not escape the witty Athenians; they described him in a verse, and ridiculously said, Sylla's face is a mulberry, sprinkled with meal. The devastations and carnage which he caused soon after, gave them too much reason to repent their sarcasm. The civil war between Cæsar and Pompey soon followed, and their natural love of liberty made them side with Pompey. Here again they were unfortunate, for Casar conquered. But Cæsar did not treat them like Sylla. With that clemency, which made so amiable a part of his character, he dismissed them, by a fine allusion to their illustrious ancestors, saying, • that he spared the living for the sake of the dead.' Another storm followed soon after this, the wars of Brutus and Cassius with Augustus and Antony. Their partiality for liberty did not here forsake them; they took part in the contest with the two patriot Romans, and erected their statues near their own ancient deliverers, Harmodius and Aristogiton, who had slain Hipparchus. But they were still unhappy, for their enemies triumphed. They made their peace however with Augustus; and, having met afterwards with different treatment under different emperors, sometimes favourable, sometimes harsh, and never more severe than under Vespasian, their oppressions were at length relieved by the virtuous Nerva and Trajan. Mankind, during the interval which be.. gan from Nerva, and which extended to the death of that best of emperors, Marcus Anto ninus, felt a respite from those evils which they had so severely felt before, and which they felt so severely revived under Com modus and his wretched successors. Athens, during the above golden period, enjoyed more than all others the general felicity, for she found in Adrian so gene rous a benefactor, that her citizens could hardly help esteeming him a second foun der. He restored their old privilege s, gave them new; repaired their ancient buildings, and added others of his Marcus Antoninus, although he did not do so much, still continued to she w them his benevolent attention. OWI 1. If from this period we turn our eyes ba ck, we shall find, for centuries before, the at Athens was the place of education, not only for Greeks, but for Romans. Twas hither that Horace was sent by his father; 'twas here that Cicero put his son Marcus under Cratippus, one of the ablest philosophers then belonging to that city. The sects of philosophers which we have already described, were still existing when St. Paul came thither. We cannot enough admire the superior eloquence of that apostle, in his manner of addressing so intelligent an audience. We cannot enough admire the sublimity of his exordium; the propriety of his mentioning an altar which he had found there, and his quotation from Aratus, one of their well-known poets. Acts xvii. 22. Nor was Athens only celebrated for the residence of philosophers, and the institution of youth: men of rank and fortune found pleasure in a retreat which contributed so much to their liberal enjoyment. His The friend and correspondent of Cicero, T. Pomponius, from his long attachment to this city and country, had attained such a perfection in its arts and language, that he acquired to himself the additional name of Atticus. This great man may be said to have lived during times of the worst and cruellest factions. youth was spent under Sylla and Marius; the middle of his life during all the sanguinary scenes that followed; and when he was old he saw the proscriptions of Antony and Octavius. Yet, though Cicero and a multitude more of the best men perished, he had the good fortune to survive every danger. Nor did he seek a safety for himself alone: his virtue so recommended him to the leaders of every side, that he was able to save not himself alone, but the lives and fortunes of many of his friends. When we look to this amiable character, we may well suppose, that it was not merely for amusement that he chose to live at Athens; but rather that, by residing there, he might so far realize philosophy, as to employ it for the conduct of life, and not merely for ostentation. Another person, during a better period (that I mean between Nerva and Marcus Antoninus), was equally celebrated for his affection to this city. By this person I mean Herodes Atticus, who acquired the last name from the same reasons for which it had formerly been given to Pomponius. We have remarked already, that vicissitudes befal both men and cities, and changes too often happen from prosper ous to adverse. Such was the state of Athens, under the successors of Alexan ander, and so on from Sylla down to the time of Augustus. It shared the same hard fate with the Roman empire in general, upon the accession of Commodus. At length, after a certain period, the Barbarians of the North began to pour into the South. Rome was taken by Alaric, and Athens was besieged by the same. Yet here we are informed (at least we learn so from history) that it was miraculously saved by Minerva and Achilles. The goddess, it seems, and the hero, both of them appeared, compelling the invader Harris. to raise the siege. § 209. The