Ex Libris 
 C. K. OGDEN 
 
 C 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 SELECT WORKS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 EMPEROR JULIAN,
 
 * # * The inaufpicious name of JULIAN is (lamped on the 
 memory of all ages, not more by the extent of his do- 
 minions than by the infamy of his defcrting the Chriftian 
 religion : that great and eternal blot, that fingle ftain, 
 which has totally fullied all his other graces and accom- 
 pliflmients ; adorned, as he was, with every endowment -of 
 nature, genius, learning, and eloquence, furrounded by a 
 noble train of attendant virtues, temperance, continence, 
 liberality, moderation in his mode of life, and diftinguifhed 
 alfo by the renown of valour and fucccfs in war. But as 
 it was by no means my intention, I will not fay to erafe 
 or remove (for what Chriftian would attempt that?), but 
 in the leaft to difguife or extenuate, the blemiih that his 
 name has thus contracted, by paying fome refpecl to his 
 other virtues ; fo that elogium of uncommon erudition and 
 elegance which his lucubrations in various branches of li- 
 terature have received from fo many paft ages, fhould not, 
 I thought, on that account be with-held from them. 
 
 SPANHSIM, in Dtdic.
 
 SELECT WORKS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 EMPEROR JULIAN, 
 
 AND 
 SOME PIECES 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 SOPHIST LIBANIUS, 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE GREEK. 
 
 WITH 
 NOTES from PETAU, LA BLETERIE, GIBBON, &c. 
 
 TO WHiCH IS ADDED, 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE EMPEROR JOVIAN, 
 From the French of the Abbe DE LA BLETERIE. 
 
 By JOHN BUNCOMBE, M. A. 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 Him Pocfy, Philcfophy, deplore. 
 The fcepter'd Patriot, who diftinftions wav'd, 
 Lord of himfelf, by Pagan rites enflav'd ; 
 Whom all, but Chriftians, held their common friend, 
 Whofe very errors had a virtuous end. I* WIN. 
 
 VOLUME THE FIRST. 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Printed byj. NICHOLS; 
 For T. C A D E L L, in the S TR AN D. 
 
 MDCCLXXXIV.
 
 A 4^ 
 
 v.'f 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 Page 
 
 Preface - v 
 
 Annals and Pedigree of Julian xxxv 
 
 Callus Caefar to his Brother Julian I 
 
 Seleft Works of Julian, viz. 
 
 1. Epiftle to Themiftius 4 
 
 2. A Confolatory Oration on tfce Departure of 
 
 Salluft 
 
 3. Epiftle to the Emperor Conftantus 54 
 ^. - to the Senate and People of Athens 59 
 
 5. An Allegorical Fable (fromOrat. VII. j 105 
 
 6. The Duties of a Prieft (from the Fragment) 1 18 
 
 7. The Csefars 
 
 8. The Mifopogon, or the Antiochian 223 
 
 XVI Epiftles of Libanius to Julian. 303 
 
 a 2
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE Abbe de la Bletene publilhedj irt 
 1735, La Vie de f Empereur Julian* 
 12mo. * To this he added, in 1748* U Hif- 
 toire de I* Empereur Jovten, et Traduftions de 
 quelques Ouvrages de /' Empereur Julie-n^ in 
 two volumes, fmall 8vo. Both thefe works 
 are executed with uncommon elegance and 
 judgement, and have been Very ferviceable 
 to me in the following tranilations. With 
 great fagacity the Abb has explained and 
 enlightened feveral ambiguous and obfcure 
 paflages ; and many others he has happily 
 illuflrated, though, in general, by endea- 
 vouring to give the idea of his author as he 
 prefumes " Julian himfelf would have ex- 
 ' prefled it, if he had written in French," 
 
 * Bleterie's Life is indeed a very elegant one, 'and writ 
 with much candour and impartiality. He is no deep m in 
 in the learning of thole time?, but his ood fenfe gei era : ly 
 enables him to feize the ri^ht. V/ARBURTOM. 
 
 VOL. 1. b his
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 his verfion is too free and paraphraftical. If 
 I have fleered between the extremes of thofe 
 " literal verfions," thofe " homely copies," 
 which he condemns, and the beautiful, but 
 flattering, likenefs which he has drawn, I 
 (hall have fucceeded to my wifh, being de- 
 firous of reprefenting this Imperial author 
 juft as he is, as far as the idiom of the two 
 languages will admit, in which the English, 
 in point of analogy to the Greek, has the 
 advantage of the French. Moft of the an- 
 notations of M. de la Bleterie I have adopted, 
 and the rather, as few of them have before 
 appeared in Englifh. A translation of his 
 " Life of Julian," by fome ladies *, was pub- 
 limed in 1746, under the infpection of Mr. 
 Bowyer; but the " Hiftory of Jovian" has 
 till now been to our country " a fountain 
 " fealed." Were the learned Abbe ftill liv- 
 ing, I mould, however, defpair of fatisfying 
 him in this attempt, having traced him more 
 clofeiy than he has tranflated Julian, or 
 wiihed to be tranflated hirnfelf. 
 
 The occalion, and the motives, that en- 
 gaged me in this undertaking being the fame 
 
 * Mrs. Williams, a blind lady, affifted by two fitters of 
 the name of Wilkinfon. Anecdotes of Bowyer y p. 185. 
 
 with
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 with thofe of this French academician, I 
 cannot fo well exprefs them as in the fame 
 words : 
 
 " Having lately met with the works of" 
 " Julian, notwithftanding the juft horror 
 " with which I was infpired by his apof* 
 " tacy, I found them equally eloquent and 
 " ingenious, and perhaps more worthy to 
 " be read than many of the ancient Pagan 
 " writers. Betides, his morality being more 
 " refined than theirs, becanfe it has retained 
 " a tint of ours, I perceived in his writings 
 " a multitude of particulars ufeful for hifrory, 
 " and others, contrary to the intention of 
 " the author, very advantageous, and highly 
 44 honourable, to religion. It feemed griev* 
 44 ous to me, that ill-founded fcruples fhould 
 *,' prevent translating into our language 
 44 that which deferved it. 4 The Emperor 
 4 Jovian,' laid I to myfelf, 4 very zealous 
 4 as he was for the faith, did not think the 
 4 adorning the tomb of Julian, and honour- 
 4 ing, even in the ames of that apoftate 
 4 prince, his rank as a man and an emperor, 
 4 incompatible with the true fpirit of Chrif- 
 4 tianity. Would it therefore be criminal 
 4 not to neglect the productions of his ge- 
 4 nius, and to draw them frpm the obfcurityv 
 
 b 2 of
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 4 of the learned languages ?' The excellent 
 
 " Latin verfion of Father Petau * has already 
 
 ** placed Julian within the reach of thofe 
 
 " who are not fufficiently acquainted with 
 
 " Greek to read the original ; and the cele- 
 
 . brated Satire of THE CAESARS, published 
 
 *< in French by M. Spanheimf, with a long 
 
 " and 
 
 * PET AIT DIO*;YSIUS [or PETAVIUS), a Jefuit, was one 
 of the moft learned men of his age. He was born in the 
 city of Orleans, and honoured it by his merit. He was a 
 vaft genius, formed for literature, and rendered himfelf 
 a prodigy of knowledge. For, beftdes the learned lan- 
 guages, which he wrote and fpoke with the greateft fluency, 
 there never was a divine more profound, an hiftorian better 
 informed, an orator more eloquent, a critic more judicious, 
 a poet more ingenious and more flowery. In fhort, of 
 nothing in literature he *vas ignorant. His excellent works 
 leave no room to doubt this truth. Father Petau entered 
 among the Jefuits in the year 1005, which was the 2:d of 
 his age. He was profeflbr there of eloquence, and after- 
 wards of facred literature, and during the forty-eight years 
 that he lived there in a moil exemplary and edify ing manner, 
 he was the ornament of his fociety, the friend of all men 
 of learning, the admiration of foreigners, and, in a word, 
 one of the moft excellent geniufes in France in the xvnth 
 century. F, Petau died in the college of Clcrmont,. at 
 Paris, on the nth of December, 1652, aged 69. See hi* 
 Life, written by another great man, Henry de Valois, his 
 .intimate friend, with the funeral elogiums of the learned. 
 Befides numerous other works, he printed, in 1613, xvt 
 ' orations of Themiftius, in Greek and Latin, with notes 
 and conjectures of his own ; and in 1634 [rather 1630}, he 
 published the works cf ihe Err.pi.i or Julian, 410. &c. 
 
 MORERI. 
 
 f Si'ANHEiM EzFKiEL,the eldcft fon of Frederick Spaa- 
 ^ profeflbr of divinity at Lc. den, was born at Geneva,
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 " and learned commentary, has inftru&ed 
 " the moft intelligent, without offending the 
 " moft ignorant *." 
 
 Of all the remaining works of Julian, both 
 thofe which are here tranflated, and thofe 
 which are not, M. de la Bleterie has given 
 the following very accurate account : 
 
 " Independently of thofe faults of his 
 " age, which Julian has not fufficiently 
 " avoided, I mean a tafte for declamation, 
 " and the malady of quoting inceflantly the 
 *' ancients, efpecially the divine Homer, 
 " whether by way of ornament, or even of 
 '< proof, I queftion whether the two PANE- 
 
 in the year 1629, For proofs of his extenfive learning 
 fee his work dc pra-ftantia et ufu numifmatirm, his Diflerta- 
 tion on a medal of the Abderites, his five letters to Morell'., 
 a famous antiquary and mcdallift, which have been prir.tad 
 with the Specimen univcrfu- re: nummaria ant:qu<?, which the 
 fame Morell pubtelhed at Leipfic, in 1695 ; his notes on 
 Callimachus, and on the CAESARS of the Emperor Julian, 
 and fome other treatiies, \vhofe title may be feen in 
 Moreri, Paris edition, 1695. You may there alfo find a 
 feries of all the employments to which he was fucceffively 
 raifed at the courts of various princes, till he was fent for 
 the fourth time to the c' ur of France ("by the Elector of 
 Brandenburgh], after the peace of Ryiwick. He continued 
 at Paris from that time to the beginning of the year 1701, 
 when he was fent ambaflador to England by his mafter, the 
 new king of Pruffia [with the title and dignity of Baron]. 
 He died there Oft. 28, 1710, aged Si. BAYLE, 
 
 * Preface a la Fie dt J alien, p. I 3. 
 
 b 3 * 4 GYRIC*
 
 PREFACE, 
 
 <4 GYRICS ON CONSTANTIUS * would afFord 
 " mucli pleafure [to a modern]. Notwith- 
 6{ fbnding the beauties of narration, which 
 44 Julian has the art of diffufing, they err 
 " eiTenhally as to their fubject, Equitable 
 * 4 readers would blame the author for having 
 tl been obliged to employ fo much art and 
 ** genius to erect into a hero a prince of 
 " moderate talents whe.m he hated and 
 44 feared. But would they forgive a tranf- 
 4: lator for fatiguing pofterity by the irkfome 
 " repetition of praifes- which fear and ne 
 44 ccflity rendered excufable in the mouth of 
 *' an orator who pronounced them on pain 
 ' of death ? 
 
 * 4 TE PANEGYRIC ON THE EMPRESS 
 * f EUSEBIA f is a memorial of the gratitude 
 * ; of Julian. He does not fpeak there, how- 
 4< ever, fufficiently from the heart. It is a 
 * 4 frigid, didactic, monotonous elogium. As 
 * 4 the author quotes in it ibme particulars of 
 <4 antiquity, that are leis known now thaa 
 * 4 they were then, the generality of readers 
 
 * Oral. \. Oi-at. IT. Thcfe two panegyrics contain many 
 facls, and excellent principles of government, Julian wrote 
 the fecond in Gaul. Some Pagan phrafes occur in them, 
 \vbichwould induce vis to think that he retouched them 
 alter he had declared himfelf a Pagan. Life of Julian* 
 
 | Orat. HI, 
 
 " would
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 '* would think the piece too learned, and 
 " would not fail to fay, that Julian intended 
 " to convince his benefaftrefs that he made 
 61 ufe of the library which me had given him. 
 ' THE DISCOURSE IN HONOUR OF THE 
 " SUN-KING *, in Solem Regem, is an elo- 
 " gium on the Logos of Plato. Julian has 
 " fome remarkable expreilions on the fub- 
 " jecl: of that intelligence, the eternal pro- 
 " duction of the Sovereign God, of whom 
 " it is the living image, which, from all 
 " eternity, according to Julian, arranged the 
 " univerfe, which preferves and will always 
 " preferve it, which, holding the fame place 
 " in the intelligible world that the fun 
 " holds among corporeal beings, is the 
 " fource, the centre, the light of the fub- 
 " altern Gods, and of all the Ipirits to which 
 " virtuous fouls will be reunited after death J 
 44 which manifefts its power, and refides, in an 
 " efpecial manner, in the ftar whofe rays 
 " enlighten the material world. This work 
 " is ufeful and curious to fuch as wi(h to 
 *' know fundamentally the philofophical pa- 
 " ganifm of the Platonifts of that time, and- 
 " the fyftem of religion which Julian formed 
 
 * Orat. IV. 
 
 b 4 "to
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 <* to himielf. But this long difcourfe pre 
 fents fuch a con fu fed mixture of meta- 
 '' phyiics and phyiics; it has fo much ver- 
 " bofity, fo little juftice and precifion, that 
 ' it can do no honour but to the fecundity 
 44 of Julian, who compofed it in. the fpace 
 *' of three nights. 
 
 * c He employed only one in making the 
 '* ELOGIUM ON THE MOTHER OF THE GODS*. 
 " It was compofed at Peffinuntus in Phrygia, 
 *' where was a temple of that Goddefs, ap- 
 " parently to revive the zeal of the people. 
 < 4 Pie tortures his genius and imagination to 
 ** explain allegorically the fable of Cybele 
 *' and Atys, with the ceremonies of tl^eir 
 *' worfhip. All thefe efforts terminate merely 
 *' in publiming, with the tone of an enthu- 
 
 * Orat. V. One of the orations of Julian is confecrated 
 to the honour of Cybele, the Mother or" the Gods, who re.- 
 quired from her effeminate jpriefts the bloody facrifice fo 
 r;ilh'y performed by the madhefs of the Phrygian boy. The 
 pious Euipcror condeitciuls to relate, without a blufii, and 
 \vithotit a (mile, the voyage of the Goddefs from the 
 fhores of Pergamus to the' mouth of the Tyber; and the 
 {lupcndous miracle, whiph convinced the fenate and people 
 of Rome that the lump of clay, which their ambaffadors 
 trur.iported over the leas, was endowed with life, and fentt- 
 ment, and divine power. I'or the truth of this prodigy li^ 
 appeals to the public monuments of the city; and cenfurcs', 
 \\-\-.h ibme acrimony, the fickly and afleftcd taftc of thofe 
 men, who impertinently derided the iacrcd traditions of 
 their nnceftcrs. GIBBOW. 
 
 fiaft, 
 
 C(
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 l * daft, a romance of very obfcure phyfics, 
 " If I perfectly underflood it, I mould not 
 61 have tranflated it, on account of the ob- 
 " fcenity of the poetical fable, from which 
 " Julian, neverthelefs, endeavours to deduce 
 " even iome moralities. 
 
 ** THE DISCOURSE entitled AGAINST IGNO- 
 '* RANT CYNICS *, contra imperitos canes , is 
 " alfb an impromptu which he compofed in 
 " two days, at his leifure hours, indignant 
 " at the irreverence and audacioufnels of a 
 6fc diffolute Cynic, who, not contented with 
 " leading a voluptuous life r ridiculed the 
 *' Angularities of Diogenes, and treated him 
 * c as a coxcomb. Julian undertakes th,e apo- 
 " logy of the mafter^ and exerts himfelf 
 46 againil the difciple, with all the warmth 
 46 of a man, who, in order to be a new Dio- 
 44 genes, wanted only the wallet and ftafF. 
 " I think that this piece, though inferior to 
 l * thofe which I have tranflated, would not 
 " difpleafe in French. 
 
 " I will not fay the fameof THEDrscouRSE, 
 *' which is addrefled TO another Cynic, na- 
 ** medHERACLius f- This philofopher, ha- 
 fit ranguing in the prefence of Julian, had de- 
 
 * Oral. VI. f Orat.Vll. 
 
 " live red
 
 xiv P R E F A C E. 
 
 " livered an allegorical fable, in which he 
 44 modeftly took upon himfelf the part of 
 " Jupiter, and gave the Emperor that of the 
 " God Pan. Julian was {Fill more hurt hy 
 " the- little refpect with which the Cynic 
 44 mentioned the Gods. He w r as very near 
 44 impofmg iilence on this profane declaimer. 
 " But having then made an effort of patience, 
 '* as well from regard for the audience, as 
 44 for fear of being confidered as he faid, as 
 " a fufpicious man, who is feared at every 
 " thing, he indemnifies himfelf by giving 
 44 fcope to his zeal in a long difcourfe ; whofe 
 ** object is to prove that a Cy'nic, an enemy, 
 ** by his profeffion, to all difiTmulation and 
 " difguife, ought not to compofe fables ; or, 
 " if he will compofe them, that they mould 
 ** at leaft be ferious, inftructive, religious. 
 ** This difcourfe, which would be clearer, 
 *' if the fiction which mocked Julian were 
 " known to us, contains fome curious par- 
 4t ticulars relating to the origin and nature 
 44 of fable, on the ancient and modern 
 " Cynics, &c. But what feems there -moil: 
 i4 worthy of attention is a fable by Julian ? 
 44 which I ihall prefently mention. 
 
 " Julian
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 * Julian was only Cfar when he com- 
 <c pofed the piece entitled, A CONSOLATORY 
 44 DISCOURSE ON THE DEPARTURE OF SAL- 
 44 LUST *. It is the lame Salluft whom 
 4t Julian afterwards made PraefecT: of Gaul, 
 44 and who muft not he confounded with the 
 44 Prasfedl of the Eaft. Under Confrantius 
 44 he had a confiderable employment in Gaul. 
 44 His talents and fidelity having rendered 
 41 him the intimate and confidential friend 
 44 of the Caefar, the jealoufy and intrigues of 
 44 the court did. not fail to difplace and recall 
 44 him. Julian, who was fenlible of all the 
 '* greatnefs of his lofs, endeavours, in this 
 44 difcourfe, to confole hirhfelf, and to com - 
 44 fort his friend, for fuch a cruel feparation. 
 44 He regrets not only the charms and de- 
 44 'lights of an union founded on the love of 
 44 virtue and the public good, but alfo the 
 44 affiftance of another {elf, who partook his 
 44 engagements, his pains, and his pleafures, 
 44 of a true man, whofe like he defpairs to 
 44 find, who loved him without intereft, re- 
 *' proved him without arrogance, and told 
 
 * Orat. viii. 
 
 him
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 " him the truth without difguife. He 
 ** makes a very rare and mofl refpedable 
 " confeffion, efpecially in the mouth of a 
 4 * prince,; he fays, in exprere terms, that he 
 "owes to Salluft all his reputation. In this 
 " work are fentiment and principles; but 
 "- they are a little choaked by the quo~ 
 *' tations and examples of antiquity. The 
 " piece was compofed to be publiftied, though 
 " the author was apprehenfive that it would 
 14 not. On that account he confines himfelf to 
 '.' generals. It is plain, that, full of vexation, 
 4C and pierced with a grief which he conceals 
 i4 in the bottom of his foul, he choofes, to* 
 " tell Salluft any thing but what he tells 
 " him. If he fpeaks to him of Scipio, Ladms, 
 44 Cato, Pythagoras, Plato, Democritus, Pe- 
 *' ricles, Anaxagoras, &c. it is becaufe he 
 " dares not fpeak of what interefts him moft. 
 " Thofe who cannot be ignorant arc reduced 
 " by fervitude and conflraint to pedantry : 
 " witnefs moft of the Greeks who wrote 
 *' under the Roman empire. Julian, as a 
 " private man or the Casfar, lived in a 
 44 mpft dreadful conftraint. This perhaps. 
 44 is one of the caufes of that mifplaced 
 
 *' erudition
 
 PREFACE. xyii 
 
 " erudition which disfigures many of his 
 " works *. 
 
 " He could, however, forego erudition 
 " when he pleafed, as we may be convinced 
 " by reading his MANIFESTO againft theEm- 
 " peror Conftantius -f-. This work has no- 
 " thing pedantic, but the being addrefled TO 
 " THE SENATE AND PEOPLE OF ATHENS, 
 "whom Julian treats as he would have 
 '* done the Athenians in the time of Mil- 
 " tiades, Ariftides, and Themiftocles. The 
 " piece is written in a folid, noble, perfuafive 
 " manner, without declamation, without di- 
 " greffion, without a (ingle quotation, even 
 " from Homer, and gives occafion to prefume 
 *' that the faults which are juftly blamed 
 ' would not have been found in the other 
 " works of Julian, if he had only exercifed 
 " his pen on happy fubjects J. 
 
 " A long FRAGMENT of inftruclion was 
 44 addrefled by him, in quality of Sovereign 
 " Pontiff, to a Pagan prieft. It feems at if 
 
 * This Oration is omitted by M. de la Blcterie, but is 
 tranflated in the following work. 
 
 f Epift. ad S. P. Q. A, 
 
 I 1 have alfo tranflated this Epiftle. M. de la Bleterie 
 has' omitted it from <4 motives of delicacy," having inter- 
 woven almoil the whole of it into his 4t Life of Julian." 
 
 & FRAGMCKTUM ORAT. AUT Erisr. 
 
 Julian ,
 
 P R E F A C E. 
 
 {< Julian there pretended to reduce Paganifm 
 " into a fyftem ; and that the inftruftion was 
 44 divided into two parts, the firft of which 
 ** concerned, if I may fo exprefs myfelf, the 
 44 do&rine and the morals, and the fecond 
 44 contained the rules of difcipline. It is, in 
 64 general, a valuable and a very honourable 
 44 teftimony to our religion, as, on one fide, 
 " the reformer of Hellenifm thinks nothing 
 " more proper to render it refpeclable than 
 " to borrow, if he could, from the Chriftian 
 44 church, her difcipline and manners ; and, 
 " on the other, he fubfKtutes to revealed 
 " facts fome extravagant fables. He rejects 
 " what Mofes informs us of the creation of 
 " Adam, in order gravely to utter a theurgic 
 " tradition, according to which, Jupiter, 
 " in arranging the univerfe, let fall fome 
 " drops of blood, and of that facred liquor 
 4t formed mankind. In truth, religion is 
 il well avenged of its enemies .by the very 
 44 abfurdities \\hich they prefer to its tenets ; 
 " and fending them jlrong delujion^ they Jhall 
 *' believe a He. Such a one, who ridicules 
 44 the fable of Julian, if he does not believe 
 44 our facred fcriptures any more than Julian, 
 " admits, as to the origin of man, and a mul- 
 
 " titude
 
 PREFACE. xix 
 
 " titude of other points, fome hypothefes, 
 " which, by being inverted with a meta- 
 " phyfical jargon, are not lefs irrational than 
 " his pretended tradition. In this fame 
 " FRAGMENT the author avows that he 
 " would have rebuilt the temple of Jeru- 
 " falem; and we are fenfible of all the im- 
 " portance of that avowal. The account of 
 " the rules which he prefcribes to his pontiffs 
 " is copied from the idea of what the church 
 " requires of her minifters. On the fubjecl 
 " of public entertainments, obfcene books, 
 " and romances, of that fenfelefs philofophy 
 " which denies or calls in quefKon the ex- 
 " iflence of God, his providence, and the 
 *' immortality of the foul, he explains him- 
 <; felf in fo ftrong and Chriftian a manner, 
 " that nothing more would be wanting to 
 " ruin him in the opinion of fome perfons, 
 " if the hatred which he exprefles for the 
 " religion itfelf, of which he has preferved 
 " thofe remains, did not make him find fa- 
 " vour in their fight. Neverthelefs, how 
 " ufeful foover this FRAGMENT might be, 
 " my hand could not have a mare in copy- 
 
 3
 
 xx P- R- E F A C E. 
 
 " ing the blafphemies which Julian there 
 44 utters againft our infpired writers *. 
 
 " The BOOKS AGAINST THE CHRISTIAN 
 " RELIGION T which this prince compofed 
 44 during the long winter-nights, were ?.n 
 * c abftracl: of what unbelievers oppofed to 
 ** Chriftianity, and efpecially of the objec- 
 44 tions of Celfus, Hierocles, and Porphyry. 
 44 Though the work was weak and immetho- 
 " dical, the delicacy and agreeablenefs of the 
 44 ftyle, as well as the purple of the author, 
 44 gave it a great reputation. The Pagans pre- 
 44 ferred it to every thing, and with their Ju- 
 44 lian in their hands went forth to attack the 
 44 Chriftians. Superficial minds took, as ufual, 
 " witticifms for reafons, trite fophiftries for 
 44 incontrovertible arguments, and the fre- 
 " quent quotations of fcripture, with which 
 44 the author paraded, as a proof that he was 
 " deeply verfed in facred literature, and thaC 
 " he had not ceafed to believe it without 
 44 knowledge of the caufe. The Chriftians, 
 4fc diftra&ed by domeftic controverlies, ne- 
 44 gleSed to anfwer it ; for infidelity is al- 
 
 * Omitting thofc " blafphemies," I have extracted the 
 ufcful and inftruftive part of this Fragment, under the title 
 of The Duties of a Prieft. 
 
 f 5. Cyritti contra Julian* lilri X, 
 
 " ways
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 " ways a gainer by our difpntes. They had 
 " a fpecious pretext* Origcn, Eufebius of 
 " Gefarea, Methodius, and Apollinarius had 
 " anlwered it before. But the iimple were 
 *' fcfiiidalifed ; and not being able to difcern 
 " of themfelves whether the fijence of onfc 
 " of the parties concerned proceeded from 
 " weaknefs or contempt, were tempted to 
 44 afcribe the victory to him who' was the 
 44 fcft fpeaker. About the year 400, Philip, 
 " of Side in Painnhylia, deacon of the 
 '* church of Conftantinople, under St. Chry- 
 " foftorn, endeavoured to avenge the honoifr 
 41 of religion. The anf\ver of Philip is loll ; 
 " and the opinion, which Socrates gives of 
 4< another work by the lame author, affords 
 " us no realon to regret it. At length, fifty 
 " or fixty years after the death of Julian, St. 
 44 Cyril of Alexandria, though very inferior 
 " to that prince in the art of writing, nt- 
 44 tacked the expiring refuge of Pagan iihi, 
 44 and deft royed it. This father. has preferved 
 44 us a part of the work which he refuted. 
 4t Thefe paflages are leis valuable to unbe- 
 44 lievers than they perhaps imagine. They 
 4< will find there ibme very mortifying con- 
 VOL. I. c * feiiions.
 
 P R E F A C E. 
 
 " fefiions *. Divines obferve there fome un- 
 " fuipecled fefHmonies of the antiquity of 
 " fome tenets f, of fome cuftoms and ex* 
 " preilions. The refutation by St., Cyril, 
 " which be' dedicated to the Emper6r Theo- 
 " dolius the Younger, is learned, profound, 
 " decifive againfl Julian and Paganifm ; but 
 " the perufal of it would be more agreeable, 
 " if his pen were as elegant as that of Julian. 
 44 Befides, St. Cyril wrote for readers who 
 *' were perfuaded that, if Paganifm was falfe, 
 " Chriftianity muft neceffarily be true. For 
 " this reafon he applies himfelf lefs to anfwer 
 * direftly the objections of Julian than to 
 " prove the weaknefs, or rather the nothing- 
 <4 nefs, of Paganifm. This method, which 
 " was then fufficient, would not be fo well 
 " adapted to the necefiities of our age, in 
 " which the fame objections are unhappily 
 " too often repeated by men equally hoftile 
 44 to all religion. A direct refutation of 
 fi thefe too famous- books would be an em- 
 
 * CyrilL conti\ JteL 7. VI. 10. 
 
 \ Told. I. x. Thefe paflages are quoted in La Tie St 
 Julicn,pp. 244, 2.45. 
 
 " ploy men!
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 " ployment truly worthy of a philofophical 
 " divine *. 
 
 t; It is ufelefs here to mention fome other 
 " works, which have not reached us. I will 
 " now give an account of thole which I 
 " have tranflated. 
 
 " THE CJESARS f are deemed unqueflion- 
 ct ably the mafter-piece of Juliaii. I exprefs 
 " myfelf too freely, both as to his perfou 
 " and his writings, to be charged with that 
 *' kind of idolatry which is too common in 
 " tranflators. I venture therefore to fay, that 
 u profane antiquity does not afford any piece 
 " which is comparable to this for the merit 
 " of the fubjecl, and very few which ought 
 " to be preferred to it for the merit of the 
 " execution. 
 
 *' A Reman Emperor, who has had the 
 advantage to be a private man, a mind 
 rilled, and perhaps a heart penetrated, with 
 " great maxims of government, a phiiofo- 
 " pher notwithftanding all impediments, 
 " born with much tafte and genius for rail- 
 " lery, ready to feize the ridiculous, and never 
 " letting it efcape, in others, not even in 
 
 * Mr. Gibbon is pleifed to call this ' a ftrange Centaur." 
 Vol. II. p. 369. 
 
 f Cafarei, jive Convlvium. 
 
 c z " himfelf, 
 
 "
 
 xxiv PREFACE. 
 
 <c himfelf, knowing how to diftinguifli thofe 
 " light clouds which conftitute the difference 
 " between the middling and the good, the 
 *' excellent and the perfect, between qualities 
 -' which are eftimable and thofc which are 
 " only brilliant, nouriflied with the reading 
 ' of Plato and Ariftotle, and fpeaking their 
 ** language like themfelves, aflembles iti one 
 " piece all the Emperors who reigned before 
 " him for the fpace of about four hundred 
 ' years. 
 
 4i It is a moving piclurc, in which the 
 " fpecT:ator fees rapidly pafiing before his 
 ** eyes, but without confuiion, thofe mailers 
 ** of the world defpoiled of their grandeur, 
 44 and reduced to their vices and their virtues. 
 " By the aid of a fimple and ingenious fiction, 
 14 Julian makes thofe who have dimonou red 
 " the purple difappear with ignominy ; and 
 1 " among thofc who deferve to be placed 
 " in the number of fovereigns he choofes 
 " the moft illuftrious to make them contend 
 " for pre-eminence. Though he feems to 
 kt leave the queftion undetermined, it is fuf- 
 4t fkiently clear that Marcus Aurelius is tne 
 " hero ot the piece ; that Julian gives him 
 " the preference, and means to announce to 
 
 i4 the
 
 B H p F A C E. 
 
 " the u nl yerfe that he has taken that p.^ilo- 
 
 *' fophical Emperor for his mod 1. 
 
 " Such is the general plan of the Satire, 
 
 * ' or rather of the Judgment, of T a E C.ES -\ RS. 
 
 ." I do not think that in .any work- iq fiiort 
 
 " are to he found at once fo mary ..characters 
 
 *' and manners, fo much refinement and fo- 
 
 i4 lidity, ip much inflruclion,, without the 
 
 " author ever raTurning a dogmatical tone, 
 
 " fo much wit and pieafantiy, without his 
 
 , 44 ever ceaiing to inflrucl. In a word, ;t 
 
 - icems to me that THE C/F.S^KS ought to 
 
 " undeceive, or at leaft to embarrafs, thole 
 
 " who have voted an exclufive efrcem to the 
 
 " produclions of ancient Greece. 
 
 * 
 
 " The work, however, is not exempt from 
 " faults. Not to mention fame . railleries 
 " that are either frigid, or fetm io to us, 
 <l nor a. few groundlefs and too fc-veie ftn- 
 *' tencea which Julian pronounces on certaiji 
 " Emperors, in whole memory no one at 
 " prefent is much interefted, the nolens u;i- 
 " juft than indecent manner in which hp 
 44 treats his uncle, Condantine the Great, is 
 " inexcufable. In fpite of his inclination, 
 " not bejing able to avoid making him enter 
 " into competition with tin; moft diilin- 
 c 3 " guiihed
 
 xxvi PREFACE. 
 
 guifhed Emperors, he omits nothing that 
 " can ridicule and degrade him. 
 
 " This vifible partiality, produced by his 
 " hatred of our religion, and by other caufes 
 . *' which' I have taken care to develope in 
 " the remarks, can injure only Julian. 
 '" Neither his envenomed ftrokes, nor thofe 
 " of Zofimus, will prevent Conftantine 
 '" from being regarded as a prince of fupe- 
 " rior merit, and highly worthy of the title 
 " of Great ; any more than the extravagant 
 " elogiiims of the Greeks, who give him the 
 '" title of " equal to the apoftles," will 
 *' ever perfuade us that all his actions were 
 " conformable to the fanctity of the gofpel, 
 of which he declared himfelf the pro- 
 tector. Without dhTembling either his 
 faults or failings, I have detected the ca- 
 *' lumnies by which a paffionate enemy en- 
 " deavours to blacken him ; and I have 
 " done it folely for the intereft of the truth 
 ** of hiftory ; for I am far from thinking, 
 *' with this unjuft ceiifor, that the blows 
 " aimed at Conftantine can fall upon re- 
 ** ligion. If he has the glory to be the in- 
 ?*. ftrument which God employed to refcue 
 it from opprerKon, he is not, after all, 
 
 either 
 
 1 A A <*~m Vy K \ J * \^l\\\~/*)+ i IV> \J A-iV/ L * CA 
 
 H
 
 P R E- F A C E. 
 
 " either its founder or apoftle. Without the 
 I r 
 
 " Emperors, and in fpite of their ^efforts, 
 
 <f when Conflantine embraced it, it had fo 
 " much prevailed, that he lias been fufpccled, 
 " though falfely, of having embraced it from 
 " policy. When we have the hnppinefs to 
 ** profels a religion fo auguft, & divine, 
 ** fixed on immoveable foundations, there 
 " would be pufillanimity, not to fay cow- 
 & ardice, in thinking it dependent on, or 
 " reponfible for, the reputation of its firft 
 .** protectors. God, the fupreme difpofer of all 
 " events, raid who calls things that are not 
 " as though they were* could, and yet he did 
 "not, have made Theodofius have reigned 
 " before Conftantine, and have placed St. 
 "" Lewis at the head of -our Chriftian kings. 
 <{ I muft obfervc, that in THE CJESAI .s 
 " js a fort of contradiction. The author 
 <s there fuppofes the Gods inch as the poets 
 ** reprefent them, yet he often recurs to -the 
 *' ideas of the p'hilofophers. This is -not' 
 " a fault peculiar to him. It cannot be in- 
 " ferred from hence that he meant to riJ.i- 
 " cule religion, nor that he was a 'free-' 
 " thinker. He coniidered the fables of fi.e 
 *' poets as fictions, which being taken lite-' 
 c 4 " rally
 
 xxv 
 
 P R E F A C . E, 
 
 " rally would have dijQ?QOPVlf^ the Deity ; 
 " but perfuaded that they muft be tyme4 
 " Into allegories, being a deift in fpeculation. 
 44 to a certain point, but a zealous pagan in, 
 " practice, he conform^ to the eftablifhe4 
 11 language. This mixture of poetical ai\<$. 
 " phiiofophical Paganifm was not unufual. 
 " No one was hurt by it. We ar$ juftly 
 " (hocked at it, and ihoulcl be much more 
 " fo, if reading the ancients had not far 
 " miliarifed us to fuch absurdities. 
 
 44 It is more than fixty years * fince M. 
 
 *' Spanheim, fo well known in the republic 
 
 t. * 
 
 " of letters, undertook to tranflate TH^ 
 " C^SARS into French. This learned fo- 
 " reigner was unacquainted with the refine? 
 " ments of our language ; and his yerfion 
 44 no more refembles the original than a 
 ** ikeleton does a human body f . To the 
 '* text he has added lome remarks., has fup- 
 <c ported his remarks by proofs, and en- 
 44 riched them both with medals ; the whole 
 *' with fo much profuiion, that the fmalj 
 
 * In 1683. 
 
 f In like manner, Mr. Gibbon fiyles this French ver- 
 fioii " coarfey languid, and correct." " The Abbe de la 
 * 4 B'^terie," he adds, " has more happily expreffed the 
 *' fpiiit, as well as fenfe, of the original, which he has illuf- 
 " tiated with feme conciie and curions notes." 
 
 " work
 
 *xx 
 
 " work pf Julian is in a manner loft in a 
 " qua itp of above fix hundred pages. Jt \s 
 *' a ipafter-piece of typography, a treafure 
 44 of angLent. literature ill-digefted, and of 
 4 < nur-.iihvitic erudition. This book is or- 
 " namental to libraries, but it alarms thp 
 " generality pf readers, whom the tight of 
 44 fo prolix a. commentary jnfpires at lead 
 " \yith indirfcrence for .a text which, they 
 ** fuppofu, requires fo.many illullrations. 
 44 Every one is pot obliged to know that 
 " commentators do no labour merely fp 
 " give the meaning of their author ; .th&t 
 44 |hey often choofe hirn only for. an oppor- 
 " tunity of emptying their common-place- 
 " books, ^nd that they are generally as 
 <( fufe on the moil: e?.fy pail'ages as they 
 44 fuccint, qr even filer) t, on real difKcultic^. 
 44 THE MiscfoGON * js a farire lefs diver- 
 44 fined, hut- more fingular, than THE CJES A RS. 
 44 Julian, driven tg extremities by the inha- 
 44 bifants of Antioch, inilead of avenging 
 44 himielf, or of pardoning them, like a 
 " prince, undertakes to avenge himielf like 
 * 4 an author ; and no author, I fancy, ever 
 " conceived fuch a projed: of revenge. He 
 
 a, Jive Antiocbus. 
 
 * 4 pretends
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 " pretends to turn his ill-humour agaihft Kim- 
 *' felf ; he exaggerates his own imperfections, 
 ** and rep relenting the good qualities that he 
 tc may have as extravagances, he' oppofes them. 
 " to the vices of Antioch, which he ironically 
 * 6 exhibits as virtues. 
 
 "Julian draws himfelf more extraordi- 
 
 . 
 " nary than lie really is, but he muft have 
 
 " been very extraordinary to draw himfelf 
 " in fuch a manner. If the work be defi- 
 "' cie'ht in dignity, it abounds with flrokes, 
 " fallies, principles, and manners. Genius 
 " fparkles throughout the whole ; but the 
 " pleafantry is too cauftic and bitter. It is 
 " tbe laugh of a man in a paffion, who adTs 
 ** the part of a philofopher, and cannot fup- 
 " port it to the end. He leaves at laft the 
 " ironical tone, to aflume that of invedtive 
 '* and direcl: reproach. I think I may 
 " affirm that this fatire flowed from the pea 
 " of Julian in a fit of chagrin and anger, 
 <{ and that he employed no more time in 
 " compofing it than was neceflary to write 
 *' it. But fuch as it is, it is an unique, and 
 " without having read it we cannot be fuf- 
 " ficiently acquainted with Julian. 
 
 - " A FABLE,
 
 PREFACE. xxs i 
 
 " A FABLE *, which I have taken from 
 <* the difcourfe to the Cynic Heraclius, will 
 " I doubt not be read with pleafure. Julian, 
 " in order to give him the model of an 
 " instructive and religious fable, defcribes, 
 " in an allegorical fiction, but which it is 
 " impoffible to miftake, the misfortunes of 
 " his family, the dangers which he incurred 
 " in his childhoo'd, his fyftem in religion 
 *' and government. Though it is in profe, 
 <4 it is an excellent piece of poetry. 
 
 *' The letters of celebrated men are ge- 
 " nerally the mod curious parts of their 
 " writings. Many of the EPISTLES f of 
 " Julian difplay his mind, his genius, his 
 " ideas on gOverment and religion ; others 
 ** throw lighten hiftory, facred and profane; 
 " and there are fome billets which prove 
 " that he was very capable of fucceeding in 
 " the laconic fr.yle. Among his Epiftles are 
 < fome of his laws. Two or three more I 
 " have taken from the Theodofian Code. 
 " No Emperor made fo many laws in fo 
 *' fhort a reign : excepting thofe which re- 
 
 * Ex Or at. yii. 
 
 f Epiftol*. Of the LXXI. Epiftles, thofe to Themiflius, 
 Conftantius, and theAthenianr, included; M.de laBleterie 
 ^ias traoCated only XLYII. 
 
 " gard
 
 sxxii P R F ACE. 
 
 ^.gar.ci ChriiHanity, his are efteemed-by the 
 If lawyers ; but uiiiortunately the Cp^os vj: 
 " Theodofjus and JuiHnian fcarce. .ever 
 
 more than the enacting part qf.the 
 " and not the preamble, in which the genius 
 64 and- eloquence , of the Jegiu.ator were, jdijtr 
 " played, 
 
 i; l r have inferted in. its pjft^fey^iftf 1 ** 
 " TO TpjEMisTiUs *, which;, tlie^ ediiiaujs 
 " place at the end of -the Orations.. J.t.i.s m 
 " facl a treatife in. the .form of. an, Ep : ,fpc ? ju 
 t4 which, the author, feeing the rocifG .that 
 " furrouad the throne, expreffes his an ; \ietiS 
 " and apprehenfion^ lays, down expelled 
 * maxims concerning the duties qf ; a ipver 
 " reign, and.acknowleges his incapacity \y-th 
 ** a modefty highly laudable, if it be fincere. 
 e< We perceive in this work a ftrain of d&- 
 " clamation, and fomewhat rather -. vague. 
 46 It were to be willed that the author had 
 " applied a little more the principles which 
 <c he draws from Ariilotle and Plato. Eat 
 " it mould be confidered that Julian, when 
 " he compofed this treatife, had juft been 
 ** declared Caefar by Conftantius, and that 
 " this new dignky had only increafed his 
 
 * F,pljicla ad T'bem'tftium. 
 
 *' flaverv.
 
 P R t P A C ' . 
 
 " flavery. The piece is free enough for the! 
 
 ** time when it was written. Julian ven- 
 
 of 
 
 " tures to fpeak there as if he were mde- 
 44 pendentj or at lead as if he would one day 
 " he fo." 
 
 With" a well-grounded confidence the learn- 
 ed writer adds, " Though the public is 
 
 . 
 " prejudiced again ft notes, and regards them 
 
 1 J D O 
 
 " as fuperrluities which only ferve to n- 
 * 4 large the volumes, I venture,, however, to 
 " intreat them to caft their eyes on mi:ie. 
 " They are extremely laboured, and, I pre- 
 *' fume, nothing will be found in them ufc- 
 " lefs or trifling. I have entered into gram- 
 " matical difcuffions only when I thought 
 " them important, and to (hew that I could 
 " tire the reader by that kind of erudition 
 " as 1 well as others. If fome ihould think 
 " that I ftop too often to parry tlie weak 
 ' tlirufts that Julian makes at Chriilianity, 
 " I will own, that, writing in a Chriiiian 
 44 nation, I am aihamed to be obliged to re- 
 " fute what deferves only contempt. But as 
 " for thofe who mall think thefe precautions 
 4< exceffive, I beg them to examine whether 
 44 they do nqt contribute to make them ne- 
 7' " ccfl-sry.
 
 xxxiv PREFACE. 
 
 * * ceffary . I am become a fool in glorying ; yt 
 " have compelled me *." 
 
 The comment indeed of this learned fo^ 
 feigner is frequently fuperior to the text ; 
 and the whole is fuch a fund of critical, 
 hiftorical, and ChrifHan knowledge, that it 
 cannot but he acceptable to an Englifh reader. 
 I mufi add, that I am alfo much indebted 
 to the elegant (I am for.iy I cannot fay, un- 
 exceptionable) Hiftory of the Decline and Fall 
 of the Roman empire, as will appear by the 
 frequent quotations from that work in the 
 notes. The Epiftles of Libanius to Julian, 
 which are alfo inferted, and two Monodies 
 on fubjects mentioned in thefe works, will 
 give fome idea of the ftyle of that fophifL 
 
 Befides the Hiftory of Jovian, an. abftrat 
 of an Eflay, by the Abbe de la Bleterie, " on 
 " the rank and power of the Roman Em- 
 " perors in the Senate," which has not, to 
 my knowledge, appeared in Englifh, is an- 
 nexed. 
 
 c3t7&. J- BUNCOMBE. 
 
 ! 
 
 The following mort Annals and Pedigree 
 of Julian may ferve to illuftrate the hiftorical 
 events occafionally mentioned in his writings. 
 
 * Preface a FHlJloire de Jovicn^ p. X<~ LXill. 
 
 AN-
 
 [ XXXV ] 
 
 ANNALS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PRINCIPAL EVENTS 
 
 IX THE 
 
 LIFE of JULIAN. 
 
