Pagina-afbeeldingen
PDF
ePub

uncle Jofeph, with private orders to put her to death, if any fuch violence was offered to himself. This Jofeph was much delighted with Marianine's converfation, and endeavoured with all his art and rhetoric, to fet out the excefs of Herod's paffion for her; but when he still found her cold and incredulous, he inconfiderately told her, as a certain inftance of her lord's affection, the private orders he had left behind him, which plainly fhewed, according to Jofeph's interpretation, that he could neither live nor die without her. This barbarous inftance of a wild unreafonable paffion quite put out, for a time, thofe little remains of affection fhe ftill had for her lord her thoughts were fo wholly taken up with the cruelty of his orders, that she could not confider the kindness that produced them, and therefore reprefented him in her imagination, rather under the frightful idea of a murderer than a lover. Herod was at length acquitted and difmiffed by Mark Antony, when his foul was all in flames for his Mariamne; but before their meeting, he was not a little alarmed at the report he had heard of his uncle's converfation and familiarity with her in his abfence. This therefore was the firft difcourfe he entertained her with, in which fhe found it no eafy matter to quiet his fufpicions. But at laft he appeared fo well fatisfied of her innocence, that from reproaches and wranglings he fell to tears and embraces. Both of them wept very tenderly at their reconciliation, and Herod poured out his whole foul to her in the warmest proteftations of love and conftancy; when amidst all his fighs and languifhings the asked him, whether the pri vate orders he left with his uncle Jofeph were an inftance of fuch an inflamed affection. The jealous king was immediately roused at fo unexpected a question, and concluded his uncle muft have been too familiar with her, before he would have difcovered fuch a fecret. In fhort, he put his uncle to death, and very difficultly prevailed upon himself to fpare Mariamne.

After this he was forced on a fecond journey into Egypt, when he committed his lady to the care of Sohemus, with the fame private orders he had before given his uncle, if any mifchief befell him. In the mean while Mariamne fo won upon Sohemus by her prefents

and obliging converfation, that she drew all the fecret from him, with which Herod had intrusted him; fo that after his return, when he flew to her with all the tranfports of joy and love, the received him coldly with fighs and tears, and all the marks of indifference and averfion. This reception fo ftirred up his indignation, that he had certainly flain her with his own hands, had not he feared he himself should have become the greater fufferer by it. It was not long after this, when he had another violent return of love upon him; Mariamne was therefore fent for to him, whom he endeavoured to foften and reconcile with all poffible conjugal careffes and endearments; but the declined his embraces, and anfwered all his fondness with bitter invectives for the death of her father and her brother. This behaviour fo incenfed Herod, that he very hardly refrained from ftriking her; when in the heat of their quarrel there came in a witness, fuborned by fome of Marianne's enemies, who accufed her to the king of a defign to poifon him. Herod was now prepared to hear any thing in her prejudice, and immediately ordered her fervant to be ftretched upon the rack; who in the extremity of his tortures confeft, that his miftrefs's averfion to the king arofe from fomething Sohemus had told her; but as for any defign of poifoning, he utterly difowned the leaft knowledge of it. This confeffion quickly proved fatal to Sohemus, who now lay under the fame fufpicions and fentence that Jofeph had before him on the like occafion. Nor would Herod reft here; but accused her with great vehemence of a defign upon his life, and by his authority with the judges had her publicly condemned and executed. Herod foon after her death grew melancholy and dejected, retiring from the public adminiftration of affairs into a folitary foreft, and there abandoning himself to all the black confiderations, which naturally arife from a paffion made up of love, remorse, pity, and defpair. He ufed to rave for his Mariamne, and to call upon her in his diftracted fits; and in all probability would foon have followed her, had not his thoughts been feasonably called off from fo fad an object by public ftorms, which at that time very nearly threatened him.

L.

N° 172.

Monday, September 17.

Non folùm fcientia, quæ eft remota à juftitia, calliditas potiùs quam fapientia eft appellanda; verum etiam animus paratus ad periculum, fi fuâ cupiditate, non utilitate communi, impellitur, audaciæ potiùs nomen habeat, quàm fortitudinisPLATO apud TULL. As knowledge, without juftice, ought to be called cunning, rather than wisdom; fo a mind prepared to meet danger, if excited by its own eagerness, and not the public good, deferves the name of audacity, rather than of courage.