Account given by SYNESIUS of ATHENS, and its subsequent History. Synesius, who lived in the fifth century, visited Athens, and gives, in his epistles, an account of bis visit. Its lustre appears at that time to have been greatly diminished. Among other things he informs us, that the celebrated portico or colonnade, the Greek name of which gave name to the sect of Stoics, had, by an oppressive pro-consul, been despoiled of its fine pictures; and that, on this devastation, it had been forsaken by those philosophers. In the thirteenth century, when the Grecian empire was cruelly oppressed by the crusaders, and all things in confusion, Athens was besieged by one Segurus Leo, who was unable to take it; and, after that, by a Marquis of Montserrat, to whom it surrendered. Its fortune after this was various; and it was sometimes under the Venetians, sometimes under the Catalonians, till Mahomet the Great made himself master of Constantinople. This fatal catastrophe (which happened near two thousand years after the time of Pisistratus) brought Athens, and with it all Greece, into the hands of the Turks, under whose despotic yoke it has continued ever since. The city from this time has been occasionally visited, and descriptions of it published by different travellers. Wheeler was there along with Spon, in the time of our Charles the Second, and both of them have published curious and valuable narratives. Others, as well natives of this island as foreigners, have been there since, and some have given (as Mons. Le Roy) specious publications of what we are to suppose they saw. None however have equalled the truth, the accuracy, and the elegance of Mr. Stuart, who, after having resided there between three and four years, has given such plans and elevations of the capital buildings now standing, together with learned comments to elucidate every part, that be seems, as far as was possible for the power of description, to have restored the city to its ancient splendour. He has not only given us the greatest outlines and their measures, but separate measures and drawings of the minuter decorations; so that a British artist may (if he please) follow Phidias, and build in Britain as Phidias did at Athens. Spon, speaking of Attica, says, that the road near Athens was pleasing, and the very peasants polished.' Speaking of the Athenians in general, he says of them "ils ont une politesse d'esprit naturelle, et beaucoup d'adresse dans toutes les affaires, qu'ils entreprennent." Wheeler, who was Spon's fellow-traveller, says as follows, when he and his company approached Athens: "We began now to think ourselves in a more civilized country than we had yet passed; for not a shepherd that we met, but bid us welcome, and wished us a good journey." p. 335. Speaking of the Athenians, he adds, "This must with great truth be said of them, their bad fortune hath not been able to take from them what they have by nature, that is, much subtlety or wit." p. 347. And again. "The Athenians, notwithstanding the long possession that barbarism hath had of this place, seem to be much more polished, in point of manners and conversation, than any other in these parts; being civil, and of respectful behaviour to all, and highly complimental in their discourse." p. 356. Stuart says of the present Athenians, what Spon and Wheeler said of their forefathers;-" he found in them the same address, the same natural acuteness, though severely curbed by their despotic masters." One custom I cannot omit. He tells me, that frequently at their convivial meetings, one of the company takes what they now call a lyre, though it is rather a species of guitar, and after a short prelude on the instrument, as if he were waiting for inspiration, accompanies his instrumental music with his voice, suddenly chanting some extempore verses, which seldom exceed two or three distichs; that he then delivers the lyre to his neighbour, who, after he has done the same, delivers it to another; and that so the lyre circulates, till it has past round the table. Nor can I forget his informing me, that, notwithstanding the various fortunes of Athens, as a city, Attica was still famous for olives, and Mount Hymettus for honey. Human institutions perish, but nature is permanent. Harris. § 210. Anecdote of the Modern GREEKS. I shall quit the Greeks, after I have related a short narrative, a narrative, so far curious, as it helps to prove, that even among the present Greeks, in the day of servitude, the remembrance of their an cient glory is not totally extinct. When the late Mr. Anson (Lord Anson's brother) was upon his travels in the East,he hired a vessel to visit the isle of Tenedos. His pilot, an old Greek, as they were sailing along, said with some satisfaction, "There 'twas our fleet lay." Mr. Anson demanded, "What fleet?" "What fleet!" replied the old man (a little piqued at the question)" why our Grecian fleet at the siege of Troy*." Ibid. § 211. On the different Modes of History. The modes indeed of history appear to be different. There is a mode which we call historical declamation: a mode, may