 FLAVIUS CLAUDIUS JULIAN was born at A. tx 
 ^ "* t* 
 Conftantinople. His mother, Bafilina, NOV.**. 
 
 died a few months after. 
 
 His father, Julius Conftantius, and moft 33r * 
 of his relations, were maflacred by order of 
 the Emperor Conftantius. His half-brother, 
 Gallus, is banimed into Ionia ; and he is fent 
 to Nicomedia, where he is educated a Chrif* 
 tian by the bifhop Eufebius, and officiates as 
 a lecturer in the church. He is put under 
 the tuition of Mardonius, an eunuch. 
 
 He is taken from fchool, and confined fix H5 ' 
 years with Gallus in a caftle in Cappadocia. 
 
 Gallus is created 'Caefar. and ?oes to reiide. >'* 
 
 Mir. 5, 
 
 at Antioch. 
 
 Julian
 
 XXXVI 
 
 ANNALS OF 
 
 A - D - Julian vifits Edefius at Pergamus, and b 
 perverted to Paganifm by Maximus, who ini- 
 tiates him at Ephefus. 
 
 He is fent to complete his education at Con- 
 flantinople under Ecebolus and Nicocles. 
 
 354, Dec. Gallus is deprived of the purple, and put to 
 
 death in Dalmatia. Julian is conveyed to the 
 court of Milan* 
 
 355. May. pie is fent to fhidy at Athens, where he is 
 
 initiated into the Eleufinian myfteries. 
 a - He is recalled to Milan. 
 Nov. 6. He is declared Caefar, and foon after mar- 
 ries his coufm Helena, fitter to Conftantius. 
 Writes his i ft panegyrical oration on Conftail- 
 tius. 
 
 Bee. i. Sets out for Gaul with 350 foldiers. Win* 
 ters at Vienne, and there probably compofes 
 his Epiftle to Themiftius. 
 
 36jan.i. Enters on his tft coiifulihip with Con* 
 ftantius (the vinth). Writes his nd pane- 
 gyric on that prince. 
 
 June 24. Arrives at Autun. Twice defeats the Ale* 
 manni, aid retakes Cologne. 
 
 Winters at Sens, where he repulfes an at- 
 tack of the enemy. 
 
 357 jan. i. Enters on his nd confulfliip, with Con- 
 flantius (the ixth.) 
 
 Defeats
 
 THE LIFE OF JULIAN. xxxvii 
 
 Defeats the . Alemanni at Strafburgh, takes A. D. 
 their king, Cnodomar, prifoner, &c. 
 ' Pafle'3'the Rhine at Mentz. 
 Subdues the Franks. Winters at Paris. Dec - 
 
 Defeats the SalLins andChamavians. Pafles 3 * 8 ' J ul ) % 
 the Rhine again. Two kings of the Ale- 
 manni furrender and fue for peace. Winters 
 
 at Paris. Writes his confolatory oration on 
 the departure of Salluft. 
 
 Pafies the Rhine a third time, filrprifes fix 359 * 
 kings, who difputed his paffage, and refcues 
 20,000 priforiers. Reftores the ruined cities 
 of Gaul. 
 
 Winters- -again at Paris. Sends Lupicinus- 
 to Britain, to repulfe the Scots and Picls. 
 
 Enters on his md confulfhip with Con- , $f- 
 
 * Jan. i, 
 
 ftantius (the Xth.) 
 
 The flower of the Gallic army being or- A P riI - 
 dered by Conftantius to march into the Eaft, 
 they mutiny at Paris, and proclaim Julian 
 Emperor. 
 
 He paffes the Rhine a fotirth time (at Bonn) J ul ^ 
 and rubdues the Attuarii. Declares himfelf a 
 Pagan. 
 
 Winters at Vienne, where he celebrates 
 fifth anniverfary, Nov. 6,361. Lofes his wife. 
 
 - Pafles the Rhine a fifth time, and again 
 ::. defeats and reduces the Alemanni. 
 
 VOL. I. 4
 
 xxxviii ANNALS OF 
 
 A -:^ > - Marches againft Confhiitius, and feizcs the 
 pafs of Sr.cci. 
 
 Writes froiTi Sirmium and NaifTus- to 
 Athens, and .the other cities of Greece. 
 .NOV. 3 . t Condantius died at Mopfocrene in Cilicia, 
 
 aged 45, 
 
 TJC. ii. Julian enters Confhntinople, and reftores 
 the. Pagan .wormip. Winters ; there, -and 
 writes the Casfars. 
 _ T 362- Leaves, CoiifianUnople. In his way, vifits 
 
 May 15.". 
 
 .the temple of .Cybele at Pcflinus in Phrygia, 
 re he writes his vth oruUon. 
 
 - 
 
 Arrives at Autioch, where he winu 
 Dec. Compotes his books again^ *h& Chriftian 
 
 religion. 
 s&3- Enters on his ivth and laft confiililiip, with 
 
 . Jan< i. 
 
 Salluft, prefect of Gaul. Attempts in vain 
 to rebuild the temple of Jerufalem. 
 Feb. Writes the Mifopogon. 
 
 March i j. Leaves Antioch, and marches again it the 
 Pernans, joining his army at Hierapolis, 
 where he pafl^Jt^e Euphrates. 
 April-, -Paflcs the Chaboras, and enters the Perfian 
 territories. 
 
 Beiges and takes by.aflauk Perifabor and 
 .Maoganuilcha in Aflyriu. 
 
 t'Aronv.- O.a. 3 . But TfT.iM '.!:, Sedates-, Ceilrenus, 
 
 niclc, anu etucr,, Ii; . ^ 
 
 Ti.infports
 
 THE, LIFE OF JULIAN. xxxix 
 
 Tranfporth his fleet from the Euphrates to A. D. 
 the Tigris. 
 
 Forces the paflage of the Tigris, but, unable J unc - 
 to reduce Ctefiphon, and deceived by a Per- 
 fian deferter, burns his fleet and magazines, 
 and advances into the inland country, where 
 he is feverely diftrefied by famine. 
 
 Retreats towards the Tigris. l6 - 
 
 Repulfes the Perfians at Maronga. " 
 
 Receives a mortal wound in a ikirmim, of s6 ' 
 
 7 
 
 which he died in the fucceeding night, aged 
 
 His remains, by his own defire, were ia- 
 terred at Tarfus in Cilicia, 
 
 
 PEDIGREE
 
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 SELECT WORKS 
 
 O F 
 
 JULIAN. 
 
 CALLUS * CJESAR TO HIS BROTHER JULIAN 
 HEALTH -f. 
 
 'T^ H E neighbourhood of Ionia has afforded A. D. 
 
 me great joy, having dilpelled the concern 
 and indignation that I felt at a former report. 
 What that was I will inform you. I heard that 
 
 you 
 
 * Gallns was the elder brother of Julinn, by a different 
 mother, and having with him been fecretcd from the 
 murderers of their relations in 337, they were banilhed 
 by the Emperor Conftantius into Ionia, from whence, in 
 345, they were conveyed to the catlle of Macellutn in Cap- 
 padocia. There they were not only educated Chriilians, 
 but officiated as lecturers in the church of Nicornedia. 
 Six years after, viz. on March ^, 351, Callus was declared 
 Cicfar by Conftantius, and i*iarried to his filler Ccn- 
 ftantina. He then went to Antioch, to prdide, with 
 a delegated authority, over the three great diocefes of the 
 Eaftern PraefetShire, and from that city this Epifile was 
 
 VOL. J. B -probably
 
 EPISTLE FROM CALLUS 
 
 you had departed from your former religion tranf- 
 mitted to you by your anceftor |, and, hurried 
 away by mad and wicked advice, had embraced a 
 vain fuper flit ion. How did I grieve at this infor- 
 mation! For as Iconfider your good actions, when- 
 ever they are celebrated, as advantageous to my- 
 felf, fo I efteem your bad deeds (which Heaven 
 avert !) as much or more detrimental. But the 
 anxiety which this intelligence gave me, has been 
 removed by the arrival of our father JEtius *, as 
 
 he 
 
 probably written, Julian being then in Ionia, whither 
 Gallus had difpatched ./Etius to ftrengthen him in the 
 Chriftian Faith. Conftantius, in the mean time, was march- 
 ing towards the Weft. The fubfequent imprudence of 
 Gallus, and his fatal cataftrophe in 354, are related by 
 Julian in his Epiftle to the Athenians. 
 
 f The learned F.. Petau fuppofcs this Epiftle to be 
 fpurious, without sffigning a reaion. Meffrs de Tilkmont 
 and Spanheim think it genuine. In facl, we find nothing 
 in it which does not agree with what we know from other 
 hands. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 J Gallus had fome reafon to fufpect the fecret apoftacy 
 of Julian, and, in a letter to him, which may be received 
 as genuine, he exhorts Julian to adhere to the religion of 
 their anceftors ; an argument, which, as it mould feem, was 
 not yet perfectly ripe. GIBBON. 
 
 The grandfather of Gallus and Julian, Conftantius 
 Chlorus, the father of Conftantine the Great and Julius 
 Conftantius, had been very favourable to the ChriiUans, 
 and perhaps was a Chriflian in his heart. Nothing- more 
 is neceffary to authorife, in fome degree, the expreffion 
 ufed by Gallus, his grandfon. LA BLETERIE^ 
 
 This conftrucTion, it muft be owned, is rather forced. 
 
 * jEtius, a Syrian >by birth, a brafier, a goldfmith, an 
 empiric, having ftudied the categories of Ariftotle, fet up 
 foi a divine. He carried the principles of Ananifm as far 
 
 as
 
 TO JULIAN. 
 
 he aflures me, on the contrary, to my great joy, 
 that you are zealoufly employed in houfes of 
 prayer -f, and can hardly be removed from the 
 tombs of the martyrs, but are totally attached to 
 our worfhip. I muft apply to you that expreffion 
 of Homer : " Be this your aim J." Continue thus 
 
 as they would go ; and, reviving the blafphemies of Arius, 
 he plainly taught that the Word was only a creature. 
 This occasioned his being fiyled The Atheift, not only by 
 the Catholics, but even by the moderate Arians. Leon tins, 
 bifhop of Antioch, did not fcraple to ordain him a deacon; 
 and Gallus took him for his oracle in divinity. ^Etius was 
 the dupe of Julian, who carried his diffimulation fo far as 
 to embrace a monaftic life. Libanius fpeaks of this hy- 
 pocrify as if it were an innocent ftratagem. " Though 
 " Julian," fays he, " had changed his religion, he ftill 
 *' profefled the fame, not being allowed to difcovef his 
 " real fentiments. This was the reverfe of the fable of 
 " ^Elop. The- lion borrowed the Ikin of a vile animal. 
 * Julian knew the better part, but he a&ed outwardly the 
 " fafeit." Llban. Oral. Parent. We fee that the pane- 
 gyrift was no more fcrupulous than the hero on the article 
 of fincerity, even in the affair of religion. Ibid. 
 
 The death of Gallus was followed by the exile of /Etius. 
 But he was recalled by Julian. See an Epiitle from him to 
 that prelate (as he was afterwards) the XXXIll. 
 
 ^ sJaji ere tfyit m; omu<; evy^at. In the Latin tranilation 
 it is, Te in domlbus Jludiose verfari, " That you are 
 *' fludioufly employed in houfes ;" which, by omitting pre- 
 cum (= t '% wv ) conveys no meaning. 
 
 t B^AA' arw<, Sicjaculare. Iliad. VIII. 282. 
 
 Thus, always thus, thy early worth be try'd. Pope, 340. 
 
 Thefe are the words of Agamemnon to Teucer, who was 
 fliooting his arrows with fuccefs againft the Trojans. It 
 fhould be remarked that the Greeks, and thofe who fpoke 
 Greek, whether Pagans or Chriilians, quoted Homer on 
 every occaiion, and made continual aHufions to fome 
 pafia^es of this poet. The i'agans, and Julian in par- 
 ticular, had the facne refpcct for Homer that we have for 
 ;hc canonical books. LA BLETESIE. 
 
 B 2 to
 
 EPISTLE FROM CALLUS. 
 
 to delight all who love you, remembering that no- 
 thing is preferable to religion. For the perfection 
 of virtue inftructs us to deteft the fallacy of falfe- 
 hood, and to adhere, to truth; which is principally 
 apparent in piety towards God. But a plurality of 
 Gods is productive of endlefs diffenfions and un- 
 certainty. One only Deity by his fole power go- 
 verns the univerfe *, not, like the fons of Saturn, 
 by lot and partition, but becaufe he is felf-created 
 and has almighty power, not acquired by force, 
 but exiting before all things. This is the true 
 God, and to him all worfhip is due. Farewell. 
 
 JULIAN C^SAR TO THE PHILOSOPHER 
 THEMISTIUS -f. 
 
 35501-356. T" Earneftly wifli to realife the expectations, which, 
 
 1. you fay, you have formed of me. But in this 
 
 f I fear I lhall fail, as you promife much more for 
 
 me than you ought to others, and efpecially to your- 
 
 felf. 
 
 m 
 
 * We read in the text, TO & juoo 
 TV wavToj, which gives no meaning. I think that we fhould 
 read aw m vim^yu. Callus will then fpeak like an Arian, 
 like a faithful difciple of ./Etius. The Chriftianity both of 
 Julian and Callus was in all appearance only Arianifm. 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 
 f This philofophical Epiftle " on the dangers of fovereign 
 power" was written foon after Conftantius had railed Julian 
 to the dignity of Caefar. It muft not be forgotten that 
 this was not only a defignation to the empire, but alfo an 
 
 aftual
 
 EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. 
 
 felf. For long ago, on my fuppofing a compe- 
 tition between myfelf with Alexander and Marcus 
 [Aurelius], I was wonderfully fearful and appre- 
 henfive of falling far (hort of the fortitude of the 
 firft, and of not making the lead approach to the 
 perfect virtue of the other. On thefe confide- 
 rations, an idle life feemed to me moil defirable ; 
 and recollecting with pleafure the Attic fables, I 
 wiftied to fing them to my friends, as porters in 
 the ftreets thus alleviate the weight of their bur- 
 actual aflbciation in a conliderable part of the imperial 
 power. The Greeks gave the Coefar the title of (Scto-tXtvs 
 SivTi^;, or even, as they did the Emperor, limply that of 
 @y,<rt*iv;. I fnall prefently mention why I cannot adopt the 
 conjecture of F. Pet an, who imagines that Julian compofed 
 this treatife when the death of Conftantius had made him 
 inafter of the empire. And I mall examine, in the fequel, 
 whether the Themiftius, to whom Julian writes, be the 
 fame whofe works we have. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 Philofophy had inftructed Julian to compare the advan- 
 tages of action and retirement; but the elevation of his 
 birth, and the accidents of his life, never allowed him the 
 freedom of choice. He might perhaps lincerely have pre- 
 ferred the groves of the Academy, and the fociety of 
 Athens ; but he was conftrained at firft by the will, and 
 afterwards by the juftice, of Conftantius, to expofe his 
 perfon and fame to the dangers of Imperial greatneis ; and 
 to make himfelf accountable to the world, and to pofterity, 
 for the happinefs of millions. 
 
 Julian himfelf has exprefled thefe philofophical ideas 
 with much eloquence, and fome affectation, in a very 
 elaborate Epiftle to Themiftius. The Abbe de la Bleterie, 
 who has given an elegant tranilation, is inclined to believe, 
 that it was the celebrated Themiftius whoie Orations are 
 ftill extant. GIBBON. 
 
 Petau ftyles this, *' not an Oration, but an Epiftle ;" but 
 "*' becauie it is longer than an epiftle," he places it among 
 the Orations. 
 
 B 3 thens.
 
 EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. 
 
 thens. But you, by your .late epiftle, have aug- 
 mented my fears, and have propofed to me a much 
 more arduous contention, by faying, that God 
 has placed me in the fame fituation that Hercules 
 and Bacchus were placed of old, who at the fame 
 time philofopbifed and reigned, and freed aimed 
 the whole earth and fea from the vices \vkh 
 which they were overwhelmed. You alfo advife 
 me, banifliing the thoughts of floth and idlenefs, 
 to confider how I {hall act with propriety in this 
 fuppofed contention* You then mention all the 
 legiflators,- Solon "*, Pittacus ,-j~, Lycurgus J; and 
 you add, that the world may reafonably form 
 greater expectations of me than it did of them. 
 
 On reading this paffage I was (truck with ado- 
 nifliment, knowing that you think it by no means 
 allowable to flatter or falfify ; and as to myfelf, 
 being confcious of no fuperior talents, either na- 
 tural or acquired, except my love of philofophy. 
 Of the calamities, which have hitherto rendered 
 this love imperfect, I fay nothing. I knew not 
 therefore what conftruftion to put on thefe ex- 
 preffions, till this was fuggefted to me by Heaven, 
 that "you meant by thus praifiug to exhort me, 
 and to difplay the magnitude of thofe trials to 
 which every ruler muft ncceflarily be expofed. 
 
 * One of the wife men of Greece, the lawgiver of 
 Athens. See Plutarch and Diogenes Laertius. 
 
 f Another of the wife men, contemporary with Crocfus, 
 a philofopher of Mirylcne. Soine of his precepts are pre- 
 ierved in Aufonius de Sapicntia. 
 
 J The lawgiver of Sparta. See Juflin and Plutarch.
 
 EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. 
 
 But this is rather a difcouragement than a recom- 
 mendation of fuch a ftate. 
 
 Suppofe that a man navigating your ftrait *, and 
 that not with eafe or expedition, ihould be told 
 by one skilled in divination, that he fhould tra- 
 verfe the ./Egean, and afterwards the Ionian fea, 
 and at laft the main ocean. " Here," the prophet 
 fiiould fay, " you fee towns and harbours, but 
 " there you ftiall difcern neither watch-tower, nor 
 " rock, happy if you difcover fome fhip at a diftance, 
 " and can hail the crew. You (hall often pray to 
 t( God for a fafe return to land, even were your 
 " life immediately to end ; fatisfied, if after having 
 " reached the haven, and reflored your (hip to the 
 " owners, and the mariners to their families, you 
 " might commit your body to your native earth f." 
 This might happen, but that it would muft till the 
 laft moment remain uncertain. Do you think, that, 
 after having heard this, fuch a man would even 
 choofe to dwell in a fea-port town? or rather, bidding 
 adieu to riches and the profits attendant on com- 
 merce, to his domeftic connexions, to foreign frrend- 
 fhips, and to the furvey of diilant cities and coun- 
 
 * It is difficult to coniefture what ftrait he means. I 
 fufpeft it, hou-ever, to be the Bofphorus, and that The- 
 miilius was then at Conftantinoplc. PETAU. 
 
 If I were fure that this Epiftle was addrefTed to the 
 celebrated Themiftius, I fliould affirm, that this ftrait was 
 that of Conftantinople. LABLETERIE. 
 
 f The ancients thought drowning the moft difhonour- 
 able of deaths. Hence thofe pafikmate exclamations, under 
 fuch an apprehenfion of Achilles in the Iliad, and JEneas 
 in the ^Eneid. 
 
 B 4 tries,
 
 EPISTLE TO THEMISTiUS. 
 
 tries, would he not think the njvic of the fon of 
 N codes *, " Live privately," the wile ft that could 
 be {*iven ? 
 
 Of fhJs \<<c il.em fo app/ehenfive, tbst yon en- 
 dc?wj<, by reproaching Epicurus, to prejudice me 
 againO him. and to eradicate that opinion. Thefe 
 > our words; " thai he, a man of no bufmefs, 
 * (ho '.:':! i:raife idlencfs, and thoie Peripatetic 
 " d; s, might well be expected." But 
 
 that Epical;- was in this miitaken, I have been 
 kv and am firmly perfuaded. Whether indeed it is 
 proper to urge any one to public adminiftration, 
 xvho is naturally unqualified and of mean abilities? 
 may . deferve farther enquiry. For even Socrates 
 is faid to bave withdrawn many from the forum 
 xvho feemed not calculated for it; and he en- 
 deavoured, i-n particular, as Xenophon relates, 
 to difTuade Glaucon, uncl the fon of Clinias -\- } but 
 could not reftrain the impetuofity of that youth. 
 
 Shall we then compcil thofe who are confcious 
 of their own deficiencies., and urge them to be con- 
 fident in fnch undertakings as depend not fo much 
 on virtue and a right diipohtion, as on fortune, 
 who governs all things, and often forces us to 
 lull.y.v her direction ? Chryiippus j in other things 
 
 feemed 
 
 * Epicurus, 
 
 f AlcibiadtF. 
 
 J Cliryfipp'.is is fty\<-d by Cicero *'the moft fubtle infer- 
 l ' ; ic-cti of the Stoic dreams, and the fuppoit of the Por- 
 " tico." i_is chief ftudy was logic, which he carried to a tri- 
 fling degree of fubtkty. Of his works, which filled 70; 
 
 voluines,
 
 EPISTLE TO TH&MISTIUS. 
 
 feemed wife, and was juftly fo efleeined ; but 
 hi? ignorance of fortune and chance, and other 
 like caufes, which happen independently of our 
 aftions, is not eafi'.y reccncileable with what time 
 has evidently taught us by many examples. For 
 in what particular (hall we flyle Cato *, or Dion 
 Siculus j-, happy ? Perhaps for their difregard of 
 death, but certainly not for their leaving the 
 works in which they at firft engaged imperfeft, 
 works to which they had diligently attended, and for 
 which they would willingly have fufTered the fe- 
 vered calamities. When difnppointed, they behaved, 
 it is faid, with moderation, not repining at fortune, 
 and derived no fmall confolation from virtue; but they 
 could by no means be ft y led happy, having failed 
 in their greateil undertakings, imlefs in the fenfe 
 of the Stoics. To which it may be anfwered, 
 that to be praifed and to be happy are not the 
 fame thing ; and if all creatures naturally defire 
 
 volumes, fome titles only remain. He died about 200 years 
 before the Chriftian aera, and was honoured by the Athe- 
 nians with a ftatue in the Ceramicus. His death is faid 
 to have been occafioned by an immoderate fit of laughter 
 at feeing an afs eat figs. Chryfippus defired the afs might 
 have a glafs of wine to wafli them down, and was fo di- 
 verted with his own conceit, that it coft him his life. He 
 ' is faid to have been a very copious and learned writer, but 
 obfcure and immoral ; though one would be inclined to 
 think, from the refpecl with which he is mentioned by 
 Epictetus, that this latter accufation is groundlefs. 
 
 Mrs. CARTER. 
 
 * Of Utica. 
 
 f A nobleman of Syracufe, attached to Plato, by vvhofe 
 counfel he freed his country from the tyranny of Dionyiius. 
 He was afterwards aflaffinated by one cf his friends. 
 
 happinefs,
 
 to EPISTLE TO THEMIS T I US. 
 
 happinefs, it is better for us to be declared 
 happy than to be praifed for virtue. Subftan- 
 tial happinefs by no means depends on fortune. 
 Thofe who are engaged in government cannot 
 indeed breathe, as the faying is, without her * * * 
 f as if philofophy could form a general, and place 
 him above the reach of chance, like the pure, in- 
 corporeal, and intelligent world of ideas, whether 
 they are produced in reality, or formed falfly. He 
 indeed who is, according to Diogenes, 
 
 Of city, country, houfe depriv'd, 
 has nothing more to lofe. But how can one whom 
 cuftom has called forth, and as Homer, the firft of 
 writers, fays, 
 
 Who mighty nations guides, 
 
 Dire&s in council, and in war, prefides j;, 
 confidently place himfelf out of the reach of 
 fortune ? And if he be really fubjed: to it, with 
 what confideration and prudence muft he aft, fo as 
 
 f Before this pafiage we have placed aftericks, as fome- 
 thing here is wanting. But in our MSS a fragment was 
 inferted of another epiftle, which, if I miftake not, Julian 
 wrote to Arfacius, a High Prieft, in which he gave fome 
 <lirec"r.ions relating to religion and the worfhip of the 
 gods. This we have extracted, and publilhed ieparately, 
 in another place ; but what follows feems addrefled to 
 Themiftius. PETAU. 
 
 The above-mentioned Fragment of an oration, orepiflle, 
 (fo ftyled) is chara&erifed in the preface, and that nn- 
 objeftible part of it, which contains " The Duties of a 
 " Prieft," is detached and inferted, under that title, among 
 thefe " Seleft Works." 
 
 +Iiiad, II. 25, Pope, aj'. 
 
 to
 
 EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. n 
 
 to fuftain with equanimity, like a Cage pilot, the 
 ftorms that aflail him on every fide? 
 
 If admiration be due to thofe who withftand 
 her attacks with fortitude, much more is it de- 
 ferved by thofe who receive her favours with 
 moderation. By them the greateft of kings, the 
 conqueror of Alia, was fubdued, as in cruelty and 
 infolence he far furpaffed Darius and Xerxes, after 
 he had conquered their dominions. By thefe weapons 
 the Perfians, Macedonians, Athenians, Syracufans, 
 the Lacedaemonian magiftrates, the Roman gene- 
 rals, and, lafily, many emperors, were attacked and 
 totally deitroyed. It would be endlefs to enume- 
 rate all who have fallen a prey to wealth, fuccefs, and 
 luxury. And why 'fhould I mention thofe, who, 
 overwhelmed by misfortunes, from freemen have 
 become flaves, from noble mean, and from fplendid 
 abject ? Would to Heaven, that human life 
 afforded no fuch in (lances ! But fuch there have 
 been, and fuch there always will be, as long as 
 the world exifts. 
 
 But that I may not feem lingular in thinking that 
 Fortune has the chief fway in human affairs, I 
 refer you, intelligent as you are and my inftruclor, 
 to Plato, in his admirable book on Laws ; and to 
 convince you that I have not weakly imbibed this 
 idea, I will tranfcribe the pafiage * : : " God, and, with 
 
 " God, 
 
 * All this paflage is taken from the fourth book of Plato 
 de LegibuS) which, in fome places, we have corrected from 
 
 Plato
 
 iz EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. 
 
 " God, Fortune, or Opportunity., govern all things 
 " human, but a third mud be annexed ; Art muft 
 t{ attend them, as an affociate." He then pro- 
 ceeds to. fliew, that every king, every fovereign 
 artificer of great a&ions, fhould be a kind of King- 
 God. " Saturn," he fays, " knowing (as we hare 
 " before obferved) that human nature is not of it- 
 " felf capable of governing mankind with fupreme 
 " power and abfolute authority, without giving 
 fl way to infolence and injuftice, then * placed at 
 " the head of our dates, as kings and magiftrates, 
 " not men, but genii of a divine and more ex- 
 * c cellent nature ; as we aft with regard to our 
 " flocks and herds. For we never make an ox 
 f< the fuper-intendant of oxen, nor a goat of 
 tf goats ; but they are governed by us, afupe- 
 " rior race. In like manner {, the God, being 
 " a lover of mankind, has let over us a race of 
 " fuperior beings, who, with great eafe both to 
 " themfelves and us, undertake the care of us, 
 " and, difpenfiug peace, innocence |, and jutfice, 
 
 Plato himfelf. Others, which Julian feems to have ex- 
 p raffed differently, we have remarked in the margin. 
 
 PETAU. 
 
 Petavius obferves, that " this paffage is taken from the 
 *' fourth book de Legilus ;" but either Julian quoted from 
 memory, or his MSS. were different from ours. Xenophon 
 opens theCyropasdia with a fimilar reflection. GIEBON. 
 
 The variations, which are fpecified in the notes, are few 
 and immaterial, being chiefly verbal. 
 
 * The word rort (" then") is not in Plato. 
 
 f Ap) a kind of expletive, occurs here in Plato. 
 
 J K itevGefw xai f&o (" and freedom and plenty"), is 
 added in Plato. 
 
 f( preferve
 
 EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. 13 
 
 " preferve mankind in tranquillity and happinefs. 
 ** And this is agreeable to truth and reafon ; for 
 " thofe dates * which are governed, not by a God 
 " but by fome mortal, have no celTation from evils 
 " and oppreffions. We (hould therefore exert our 
 " utmoft efforts to imitate the life that was led in 
 " the reign of Saturn, and, with as much immor- 
 *' tality as we have remaining, to govern, by his 
 44 directions, both in public and private, our fami- 
 " lies and our dates, considering -f- the law as the 
 " application of the divine mind. But whether 
 " one man, or a few, or a number of people *, 
 " govern any flate, if their minds are enflaved by 
 " pleafure, and through a defire of indulging it 
 " they trample on the laws, there is no chance 
 of fafety." 
 
 I have tranfcribed this whole paflage of Plato 
 on purpofe to prevent your furmifing, that I 
 quote the words of the ancients fraudulently or 
 erroneoufly, and without regard to the connexion. 
 But what fays this paflage really on the fubjeft ? 
 You fee, that, though a prince be by nature hu- 
 man, he fhould, in his conduct, be a divine and 
 fuperior being, and entirely banifh from his 
 
 * There is alfo a fmall difference here ; os-v TO^SWV and 
 f%i in Julian, a 1 ,- c^ox irateum and ap% in Plato. 
 
 f- oo/xa.^oTi*j in Julian^ EToof<a^o>Ta5 in Plato. 
 
 i In other words, and nearer to the original, u a mo- 
 * narchy, an oligarchy, or a democracy." 
 
 There follows in Plato j-Eyas-ay & & xx' WJ-WTU xa 
 ^-x>irw KO.XU yc-rnpzit ^vvi^o^t^v ap|f ^s, <. T. x.. which Julian 
 perhaps, for the fake of brevity, omitted. PETAU. 
 
 foul
 
 14 EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS 
 
 foul every thing that is mortal and brutilh, except 
 what mud neceflarily remain for corporealjufes. If 
 any one, reflecting on this, fhould dread being en- 
 gaged in fuch a (late of life, would you rather re' 
 commend to him the Epicurean tranquillity, the 
 gardens and fuburbs of Athens, and the myrtles and 
 cottage of Socrates ? But I never preferred them to 
 toils and dangers *. Thefe labours 1 would wil- 
 lingly recount to you, and the hazards to which I 
 was expofed from my friends and relations, when 
 I was firft inftrufted by your precepts, were you 
 not well acquainted with them. To my conduft 
 in Ionia, in oppofition to one who was my relation 
 by birth, but much nearer by friendship, and in 
 favour of a man who was a foreigner, and little 
 known to me, you are alfo no (hanger. Did I 
 not go abroad for the fake of my friends ? In be- 
 half of Carterius, I need not tell you, I went un- 
 folicited, and intreated the affiftance of my friend 
 Araxius -j~. On account of the effects of the ex- 
 cellent Areta, and the injuries which flie had fuf- 
 fered from her neighbours, did I not travel twice 
 within two months into Phrygia, though my body 
 
 * The fads which Julian produces to prove that he ne- 
 ver wanted courage fully convince me that this Epiftle was 
 prior to his refidence in the Gauls. How many marks of 
 firmnefs, how many valiant deeds, might he not have 
 alleged, if it had been written after he was proclaimed 
 Auguftus? LA BLETERIE. 
 
 He might probably corrrpofe it at Vienne, where he paf- 
 fed the winter after his being appointed Ca-far. 
 
 f Ammianus mentions Araxius towards the end-of b.xxvi, 
 and relates, that, having efpoufed the party of Prccopius, 
 when he was killed he was banifhed to an ifland, and 
 afterwards fet'at liberty. PETAU. 
 
 was
 
 EPISTLE TO THEMIST1US. 
 
 was infirm in confequence of a diforder contracted 
 by former fatigues ? Laftly, before my journey 
 into Greece, while I continued with the army, 
 many would fay, with the vumoft hazard, recolleft 
 what kind of letters I wrote to you, whether they 
 were in a plaintive {train, or exhibited any marks 
 of Httlenefs, meanncfs, or fervility. When I 
 went again into Greece, did not I congratulate 
 my good fortune, as if it had been a feftival, 
 affirming, that the change was mod delightful to 
 me, and that, according to the faying, I had 
 gained 
 
 Gold for brafs, what cod a hundred beeves 
 For the low price of nine * ? 
 
 Such was my joy on being allowed to refide 
 in Greece, though I had neither a houfe, nor 
 any land, not fo much as a field or a garden 
 there. But perhaps you will fay, that though 
 I may feem to bear adverfuy with firranefs, yet I 
 am abjeft and pnfillammous in profperity, as I 
 prefer Athens to the fplendor that now furrounds 
 me -j~, regret that indolence, and, on account of 
 my numerous avocations, deteft my prefer, : flute 
 of life. Bat a better opinion of us fhould be 
 
 * Iliad, vi. 236. thus pnraphrafed by Pope, 292. 
 
 For Diomed's brafs arms, of mean device, 
 , For which nine oxen paid, a vu!g;:r price, 
 He gave his own, of gold divinely wrought, 
 A hundred beeves the fhining purchnle bought. 
 f The Ciclars had all the marks of the Imperial power, 
 excepting the diadem. LA BLETLRIE. 
 
 VOL. !. B 8 formed
 
 16 EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. 
 
 formed of us, not only with regard to idlenefs and 
 employment, but according to that maxim, " Know 
 " thyfelf," and 
 
 That trade which he has learn'd let each man 
 pra&ife. 
 
 To govern feems to me more than human ; and a 
 king, as Plato fays, " fhould be of a fuperior na- 
 ture." 
 
 I will now quote a pafiage from Ariftotle, to the 
 lame purpofe ; not u to carry owls to Athens *,*" 
 as -the faying is, but to fhew that I have not en- 
 tirely neglected his works. In his Political Dif- 
 courfes -j~, he thus expreffes himfclf : " If any one 
 ** fhould think it beft for a nation to be governed 
 " by a king, what ihall be determined in regard 
 " to his children ? Muft his defcendants alfo reign ? 
 " If they mult, however incapable, much inconve- 
 " nience may cnfue. But will not the fovereign 
 " in poffeffion leave the government to his fons { ? 
 *' That he will not can fcarce be fuppofed, as 
 ** being a talk too arduous, and requiring a grea- 
 
 . AQnvaof ayav, Ncflxas Athcnls duccns. To the 
 fame purpofe is our Eng'.ifh proverb, " carrying coals to 
 *' NcvvcaiHe." Eqxially needkls was any information from 
 Ariitorle to Themiitius. 
 
 f jjrijlot. dc Republican HI- Hi. cap. 15. 
 
 -J In Aliilotle it is AA.V xalaXft^e* ra? nisi? ^iaJ'o^j?; e 
 @uff&ev{, STT' i|ua,- i%uv TUTO vroir.yai; " Will not the kiin; 
 ' leave his Ions his iucceflbrs, if he has it in his power ?" 
 The inftance of M.ircus Aurelius and his degenerate fon 
 Commodns (fee the Ca-fars, p. 161.) fecins a cafe in 
 point. The " talk" of diiinheriting fuch a monfter \ras 
 too arduous, " the virtue" too exalted, even for that phi- 
 Icfopher.
 
 EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. 
 
 " ter degree of virtue than is the lot of, human 
 " nature." 
 
 Afterwards, fpeaking of a king who governs 
 according to law, of which he is the minifler and 
 guardian, and flyling him, " not a king," but 
 ranking him in another clafs, he adds *, " As to 
 " abfolute monarchy -f-, or arbitrary power, fome 
 41 think it inconfiftem with nature for one to be lord 
 " of all . For all men, being by nature equal, have 
 " the fame natural rights ." And, a little after, 
 he fays, " Whoever therefore would have reafon 
 " govern, would have God and the laws govern. 
 " But whoever would give the government to man, 
 " would give it to a wild beafl |j. For fuch is con- 
 " cupifcence, and anger alfo debafes ** the beft men. 
 " Law therefore is reafon, exempt from paflion.'* 
 
 The philofopher, you obferve, feems here to 
 diftruft and reprobate human nature. For he fays, 
 in effeft, that human nature is by no means 
 equal to the eminence of fuch an exalted ftation. 
 He thinks it difficult for a prince, to prefer 
 the general good of the (tare to that of his 
 
 * De Republ. 1. III. c. 1 6, 
 f ric*^Sac77\. 
 
 J Both the prince and the philofopher chooie, however, 
 to involve this eternal truth inartful and laboured obfcurity. 
 
 GIBBON. 
 
 There follows in Ariftotle,Ka TV aJIr, |av **] QVO-H *a 
 T" And, according to nature, the fame rank.") 
 
 || O <5s ai9fw:romXEJ>' > tsprr,<?\ xi 6^o. The MS. Of 
 
 Voffius, unfattsfied with " a fmg'c beaft," affords the ftron- 
 
 ger reading of $^ ( * (" beafts"), which the experience of 
 
 defpotifm may warrant. GIBBON. 
 
 ** Ax;olf *> ( " magiftrates snd") is infertedin Ariftotle, 
 
 VOL. I. C chil-
 
 i8 EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. 
 
 children, He fays, that " it is unjuft for one to 
 '* govern many of his equals." And at laft, in 
 the clofe pf his difcourfe, he adds, that " law is 
 " reafon, exempt from paffion;" and that " go- 
 ".vernment fliould be entrufted to law alone, and 
 " not to any man. For the reafon that men pof- 
 " fefs, ev"en if they are virtuous, is debafed by 
 
 7 J ' J 
 
 " anger and luft, mod favage. beads." 
 
 This doctrine of Ariflotle feems perfectly agree- 
 able to that of Plato. Fir ft, he thinks that the go- 
 vernor ought to excel! the governed, not only in 
 virtue, but in nature ; which is not eafy to find 
 amono; men. And alfo. that he mould, to the ut- 
 
 O f * 
 
 m'oft of his power, obey the laws, not thofe which 
 were enacted on a "fudden emergency, or compiled 
 by men who were not entirely governed by reafon; 
 but by fuch, as, having pure minds and fouls, had 
 a view not only to prefent offences and contingen- 
 cies, but from the nature of government, and alfo 
 the nature of juftice and of guilt, after obtaining 
 all poffible inftrudtion, framed laws for all the peo- 
 ple in general, without refpect to friend or foe, to 
 neighbour or relation. And this is much prefe- 
 rable, as they meant to promulge and tranfmit 
 their laws, not to their contemporaries only, but 
 to pofterity and foreigners, with whom they ne- 
 ver had, nor expe&ed to have, any connection or 
 intercourfe. I have heard that the wife Solon, 
 though by his civil institutions he made the people 
 free, incurred much reproach by confuhing with 
 3 his
 
 EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. 19 
 
 his friends as to cancelling of debts *, and thus 
 giving them an opportunity of improving their 
 fortunes. So difficult it is to avoid fuch fatalities, 
 even though a man were to enter into the public 
 fervice unimpafiioned. 
 
 As fuch are my apprehenfions, I ofren regret 
 my former (late of life, and, in deference to you, 
 I reflecl that you have faid, not only that thofe 
 great legiflators, Solon, Lycurgus, and Pittacus, 
 were propofed for my emulation -f, but alfo that 
 J muft quit the fhade of philofophy for the open 
 funfhine. As if you fhould fay to a man, who, for the 
 fake of his health, had ufed moderate exercife at 
 home, (l You muft now repair to Olympia j, and 
 " exchange your domeftic recreation for the games 
 " of Jupiter ; where your fpectators- will be the 
 *' Greeks reforming from all parts ; and, in parti- 
 " cular, your fellow citizens, for whom you mufl 
 " enter ehe lifts; and alfo fome Barbarians, whom 
 ** you mufl aftoniih, in order to render your country 
 *' as formidable to them as you can." This would 
 immediately alarm him, and make him enter the lifts 
 with terror. Suppofe me now affected in the fame 
 manner by your epiftle. Whether my opinion on 
 the fubjeft be juft or not, whether I am a little 
 
 * Before the refolution which Solon had taken to extin- 
 guifli debts tranfpireJ in public, fome of his friends bor- 
 rowed large fums, well knowing that they fhcu'd be excufed 
 from paying them. LA BI.ETERIE. 
 
 f See p. 7. 
 
 I A town of Peloponnefus, where was a temple of Jupi- 
 ter, in honour of whom the Olympic games Wire celebrated 
 there everv fifth year. 
 
 C 2 JTuf-
 
 EPISTL;E TO THEMIS TI us. 
 
 raiftaken, or totally err, I expect to learn from 
 you. 
 
 The matters in your epiflle as to which I am 
 doubtful, and therefore wifh you to explain, my 
 deareft and mod refpedtable friend, {hall now be 
 mentioned. You " prefer," you fay, lf an adtive 
 11 to a philosophical life j" and you appeal to the 
 teftimony of the wife Ariftotle, who makes hap- 
 pinefs confift in acting well ; but " whether a po- 
 " litical or a contemplative life fhould be preferred, 
 " he was," you fay, " rather undetermined." For, 
 in fome places, he gives the preference to contem- 
 plation ; in others, he commends the " architects," 
 as he ftyles them, " of illuftrious deeds." u Among 
 (f thefe," you fay, " are kings." But Ariftotle 
 never ufes the word which you have introduced. 
 And the contrary may rather be inferred from the 
 paflage that you have quoted. For inflance : 
 " We think thofe acquit themfelves mod properly 
 <( in all external actions, who are, as it were, men- 
 " tal architects." This may be fuppofed to mean 
 law-givers, or political philofophers, and all who aft 
 merely by thought and reafon, rather than the 
 artificers of civil tranfactions ; for whom it is not 
 fuincient to confider, and devife, and inftruct others 
 in their duty ; but every thing that the laws di- 
 rect, or circumftances may require, they muft un- 
 dertake and execute themfelves ; unlefs we call 
 himan architect, who is 
 
 in m >hty actions fkill'd *, 
 
 * Miy?u iirij-op ipyut. OdyiT. xxi. 26. 
 
 as
 
 EPISTLE TO TH EMI STIUS. 21 
 
 as Homer poetically ftyles Hercules, the greateft 
 of fuch artificers. 
 
 But if we admit this to be true, and think thofe 
 only happy who have adminiilered public affairs, 
 fuch as have ruled or reigned over many, what then 
 (hall v\e fay of Socrates ? As to Pythagoras *, and 
 Democritusf, and AnaxagorasJ the Clazomenian, 
 they, perhaps you will fay, were in another re- 
 fped~t happy, on account of their contemplations. 
 But Socrates, rejecting a fpeculative, and prefer- 
 ring an active life, could not govern his own wife, 
 nor his fon, nor indeed reftrain two or three dif- 
 orderly citizens. Will you fay, that he was not 
 aftive, as he was not a ruler ? On the contrary, I 
 maintain, that the fon of Sophronifcus performed 
 greater actions than Alexander j| ; for to him I afcribe 
 
 * A philofopher of Samos, who travelled as far as India, 
 through ./Egypt, in fearch of knowledge ; and on return- 
 ing opened a fchool in a remote part of Italy (Magna Grae- 
 cia), in the reign of Tarquin the Proud. See Cic. Tufc. 
 S>u<*:ft. IV. i. He held the transmigration of fouls, and 
 was thought by his fcholars infallible. 
 
 f Of Abdera, from his ridiculing the eager purfuit of 
 welath and honour, known by the name of the laughing 
 philofopher. Yet his own father was Ib rich, that at one 
 time he feafled Xerxes and his army. He died at the age of 
 99 years. See Cic. de Fin. v. 29. and Acad. iv. 17. 
 
 j A man of high birth, and a higher mind, the pre- 
 ceptor of Pericles. See the Confolatory oration on the de- 
 prture of Salluft. 
 
 Socrates. His father was a ftone-rutter of mean for- 
 tune, and his mother (Phrcnarete) a midwife. 
 
