66 vestments, those strings of jewels and bracelets of Artax. gold, those buskins so richly embroidered, that Mnemon. you could play the gardener, and employ your royal hands in planting trees!" "Does that sur"prize you?" said Cyrus; "I swear by the god "Mithras, that when my health admits, I never sit "down to table without having made myself sweat "with some fatigue or other, either in military ex"ercise, rural labour, or some other toilsome em ployment, to which I apply with pleasure, and "without sparing myself." Lysander was amazed at this discourse, and pressing him by the hand; "Cyrus," said he, "you are truly happy, and "deserve your high fortune; because you unite it "with virtue." Alcibiades was at no pain to discover the mystery of the levies made by Cyrus, and went into the pro vince of Pharnabasus, with design to proceed to the court of Persia, and to apprise Artaxerxes of the scheme laid against him. Had he arrived there, a discovery of such importance had infallibly procured him the favour of that prince, and the assistance he wanted for the re-establishment of his coun try. But the Lacedæmonian partisans at Athens, that is to say, the thirty tyrants, apprehended the intrigues of so superior a genius as his, and represented to their masters, that they were inevitably ruined if they did not find means to rid themselves of Alcibiades. The Lacedæmonians thereupon wrote ta Pharnabasus, and with an abject meanness not to be excused, and which shewed how much Sparta had degenerated from her ancient manners, made pressing instances to him, to deliver them at any rate from so formidable an enemy. The satrap complied to their wish. Alcibiades was then in a small town *The Persians adored the sun under that name, who was their principal god. * Δικαίως, ὦ Κῦρε εὐδαιμονεῖς· ἀγαθὸς γὰρ ὢν εὐδαιμονεῖς. Recte verò te, Cyre, beatum ferunt, quoniam virtuti tuæ fortuna con→ juncta est. Artax. of Phrygia, where he lived with his concubine * TiMnemon. mandra. Those who were sent to kill him, not dar, ing to enter his house, contented themselves with surrounding and setting it on fire. Alcibiades, having quitted it through the flames sword in hand, the Barbarians were afraid to stay to come to blows with him, but flying and retreating as he advanced, they poured their darts and arrows upon him, and he fell dead upon the spot. Timandra took up his body, and having adorned and covered it with the finest robes the had, he made as magnificent a funeral for it, as her present condition would admit. Such was the end of Alcibiades, whose great virtues were stifled and suppressed by still greater vices. It is not easy to say, whether his good or bad qualities were most pernicious to his country; for with the one he deceived, and with the other he oppressed it. In him distinguished valour was united with nobility of blood. His person was beautiful and finely made, he was eloquent, of great ability in affairs, insinuating, and formed for charming all mankind. He loved glory; but without prejudice to his inclination for pleasure; nor was he so fond of pleasure, as to neglect his glory for it. He knew how to give into, or abstract himself from it, according to the situation of his affairs. Never was there ductility of genius equal to his. He metamorphosed himself with incredible facility, like a Proteus, into the most contrary forms, and supported them all with as much ease and grace, as if each had been natural to him. This convertibility of character according to occasions, the customs of countries, and his own interests, discovers an heart void of principles, without either truth or justice. He did not confine himself either to religion,virtue, laws, duties, or his country. It was said that Lais the famous courtezan, called the Corinthian, was the daughter of this Timandra. + Cujus nescio utrum bona an vitia patriæ pernicosiora fuevint; illis etim cives suos decepit, his affl vit. Val. Max. 1. iii. c. 1. His sole rule of action was his private ambition, to Artax. which he reduced every thing. His aim was to Mnemon please, to dazzle, and be beloved; but at the same time to subject those he soothed. He favoured them only as they served his purposes; and made his correspondence and society a means for engrossing every thing to himself. His life was a perpetual mixture of good and evil. His sallies for virtue were ill-sustained, and quickly degenerated into vices and crimes, very little to the honour of the instructions of that great philosopher, who took no small pains to cultivate him into a man of worth. His actions were glorious; but without rule or principle. His character was elevated and grand; but without connection and consistence. He was successively the support and terror of the Lacedæmonians and Persians. He was either the misfortune or refuge of his own country, according to his declaring for or against it. In fine, he was the