where the author, dwelling little upon facts, indulges himself in various and copious reflections. Whatever good (if any) may be derived from this method, it is not likely to give us much knowledge of facts. Another mode is, that which I call general or rather public history; a mode abundant in facts, where treaties and alliances, battles and sieges, marches and retreats, are accurately detailed; together with dates, descriptions, tables, plans, and all the collateral helps both of chronology and geography. In this, no doubt, there is utility: yet the sameness of the events resembles not a little the sameness of human bodies. One head, two shoulders, two legs, &c. seem equally to characterise an European and an African; a native of old Rome, and a native of modern. A third species of history still behind, is that which gives a sample of sentiments and manners. If the account of these last be faithful, it cannot fail being instructive, since we view through these the interior of human nature. 'Tis by these we perceive what sort of animal man is: so that while not only Europeans are distinguished from Asiatics, but English from French, French from Italians, and (what is still more) every individual from his neighbour; we view at the same time one nature, which is common to them all. Horace informs us that a drama, where the sentiments and manners are well preserved, will please the audience more than a pompous fable where they are wanting. Perhaps what is true in dramatic compo sition, is no less true in historical. Plutarch, among the Greek historians, appears in a peculiar manner to have merited this praise. Nor ought I to omit (as I shall soon refer to thein) some of our best Monkish historians, though prone upon occasion to degenerate into the incredible. As they often lived during the times which they described, 'twas natural they should paint the life and the manners which they saw. Ibid. $212. Concerning natural Beauty; its Idea the same in all times-THESSALIAN TEMPE-Taste of VIRGIL and HoRACE of MILTON, in describing Paradise-exhibited of late years first in Pictures thence transferred to ENGLISH Gardens-not wanting to the enlightened Few of the middle Age-proved in LELAND, PETRARCH, and SANNAZARIUS-Comparison between the younger CYRUS, and PHILIP LE BEL of France. Let us pass for a moment from the elegant works of Art, to the more elegant works of Nature. The two subjects are so nearly allied, that the same taste usually relishes them both. Now there is nothing more certain, than that the face of inanimate nature has been at all times captivating. The vulgar, indeed, look no farther than to scenes of culture, because all their views merely terminate in utility. They only remark, that 'tis fine barley; that 'tis rich clover; as an ox or an ass, if they could speak, would inform us. But the liberal have nobler views; and though they give to culture its due praise, they can be delighted with natural beauties, where culture was never known. *This story was told the author, Mr. Harris, by Mr. Anson himself. 66 Ages ago they have celebrated with enthusiastic rapture, a deep retired vale "with a river rushing through it; a vale having its sides formed by two immense "and opposite mountains, and those sides "diversified by woods, precipices, rocks, "and romantic caverns." Such was the scene produced by the river Peneus, as it ran between the mountains Olympus and Ossa, in that well known vale the Thessalian Tempè. Virgil and Horace, the first for taste among the Romans, appear to have been enamoured with the beauties of this character. Horace prayed for a villa where there was a garden, a rivulet, and above these a little grove: Hortus ubi et tecto vicinus jugis aquæ fons, Sat. VI. 2. Virgil wished to enjoy rivers and woods, and to be hid under immense shade in the cool valleys of mount Hæmus— O! qui me gelidis in vallibus Hæmi Sistat, et ingenti ramorum protegat umbrâ? Georg. II. 486. The great elements of this species of beauty, according to these principles, were water, wood, and uneven ground; to which may be added a fourth, that is to say, lawn. 'Tis the happy mixture of these four that produces every scene of natural beauty, as 'tis a more mysterious mixture of other elements (perhaps as simple, and not more in number) that produces a world or universe. Virgil and Horace having been quoted, we may quote, with equal truth, our great Speaking of the countryman, Milton. flowers of Paradise, he calls them flowers, --which not nice Art In beds and curious knots, but Nature boon Soon after this he subjoins -this was the place, A happy rural seat of various view. He explains this variety, by recounting the lawns, the flocks, the hillocks, the valleys, the grots, the waterfalls, the lakes, &c. &c. And in another book, describing the approach of Raphael, he informs us, that this divine messenger passed The painters in the preceding century seem to have felt the power of these elements, and to have transferred them into their landscapes with such amazing force, that they appear not so much to have fol. lowed as to have