 '_| Julian is right in preferring Socrates to the conqueror 
 of Afia, the wiieft and moil enlightened of philofophers to 
 the fcourge of mankind. But whatever he may fay of 
 pretended philofophical converfions, as rare as defective, 
 
 C 3 men
 
 22 EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. 
 
 men derived very little advantage from the inftructions of 
 Socrates : witnels the deplorable flate in which the nations 
 by whom philosophy was moil cultivated were with regard 
 both to religicr. nnd manners before the publication ot the 
 gofpel. It was refervtd for twelve men, of the clregs of the 
 people, and of a nation which Athens and Rome considered 
 as baibai. 3, to effect in the world a reformation which phi- 
 lolipby hr.d never attempted and deemed importable. It" men 
 had had for apoltles only Socrates, and the philosophers or" 
 different fects proceeding from hi: fchool, the world would 
 4V 1 1 ive been what it was formerly. In th* inidft of the 
 :>. : ' rfl d:\rkneis, fome men, ?. little lefs blind than the 
 vi/.r , :-fid often more vicious, had a glimpfo of a imall 
 number of truths, which ferved as food for their pride, and 
 exefcife' for their tongues, rather than as a rule for their 
 conduct. Seme confulcrcd every thing '<s problematical, even 
 tlie cxii'x'nvc of God, and the principles of morality. 
 Othets, raving at vice, diflionoured virtue, and affronted 
 public deccnry. Some performed virtuous aftions, but 
 from fanatii -iim and felf-love. Many concealed^ and badly 
 concealed, under the ph'Uofophical cloak, fome abomina- 
 tions which now we dare not name. The moil enlightened, 
 thr' ; r i ,;;it of ze.-il for the truihs with which they were 
 b -IT ac : : ii;. ( d, and befules not being able to i'nppurt thc:n 
 but by fi.ilrle and f.sr fr; m popular arg'.Jir.enrs, heid them in 
 captivirv. They had not the courage merely to propofe to 
 the multitude the fundamental tenet of the unity of God. 
 The people, withrut inftruclion, without principle?, without 
 manners, without an idea of the duties of man, ruined 
 headlong into all the horror.- of idolatry; and the prcft-i;.' 1 
 fages, fuch as Socrates, Plato, Cicero, Seneca, o. had the 
 meanncfs to wor/hip in the temples the sa;re Gods whom 
 they ridiculed in thtir fchools and in their writings : or at 
 the mod like Jv:lian, and ihe Piatonifts of his iiuie, by the 
 aid of fume arbitrary fyilem they formed a mon'ilrous mix- 
 ture of the tenets of the divine unity ^together with the 
 fpecrJ.ativc and practical follies of polythciim. It is even 
 more than probable, that the general corruption and 
 the various revolutions that happened in the world would 
 have abfolurely extinguifned the weak lights of philoibphy 
 if Chriftiar.ity had not come to ftrengthen, purify, and 
 extend them, and to place within the reach of the dullell 
 rr.inds both what the philolbphers could not, and what they 
 dared not, teach. Probity the nations which dii'niem- 
 
 bcrcd
 
 EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. 23 
 
 the military fkill of Xenophon *, the fortitude of 
 Antifthene s -f-, the Eretrian | and Megarean phi- 
 lofophy ; a Cebes |{, a Siunmias **, a Phaedon ff-, 
 and innumerable others -, not to mention the co- 
 lonies that we have received from Athens ; from 
 the Lyceum, the Porch, and the Academies JJ. Who 
 is now preserved by the victories of Alexander ? 
 
 bered the Roman empire would again have plunged us into 
 barbarifm, it" the Chriiuan religion had not civilifed them. 
 \Vill thofe'who oppofe it never have the equity to confider, 
 that without it they would certainly have been abandoned to 
 themoft foolifli fuperlhtions, and perhaps have been in a {late 
 fimilar to that of the favages of America ? LA BLETERIE. 
 * Of the " military ikill" of Xenophon there needs no 
 other proof than the retreat of the ten thoufand Greeks, 
 which he conducted. 
 
 f The founder of the fed of the Cynics, which Diogenes, 
 one of his principal hearers, rendered fo confiderable. 
 Patientiam, fays Cicero (de Orat. in. 17.) et duritiam 
 in Socmtico fermone max/me adamarat. He ftyles him alfo 
 (ad Aitic. xn. 38.) ho minis aculi nmgis quam eruditi. 
 
 i From Menedemus, becaufe he was of Eretria [in 
 Euboea I the Eretrians were ib called; all whofe good was 
 placed in the mind, and the quicknefs of its apprehen- 
 lion, by which truth is difcerned, Cic. Acad. iv. 42. 
 
 From Euclid, a difciple of Socrates, who was of Me- 
 gara [in Achnia],hir followers were ftyled Megareans, who 
 maintained that only to be good which was fingle, and 
 always the fame. Ibid. 
 
 || Of Thebes. He wrote three dialogues, whofe titles 
 are preferved by Diogenes Laertius (Vit. PbiloJ.) The firfl 
 of them, his Table, is frill extant. 
 
 ** Of Thebes alfo. Laertius enumerates twenty-three 
 of his dialogues. 
 
 ft Phsdon of Elis was firft a Have, but being emancipated 
 he ftudied philofophy, and became the chief of the feel 
 .called F.lean. 
 
 j J The Ichools of Ariftotle, Zeno (or the Stoics) and 
 the Academics. 
 
 C 4 What
 
 24 EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. 
 
 What nation is more wifely governed, what indi- 
 vidual is improved, by them ? Many you may find 
 whom they have enriched, but none whom they 
 have made wifer, or more temperate, either in them- 
 felves, or towards others : on the contrary, they 
 have fomented pride and infolence ; while all 
 who are now reformed by philofophy, are reformed 
 by Socrates. In this opinion I am fupported by 
 Ariftotle, who feems to mean the fame, by faying, 
 that " the theological work *, which he was com- 
 " pofing, required as great abilities as thofe which 
 " fubverted the Perftan empire." In this J think 
 he reafoned right. For vi&ories are principally 
 owing to courage and fortune, and, if you pleafe, 
 a kind of prudential cunning. But he who con- 
 ceives true ideas of God is not only endued with 
 perfect virtue, but it may jufHy be doubted whether 
 fuch a one fliould be ftyled a man or a God. For 
 if it be true, that all things are fo conftituted as 
 to be belt known by thofe who are connected with 
 them, he who is acquainted with the divine nature 
 may, in like manner, be deemed a pure imelii* 
 gence. 
 
 But fince I am returned to the comparifon be- 
 tween a contemplative and an active life, from 
 \vhich I had digrefled, and which, at the beginning 
 of your epiflle, you wilhed to decline ; I will 
 
 * Tu StoXoyixTi GTy|^af>;> " On the nature of God." The Se- 
 quel fliews, that it fliould be thus tranfiated. I know not 
 what this work of Ariftotle is; and Julian, if I miftake not, 
 is the only one who has mentioned it. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 mention
 
 EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. 25 
 
 mention the fame philosophers that you did, Arens *, 
 Nicolaus f , Thrafyllus J, and Mufonius ||. Not 
 one of thefe had the government of his country ; 
 though Areus, it is faid, refnfed the pra?fec~lure 
 of jgypt, which was offered him. But Thrafyllus, 
 being the intimate friend of that cruel tyrant Ti- 
 
 * A phiiofopher and a man of learning, who, with his 
 two fons, Dionyfius and Nicanor, was attached to the per- 
 fcn of Auguftus, whofe confidence he poffeffed. Seneca 
 fays, that he was the comforter of Livia, when {he feemed 
 inconfolable for the lofs of Drufus. Seme. Confolat. ad 
 Marciam. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 f A friend of Augufhis, M. Agrippa, and Herod the 
 Great, who learned of him philofophy. At the tlefire of 
 that king of the Jews, he wrote an univerfal hiftory. He 
 did honour to philofophy by his difmtereilednefs and gene- 
 rolity. He anticipated in every thing the wants of his 
 friends, and faid, that " money, like inftruments of mufic, 
 " was only ufeful to thoie who employed it." He com- 
 pofed the Life of Auguftus. or rather the hiftory of his 
 education. We have only fome fragments of his works, 
 which are in the extracts of Conttantine Porpbyrogenetus, 
 publiihed by M. de Valois. Ibid. 
 
 J A Platonic philofopher and a celebrated aftrologer. 
 It appears in Tacitus, Annal. vi. with what addrefs and 
 preieuce of mind he contrived to efcape the cruelty of 
 Tiberius, and to gain his confidence. Ibid. 
 
 || C. Cains Mufonius Rufus, a Roman knight. Not con- 
 tented with profeffing the Stoic philofophy, he endeavoured 
 to diffufe it among the young nobility of Rome, and fpeak- 
 ing freely of the conduct of Nero, that tyrant committed 
 him to a dreadful prifcn, from whence he fent him firil 
 into the ifland of Gyaros, and afterwards to the ifthmus 
 of Corinth, there to work in chains. A friend commi- 
 ferating his fituation, " I had rather be here," faid 
 Mufonius, " than acl on a ibge like Nero." After the 
 death of his perlecutor, he returned to Rome, and was the 
 only philofopher whom Veipaiian did not expell. As 
 Julian fays, that Mufonius fuftained the cruelty " of ty- 
 rants," he was again petfecuted by fome other befides 
 Nero; no doub by Domitian. Ibid. 
 
 berius ,
 
 EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. 
 
 berius, unlefs he had exculpated himfeif by the 
 difcourfes that he mis left, would have contrasted 
 a perpetual and indelible ftain. Thus civil go- 
 vernment was of no fervice to him. Nicolaus 
 was the artificer of no great deeds, and he is better 
 known by his writings concerning them. Mufonius 
 alfo, by fupporting with fortitude and fubduing 
 by firmnefs the cruelty of tyrants, became dif- 
 tinguifhed, and was no ieis happy than thofe who 
 governed the greateft kingdoms. As for Areus, 
 when he refufed the prefecture of -ZEgypt, he 
 \viliingiy deprived himfeif of the greateft happinefs, 
 if he thought an aclive life the greateft. You 
 yourfelf too are inactive, as you neither command 
 n army *, nor harangue the people, nor govern any 
 
 nation 
 
 * Indeed the Themifiius, with whom we sre acquainted, 
 was not a warrioh Nor did he harangue the people ; no 
 one, I imagine, had then that privilege, except the Em- 
 perors and Caefars. He was not Praefecl of Constantinople" 
 till the reign of Theodoiius. Neverthelefs, the manner in 
 which Julian here mentions the Themiftiu, to whom he 
 is writing, would make one think, that he was rather a 
 mere philofopher, concentered in his fchool, than the cele- 
 brated Themiitius, who had been made fenator of Con- 
 ftantinople two months before Julian was named Ccefar, 
 and who -had always the ambition to he at once a philo- 
 fopher and a ilatefman. EC fides, the Themiftius to whom 
 the epiftle is addrelTed, appears to have been one of the 
 mo ft intimate friends of Julian; and Themiftius the fenator, 
 in an oration pronounced in the reign of Theodofius, 
 in which he boafts of the regard which the Emperors 
 had had for him, intimates that J-iikia did not love 
 him, becaufe, he fays, that prince had been forced (by 
 truth, no doubt) to acknowledge him for the firit of phi-! 
 lofophers. In fhort, what is Hill of more confequence, 
 
 j'ulian
 
 EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. 27 
 
 nation or city : but does it follow, that you are 
 not wife ? And if you fhoukl form fevcral philo- 
 fophers, or only three or four, you would con- 
 tribute more elfentially to the happinefs of man- 
 kind than many kings united. A philolbpher adh 
 no inconfiderable part; he is not, as you have (aid, 
 the dire&or only of public counfels, nor is his 
 aftion confined to thinking. But if he confirm, 
 his words by his deeds, and appear fuch as he 
 would have others, to be, he will urge to action 
 
 Julian was not Casfar when ThemilVius was made fenator; yet 
 Themiftius, in the difcourfe where he thanks Conilantius for 
 his new dignity, congratulates the Emperor on having taken 
 Julian for his colleague. Thefe difficulties are very itrong ; 
 but may it not be faid in anfwer, i. That Themiftius was 
 perhaps one of the fenators who were ftyled aliefli or 
 immunes, and who enjoyed all the privileges of fenators, 
 without being obliged to exercife the functions ? 2. The- 
 miftius was at leuft as good a courtier as philofopher. 
 Policy therefore did nut allow him to boaft, in the reign of 
 Theodofius, of having been the friend of Julian. He 
 rather chofe to have it then believed, that, if that prince 
 had given him great marks of efteem, it was not fo much 
 from inclination -and choice, as becaufe he could not refufe 
 them. The vanity of Themiftius, which is very apparent 
 in the oration in queilion, concurred \\ ith policy to make 
 him fpeak this language. 3. It is -true, that the letters 
 by which Conftantius made Themiftius fenator were read 
 in the fenate of Conftantinople on the firft of September, 
 355, and tint fulian was not declared Ca;far till the fixth 
 of November following ; but the acknowledgement in which 
 the new fenator mentions the aiTociation of Julian was, as 
 appears by the diicourfe itielf, pronounced lome time after 
 the letters of Conftantius had been read at Conftantinople, 
 and when it was juft known that Julian was Cnsfar. No- 
 thing hinders our fuppoling that two months and a half, or 
 three months, intervened between the reading of thofe 
 1-tters and the difcourfe in queftion. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 with
 
 2$ EPISTLE TO THEMIST1US. 
 
 with more perfuafion and efFeft than thofe who 
 excite to it by command. 
 
 But I mud now return to the fubjec~t with which 
 1 began, and conclude an epiftle already perhaps 
 too long. This is the fum of it ; that it is not for 
 the fake of avoiding fatigue, nor of purfuing 
 pleafure, nor from a love of floth and idlenefs, that 
 I am averfe to public bufmefs ; but, as I faid ar the 
 L x tginning, from a confcioufnefs of my not having 
 fufficienf knowledge or genius, and alfo from an 
 apprehenfion of throwing a reproach on philolophy 
 (whom though I love I have not won, and who 
 by the men of this age is already too much flighted), 
 having written fomething formerly, and now being 
 corre&ed by your admonitions. 
 
 May God grant me fuccefs, and prudence to 
 deferve it ! I have now the utmoft occafion for the 
 affiftance principally of the Supreme Being, and 
 alfo of you philofophers, for whofe credit I have 
 expofed myfelf to danger. If God fhall by my 
 means grant to mankind a bleffing * beyond my 
 abilities alone to procure, you will have no reafon 
 to be offended at my difcourfes. For as ! am con- 
 feious of nothing good, this only excepted, that 
 having nothing, I do not think that I abound -j~, I 
 
 con- 
 
 * This bleffing was p.irticularly the re-eiuiblifliment of 
 Paganifai. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 j" OT i^noe o'.ofj.cu IK ^tfyjya E / t(r % wv 7 f ofy. As DOtn 
 
 Julian and his correspondent were, no doubt, well ac- 
 quainted with the writings of the Apoftles, I will hazard a 
 conjefture that this was intended as a fneer on an expreffion 
 4 of
 
 EPISTLE TO THEMISTIUS. 29 
 
 continue to aft, as you obferve, in the fame manner; 
 and I intreat you not to form high expectations of 
 me, but to fubmit every thing to God. So if any 
 faults (hould be committed, I fhall be blamelefs ; 
 but if all things fhould fucceed to my wifties, I 
 fhall be grateful and moderate, not arrogating to 
 myfelf the deeds of others, but afcribing, as is 
 juft, every thing to God *, and knowing that my 
 acknowledgements are due to him, let me exhort 
 you to return him yours alfo. 
 
 of St. Paul, in 2 Cor. vr. 10. flj ,*& 
 
 random j, s4s having nothing, and ytt pojjejjlng ail things. 
 
 The expreifions at leaft are very fimilar. 
 
 * That piety of fpirit, that true magnanimity, which 
 Julian here profefies, has been nobly exemplified, while L 
 am writing this, by a modern commander, the retriever of 
 the glory of the Britifh flag, whom we find, in the midil of 
 the moft brilliant fucceis, " giving God the glory," and 
 not fcrupling to declare, that " It has pleafed God, 
 *' out of his Divine Providence, to grant to his Majefty'* 
 " arms a moft complete viclory," &c. See Sir George 
 Rodney's Letter in the London Gazette of May 18, 178^. 
 
 A CON**
 
 50 A CONSOLATORY ORATION 
 
 A CONSOLATORY ORATION ON THE 
 DEPARTURE OF * SALLUST -}-. 
 
 A. D. IT TN LESS, my dear friend, I communicate 
 
 \_J to you what has occurred to me in private, 
 
 fince I heard of your approaching departure, I 
 
 fhall 
 
 " * One MS. adds, TH ay6<uTry, (" the excellent.") 
 
 f This is a farewell encomium on Salluft, who was going 
 into Illyricum and Thrace, he being one of the few who 
 was dear to Julian, and his confidential friend. He wrote 
 this Oration when he governed the Gauls with the title of 
 Caefar, during the life of Conftantius. The time when 
 Julian celebrated the departure of Salluft with this Ora- 
 tion may be afcertained from a paffage in the Epiille to the 
 Athenians, where he mentions, that Conftantius removed 
 Salluft from the Gauls, bccaufe he was his friend. 
 
 PETAU. 
 
 This Oration exhibits to us a picture of an excellent 
 temper, on the eminence to which Julian was now exalted, 
 in not being able to be feparated from the deareft and molt 
 ufeful guide and companion of his life without the utmoft 
 regret. SPANHEIM. 
 
 Salluft was an officer of great merit, by birth a Gaul. 
 What employment Conftantius had given him in the Gauls 
 is not known, but it was certainly one that was con- 
 fiderable. He was a Pagan, a man of learning, of great 
 ability in bulinefs, and of diftinguifhed probity ; fufficient 
 recommendations to the fiiendfhip of Julian. Salluft had 
 the rare talent of giving advice without petulance, and 
 without that air of confidence, which too often renders 
 the truth, and always thofe who fpeak it, difgufting. The 
 freedom with which he reproved the piince was foftened 
 
 by
 
 on THE DEPARTURE OF S A L L U S T. 
 
 fhall think myfelf deprived of forae confolation ; 
 
 or 
 
 by refpect, cordiality, and tendernefs. Julian revered him 
 as a father, and all the good that Julian did was attributed 
 to Salluft, without exciting any jealoufy in Julian. The 
 intrigues of Florentius and forae other officers induced the 
 Emperor to recall Salluft, on a pretext that was honourable 
 to him ; but, in reality, to mortify Julian, who was left at 
 the difcretion of perfons unworthy of their polls, and his 
 profefled enemies. He was extremely concerned at the lofs 
 of Salluft. To aflwage his grief, he addrefled this dif- 
 courfe to him, in which he takes leave of him in an affecting 
 manner, with teftimonies of the fincereft friendfhip and 
 efteem. Afterwards, when he was Emperor, he made him 
 Prasfect of the Gauls. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 On his entering the Perfian territories [April 13, 363], 
 Julian received a letter from his old friend Salluft [then in 
 Gaul], conjuring him not to take the field till he had ap. 
 peafed the Gods, who feemed, by various prodigies, to 
 declare againft the Perfian war. But the die was caft. Ibid. 
 
 See alfo Epiftle xvn, and what M. de la Bleterie fays 
 farther of this difcourfe in the Preface. 
 
 The meafures of policy, and the operations of war, 
 muft fubmit to the various operations of circumftance and 
 character, and the unpractifed fhident will often be per- 
 plexed in the application of the moft perfect theory. But 
 in the acquifition of this important fcience Julian was 
 affifted by the active vigour of his own genius, as well as 
 by the wifdom and experience of Salluft, an officer of 
 rank, who foon conceived a fincere attachment for a prince 
 fo worthy of his friendfhip ; and whofe incorruptible in- 
 tegrity was adorned by the talent of infinuating the 
 harflieft truths, w'.thout wounding the delicacy of a royal 
 ear. GIBBON. 
 
 This excellent minifter was fpeedily recalled by the 
 jealoufy of the Emperor ; and we may ftill read a feniible 
 but pedantic difcourfe, in which Julian deplores the lofs of 
 fo valuable a friend, to whom he acknowledges himfelf in- 
 debted for his reputation. Ibib. 
 
 This Salluft muft be carefully diftinguifhed from the 
 renerable Prefect of the Eaft, who had the fmgular ho- 
 nour of twice refilling the empire, once after the death 
 
 VOL. I. C 8 of
 
 32 A CONSOLATORY ORATION 
 
 or rather I (hall imagine that my dignity * affords 
 me no advantage unfhared by you. For having 
 participated with each other in much joy, and in 
 much grief, both in words and deeds, in public 
 and in private, at home and in the field, for the 
 prefent evils, be they what they may, we mud 
 both have recourfe to the fame remedy. But who 
 will fupply us with a lyre like that of Orpheus,, 
 or .with fongs like thofe of the Sirens, or with the 
 drug Nepenthes f ? Whether this was a fiftion 
 
 derived 
 
 of Julian, and again on the death of Jovian. Julian ho- 
 noured the confulfhip with the name of the Praefedt of Gaut 
 (A. D. 363.) Ibid. 
 
 The fourth Oration of Julian, In Solem Regent, compofed 
 jn three nights, is addrefled to the fame Salluft, and to- 
 wards the conclufion he mentions a former work (now loft) 
 *' on the Kfoyta," or Saturnalia, which was alfo infcribed to 
 him, and of which cae paragraph (quoted in the firil note 
 on the Ccefars, p. 145.), is preferred by Suidas. 
 
 * Of Casfar, which Conftantius had conferred on him 
 at Milan, Nov. 6, 355. See the Epiftle to the Athe- 
 nians, p. 77. 
 
 f Odyf. IV. 221. On the arrival of Telemachus at the 
 court of Menelaus at Sparta, 
 
 With genial joy to warm the foul, 
 
 Bright Helen mix'd a mirth-infpiring bowl ; 
 Temper'd with drugs of fovereign ufe t'affwage 
 The boiling bofom of tumultuous rage, 
 To clear the clouded front of wrinkled care, 
 And dry the fearful fluices of defpair. 
 
 Thefe drugs, fo friendly to the joys of life, 
 Bright Helen learn'd from Thone's imperial wife, 
 Who fway'd the fceptre, where prolific Nile 
 .With rarious fimples cloaths the fruitful foil, &c. 
 
 FEXTON, 
 Julian
 
 ON THE DEPARTURE OF S A L L U S T. 
 
 ?<J 
 
 derived from Egyptian lore, or was invented by 
 the poet himfelf, and 'interwoven in his fequcl of 
 the Trojan calamities, as if Helen had learned it 
 in .ZEgypt, it exprefies what ought to be the lan- 
 guage of thofe who \vifh to difpel, not the mi- 
 feries which the Greeks and Trojans mutually ii> 
 fiicled, but mental fufFcrings, and ro reftare chear- 
 fulnefs and tranquillity. For pleafure and pain 
 feem to flow from the fame fource, and in their 
 turns fucceed each other. And thofe events which 
 occaiion great labour and trouble, in the opinion 
 of the wife, give a mind, that is rightly difpofed, 
 roc more pain than pleafure. Thus from the 
 bittereft herb that grows on Hymettus * the bee 
 extracts fweet juice, and works it into honey. Such 
 bodies, as are healthy and rob u ft, are nourilhed 
 by any kind of food, and that which is generally 
 deemed unwholeforae, far from impairing, increafcs 
 their ftrength. But on thofe, whofe constitution^ 
 by nature, education, or ttudy, are weak, nnd 
 through their whole life, valetudinary, the flighted 
 attacks make violent imprefiions, So, in regard to 
 the mind, thofe. who are thus [fufcepiible, mail be 
 
 Julian refers to the fame paffa^e in his xxvvnrh Eplilie. 
 And Milton thus alludes to it, in his Maik or Comus : 
 
 Not that Nepenthes which the wife o.i' '{"hone, 
 In ^Egypt, gave to Jove -born HeUm, 
 Is of fuch power to itir up joy as riiis, 
 To life ib friendly, or fo cool to thirfr. 
 
 * A mountain of Attica, femaus in excellent honey, 
 Ubi non Hyimtto meila dec. HOK. 
 
 Vo;,. I. D contented
 
 34 A CONSOLATORY ORATION 
 
 contented *] with being moderately well, and though 
 they are not endued with the flrength of Antif* 
 thenes f or Socrates, or the fortitude of Caliif- 
 thenes J, or the temperance of Polemo ||, yet if 
 they can be ferene in fuch trials, perhaps in greater 
 difficulties they may be chearful. 
 
 As to myfelf, fenfible how much I fuffer and 
 lhall fufFer from your journey, my concern was 
 equal to that which I felt on firft leaving my pre- 
 ceptor . For I immediately recollected the la- 
 bours which we have (hared, our pure and un- 
 feigned affection, our innocent and unreferved 
 
 * Imperfect. The tranflator has fupplied the chafm by 
 conjecture. 
 
 j- A philofopher and teacher of rhetoric at Rhodes, who, 
 on hearing Socrates, bade his fcholars feek a new matter, 
 for he had found one. He was the founder of the Cynic 
 feel, and the mafter o/ Diogeues. 
 
 J A philofopher and difciple of Ariftotle, who fre- 
 quented the court of Alexander the Great. On his op- 
 pofing that prince being worfhipped in the Perfian manner, 
 he was accuicd of a pretended conspiracy, and cruelly ex- 
 pofed to liens. 
 
 || Polemo was a profligate young rake of Athens, and 
 even diftinguifhed by the diflblutenefs of his manners. One 
 day, after a riotous entertainment, he came reeling, with 
 a chaplet on his head, into the fchool of Xenocrates. The 
 audience were greatly offended at his fcandalous appearance; 
 but the philosopher went on, without any emotion, in a 
 difcourfe on temperance and fobriety. Polemo was fo 
 ftruck by his arguments, that he foon threw away his 
 chaplet ; and from that time became a difciple of Xeno- 
 crates ; and profited fo well by Ins inftruftions, that he 
 .afterwards fucceeded him in the Socratic fchool. 
 
 Mrs. CARTER. 
 
 The eunuch Mardonius. Sec the Mifopogon. 
 
 N con-
 
 ON THE DEPARTURE OF SALLUST. 35 
 
 converfation, our concurrence in all things laud 
 the alacrity and relblution with which we uni- 
 formly oppofed the wicked, and the firmnefs with 
 which we conftamly maintained our purpcfe, having 
 one and the fame mind, iianlar manners, and being 
 united by the ftricleil friendfliip. Beficles, I recal- 
 lected that exprefiion, 
 
 On the field Ulyffes ftands alone *. 
 
 For I now much refemblc him, fince God has re- 
 moved you, like Ke&or f, far from the darts which 
 have been launched at you by fycophants ; or 
 rather at rne, endeavouring to wound me through 
 you; as thinking no method fo certain as that of 
 depriving me, if poiTible, of the fociety of a faith- 
 ful friend, an alert defender, and a fharer, with 
 the utmoft alacrity, in all my dangers. You, I 
 think, at being denied a participation in my cares 
 and labours, are no lets affected than I am ; but on 
 
 * II. xi. 401. QiaQy, ? oSvawc. Pope, 509. It has he-- 
 fore been remarked, (p. 3. note.) that it was fafhionablc, 
 i'or the Greeks in general, and Julian, their admirer and 
 imitator, in particular, to quote Homer at random on every 
 occailon. The above exprdiion is applied by the poet to 
 Ulyfles, when Diomed had been wounded by Paris, and 
 objiged to quit the field. 
 
 t II. xr. 164. This pnlTage is again quoted and applied, 
 v, ith more propriety, by Julian to himieH in his Allegorical 
 Fable. That Hcdlor was removed from the batrle was a 
 defirable circumilanre to Ulyfles ; not fo the dt-iertion of 
 his friend Diomed. To th.is therefore the removal of 
 jSiiiijit from Jxilisri feems more applicabJe. 
 
 D 2 rny
 
 S 6 A CONSOLATORY ORATION 
 
 my account, aud for my fafety, are rather more 
 anxious than myfelf. For as I never preferred my 
 own intereft to yours, I have always experienced 
 from you the fame attention. I am therefore juftly 
 and deeply concerned, that to you, who, with re- 
 fpecl: to others, can fay, 
 
 " I heed them not, for my affairs are prof- 
 perous," 
 
 I alone mould occafion grief and anxiety. But 
 in this, it feems, we are equal fufferers; you, how- 
 ever, lamenting only on my account, but I con- 
 ftantly regretting the lofs of your fociety, and recol- 
 lefting the friend fhip which we mutually pledged 
 to each other, cemented firft and principally by 
 virtue, and afterwards by the obligations, not from 
 you to me, but thofe which were largely conferred 
 on me by you. This friendlhip we bound not by 
 oaths, or other fuch ties, like Thefeus and Piri- 
 thous *, but by a perpetual concurrence in opinion, 
 in being fo far from uniting to injure any one, as 
 never to converfe on the fubjecl:. But if any thing 
 happened advantageous to an individual, or the 
 common good was in view, this engaged our private 
 difcourfe. 
 
 That I have abundant caufe to lament, on being 
 feparated, for ever fo Ihort a time, not only from 
 a friend, but, Gcd knows, a faithful afiiflanr, 
 
 * The fivorn friendfiiip of thefe two heroes was pro- 
 verbial. See the Liic or' Thefeus in PJuUrch. 
 
 Socrates,
 
 
 ON THE DEPARTURE OF S A L L U S T. 
 
 Socrates, I doubt not, the great herald and teacher 
 of virtue, would allow; as far as his fentiments 
 may be conjectured from Plato. For thefe are his 
 words : " Rightly to govern a ftate, I deem a moft 
 " difficult talk ; for it cannot be governed without 
 " faithful friends and counfellors ; and fuch can- 
 " not eafily be found." And if Plato thought 
 this more arduous than digging through Athos, 
 what can we expect, who in wifdom and knowledge 
 are more unequal to him than he was to God ? 
 But I not only regret the mutual affiftance which 
 we gave to each other, in civil adminift ration, and 
 which enabled us more eafily to fupport whatever 
 happened unexpectedly either by accident, or by 
 the machinations of our enemies ; but the ap- 
 proaching lofs of my chief folace and delight rends 
 and affiifts my heart. For what friend equally 
 bene-volent have I now remaining ? Whofe fincere 
 and innocent confidence ihall I be able new to en- 
 dure ? Who will advife me prudently, reprove me 
 mildly, confirm me in virtue without pride and 
 arrogance, and ufe freedom of fpeech without 
 afperity j like thofe, who from medicines extract the 
 naufeous, and leave the ufeful ? Thefe advantages * 
 I have derived from your friendfhip. Deititute of 
 
 * In the original, A?,X rsro jus> ex, TJ o-j $i>.ta? TO oft&S 
 nta^<uo-^v ; literally, " But I have reaped this d>f grace from 
 * your Iriendfhip." Perhaps we fhould read TO omoi (utile}. 
 The Latin tranilator renders it by famam bane (which may 
 be taken either in a good or bad fenfe) ; and Mr. Gibbon 
 (fee his lecond note, p. 31.) by " reputation." 
 
 D 3 that,
 
 38 A CONSOLATORY ORATION 
 
 that, how ihall I compofe numerous orations ? 
 Who, when, in dcfpai", I am hazarding iny life, 
 x from regret cf you, of your connfels and bene- 
 volence, will perfuade me to be rcfigned, and to 
 fubmit with fortitude to whatever God decrees ? 
 For this, in concurrence with him, the great Em- 
 peror * feems to have deiermiued. By what 
 method, by what charms, can the mind be enabled 
 to fupnort iuch anxiety and diilrefs with mode* 
 ration ? Shall we imitate the difcourfes of Za- 
 ir.olxis -j~, and mutter his incantations, which, when 
 Socrarcs had introduced them at Athens, he ob- 
 liged beautiful Charrnidcs to fing, before he would 
 cure lii m cf liis head-ach ? Or if thefe, as being 
 too vail, and intended for greater trial?, like large 
 machines in a fnia'S theatre, are unmanageable, yet, 
 IVom former occurrences, collecting, as it were, from 
 a variegated rr/jadow, fome choice and beautiful 
 flowers, (hall we folace our minds with narrations, 
 interfperfing with them fome tinctures from phi- 
 lofuphy ? As draughts that are too luicious are rei> 
 
 * Ccnflantius. 
 
 f A (iete, a'.jd fervant of PytWgoras, who, at his re- 
 turn, civiiiied his cotnui'vnien, and ov the'ii was reputed .1 
 G-d. 
 
 I An Athenian, rhe fon of '(jhuicon, famous for his 
 hcaury. See the Dialogic: of IMa'o fo named, in which 
 ChanuKits i an inttri !(;csit(.>r. " if," lays Socrates, *' what 
 " Cri;k:s here i'ay be true, if you are extremely tem- 
 ^' perate, you have no more occasion for ZamoL.is, or the 
 " iiiL-aiKarinr.s of Aburis, tli'e Hypt rhorean ; that alone will 
 ^ l:e a iuiikient rtrn^dy for your head." Charmides is alfo 
 nieiuioned by Pl;uu in his Triages, Protagoras, and 
 Dai:qnet. 
 
 dered
 
 ON THE DEPARTURE OF S A L L U S T. 39 
 
 dered more palatable by the infufion of certain 
 drugs, fo when fuch narrations are feafoned with 
 fome apt maxims of philofophy, thofe parts of 
 ancient hiftory which feem tedious are ftripped of 
 their redundant loquacity. 
 
 What firft ?. What next? What laft (hall I re- 
 late * ? 
 
 Was not Scipio, loving Laelius, and being equally 
 loved by him, fo clofely connected with him, that 
 he undertook nothing without having previoufly 
 confulted and advifed with him ? which occafioned 
 the envious traducers of his actions to fay, that 
 Ladius was the author of them, and Africanus only 
 the performer. The fame report prevails in re- 
 gard to us, and I hear it, I confefs, with great 
 fatisfaftion. For to adopt the good advice of ano- 
 ther feemed to Zenof a proof of greater virtue 
 
 than 
 
 * Odyff. IX. 14. 
 
 f- Zeno, the founder of the Stoic feft, was born at 
 Citium, a fea-port town in the ifiand of Cyprus. He 
 was originally a merchant, and very rich. On a voyage 
 from Tyre, where he had been trading in purple, he was 
 fhipwrecked near the Piroeum. During his ihy at Athens, 
 he happened to meet, in a bookfeller's (hop, with the 
 fecond book of Xenophon's Memorabilia ; with which he 
 was extremely delighted ; and alked the bookfeller where 
 Inch kind of perfons, as the author mentioned, were to be 
 found. The bookfeller anfwered, pointing to Crates, the 
 Cynic, who was luckily paffing by, " Follow him ;" which 
 Zeno djd, and became his difciple. But his difpofition was 
 too mode ft to approve of the Cynic indecency ; and for- 
 faking Crates, he applied himfelf to the Academics, whom 
 he attended for ten years, and then formed a Ichool of his 
 own. There was a conftant feverity, or perhaps aufterity, 
 in his manners, his drels, and his difcourfe ; except at an 
 
 D 4 enter-
 
 40 A C O N S O L AT 11 Y () II A T I O N 
 
 lhan originally to conceive what is j aft and right 
 thus altering a line of Hefiod : 
 
 That ir.an is belt who follows good sdvicc *, 
 from 
 
 who counfrls wifely 1 for himfelf. 
 
 Yet ! c!o not ppprove the alteration, as I think the 
 faying of Ilciicd much more true. But better 
 thr.n cither is that of IV.'hr.ooras, from w'hom that 
 
 O 
 
 :-rb originated, " With friends all tilings are 
 common." This indeed does not refer ro money 
 oWj b;;t includes a communion of 'minds and un- 
 L :t,,;v'iin^s. So that what you fngge'ft is no le'fs 
 :yof'hfm who adopts it; ahd in fuch 
 parts of yours nsT performed, you 'arc juilly en- 
 led ro a {h..rc. ' But let thofe adions be alcribcd 
 10 \vhoni t!:. ; v.-il!, they belong to another; and 
 
 ciilcrf:iinment, when he ufed to appear with cliearfulnefs 
 niiii cafe. His morals were irreproachable ; and he was 
 prtfented by the Athenians with u goiuen ci'u\.n, ])ecaufe 
 wi-.s a public eivjrnple^ or viriuc, by its .confojrnnty 
 *> i rds :i;id.ci'; . ,. . , . ! iJnQty-eiglit yta-rf, 
 
 . :-;:n;.;!cd Jiijr.ltlt', bccaul ; j, :n r.;;,iru; cnit of his 
 td to iall u;;\ui, aiu! brcuk :. 
 
 DUCE.N-S LAHRTTUS. 
 
 O: T3-" fifl 1V?,-trr.-, Of' y ejTTOVTI 
 
 OIKS and Days or' Ileliod, vcr. 291. we read, 
 
 Own a.fj 7ra;fi; <,:, o,- afr<u 77Si>Ta iy,o-fl. 
 
 q, T.X.J' F--..TW) to _ which - latter hemiilich, i. ! . 
 k.^.ius, Zeiio Uilnti.ru.'cd part of vcr. 293, viz. 
 
 Kcr9>.oc d'' y x;'.ftii-:, e; ii', x. T. X. 
 He .too is good, --.-bo/ullo-iva ^<oJ advice. 
 liefiocf and Livy th.ought, that he who counfelled wifely 
 for hioii'el.r, was the firft of men. and that he who followed 
 the good advice of others was the fecond. Bat Zeuo pre- 
 ferred the huitr. 
 
 Of
 
 ON THE DEPARTURE OF S A L L U S T. 
 
 of their fuggeftions the invidious c:,n make no 
 advantage. 
 
 I now return to Africanus and Latins. Afrer 
 Carthage * was deftroyed, and all Libya was fub- 
 jected to R.orne, Africanus difpatched Lrelius with 
 the intelligence of his fuccefs. Scipio was con- 
 cerned at being thus feparated from his friend ; 
 yet he did not think his grief inconfolable. Ladius 
 too, it is probable, was afflifted at departing alone; 
 yet this calamity did not fcem to him infupportable. 
 Cato alfo took a voyage, leaving his intimate friends 
 at home. Pythagoras too travelled into ./Egypt, 
 and fo did Plato and Democritus, without any com- 
 panion, leaving behind them many whom they 
 highly efteemed. Pericles made war againft Samos -f, 
 unaccompanied by Anaxagoras, and conquered 
 Eubcei | ; by his counfels indeed, for he was his 
 
 * By mentioning Libya afterwards, Julian feems to mean 
 OK' Carthage ; but C. Loslius, as we learn from Livy 
 (xxvii. 7.), was dilpatched to Rome by Scipio Africanus 
 the elder, with the account of ** the conqueft," not de- 
 ftnirtion, " of New Carthage, the capital of Spain, in one 
 " day." He was indeed difpatched, many years after, by 
 the younger Scipio, from Africa, with Syphax and other 
 prisoners, and with the intelligence of the victory of Zama: 
 but it does not appear that he was fent with the account 
 of the definition of Old Carthage. Julian trailed much 
 to his memory, which fometimes deceived him. 
 
 f Making war with the Samians, Pericles gained a naval 
 victory, and at In it took their city. 
 
 J Eubcea having rebelled againft the Athenians, he in- 
 vaded it with a fleet and army, and reduced it to their 
 obedience. See his Life in Plutarch. 
 
 pre-
 
 A CONSOLATORY ORATION 
 
 preceptor * ; but, like other neceffaries, he 'did not 
 take him perfonally with him to the field. It is 
 reported, that the Athenians feparated him un- 
 willingly from the fociety of his preceptor. But, 
 like a wife man, he bore the frenzy of his fellow- 
 citizens with firmnefs and moderation ; thinking 
 that his country, greatly, though not juftly, of- 
 fended at their connexion, fhould, like a parent, 
 be obeyed, and perhaps thus reafoning with him- 
 felf : (you muft confider what follows, as the words 
 of Pericles.) " The world at large is my city and 
 *- country, and my friends the Gods and Genii, 
 " and all the good, whoever they are, and where- 
 " ever they refide. Bat the place of our birth 
 " deferves refpeft, as this is the law of God, and 
 " what flie commands ought to be obeye i, and 
 " not oppofed, left, -as the proverb fays, we kick 
 " againft the pricks -j-. The yoke of necefiky, 
 " as it is ft vied, is implacable. Yet it is not to 
 << be deplored and lamented, even when its weight 
 " is the heavicfl, but: the burthen itfelf is to be 
 " rightly eflimated. She now commands Anax- 
 l ' agoras to leave me; Ib that I fhall fee no more 
 " my bed friend, on whofe account I was dif- 
 " pleafed with the night for fecreting him from me, 
 " and returned thanks to the day and the Sun for 
 
 % Tn the Phadrus of Plato, Socrates fays, that " Pe> 
 " riclcs had this advantage of all other orators, that lie 
 " had been a hearer of the philoibpher Anaxagoras." 
 
 Cic. Oral. 4. 
 
 I- n,- ry? yj.. T a xax-Ti^oy. The farue proverb is ufcd in the 
 Adis or the Apoftles, ix, 5. 
 
 re-
 
 ON THE DEPARTURE OF S A L L U S T. 
 
 c reftoring to my fight the chief object of my 
 f( love. If nature, O Pericles, had given you 
 " no more fight than fhe has given to birds, had 
 " your grief been dill more poignant, it would not 
 " have been ftrange. But as (he has not only 
 " breathed into you a foul, and implanted a mind, 
 " by whofe recollection you difcern, though abfent, 
 " many things that are now tranfacling at a dif- 
 " tance, but has alfo endued you with reafon, 
 (f which, difcovering many future events, reveals 
 " them, as it were, to the eyes of your mind, and 
 " a fancy, which, difclcfing things prefent, fub- 
 " mits to her judgement and invefligation not 
 " thofe only which are the objects of fight, but 
 " thofe alfo which are many miles diftant, more 
 " plainly even than fuch as are at our feet, 
 " as it is faid, and before our eyes ; what avail 
 " fo much affliction and difquiet ? To produce au- 
 " thciity for what I fay, l The mind fees, and the 
 " mind hears/ fays the Sicilian *. A being fo 
 " acute, and endued with fuch wonderful fwiftnefs, 
 " that Homer, in order to exprefs the incredible 
 " velocity of one of the Gods, fays, 
 
 * O SxE?.i&;lr?. What author is here meant I cannot 
 afcertain. If Julian himfelf had been the fpeaker, we 
 might fuppoie him to refer either to Theocritus, (whom, 
 in Epiftle in. he ftyles o ZxjXJijj -sroujrw^) or Diodorus Si- 
 culus. But Feiicles could not, without a great ana- 
 chronifm, quote a bard, who was above two hundred years, 
 or an hiftorian, who was near five hundred years, fubie- 
 quent to himieif.
 
 44 A CONSOLATORY ORATION 
 
 u As fome way-faring man, who wanders o'er 
 " In thought *. 
 
 ^ " Affifted by this, you may eafily difcern from 
 " Athens one who is in Ionia ; from the Gauls 
 " thofe who are in Illyricum and Thrace ; and 
 te him who is in the Gauls from Thrace or 
 " Illyricum. For, though plants, when removed 
 " from their native foil in an improper feafon, 
 " cannot be preferved, yet men, when they travel 
 *' fro ni place to place, do not, in like manner, 
 " fbon decay, or change their difpofition, or j de- 
 " viate from the right principles which they had 
 " previously imbibed. Therefore if we do not 
 " love with more ardour, we certainly fhould not 
 " abate in our benevolence. Luxury is attended 
 " by lafcivioufnefs, but poverty by viituous love. 
 " Thus we fhall be happier by the increafe of 
 *' our mutual affection; and (hall fee onrfelves 
 " fixed, like ftatues in their niches, in the mind 
 *' of each other. Now I (hall behold Anaxagoras, 
 " and then Anaxagoras will behold me ; for no- 
 " thing prohibits our feeing each other-, not the 
 " flefh and nerves, the face and form, or a bodily 
 " rcprefentation, (though nothing perhaps will 
 " prevent even thele appearing to our minds), but 
 " the virtue, the actions, the difcourfes, the con- 
 M veriiuions, the meetings that frequently cc- 
 " curred between us; when we not unikiliully 
 
 * ]!. xv. So. Pope, 86. Homer here compares the 
 flight of Juno, from Ida to Olympus, to a man travelling 
 in idva. 
 
 " joined
 
 
 ON THE DEPARTURE OF S A L L U S T. 
 
 joined in the praife of education, and juftice, 
 44 and of that underftanding which directs all 
 4< things human and divine ; and alfo on civil 
 < government, and laws, on virtuous conduct, and 
 14 ingenuous (tudies, we made fuch obfervations 
 4< as our memories fuggefted. Reflecting on thefe 
 4< things, and ruminating on fuch reprefentations, 
 44 we (hall difregard the deluflons of nightly 
 44 dreams ; nor will the fenfes, affected by a bad 
 44 habit of body, prefent to the mind vain and 
 " empty vifions. For, iufleacl of employing the 
 44 afliftance and miniitradon of the fenfes, the 
 " mind will meditate on thefe fubjects, and thus 
 M inure itfelf to the contemplation and compre- 
 44 heniion of incorporeal objects. For by the 
 " mind we nffoclate even with the Almighty, and 
 " are naturally enabled to behold and investigate 
 44 things that efcape our fenfes, that are in place 
 " far diftant, and even things that have.no place *, 
 " And fuch a vifion all whole lives have rendered 
 " them worthy of ir, conceive in their minds anJ 
 " perfectly enjoy." 
 
 * Thus Shakefpeare : 
 
 The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, 
 
 Dotli glance from heaven to earth, from earth to 
 
 heaven, 
 
 And, as imagination bodies forth 
 The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen 
 Turns them to (hape, and gives to airy nothing 
 A local habitation, and a name. 
 
