, let us hear some particulars, good Diotima," said Socrates," of this Syrian religion; unless you were about to relate some surprising adventures which befel you in Jerusalem."

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I can tell you in brief, my friends, all that I remember of the faith of the Syrians of Judea. They profess to worship only one God, whose name it is unlawful to utter; if that can be said to have a name which includes all beings, and is the source of all. A name, say they, is given to a thing to distinguish it from some other thing; and to a man to distingmish him from other men; and if there were many gods, each should be distinguished by a name; but if there is only one God, he cannot be named without impiety. His titles signify his Being only; These are, Elohim, the Powers, or the Beings, because he includes all Beings;-I am,' signifying pure being; I am because I am,' meaning that he is uncreated, and does not exist (or stand forth in time and space); but simply Is, and is the Source of Time and of Space and of all things.

"They worship the One Being with prayer and sacrifice, according to a ceremonial appointed by Moyses; which, in some particulars, resembles the Egyptian ceremonial. A body of priests are set apart for this service, as they are in Egypt. They teach that a sacrifice is intended, not to win the favor of God, as we Athenians imagine, but that it is an affair of the sacrificer himself—a testimony of his faith, and a proof of his penitence for wrong committed or meditated. Some of their priests teach a strange doctrine, which they declare may be found in their holy books; that the One Being shall, by and by, become visible, or incarnate, in some person of