emulated nature. Claude de Lorraine, the Poussins, Salvator Rosa, and a few more, may be called superior artists in this exquisite taste. Our gardens in the mean time were tasteless and insipid. Those who made them thought the farther they wandered from nature, the nearer they approached the sublime. Unfortunately, where they travelled, no sublime was to be found; and the farther they went, the farther they left it behind. But perfection, alas! was not the work of a day. Many prejudices were to be removed; many gradual ascents to be made; ascents from bad to good, and from good to better, before the delicious amenities of a Claude or a Poussin could be rivalled in a Stourhead, a Hagley, or a Stow; or the tremendous charms of a Salvator Rosa be equalled in the scenes of a Piercefield, or a Mount Edgecumb. Not however to forget the subject of our inquiry. Though it was not before the present century, that we established a chaster taste; though our neighbours at this instant are but learning it from us; and though to the vulgar every where it is totally incomprehensible (be they vulgar in rank, or vulgar in capacity): yet, even in the darkest periods we have been treating of, periods when taste is often thought to have been lost, we shall still discover an enlightened few, who were by no means insensible to the power of these beauties. How warmly does Leland describe Guy's Cliff; Sannazarius his villa of Mergillina; and Petrarch, his favourite Vaucluse! Take Guy's Cliff from Leland in his own old English, mixt with Latin" It is 66 a place meet for the Muses: there is sy"lence: a praty wood; antra in vivo saxo "(grottos in the living rock;) the river rolling over the stones with a praty His Latin is more elegantnoyse.' "Nemusculum ibidem opacum, fontes li"quidi et gemmei, prata, florida, antra And flow'ring odours, cassia, nard, and balm, "muscosa, rivi levis et per saxa decursus A wilderness of sweets; for nature here --through groves of myrrh, It is no wonder that such a villa should enamour such an owner. So strong was his affection for it, that when, during the subsequent wars in Italy, it was demolished by the imperial troops, this unfortunate event was supposed to have hastened his end. Vaucluse (Vallis Clausa) the favourite retreat of Petrarch, was a romantic scene, not far from Avignon. 66 "It is a valley, having on each hand, as you enter, immense cliffs, but closed up at one of its ends by a semicircular "ridge of them; from which incident it "derives its name. One of the most stu"pendous of these cliffs stands in the front "of the semicircle, and has at its foot an "opening into an immense cavern. With "in the most retired and gloomy part of "this cavern is a large oval bason, the production of nature, filled with pellu"cid and unfathomable water; and from ❝ this reservoir issues a river of respectable "magnitude, dividing, as it runs, the "meadows beneath, and winding through "the precipices that impend from above." This is an imperfect sketch of that spot, where Petrarch spent his time with so much delight, as to say that this alone was life to him, the rest but a state of punishment. In the two preceding narratives I seem to see an anticipation of that taste for natural beauty, which now appears to flourish through Great Britain in such perfection. It is not to be doubted that the owner of Mergillina would have been charmed with Mount Edgecumb: and the owner of Vaucluse have been delighted with Piercefield. When we read in Xenophon, that the younger Cyrus had with his own hand planted trees for beauty, we are not surprised, though pleased with the story, as the age was polished, and Cyrus an accomplished prince. But when we read, that in the beginning of the 14th century, a king of France (Philip le Bel) should make it penal to cut down a tree, qui a este gardè pour sa beautè, which had been preserved for its beauty;' though we praise the law, we cannot help being surprised, that the prince should at such a period have been so far enlightened. Harris. § 213. The Character of the Man of Business often united with, and adorned by, that of the Scholar and Philosopher. Philosophy, taking its name from the love of wisdom, and having for its end the investigation of truth, has an equal regard both to practice and speculation, in as much as truth of every kind is similar and congenial. Hence we find that some of the most illustrious actors upon the great theatre of the world have been engaged at times in philosophical speculation. Pericles, who governed Athens, was the disciple of Anaxagoras; Epaminondas spent his youth in the Pythagorean school; Alexander the Great had Aristotle for his preceptor; and Scipio made Polybius his companion and friend. Why need I mention Cicero, or Cato, or Brutus? The orations, the epistles, and the philosophical works of the first, shew him sufficiently conversant both in action and contemplation. So eager was Cato for knowledge, even when surrounded with business, that he used to read philosophy in the senate-house, while the senate was assembling; and as for the patriot Bru |