 Midfummer Night's Dream, A6t V. Sc. L 
 
 Pericles
 
 46 A CONSOLATORY ORATION 
 
 Pericles, being endued with true magnanimity ^ 
 and educated free in a free city, might folace him- 
 felf with fuch fublime meditations. But I, born 
 " in thefe degenerate days #," confole and beguile 
 my mind, and affwage the bitternefs of my forrow, 
 by arguments more human ; thus endeavouring to 
 apply fome remedy to the many anxious and dif- 
 treffing ideas which on that fubjecl perpetually 
 a {Tail me ; like a charm againft the bite of a wild 
 beail, deeply wounding my heart and vitals. Of 
 all my affliftions this is the principal ; I am now 
 left alone, deprived of a fmcere, focial intercourfe, 
 and an unreferved communication. For I have 
 none remaining whom I can confult with equal 
 confidence. But cannot I eaiily converfe with my 
 felf ? Or cannot fome other engage my thoughts, 
 and oblige me to regard and attend to fubjecls not 
 of my own choofmg? Is not this fimilar to writing 
 on water, or boiling a (lone, or in vefti gating the 
 traces of the flight of birds ? Our converting on 
 fuch fubjecls none can hinder. And perhaps God 
 will fuggefl fomething better. For it is impoffible 
 that a man who gives himfelf up to the Almighty 
 fhould be entirely neglected and deferted by him* 
 But God with his own arm defends him, endues 
 him with ftrength, infpires him with courage, 
 inftills into his mind what he Ihould do, and deters 
 him from what he fhould forbear. A divine voice 
 
 * Oic wt CTC SKT*. 11. v. 304. An expreffion often quoted 
 by our author. 
 
 accom-
 
 ON THE DEPARTURE OF S A L L U S T. 47 
 
 accompanied Socrates *, forbidding him to do 
 
 * The notion of Socrates having a fupernatural atten- 
 dant, either an evil fpirit, as fome of the Fathers imagined, 
 or a good one, as others have conceived, has been lately 
 cli feu fled, in " an Effay on the Damon or Divination of 
 4i Socrates," by Mr. Nares, who maintains, " that the 
 " divinations of Socrates were perfectly analogous to thofe 
 " in common ufe at the time in which he lived ; but that 
 * l he, from a fcrupulous exaclnefs in his expreffions, (and 
 " probably alfo with a defire to inculcate, as frequently 
 *' as poflible, the notion of a conftantly active and fuper- 
 " intending providence) chofe rather to refer his divi- 
 *' nation always to its primary and original caufe, the 
 " Gods, than to their Secondary and unconfcious inftru- 
 ** ments, the omens by which it was conveyed. In con- 
 *' fequence of thefe ideas, he appropriated to the fubje^ 
 ** an expreffion, which firft the malice of his enemies, and 
 " fince the miftaken zeal of his friends, have vvrefted to 
 * 4 his difadvantage, as if he had pretended to a communi- 
 " cation with fome attendant Daemon ; than which nothing 
 * could be more remote from his ideas. It appears, in- 
 " deed, that he conceived the particular ligtial, or omen, 
 *' by which he was directed, to be fomething in a manner 
 " appropriated; or at lead more accurately obierved and 
 " attended to by him than by others. But in this there is 
 *' nothing repugnant to the common' notions of prophetic 
 *' warnings m his and every ag-, nor in the leaft fubverfive 
 *' of what has been here advanced. Frem this reprefen- 
 " tation of the matter it will appear, that there is, in 
 " the hiftory of this extraordinary man, nothing which 
 " can countenance the vague and romantic notion of 
 *' attendant tutelar daemons ; nor- anv thing which can 
 " in the leaft invalidate our conceptions of his ftric"t in- 
 " tegrity and open difpofition : a conclulion, which every 
 " lover of philofophy will doubtlefs embrace with pleavure, 
 " if the arguments and authorities which form the foun- 
 *' dation of it be deemed of fufficient flrength." The au- 
 thor fupports this ingenious hypothecs by paflages to the 
 fame purpofe from Plato, Xeflophon, and Plutarch. 
 
 If Julian had not been more a Greek than a Roman, he 
 would have mentioned alfo, on this occafion, Numa and 
 his nymph Egeria.
 
 48 A CONSOLATORY ORATION 
 
 whatever was improper. And Homer fays of 
 Achilles, " His mind was infpired *," intimating, 
 that our thoughts are fuggefted by God, when the 
 mind, by reflection, converfes fir ft with itfelf, and 
 then privately with God, without interruption ; for 
 the mind requires not ears to learn, nor God a 
 voice to teach, what is neceflary, but, without fen- 
 fation, a participation of the Almighty is given to 
 the mind. How, and in what manner, I have not 
 leifure now to examine ; but that this is effected 
 there are fure and faithful witneffes, not fuch as 
 are ignoble, and to be claffed with the Megaren- 
 fians, but thofe who have had the firft reputation 
 in vvifdom. Therefore, as we expert that God 
 will be for ever prefent with us, and chst we fliall 
 again have a mutual interccurfe, the violence of 
 our affliction ought to abate. Even Ulylfes, who 
 fo much lamented his confinement in an ifland for 
 feven whole years, though I praife him for his 
 bravery on other occafions, I admire not for his 
 grief on this. For what availed his gazing on the 
 fca, and medding tears -f- ? Not to be cejefted and 
 tiifpirited by misfortunes, but to a& with intrepidity 
 in the midit of danger and definition, fcems in- 
 deed more than can be expecled from man. But it 
 
 * By Juno. II. I. 55. Thus nlfo Virgil, Hit- mentem 
 genltrix pulcbcrrima mifit. ^En. xil. 554. 
 
 f OdyfT. v. 82. All on the lonely fhore he fat to weep, 
 And roll'd his eyes around the retlleis deep ; 
 Tow'rd his lov'd coaft he roll'd his eyes in vain, 
 Till dimm'd with riling grief, they flream'd again. 
 
 Pope, 105. 
 
 is
 
 ON THE DEPARTURE OF S A L L U S T. 49 
 
 'is unjuft topraife, and not to imitate, the ancients, 
 or to think that God readily affifted them , but 
 will overlook thole of this age whom he fees at- 
 tached to virtue, fince on that account he was 
 pleafed with them. It was not for perfonal beauty ; 
 or Nireus'* would have been more beloved by 
 him. Nor was it for ftrength ; as the Lceflrygons | 
 and Cyclops | were greatly fuperior in ftrength to 
 TJIyfles. Nor was it for riches; for then Troy 
 would have remained in fafety. But why mould 
 we labour to inveftigate the reafon of the poet's 
 faying that Ulyfles was beloved by God , when 
 we may hear it from himfelf ? 
 
 Becaufe, in every ufeful art refin'd, 
 His words were eloquent, and wife his mind |[ 
 It is plain therefore, that, if we have thefe en- 
 dowments, the Almighty will not deny us his 
 fupport, but, according to the oracle given of 
 
 * II. ii. 671. Nireus is here mentioned as the moft 
 beautiful of the Greeks, Achilles only excepted j but hit 
 name never occurs again ; for 
 
 few his troops, and fmall his ftrength in war. 
 
 It is remarkable, that Nireus is introduced by Euripides 
 [Iphigenia in Aulis] as accompanying Ulyfles. though their 
 manners were uni'uitable, and their dominions [Syma r.nd 
 Ithaca] far diftant. In the vith book of Quintus Calaber, 
 Nireus falls by the fpear of Eurypylus. WODHULL. 
 
 f Odyff. x. 119, &c. 
 
 t Ibid. ix. 125, &c. 
 
 <=>Eo:p^7i Ail fiAo? (beloved by Jupiter) in II. xi. 419, 473* 
 
 !{ Odyff. xni. 332. [Minerva] by faying to Ulyffe:, th.it 
 ,fhe would never overlook nor defe-rt him, " Bec.uife, &c. 
 fhews that of all we have, virtue only is eftcemed ^y G A 
 and divine* Plutarch, de amUwdis Poetis* 
 
 You L E old
 
 5 
 
 old to the Lacedaemonians, invoked, or not in- 
 voked, God will be prefent with us. 
 
 Having thus fought confolation, I now return 
 to that eircumftance, which, though at firft it 
 feems trivial, is generally thought of no fmall 
 importance. Alexander is faid to have wifhed for 
 Homer, not as a friend indeed, but as a herald, 
 as he was to Achilles, and Patroclus, and the two 
 Ajaces, and Antilochus. But he, always defpifing 
 what he had, and coveting what he had not, 
 flighted his contemporaries, and was never fatisfied 
 with what was granted him. If he had been in- 
 dulged with Homer, he would probably have re- 
 quefted the lyre of Apollo, on which he played at 
 the nuptials of Peleus *, thinking it not a fiction 
 of the genius of Homer, but a true faft related 
 in verfe, like thefe. 
 
 Aurora now, fair daughter of the dawn, 
 
 Sprinkled with rofy light the dewy lawn -f , 
 
 And, The Sun arofc J. 
 
 And, Crete, a fruitful foil . 
 
 * II. xxiv. 62. Juno fays to the Gods, 
 To grace thofe nuptials, from the bright abode, 
 Yourfelves were prefent ; where this minftrel.-god 
 (Well pleas'd to fhare the feaft) amid the choir, 
 Stood proud to hymn, and tune his youthful lyre. POPE, 
 This harmonious banquet is alfo celebrated by Eu- 
 ripides, in one of the thorufles of his Jphigenia in 
 Aulis. Apollo is there introduced foretelling the glory of 
 Achilles. 
 
 f II. viii. i. Pope. 
 
 I OdyfT. in. i. 
 
 Ibid* xix. 172, Fcnton. 
 
 And
 
 N THE DEPARTURE OF S A L L U S T. 51 
 
 And other fimilar paflages of the poets, which 
 are plain and obvious, as fome of the objects 
 ftill remain^ and fome of the fads are flill tranf- 
 afted. 
 
 But whether the excellence of his virtue, and 
 a wifdom, by no means inferior to his great fuper- 
 fluity of worldly happinefs, inflamed his mind with 
 fuch ambition, that he coveted more than any .one 
 clfe ; or whether the excefs of his valour and in- 
 trepidity tended to arrogance, and bordered on 
 oftentation ; mufl be left to the difcuflion of thofe 
 who would compofe his panegyric or fatire ; if any 
 fliare of the latter can be thought his due. I, on 
 the contrary, always fatisfied with what is prefent, 
 and not in the leaft defirous of what is abfent, con- 
 tentedly acquiefce in having my merits proclaimed 
 by a herald who has been a fpeftator and a fellow- 
 eombatant with -me in all *, but whofe judgement 
 partiality never biafles, nor prejudi9e perverts. 
 Sufficient is it for me to profefs my friendfhip ; in 
 other refpecls I fhall be more filent than thofe who 
 ire initiated by Pythagoras f. 
 
 But here I muft advert to the general report, 
 'namely, that you are going not only among the 
 lllyrians, but alfo to the Thracians, and thofe 
 
 * Salluft himfelf, no cfoubt, on whofe repVefentation of 
 his conduft Julian might indeed fafely rely. 
 
 f The fcholars of this philofopher in their profjation* 
 were enjoined filence, and were only to hear ; which time 
 was called | x /xu6r. Cell, i, 9. See the Epiftle to The- 
 hiftius, p. 21. note *. 
 
 E z Greeks
 
 52 A CONSOLATORY ORATION 
 
 Greeks who dwell near that fea *. This. bein- 
 
 & 
 
 the place of my birth and education, lias infpired 
 me with a great regard for thofe people, and their 
 country, and cities ; and an equal regard perhaps 
 they retain for me. To them, I am confident, 
 your arrival will be moft acceptable, and that they 
 will think it a happy exchange, as you have left 
 me here. By faying this, I mean not to infifluate 
 that I wifti it ; on the contrary, if you could return 
 hither immediately, by the fame road, I mould be 
 much more gratified. But as it murt happen, I 
 am confidering how to fupport it with'firmnefs and 
 equanimity, while I congratulate them on feeing 
 you jufl come from us. On your account, I re- 
 concile myfelf to the Gauls ; deeming you worthy 
 of being ranked among the firil of the Greeks, in 
 juftice and other virtues ; as being alfo an adept 
 in oratory, and far from a novice in philofopby, in 
 which the Greeks alone are perfect; inveftigating 
 truth, as its nature requires, by reafon, and not 
 fuffering us to be deluded by idle inventions, and 
 incredible fables, like many of the Barbarians. 
 
 And now (to difmifs you with aufpicious omens) 
 wliere-ever you go, may the benevolent God be 
 your guide, and Jupiter the friendly and hofpitable 
 receive you, conducting you fafely by land, and, 
 if you embark, fmoothing the waves 1 May you 
 be loved and honoured by all men ; fo that they 
 may rejoice at your arrival, and lament at your 
 
 * The Propontis, which laves Conftatxtinople, where 
 Julian was bora, It divides the Hellefpont and the Thra- 
 cian Bofphorus. 
 
 3 depar-
 
 ON THE DEPARTURE OF S A L L TJ S T. 
 
 departure ! Still retaining your affe&ion for ns, 
 may you never want the fociety of a friend equally 
 faithful ! May God alfo conciliate to you the favour 
 of the Emperor ; may he regulate every other cir- 
 cumftance to your complete fatisfa&ion ; and grant 
 you a fafe and fpeedy return to your own country 
 and to us ! In thefe prayers for you I unite with 
 the good and virtuous. Let me add, 
 
 With health, with joy, to his lov'd native fhore 
 May the kind Gods my honour'd friend reftore *f 
 
 * Ot?,i TE, xttt i^cyte. pgaigi* ^ OJ ^' Tof oXi Sent, 
 Nor!7i oxo ^E ^Xix i? Trxr^at yauai. g 
 
 The firft line is taken from ver. 401, and the fecond is 
 an alteration of Nori0-*Ta inver. 404, of Otlyff. xxiv. with 
 the addition of moft part of ver. 562 of OdyflT. x. 
 
 Befides the warmth of affe&ion that breathes through 
 this whole compofition, feveral parts of it, efpecially the 
 conclufion, in the original, are poetical without being 
 turgid. 
 
 E 3 JULIAN
 
 54 EPISTLE TO CONSTANTIUS. 
 
 JULIAN C^SAR TO THE EMPEROR 
 CONSTANTIUS *. 
 
 ^ D TT^VER retaining one and the fame opinion, I 
 JLLrf have adhered to what I faithfully purpofed, 
 not lefs from principle than by the covenant of 
 treaties, as has evidently appeared in various in- 
 flances. As {jpon as I was created Caefar, you ex- 
 pofed me to all the tumults and horrors of battle j 
 yet, contented with a delegated authority, like a 
 faithful apparitor, I filled your ears with frequent 
 Accounts of fuccefies anfwerable to your wiflies ; 
 never dwelling on my own dangers, though by 
 continual proofs it may appear, the Germans being 
 every where fcattered and difordered, that I was 
 always the firft in labours, but the laft in re- 
 fremment. 
 
 * The Gallic legions being ordered by Conftantius to 
 march into the Eaft, a tumult arofe (as Julian himfelf re- 
 lates more particularly in the fucceeding epiflle to the 
 Athenians); and from the fubordinate dignity of Caefar he 
 was exalted by the army to the fupreme rank of Auguftus. 
 This epiftle, written foon after that event, is preferved by 
 Ammianus. 
 
 He compofed, in his own name, and in that of the army, 
 a fpecious and moderate epiftle, which was delivered to 
 Pentadius, his mafter of the offices, and to his chamberlnin 
 Eutherius ; two ambafiadors, whom he appointed to receive 
 f .ie anfwer, and oblerve the difpofitions, of Conftantius. 
 
 GIBBON.
 
 EPISTLE TO CONSTANTIUS. 
 
 But, with your leave, I will inform you whether 
 any innovations have now been made, as you 
 imagine. The foldiers, wafting their lives in many 
 and fevere wars, without advantage, have formerly 
 held confultations, raging and impatient of a ruler 
 in the fecond place, being lenfible that no recom- 
 pence can be made them by the Crefar for their 
 daily fatigues and frequent victories , their re- 
 fentment has been appeafed by no increafe of ho- 
 nours, not even by a year's pay now due, to which 
 this alfo has been unexpe&edly added; their being 
 ordered to the moft'diflant parts of theEaftern world, 
 men accuftomed to frozen climates were to be fepa- 
 rated from their wives and children, and were dragged 
 forth indigent and naked. Being therefore more lat- 
 terly enraged than ufual, affembling in the night, 
 they befieged the palace, exclaiming JULIAN AU- 
 GUSTUS with loud and repeated cries. I trembled, 
 I confefs, and withdrew ; and while I could, fought 
 fafety by filence * and retirement. But no refpite 
 being allowed, guarded, as I may fay, by the free 
 fortrefs of my bread, I went forth and prefenud 
 myfelf to them, thinking that my authority or 
 mild words might allay the difturbance. Their 
 fury was wonderful, and it went fo far, thar, on 
 my endeavouring by intreaties to conquer their ob- 
 flinacy, ruPning clofe up to me, they threatened 
 inftant death. At length fubdued, and conjec- 
 
 '* In the original, Jimulatiwe. I prefer the correction of 
 Gelenius, autfiatioxe, 
 
 E 4 turing,
 
 S 6 EPISTLE TOCONSTANTIUS. 
 
 turing *, that, wheu I was killed, another per* 
 haps would be declared prince, I affented, thus 
 hoping to appeafe the tumult. . 
 
 This is the fubftance of what has happened, which 
 I requeft you to accept with complacence. And 
 think not that any thing is mifreprefemed, or credit 
 the evil reports of the malicious, who are accuf. 
 tomed to promote the revolts of princes for their 
 own advantage ; but banifhing flattery, the nurfe 
 of vice, cultivate the mod excellent of all virtues, 
 juftice ; and receive with good faith the equitable 
 terms which 1 offer, confidering them as beneficial 
 both to the Roman ftate and to us, who are allied 
 by confanguinity, and by the eminence of fuperior 
 rank. Thefe requefts, (excufe me) as they are found- 
 ed in reafon, I am lei's anxious for your granting 
 than for your approving and thinking them juft and 
 proper. I am ready alfo with chearfulnefs to obey 
 your commands. What may be neceffary I will 
 reduce into a fhort compafs. 
 
 I will furnifh Spanifh horfes -}~ for your chariots, 
 forne LetianJ youths, fprung from Barbarians on 
 
 * In the original, Mecumque ipfe contejians. In the margin 
 
 of the Royal MS. 'conjcttans is written in the fame hand. 
 
 , VALOIE. 
 
 The tranflator has adopted the latter. 
 
 f Zonaras fays the fame thing. And he adds, that 
 Julian infcribed his letter with the name of C IE far, not 
 Auguftus, left Conftantius, offended at it, ftiould imme- 
 diately difdain it : which Julian alfo confirms in his Epiftle 
 to the Athenians. Ibid. 
 
 | The Leti, or Laeti, were fome half-barbarians, who 
 dwelt in the Gauls; or (as our Ammianus fubjoins) cis 
 Rbcnum cdiia harbarorum progenies. Ibid. 
 
 '
 
 EPISTLE TO CONS TANTIUS. 
 
 this fide the Rhine, or, at leaft, from vaffals who 
 have revolted to us, to be incorporated with your 
 provincials and targeteers. And thefe, as long as 
 I live, I promifc to fupply, not only with gratitude 
 but delight. Praetorian prsfe&s, of diftinguifhed 
 equity and merit, hall be given us by your cle- 
 mency *. As for the other ufual magistrates, and 
 the dire&ors of the war, it is proper that they 
 (hould be left to my nomination, and alfo the 
 guards. For, when they can previoufly be 
 learned, it is abfurd for the manners and tempers 
 of thofe who are flationed by the Emperor's fide 
 to be unknown to him. The following rule, with- 
 out the lead hcfitation, I would eflablifh : Gallic 
 recruits, juft enlifted, fhould not be fent, either 
 voluntarily, or by force, to foreign and far diftant 
 countries, and opprefled with daily fatigues or vex- 
 atious accidents, left the youth Ihould be totally 
 exhaufted, being affli&ed with the recollection of 
 paft, and finking under impending, dangers. Nor 
 can it be proper to oppofe the Parthians with aux- 
 iliaries drawn from hence, fince the barbaric fury 
 is not yet quelled, and (if you will permit me to 
 fpeak the truth) thefe provinces, harrafled by con- 
 tinual misfortunes, require external and powerful 
 afliftance. In giving this advice I ftudy, I am 
 convinced, the public good, requeuing and intreat- 
 ing ; for I know, not to arrogate more than my 
 ftation warrants, what embarraffed and cefperate 
 
 * A term of refpeft, like " msjefiy," &c. 
 
 affairs
 
 5* EPISTLE TO CONSTANTIUS. 
 
 affairs have been retrieved by the agreement, of 
 princes mutually complying with each other; 
 and the example of our anceftors will (hew, that 
 rulers, thinking in this and the like manner, have, 
 as it were, difcovered the method of living hap- 
 pily, and of endearing their memory to the latcil 
 times *. 
 
 * In this negociation Julian claimed no more than he 
 already poflefled. The delegated authority which he had 
 long exercifed qvef the provinces of Gaul, Spain, and Bri- 
 tain, was ftill obeyed under a name more independent and 
 auguft. The foldiers and the people rejoiced in a revo- 
 lution, which was not flained with blood. Florentius was 
 a fugitive ; Lupicinus a prifoner. The perfons who were 
 difaffe&ed to the new government were difarmed and fe- 
 cured ; and the vacant offices were distributed according 
 to the recommendation of merit, by a prince who defpifed 
 the intrigues of the palace, and the clamours of the foldiers. 
 
 GIBBON. 
 
 ** To this often fible epiftle he added," fays Ammianus, 
 " private letters, o&jurgatorias et tnordacesj' which the hif- 
 torian had not feen, and would not have publifhed. Per- 
 haps they never exifted. Hid. 
 
 Thefe " flinging" letters, Zonaras fays, were not fent 
 by Julian at that time, but afterwards, when Leonas, who 
 had been ambaflador to Julian, returned unfuccefsful to Con- 
 flantius. " Leonas therefore, defpairing of being able to 
 " execute any part of his commiffion, returned with the 
 *' letters of Julian, in which he impudently upbraided the 
 ** Emperor, as having been very criminal towards his re- 
 4f lations, and threatened that he would revenge their in- 
 ' juries." VALOIS. 
 
 The ambafladors found Conftantius at Csefarea in Cappa- 
 docia. On reading the letters with which they were 
 . . charged, this prince flew into a dreadful paflion ; and 
 viewing them with a look that feemed to threaten their 
 lives, he commanded them to withdraw, without conde- 
 fcending to give them any further audience, or to alk them 
 any queflions. He was very near quitting the Pfirfian war 
 to march dire&ly againft Julian. However, he only dif- 
 patched a Quaeftor, named Leonas, to him, with a menacing 
 letter, and recalled his principal officers. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 THE
 
 [ 59 ] 
 
 THE EMPEROR JULIAN TO THE SENATE 
 AND PEOPLE OF ATHENS *. 
 
 THOUGH many actions have been performed A * D < 
 by your anceftors, for which you, as well as 
 they, are juftly renowned, and though many 
 trophies have been erefted by all Greece in general, 
 
 and 
 
 * Julian wrote this epiftle foon after his being pro- 
 claimed Emperor in the Gauls ; and while he was marching 
 with his army againft Conftantius. For Libanius affirms, 
 that he then wrote letters to feveral cities of Greece, in 
 order to exculpate his - afluming the empire to other na- 
 tions. " He was fo much more felicitous," fays that 
 orator, in his Panegyric on the confulfliip of Julian, " to 
 *' exculpate himfelf than to gain a victory, that, while he 
 *' was expofed to the greateft dangers, heapologifedforhim- 
 " felf by the Greeks, to all mankind, writing epiftles to 
 ** them, according to the feveral difpolitions of each city, 
 " fome longer, and fome fhorter, as might fuit thofe to 
 " whom they were addrefled." 
 
 This epiftle therefore explains the motives of his con- 
 duct, and fully defcribes the patience with which he had 
 hitherto borne the repeated injuries and provocations of 
 Conftantius, and the great reluctance with which, by the 
 concurrence of the army, he was exalted to the empire. 
 Indeed, of all the remains of that apoftate, none feems to 
 me more worthy of publication and the perufal of the 
 learned, efpecially of thofe who ftudy hiftory. For it ac- 
 curately relates that whole tranfaction, throws light on 
 many parts of this fubjed tranfmitted to us by Ammianus 
 and others, and alfo contains feveral hiftorical facts and 
 circumftances not to be found elfewhere. The great regard 
 which Julian had for Athens and the Athenians, and the 
 
 reaions
 
 6o EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 and by your city in particular, when fhe contended 
 fmgly either with the neighbouring ftates, or with 
 the Barbarians, none of her deeds are fo diftin- 
 guiftied, no a&s of her heroifm fo illuflrious, as 
 not to be rivalled by the other cities. In fome, 
 they have co-operated with you ; others they 
 have performed unaided and alone. But left, by 
 mentioning particulars, I fhould feem to draw an 
 odious comparifon, or to give an invidious pre- 
 ference, in order to ferve my caufe, as is ufual 
 with orators, who by faintly praifing, really de- 
 
 reafons why he reforted thither, Gregory of Nazianzus de- 
 clares in his fecond oration rXiT. PETAU. 
 
 After having made himfelf mafter of the pafs of the 
 Sucei, in his march againft Conflantius, while Julian re- 
 fided at Naiflus in Illyricum, waiting for his troops, and 
 juaking new levies, he wrote to feveral cities of Greece, 
 among others to Athens, Lacedaemon, and Corinth, not 
 only to engage them in his intereft, but alfo to juftify his 
 procedings. 
 
 In particular, he made it a point of honour and religion 
 to take for judges the Athenians, fo celebrated in an- 
 tiquity for their love of juitice, by carrying his caufe to the 
 tribunal of Areopagus, where the Gods had formerly ap- 
 peared. Of all his manifeftoes we have only that which 
 tvas addrefled to them. It is an eloquent and perfectly well- 
 written piece. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 The moft authentic account of the education and adven- 
 tures of Julian is contained in this epiftle, or manifeflo. 
 It deferves the praifes of the Abbe de la Bleterie, and is 
 one of the belt manifeftoes to be found in any language. 
 
 GIBBON. 
 
 His epiftle to the Senate and people of Athens, feems to 
 have been dictated by an elegant enthufiafm, which 
 prompted him to fubmit his actions and motives to the 
 degenerate Athenians of his own times, with the fame 
 humble deference, as if he had been pleading, in the days 
 of Ariftides, betore the tribuqal of the Areopagus. Ibid, 
 
 predate
 
 EPISTLE TO TIJE ATHENIANS. 61 
 
 predate and decry the merit of their opponents, 
 this only I will fay of you, to which of all that tra- 
 dition ha,s tranfmitted the other Greeks can pro ; 
 duce nothing parallel. You obtained the do- 
 minion over the Lacedaemonians, not by the force 
 of your arms, but by the fame of your juftice* 
 Ariftides * the Jufl was formed by your laws. And 
 thefe proofs of your virtue, fplendid as they are, 
 you have confirmed by (till more fplendid fa&s. 
 For in mere matters of opinion we are liable to 
 miftake, nor is it unufual to find, among many 
 wicked men, one who is virtuous. Is not Deioces } 
 celebrated among the Medes, Abaris among the 
 Hyperboreans, and Anacharfis among the Scy- 
 thians; of whom it was remarkable, that, though 
 they lived . in nations notoriously unjuny they 
 nevertheless cultivated juftice ? The two laft fin- 
 cerely; .the firft was prompted by intereft to dif- 
 
 * See hrs Life in Cornelius Nepos. 
 
 j- .He determined with fo much prudence the differences 
 of the Medes, that he deferved to be chofen their king. 
 He buiit r according to Herodotus, 'the city of Ecbatana, 
 and reigned forty years, from the year of the vvorld 3358 
 to 3398. MORERI. 
 
 J A Scythian, who wrote Apollo's Northern Jo'irney in 
 verle, oracles, predictions, &c. famblichus fays, he was a 
 fcholar of Pythagoras, which does not agree with what the 
 ancients affirm of Abaris being prior even to Solon. Ibid. 
 
 Another Scythinn, contemporary with Solon, of whom 
 he learned philolophy at Athens. 
 
 He was the only philofopher of his nation, whence the 
 proverb, Anacbarjtf inter Scytbas. At length he was killed by 
 his brother the king of Scythia, for endeavouring to introduce 
 the Athenian laws. See Diogenes Laertius, in his life, /. i. 
 
 femble
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS; 
 
 femble it. But it is difficult to produce a whole 
 city and nation, who pra&ife jufllce, both in word 
 and deed, except yourfelves. Of many inftances 
 that have occurred among you it may be fufficient 
 to rriention one. When Themiftocles *, after the 
 Perfian War, had formed a plan of privately fetting 
 fire to the naval arfenals of the Greeks, and dared 
 not publickly to propdfe it, but faid, he would 
 communicate the fecret to any one whom the 
 people by their fuffrages would eleft, they 
 named Ariftides. He, on hearing the propofal,' 
 concealed the particulars, and only informed 
 the people, that " nothing could be more advan- 
 '* tageous, but at the fame time more unjuft, than 
 '* the advice of Themiftocles." Upon which, the 
 city immediately difclaimed and declined it ; a 
 iignal inftance of magnanimity, and highly be- 
 coming a people educated under the eye of the 
 wifeft Goddefs! 
 
 If thefe things happened among you in ancient 
 timesy and a fmall fpark, as it were, of the virtue 
 of your ahceftors has ever fmce been prefervcd, 
 you ought, when you hear of any great action, to 
 oonfider, not the furprifing fingularity of it, like 
 that of SL man walking with as much ftrength and 
 agility as if he had wings, bu't whether its motives 
 were juft a-nd right. And if fo, both in public 
 and private it will receive your defer ved applaufe; 
 if not, it will with reafon be difregardcd and con- 
 demned. Nothing is fo nearly .allied to wifdom as' 
 
 * See his Life in Plutarch." 
 7 juftice.
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 63 
 
 juftice. Thofe therefore who defpife it you fliould 
 baniili as profaners of your Goddefs. Though you 
 are not {hangers to my affairs, this is the occafion 
 of my prefent addrefs. If any thing iliould chance 
 to have efcaped your knowledge (and fome par- 
 ticulars probably may, even of thofe in which you 
 all are intereiled), it may thus be communicated 
 to you, and by you to the other Greeks. And let 
 me not be charged with trifling, if I endeavour to 
 comprife in my difcourfe thofe fcenes which hare 
 lately been prefented to the eyes of all men, as 
 well as former tranfadlions, as I wifli to have every 
 thing that relates to me generally known. I will- 
 begin with my anceftors. 
 
 That the family of my father, and that of Con- 
 ftantius, had the fame origin, you need not be in- 
 formed. Our fathers were brothers, having the 
 fame father. How that moft humane Emperor 
 a&ed afterwards towards me, who was fo nearly- 
 related to him, and how he unjuftly put to death 
 fix of his own and my coulins, as well as my father, 
 his own uncle, together with , another uncle of ws 
 both, and alfo my elder brother * ; and after hav- 
 
 * He fays, that " fix couGns and two uncles" were flam 
 by Conftantius. The latter, I find in the hiftory of thofe 
 times, were [Julius] Conftantius, the father of Julian, and 
 Dalmatius, both fons of [Conftantius] Chlorus, by Theo- 
 dora, the daughter-in-law of Maximian-Hcrculius, and 
 brothers of Conftantine. [See the " Pedigree of Julian."] 
 But the hiftorians mention only " three" coufin-germans, 
 viz. Dalmatianus and Hannibalianus, the fons of Daima- 
 tius, and Nepotianus, the fon of Eutropia, the filler of 
 Conftantine. The others were killed, foon after the death 
 
 of
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 ing intended to deftroy me * and another brother f, 
 changed our fentence into banifhment, from which 
 he afterwards releafed me, but deprived him, juft 
 before he was killed, of the name of Casfar ; all 
 thefe dreadful tragical events why fhould I relate ? 
 efpecially, as he is faid to have repented, and to 
 have been much afflicted, attributing to them his 
 want of children, and alfo his ill fuccefs in the 
 
 of Conftantine, by a confpiracy of the foldiers. Nepoti- 
 anus was flain after the death of Conftans, not, however, 
 by- Conftantius, but by the tyrant Magnentius. So fay 
 Socrates, Zofimus, Eutropius, and Victor. I read there- 
 fore of but " two" coujins flain by Conftantius. The refl 
 let the diligent and learned inveftigate. PETAU. 
 
 * We learn, from this paflage, what is mentioned, as I 
 recollect, by no other writer, that Julian had, befides Gallua 
 Caqfar, another, and that an elder brother, whom he here 
 plainly diftingiiifb.es from Gallus, and mentions to have 
 been killed, before Gallus was Caefar, by Conftantius. 
 Who he was, or what was his name, I profefs myfelf to be 
 ignorant. But fo was Socrates. Ibid. 
 
 Julian here charges his coufin Conftantius with the whole 
 guilt of a maffacre, from .which he himfelf fo narrowly 
 efcaped. His affertion is confirmed by Athanafius, who, 
 for reafons of a very different nature, was not lefs an enemy 
 to Conftantius. (torn. i. p. 8^6.) Zofimus joins in the 
 fame accufation. But the three abbreviators, Eutropius 
 and the Victors, ufe very qualifying expreffions, " fmentt 
 *' fofius quamjxbente ;" " incertum quo fuafore" " vimiKtttm* 
 
 GIBBO.V. 
 
 f Sorrates (III. i.) fays, that " Gallus was fuffered ta 
 ** live, becaufe, on account of his weak conftitution, it was 
 '* thought that he could not live long ; and Julian, becaufe 
 " he was only eight years old." But in this, Socrates is 
 not quite accurate. For Julian was not " eight," but only 
 *' five" years old : as he died in the 31 ft year of his age, in 
 that of our Lord 363. But Conftantine died in 337. 
 
 PETAU. 
 
 Perfian
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 Perlian war *. Such rumours, at leaft, were circu- 
 lated amo::g the courtiers, in the hearing of' me 
 end iny Lire brother Cscfar Callus, for Jo he was 
 then ft vied. Having put him alfo to death, in 
 defiance ot all laws, he neither luffcred him to be 
 entombed with his anceftors, nor his memory to be 
 honoured. But, as I faid before, we were in- 
 formed and convinced, that fome of thefe crimes 
 originated from mifapprehcnfion and mi fin for- 
 mation, and others from the overbearing infolcnce 
 and compulsion of a turbulent and mutinous arniv. 
 Such reports often readied us in cur confinement 
 in a certain Cappadocian farm -}*, to which no one 
 was allowed accefs : there we were both placed ; 
 my brother, recalled from exile ; and I, almoil a 
 child, removed from fchool. Why Hi on Id I mcr.- 
 tion thofe fix years ;|;, in which we were educated 
 in a kind of foreign country, and r.s i'lrictly guard- 
 ed as if we had been in Perfia, no (! ranger, nor 
 
 * In the reign of Condantius, Sapor vanquifhed the 
 Romans in ni;:j battles, invaded Melbporar.ua, took Amida, 
 Singara, &c. 
 
 f Ammianus (xv. 2.) relates, that " Julian v/as accufcd of' 
 " going from th-_- rann of Macellum, in Cappadocin, into 
 *' Alia, for the iake of liberal lludics, and, in his way 
 *' through CnnfiMntinople, ot iceing his brother.'' Thisa>p.;, 
 or farm, IK- t --, r.nd thus the Latins tcr.n 
 
 a farm frfc /!:>. l'i-. 
 
 .Mr. Gibbon, in different pu-oe?, ftyles this farm " an 
 *' ancient palace-, ' " a Vtrong cnfrte,'' " the refuK nre of 
 " the kings of ( 'appadoci \ :" " rb.e liti'.ation," lie ::d'!;, 
 *' \vas pleaiuju, rh<; buildings llnteh\ the iiv:lofure fp-.i- 
 " cious." It v,-as at the f.>o: of Mount Arg-.v'.is, not fir 
 from Ca-i'arca, - . .:.re. 
 
 J From ;4-5 :o 35:. 
 
 Vol. I F ur.v
 
 66 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 any of our friends, being admitted to us; where, 
 fecluded from all liberal itudies, and debarred all 
 intercourfe with families of rank, we were forced 
 to afibciate only with our domeilics ? From thence, 
 by the affiftance of the Gods, I was at length 
 happily releafed; but my brother was moft unfortu- 
 nately inveigled to court. If there was any thing 
 ruftic and uncivilifed in his deportment *, it was 
 owing to that mountainous education. He there- 
 fore who doomed us to it is juftly chargeable with 
 the blame. Thanks be to the Gods, philofophy 
 has purified me ; but this bleffing was denied to 
 my brother. For after he had exchanged the 
 country for the court, and had been invefted with 
 the purple, he immediately became an object of 
 envy ; nor did that envy ceafe, till, not contented 
 with dripping him of the purple, it had accom- 
 plifhed his deftruction. Yet though he might be 
 
 * This opinion of Julian concerning his brother is ex- 
 prefled by Ltbanius, in his panegyric on the confulihip of 
 Julian, p. 234, where he mentions fome letters, in which 
 he, a private man, admonifhed Gallus, then Cjtfar, of his 
 duty : " If his brother had attended to his letters, we 
 *' fhould now have had two princes. For he who did 
 " not reign dared to admonifh him who did. But when 
 " he, who might have alleged fomething in his own de- 
 " fence, had been put to death unheard, an inclination 
 " appeared of preferring fome charges againft the other, 
 " as if he had killed him ; but that not being practicable, 
 *' his life was fpared to be harrafled by fatiguing journeys, 
 " thus fuffering, though innocent, the punifhment due to 
 ' guilt." The difpolition ci Gallus is nllo mentioned by 
 Nazianzen, m his Stellteut. I. 4 * Though of a paflionate 
 " temper, he was unaffectedly pious." PETAU. 
 
 deemed
 
 EPISTLE TO THE A T H E N I A N S. 67 
 
 deemed unfit to govern, furely he was not un- 
 \vorthy to live. And even allowing the expedience 
 of depriving him of life, he fhould not have been 
 denied the ufual privilege of criminals, that of 
 being heard in his o.vn defence. The law does 
 not forbid him who has the right of imprifoninp; 
 robbers to put them alfo to death ; deprived of 
 all their honours, and reduced from a princely to a 
 plebeian rank, it fays, that they flvall be executed 
 without a trial. What if he could have produced 
 the perfons who impeached thefe traitors * ? For 
 in feme of their letters that were (hewn him, 
 heaven -knows what charges were contained ! Thus, 
 incenfed by an unbecoming weaknefs, he was rafhly 
 betrayed into paffion. lie did nothing, however, 
 that deferred death ; but, you may fay, that it is 
 a rule univerfal, both among Greeks and Bar- 
 barians, that he who has received may revenge an 
 infult. True yet Conftantius revenged it too fe- 
 verely. But he did nothing more than is ufual. 
 " It is ufual," he once faid, " for an enemy, when 
 " enraged, to go any lengths." Bat to gratify an 
 
 * See in Ammianoa (xiv. i. 7.) a very ample detail of 
 the cruslties of G-illus. His brother Julian inlinuaus 
 that a conspiracy had been formed ag-uml him ; and /o- 
 fimus names the perfons eng-.ged in it ; a minifter of con- 
 fiderablc rank, and r.vo obicure agents, who were refolvtd 
 to make their fortunes. GUIDON. 
 
 Julian perhap? here refers to the mnfTacre at Antiocb <>f 
 the Imperial mini TUTS, Duniitian and Moniiiis, by the com- 
 mand of p,ilhi: : . 
 
 F 2 eunuch,
 
 68 E P I S T I, E TO THE A T II E N I A N S. 
 
 eunuch *, his chamberlain -f-, and alfo I^s nuil:r- 
 coolc, Conftantius facrificed to his .molt inveterate 
 enemies '| his coufin-gennan, the Co?l~ir, the 
 band of his filler , the father of his niece, whofe 
 
 lifter 
 
 * Eufebius, who ruled the monarch and 'he palace with 
 ft 1 . ch abiolute Ivvay, that Conftantius, according to the 
 larcafm of an impartial hiftorian, poffeffed fame credit 
 with his haughty favourite : Stjwd quern (fi i'r,i did (L-lcat) 
 mttlta Conjlantii'.s potuit. Amm. xviii. 4. , Gim;oN. 
 
 f A favoui iteeunuch, who, in the language of that age, was 
 ft) led thepr&pffjiitujL or prefect, of the lacrcd bed-chamber. 
 His duty was to attend the Emperor in his hours of ftate, 
 or in thofe of atnufement, and to perform about his perfcn 
 fill thole menial ferviccs which can only derive their ipicn- 
 dor from the influence of royalty. Under n piince who 
 deierved to reign, the great-chamberlain (for iiich we may 
 call him) was an ufcful and humble domeftic; but , an art- 
 ful domeftic, \vho improves every occaiion of ungurrded 
 c< nfidence, will infenllbly acquire over a feeble mind th.it 
 aicendant which harlli xvifdora and uncomplying virtue can 
 feldom obtain. Ibid. 
 
 % The Emperor was eafily convinced that his own fafety 
 was incompatible with the life of his coufm ; the fentence 
 of death was figned, difpatched, and'. executed ; and the 
 nephew of Conftantine, with his hands^ tied behincT his 
 bick, was beheaded in prifon, like the vileil malefador. 
 Ibid. 
 
 This event happened " near Pola in Iftria," fays Am- 
 minniiF, " where Crifpus, the fon of Conftantine, was for- 
 ** merly killed." Near Flr.ncna, or Flavotm, in Dalmatia, 
 (not far from Pola) fay Socrates and Sozomen. 
 
 Gallus had married Conftantia [rather Conflantina], 
 the daughter of Conllantine, and lifter of Conltantii:;'. 
 Julian mentions his having a daughter by htr ; and alib 
 that Conftantius had before married the lifter of Gallus. 
 Thefe two circumftanc.es, related, as far as I know, by him 
 only, were before unknown. The firft of thcle is deduced 
 from this pafiage a little corrected. For aoeApi^; ^ niece") 
 Ihould evidently have been written, inilead of aot*+>$>>i 
 
 (" nephe'.v.")
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIAN S. 
 
 filter lie himfelf had manied, and who was con- 
 nefted to him by fo many domeflic ties. Me, not 
 without difficulty, he difmifTcc.f, after removing me 
 to various places, and keeping me in confinenunr, 
 feven months. And if fome God, to infure my 
 fafety, h id no: ingratiated me with his beautiful 
 and excellent wife, Eufebia *, I could not have 
 efcapc?d his refentmenr. Though the Cods will 
 atteft that my brother, when he purfued thole 
 me.ifures, was never feen by mCj even in a dream ; 
 for neither was I with him, nor did I vifit him, 
 nor was I in his neighbourhood. And when 
 
 ( u nephew.'') Callus had the fame father as Julian ; his 
 wiother was Galla, the filter of Kuiinus and Cerealis, whom 
 The Coriiulihip, fays Ainmianus (1. xiv.) had ennobled, Con- 
 ilantiv.s fcjms to have married the daughter of this Gall.i 
 ore Euiebia, and I know not whether it was file with 
 whom. Conilantius celebrated his nuptials in the life-t'.me, 
 ' by the management, of his father, as related by 
 .-, in his loife or' Conitantine. That Conilantius 
 ; wives, is aiiinr.cd by. AmmLnus. And Victor 
 , in his Epitome, " of his wives, of whom he had 
 .nr.ny, he loved Eufebia mof;." Eufebia is generally men- 
 tioned as the lint ; and Fauftina [or Fauib] as the feccnd 
 and la ft, by whom he had a poftj^rnous daughter, Con- 
 iij^'i.'. wiio was rn;ii-r:ed to the Emperor Gratinn. PETAU. 
 * A yvgjuan of beauty and merit, v.'ho, by the afce::- 
 (!:.; t flic iuid i^iiiu-d over the mind or her nufbafi'd; counter- 
 1, i meed, in ibme nitMi'ure, the powerful confpiracy of the 
 eunuch,. iSht; was a native o| Thedtlonica in Macedonia, 
 o;" a ;u>b'e fuK. ; !y, and ijie daughttr, as uell as fifter, 'of 
 l"-..i';;!,. I ;i .riairi^gs with the Emperor maybe plac-U 
 in the y. In a. divided ag.>, the iiiilorians of nil 
 
 parties a^ree ij hei' praifcs. GIBSON. 
 
 Li ivlui'.iu: ^;;a cdfo lu.-uana, is her panegyric by Ammi- 
 aniss. " In fuch an exalted il.uion not inhuman," gi.ses aa 
 imperfect idea of it in Engliil:. 
 