THERE' can be no greater injury to human fociety

than that good talents among men fhould be held honourable to those who are endowed with them without any regard how they are applied. The gifts of nature and accomplishments of art are valuable but as they are exerted in the interefts of virtue, or governed by the rules of honour. We ought to abstract our minds from the obfervation of any excellence in those we converfe with, until we have taken fome notice, or received fome good information of the difpofition of their minds; otherwife the beauty of their perfons, or the charms of their wit, may make us fond of thofe whom our reafon and judgment will tell us we ought to abhor.

When we fuffer ourfelves to be thus carried away by mere beauty, or mere wit, Omniainante, with all her vice, will bear away as much of our good-will as the moft innocent virgin or difcreeteft matron; and there cannot be a more abject flavery in this world than to dote upon what we think we ought to condemn: yet this must be our condition in all the parts of life, if we fuffer ourselves to approve any thing but what tends to the promotion of what is good and honourable. If we would take true pains with ourselves to confider all things by the light of reafon and justice, though a man were in the

height of youth and amorous inclinations, he would look upon a coquette with the fame contempt or indifference as he would upon a coxcomb: the wanton carriage in a woman would disappoint her of the admiration which fhe aims at; and the vain drefs or difcourfe of a man would deftroy the comeliness of his fhape, or goodness of his understanding. I fay the goodness of his underftanding, for it is no lefs common to fee men of fense commence coxcombs, than beautiful women become immodeft. When this happens in either, the favour we are naturally inclined to give to the good qualities they have from nature should abate in proportion. But however juft it is to measure the value of men by the application of their talents, and not by the eminence of those qualities abftracted from their ufe; I fay, however just fuch a way of judging is, in all ages as well as this, the contrary has prevailed upon the generality of mankind. How many lewd devices have been preferved from one age to another, which had perifhed as foon as they were made, if painters and sculptors had been esteemed as much for the purpose as the execution of their defigns? Modeft and well-governed imaginations have by this means loft the reprefentations of ten thousand charming portraitures, filled with images of innate truth, generous zeal, courageous faith, and tender humanity; instead of which, fatyrs, furies, and monsters are recommended by thofe arts to a fhameful eternity.

The unjuft application of laudable talents, is tolerated in the general opinion of men, not only in fuch cafes as are here mentioned, but also in matters which concern ordinary life. If a lawyer were to be esteemed only as he ufes his parts in contending for juftice, and were immediately despicable when he appeared in a caufe which he could not but know was an unjust one, how honourable would his character be? and how honourable is it in fuch among us, who follow the profeffion no otherwife, than as labouring to protect the injured, to fubdue the oppreffor, to imprifon the careless debtor, and do right to the painful artificer? but many of this excellent character are overlooked by the greater number; who affect covering a weak place in a client's title, diverting the course of an inquiry, or finding a skilful

refuge to palliate a falfehood; yet it is ftill called eloquence in the latter, though thus unjustly employed: but refolution in an affaffin is according to reafon quite as laudable, as knowledge and wifdom exercifed in the defence of an ill caufe.

Were the intention ftedfaftly confidered, as the meafure of approbation, all falfehood would foon be out of countenance and an address in impofing upon mankind, would be as contemptible in one ftate of life as another. A couple of courtiers making profeffions of efteem, would make the fame figure after breach of promife, as two knights of the poft convicted of perjury. But converfation is fallen fo low in point of morality, that as they fay in a bargain, Let the buyer look to it;' fo in friendship, he is the man in danger who is moft apt to believe he is the more likely to fuffer in the commerce, who begins with the obligation of being the more ready to enter into it.

But thofe men only are truly great, who place their ambition rather in acquiring to themfelves the confcience of worthy enterprises, than in the profpect of glory which attends them. Thefe exalted fpirits would rather be fecretly the authors of events which are ferviceable to mankind, than, without being fuch, to have the public fame of it. Where therefore an eminent merit is robbed by artifice or detraction, it does but increase by fuch endeavours of its enemies: the impotent pains which are taken to fully it, or diffufe it among a croud to the injury of a fingle perfon, will naturally produce the contrary effect; the fire will blaze out, and burn up all that attempt to finother what they cannot extinguish.

There is but one thing neceffary to keep the poffeffion of true glory, which is, to hear the oppofers of it with patience, and preferve the virtue by which it was acquired. When a man is thoroughly perfuaded that he ought neither to admire, wish for, or purfue any thing but what is exactly his duty, it is not in the power of feafons, perfons or accidents, to diminish his value. He only is a great man who can neglect the applaufe of the multitude, and enjoy himfelf independent of its favour. This is indeed an arduous tafk; but it fhould comfort a glorious fpirit that it is the higheft ftep to which human

« VorigeDoorgaan »