author of an universal destructive war in Greece, from the sole motive of commanding, by inducing the Athenians to besiege Syracuse; much less from the hope of conquering Sicily, and afterwards Africa, than with the design of keeping Athens in dependence upon himself; convinced, that having to deal with an inconstant, suspicious, ungrateful, jealous people, averse to those that governed, it was necessary to engage them continually in some great affair, in order to make his services always necessary to them, and that they might not be at leisure to examine, censure, and condemn his conduct. He had the fate generally experienced by persons of his character, and of which they cannot reasonably complain. He never loved any one, himself being his sole motive; nor ever found a friend. He made it his merit and glory to amuse all men, and nobody confided in, or adhered to, him. His sole view was to live with splendor, and to lord it universally; and he perished miserably, abandoned by the whole world, and obliged at his death to the Artax. Mnemon. feeble services and impotent zeal of one only woman for the last honours rendered to his remains. About this time died Democritus the philosopher, of whom more will be said elsewhere. SECT. II. The Thirty exercise the most horrid cruelties at Athens. They put Theramenes, one of their col leagues, to death. Socrates takes his defence upon himself. Thrasybulus attacks the tyrants, makes himself master of Athens, and restores his liberty. THE council of Thirty, established at Athens by Lysander, committed the most execrable cruelties. Upon pretence of restraining the multitude within their duty, and to prevent seditions, they had caused guards to be assigned them, and armed three thousand of the citizens for that service, and at the same time disarmed all the rest. The whole city was in the utmost terror and dismay. Whoever opposed their injustice and violence, became the victims of them. Riches were a crime, that never failed of drawing a sentence upon their owners, always fol. lowed with death, and the confiscation of estates; which the thirty tyrants divided amongst themselves. They put more people to death, says Xenophon, in eight months of peace, than the enemies had done in a war of thirty years. The two most considerable persons of the Thirty were Critias and Theramenes, who at first lived in great union, and always acted in concert with each other. The latter had some honour, and loved his country. When he saw with what an excess of violence and cruelty his colleagues behaved, he declared openly against them, and thereby drew their resentment upon him. Critias became his most mortal enemy, and acted as informer against him before the senate, accusing him of disturbing the tranquillity of the state, and of designing to subvert the present ૉ Xenoph. Hist. 1. ii. p. 462, & 479. Diod. I. xiv. p. 235– 238. Justin. 1. v. c. 8, 10. government. As he perceived, that the defence of Artax. Theramenes was heard with silence and approbation, Mnemoți. he was afraid, that if the affair was left to the decision of the senate, they would acquit him. Having therefore caused a band of young men, whom he had armed with poniards, to advance to the bar, he said that he thought it the duty of a supreme magistrate to prevent justice from being abused, and that he should act conformably upon this occasion." But," continued he, "as the law does not admit, that any "of the three thousand should be put to death "without the consent of the senate, I exclude The" ramenes from that number, and condemn him to "die in virtue of my own and my colleagues autho rity." Theramenes upon these words, leaping upon the altar; "I demand," said he, "Athenians, "that I may be tried according to the laws; which "cannot be refused me without manifest injustice. "Not that I imagine, that the goodness of my "cause will avail me any thing, or the sanction of "altars protect mè, but I would shew at least, that my enemies respect neither the gods nor men. "What most astonishes me is, that persons of your tar. wisdom do not see, that your own names may as "easily be struck out of the list of the citizens, as "that of Theramenes." Critias upon this ordered the officers of justice to pull him down from the alAn universal silence and terror ensued upon the sight of the armed soldiers, that surrounded the senate. Of all the senators, only Socrates, whose disciple Theramenes had been, took upon him his defence, and opposed the officers of justice. But his weak endeavours could not deliver Theramenes, who was led to the place of execution, notwithstanding all he could do, through crouds of the citizens, who saw with tears, in the fate of a man equally considerable for his love of liberty and the great services he had done his country, what they had to fear for themselves. When they presented him the hemlock, that is, the poison, (which was |