 F 3 I vvrote
 
 70 E P I S T L E TO THE ATHENIAN S. 
 
 I wrote to him, which was feklom, my letters were 
 fliort. ! therefore gUully took refuge in the houfe 
 of rny mother. For as to the eftate of my father, 
 of none of his poficfiions had I the leaft fhare, no 
 land, nor a houfe, nut a flave, the worthy Cou- 
 fbntiiis having feized ail my paternal inheritance, 
 without giving me the mcreft trifle. Having de- 
 fpoiled Gailus of the e fleets of his mother, he 
 gave him a few of hi; h'her's. 
 
 Moil part, at leaft, if not the whole, of his 
 behaviour to me, before he conferred on me that 
 in oil reipec-table name *, but in fact impofed 
 on me a fevere and laborious ilavery, you fhall 
 now hear. Having thus with great difficulty, and 
 beyond my expectation, efcaped, and being hap- 
 pily flickered un.ler the roof of my mother, a 
 fycophant, from the neighbourhood of Sirmium -f-, 
 faliely reported, th.it new commotions might be ex- 
 peeled there. You have heard, no doubt, of 
 Africanus and Marinus ; nor can the name of 
 Felix have efcaped you, and what was their fate {. 
 
 As 
 
 * Of Creftr. 
 
 j- The capital of Illyricum, at prefcnt Sirn.ifch or Sir- 
 mick, a fmall town, aim oil ruintd, in the Lower Hungary, 
 
 LA BLKTKRIE. 
 
 Ammrtnu? (xv. ^.) mentions a drunken and treasonable 
 entertainment at Sirmium, given by Africanus, governor of 
 jthe ieconc! i'nnnoniu (A. D. 354), in confequcnce of which, 
 on the information of Gaudentius, rhe l)-cophant here 
 nic^nt, ul! the company were urrefted. Marinus, a tribune, 
 and. tlie principal delinquent, ftabbed himleif in a tavern, 
 on the road, at Aquileia. And the reft were put to the tor- 
 ture at A'lihn, and afterwards imprifoned. This, doubt- 
 Icfs, is the incident to which Julian alludes. A perfon 
 
 named
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 71 
 
 As foon as Conftantius received this intelligence, 
 and had alfo been allured by Dynamius, another 
 informer from the Gauls, that Sylvanus "* would 
 foon revolt againft him; alarmed and tcr.ified 
 he fent for me, and after ordering me to retire for 
 a fhort time into Greece, he fuddenly recalled 
 me. He had never feen me before, except once 
 in Cappadocia, and once in Italy, at the earned 
 intreaty of Eufebia, that I might be ailured of 
 fafety. Yet I was fix months in the fame 
 city -f- with him, and he promifed to fee me again. 
 But that heaven- detefled eunuch J, his trufty 
 chamberlain, was ignorantly and nndefignedly my 
 friend, by preventing my frequent accefs. Con- 
 ftantius himfelf perhaps might not \vifh to fee me ; 
 neverthelefs, all my misfortunes were owing to 
 that favourite, as he was apprehenfivej that, if we 
 
 named Felix was made matter of the offices by Conftantius, 
 but rejected by Julian. And there was another who xvas 
 Count of the facred largefles. But probably this Felix 
 was one of the riotous company abovementioned. 
 
 * For an account of this revolt lee a note in the fuc- 
 ceeding page. 
 
 Ocro UTIU TH NXa, xxi tv avra 5ro>.i|u.oy euatytsatyfat. This 1 
 cannot underftand. What follows is related more at large 
 by Ammianus and Zofimus. See alfo Orat. III. '* on Eu- 
 " febia." PETAV. 
 
 Thefe words may be thus correfted : Oo-o UTTU ToZiXK>os 
 ftvru ?roAjuov po-9i. Zofimus mentions the lame Dynu- 
 mius at the end of 1. ii. But he is miftaken in afcribing to 
 him the death of Gallus Csfar ; as Dynamius calumniated 
 Sylvanus, not Galkis. VALOIS. 
 
 This correction is adopted by the tranflator. 
 
 f Mediolanum, or Milan. 
 
 j Eulebius above-mentioned, whom Julian, when he was 
 Emperor, p\it to death. 
 
 F 4 fhould
 
 72 EPISTLE TO TiiE ATHENIANS. 
 
 flionld be acquainted, a friendfnip might enfue ; 
 and if my fidelity bad been approved, 1 might have 
 been inverted with iome place of truft. 
 
 As foon as I rttumed from Greece, the bleffed 
 Eufcbia, by the eunuchs of her houfhold, (hewed 
 me many itch ot kindnefs. And foon after, on his 
 arrival, after terminating the war vviih Sylvanus * 3 1 
 
 * In the fummer which preceded the, elevation of Julian 
 (Sept. A. D. 355.) this general had been chofen to de- 
 livtr Gaul from the tyranny of the Barbarians ; but Syl- 
 vanus icon difeovered that he had left his molt dangerous 
 enemies in the Imperial court. A dexterous informer, 
 countenanced by fever.1 of the principal mioifters, pro- 
 cured from him fome recommendatory letters ; and eraling 
 the whole of the coni.er.rs, except the fignatnre, filled up 
 the vacant p:irchmmt with -matters oi and trea- 
 
 fonable import. By the indnftry and courage of his friends, 
 the fraud was, however, detected, and, in a great coun- 
 cil of the civil and military officers, held in the preience of 
 
 1 
 
 the Emperor himfelf, the innocence of Sylvanus was' pub- 
 licldy acknowledged. But the diicovery came too late ; 
 the report of the calumny, and the hilly feizure of his 
 eft ate, had already provoked the indignant chief to the re- 
 bellion of which he was fo unjuftly acciifcd. He aflumed 
 the purple at his head-quarters of Cologne ; and his aftive 
 powers appeared to menace Italy with an invafion, and 
 Milan with a liege. In this emergency > Urlicinus, a ge- 
 ni:ral of equal rank, rcgninr-d, by an act of treachery, the 
 favour wnicii he had loft by his eminent lervices in the Ea!t. 
 ii aiperated, as he misrht Ipeciouilv allege, by injuries of 
 a limilar nature, he haiifned,-witli a 'few followers, -to join 
 the iiandard, and to betray the confidence, of his too 
 credulous friond. Aftv.r a rr.i^-n of" only twenty-eight days, 
 S .vanus was aflaffinafed. The loldiMs, who, without any 
 criminal intention, had blindly followed the example of 
 - their ie;uK-r, imniedintdy iX'tu'm-d to-their allegiance ; ;'nd 
 the riattcrers of Con;ra:i! iiss celebrated the wildom and fe- 
 licity of the monarch who. .had extinguished a civil war 
 wuiiout the ha/.urd of a buttle. Gi?,:>(^\. 
 
 was
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 was allowed to go to court, induced by whnt is 
 called a Theffalian perfuan'on upon force *. For 
 on my refolutely declining all intercourfe with- the 
 palace, the courtiers convening, as if theyhr.d been 
 in a barber's- {hop, (haved my chin, and thnr.v- 
 ing over me a military mantle, transformed me, 
 as they thought, into'a very ridiculous foldier. 
 For none of the finical ornaments of thofe wretches 
 were iuitable to my tafte. I -walked about there- 
 fore, not like them, flaring on every fide, and 
 with a haughty gait, but poring on the ground, as 
 I had been taught by my preceptor -j^. This was 
 at fiitl the fubjedft of their laughter, but foon after 
 of their fulpicion, which at length gave place to 
 envy. But I muft not omit, that I refided among 
 them, and that I did not difdain even to lodge 
 
 * This proverb, Qtr-xXmr, wHaty,***!, is aifo quoted by 
 Julian, in his fit-it Oration, and by Eunapius. Nut, as to 
 its origin, the collectors of proverbs are iilent. PETAU. 
 
 Spanheim fuppofes it to originate from the inipoiturcs, 
 perfidy, and magic of the Thdialians, which were a lib pro- 
 verbial. Our Knglifn proverb, which is not unlike it, 
 " Patirn'ce on force," has an addition, which may perhaps 
 afford a clue ; " is a medicine for a mad horfe;" the in- 
 habitants of Theiiuily being .anciently famous for , tlieir 
 horfenianfliip. llst'-ix.^^ is Applied by Cicero to Cielar, 
 ad Attic, ix. 13. 
 
 f 3/Tardouius, an eunuch, mentioned afterwards more 
 particularly in the Miibpogon. 
 
 Julian himleif relates, with lome huaiour, the -circum- 
 fiances of his own metamorphofis, his dovvn-caft looks, and 
 his perplexity at being thus iuddenly tranfportcd into a nc.v 
 \vorld, vrhere every objed appeared ftrange and hollile* 
 
 with
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 with thofe whom I knew to have been the afiaffins 
 of all my relations, and whom I had reafon to 
 fufpeft of meditating alfo my definition. What 
 floods of tears I ihed *, and what lamentations I 
 uttered, when, extending my hands towards your 
 citadel -f, I intreated and implored Minerva to 
 protect her fervant, and not to deliver him up 
 to his enemies, many of you, who were prefent, 
 can atteft ; and, above all, the Goddefs herfelf 
 knows, that I petitioned death of her at Athens in 
 preference to that journey. That the Goddefs did 
 not abandon me, nor deliver me up, the event has 
 {hewn. On the contrary, me has every where 
 been my guide, and was conftamly with me, 
 
 * Libanius, in his panegyrical Oration on the confulflu'p 
 of Julian, p. 235, has taken this, and fome other pafftges, 
 almoft in the fame words, from this Epiitie. VETAU. 
 
 f This was the temple of Minerva at Athens. The 
 Emperor affigned Athens for the place of his honorable 
 exile, which is implied in what Julian fays above of his 
 * fliort retirement into Greece." He was fent thither in 
 May, 355, and there " fpent fix months amiclft the 
 ' groves of the Academy (as Mr. Gibbon exprefles it) 
 ' far from the tumult of arms, and the treachery of 
 " courts, in a free intercourfe with the philoibphers of 
 " the age, who ftudied to cultivate the genius, to en* 
 44 courage the vanity, and to inflame the devotion of their 
 41 royal pupil. Gregory Nazianzen was his fellow-ftudent j 
 ' and the fymptoms, which he fo tragically defcribes, of 
 ** the future wickednefs of the apoftate, amount only to 
 ** fome bodily imperfections, and to fome peculiarities in 
 ' his fpeech and manner. He protefts, however, that 
 ** he then foreiaw and foretold the calamities of the 
 " church and ftate." St. Bafil was another of his fellow - 
 fuideius. 
 
 borrowing
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 75 
 
 borrowing guardian-angels * from the Sun and 
 Moon f. 
 
 What follows may be alfo worth relating. On 
 my return to Milan, where I refided in one of tbe 
 fuburbs, Eufebia frequently fent me friendly mef- 
 fages, and urged me to write to her, on any fub- 
 jeft, with the utmoft confidence. This induced me 
 to compofe this letter, or rather petition, with an 
 adjuration : '" So may you have children and heirs, 
 " fo may God blefs you with both, as you fend 
 " me home | immediately !" After this, I was 
 apprehenfive of not being able to convey it fefcly 
 
 * Julinn did not yield till the Gods had fignified their 
 \vill by repented vilions and omens. His piety then forbade 
 him to rcliil. GIBBON. 
 
 He here declares himielf a Pagan, which may ferve to 
 correct the hafty aitertion of Ammianus, who fuppoies 
 Conftantinople to have been the place where he firft dif- 
 covered it. Ibid. 
 
 j- Julian, however, feems to have " borrowed" thefc 
 angels from the Chriftian Scriptures, with which he xvas well 
 acquainted. On the angels of the Sun he descants at large 
 in his ivth Oration ad Solem Reg:, and they are nlio men- 
 tioned by lansbiichus, in his Life of Pythagoras, and by 
 Proclus on the ad book of Hefiod. 
 
 i So he llyles Afia Minor, where he had been educated. 
 
 Julian animated his army, not only by prefents, but 
 bvconftaqtly iwearing by the importance of the enterprize 
 i:i which they were engaged. " So may we fubdue the 
 " Perfnns !" 4 ' So may we repair the Shattered Roman 
 ** world !" As Trajan is reported frequently to have con- 
 tmned what he laid by iwearing, *' So may I fee Dacia re- 
 " duced to a province!" " So may I mailer the Danube 
 and Euphrates vrith bridges !" and the like. 
 
 AMMIANUS. 
 
 into
 
 76 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 into the palace. And therefore I befought the 
 Gods to inform me by n'ght whether I fhoufd fend 
 it to the Emprefs, or not. They threatened me r if 
 I fent it, with the mo ft ignominious death. I 
 appeal to all tl'.e Gods for' the truth of what I 
 aflert. In obedience to them, I fupprefTed it. But 
 from that nipht 1 imi-ibed an idea which it may 
 not be improper to nien'iori. " Now," faid I to 
 myfelf, " I undertake to oppofe the Gods, and 
 " imagine th;<r fran^j ' .r myfelf better than 
 " they who J>novv all things. Human wifdom, 
 " confining its vievv'to ;he prefent, may think 
 " that it .judges well, when, in fome usances, 
 " which rarely happen, it commits no miftake. 
 " Bur no one deliberates on events mat will hap- 
 " p. a tl ree hundred years hence, as that is ,im- 
 " poflible, or oa occurrences that are long pad, 
 " that being neediefs; but only concerning objefts 
 " that are prefent, and of which the bc^innin^s 
 
 r ' oo 
 
 " and feeds, as k were, now exitt. But the wif- 
 " dom of the Gods, obfcrving the mod ciitfant 
 il events, or rather all things, always directs what 
 " is right, and does what is belt. As they are no 
 " lefs the caufe of the prefent than of the future, 
 " mud they not necciuirily be acquainted with the 
 " prefent r" Thus far then the laft advice f.em :d 
 to me much the moft prudent ; and viewing it in 
 the light of juflice, I addec!, " VTou!vl you nor 
 " provoked at being defrauded 01 any part of yxi-ur 
 1 property, or, on your requiring its attendance, 
 
 " if
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 " if any one of your domeftic animals * Ihould 
 " abfcond ? And will you, who prerend to be a 
 " man, and that not of the common, vulgar herd, 
 " but of the rational and temperate, defraud the 
 " Gods of your fervice, and not fuffer them to dif- 
 " pofe of you as they pleafe ? Beware left you ,a& 
 " not only fooliflily, but contcmptuoufly, with re- 
 " gard to the divine laws. What occafion is here 
 " for fortitude? The pretence is ridiculous. Will 
 " you then condefcend to cringe and flatter, in 
 " order to preferve your life, inflead of removing 
 " every obftacle, and allowing the Gods to ad: as 
 Ci they pleafe ; dividing your folicitude for yourfelf 
 " with them f , as was the wifh of Socrates ; com- 
 " mitring every thing to them, pofieffing and 
 " ufurping nothing, but chearfully accepting 
 " whatever they beftow ?" Thinking this advice 
 mod fafe and prudent, as it was fuggefted by the 
 Gods (for by avoiding prefent evils to expofe myfelf 
 to future dangers feemed the in mo It raihnefs), I 
 defifted and obeyed. Immediately I was honoured 
 with the title, and in veiled with the robe J, of 
 
 Casfar. 
 
 * In the original, *% nnroi;, TrpoeotToi', xav |5oid'oy, ^" a 
 " horle, a liieep, or a heifer.") 
 
 This language Julian perhaps rather learned from Chrif- 
 tiuniry : HKCXV ~w jj-(^^vctv vpu-j rri^i^arri; vii avrot [roc w] 
 x. T. X. Cufiing all yiur care upon bint, &c. i Peter, v 7. 
 
 J Ammianus, xv. 8. " Saying this, he thus accofts Julian, 
 " foon after he had been arrayed with the purple, and cle- 
 ' : ciared Cxfar, to the great joy of the army, hut lome- 
 " what dejected, and with liis brow contracted." lie means 
 
 there-
 
 78 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 Casfar. Of this flavery was the confequence, and 
 every day, how great, O Hercules, was my ap- 
 prehenfion, how imminent my danger ! Barred gates, 
 guards, fervams fearched, left they fhould convey 
 letters from my friends, and a ftrange houfhold ! I 
 was with difficulty allowed to bring with me to court, 
 as my perfonal attendants, four domeftics, two of 
 whom were boys ; and of the two others one only, 
 my librarian *, from confcientious motives, was pri- 
 vately, to the utmoft of his power, my afliftant. 
 The other, who of my many friends and com- 
 panions alone was faithful, was my phyfkian -j-. 
 Not being known to be alfo my friend, he was 
 
 -therefore the purple which was common both to the Ccefar 
 and the Auguiluo. PETAU. 
 
 After the inveftiture of the Caefar had been performed, 
 the two princes retxirned to the palace in the fame chariot j 
 and during the flow proceffion, Julian repeated to himielf 
 a veri'e cf his favourite Homer, which he might equaliy 
 apply to his fortune and to his fears ; 
 
 EX>iC! Tottpvgtcf o'axxiof, x* {j.'Asct, x.gali]. 11. V. 83. 
 
 the purple hand of death 
 
 Cios'd his dim eyes, and fate fupprefs'd his breath. 
 
 POPE, 108. 
 
 The word " purple," which Homer had ufed as a vague 
 but common epithet for death, was applied by Julian to 
 exprefs, very aptly, the nature and objeft of his own appre- 
 henfions. GIBBON. 
 
 * Enemerus. He was employed in the care of a va- 
 luable collodion of books, the gift of the Emprefs, who 
 ftudied the inclinations, as well as the intereft, of her friend. 
 
 ibid. 
 
 t Oribafms. See the firft note on Epiftle XVII. which 
 is ad (.'retted to him in confidence. The elogium of " fin*. 
 *' guiar fidelity" is applied by the Latin tranllator to the 
 librarian. The original, 1 think, warrants my applying 
 it, as is more probable, to the phylkian.
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 79 
 
 my fellow-traveller. Such were my fears and ap- 
 prehenfions, that the vifits which were offered me 
 by many of my friends, whom I much wifhed to 
 fee, I chofe to decline, left I fliould involve them 
 in my misfortunes *. But this, though connected 
 with my fubjeft, is rather foreign to it. 
 
 With three hundred and fixty foldiers Conftan- 
 tius fent me into Gaul, which was then in confufion, 
 in the middle of winter +, not fo much to command 
 liis armies there, as to be fubordinate to his 
 generals. For they had exprefs orders to be as 
 much on their guard againft me as againft the 
 enemy, left I fhould attempt any innovations. 
 Every tiling being thus fettled, about the fummer 
 folilice he allowed me to join the army, bearing 
 
 his 
 
 * Julian reprefents, in the moft pathetic terms, the dil- 
 trefs of his new fituation. The provision of his table was, 
 however, fo elegant and fumptucmr, that the young phi- 
 lolopher rejected it with dilchin. Am:n. xvi. 5. GIBCOV. 
 
 f Libanius, in his panegyric on the coniuliliip of Julian, 
 fays the faiue', viz. that " lels than four hundred Ibldiers 
 *' were given him, in the depth of winter;" and what fol- 
 lows he has tranfcribed, as has before been obferved, from 
 this Kpiftle. Ammianus (xv. 8.) lays, that " Julian was 
 " declared Csefar on the 6th of November [355]; foon after 
 *' Helena was given him in marriage ; and on De- 
 " cember i, he fet out for Gaul." Mareellus and Salluft 
 were lent with him, and to them all the management of 
 the province and of the war was entruitecl, left Julian 
 fliould attempt any innovations. PETAU. 
 
 ; I cannot agree with the learned [Latin] tranilator, who, 
 for " mmmer," affirms we fnould read " winter folftice." 
 For this p.ilfige is not to be underftood of that year, towards 
 the end of which juii.m was lent into the G'.uils ; but" of 
 the fubiequent year, when he cntci-cd on his firfl conluldiip 
 
 with
 
 S EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 his robe and image. For he had both faid and 
 written, that " he did not mean to give the Gauls 
 " a king, but one who fhould exhibit to them his 
 " clrefs * and image." 
 
 The firft campaign, as you have heard, having 
 been ill-conduced ~|~, and no advantage gained, at 
 my return into winter-quarters, I was expofed to 
 the utmoft danger. For I had not the power or' 
 affembling the troops ; this was entrufted to ano- 
 ther, and a few only were quartered with me. My 
 affiftance being requeued by the neighbouring 
 towns, after fending them ir.ofl of my forces, I 
 
 had 
 
 v.-iih Confbntius ; which was the year of Chrift 356. At 
 the fummer folilice the Gallic foldiers ufed to fet out on 
 expeditions. VALOIS. 
 
 * S>.nf*. -not o^;r,aa (" carriage") the common reading. 
 
 Ibid, 
 
 f Julian was made Ccefar in the confulfliip of Arbetio 
 and Lollian, A. D. 35;. Towards the end of that year, 
 [as above mentioned], he was fent into Gaul, and wintered 
 at Vienne, where he entered on his firft confulfliip, with 
 Conitantius (the 8th time) for his collcgue,rat the be- 
 ginning of the year 356, which was the fir it year of his 
 Gallic government. This campaign, Julian complains, 
 tv as unfuccef'sful, and that no advantages were gained. But 
 if we refer to Ammianus, we faall find that lefs indeed than 
 accorded with the inclination and impetuotity of Julian, 
 yet much, nevertheleis, was done againft the Barbarians. 
 Y/hile he was at Vienne, hearing that the Germans were 
 making inrurfions in order to ravage Gaul, and had 
 with difficulty been repuHl-d at Auguft<>dnnu; [Autnn] he 
 determined to purfue them. After defeating and difper- 
 ling them, he recovered Colonia Agrippina [Cologne]. 
 And he fo terrified the kings of the Frank-,, that he com- 
 pelled them to make peace. "'Rejoicing" (adc's Ammi- 
 anus) '* at thefe firlt fruits of corqueit, he \vent into 
 " winter-quarters at Treves, a then convenient town of 
 5 " the
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 81 
 
 had fcarce any left *. So affairs were circum- 
 flanced. But the general in chief f, having in- 
 
 " the Senones." I fufpecl: therefore that Julian wrote 
 [ov J xaxwj it, u$ ctxnKoxle, [" not] ill conducted, as you have 
 ** heard;") and, foon after, wje^Osvrey [TO,-] a-imSm*, (" and 
 " [fome] advantage gained.") But wintering at Sens, with 
 a few foldiers, the enemy aflembled on a fudden, and be- 
 fieged the town; and Marcellus, matter-general of the 
 cavalry, who commanded in the next cantonment, neglected 
 and refufcd to altiil him. Yet in twenty days the Barba- 
 rians raifed the liege, and retired. This we collect from 
 Ammianus xvi. 4. PETAU. 
 
 Ammianus appears much better fatisfied with the fuccefs 
 of this firft campaign than Julian himfelf ; who very frankly 
 owns that he did nothing of confequence, and that he lied 
 before the enemy. GIBBON. 
 
 * In the original, K?OJ mriXet^Qnt JLCOVOJ, " 1 was left 
 " alone." 
 
 f As foon as Conftantius heard ho\v perfidioufly Mar- 
 cellus had acted at Seas, " abfolving him from his military 
 " oath" (thefe are the words of Ammianus) " he ordere,d 
 *' him to retire to his own houfe ; and he, as if he had been 
 " grievoufly injured, plotted ibmething againft Julian, 
 '* trufting that the ears of Augufhis would be open to every 
 *' charge." 1 But the eunuch Eutherius, the moft faithful prar- 
 fe<ft of his chamber, being difpatched by Julian, refuted this 
 calumny. This Marcellus was a native of Serciica, whither, 
 when he was diiplaced, he retired. So fays Ammianus, a? I 
 have corrected him. The common reading is neither perfcdt, 
 nor conveys that lenfe. For, after a long digreffion, ariling 
 from the eunuch Eutherius, en the wickednefs of the 
 eunuchs, Ammianus, retiirning to Marcellus, expreflcs 
 hiir.lelf thus : Nunc redcam unde diverti. Superato^ ut dlxi t 
 Marcd'o, everlaque Serdica, undt oricbatur t Sec. Read rcver- 
 fo^ue &rdics?r;. PETAU. 
 
 The fon of this Marcellus afpiring to the empire ->v:;s 
 put to death by Julian in 361. JLibanius fpcaks rather 
 moxe advanrageouily of the military talents of M.trcellus. 
 And Julian intimates [above] that he would not 16 eafily 
 have been recalled, unlefi he had given cthcj reafons of 
 cffence to the court, GIBBON. 
 
 VOL. I. G CUfrcd
 
 82 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 currcd the difpleafure of the Emperor, was fuper- 
 feded and difmiflfed, for inability ; and, becaufe I 
 had afted with clemency and moderation, my 
 talents and abilities were not deemed equal to the 
 command. For I thought it by no means right to 
 {truggle with my yoke, or officioufly to affume the 
 general *, by obtruding my advice, unlefs when 
 I faw fomething hazardous attempted, that I thought 
 fiiould have been omitted, or neglected, that fhould 
 have been done. But having more than once re- 
 ceived fome [improper | treatment, I determined 
 for the future to be filent, and contented myfelf 
 with the pageantry of the robe and image. For to 
 that I thought I had a right. 
 
 Conftantius imagining that the Gallic affairs 
 would foon wear a better afpeft, not indeed that the 
 alteration would be fo great, gave me the command 
 of the armies J in the beginning of fpring. As 
 
 foon 
 
 f K9y ( xovra;J ( ct properly") in the original. Ou (" not""} 
 feems neceflary to be prefixed, implying, that he after- 
 wards was quiet, becaufe he had once or twice been 
 treated ill. PETAU. 
 
 j When Julian was Appointed general, and what was 
 the nature of his commiffion, deferves enquiry. He him- 
 felf .fays, that it happened after Marcellus was difmifled, 
 and fent to Serdica. But he alfo mentions, that, after he 
 obtained this command, he rebuilt Colonia Agrippina 
 (Cologne) and another town, Tabernae, with fome other 
 towns of Gaul, to the number of forty-five, recovered 
 from the Barbarians. Very different is the account given 
 by Ammianus. For he affirms, that Julian recovered Co- 
 lonia before the end of the fir ft year of his being in Gaul, 
 that is, in the confulfhip of Conftantius (the 8ih time) and 
 
 Julian,
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 foon as the corn was ripe, I took the field, many 
 of the Germans dwelling fecurely near the towns 
 that they had deftroyed in the Gauls. There were 
 
 forty- 
 Julian, of our Lord 356, before Marcellus was corr- 
 millioned by Conftantius, which happened towards the end 
 of the fame, or the commencement of the enfuing, year. 
 Marcellus was fucceeded by Severus, a man well verfed in. 
 the art of war, good-natured, and unaffuming ; at the ac-. 
 quifition of whom Julian exprefTed much pleafure, and 
 declared " that he would obey his able directions," (fays 
 Ammianus) " as a foldier mould an [obliging] leader.'* 
 The lenfe requires morigerus, Barbatio alfo was fent with 
 him, who was to attack the Barbarians in another quarter 
 with twenty-five thoufand men. He was mafter-general of 
 the foot, and Severus of the horfe, as Ammianus informs 
 us, 1. xvi. But if we compare the words of Julian with 
 the hiftory of Ammianus, we mall find, that the command 
 of the army was given him in the fecond year of his being 
 in the Gauls, viz. A. D. 357, when he engaged the Ale- 
 manni and king Cnodomar," after the corn was ripe." For 
 in that year he aded as general, at leaft, of that army 
 which Severus had commanded. And Ib far was Barba- 
 tio, who commanded the other, from obeying him, that 
 he neglecled and refufed to aifift him, when he was ia 
 danger. Therefore his faying, " he gave me the command 
 " of the armies," I do not think true of them all. Nor 
 fliould it be omitted, that, even in the firft year, when Mar- 
 cellus was (till in Gaul, the Casfar Julian was not fo ob- 
 noxious to the generals as not to be entrufted with fome 
 command. For Ammianus relates (xvi.) that, in that 
 year, which was 356 of Chrift, when Julian went to Rheims^ 
 ** he ordered the army to be colie&ed in one body," in 
 order to difguife his force ; " which army was then com- 
 " manded by Marcellus, the fucceflbr of Urficinus ;" and 
 alfo that Urficinus himfelf was ordered to wait in the fame 
 place the event of that expedition. But though he had 
 the title of governing the province, and managing the war, 
 yet the ma fters -general of the forces, as Conftanthls had 
 ordered, did not iinplicitly obey him, but in general, were 
 refractory. Add, that Julian here oratorically deprefles 
 
 G 2 his
 
 84 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 forty-five fuch towns that were difmantled *, be- 
 ficles villages and fmaller fortifications. The Bar- 
 barians then poflefled all the territory on this fide 
 of the Rhine, from its fources to the ocean. Thofe 
 who were the neareft to us were three hundred 
 fladia -f- diftant from its banks. A diftric~l thrice 
 as extenfive was left a defert by their devaluations, 
 where the Gauls could not pafture their cattle. 
 Some towns were alfo deferted by their inhabitants, 
 though the Barbarians had not yet approached 
 them. Finding Gaul thus diflrefled, I recovered 
 the city of Agrippina [Cologne] on the Rhine, 
 which had been taken about ten months before, 
 and alfo the neighbouring caftle of Argentoratum 
 [Strafburgh] near the foot of Vofegus { ; and we 
 
 his fituation below the truth, as if he had then no other 
 employment than carrying aboxit the Imperial image. 
 Zofimus lays, (1. in.) that " Confiantius permitted Julian, 
 " at his departure, to regulate the Gauls as he mould 
 " think expedient." This Conitantius leems to have done 
 openly ; but privately he ordered his pnefefts to watch 
 all his words and a&ions, and Ibmetimes to obey perveriely. 
 See the Oration of Libanius on the confulfhip of Julian. 
 
 PETAU. 
 
 * Zofimus (1. in.) fays, that " forty towns in Gaul, 
 " which the Barbarians had deftroyed, were rebuilt by 
 *' Julian " And he alfo mentions, how much they had over- 
 run Gaul. Libanius enumerates as many as Julian, taking 
 'all that hiftory from this Epiftle. Ibid. 
 
 f Near forty miles. 
 
 i One of the principal mountains in Gaul, now Mount 
 Vauge, which feparates Burgundy from Lorrain, and alfo 
 divides Loirain from Alface, ftretching towards the north. 
 It gires rife to the rivers Maefe, Moiclle, and Sar. 
 
 CLUVIER. 
 
 7 fought
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 85 
 
 fought not inglorioufly *. Of this battle, no 
 doubt, you have heard f. The Gods then giving 
 me the captive king of the enemy {, I did not 
 envy Conftantius the glory of the aftion. Though 
 I was not allowed to triumph, I had it in my 
 power to have flain my enemy, nor could I have 
 been prevented leading him through Gaul, ex- 
 pofmg him in the towns, and thus infuhing the 
 misfortunes of Cnodomar. None of thefe mealures, 
 however, I approved, but immediately fent him to 
 Conftantius, who was then juft returned from the 
 Quadian and Sarmatian war . While I was fight- 
 ing, he was travelling alone, and holding an ami- 
 
 * Kai tuwxHrctiJuit a*' a*\eu$. The very words of Horace, 
 on a different and lefs glorious warfare, 1. in. ode 26, 
 Et mili tai>i non Jlnc glarit , 
 
 f- Jxilian himfelf fpeaks of the battle of Strafburgh with 
 the modefly of confcious merit. Zofimus compares it with 
 the victory of Alexander over Darius ; and yet we arc at a 
 lofs to diicover any of thofe ilrokes of military genius which 
 fix the attention of ages on the conduct and fuccefs of a 
 fingle day. GIBBON. 
 
 | Meaning Cnodomar, who, in his flight, falling from 
 his horfe into a morafs, and being taken prifoner, was fent 
 to Conftantius. See Ammianus (1. xvi. 12.) " Six thoufand 
 *' of the Germans," he fays, " were killed in this battle, 
 " befides thofe that were drowned, and only two hundred 
 " and forty-three of the Romans." PETAU. 
 
 The events of this war are related by Ammianu?, 
 (xvi. 10. xvn. 12, 13. xix. it.) The Quacli, a fierce 
 and powerful nation, were reduced to fue for peace; and the 
 Sarmatian exiles, who had been expelled from the country 
 by the rebellion of their flaves, were reinilatcd. Con- 
 ftantius, after this fuccefs, received the name of Sar- 
 maticus. GIBBO.V. 
 
 G 3 cable
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 cable intercourfe with the order on 
 
 the Danube. Yet not I, 1 1 *. 
 
 Another year frccc^.':-. . , ....d a third, in which 
 all the Barbarians were driven out of Gaul, 
 mod of the towns were rebuilt, and many loaded 
 veflels arrived from Britain. Having collefted a 
 fleet of fix hundred fhips -{-, four hundred of 
 which I had cauied to be built in lefs than ten 
 inonths, I brought them all into the Rhine ; no 
 eafy talk, on account of the irruptions and neigh' 
 bourhood of the Barbarians. This had feemed fo 
 
 * Conftantius, though he was forty days journey diftant, 
 arrogated to himfelf the glory of this victory, defcribing 
 the battle, as if he had been prefent, in letters crowned with 
 laurel, which he font to the provinces, and never mentioning 
 the name of Julian. AMMIANUS. 
 
 f Zofimus reckons eight hundred, which, he fays, were 
 'built of materials found on the banks of the Rhine ; that 
 they might fail to Britain, and bring back corn and pro- 
 vifions to fupply the garrifons. I know not that Ammi- 
 anus mentions fo many fliips being built. He fays, indeed, 
 in his xvmth book, that Julian fortified the towns that 
 had been deftroyed by the Barbarians, and built granaries 
 in the room of thofe which were burnt, where, the provi- 
 iions accuflomed to be brought from Britain might be 
 lodged. PETAU. 
 
 If we compute the fix hundred corn-fliips at only 
 feventy tons each, they were capable of exporting a hun- 
 dred and twenty thoufand quarters (fee Arbuthnot's 
 " Weights and Meafures") ; and the country, which could 
 tear fo large an exportation, muit already have attained an 
 improved ftate of agriculture. Thefe barks were framed la 
 the foreft of the Ardennes. GIBBON. 
 
 Some of thefe veficls, as appears from Ammianus, muft 
 have been freighted with provifions, as well as with corn, 
 which would reduce the quantity of the latter. 
 
 imprac-
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 87 
 
 impracticable to Florentius *, that he had agreed 
 to give two thoufand pounds weight of (liver f to 
 permit a free paflage. Conftantius, on being in- 
 formed of this (for they correfponded concerning 
 this propofed prefent), exprefsly ordered me to 
 agree to it, unlefs I thought it abfolutely difgrace- 
 ful. But how could I poffibly think otherwife, 
 when it feemed fo to Conflantius himfelf, though 
 he was always very obfequious to the Barbarians ? 
 No payment therefore was made ; but marching 
 againft them, the Gods being prefent and pro* 
 pitious, I furprifed part of the Salians |, I reduced 
 the Chamavians J, and took great numbers of 
 
 cattle, 
 
 * Prztorian Praefeft of Gaul, an effeminate tyrant, a 
 crafty and corrupt ftatefrcan, incapable of pity or re- 
 rr.orle. GIBBON. 
 
 j- Five aurel (fomewhat more than eleven (hillings each) 
 were the legal tender for a pound of filver. GREAVES. 
 
 Confequently two thoufand pounds of filver would 
 amount to 5500!. fterling. 
 
 J Ammiapus (xvii. 8.) relates, that, in the year when 
 Batianus and Cerealis were confuls, Julian undertook an 
 expedition againft the Salian Franks, who had formerly 
 fettled near Toxandria [from the neighbourhood of 
 Tongres to the conflux of the Vahal and the Rhine] whom, 
 terrified at his fudden approach, he forced to furrender. 
 Afterwards, he fubdued the Chamavians [2 people near 
 Munfter]. Treating the Salians v.'ich lenity, he marched 
 againft the Quadi, whom, on account of their notorious 
 robberies, he juftly deftroyed. And then happened that 
 remarkable ftory of the king of the Chamavians, which is 
 related by Eunapius, and more briefly by Zclimus. PETAU. 
 
 See it alfo in the Abbe de la Bleterie's Vie de Julien, 
 p. 82 4.. and in Mr. Gibbon's Roman Hiftory, II. p. 
 171. 
 
 G 4 This
 
 83 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 cattle, with many women and children. This ir- 
 ruption fo much alarmed the Barbarians, that 
 hoftages were immediately fent me, and the free 
 importation of corn was fecured. 
 
 To relate every circumftance would be tedious. 
 In fhort, thrice, while I was Csefar *, I pafied the 
 
 This difference of treatment confirms the opinion, that 
 the Salian Franks were permitted to retain the jettlements 
 in Toxandria. GIBBON. 
 
 It is pretended, that the name of Toxartclria is {till pre- 
 ferved in a village, in the territory of Liege, called Tef- 
 fender-loo. LA BLETER.IE, 
 
 * Jn the years 356, 358, and 359. Ammianus treats elo- 
 quently of the two latter. The firft he does not mention ; 
 but it may be inferred from what he lays in his xvith 
 book, where, relating the actions of the year 357, he fays, 
 that what chiefly induced Julian to give battle to the 
 Germans and Cnodomar was, that " in the year juft 
 *' ended, the Romans making large incurlions beyond the 
 *' Rhine, no one appeared in defence of his own home, 
 ** nor flood his ground; but the Barbarians, removing to 
 *' a diftance, fubfifted with difiiculty, blockading all the 
 *' roads with trunks of trees, during the inclemency of 
 *' winter." Which words mean, that Julian made war on 
 the Germans beyond the Rhine in the year above-men- 
 tioned, and therefore at the approach of winter. And 
 this happened at the time when he recovered Agrippina 
 [Cologne]. PETAU. 
 
 It was not enough for Julian to have delivered the pro- 
 vinces of Gaul from the Barbarians of Germany. He af- 
 pired to emulate the glory of the flrft and moil illuftrious 
 of the Emperors ; after whofe example, he compofed his 
 own Commentaries of the Gallic war. Cxfar has related, 
 with confcious pride, the manner in which he twice pafled 
 the Rhine. Julian could boafl, that, before he affiimed 
 the title of Auguftus, he had carried the Roman eagles 
 beyoi.4 that great river in three fuccel'sful expeditions. 
 
 GIBBON. 
 
 Rhine.
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 Rhine. Twenty thoufand captives * I rcfcued from 
 the enemy on the other fide of that river. In two 
 battles and one fiege, I took a thoufand prifoners, 
 and thofe not of a ufelefs age, but men in the 
 prime of life. Four bands of the mod chofen f 
 foot I fent to Conftantius, with three others, not 
 inferior, of horfe, and two mod diflinguifhed 
 cohorts. I now, fuch was the will of the Gods ! 
 took all the towns: before, I had taken near forty. 
 I invoke Jupiter, and all the tutelar Gods of cities 
 and of nations, to atteft my attachment and fidelity 
 to him. I have acted towards him as I would wifn 
 a fon of my own to act towards me. The refpet 
 that I fhewed him exceeded that of any former 
 C^far to any other Emperor. I may bokliy dare 
 him therefore to allege any thing againft me, even 
 to the prefent moment, on that head. Some ri- 
 diculous pretences he his invented. " He has de- 
 '* tained," fays my adverfary, " Lupicinus J, and 
 
 * He meant, no doubt, in different campaigns. 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 
 Zofimu? relates the whole tranfacYion at large. See 
 Legationum excerpta ex Eiinapio. FETAU. 
 
 f What one qf our modern generals calls " the elite of 
 " the army." But why " the J&MUT of the army" fliould 
 not found as well, or why our brave garriion of Gibraltar 
 ihould not make "/allies" as well as " forties," &c. is dif- 
 ficult to conceive. Thefe military Galliciims were ridi- 
 culed long ago with great humour in the Tatler. 
 
 X This Lupicinus, matter-general of the cavalry, on the 
 death of Severus, was gone to Britain at the time when 
 Julian was made Emperor by the army ; but as he was of a 
 hruighty and enterprifing fpirit, leil he {hould take any 
 fteps againft the new Emperor, a notary was difpatched to 
 Bo^onia [Boulogne] to obferve that coalt. AM MI AN us. 
 
 " three
 
 90 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 " three * others." And fnppofmg I had even 
 put them to death, traitors and confpirators as 
 they were, it flill would have become him to 
 have fmothered the refentment which their fuffer- 
 ings might have excited, for the fake of friend- 
 Ihip and union. Thefe men, not in the lead hurt, 
 1 fecured as dangerous difturbers of the public 
 peace, and though I expended upon them much 
 of the public treafure, I plundered them of 
 nothing. But what would have been their pump- 
 men t, if Conftantius had been injured, and in- 
 filled it? And does not he, by his refentment 
 againft me, on account of thefe men, who bear not 
 the lead relation to him, arraign and deride my 
 folly, in having been fo obfequioufly attentive to 
 the aflaffin of my father, of my coufins, and, in a 
 word, the executioner of my whole family and 
 kindred ? Coniider alfo the deference that I have 
 paid him ever fmce I became Emperor ; as appears 
 from my letters. 
 
 How I behaved to him before that time, I will 
 now inform you. Being fenfible that I mould in- 
 cur the whole danger and difgrace of every fault, 
 though committed by others, I intreated him, that, 
 if he had determined to declare me C^far, he 
 \vould give me the beft and ableft counfellors. In- 
 ilead of which, he gave me at firft the vilefl. 
 When one of them, the mcft abandoned of 
 
 all, 
 
 * Of the other rhree nothing certain can be affirmed. 
 itlvjs lecins to h^v-e bec'i one of them, who, Ammi- 
 
 anus
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 all *, * * * * f he Mened indeed very readily, and 
 gave me with reluclance an excellent officer in 
 Salluft J. On account of his virtue, he foon be- 
 came invidious. But not being fadsfied with him 
 alone, and obferving the different manner in which 
 Conftantius treated the others, confiding in them, 
 and not regarding him, embracing his right hand 
 and his knees, " Though I am not acquainted," 
 faid I, " or ever was, with any one of thefe, yet 
 " knowing them by report, and in deference to 
 " you, I will confider them as my friends, and 
 " efleem them as old acquaintance. It is not 
 " proper, however, that my affairs fhould be con- 
 " fided to them, or that theirs fhould be embroiled 
 " by mine. I requeft you, therefore, to direcl: me, 
 " by fome written rules , what you would wilh 
 
 anus fays, at the very beginning of Julian's government 
 fied from Vienne, where he then was, to Conftantius. 
 Julian " leaving his family and effects untouched, and al- 
 *' lowing him the ufe of a public carriage, ordered him to 
 ' return in fafety into the Eaft." PETAU. 
 
 If Florentius fled to Conftantius, how could he be 
 one that was " detained by Julian ?" 
 
 * Meaning Marcellus, of whom above* Ibid. 
 
 j- Imperfect. 
 
 I We are ignorant of the actual office of this excellent 
 .minifter, whom Julian afterwards created Praefecl of Gaul. 
 
 GIBBON. 
 
 When Julian was fetting out, Conftantius gave him a 
 letter, in which he not only prefcribed rules for his con. 
 duel, but alfo limited his diet, and the amount of his daily 
 expences. Ammianus, l.xvi. 5. " Laftly, as he conftantly 
 ** perufed the letter, which Conftantius, as if he had been 
 " fending a fon-in-law to fchool, had written with his own 
 *' hand, regulating, with too much freedom, what fhould, 
 ** be expended on the Csefar's table," &c. PETAU. 
 
 *' me
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 ft me to avoid, and what to do. Then, with the 
 *' utmoft reafon, you will praife me if I obey, 
 " and punifh me if I tranfgrefs. But I am firmly 
 " of opinion, that Ilhall in no inftance controvert 
 4 ' your commands." 
 
 The innovations that Pentadius immediately 
 attempted *, it is needlefs to mention. I oppofed 
 them all -; confequently he became my enemy. Soon 
 after, by perverting another, and then a fecond, 
 and a third, and by bribing againft me Paul f and 
 Gaudentius ^, notorious flanderers, he fucceeded 
 in having Salluft, who was my friend , recalled, 
 and Lucian immediately appointed to fucceed him. 
 Floremius alfo was irritated by my pppojing his in- 
 
 % At his complaining of Pentadius I am much fur- 
 prifed. For Ammianus mentions Pentadius (1. xx.) and 
 lays, that " he was matter of the offices to Julian, and 
 " was fent by him, when he was made Emperor, to Con- 
 " ftantius, with Eutheritis, his chief chamberlain." He 
 cannot therefore be the fame, who, Julian here fays, was 
 his enemy while he was Caefar. PETAU. 
 
 f Paul was a notary, born jn Spain, famous for cruel 
 informations under Cpnftantius, who was burnt alive, with 
 Apodemus, when Julian was Emperor. See Ammianus, 
 (1. xix. and xxii.) Ibid. 
 
 \ Gaudentius aifo was a notary, and having; been fent 
 into the Gauls as a fpy on the actions of Julian, was after- 
 xvards put to death by him at Antioch. Ammianus, (h 
 xxii.) Ibid. 
 
 Their executions [thofe of the two former] were ac r 
 cepted as an inadequate atonement by the widows and or- 
 phans of fo many hundred Romans, whom thofe legal 
 tyrants had betrayed and murdered. GIBBON, 
 
 As to Gaudentius, fee the third note on Epiftle X. 
 
 See the Confolatory Oration on his departure, p. 30, &c. 
 
 fatiable.
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENI AN Si 
 
 fatiable avarice *. They therefore perfuaded Con- 
 flantius, already perhaps jealous of my actions, to 
 remove me from the command of the forces. And 
 he wrote letters filled with inveftives againft me, 
 and threatening deftru&ion to the Gauls. Soon 
 after, it appeared that he had ordered all the 
 flower of the army, without exception, to be 
 withdrawn from Gaul, charging Lupicinus and 
 Gintonius f with this commiffion, and commanding 
 me in no refpeft to oppofe them. 
 
 In what words (hall I now relate the works of 
 the Gods ? It was my intention, they can witnefs* 
 diverting myfelf of all regal ftate and magnificence, 
 to rert in peace, and never more to act in public. 
 I only waited the return of Floremius and Lupi- 
 
 * See Epiftle XVII. 
 
 f " Simula, then tribune of the {tables to the Cxftr," 
 feys Ammianus, (1. xx. 4.) " was joined in commiifion 
 ** with Decentius, a tribune and notary, to conduct the 
 ** troops out of the Gauls." Of Gintonius T do not re- 
 member to have read. But of this hmory fee more in Am- 
 mianus and Zolimus, and allb in the Oration of Libanius 
 on the confulfhip of Julian. PETAU. 
 
 Julian was furpriled by the hufty arrival of a tribune and 
 a notary, with pofitive orders from the Emperor, which they 
 were direclcd to execute, and he was commanded not to 
 oppofe , that four entire legions, the Celtic, the Perulants, 
 the Heruli, and the Batavians, fhould be feparated t"ro;u 
 the ftandard of Julian ; that, in each ot the remaining 
 bands, three hundred of the brave It youths fhould be fe- 
 le&ed ; and that this numerous detachment, the ftrength of 
 the Gallic army, fhould in ft, uuly begin their march, and 
 exert their utmoft diligence to arrive, before the opening 
 the campaign, OB the frontiers of Perija, GIE^O.V. 
 
 crmis,
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 94 
 
 cinus, the one being in Britain *, and the other 
 at Vienne. In the mean time, a great difturbance 
 was raifed among the natives and foldiers, an ano- 
 nymous libel being difperfed in a neighbouring 
 town, among the Petulants and the Celts (the le- 
 gions fo named) filled with inve&ives againft Con- 
 flantius, and with complaints of his having be- 
 trayed the Gauls. And the author of that paper 
 no lefs lamented my difgrace. This being cir- 
 culated, a general difuffeclion enfued, and thofe 
 who were moft in the intereft of Conflantius ufed 
 their utmoft endeavours to periuade me to detach 
 the troops as foon as poffible, before the like libels 
 were difperfed among the reft of the army. (Not 
 one of my friends was then prefent). They were 
 Nebridius -j~, Pemadius, and Decentius ;, the 
 
 latter 
 > 
 
 * Ammianus (1. xx. i.) The valour of Lupicinns, and his 
 military fkill, are acknowledged by the hiftorian, who, in 
 his affected language, accuies the general of exalting the 
 horns of his pride, bellowing in a tragic tone, and exciting 
 a doubt whether he was more cruel or avaricious. The 
 danger from the Scots and Pits was fo ferious, that Julian 
 himltlf had fome thoughts of paffing over into theifland. 
 
 GIEEOK. 
 
 f- Praetorian Praefeft. This faithful minifter fmgly op- 
 pofed the folemn engagement of the troops to devote them* 
 ielves to the fervice of Julian. Alone and unnilifted, he 
 aflerted the rights of Confhnttus in the inidft of an armed 
 and angry multitude, to whofe fury he had almoil fallen 
 an honourable, but ulelefs, Sacrifice. After loling one of his 
 hands by the ftroke of a fword, he embraced the knees of 
 the prince whom he had offended. Julian covered the 
 Praeftct with his imperial mantle, and protecting him from 
 the zeal of his followers, difmiiied him to his own houie, 
 
 with
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 95 
 
 latter of whom Conftantius had difpatched for 
 that purpofe. My reply, that " we ought to 
 <e wait for Lupicinus and Florentius," was totally 
 disregarded, they all infifting that the oppofite plan 
 (hould be purfued, unlefs I meant to confirm and 
 corroborate former fufpicions. " Befides," they 
 added, " the detaching the troops will now be 
 " deemed your meafure ; but when thofe minifters 
 " return, Conftantius will impute it not to you, 
 " but to them, and confequently will reprobate 
 " your conduft." Thus I was perfuaded, or 
 rather compelled, to write to him. For he may 
 be faid to aft by perfuafion, who has the liberty 
 of refufmg -, but thofe who can be compelled it is 
 needlefs to perfuade ; as they aft not by choice, 
 but neceffity. There being two roads, it was next 
 debated which fhould be taken. I propofed one \ 
 
 with lefs refpeft than was perhnps due to the virtue of an 
 enemy. The high office of Nebridius was beftowed on 
 Sail uft. Ibid. 
 
 Nebridius had before been Count of the Eaft, and, from 
 being quseftor to Julian, was made by Conftantius prse- 
 fec~t of the Gauls, in the room of Florentius, who had 
 been removed to the prsefefture of Illyricum. Fiorentius 
 refufed to return from Vienne, dreading the refentment 
 of the army. Nebridius retired in a private ftation into 
 his native country, Tufcany. Pcntadius is mentioned above. 
 
 j There is fome corruption in this paflage, for neither 
 were they abfent, nor friends to Julian. On the contrary, 
 they adhered to Conftantius. PETAU. 
 
 The prefent reading may be fupported either by omit- 
 ting the preceding paragraph, pr by putting it (as in the 
 tranflation) into a parenthelis. " Nebridiu?, &c." v/iil 
 then refer to the friends before mentioned, of Conftantius, 
 as they certainly were. 
 
 I but
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 but they compelled me to addfn * the other; 
 left my oppofition {hould excite fome tumult and 
 diforder in ihe army -, and when a difturbance was 
 once begun, a general confufion might enfue. An 
 apprehenfion this, which feemed by no means 
 groundlefs. The legions approached. I, as ufual f, 
 went out of the city to meet them, and urged 
 them to purfue their march. They halted one 
 day ; till when 1 was a ftranger to what they had 
 been concerting. Jupiter, the Sun, Mars, Mi- 
 nerva, and all the Gods know J, that I had not the 
 lead fufpicion of their intentions till the eTening 
 of that day, when at fun-fet they were difclofed 
 to me . [At midnight^ on a fudden the pa- 
 
 * Through Paris. Julian honeftly and judicioufly fug- 
 geiled the danger and temptation of a laft interview of the 
 ibldiers with their wives and children. GIBBON. 
 
 j- Even the Emperors thernfelves ufed to meet the legioni 
 by way of honour. VALOIS. 
 
 j Such an oath would be decifive in the mouth of a 
 Pagan, convinced of his falfe religion even to fanaticifm. 
 and enthufialm, as Julian was, if Julian had not given 
 fome proofs of duplicity. But when a man is capable of 
 being of two religions at the fame time, of believing one 
 and profeffing the other, he may well allow himfelf in per- 
 jury. Be that as it may, it muft be owned, that if that 
 prince moved the fprings which raifed him to the fupreme 
 power, he concealed his play fo well, as to feem to owe all 
 to chance, and nothing to intrigue. LABLETERIE. 
 
 It may feem ungenerous to diftruft the honour of a 
 hero, and the truth of a philofopher. The deeout Abbe 
 de la Blcterie is almoft inclined to refpeft the devout pro- 
 teftations of a Pagan. GIBBON. 
 
 He then reiigned himfelf to a fhort flumber ; and 
 afterwards related to his fi lends, that he had feen the Ge- 
 nius of the empire waiting with fome impatience at his 
 door, preffing for admittance, and reproaching his want; 
 of fpirit and ambition. Ibid. 
 
 lace
 
 . ERISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 97 
 
 lace * was inverted, and an univ.erfal fhout was 
 raifed, while in the mean time I was deliberating 
 
 ' o 
 
 what meafures to purfuc, but without forming any 
 determination. Though my wife was then living f, 
 I happened to flecp alone, in an adjoining upper 
 chamber , from which, there being an opening 
 in the wall, I paid my adoration to Jupiter. The 
 clamour increafing, and a general tumult prevail- 
 ing throughout the palace, I in treated that God to 
 
 give 
 
 ' Mo ft probably the palace of the baths (tbermanint) , 
 of which a iolid and lofty hall llill fubfifts in the rue de la 
 Hxrpf. The buildings covered a confiderable fpace of the 
 modern courier of the univerfity; and the gardens, under 
 the Merovingian kings, communicated with the abbey of 
 St. Germain des Prez. -By the injuries of time and the 
 Normans, this ancient palace was reduced, in the twelfth 
 century, to a maze of ruins, whofe dark recefles were the 
 iccne of licentious love. GIBBON. 
 
 Thefe remains, which have all the marks of antiquity, 
 are the greateft curiofity in Paris. They are incloled in a 
 houfe, whole lign is the iron crofs. Our kings of the firfl 
 race relided in that palace. The daughters of Charle- 
 magne were confined there^ after his death, when Lewis 
 the Debonnair, a friend to full chant, but an enemy to 
 gallantry, had caufed their lovers to be put to death. " He 
 '* thought, without doubt," fays F. Daniel, with great 
 fimplicity, " that the example would intimidate, and that 
 *' they would have no more. He was, it feems, miitaken ; 
 *' they were never without them." Tableau de Paris r eb. 
 Antiquities. 
 
 f Helena died foon after, at Vienne, fays Ammianus, 
 (1. xxi.) ; others Jay, in the palace of Julian, and vras 
 buried near her lifter Conftantina, at Rome. 
 
 Her pregnancy had been feveral times fruitlels, and was 
 at lafr fatal to herfelf. GIBBON. 
 
 \ From Mr. King's very ingenious " Obfervations oa 
 " Ancient Caftles," p. <;, &c. we learn, that " the llatc- 
 " apartments (which Julian, no doubt, then oceupied)-wcre 
 
 Vor/. I. H " ahvay*
 
 9 8 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 give me a fign. This he immediately fhewed me, 
 commanding me firmly to confide in it, and not 
 oppofe the refolution of the army *. Though I 
 had received thefe omens, I did not, however, 
 yield without reluctance, but refilled as much as 
 poflible, nor would I admit of the falutation, or 
 the diadem. But not being able fingly to oppofe 
 fo many, and the Gods, whofe will it was, flrongly 
 animating them, and at the fame time, compofmg 
 my fpirits, at length, about the third hour, fome 
 foldier, I know not whom, giving me a collar f, I 
 put it on, and then re-entered the palace, groan- 
 ing, as the Gods can witnefs, from the bottom of 
 iny heart ; for though the confidence which the 
 former fign had given me in God could not bus 
 
 infpire 
 
 " always in the third ftory, an habitation both (lately and 
 ** airy, free- from the annoyance of the enemy's inftruments 
 < of war." 
 
 The windows alfo of thefe rooms, even in our cold cli- 
 mate, though highly ornamented, ** appear to have had 
 ** no glafs, and to have been fenced only with iron bars 
 " and wooden fhutters, as is known to have been the 
 44 \ifage in early times." Sequel to the Obfervations on An- 
 cient Caftlcs, p, 108. 
 
 That the Jews, as well as Pagans, prayed " with their 
 " windows open," appears from this paflage of Daniel, 
 vi., jo. He went into hit houfc, and his windows being open 
 Iti bis chamber toward Jem/alcm, he kneeled upon hit knees, &c. 
 
 * The conduct, which difclaims the ordinary maxims of 
 rcafon, excites lufpicion, and eludes our enquiry. When- 
 ever the fpirit of fanaticifm, at once fo credulous and fo 
 crafty, has infmuated itfelf into a noble mind, it infeniibly 
 corrodes the vital principles of virtue and veracity. 
 
 GIBBON. 
 
 f Even in this tumultuous moment, Julian attended to 
 the forms of fupcrflitioua ceremony, and obftinately refufed 
 
 ike
 
 EPISTLE TO tut ATHENIANS. 99 
 
 infpire me with fortitude, I was afhamed and 
 abafhed at not feeming to obey Conftantius faith- 
 fully to the laft. 
 
 A great dejection prevailing in the palace, the 
 friends of Conftantius endeavoured to improve that 
 opportunity of forming a conspiracy againft me, 
 and diftributed money among the foldiers, hoping 
 to alienate fome of them, fo at leaft as to make a 
 divilion between us, if not to perfuade them openly 
 to attack me. One of the officers who attended 
 my wife in -public *, hearing what they were 
 clandeftinely tr an fact ing, difclofed it to me. But 
 finding that I difregarded it, with the frenzy of an 
 enthufiaft, he loudly exclaimed in the market- 
 place, " Soldiers, foreigners, and natives, do not 
 " betray the Emperor." The minds of the troops 
 being thus inflamed, they alt ran armed to the 
 palace. Finding me there alive and unhurt, and 
 rejoicing like friends who meet unexpectedly, they 
 embraced me, clafped me in their arms, and bore 
 me on their fiioulders. It was indeed a moft pleaf- 
 ing fighr, feeming like infpiration. Surrounding 
 me on all fides, they then infifted that every friend 
 of Conftantius fhould be put to death. The ftrenu- 
 
 the inaufpicious ufe of a female necklace, or a horfc's collar 
 (equi pkakrts}) which the impatient foldiers would have em- 
 ployed inftead of a diadem. GIBBOK. 
 
 The collar which he put on, enriched with jewels, be- 
 longed, fays Ammianus, to " one Maurus, afterwards a 
 " Count, then a fpearman of the Petulants." This event 
 happened in April, 360. 
 
 * Ammianus flyles him allyuls palatii decvrla^ a kind of 
 
 tor. 
 
 H 2 OUS
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 ous endeavours that I ufed to fave them, all the 
 Gods know. After this, what was my conduct to- 
 wards Conflantius ? In my letters * to him, even 
 to the prefent -hour, I have never affumcd the title 
 which, the. Gods, have given me, only ftyling my- 
 felf Cadar ; and I prevailed on the foldiers to fwear 
 to me, that they would attempt nothing farther, if 
 -he would fuffer me to dwell peaceably in the 
 Gauls, and ratify all that had been,. done. Add 
 to this, the Regions that were with me fent him an 
 united letter, urging a reconciliation between us. 
 In return, he fpirited the Barbarians againft us, 
 proclaimed me to them as a publie enemy, and 
 bribed them to ravage the Gallic provinces. He 
 wrote alfo to them who were in Italy, and warned 
 them to guard again ft thofe who came from the 
 Gauls. In the towns bordering on theGallic frontier, 
 he ordered magazines to be formed ; in particular, 
 one of fix hundred thoufand quarters + of flour at 
 Brigantia , and another of as many. more at the foot 
 of the Gotuan Alps; that he might be enabled to 
 inarch an army againU: me. All thefe things were 
 not only faid but done. For the letters which he 
 fent |j to fpirit the Barbarians I intercepted, and all 
 
 * The Epiftle to which Julian principally alludes has 
 been inferred, p. 54. 
 
 t Three hundred myriads, or three millions of medimnl^ 
 a corn meafure familiar to the Athenians, and which con- 
 tained fix Roman modii. GIBBON. 
 
 j Now Bregcntz,on the banks of the Lake of Conilance. 
 
 .$ The mountains that divide Dauphiny from Piedmont. 
 
 || Meaning the letters which Ammianus mentions in his 
 
 xxi it book. Yet he expreffes himfelf with cool and can- 
 
 . did heiitation, /famje Ibii admittenda eft fides. GIBBON. 
 
 the
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 101 
 
 the provifions, which he had ordered to be col- 
 le&ed, I feized, and alfo the letters of Taurus *. 
 Befides this, he addrefled me dill as Csefar, and 
 declared, that he would never be reconciled to me. 
 He fent, however, one Epiftetus f , a Gallic bimop, 
 to affure me of my fafety ; and in all his letters he 
 intimates, that he will fpare my life; but as to 
 my honour, he is iilent. In regard to his oaths, I 
 think, as the proverb fays, they (hould be written 
 in allies, fo little do they deferve belief. My 
 own honour, not only for the fake of what is 
 juft and right, but for that of the fafety of my 
 friends, I am determined to maintain; not to 
 mention the cruelties exercifed throughout all the 
 world. 
 
 Thefe arguments are to me conclufive ; thefe 
 meafures appear to me juft; and I adopted them 
 at firft in the fight and hearing of the Gods. After- 
 wards, on the very day in which I was going tp 
 * 
 
 * Proofed of Italy, and Conful, with Florentius, in 361, 
 when this Epiftle was written. He was baniftied by Julian, 
 foon after, during his praefe&ure and conlullhip, to Ver- 
 celiae, in Italy. 
 
 f There was a bifliop of that name, a remarkable fa- 
 vourer of the Arian fed, who, to gratify Conftantius, ufed 
 great feverity towards the Catholics. But he was bifliop 
 of Centum-cellae [now Civita-Vecchia] in Thufcia [Tufr 
 cany] not in Gaul. Perhaps Julian wrote Ki>Tnpx.&xuf (" of 
 " Centum-cells?,") inilead ofTmt&totn (" of the Gauls".) 
 Yet Ammianus relates, that the perfon, who wa fent into 
 the Gauls with thefe orders to Julian, was the quxftor 
 Leonas. PSTAU, . 
 
 H 3 harangue
 
 icz EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS, 
 
 harangue the army concerning our march hither *:> 
 facrificing for the event, for my own fafety, and 
 much more for the public welfare, and the general 
 freedom of the world, efpecially of the Gallic nation, 
 whom he has twice abandoned to her enemies, not 
 fparing the fepulchres of their anceftors, though he 
 pays the utmoft attention to thofe of foreigners f, the 
 omens were aufpicious. I thought it therefore necef- 
 lary to, reduce our formidable enemies J, and to coin 
 lawful money of gold and filver ; and if even now he 
 ftould bedifpofedto treat with me, will be faiisfied 
 with what I at prefent poffefs. But if he fliould pre- 
 
 * IHyricum, where this Epiflle xyas written. 
 
 f- The primitive Chriftians called the temples of the 
 Heathens *' fepulchres," in contempt, bccaufe temples 
 began to be built where their Gods were buried. But this the 
 Gentiles afterwards retorted on the Chriftians, on account 
 of the relics of the martyrs, preferved and worshiped 
 in the churches. And hence they ftyled the Chriftianji 
 churches nothing but rx^ag (" tombs.") VALOIS, 
 
 J After Julian had difmifled Leonas, and fent a new em- 
 bafly to the Eaftern court, that he might keep his troops 
 in exercile, and preferve the reputation they had gained, 
 he paffed the Rhine for the fourth tune, fubdued the 
 Attuarii, a nation of the Franks, who ftill made incurfions 
 into Gaul; and, repairing the Rhine, reviewed and ih'ength- 
 cned all the gunilons in the frontier towns, as f^r as the 
 country of the Rauraci (now the canton of Baiil) ; frorp 
 whence he repaired to "Befan^on, and then to Vienne, 
 where he kept his winter-quarters. Before the conclufion 
 <-r" the winter, the Germans under king Vadomar, having 
 revolted and pillaged Rhoctia (now the country of the 
 Grifons), he frized and hnniflicd that prince, and paffmg 
 the Rhine for the fifth and laft time, iurprifed the bar- 
 l>3riaus, and forced them to fwear to a peace, which thry 
 never prefurned to violate again during his life. 
 
 J^A BlkTFJUE. 
 
 fer
 
 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIANS. 
 
 fer engaging in a war, and will in no refpeft recede 
 from his former determination, I am ready to do or 
 fuffer whatever the Gods may decree. It is more 
 difgraceful to be conquered by ignorance and pufil- 
 lanimity, than by ftrength and numbers. If he 
 excells me in numbers, that is owing, not to him- 
 felf, but to his armies. If he had furprifed me 
 ftill loitering in the Gauls, and tenacious of life, 
 and had furrounded me, declining danger, on the 
 i flanks and in the rear by the Barbarians, and in 
 front by his own troops, I muft have fubmitted, 
 not only to the utmoft extremity, but, which to 
 the wife is the greateft of evils, to difgrace *. 
 
 Such are the reflexions, men of Athens, which 
 I have communicated to my feilow-foldiers, and 
 now tranfmit to you and the other cities of 
 Grece f. May the Gods, the Lords of all, afford 
 me the afliftance, which they have promifed, to 
 the laft, and grant to Athens, that I may, as much 
 as poflible, deferve her favour, and that flic may 
 for ever have fuch Emperors as may intimately 
 
 * Julian explains, like a foldier and a ftatefman, the 
 danger of his fituation, and the neceflity and advantages of 
 an offeniive war. GIBBON. 
 
 -j> Lacedaemon and Corinth, Zofunus fays, were two of 
 the other cities that Julian addrefled, but all that remains 
 of either, or any, of thofe Epiftles, is two fhort paragraphs 
 of that to the Corinthians, preferved by Sozomen ; in one 
 of which he fays, " Having reluctantly commenced this 
 " war, but having now, in great meafure, fucceeded, 
 " though not yet arrived at the conclufion ;" and in the 
 other, he claims their favour, " on account of the friend- 
 *' Jhip of his father, who had dwelt among them." 
 
 H 4 know,
 
 104 EPISTLE TO THE ATHENIAN S, 
 
 know, and with a diftinguilhed preference efteetn, 
 her * ! 
 
 * The humanity of Julian was preferred from the cruel 
 alternative, which he pathetically laments, of destroying, 
 or of being himfelf deftroyed ; and the feafonablc death of 
 Conllantiiis delivered the Roman empire from' the ca- 
 lamities of civil war. The approach of winter "could not 
 detain the monarch at Antioch ; and his favourites durll 
 not oppofe his impatient delire of revenge. A flight fever, 
 which was perhaps occafioned by the 'agitation of his 
 fpirits, was increased by the fatigues of the journey ; and 
 Conftantius was obliged to halt at the little town of Mop- 
 fucrene, twelve miles beyond Tarfus, where he expired, 
 after a fhort illnefs, in the forty-fifth year of his age, and 
 the twenty- fourth of his reign. GIBBON. 
 
 This event happened on Sept. 3, 361. It is pretended 
 that, "upon his death-bed, he named Julian his fnccefibr, 
 willing, no doubt, to make a merit of what he could ao 
 longer with-hold from him, and by that to engage him to 
 protect Faustina. w r hom he had married after the death of 
 Eufebia, and whom he left pregnant of a -prinoefs [Con- 
 ftantia], who was afterwards married to the Emperor Gra-, 
 tian. Julian immediately haflened towards Conftantinople, 
 which he entered, accompanied by the fenate, foldiers, 
 and people, on Dec. n, LA BLTERIH, 
 
 A N
 
 I "5 ] 
 
 AN ALLEGORICAL FABLE*. 
 
 A 
 
 CERTAIN rich man -f- had numerous flocks A. D. 
 and herds, and many horfcs J, grazing in his 
 
 meadows. He had alfo many fliepherds, as well 
 Haves as f reed-men, and hired fervants, herdfraen, 
 goat-herds, grooms, with many eflates, feme of 
 which were bequeathed to him by his father ; 
 but moft of them he had acquired, being de- 
 firous to enrich himfelf by right or wrong, and 
 having little regard for the Gods. He had feveral 
 wives, by whom he had fons and daughters ||, 
 
 among 
 
 * Julian has worked the crimes and misfortunes of the 
 family of Conftantine into an allegorical Fable, which is 
 happily conceived and agreeably related. It forms the 
 conclufion of the Vllth Oration. GIBBON. 
 
 See a farther account of it in the Preface. 
 
 f This rich man is Conftantine, that eternal object of 
 the hatred and' malignity of Julian. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 The beginning of this Fable is remarkably fimilar to 
 that of Nathan's Parable, in 2 Sam. xii. 2. which Julian 
 had read in the Septuagint. nxsyna atity '-irgKt&a. w a-oAXa, 
 xxt 7?Aaj ofc>, fays the Emperor. TV crAuatii of* vn KMp.not. 
 xa.t jSaxsAia :roAAa afytyat, fays the Prophet. 
 
 j In the original, tTTo* ^upiat (" many marcs.") 
 
 Conftantius Chlorus reigned only over the Gaul*, 
 Spain, and Great-Britain. Conftantine, with much good 
 fortune, and perhaps too much addrefs, made himfelf 
 mafter of the whole empire. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 ij Conftantine left three fons, between whom he divided 
 the empire. Conftantine, known in hiftory by the name 
 of the younger Conftantine, had the Gauls, Spain, and 
 Great-Britain. Conftantius had the Eaft. Conftans, Italy, 
 
 Illyricura,
 
 ro6 ALLEGORICAL FABLE. 
 
 among whom he divided his wealth *, before ha 
 died, but without inftrufting them how to manage 
 it, how to acquire more, if it fhould fail, or, when 
 it was acquired, how to prefervc ir. So grofs was 
 
 Jllyricurn, and Africa. We are acquainted only with two 
 daughters of Conftautine the Great ; Conftantina and 
 Helena. He married the former to Flavins Claudius 
 Hannibalianus, his nephew, (on of his brother Dalmatius 
 the Cenfor. This princefs afterwards married the Cad'ar 
 Gallus. Helena was married to Julian. It is not at firft 
 eafy to conceive how he can fay, that " the father of the 
 ** family divided his eftate between his fons and his daugb- 
 4< tew," as, among the Romans, the daughters were ex- 
 cluded from the empire. But this paflage of Julian in- 
 forms us of two things ; i. That if Conftantine gave his 
 nephew Hannibalianus the title of King, with Armenia 
 the Lefs, Pontus, and Cappadocia, it was on account of 
 his marriage with Conftantina, on whom, befides, he con- 
 ferred the title of Augufta, and a right to wear the diadem. 
 2. That if he raifed Dalmatius, the brother of Hanni- 
 balianus, to the dignity of Coefar, and gave him Thrace, 
 Macedonia, and Achaia, it was becaule Dalmatius was to 
 eipoufc Helena, who was then a child. Hannibalianus and 
 Dalnfatiui were included in the maflacre which followed 
 the death of Conftantine. One fault of that able poli- 
 tician, a fault much more real than that with which Julian 
 here reproaches him, is that of having raifed his brothers 
 and his nephews to fuch a height as to make them for- 
 midable to his children. If iie could imagine that he 
 fhould have authority enough over both to prevent the 
 tifual effects of jealoufy and ambition during his life, (hould 
 he have flattered himfelf that they would have fuch refpecl 
 to his memory as to remain within the limits which he had 
 prescribed them ? The grcateft princes ought always to 
 rnink that they will not reign alter their deaths. 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 
 * Whether, sfter the death of Faufta, the mother of 
 Conftantius and his brothers, Conftantine contracted any 
 other marriage does not appear from the memorials, ftill 
 remaining, of thole times ; except that in general Julian 
 here lays, that " he had many wives," tyivovlo Jt av\u yi- 
 tAKHi &/.:.*, though without naming them. SPANHEIM. 
 
 his
 
 ALLEGORICAL FABLE. 
 
 his ignorance, that he thought nothing neceflary 
 but riches ; nor in that art had he much expe- 
 rience, having acquired it, not by any fixed prin- 
 ciple, but rather by ufe and habit, like empirics, 
 who by practice only cure difeafes, and confe- 
 quently muft be ignorant of many. Thus think- 
 ing that the number of his fons would fufficiently 
 fecure the continuance of his family, he ufed no 
 endeavour to make them virtuous *. 
 
 This was the firft origin of their diffenfions. 
 For each of them defiring, like his father, to have 
 great riches, and fingly to poflefs all, attacked his 
 brother. The calamities occaiioned by their folly 
 and ignorance extended alfo to their neareft re- 
 lations, who had had no better education. A ge- 
 neral (laughter enfued, fo as to realife by divine 
 vengeance the molt tragical cataftrophe. They 
 divided their patrimony by the fword, and every 
 thing was thrown into confufion. The fons de* 
 ftroyed the temples of their anceftors, which be- 
 fore indeed had been defpifed by their father, and 
 ftripped of their offerings, dedicated by many, but 
 chiefly by his forefathers. But when they deftroyed 
 the temples, they repaired the old and creeled new 
 fepulchres f, as if they had forefeen, that for their 
 
 * Julian, in his firft panegyric on Conflantins, fays, 
 the children of Conftantine had the moft excellent education 
 that could be given to princes. He then perhaps flattered. 
 Now perhaps he (landers. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 f By " fepulchres" he muft mean churches. So they 
 
 were called by the Pagans, becaufc they were built over the 
 
 tombs of the martyrs IbU. See p, 102, note f. 
 
 I contempt
 
 ALLEGORICAL F A B'L E. 
 
 contempt of the Gods they would ere long want 
 many fepulchres themfelves. 
 
 Amidir. thcfe diforders, marriages alfo being 
 contrafted which were no marriages *, and the 
 laws both of Gods and men being thus alike in- 
 fringed, Jupiter was moved with compaffion, and 
 addreffing himfelf to the Sun f, he faid to him, 
 
 * Conftantius firft married the daughter of Julius 
 Conftantius, his uncle. Though hiflory does not inform 
 us who were the wives of Conitantine the younger and 
 Conftans, it may be prefumed that they alfo married their 
 cou-fin-germans. Such marriages were not forbidden 
 among the Romans till Theodofius, whofe law was after- 
 wards repealed by Juftinian. However, even before the 
 prohibition of Theodofius, they were unufual, becaufe they. 
 were odious. It was thought that they bordered upon 
 inceft. This we learn from St. Auguftine, de civitate Dei y 
 1. xv. c, 16. Raro ftr mores fie^b at quod fieri per leges liccl>at. . . 
 Fft'ffum etlam licit urn propter vicinitatem horrebatur illiciti ; ct 
 iiuoab 'fulat- cum co-nfobrina pene cum for ore Jieri <videlatnr, 
 quia et ipfi inter fe propter tarn propinquam confanguinitatcm 
 fratrcsvocantur, et pene germani funt. Allowing this, it will 
 be'eafy to conceive how a pailionate enemy, like Julian, 
 may fo feverely reprobate the marriages of the children of 
 Conftantine. This key, I think, may ferve for want of 
 better hiftorical light. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 - Julian, whofe mind was biaffcd by fuperilition and re- 
 ientment, iligir.atifes thefe unnatural alliances between his 
 own coufins with the opprobrious name of yajuu>i> rt w yapa*. 
 The jurifprudence of the cations has fince revived and en- 
 forced this prohibition, without being able to introduce it 
 either into the civil or the common law of Europe. 
 
 GIBBON. 
 
 One of thefe " no marriages" was that of Julian him- 
 felf with his coufin Helena. Another, that of Callus arid 
 Conftnntina. 
 
 -j- After what has been faid before, it is needlefs here 
 to obierve, that Julian means by the Sun that intelligence 
 produced 'from all eternity by the fup re me God, &c. in a 
 word, the Logoiof Plato. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 " Of
 
 A L L E G;O R I C A.L...F A B L E. 
 
 " Of all the Gods my mpfl_ ancient off-fpring, 
 " being born before heaven and earth, doft thou 
 " ftill retain the memory of the infults thou haft 
 " received from that difdainful and arrogant man, 
 " who, by forfaking thee *, 'entailed fd many 
 <c calamities on himfeif, his family, and his children? 
 " Though you have not perfonall.y wreaked your 
 <f vengeance on him, nor have launched your ar- 
 * f rows againft his children, are you lefs the author 
 (: of that deuru&ion which has defoliated his 
 " family ? But let us fummon the Fates, and en- 
 (< quire of them whether any affiitance can be 
 " given it." 
 
 The Fates inftantly attended ; but the Sun, as if 
 abforbed in contemplation, continued to fix his 
 eyes on Jupiter, The eldeft of the Fates thus re- 
 plied: ' Juftice and Sandlity, O Father, forbid 
 f it. But it depends on yourfelf, flnce you have 
 
 * ordered us to be fubfervient to them, to prevail 
 
 * on them alfo.' " True," anfwered Jupiter, 
 <f they are my daughters, and therefore I may 
 " interrogate them. Venerable Goddeffes, what 
 tf do you advife?" 'That, Father,' they replied, 
 ' is as you direct ; but be careful left that worff 
 
 * The devotion of Conftantine was peculiarly direfted 
 to the Genius of the Sun, the Apollo of Greek and Roman, 
 mythology ; and he was pleafed to be reprefented with the 
 iymbols of the God of light and poetry. GISEON. 
 
 Among the many coins of this Emperor, found at Re- 
 culver, in Kent (the Roman Regulbium), fome 'have, on 
 their reverie, the figure of Apollo, with a ftar, and Soli 
 invitfj fomiti,- This device would have ferved equally well 
 for Julian. 
 
 < Of
 
 ALLEGORICAL F A B L tf . 
 
 ' of all crimes, a zeal for impiety, ihould univer- 
 ' fally prevail in the world.' " To that/' faid Ju- 
 piter, " I will certainly attend." The Fates then 
 approached, and fpun as the Faiher directed. Af- 
 terwards Jupiter thus addreffed the Sun : " You 
 " fee this infant *, the nephew of that rich man, 
 ' and the coufin of his heirs. Though deftitute 
 " and defpifed, he is your off-fpring. Swear, 
 " therefore, to me, by my fceptre and your own, 
 '* that you will take efpecial care of him, that you 
 e ' will be his guide, and fecure him from evil. 
 ' You fee he is enveloped, as it were, with fmoke, 
 " and filth, and darknefs, and that the flame which 
 " you have kindled in him is in danger of being 
 " ftifled: 
 
 " And owns no help but from thy faving hands f. 
 <f Take him therefore, and fuperintend his edu- 
 " cation. This I and the Fates allow." At 
 this the Sun much rejoiced, and was pleafed with 
 the child, perceiving in him a fmall fpark of 
 himfelf ftill remaining. From that time he edu- 
 cated the boy, withdrawing him 
 
 Far from alarms, and dud and blood J. 
 "Eut Jupiter ordered the moiherlefs and chafte 
 Minerva to have a fhare alfo in his education. 
 
 Thus inftructed, when the youth had attained 
 hat age, 
 
 * Julian himfelf. 
 
 f Iliad IX. 231. Pope, 304. Part of the fpeech of 
 Ulyfles to Achilles, requetting him to affift the Greeks. 
 
 ,J Iliad XI. 164. Pope, 216. applied to Hector, when 
 protected by Jupuer aad Fate-. 
 
 When
 
 ALLEGORICAL FABLE. 
 
 When fprings the down, when youth has all its 
 
 charms *, 
 
 Being apprifed of the numerous calamities which 
 had befallen his relations and coufins, he was 
 fo terrified, that he would have ruined head- 
 long into Tartarus, had he not been prevented 
 by the benevolent Sun and provident Minerva f, 
 who threw him into a flurnber, which banifhed 
 that idea. Awaking from this, he returned to 
 his folitude, and there, fitting on a ftone, he con- 
 fidered with himfelf how he fhould efcape fuch 
 a variety of evils; for now every thing appealed 
 adverfe, and he was abandoned even by hope. 
 
 Mercury then, who had an affection for him, 
 afluming the appearance of one of his young 
 companions, thus kindly accofled him : " Follow 
 " me, and I will mew you a fmoother and eafier 
 ** way, as foon as you have gone through this 
 ". winding and rugged path, which obliges, as 
 " you fee, all who enter it to turn back." The 
 
 Iliad XXIV. 34 3. 
 
 f In the original, TU n^owtaj AS?. In his IVth Ora- 
 tion, Julian confiders Pronoea as another name for Minerva. 
 
 After the example of Plato, whofe philofophy he adopted, 
 Julian, like other Heathent, acknowledged God's Provi- 
 dence. Not to mention his maiter Jamblichus (de Myfttr. 
 1. i. c. 9.) t4 the Providence of God" is mentioned by 
 Euripides, in his Oreftes, ver. uSi. On fom* excellent 
 coins of Ccmmodus it appears under the fvmbol of a 
 woman extending her right hand, and holding a fpear v.\ 
 her left, or before an altar, with another figure of a 
 man {landing, and on each fide a tree, with the nilcriptioa 
 riPONOIA. And on the Roman coins is fome times let-n a 
 temple, and fometimes a radiated figure of the fun, v,-:: 1 : 
 PROVIDE.VTJA infcribed, 8cc. '??ANIIE.IM. 
 
 youth
 
 i!2 ALLEGORICAL FABLE. 
 
 youth then proceeded cautioufly, with his fword, 
 his fhield, and fpear, but with his head unarmed. 
 Relying on his guide, he came to a road, though 
 unfrequented, highly pleafant, and embroidered 
 with fruit-trees and flowers innumerable, fuch as 
 are pleating to the Gods, and alfo with ivy, laurel, 
 and myrtle. 
 
 When they arrived at the foot of a high moun- 
 tain, " On the fummit of that,'* faid Mercury, 
 " dwells the Father of the Gods; be careful 
 " therefore, for great is your danger, to worfhip 
 * him in the moil religious manner. Alk of him 
 " whatever you pleafe. You will wifli, my child, 
 " for what is beft." So faying, Mercur^ diup- 
 peared, though the youth Was very defirous of 
 being informed by him what petition he fhonld 
 prefer to the Father of the Gods. Thus deferted, 
 he could only advife with himfelf, and he could 
 not have been advifed better. " Though I do not 
 " yet fee," faid he, " the Father of the Gods, 
 41 Jet me folicit him for his belt gifts. O Father 
 ** Jupiter, or by whatever other name thou pleafeft 
 ** to be called, for that to me is indifferent, teach 
 *' me the way that leads to thee. For the region 
 *' of thy refidence is incomparably beautiful, if I 
 " may judge of its excellence by the pleafantnefs 
 " of the path through which I have been con- 
 " dueled hither." After having thus prayed, he 
 fell faft aileep. During this {lumber, or trance, 
 Jupiter {hewed hint the Sun in perfon. Aftoniftied 
 at this fight, the youth exclaimed, For this and 
 3 " all
 
 ALLEGORICAL FABLE. II3 
 
 ' all thy other favours, O Father of the Gods, I 
 44 offer and dedicate rnyfelf to thee." Then em- 
 bracing the knees of the Sun, he intreated his 
 protection. But he, calling Minerva, bade her 
 firfl obTerve what arms he 'had brought. Seeing 
 only a fword, a Ihield, and a fpear, " Where, my 
 " fon," faid (he, " are yoiir begis and helmet?" 
 He anfwered, " I could fc'a'rce provide even thefe ; 
 44 neglected and defpifed, I hud no friend in the 
 " family of my relations." " What then," re- 
 plied the Sun, (f will you fay, when I tell you, 
 * that you muft neceiTarily return to it ?" Hear- 
 ing this, the youth intreated him, with many tears, 
 not to fend him thither again, as, in that cafe, he 
 fhould never fee him more, but fhould certainly 
 perifli there, overwhelmed with misfortunes. " You 
 44 are, young,' 5 faid the Sun, " and have not yet been 
 " initiated. Return therefore to earth, and when you 
 4 are initiated *, dwell in fafety ; return and pu- 
 
 14 rify 
 
 * By the .hands of Maxiirms [See the firft note on 
 XV.] Julian was fecretly initiated a: Epheius, in the twen- 
 tieth year of his age. His refidence at Athens confirmed 
 this unnatural alliance of philofophy and fuperftition. He ob- 
 tained the privilege of a iolemn initiation into the mylleries 
 of Eleufis, which, am id it the general decay of the Gre- 
 cian worfhip, ftili retained fome veftiges of their primeval 
 fandity ; arid fuch was the zeal of Julian, .tha* he after- 
 wards invited the Eleufinian pontiff to the court of Gaul, 
 for the fob purpofe of confummating, by ruyftic -rites and 
 lacrifices, the great work of his far.flification. As thele 
 ceremonies were performed in the.depth of caverns, and in 
 the filence of .the night j and as the inviolable fecret of the 
 myfteries was preJerved by the diicretion of the initiated ; 
 I fhall not prefume to defcribe the horrid founds, and fiery 
 
 VOL. I. T. apparitions,
 
 ii 4 ALLEGORICAL FABLE. 
 
 " rify yourfelf from all impiety. You mutt 
 " then invoke me, and Minerva, and. the other 
 " Gods.'* 
 
 The youth, at thefe words, remained (ilent. 
 TheSun then conducting him to a mountain, (whofe 
 fummit (hone with light, but whofe lower parts 
 were covered with thick darknefs, through which, 
 however, as through a mitt, the rays of the Sun 
 appeared dim and faint), thus addrefled him : 
 ' You fee your coufm the heir * : Do you. fee 
 ' alfo thofe herdfmen and (hepherds ?' He replied 
 in the affirmative. * How is he/ faid the Sun, 
 ' and how are his (hepherds and herdfmen, em- 
 ' ployed?' " He," faid the youth, " feems to me 
 " afleep ; he lives in retirement, and devotes him- 
 " (elf to pleafure. Few of his (hepherds are well- 
 " difpofed ; mod of them are wicked and cruql ; 
 " for they either devour or fell his (heep, and thus 
 *' doubly injure their mafter ; they ruin his flocks, 
 14 and, though they receive much and return him 
 " but little, they complain that they are defrauded 
 *' of their wages ; but it were better that they 
 " (hould be paid the whole, than the Iheep be 
 " denroyed." ' But fuppofe,' faid the Sun, I 
 ' and Minerva, by the command of Jupiter, 
 ' fhould appoint you guardian of all thcfe flocks, 
 ' in the room of this heir ?' This the youth again 
 
 -apparitions, which were prefented to the fenfes, or the 
 imagination, of the credulous afpirant, till thg vifions of 
 comfort and knowledge broke upon him in a blaze of 
 celeftial light. GIBBON. 
 
 * Conftantius. 
 
 oppofed,
 
 ALLEGORICAL FABLE. 115 
 
 oppofed, and earneftly intreated to remain there. 
 The Sun replied, " Be not obflinately difobedient, 
 " left my hatred (hould be equal to the love that 
 " I have borne you." The youth then anfwered, 
 ' O mod excellent Sun and Minerva, and thee 
 ( too I atteft> O Father Jupiter, difpofe of me 
 * abfolutely as you pleafe.' After this, Mer- 
 cury, again appearing, infpired him with ad- 
 ditional courage. For now he thought he had 
 found a guide in his return, and during the time 
 that he was to pafs on earth. 
 
 Minerva then thus accofted him : " Good fon 
 44 of this excellent and divine father and of me, 
 " attend ! The bed (hepherds, you obferve, do 
 ** not pleafe this heir; but profligates and flatterers 
 " have enflaved him. Confequently he is not 
 " beloved by the good and virtuous, and by thofe 
 " who feem his friends he is injured and dif- 
 " honoured. Be careful therefore, when you re* 
 " turn, never to prefer a flatterer to a friend. 
 " Take another advice, my fon. That man fleeps, 
 " and of courfe is often deceived ; but be you 
 " fober and vigilant *. A flatterer often affumes 
 " the confidence of a friend; juft as if a fmith, 
 " covered with fmoke and aihes, fhould, by a 
 " painted face and a white garment, induce you to 
 
 The fame words as thofe of the Apoftle, 
 .{n*1t, i Pet. v. 8. 
 
 This is not the firft paflage in which we have feen our' 
 author availing himlelf of his Chriftian erudition, 
 
 I 2 " give
 
 ALLEGORICAL FABLE. 
 
 " give him one of your daughters in marriage. 
 " Thirdly, let me exhort you to have a particular 
 " regard to yourfelf. Refpeft us in the firft place; 
 ** among men, thofe who refemble us molt, and 
 " no one befides. You fee how much this poor 
 " wretch has fuffered from a falfe fhame and a 
 " foolifh timidity." 
 
 To this the Sun added, * Thofe whom you feleft 
 ( for your friends treat as friends, not as fervants 
 
 * and domeftics. Behave to them with freedom, 
 ' candour, and generofity, not thinking of them 
 ' one thing, and faying another. What was fo 
 ' deftruclive to this young heir as unfaithfulnefs 
 ' to his friends? Love your fubjefts, as you are 
 ( loved by us. Whatever, relates to our worfhip 
 c prefer to all other virtues. For we are your 
 
 * benefactors, and friends, and prefer vers.' 
 Delighted at thefe words, the youth clearly 
 
 Ihewed his defire to obey the Gods implicitly in 
 all things. " Depart now," faid the Sun, " with 
 *' joyful hopes, for I, and Minerva, and Mer- 
 " cury will every where be with you, and alfo 
 " all the Gods who dwell on Olympus, or in the 
 " air, or on earth, and all the other deities ; fo 
 " you fhal! be pious to us, faithful to your friends, 
 ** and humane to your fubjefts, teaching them to 
 " excell by your example, and never being en- 
 " flaved by their pafiions or your own. Pietain 
 ' the armour that you brought hither, and receive 
 " from me this torch, which will afford you fuch 
 " light on earth, that you will not need that of 
 
 " heaven.
 
 ALLEGORICAL FABLE. 117 
 
 " heaven. Accept alfo from good Minerva an 
 " asgis and a helmet, for fhe has many, as you 
 ** fee, which me beftows on whom fhe pleafes. 
 " Mercury, befides, will give you a golden wand. 
 " Depart therefore, relying on this armour, and 
 " traverfe earth and fea, inviolably obeying our 
 ** laws. Let neither man, nor woman, your 
 " own countrymen, nor foreigners, perfuade you 
 " to negleft our precepts. While you obferve 
 " them, you will be loved and efteemed by us, 
 ** and alfo refpefted by our good fervants, and 
 " formidable both to wicked men and evil dse- 
 " mons *. Know that you were inverted with a 
 14 mortal body in order to difcharge thefe duties* 
 " For the fake of your anceftors, we with to 
 " purify your family from every (lain. Remember, 
 " therefore, that your foul is immortal, and fprung 
 " from us ; and that, if you follow us, you will be 
 " a God, and with us will behold our Father." 
 
 Whether this be a fable, or a true narrative, I 
 cannot tell f , 
 
 * It is well known that the Pl.itonifts admitted of good 
 and evil Genii, and that they included both under the 
 name of daemons. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 -j- Thus St. Paul, Whether in the body^ or out of the body, 
 1 tannot tell', God knoweth. 2 Cor. xii. 3. 
 
 I 3 The
 
 t "' ] 
 
 THE DUTIES OF A DRIEST. 
 
 Extracted from the Fragment of an Oration, 
 or Epiftle *. 
 
 A. D #**TF any are dete&ed misbehaving to their 
 
 J- prince, they are immediately punched ; but 
 
 thofe who refufe to approach the Gods, are pof- 
 
 feffed by a tribe of evil daemons, who, driving 
 
 many 
 
 * This Fragment was interwoven with the Epiflle foThe- 
 rniftius, as has been obferved in the notes on that Epittle. 
 We have therefore publifhed it ieparately. It is part of an 
 epiflle which Julian wrote to fome High Prieft, teaching him 
 the example which he ought to fet to thofe of his own 
 order both at home and abroad. And there are many 
 things in this Fragment which he wimes his people to 
 pra&ife in imitation of the Chriflians. PETAU. 
 
 Mr. Gibbon ftyles this '* a long, and curious Fragment 
 without beginning or end ;" and adds, " The Supreme 
 Pontiff derides the Mofaic hiftory, and the Chriftian 
 difcipline ; prefers the Greek poets to the Jewifh pro- 
 phets ; and palliates, with the fltill of a Jcfuit, the re- 
 lative worlhip of images." 
 
 A more full account of it has been given in the Preface by 
 the Abbe de la Bleterie, whole reafons for not translating 
 the whole I deem conclufive. But, omitting the offerj" 
 five parts, the extracts which I havefeleded flievv the great 
 life which Julian made of that found form of doftrbic which 
 ".':as once Jtli'vercd to him by traniplanting into his own re- 
 Itgious code, but without acknowledgment, many of the 
 
 moral
 
 DUTIES OF A PRIEST. 119 
 
 many of the atheifts * to diftra&ion, make them 
 think death defirable f, that they may fly up into 
 heaven, after having forcibly diflodged their fouls. 
 Some of them prefer deferts to towns ; but, man 
 being by nature a gentle and focial animal, they 
 alfo are abandoned to evil daemons, who urge 
 them to this mifanthropy j and many of them have 
 had recourfe to chains and collars J f Thus, on 
 all fides, they are impelled by an evil daemon, to 
 whom they have voluntarily furrendered them- 
 felves by forfaking the immortal and tutelar Gods. 
 But enough of thefe, I now return to the fubjeft 
 from which I have digrefied. 
 
 The pra&ice of virtue, in obedience to the 
 laws of. their country, fhould certainly be en- 
 forced by the governors of flates ; but it is alfo 
 your duty to exhort the people by no means to 
 
 moral precepts of the gofpel, particularly that ne~M com- 
 mandment; Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, 
 &c. And, on the whcle, if great part of the charge (as it 
 may be cgUed) which he here delivers to his Pagan prieft- 
 hood, \Vas obferved by our Chriftian clergy, they would be 
 more refpe&able, and more refpecled, than they are. 
 
 * The ufual elog'uim of the Chriftians with this apoftatc. 
 
 SPANHEIM. 
 
 f- Julian feenis he r e to allude to the religious frenzy, 
 the' horror of life, and the defire of martyrdom, which 
 poflefled the enthuiiaftic Donatifts. 
 
 J The folitary fanatic's, \vhofe iron chains, &c. the phi- 
 lofophei- here ridicules, were the monks and hermits who 
 had introduced into Cappadocia the voluntary hardfliips of 
 the afcetic life. See Tillemout, Mem. Ecclcf. torn. i^t. "p'.' 
 661, 662. GIBBON. 
 
 Thefe folitary afcetics then abounded in ^Egypt, Palef- 
 tine, ai>d Mefopotamia, as is evident from other remainss 
 of th.at age. SPANHEIM. 
 
 I 4 tranfgrefs
 
 izo DtJTIES OF A PR IE ST. 
 
 tranfgrefs the facred laws of the Gods. The office 
 of a pried being necefiarily more refpe&able than 
 that of any other citizen 1 , it may be proper for 
 me now to confidcr that, and to teach you its ob- 
 ligations. Some perhaps may be better informed : 
 I wifh 1 could fay all; but I'hbpe it of thofe who 
 are naturally temperate and virtuous. Such will 
 own this difcourfe to be adapted to them. 
 
 Iri the firfl place, above all things cultivate phi- 
 lanthropy ; as this is attended by many other 
 bleffings, and particularly by that, which is the 
 greateft and moil excellent of all, the favour of the 
 Gods. For as thofe who kindly participate in the 
 concerns of their mailers, in their friendlhips, 
 their ftudies, arid amours, are more beloved than 
 their fellow -fervants ; fo it mud be fuppofed 
 that the Divine Being, who, by his nature, is a 
 lover of mankind *, is delighted with thofe who 
 love each other. Of philanthropy there are va- 
 rious kinds; one is the puniihing offenders fpa- 
 ringly, and that for the good of the puniftied, as 
 mafters correct their fcholars; another is the re- 
 lieving the wants of the poor, as the Gods relieve 
 ours. Obferve the many blelTmgs with which 
 they fupply us from the earth ; food efpecially, 
 of every kind, and that more in quantity than they 
 have afforded to ail other animals united. As we 
 are Born naked, they cloatli us with the hair of 
 
 beads, and with fuch raiment alfo as is furnifhed 
 
 
 
 * tfi^avQprroii. ^iXreiC^-wfftif, in like, manner, is afuribed to 
 Cod hy St. Paul (Tit. iii. 4.), from whom J ulian, probably 
 borro-.vcd it. 
 
 4 by
 
 DUTIES OF A PRIEST. I2I 
 
 by the earth and trees. And not contented merely 
 with rudenefs and fimplicity, with fuch coats, as, 
 Mofes fays, they made of fkins * ; confider alfo how 
 many gifts we enjoy of induftrious Minerva. What 
 other animal is indulged with wine ? what other 
 with oil ? unlefs .we impart to them what we refufe 
 to men. What fifties feed on corn ? or what 
 beads on marine productions ? I do not mention 
 gold, brafs, and iron, with all which the Gods 
 have enriched us ; not to incur their refentment by 
 overlooking the vagrant poor, efpecially when 
 any of them are in morals irreproachable, but, hav- 
 ing inherited nothing from their parents, arc re- 
 duced to poverty by a noblenefs of mind which 
 defpifes wealth. On feeing thefe, the generality 
 of mankind are apt to arraign the Gods. Indi- 
 gence, however, is by no means chargeable to the 
 Gods, but to the infatiable avarice of us who are 
 rich, to which are owing the falfe ideas which men 
 form of the Gods, and the calumnies with which 
 they reproach them. Do we defire that God 
 Would rain down gold on the poor, as he did for- 
 merly on the Rhodiansf? Were this to be gran ted, 
 immediately fending out our fervants, and e?ery 
 where placing veflels, we fhould drive away all 
 
 * Gen. iii. 21. the Lord God made coats of Jkins^ and 
 clvatbed them. 
 
 f Jupiter is faid to have rained gold on the Rhodians at 
 the time when Vxilcan, cleaving his fkull vvith a hatchet, 
 delivered him of Minerva. See Pindar. Olyrrp. VII. and 
 Homer. II. II. 670. 
 
 With joy they faw the growing empire rife, 
 And fhovvers of wealth defcending from the fkies. 
 
 POPE 813. 
 
 others,
 
 DUTIES OF A PRIEST. 
 
 others, that we alone might fnatch the common 
 bleffings of the Gods. Some perhaps may wonder 
 at our wilhing for what cannot poffibly happen, and 
 would be utterly ufelefs ; fince what is abfolutely in . 
 our power we do not pra&ife. Who was ever 
 impoverifhed by what he gave to others ? I, for 
 my part, as often as I have been liberal to the 
 poor, have in return been abundantly rewarded 
 by the Gods; though I have never been a vile 
 hoarder, nor have I ever repented of my gene- 
 rofity. I fay nothing of the prefent time (as it 
 would be abfurd to compare private generolity 
 with Imperial munificence), bur, when I was a fab" 
 jecl: *, I remember that this often happened -f-. 
 Thus when the eftate of my grandmother {, which 
 had been forcibly with-held, at length devolved 
 to me entire ; of the little which I then had I ex- 
 pended and beftowed on the poor. We ought 
 therefore of our abundance to be communicative 
 to all men, but efpecially to the virtuous ; and to' 
 
 
 
 * Confequently, while he yet frequented the churches 
 of the Chriftians. SPANUEIM. 
 
 f This had of qld been divinely faid by another, the 
 wife it of princes : He that hath pity upon the poor, (or, which, 
 is the lame thing, who givetb to the poor), lendeth unto tie 
 Lcrd, and that which he hath gi't'rn, 'will he pay him 'again. 
 1'mi'. xix. 17. And in another place, Tie liberal foul jball 
 le made fai\ and he that wateretb, Jliatt be watered al/o him- 
 fdf. .xi. 25. Ibid. 
 
 I The name of Julian's maternal grand.rnothcr is un- 
 known. She efpoulvd Auicius Juiiamis, who was a prx- 
 fed, and from this marriage fprung Balilina (the mother 
 of Julian), and the famous Count Julian. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 See jF.piftle .xlvi. 
 
 the
 
 DUTIES OF A PRIEST. 123 
 
 the indigent, as far as will relieve their neceffities. 
 I will add, though it may feem paradoxical, that 
 it is a duty to give cloathing and food to our ene- 
 mies * ; for we give it to their nature, and not to 
 their conduct. And, therefore, I think that thofe 
 who are imprifoned in dungeons, are alfo worthy 
 of this attention, as fuch humanity by no means 
 interferes with juftice. For as many are imprifori- 
 ed for trial, of whom fome are to be condemned, 
 and others acquitted, it would be much too fevere 
 to refufe companion even to the guilty for 
 the fake of the innocent, and rather to treat the 
 innocent with cruelty and inhumanity on account 
 of the guilty. The more I confider this, the more 
 unjuft I think it. We ftyle Jupiter the Hofpi- 
 table, yet we ourfelves are more inhofpitable than 
 the Scythians. How, or with what confcience, 
 can one, who would facrifice to Jupiter the Hof- 
 pitable, approach his fhrine, when he forgets, that 
 By Jove the ftranger and the poor are fent, 
 And what to thofe we give, to Jove is lent f ? 
 
 * Can there be a doubt of the fountain from which 
 Julian drew this living water, fo different from the muddy 
 ftreams of his favourite philoibphers ? If thine enemy hunger, 
 feed him ; if he tbirft, give b'trn drink. Rom. xii. 20. InafmKcb 
 as ye ba<vc done it unto one of the lea/I of thefe my brethren^ ye 
 have done it unto me. Matth. xxv. 40. 
 
 t Odyff. VI. 207. Broome 247. Part of the fpeech 
 of N:nificaa to Ulyfles en finding him Shipwrecked on 
 Phseacia. The fame lines occur again in Odyis.xiv. 56. and 
 are alfo quoted by Julian in EpiiHe K!IX. They are there 
 differently tranflated by Pope. Thus alfo Odyff. ix. 270. 
 the Gods revere ; 
 
 The peer and Granger are their conftant care, PO?E 301. 
 
 And
 
 124 DUTIES OF A PRIEST. 
 
 And how can a worflupper of focial Jupiter, if 
 he fees any one in diflrefs, and does not give him 
 part of a drachm, think that he worships Ju- 
 piter as he ought ? When I reflect on thefe things* 
 I am quite aftonifhed, feeing the furnames of the 
 Gods 3 coeval with the world, confidered as fo many 
 painted images, but in faft by no means treated 
 by us as fuch. The Godls are flyled by us 
 Houfliold Gods, and Jupiter the Domeftic Deity ; 
 but we behave to our relations as if they were 
 ilrangers. For man is related, with or without 
 his confent, to every other man ; whether, as is 
 laid by fome, we all proceed from one man and 
 one woman ; or whether the Gods produced not 
 one man and one woman only, but many at once, 
 in great numbers, together with the world. For 
 they who could create one man and one woman, 
 were alfo able to create many, and in the fame 
 manner that they produced them, they might alfo 
 produce thefe. Confider not only the variety of 
 cuftoms and of laws, but, which is more impor- 
 tant, more excellent, and more prevalent, that 
 tradition of the Gods which has been tranfmittcd 
 to us by the mod ancient minifters in things facrcd; 
 namely, that, when Jupiter formed the world, fome 
 drops of facred blood were fpilled on the earth, 
 from which fprung mankind. Thus we are all 
 relations ; fmce from one man and one woman, or 
 from two perfons, many men and- women have 
 fprung, as the Gods declare, and we muft necef- 
 farily believe on the teftimony of the fafis them- 
 
 felves,
 
 DUTIES OF A PRIEST. 125 
 
 felves, as we all derive our origin from the Gods. 
 That many men were produced at once is teftified 
 by fads, but will be more clearly (hewn in another 
 place. * * * * *. 
 
 It is proper alfo to obferve, as has been -fakl 
 by thofe who have preceded us, that man is -by 
 nature a focial animal. Shall we then, who 
 deliver and eftablifh thefe maxims, act unfocially 
 towards our neighbours ? Urged by fuch cuftoms 
 and inclinations, let every one of us difcharge the 
 duties of piety towards the Gods, of benevolence 
 towards men, of chaftity in regard to the body, 
 and all the offices of religion. Let us endeavour 
 always to retain in our minds fome religious idea of 
 the Gods, and viewing their temples and images 
 with honour and veneration, let us revere them as 
 much as if we faw the Gods themfelves there pre- 
 ient. For the images, and altars, the cuftody of 
 the facred fire, and all other things of that kind, 
 were eftablifhed by our anceflors as fymbols of the 
 prefence of the Gods; not that we fuppofe them 
 to be Gods, but that we may worfhip the Gods 
 
 by them * 
 
 Befides the images of the Gods, their temples, 
 their fhrines, and their altars are to be reverenced. 
 It is alfo reafonable that the priefts Ihould be 
 honoured, as the minifters and fervants of the 
 
 * This plea in defence of image-worfliip has been fince 
 adopted, as is wri; .:;;,.), by the Romifh Church. Other 
 arguments equally iir.ilc and jefuitical follow. But the 
 above may fuh. 
 
 % Gods,
 
 126 D U T I E S OF A P R I E S T. 
 
 Gods, who difpenfe to us what relates to them, 
 and contribute much towards procuring us their 
 favours. For they celebrate facrificcs, and offer up 
 prayers, for all. And therefore it is juft to pay 
 them not lefs but rather more honour than to the 
 civil magiftrates. But if any one fhould think that 
 the civil magiftrates are entitled to equal honour, 
 as they difcharge a kind of prieftly fun&ion, by 
 being guardians of the laws; yet no lefs refpeft 
 is due to the others. The Greeks advifed their 
 king to reverence a priefl *, though an enemy ; 
 
 . and fhall we not reverence thofe who are our 
 friends, and who pray and facrifice for us? 
 
 As my difcourfe has returned to the point from 
 which it digrefled, it is proper for me now to ex- 
 plain how a prieft ought to aft in order to be juftly 
 eiteemed. As to what relates to ourfelves, that 
 need not here be difcufled or examined. 
 
 As long as a prieft retains his rank, he Ihould 
 
 : be honoured and refpe&ed ; when he is wicked, 
 let him be degraded from the priefthood, and when 
 he is unworthy, defpifed. But as long as he facri- 
 fices, and makes libations, and attends on the Gods, 
 we ihould behold him, as we do their moft valu- 
 able poffeffions, with regard and veneration. For 
 it is abfurd to love the flones of which altars are 
 formed, on account of their being confecrated to 
 the Gods, and becaufe they are of fuch a fhape 
 
 * Horn. II. I. 23. Speaking of Chryfes. A&r6a S'upja, 
 &c. The pricil to reverence, &c. 
 
 and
 
 DUTIES o* A PRIEST. 
 
 d figure as arc fuitable to the holy office for 
 which they are intended; and not to think a man, 
 who is dedicated to the Gods, worthy of honour. 
 Some perhaps may think that the fame honour is 
 alfo due to one who afts unjuftly, and is guilty 
 of many tranfgreffions in his holy office. 3juch a 
 one, I fay, fhould be cenfured, left by his wicked- 
 nefs he fhould offend the Gods; but till he has 
 been cenfnred, let him not be defpifed. Nor is it 
 reafonable, having this opportunity, to deny not 
 fuch only, but thofe who deferve it, the honour 
 that is their due. Like a magiftrate, therefore, let 
 every prieft be refpefted, as this is the oracle of 
 the Didymaeah God * : 
 They whom depravity and folly lead 
 To fcorn the priefts of heaven's immortal powers, 
 And to the wife intentions of the Gods 
 Their own vain thoughts contemptuoufly oppofe, 
 In fafety live not half their days, condemn'd 
 To perilh by th' eternal Gods, who deem 
 Their fervants honour facred as their own f. 
 
 And again, in another place-, the God fays, 
 For all my fervants by deftra&ive vice, &c. 
 and declares, that for that he will inflift punifh- 
 ments upon them. As there are many fuch fayings 
 
 * Didymsean Apollo. This title was given to Apollo, 
 or the Sun, by reafon of his own light, and that which 
 he communicates to the Moon. Mac rob. Sat. I. 17. 
 
 Others derive the name from a temple and oracle of 
 Apollo at Didyma in Miletus. See Strabo, Gcog, 1. xir. 
 fliny, and Lucian de AJlrologia. 
 
 f Julian quotes this oracle again in his Lxnd Epiftle. 
 
 of
 
 DUTIES OF A P HIE ST. 
 
 of the God, which may inftrucl us how much we 
 ought to honour and venerate the prieftboocj, I will 
 difcufs them more fully on forae orher oecafion. 
 It may be fuJRcient at prefent, as I would {ay no- 
 thing inconfiderately, to quote this prophecy and 
 mandite pf the God in his own words. If any one 
 therefore thinks me in thefe matters an inflruftor 
 worthy of credit, let him revere and obey the God, 
 and pay diftinguilhed honour to the priefls. 
 
 What a p.riefl ought to be, I will now endeavour 
 to explain ; not on your account (for had I not 
 been firmly perfuaded, not only by the teflimony 
 of our chief *, but by that of the fupreme Gods, 
 that you would ably difcharge this office, as far jis 
 your will and inclination are concerned, I fhould 
 not -have ventured toentrufl to you a work of fuch 
 importance) but that you may initrucT: others in 
 your neighbourhood, both in town and country, 
 by ilronger arguments, and with fuperior autho- 
 rity, as not being merely your private fentiments, 
 or your own pra&ice only, but as being alfo my 
 opinion, who, in what relates to the Gods, feem to 
 be Supreme Pontiff j, and though by no means 
 
 worthy 
 
 * KCyjfx.ocj. Probably Maximus, the perverter of Julian 
 f.o Paganifrh (fee p. 113. note *) whom, writing to 
 -.mother prieft (Epiille LXIII.) he calls by the lame 
 name, " Koivo? xafiwyejuwir, their common mafter;" and on 
 \vhofe ?,dvice, in thefe ccclefiaiucal arrangements, it ap- 
 
 that he chiefly relied. 
 
 t It is remarkable, that Julian here does not exprefsly 
 hirafelf Sovereign Pontiff, but that " he feemed to b.e" 
 lo, fcxSv) cam, though Coniiautinc aud the fucceeding Em- 
 perors
 
 I 
 
 DUTIES OF A PRIEST. 129 
 
 worthy of fo high an office, yet ftudy to be fo, 
 and for that purpofe conftantly fupplicate the Gods. 
 Be affured, that they have given us great hopes 
 after death, and on them we may with confidence* 
 rely, as they are incapable of deceiving, not only 
 in fuch matters, but in any of the concerns of 
 human life. If, by 'their excellent power, they 
 can correct all the difturbances and moriftrous 
 abufes that happen in this life, how much more 
 in the other (where the contending parrs are dif- 
 united, the immortal foul being feparated, and 
 the body dead), will they be able to perform all < 
 the promifes that they have made to mankind ? 
 Knowing therefore that the Gods have affigned to 
 their prieils great rewards, let us make thofe whofe 
 lives are conformable to their examples, which 
 ought to fpeak to the vulgar, fponfors in every 
 thing for their dignity. This we muft begin with 
 piety towards the Gods. Thus it becomes us to 
 minifter to them as fuppofng them prefent and 
 feeing us (though we fee not them\ and, with a 
 fight luperior to every kind of fplendor, pene- 
 
 perors (as has been obferved by Spanheim, from ancient 
 marbles, coins, &c. Ol>f. ad Jul. O<-at. 1. p. 2 7 8.). retained- 
 this dignity till the icign of Gratian. 
 
 Neither was Gallienus, as Spanheim affects, nor Clau- 
 dius, as others, the iail on whofe coins the titles of Pon- 
 tifex Maximus, and the tribunitial power, are recorded. 
 
 CLARKE. 
 
 * This is not fo much a Chaldasan, or an Hermetic, or 
 even a Platonic, as a Chriftian confidence, SPAMHEIM. 
 
 VoL I. K trating
 
 D U T I E S OF A P R I E S T. 
 
 trating our moft fecret thoughts *. That this is 
 not my fentiment, but that of God, expreffed in 
 feveral pafiages, it may be fufEcient to (liew by one 
 inft^nce, which will eflablim thefe two points, 
 that the Gods fee all things, and that they delight 
 in the pious: 
 
 Nothing efcapes the wide-extended beam 
 
 O ! 
 
 Of Phoebus ; folid rocks it penetrates, 
 
 And feas ccerulean ; nor the ftarry hofl 
 
 Eludes ir, through the firmament, untir'd, 
 
 Revolving, by neceffity's wife law ; 
 
 Nor all the nations of the dead, beneath 
 
 Immers'd by Tartarus in (hades of night. 
 
 But not high Heaven delights me more than 
 
 goodnefs. 
 
 Therefore as every foul, efpecially the human -f-, 
 is more nearly connected with and allied to the 
 Gods than Hones or rocks, it is probable that the 
 eyes of the Gods can penetrate them with much 
 more eafe and efficacy. Qbferve too the philan- 
 thropy of God, in faying, that he is" as much 
 " delighted with the thoughts of religious men, 
 " as with the purity of Olympus.'* Will he not 
 therefore raife the fouls of us all, who pioufly 
 approach him, from darknefs and from Tartarus? 
 
 * Tims the Pfalmift, Thou undtrftandcft my thought afar 
 o^\ 7'hcK art. acqvalnicd ivitb all my ii'ajs t &c. Pi'. c:cxxix, 
 2, 3. 
 
 f By this diftiriftion, or preference, Julian feems to fup- 
 pofe th;it beafts alfo ha\e loule,- as he mall allude to !. r.ia 
 beings interior to the human. 
 
 ' For
 
 .DUTIES OF APRIEST. 
 
 For he knows even thofe who are confined in Tar- 
 tarus, that not being exempted from the divine 
 power. Bin to the pious, inftead of Tartarus, he 
 promifes Olympus *. 
 
 Above all, therefore, it is indifpenfibly necef- 
 fary for the prietls to be adlive in works of piety, 
 that they may approach the Gods with religious 
 awe -f-, and not lay or hear any thing that is 
 fhameful. For priefls ought not only to abftain 
 from all impure and immodeft practices, but alfo 
 from all fuch words and fights. Far, therefore, 
 from us be all licentious jefts, and all fcnrrilous 
 difcourfe . That you may more clearly under- 
 ftand my meaning, let no pried read Archilochus ||, 
 
 nor 
 
 * It is curious to hear a heathen philofopher thus in- 
 culcating the immortality, or future exiflence, of the foul, 
 the reiurrecVion, &c. But, as the woman of Samaria faid to 
 our Lord, the well is deep ; and Julian, like her, had nothing 
 to draw cwVA but what he borrowed from Chriftianity. 
 Where, for inftance, did he learn, that " the pious are 
 44 promifed Olympus.- 1 " Virgil, improving on Homer, 
 fpeaks only of Elylian fields, or pleafant earthly manfions, 
 locos Lcfos, et anicena vircta, &c. in which fages and heroes 
 were, placed after death. But that the juft fhall be 
 caught up into heaven, or are promifed Olympus, that 
 where God himfelf is, there they jhall be alfo, was brought to 
 light by the gofpel. 
 
 f Thus the Pfalmift, Serve the Lord with fear t and rejoice 
 with trembling. Pidlm ii. n. 
 
 1 Thus St. Paul, Neither filthinefs, norfocllfh talking, nor 
 jfftlng, which arc not convenient, &c. Eph. V. 4. 
 
 || Julian chara&eriles the poetry of Archilochus in his 
 vuth oration. He was the firft inventor of Iambics. 
 
 Archilochum froprlo rabies armavit lambo, 
 
 Archilochus by rage 
 
 Was with his own Iambic arm'd, 
 
 xs Horace expref es it, in which he wrote fo fererely agaiafl 
 K a Lycamb.Sj
 
 U T I E S ot A P R I E S T. 
 
 nor Hipponax *, nor any other writer of that cla&: 
 let him alfo avoid every thing that has the fame 
 tendency in the old Comedy -fv Much preferable 
 and more fuitable to us is the ftudy of philofophy 
 
 Lycambes, who had promifed him his daughter in marriage, 
 but gave her to another, that he hanged himfelf. Hii 
 poems are now loft. 
 
 * A witty poet of Ephefus, whole Iambics are faid to 
 have had the fame tragical effect as thofe of Archilochus. 
 They are alfo loft. 
 
 How little Julian obferved this rule himfelf will be evi- 
 dent to any one from fevcral of his works, irr which he 
 more than once alludes to the fayings both of Archilochus 
 and the old comic poets, but particularly from the Csefars 
 and the Mifopogon, which are not only feafoned with far- 
 cafms and jokes, but alfo abound with feoffs more cutting 
 and fevere than any of the Iambics of Archilochus or Hip- 
 ponax. So that what Cyril faid, in his books againft him, 
 .was not undeferved, that " he iludioully covets the reputa* 
 "/tion of .great and various erudition." SPANHEIM. 
 
 { The old Comedy was fo called on account of the 
 alterations that happened afterwards^apd which occafioned 
 three forts of comedy; the old, the middle, and the new. 
 The old, in which there was nothing fictitious, cither in 
 the fubjedr., or in the names of the actors : The middle, 
 where the fubjects were not fictitious ; they were true hif- 
 tories, but the names were invented : And the new, in 
 which every thing was feigned; the poets invented not 
 only the fubjects, but alfo the names. Eupolis, Cratinus, 
 and Ariftophanes, [all mentioned by Horace, 1. i. fat. 4. i.J 
 are the three greateft poets of the old comedy, and were 
 contemporary, about 400 years before our Saviour. The 
 liberty which they took of naming notorious offenders, 
 fuch as Cleon, Hyperbolus, Cleophantes, Sec. they often 
 abufed ; Cratimis did not fpare even the great Pericles, and 
 Ariftophanes refpedted not the wifdom of Socrates. Not 
 contented with making men's actions the fubjects of their 
 pieces, they represented their faces to the life by means of 
 masks, which were made to referable them. DACIER. 
 
 How clofely Foote, the modern Arittophanes, trod in the 
 ileps of thefe ancients is notorious. 
 
 alone,
 
 D U T I E S OF A P R I E S T. 133 
 
 alone, of thofe fedts efpecially which boaft the 
 Gods as the firft promulgers of their dodtrine, fuch 
 as thofe of Pythagoras *, Plato, and Ariftorle, and 
 slfo thofe who follow Chryfippus f and Zeno J. 
 Not that we fhould liflen to all, or to the. tenets 
 of them all, but to thofe tenets only which are 
 productive of piety: and as to the God?, thefe 
 teach us, firft, that they are ; fecondly, that they 
 regard things below ; and laflly, that they do not 
 the leaft evil to men or others, or are envious, 
 flanderous, or contentious, as has been related by 
 our poets, but for which they are defpifed, while 
 the Jewifn prophets, for ftrongly aflerting the 
 fame, are admired by thofe wretches who adhere 
 to the Galileans ||. To us thofe hiftories are moft 
 fuitable which relate real facts ; bat let thofe fic- 
 tions, which the ancients have cornpofed in the 
 form of hiftories, be avo'ided ; fuch as love-tales ? 
 
 * See p. 21. f See p. 8. J See p, 39, 
 
 Thus St. Paul lie that comctb to God muft believe that 
 be is, and that he is a rcwardcr of them that diligently Jeek him. 
 
 Heb. xi. 6, 
 
 || The fentiments of Julian were exprefled in a ftyle of 
 farcaftic wit, which inflits a deep and deadly wound when r 
 ever it i flues from the mouth of a fovereign. As he wa$ 
 feniible that the Chriftians gloried in the name of their 
 Redeemer, he countenanced, and perhaps enjoined, the life 
 of the lefs honourable appellation of Galileans, GIEEON. 
 
 There might be a mixture of policy in it too, as know- 
 ing the efficacy of a nick-name to render a profeffion ri- 
 diculous. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 This nick-name, however, did not originate with Julian. 
 Epiftetus gave the Chriftians the fame appellation near 300 
 years before. See his Dilcourfes IV. 2. &c. 
 
 1C 3 and
 
 I 3 4 1) U TIES OF A PRIES T. 
 
 and every thing in that flrain, . As all ways * are 
 not proper for a pried -j-, but require being point- 
 ed out to him, neither does every kind of reading 
 flat him. For the mind is affe&ed by books , and 
 the pafiions, being ibon railed, on a fudden burft 
 forth into a dreadful flame. Againft this, 1 think, 
 we (hould watchfully guard long before. 
 
 Is t no admittance be given to the doftrine of 
 Epicurus |, nor to that of Pyrrho , The Gods' 
 
 indeed 
 
 * This refers to the " Sar.red Way," a ftreet in Roma 
 fo called, becaiife 'he priefts went that way on the ides of 
 each month to facrifice. Horace met nis Impertinent in it. 
 Ibam forte via facra, c. L \. Sat. 9. 
 
 f As to this infHtution there is a remarkable paffage of 
 Athenaeus, at the end of his fixth boo'k,' where he treats 
 of the remains of ancient frugality and parfimony, which 
 were ftill retained in the offices of religion : " We walk in 
 ' fome prefcribed and appointed ways ; we carry [in our 
 '* proceiuons] and repeat in our prayers what we are en- 
 *' joined, and in our facrifices we at with fimplicity and 
 *' occonomy. For we wear nothing more than nature re- 
 s *' quires, either next to our bodies, or in our outward 
 *' garments; our cloaths and our fhoes are cheap, and the 
 " vefiels with which we minifter are of earth or brals." 
 
 PETAU. 
 
 J Epicurus, the difciple of Xenocrates and Ariftotle*, 
 fuppoied the world to be formed by chance, or a fortuitous 
 concoude of atoms. He maintained alfo that pleafure was 
 the end of man, of which he constituted fenfe the judge. 
 He denied the natural relation of mankind to each other, 
 taught irreligion and injustice, and his principles led to 
 oppreuion, adultery, and murder, in the opinion of Epic- 
 tetus and otiiers. 
 
 Pyrrho, the founder of the feel of the Pyrrhonifts [or 
 Sceptics], was born at Elis, and flourifbed about the time 
 of Alexander. [He was contemporary 'alfo with Epicurus 
 and Theophnjflus.] He held, that there is no difference 
 between juft and unjuil, good and evil ; that alt 'things are 
 
 equally
 
 DUTIES OF A PRIEST. 
 
 indeed have wifely abolimed them, many of iheir 
 writings being loft * ; but it cannot be improper to 
 mention them,for the fake of example, to (hew what 
 kind of books the priefts ought principally to fhun. 
 And if books, much rather fhould thoughts, b-* 
 avoided. For the guilt of the mind, and that of 
 
 equally indifferent, uncertain, and undiftinguiflvible j that 
 neither our fenfes nor underftanding give us either a true 
 or a falfe information : therefore, that we ought to give 
 them no credit, but to remain without opinion, without 
 motion, without inclination ; and to fay of. every thing, 
 that it no more is than it is not; that it is no more orre 
 thing than another ; and that agninft one reafon there is 
 always an equal reafon to be oppofed. His life is faid to 
 have been conformable to his principles ; for that he never 
 avoided any thing ; and his friends were obliged to follow 
 him, to prevent his running under the wheels of a coach, 
 or walking clown a precipice. But thcl'e (lories perhaps are 
 nothing but mere invention, formed to expofe the abfur- 
 clities of his fyftem. Once, when he favv ins m.ifter An- 
 axarchus fallen into a ditch, he pafled by him, without 
 offering him any affiftance. Anaxarchqs was confident 
 enough with his principles not to fufferryrrhq to be blamed 
 for this trjnquil behaviour; which he juuitied, as a laudable 
 inftance of indifference, and want of affection. A fine 
 picture 'this of fceptical friendfhip ! 
 
 For a more complete account of the fyftem of Pyrrho, 
 fee Diogenes Laertius, in his life ; and Lipfuis Manuduct. 
 ad Stoic. Pbllofoph. 1. n. dif. 3. Mrs. CARTER. 
 
 * The exultation of Julian that thefe impious feels, and 
 even their writings, are extinguiflicd, may be confident 
 enough with the facerdotal character ; but it is unworthy 
 of a philofopher to wifli that any opinions, and arguments 
 the moft repugnant to his own, fhould be concealed from 
 the knowledge of mankind. / ." GIBBON. 
 
 " With the facerdotal character, of a Pagan or a Papift, 
 " fuch exultation may be confiilent ;" but furely not with 
 that of a Prcttftanty who is taught to " j rove all things," 
 and whofe fecell:on from the church of Rome was grounded 
 on '.'freedom of enquiry, and juftificd by reafon. 
 
 K 4 the
 
 DUTIES OF APRIEST. 
 
 the tongue, are not, in my opinion, of an equal 
 dye ; but the mind fhould in the firft place be 
 guarded, as by it the tongue is taught to offend. 
 The hymns therefore of the Gods {hould be 
 learned, which are many and beautiful, compofecl 
 both by ancients and moderns; and chiefly thofe, 
 which are fung in the temples. For moft of them 
 the Gods have by fupplications been induced to 
 deliver ; though fome, the effufions of divine infpi- 
 ration, and of fouls inacceflible to evil, have been 
 made -by men in honour of the Gods. Thefe de- 
 ferve to be ftudied ; and the Gods {hould fre- 
 quently be addrefled, in private as well as in 
 public ; generally three times a day; or, at leaft, 
 at the dawn, and in the evening. Nor is it proper 
 for a priell to pafs a whole day and night without 
 a facrifire ; for as the dawn is the beginning of 
 the day, (o is the evening of the night ; and 
 therefore it is reafonable to offer the fiift-fruits, as 
 it were, of both thefe intervals to the Gods when 
 we reft from our prieftly function. The rites that 
 are performed in the temples are performed in 
 obedience to the laws of our country, and neither 
 rnore nor lefs is required than they prescribe. 
 Thefe are the property of the Gods. Therefore to* 
 render them the more propitious, we (hould 
 imitate their nature : An4 indeed if we confifted 
 of fouls only, as the body would then be no ob- 
 ftruftion to us, it might be proper to prefcribe a 
 particular mode of life to the priefts. But fmce 
 
 thQ
 
 DUTIES OF APRIEST. 137 
 
 the priefts do not merely confift of fouls *, that 
 which they are to ftudy in the time of their mi- 
 mftration is not the whole of their employment. 
 What then is allowable to one who is appointed 
 to the prieftly office at the feafons when he is not 
 engaged in his facred vocation ? I am of opinion 
 that a prieft mould in every refpeft be immaculate,' 
 both by night and day ; that he mould purify 
 himfelf every night with thofe luftrations that our 
 ordinances require; and that he mould confine him- 
 felf within the precin&s of the temple as many days 
 as the laws enjoin. To us at Rome thirty days *- 
 are commanded; other places differ. All thofe 
 days he mould refide, I think, and philofophife ia 
 the temple ; and not go either home, or to the' 
 forum ; nor fee even a magiftrate, except in the 
 temple ; but take upon himfelf the fuperintendence 
 of divine worfhip, and infpe& and regulate the 
 whole. Thofe days being completed, when ano- 
 ther has fucceeded to his office, and he returns to 
 the ordinary bufinefs of life, let him freely refort 
 
 * Something here is wanting ; I have fupplied it by 
 conjecture. 
 
 f It is remarkable that the leaft refidence enjoined by 
 their local ftatutes to the prebendaries in moft of our 
 cathedrals confifts of exactly the famg number of days, viz. 
 thirty. But their " ftridl relidtnce," as it is caiied, being 
 in general indilpenfible, of twenty-one days in continuum^ 
 is much lefs ftri6t than that of thefe Pagan piiefts, as it is 
 fatisfied by their appearing in their italls once every day, 
 and fleeping in their houles every night. Thirty days re- 
 fidence being enjoined (as above) at Rome to every prieft, 
 the number allotted to each temple mud have been twelve 
 at leail. 
 
 to
 
 138 DUTIE S OF A PRIE ST. 
 
 to the lioufes of his friends, and, when he is in- 
 vited ? to the eotcrtuinments, not indeed of 'all,, but 
 c/. perfonr, vvhpfo characters are refpefbble. At 
 iucil times ulip there is no indeeoiqm in his going, 
 but rarely, to the forum ; or in vifning the duke * 
 3_n4 -piief.it ' of the province, and to the utmoft 
 - of-,-his power relieving theindi^e'nt. 
 
 Let me add, that I think it, becoming for the 
 P: lefts to wear in the. temple, routing their mi*n> 
 tfration, a moft magnificent habit, but out of it -.a 
 common plain drefs* For it is abfurd to pervert 
 what is given us .in, honour o.f the. Gods to the pur- 
 pofes of pride and vanity. And therefore in the 
 fp-rum we.fhould renounce pur coftly , veftnaents, 
 and totally relinquiili all oftentation. The Gods, 
 admiring the moc'edy of Amphiaraus, though they 
 had doomed that army to deftruclion, in which, 
 apprifed of this decree, he feryed, and therefore 
 his fate was inevitable, removed him from this life 
 to another, and gave him a divine inheritance. For 
 when all the chiefs who befieged Thebes infcribed 
 devices on their fliields -f before they were forged, 
 and tlius erefted trophies, as it were, on the ca- 
 lamities of the Cadmeans 1, this converfer with the 
 Gods went on that expedition with armour unin- 
 
 * The miiitcT;.- and civil commanders, the general and 
 the governor. The former was ilylcd nytpM, or du-:. 
 
 f (The oftentatious devices, or armorial bearings of thcfe 
 chiefs, may be feen in jEfchyhis. 
 
 \ The Thebans, fo called from Cadmus, the fuppofed 
 founder of their city, 
 
 3 fcribed,.
 
 DUTIES OF A P R I E S T. 
 
 fcribed *, fo that even his enemies attefted his 
 clemency and moderation. Prieils therefore, I 
 think, mould [imitate his example f], in order to 
 infure the favour of the Gods. For we offend 
 them not a little by expofing to the populace the 
 facred veihr.ents, and improperly divulging them 
 
 to the public view as a wonderful fight. From 
 
 I *~ 
 
 whence it happens, as we are approached 'by many 
 who are impure, that t'ne fymbols of the Gods are 
 .defiled. But for us to wear the habit, and not to 
 lead the lives, of priefts, is in itfelf a fummary 
 
 * Thus vEfchyms, in his Seven Chiefs againft Thebes, 
 
 v.-ith awful port the prophet 
 
 Advanc'd his inn fly fliield, the finning orb 
 
 Bearing no imprefs ; for his generous foul 
 
 Wi flies to he, not to appear, the heft ; 
 
 And from the culture of his model! worth 
 
 Bears the rirh fruit of great and glorious deeds. POTTER. 
 
 As this model! and amiable augur was fighting bravely, 
 the earth opened beneath him, and he defcended alive to 
 the infernal regions, with all his arms, and in his chariot. 
 Statius has exerted the utmoft foi.ce of his genius in de- 
 fa ibing this righteous hero. Ibid. 
 
 Amphiaraus wearing his fhield entirely plain is ac- 
 counted for in the fame manner by Euripides, who has imi- 
 tated the above, in his Phoenician Virgins: 
 no unfeemly pride 
 
 In his armorial bearings was exprefs'd, 
 
 But on his modeft buckler there appe'ar'd 
 
 A vacant field. Woo HULL. 
 
 Homer ftyles him, OdyfT. xv. 245. 
 
 The people-s faviour, and divinely wife, 
 
 Belov'd by Jove and him who gilds the flcies. POPE, 274. 
 " By Jove," fays Euftathius, " becaufe he was a king, 
 and by Apollo, becaufe he was a prophet." 
 
 f Seme fach words are wanting here in the original. 
 
 EJJe quam videri, 
 
 of
 
 DUTIES OF A PRIEST. 
 
 of every tranfgreflion, and the greatefl contempt 
 of the Gods. On that therefore I will be more 
 particular. 
 
 I addrefs you on this fubjeft, as I deem you. a 
 model. At obfcene theatrical entertainments let 
 not a prieft by any means be prefenr ; nor admit 
 them in his own houfe ; as nothing can be mora 
 unbecoming. And if fuch exhibitions could be 
 totally banilhed from the ftage, and if all houfes 
 could be kept pure from Bacchus #, I would ufe 
 myutmofl endeavours to effect fuch a reform. But 
 as I think this fcarce poflible, and, if it were, that 
 it might not be expedient, I have abandoned that 
 Vain purfuit. I think it, however, highly proper 
 for priefts to abfent themfelvcs from theatres, and 
 to leave their lafcivioufnefs to the people. Let no 
 prieit therefore enter the theatre, nor form a 
 friendly connection with any actor, or charioteer -f-, 
 
 and 
 
 * That his own " cup" was " temperate" we have not 
 only his own word (Epift. XLVI.) but that of his con- 
 temporaries. What he practifed he had therefore a right 
 to preach. St. Paul, in like manner, teaches his bifhops 
 and deacons to be not give n to wine, to be lovers of bofpltality t 
 lovers of good men^ _/?{/?, holy^ temperate, &c. And, though 
 omitted here, Julian directs his priefts alfo to be nojlrikers t 
 in a particular Epiftle (the LXiid) ,on that fubject. 
 
 f- Thofe who drove the chariots in the Circenfian or 
 public games, whofe company, like that of our black legs, 
 \vas fhunned by all who had a regard for their own repu- 
 tation. 'Nero therefore could not more effectually degrade 
 his own character than by afTuining that. Had he been a 
 Britifh prince, he would have rid his own hories at New- 
 market, or driven a ftage-coach on the road. Actors were 
 viewed by Julian, and the lovers of decorum, in the famo 
 
 difgrace-
 
 DUTIES OF A PRIEST* 
 
 and let no dancer or mimic approach his door. I 
 allow the priefts to go only, if they pleafe, to the 
 facred games ; provided they are thofe at which 
 Women are forbidden not only to enter the lifts *, 
 but to be prefent. As to the hunting-matches which 
 are exhibited in fome cities within the theatres -f-, 
 need I fay, that from them not merely the priefts, 
 but even their fons, Ihould be excluded ? 
 
 difgraceful light. Though JELfopus in extravagance might 
 rival Cleopatra, neither he nor Rofcius was deemed, like 
 our Garrick, a companion for priefts and fenators. 
 
 * Juvenal (Sat. I.) mentions the women in his time as 
 ambitious of fhewing their courage in encountering wild 
 beafts, though with the forfeiture of their modefty. 
 
 Cum ' Mavia Tufcum 
 
 Figat aprum^ &c. 
 
 When the mannifh whore 
 
 Shakes her broad fpear againft the Tufcan boar. 
 
 DRYDEN. 
 
 Martial compliments the emperor Domitian on the fame 
 account ; and the women are expoied by Juvenal (Sat. VI.) 
 for engaging even as gladiators. K.EKNET. 
 
 f The Tenatio iRreptJoitiffcemi to have been an inftitution 
 f the later Emperors. The middle part of the Circus 
 being let all over with trees, removed thither by main 
 force, and fattened to huge planks, which were laid on the 
 ground ; thefe, being covered with earth and turf, rep re*, 
 fen-ted a natural foreft, into which the beafts being let from 
 the cavf*e t or dens under ground, the people at a. figri 
 given bv the Emperor fell to hunting them, and carried 
 away what they killed to regale upon at home. The beafts 
 ufually given were boars, deer, oxen, and fheep. Ibid. 
 
 The amphitheatral beafts fometimes broke -loofe from 
 their dens, and made great havock in the city,, as is men-- 
 tioned by Pliny, Ammianus, and others. 
 
 For fmn'lar hunting-matches in the Greek amphitheatre? 
 bears and panthers were provided, as Julian mentions in 
 kis xxxvth EpilHe t for the Argives. 
 
 I ihould
 
 DUTIES OF A PR IE ST. 
 I- fhonld perhaps have previoufly mentioned 
 from whence, and how, the priells Ihould be 
 chofen. But there is no impropriety in making 
 this the clofe of my difcourfe. Let them confift 
 of perfons of the bed characters in every city. 
 In the firft place, they mould be ardent lovers of 
 the Gods ; and, fecondly, of mankind alfo*; of 
 the poor as well as the rich. As to that, let no dif. 
 thiiftion be made between the noble and the mean. 
 For he whom his modefty fequefters is by no 
 means to be rejcfted on account of the obfcurily 
 of his merit. Therefore, though a man be poor, 
 or a Plebeian, if he have thefe two endowments, 
 love towards the Gods, and love towards men *, 
 let him be elected into the priefthood. His love 
 towards. the Gods will appear by his inflrufting 
 his family in religious duties ; and his love 
 towards men by his diftributing from a little 
 liberally -f- to the neceflitous, by giving with a 
 willing mind, and endeavouring to do as much 
 g'ood as poffible. But this part requires the ut- 
 rnoft attention, as fome preventive remedy mud be 
 provided. 
 
 * What are thefe but the two Chriflian commandment?, 
 the love of God and of our neighbour, on which, fays our 
 Saviour, bang all the law and the prophets ? 
 
 f Thus Tobit, IV. 8. If thou baft abundance, give alms 
 accordingly : if thou have but a little^ be not afraid to give ac- 
 cording to that little, 
 
 Obferving,
 
 D U T I E S OF A P R I E ST. 
 
 Obferving, I fuppofe, that our priefts negleft 
 the poor *, the impious Galileans have adopted 
 this philanthropy, and on the femblance of this 
 duty have founded a moft enormous crime ; like 
 thofe who allure children with cakes, which hav- 
 ing given them twice or thrice, they inveigle them 
 from their parents, and, conveying them on (hip- 
 board, fell them in diftant countries ; and thus 
 for a tranfient fweet the remainder of their lives 
 is imbittered -f-. In the fame manner, they, be- 
 
 * The author' mnft have known, from the facred books 
 which he read as lecturer in the church of Nicomedia, 
 that this was an unfair repreientatkni, and that the Chrif- 
 tfans had a prior and much more cogent obligation in their 
 divine law r whole chnrnfteriitic is philanthropy and uni . 
 verfal benevolence. But he is not afliamed firil to plunder 
 and then to revrle it. 
 
 ( He infinuates, t'uat the Chriftians, under the pretence 
 of charity, inveigled children from; their religion and pa- 
 rents, conveyed them on mip-board, and devoted tliofe 
 viftims to a life of poverty or fervitude, in a remote 
 country. Had this charge been proved, it was his duty not 
 to complain but to puni(h. GIBBON. 
 
 Though I have tranfcribed this note, T. cannot aiFent to 
 the conufuctipn which the ingenious writer has put upon 
 the fehtiments of Julian in the lirft part of it. The " in- 
 veigling of children," (above-mentioned) I apprehend to 
 be only (as I have tranilated it) " by way of limile ;*' nor 
 13 it fa id or implied that Chriftians only were the inveiglers. 
 The iimi'ie, as ufiri!, begins with lio-wip (" As") and the 
 application is made by To VTO x* t;1o ropTrov (" They, in 
 " like manner") fo that the charge againft the Chriftians 
 is confined to their charity and miniftration to the poor 
 (Forgive them this wrong/") for which indeed (as above 
 remarked) Julian aifigns an unworthy and diftngenuoua 
 motive, qualified by a " fuppofe" (oif/.*i) which he could 
 not really " fuppofe" to be true. But ready as he was 
 to calumniate the faithful, let us not impute to him 
 charges which he never brought. 
 
 ginning
 
 144 DUTIES OF A PRIEST. 
 
 ginning with what they call a love-feaft, and a 
 hofpital *, and the miniftry of tables f (for, as the 
 work, fo alfo is the word, frequent among them), 
 pervert the faithful to impiety J. ****** 
 
 * ** Hofpital" (wTro&xy} I have here reftored to its ori- 
 ginal fenfe, as derived from hofpitiwn^ a fenfe which, from 
 the difufe of fuch charitable foundations for age and want, 
 independently of accidents and difeafes, feems almoft loft 
 amongft us, the term being now generally confined to 
 receptacles for cafualty and ficknefs. But the hofpitals 
 eftablifhed by our ancestors, in the true primitive fpirit of 
 the gofpel, at and near Canterbury, at Guildford, Croydon, 
 &c. which are ftill in being, were appropriated, in the 
 former fenfe, to the lodging and relief of the old and ne- 
 ceffitous. 
 
 -j- Aoa; Tp7T^wv. The fame expfeffion is ufed by St. 
 Luke, in Acts vi. 2. 
 
 From hence it appearsj as has been related by Ter- 
 tullian and others, that, tin account chiefly of the poor, 
 thofe common tables, common banquets, xoiv T^/xvi^a^ 
 xoat ttiuxuci, as the ancient teachers of the Chriftians after- 
 wards called them, [mifprinted tt^xKan. See Athenaeus, 
 /. YIII. c. 1 6.] were furnifhed by the rich. And allb, as 
 is mentioned by Theophanes, that xenodocbia % or receptacles, 
 were built for receiving any foreign poor, whether Gen- 
 tiles or Chriftians j and in the fame place he informs us of 
 the certain quantity of corn which was diflributcd in the 
 province of Galatia for the relief of ftrangers and the poor. 
 
 SPANHEIM. 
 
 $ The Fragment here ends abruptly. Other charges, 
 equally abfurd, might perhaps follow ; though, as this w 
 ftyled the '* clofc" of it (TBS toyaj Ke|) it eould not be 
 much longer. 
 
 THE
 
 T H E C & S A R S *. 
 
 JULIAN. T T is the feafon of the Saturnalia f ; the 
 God therefore allows us to be merry ; 
 but as I have no talent for the ludicrous, I am 
 inclined, my friend, to blend wifdom with mirth. 
 
 FRIEND. 
 
 * Julian compofed this fatife after he was 'Emperor. 
 I would fay, that the friend with whom he converfes was 
 either Salluft the Second, or Salluft. praefeft of Gaul, if 
 the fatire of the Csefars were the fame as the work, en- 
 titled, The Saturnalia, as he feems to fay himfelf (Orat< 
 IV.) that he-had addreffed that to Salluft. But a paffage 
 In the Saturnalia, quoted by Suidas, and which is not in 
 the Caefars, proves that they were different works. [That 
 pafTage is as follows: " But we believe Empedr/imus j 
 u and Pythagoras, and what, derived from them, 4>as been 
 *' delivered" by Heraclides of Poncus, and was lately 
 " communicated to us by that excellent hierophant 
 " Jamblichus."] It is needleis to add that the word 
 Co-far here means Emperor. Even after that name had 
 been appropriated to a new -dignity, the Augufti ftill re- 
 tained it, -though thole who were only Cxfars never bore 
 the name of Emperors or Aiignfti. LA 'BI.ETERIE. 
 
 Julian compofed this fatire in the winter that he fpent 
 at Conftanrinople. SUIDAS. 
 
 J He wrote on Natural Hiftory. 
 
 Julian mentions him alfo in the Fragment, by th; name of " the great 
 'Empedotimus," and tlifles him with Socrates and Dion, as being ur. ul : >y 
 put fo death. 
 
 A native of Heraelea in Pontns, a hearer of Plato and Ariftotle. He 
 kft feveral works, enumerated by Diogenes Lae'rtius, hut all nv\v lolh A 
 liule trc-itife " on Conur.or.'.vealchs 1 " however afcribed to him. 
 
 VOL. I.' L The
 
 146 T H E C M S A R S. 
 
 FRIEND. Can any one, Caefar, be fo abfurd as 
 to joke ferioufly ? I always thought that this was 
 intended only for relaxation, and to alleviate care. 
 
 JUL. 
 
 The hpfrk of Henry Stephen?, preferved in the London 
 library, mentions, in the Catalogue of his books, Et^otnor, 
 n Kfna, (" The Banquet, or Saturnalia,") and does not 
 name the Ciefars. PETAU. 
 
 The philosophical fable, which Julian compofed under 
 the name of the Caefars, is one of the moft agreeable and 
 infinitive productions of ancient wit. Spanheim, in his 
 preface, has moft learnedly diicufled the etymology, origin, 
 refemblance t and difagreement of the Greek Satyrs, a 
 dramatic piece, which was acTed after the tragedy, and the 
 Latin Satires (from Saturn), a mifcellaneous compofition, 
 either in profe or verfe. But the Caefars of Julian are of 
 fuch an original caft, that the critic is perplexed to which 
 clafs he fhould afcribe them. The value of this agreeable 
 composition is enhanced by the rank of the author. A 
 prince who delineates with freedom the vices and virtues of 
 his predeceflbrs, fubfcribes, in every line, the cenfure, or 
 approbation, of his own conduct. GIBBON. 
 
 Thus agreeable, and thus inftructive, it feems extra- 
 ordinary that this fliould be the firft attempt (at Icaft I 
 know of no other) to tranflate the Cxiars into Englifli. 
 
 f The fefiivals of Saturn were inftituted in the conful- 
 fliip of Sempronius Atratinus, and Minucius ; or, accord- 
 ing to others, in that of Titus Lartius. Others make 
 them commence in the time of Janus, king of the Abo- 
 rigines, who received Saturn in Italy, furvived him, and 
 placed him among the Gods. The better to reprefent that 
 peace and abundance which were enjoyed in the reign of 
 that God, thefe fefiivals pafled in entertainments and re- 
 joicings. The Romans quitted the toga, and appeared in 
 public in an undrefs. They fent preients to each other as 
 on new-year's day. Games of chance, forbidden at other 
 times, were then allowed, the fenate adjourned, the bu- 
 finefs of the bar cealed, and the fchools were {hut. The 
 children proclaimed the feftival by running through the 
 flreets, and crying lo Satufnalia. In ancient times it was 
 held on the x;th of December, according to the year of 
 
 Nurna,
 
 T H C M S A R 5- 147 
 
 JUL. You are in the right ; but that is by no 
 means my difpofijion ; as I have never been ad- 
 dicted to feoffs, fatire, or ridicule. la order, how- 
 ever, to comply with the ordinance of the God, 
 fhall I, by way of amufement, repeat to ypu a 
 fable, which you will not perhaps be difpleafed 
 to hear? 
 
 FRIEND. You will oblige me. For I am fo far 
 from defpiiing fables, that I value thofe which 
 have a moral tendency, being of the fame opinion 
 with you, and your, or rather our, Plato, who to 
 difcuiTed many ferious fubjccts in filions. 
 
 JUL. True. 
 
 FRIEND. But what, and whofe, (hall it be? 
 
 JUL. Not an ancient one, like thofe of Jifop, 
 hut a fiction from Mercury. This I will repeat to 
 you as I received it from that God, and whether 
 it contain truth, or falfhood blended with truth, I 
 will leave you to judge when you have heard it. 
 
 FJUEND. Enough, and more than enough, of 
 preface. One would think you were going to de- 
 liver an oration rather than a fable. Now thea 
 proceed to the difcourfe itfelf. 
 
 Numa, and continued only one day. Julius Caefar, when 
 he reformed the calendar, added two days to that month, 
 which were inferted before the Saturnalia, and given to 
 that feftival. Auguftus .afterwards added to it a fourth day, 
 aqd the Emperor Caius a fifth, named Juvenalia. Jn thefe 
 five days was included that which was appropriated to the 
 worfhip of Rhea, called Of alia. There was afterwards 
 celebrated for two days the feflival in honour of Pluto, 
 called Sigillaria (or feaft of ftatues) from fome fmall 
 images that were offered to that God. All theie feftivals were 
 appendages to the Saturnalia, which thus lafled feven whole 
 days, from the i5th to the 21 ft of December. SANADON. 
 
 L 2 UL.
 
 THE 'C -M S A R S. 
 
 1 Jot. Attend. 
 
 Romulus, facrificing at the Saturnalia; invitee! 
 all the <3pdfs, and Casfars alfo, to a Banquet, 
 dbudliesf ' vvre prepared^ for the reception of the 
 Goefs oiV'tli'e fummit of heaven, on 
 
 Olymplis, the firm in an lion of th' Immortals *. 
 
 Thither, it is faid, like Hercules, Quirinus af- 
 oendcd. For thus, in compliance with the rumour 
 of his divinity, r we mud flyle Romulus. Below 
 W^bon 1 / in the higheft region of the air, a 
 rc^ l7 was' given to the Cxfars. Thither they 
 were wafted, and there they were buoyed up, by 
 the lightnefs of the bodies with which they \vere 
 invefted, and the revolution of the moon; vi Four 
 
 . f - 
 
 couches f-, of exquifite wofktnanlhip, were f^read 
 for the inperior Deities. That of Saturn was 
 formed of polifhed ebony, which reflected fuc"h a 
 divine luftre as was infirpportabler' l"dr r: on view- 
 ing this ebony the eye w^'s as much dazzl'cd by the 
 excefs of light, as if is by gazing ftedfaftly r on the 
 fun. That of Jupiter waY'mofe fplendid than 
 
 T ' 
 
 filver, and too white to be 1 gold, but 'whether this 
 Ihould be called ekftrtijn j, or what other' name 
 
 fliould 
 
 * OdyiT. vi. 42. 
 
 f Th' Roman mode of recli'riing, ht their meals, on 
 beds o r couches, is too well known to need: explanation. 
 Eveiy couch held three. 
 
 J Pure gold was in ufe to the days of Alexander Severus, 
 who permitted a fifth part of filver to be mixed with four 
 parts of gold. This they called e/eftn*m and, in confe- 
 querrce of his regulations, medals were confecrated to him 
 as the reftorer of the coin.: a compliment due with equal 
 
 juftice
 
 THE C JE S A R S. 
 
 Ihould be given it, Mercury, though he had en* 
 quired, of the metallids, could not precifely iu- 
 form me. 
 
 On each fide of them fat on golden thrones the 
 mother and .the daughter, Juno near Jupiter, Rhea 
 near Saturn. On the beauty of the Gods Mercury 
 did not defcant ; as that, he faid, tranfcended my 
 faculties, and was impoflible for him to exprefs. 
 For no terms level to my comprehend on, however 
 eloquent, could fufficiently extol or do juftice to 
 the inimitable beauty of the Gods. 
 
 Thrones, or couches, were prepared for all the 
 other Deities, according to their feniority. As- to 
 this, there was no difagreement; for, as Homer, 
 inftrufted, no doubt, by the Mufcs themfelves, 
 obferves, " each God has his own throne affigned 
 *' him, where he is firmly and immoveably fixed *." 
 When therefore they rife at the entrance of their 
 Father, they never confound or change their 
 fears, or infringe on thofe of others. Every one 
 knows his proper ftation. 
 
 Thus all the Gods being feated in a circle, 
 Silenus f fondly placed himfelf near young and 
 
 beautiful 
 
 juftice to the providence of the prefent moft auguft Sove- 
 reign of Great Britain ; who, in this and many other re- 
 Ipefts., may be compared to that moll excellent and virtuous 
 Emperor. CLARKE. 
 
 Julian (as- will be obferved in the fequel) has not done 
 juftice to this prince. 
 
 * I do not recollect this paflage in Homer, nor has the 
 Index of Seberus enabled me to find it. 
 
 f The mixed character of Silenus is finely painted in the 
 
 fixth eclogue of Virgil. GIBBON. 
 
 L 3 Serriui
 
 T H E C & $ A R S. 
 
 beautiful Bacchus (who was clofe to his father 
 Jupiter), as his fofter-father and governor, di- 
 verting the God, who is a lover of mirth and 
 laughter, with his facetious and farcaftic fayings. 
 
 As foon as the table was fpread for the Caefars, 
 the firft who appeared was JULIUS C^SAR. Such 
 was his paffion for glory, that he feemed willing 
 to contend for dominion with Jupiter himfelf. Si- 
 Jenus, obferving him, faid, " Behold, Jupiter, one 
 * who has ambition enough to endeavour to de- 
 " throne you ; He is, you fee, ftrong and hand- 
 ** fome, and, if he refembles me in nothing elfe, 
 '* his head, at leaft, is certainly the fellow of 
 mine *." 
 
 Amidft thefe jokes of Silertus, to which the 
 Gods paid little attention, OCTAVIANUS entered. 
 He affumed, like a camelion, various colours, at 
 firft appearing pale, then black, dark, and cloudy f, 
 
 and, 
 
 Servius remarks that Virgil took the hint of his Silenus 
 from Theopompus. According to our ideas of the Heathen 
 God, the part aflfigned to him by Julian feems rather 
 more fuitable to Momus. 
 
 * It mould be remembered that Silenus was reprefented 
 rery fhort, flat-nofed, with large eyes, and a fat paunch. 
 Cacfar, on the contrary, was tall, well-made, and of a 
 genteel fiiape. His aquiline nofe, his pierciu'g eyes, and 
 his noble air feemed to announce the mafterof the world. 
 But he was bald, like Silenus, which fo much concerned 
 him, that of all the diitinftions that were laviflied upon him 
 by the Roman fenate and people, none, it is faid, gave him 
 more pleafure than that of always wearing a crown of 
 laurel. LE BLETERIE. 
 
 f This marks the various characters which the policy of 
 Auguftue Knew bow to aflume, as occafion required ; the 
 
 fupple-
 
 
 THE CJESARS. 
 
 and, at laft, exhibiting the charms of Venus and 
 the Graces. In the luftre of his eyes he feemed 
 willing to rival the fun * ; nor could any one en- 
 counter his looks. * Strange !" cried Silenus ; 
 " what a changeable creature is this ! what mif- 
 '* chief will he do us!" * Ceafe trifling,' faid Apollo, 
 ' after I have configned him to Zeno, I will ex- 
 ' hibit him to you pure as gold. Hark ye,' added 
 he to that philofopher ; ' Zeno, undertake the care 
 ' of my pupil f.' He, in obedience, fuggefting to 
 
 fupplenefs with which he cringed at firft to the republican 
 party, his cruelty in the profcription, &c. his conduft 
 compounded both of good and evil till he had deftroyed 
 the Triumvirs his collegues ; and, laftly, the gentlenefs 
 and equity of his government when he was abfolute mafter, 
 On his death-bed he afked his friends, whether he hafl. 
 performed his part well in the world ; ccquid Us -vidfretur 
 mzmtim vita commode tranfegijjc ? He might have been an- 
 fwered, that the alor was inimitable, and that the piece 
 would have been applaud*d without exception, if its be- 
 ginning had been lefs tragical, Jbld. 
 
 * Thefe particulars are found in Suetonius: " His 
 * f eyes were bright and lively, and he affected to have it 
 " thought there was a certain divine vigoxir in them, and 
 " was wonderfully pleafed, if any one, when he looked 
 " earneftly upon him, turned down his eyes to the ground, 
 " as at the luftre of the fun." Suet. Aug. c. 79. Ibid. 
 
 This image employed by Julian, in his ingenious fi&ion, 
 is juft and elegant ; but when he conifers this change of 
 character as real, and afcribes it to the power of philo- 
 fophy, he does too much honour to the power of philo- 
 fophy and to Oclavius. GIBBON. 
 
 f It is pretended that the converfation of the philofo- 
 phers, in particular that of Athenodorus the Stoic, con- 
 tributed greatly to correct the faults of Auguftus, Atheno- 
 dorus (hall be mentioned in theclofe of thefe remarks. Let 
 it be obferved, by the way, that Julian places the philo- 
 fophers in heaven, with the exception, no doubt, of Epi- 
 curus and Pyrrho, whole tenets hedetefted, LA BLhriiRie. 
 
 JL 4 hina
 
 152 THE C AL S A R S. 
 
 him a very few precepts, as if he had muttered 
 the incantations of Zamolxis, foon rendered him 
 wife and virtuous. 
 
 The third who approached was TIBERIUS, with 
 a grave but fierce afpect, appearing at once both 
 wife and martial. As he turned to fit down, his 
 back difplayed feveral fears, fome cauteries and 
 fores, fevere ftripes and bruiies, fcabs and tumours, 
 imprinted by luft and intemperance. Silenus then 
 faying, 
 
 " Far diff'rent now thou feemeft than before *", 
 in a much more ferious tone, * Why fo grave, my 
 ' dear ?' faid Bacchus. " That old fatyr, " replied 
 " he, has terrified me, and made me inadvertently 
 " quote a line of Homer." e Take care that he 
 ' does not alfo pull your ears,' faid Bacchus; * for 
 ( thus, it is faid, he treated a certain'grammarian f .' 
 
 He 
 
 Tliis is what Telcmachus fays, in the xvith book of the 
 Odyfiey, to his father Ulyfles, whom he did not yet 
 know, and in whole outward appearance Minerva had juft 
 wrought a inetamorpholis. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 " Before," in Englifli, is as equivocal as n-ao9Er, in 
 Greek. This the French tranilator, as he obferves, could 
 not retain, aufaravant not fignifying the lame as far 
 
 f This fa<ft is unknown. But we know that Tiberius had 
 ar his table ibme men of learning (they were at that time 
 ri,-.!in:;;;;!hed by the name of grammarians), whom he 
 delighted to embarrafs by irivolous and abiurd queflicns. 
 He alked them, for inft?.n:e, who was the mother of He- 
 cuba ; what name Achilles bore at the court of Lyco- 
 medes ; what the Sirens fung, &c. Thole who had the 
 misfortune to diipleafe this tyrant did not always efcape fo 
 %ell as he whom Julian mentions. As the queftions of 
 
 Tiberius
 
 T H E C M S A R S. I53 
 
 " He had better," returned Silenus, " bemoan 
 " himielf in his folitary ifland (meaning Caprere) 
 " and tear the face of lome miferable fifherman V 
 While they were thus joking, a dreadful 
 monfter [CALIGULA] appeared. The Gods avert- 
 ing their eyes, Nernefis delivered him to the aveng- 
 ing Fuiies, who immediately threw him into 
 Turtarus, without allowing Silenus to accoft him. 
 But on the approach of CLAUDIUS, Silenus began 
 to fmg the beginning of the part of Demoft- 
 henes in the Knights of Ariflophanes f, cajoling 
 
 CLAU- 
 
 Tiberius often related to what he had read, the gram- 
 marian Sdencus took care to learn what books the Em- 
 peror was reading. Tiberius being" apprifed of it, not 
 contented with bani(hing him from the palace, forced him 
 to deltroy himfelf. Siict. Tiber. 70 and ,6. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 * A few days after Tiberius had retired into the iiland 
 of Cnprea?, a fimerrmn came over the rocks, and pre- 
 fented him with a barbel of an extraordinary lize. Tiberius, 
 who thought himielf in this retreat inaccellible, being ter- 
 rified at the boldncfs of this fiflierman, ordered his face 
 to be fcrutched with his fifn. And the poor man rejoicing 
 that he had not alfo prefented him with a monftrous crab 
 that he had caught, Tiberius commanded his face to be 
 torn with the crab. Suet. Tib. 60. Ibid. 
 
 f In the firfl fcene of that comedy, whofe object is to 
 depreciate in the eyes of the people one Cleon, who had 
 gained their entire confidence, Demofthenes and Nicias, 
 two Athenian generals, complain bitterly of the tyranny 
 which this new-comer exercifes iu the houfe, meaning the 
 ftate, over the other flaves, that is, thofe who had a lhare 
 in the government. " Alas! alas!" fays Demofthenes, 
 " how much reafon we have to complain ! May the juil 
 ** Gods confound that wicked Paphlagonian, both him and 
 * his projects ! That flave, lately purchafed, fince he has 
 " been introduced into the family, inceffantly beats the 
 
 " fervants."
 
 I 54 THE C ^E S A R S. 
 
 CLAUDIUS. Then turning to Quirinus, " You 
 " are unjuft," faid he, " to invite your defcendant 
 41 without his freed-men, Narciffus and Pallas. 
 " But, betides them, you fhould alfo fend for his 
 *' wife Meflalina, for without them, he appears 
 *' like guards in a tragedy, nmte and inanimate.'* 
 While Siknus was fpeaking, NERO entered, 
 playing on his harp, and crowned with laurel. Si- 
 lenus then turned to Apollo, and faid, " This man 
 * makes you his model." ' I (hall foon uncrown 
 ' him,' replied Apollo : * he did not imitate me in 
 ' every thing, and when he did, he was a bad imi- 
 ' tator.' Cocytus therefore inftantly fwept him 
 away, diverted of his crown. 
 
 *' fervants." Among the Greeks, the term Paphlagonian 
 was an affront ; it meant a Barbarian, a blockhead, a 
 ftammerer. In every fenfe it fuited the Emperor Claudius, 
 tvho was born in the Gauls ; who, with feme learning and 
 genius, never reafoned when he was in fear, and he was in 
 fear during his whole life, even on the throne; and his 
 words were fo badly articulated, that he could fcarce be 
 underftood. But the Paphlagonian of Ariftophanes ill- 
 treated the flaves ; while the Paphlagonian of Silenus was 
 governed and ill-treated by the flaves. Claudius was aU 
 ways the fervant of his freed-men. He only complained 
 of it, and that even in the fennte. He faid there one day, 
 fpeaking of a certain freed-wornan of his mother, " She 
 " has always confidered me as her mafter. I fay it to her 
 ** commendation, becaufe there are at this time fome in 
 *' my own family who do not think me their mafter." Suet. 
 Claud. 39. The mixture -of truth and irony, in the verfea 
 of Ariftophnncs applied to Claudius, throws, I think, more 
 humour into the pltafantry of Silenus. M. Spanheim has 
 but half uncierftood it. LA BLETKRIC. 
 
 5 After
 
 THE C^SARS. , 55 
 
 After him, feeing many come crowding together, 
 VINDEX *, OTHO, GALBA, VITELLIUS, Silenus 
 exclaimed ; " Where, ye Gods, have you found 
 " fuch a multitude of monarchs ? We are fuffocated 
 " with fmoke ; for beafts of this kind fpare not 
 " even the temples of the Gods f.' f Jupiter then 
 looked at his brother Serapis J, and faid, pointing 
 to VESPASIAN, * Send this mifer, asfoon as poflible, 
 ' out of jEgypt, to extinguiih thefe flames. Bid 
 e his eldcfl fon^Tirus] folace himfelf with a profti- 
 
 * C. Julius Vindex, governor of Celtic Gaul, defcendcd 
 from the ancient kings of Aquitaine, was the firlt \vho re- 
 volted from Nero. Virginias Rufuj. governor of Upper 
 Germany, marched againft him ; but the two generals had 
 a conference, in which they agreed againft the tyrant : 
 this, however, did not prevent the two armies from en- 
 gaging, in fpite of Virginius and Vindex, who could not 
 reitrain them. The latter was defeated, and killed him- 
 ielf in defpair. Julian thinks that he defigned to make 
 himfelf Emperor. Yet he had written to Galba to offer 
 him his forces and allegiance, if the latter would accept 
 the empire. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 f Silenus has here chiefly in view the burning of the 
 famous temple of Jupiter Capitolimis, which was perpe- 
 trated under Vitellius, and by^ thole of his party. This 
 paflage, which throws light on what Vefpafian fays after- 
 wards, and to which the Latia tranflators, not even F. 
 Petau, have attended, I have corrected from an excellent 
 Greek MS. of the works of Julian. SPANHEIM. 
 
 t Julian (Orat. iv.) fays, that *' Serapis is the fame 
 *' as Pluto," to whom he affigns fome functions very dif- 
 ferent from thofe which are afcribed to him by the poets. 
 Here Jupiter addrefies himfelf to Serapis, becaufe Vefpaiian 
 was firft acknowledged by the legions that were in ./Egypt, 
 and proclaimed in Alexandria, July i, 69. The years of 
 his reign are reckoned from this day. Befides, it is pre- 
 tended that this prince had received feveral finking marks of 
 the proteclion of Serapis. Tacit. Ann, iv. 81. LA BIETERIE. 
 
 VOL, I. L 6 * mte,
 
 156 T H E C M S A R S. 
 
 ' tute *, but chain his younger fon [DOMITIAN f], 
 ' near the Sicilian tyger {.' 
 
 Then 
 
 publita. The 
 
 manners of Tims, beiore he was Emperor, were far from 
 irreproachable. See <SW. TV/. 7. His paffion for Berenice 
 was very fcandalous. The tragedy of Racine has long 
 accuftomed the French to conflder her as a virtuous prin- 
 cefs, worthy to afcend the throne of the Czefars. Great 
 poets fometimes determine reputations unjufily. Virgil and 
 Racine have made two celebrated queens what they were 
 not. The prudence of Berenice was always very equivocal 
 at leaft. She became a widow very young ; and her zeal 
 for the Jewifh religion, which fhe profefled, did not pre- 
 vent her being accufed of entertaining more than friendfhip 
 for her brother Herod Agrippa. In order to put a jlop 
 to a report fo injurious to her honour, me married Pole- 
 mon, king of Cilicia, after having obliged him to embrace 
 Judaifm ; but flie did not live long with him, and left him, 
 it is faid, through libertinifm. This account, taken from 
 Jofephus, makes me fufpect that flie is principally alluded 
 to by Silenus, under the name of f'enus ptiblica. If the 
 colours leem too ftrong, let it be remembered, that thofe 
 of fatirc in general, and of this in particular, are not al- 
 ways exaft. is Julian, for inftance, excufable in faying 
 nothing of the good qualities of Titus, and in charafter- 
 ifing him oniy by one vice, which ought fcarce to be ad- 
 mitted into his portrait, even by way of fhade, as he was 
 diverted of it whtn he was Emperor ? " This report," 
 iays Suetonius, " turned to his advantage, and was after- 
 " wards changed into the higheft praifes : when there was 
 " found in him no one vice, but, on the contrary, the moft 
 * coniummate virtues ..... He immediately difrnifled 
 44 Berenice from the city, with the utmoll reluctance 
 " on both fides." All that can be faid in excuie of 
 Julian is, that the reign of Titus was fo fhort, that one 
 cannot venture to affirm, that his manners were really 
 changed.. This was probably the idea of the poet Au- 
 ibnius, when he ftyled him " happy in not having reigned 
 * ' long:" Felix brevltate rrgendi, LA B L E T E R I E . 
 
 'liie reverie of this. Lij'elix Irevilatc rcgcndi, M. de la 
 Blcteric applies to Jovian, as a motto to Ins Hutory of that 
 ptince. 
 
 The
 
 T H E C JE S A R S. 157 
 
 Theii came an old man [NERVA ], of a beauti- 
 ful afpeft (for even old age is fomerimes beautiful), 
 in his manners mod gentle, and in his adminif- 
 tration mild. With him Silenus was fo delighted, 
 that he remained filent. ' What !' faid' Mercury, 
 * have you nothing to fay of this man ?' u Yes, 
 *' by Jupiter," he replied ; . " for I charge . you all 
 " with partiality, in fuffering that blood'-thirfty 
 " monfter to reign fifteen years, but, t^V.inap 
 " fcarce a whole year." ' Do not complain/ 
 snfwered Jupiter } ' many good princes ihaff fuc- 
 
 X- 3 L- ' ... 
 
 ceed h ; im. 
 
 TRAJAN immediately entered, bearing :or b 
 (lioulderstheGetic [i and Parthian trophies. "Sjtenns, 
 obferving him, faid, in a lew voice, but loud 
 enough to be heard', " Odr lord Jupiter 'rrruft 
 " now be 'cartful, or he will not be abk to keep 
 " Ganymede to himfelf." After himiadv-ancdd -a 
 
 f The cruelties of Domitian are \vell kno\vn. : 
 t Phaliris. 
 
 Nerva, when he was raife^'to.the empire, was 
 three years old, at leaft, LA BLETERIE. 
 
 l| Though the name of Getes \vas given more pecusy 
 to the nations beyond the Danube, who bordered or. te 
 mouths of that river, the Greeks gave the fame na'ifle 
 alfo to the Dacians, that is, the Traniylvanians, the Wffl- 
 lachtans, and the Moldavians. Trajan- l\ibcli;ed them.''~la 
 his reign the power or' the Roman's was at the grea^il 
 height it had ever attained. In the North, he reduced 
 Dacia to a province. In the Eaft, he made '!:, elf maffer 
 of Armenia, Mefopotamia, and Afiyria. The I-'arthiaris, 
 to whom he had given a king, were in fome ibrt beconi- 
 
 fubjcd to [he -Ronianb. H'ni. 
 
 
 
 venerable
 
 I 5 S T H E C & S A R S. 
 
 venerable fage ("HADRIAN], with a long beard *$ 
 an adept in mufic, gazing frequently on the heavens, 
 
 and 
 
 ' * Hadrian was the firft of the Emperors \vho wore a 
 .beard: " He let his grow," fays Spartiarms, " in order to 
 *' conceal ibme natural deformity;" ut vulnera, qua in facie 
 'ttaturaHa erant, tegfret. In reading the hiftory of Hadrian, 
 and even the little which Julian fays of him in this fatire, 
 I arhftruck with ibme marks of resemblance between thefe 
 two Emperors. They had both as much genius as it was 
 poffible to have, and of the fame kind. They were greedy 
 of glory, jocofe, and farcailic, fond to extravagance ot 
 the Greeks and the Grecian literature, both friends of 
 the arts and fciences, both authors, both full of zeal for 
 idolatry, fuperftitious, perfecutors, aftrologers, defirous of 
 knowing every thing, perpetually inquifitive, fo as to be 
 nccufeo of magic, fickle, obftiuate, iiuguiar, and vain of 
 being' fo. They both made very wife laws, and performed 
 many afts of mercy. Hadrian fometimes feemed cruel, 
 and it is faid that Julian was humane only through vanity. 
 Julian hsd not the infamous vices of Hadrian, and was no,t 
 even iufpe&td of them ; but he had almoit all his faults 
 pad abfurdities. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 More flriking to me are fome marks of refcmblance 
 which may be traced between this Imperial fophift and the 
 royal philofopher of Sans-fouci. Both are authors of no 
 fmall repute in various branches of literature. The Me- 
 moirs of himfelf and his family, which Julian has inferted 
 in his Epiflle to the Athenians, may be compared with 
 thofe of the Houfe of Brandenburgh, and the Hiftory of 
 his Gallic campaigns, now loft, but mentioned by Libanius, 
 with the Commentaries, yet unpublifhed, of the Pruffian 
 monarch. Thatjulian was a poet as well asFrederick, appears 
 from a collection of his verfcs mentioned alfo by Libanius 
 (Orat. parent, p. 161.) though two fmall pieces (which I 
 have quoted and tranflated in the notes on theMilbpogon), 
 are all that now remain. Both folaced their leifure with 
 the charms of mufic. The epiitles of both have an air of 
 familiar elegance. If the Caifar lamented the lois of his 
 friend Salluft, recalled by his jealous coufm, the prince 
 deplored the fate of his favourite Kat, condemned to 
 death by his cruel father. Both were married, early in 
 
 lift,
 
 T H E C JE S A R S. 159 
 
 and curioufly inveftigating the abftrufeft fubjefts *. 
 " What," faid Silenus, think you of thisSophift ? 
 " Is he looking for Antinous -f- ? If fo, one of 
 
 '* you may tell him that the youth is not here, 
 
 
 
 life, by their predeceflbrs, to princefles not of their own 
 choice, yet neither of them was ever charged with any 
 illicit amour, ** The chaftity of Julian," fays Mr. 
 Gibbon, " is confirmed by the impartial teftimony of 
 " Ammianus, and by the partial filence of the Chriftians." 
 " Fortune," faid the Pruffian hero, after his defeat at 
 Kolin, " is a female, and I am no gallant." The Roman 
 carried the fimplicity of his drefs to an indecent extra- 
 vagance ; his beard and its inhabitants, his inky nails, &c. 
 are recorded by himfelf. The German, by the fcanrmefii 
 of his wardrobe, his boots, and his fnuff, as Dr. Moore 
 informs us, is alraoft as fingular in thefe more poltfhe^l 
 times. Early attached to Grecian literature, Julian ae- 
 gledted and defpifed the language and writers of Italy. 
 Equally enamoured, of the French language, Frederick ha? 
 always profefled a kind of avsrfion for t:ofe of Germany. 
 If the Emperor invited Maximus, Prifcus, and other Pla- 
 tonifts from Greece, the King fent for Voltaire, Mauper- 
 tuis, and other academicians from France. In war too, as 
 well as in literature, thefe heroes have aled a diilinguiihed 
 but not always a fuccefsful part. In two particulars, how- 
 ever, they materially differ : Julian was a fuperftitious Pa- 
 gan : Of Paganifm or fuperftition Frederick has never been 
 fufpecled ; yet the former believed the immortality of the 
 foul, which, it appears from his Epiftle to Marlhal Keith, 
 &c. the latter does not. 
 
 * It is faid, that Julian here meant to defcribe himfelf. 
 He informs us (Orat. iv.) that " from his infancy, he 
 " flopped to contemplate the ftars with fo much pleafure, 
 *' that he was even then deemed an aftrologer (ar^^a^i?) 
 *' though he did not yet know what aftrology was." Is the 
 title of cvriojitatis omnh explorator, which Hadrian fo juilly 
 deferved, and that of " Sophifl," lei's applicable to the 
 cenfor of Hadrian ? LA BLETERIE. 
 
 f The deification of Antinous, his medals, ftatues, 
 temples, city, oracles, and conftellation, are well known, . 
 and {till difhonour the memory of Hadrian, GIBBON. 
 
 " aid
 
 j$o T II E C JE S A R S. 
 
 " and thus check his madncfs and folly." 'to 
 thefe fuccecded a man of moderation, not in ve- 
 nereal * but political j)urfuits [ANTONINUS Pius.] 
 Silenus, on feeing 'him, exclnirned, * c ' Strange ! 
 " haw important i> he in trifles,! This old man 
 " feems to me one of thole, who \voulJ harangue 
 
 ' about, a pin's point f. 
 f f i 
 
 At the entrance of two brothers, MAHCUS Au- 
 REEiirs and Lucius VERUS, Silenus contracted his 
 brow, as he could by no means jeer or deride them f. 
 
 MARCUS, 
 
 * Our fafyr here obliquely charges Afctommis Fin? with 
 rafciviouinefs ; an imputation which was not true, it being 
 certain that that Emperor was temperate and chafte, Brtt 
 he fccrns to have been accufrd, though not juilly, of ava- 
 ric'e, t'or adopting .vvhe:V 'he'-u-as Empe'ro;-, the fimple diet 
 :md'p;lrfimrny or ,rpi iVate lubjeol. PETAU. 
 
 Titus Antoninu?, fiirn?med P/vs, that is, " the good," 
 \Vnsonc of the greatcfl and ucil princes trnt the Romans 
 hr.d. Patilrnias jnftly Inys, that *' he deferved not only 
 *' the-nanie of Piu^, but a Ho that of Father of Mankind, 
 " which was formerly given to Cyrus." Antonimis had 
 in urft the frailties with -.v-hich Silemis reproaches him ; bx;t 
 h? early corrected them. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 -j- E'j tat hotvfMrut it KVMVOV. " One thai cuts cumin ;" 
 which Icems analogous to our Englifh phrafe of" flcinning 
 41 a fiint. ' This \ve apply, however, only to rr.ifers ; Imr, 
 as M. de la Bleterie obferves, " that of the Greeks refers 
 u not only to avarice, but a littleucis of mind. Aato- 
 " ninus was generous, but not at the expcnce of any otlier 
 ' perfon ; largns ju>, alleni alj/liKM.''' O'rr " iplitting a 
 " hair ' may perhaps come neairr to ir. 
 
 \ They were brothers only by acio->!.ion. Siknus had 
 too much to fay of Lucius A'erus; Indeed he was a good- 
 natured prince, a fincere friend, and uiiMpabie of c'ifguife. 
 He 'always confidcred himfelf us the licuitiHuit rather than 
 the collegue of his brother. But he indulged himfelf, 
 without moderation, in all kinds of debaucheries, and was 
 1 a ilave
 
 THE C JE S A R 9. 161 
 
 MARCUS, in particular, though he ftri&ly fc'tu- 
 tinifed his conduct with regard to his fon and his 
 wife *; as to her, in his immoderate grief for her 
 death, thougji fhe little deferved it ; as to him, in 
 hazarding the ruin of the empire by preferring 
 him to a difcrect fon-in-law -f-, who would have 
 made a better prince, and ftudied the advantage of 
 his fon more than he did himfelf. Notwithftand- 
 ing thefe failings, Silenus could not but admire 
 his exalted virtue. Thinking his fon [CoM- 
 MODUS ] unworthy of any ftroke of wit, he filently 
 difmiffed him. And he, not being able to fupport 
 himfelf, or aiTociate with the heroes, fell down to 
 the earth. 
 
 a (lave to the m'miilers of his pleafures. Excepting that 
 he was not cruei, that he did not drive chariots in the 
 circus, nor act on the ftage, he much refembled Nero. 
 
 - LA BLF.TERIF. 
 
 * The greateft and perhaps the only fault of" Marcus 
 Aurelius was his excefiive good-nature, which made him 
 blind or too indulgent as to his brother, Lucius Verus, his 
 wife, the too famous Fauftina, and his fon, Ccrnmodus. 
 We fliall mention him more than once in the fequel. Ibid. 
 
 f Claudius Pompeianus, originally of Aatioch, and fon 
 only of a Reman knight, but a man of extraordinary 
 merit. Marcus Aurelius caufed him twice to be nominated 
 conful, and gave him iti marriage his daughter Lucilla, the 
 relict of Lucius Verus. Ibid. 
 
 1 One of the moft wicked princes that ever reigned. "The 
 " enemy of the Gods and of his country, the parricide, the 
 " executioner of the fenate, the gladiator, more cruel than 
 " Domitian, more 'infamous than Nero," is part of the 
 fnneral elogium which the fenate made on Commodus. 
 This nfTembly, which thought ft had always a right to fit 
 in judgment on the Emperors, would have ordered hJs 
 body to be thrown into the Tiber, had not Fertinax pre- 
 vented it. Ihid. 
 
 VOL. I. M PER-
 
 T H E C JE S A R S. 
 
 PERTINAX then approached, flill lamenting the 
 mortal wound that he received at a banquet *. 
 This excited the compaffion of Nemefis, who faid, 
 " The authors of this deed (hall not long exult ; 
 u but, PERTINAX, you were culpable f in being 
 " privy to the confpiracy that deftroyed the fon 
 " of MARCUS." He was fucceeded by SEVERUS J, 
 a prince inexorable in punifhing. ' Of him/ faid 
 Silenus, ' I have nothing to fay ; for I am terrified 
 ' by his (tern and implacable looks. 5 His fons 
 would have accompanied him, but Minos prevented 
 them, and kept them at a diftance. With a pru- 
 dent diftinclion, however, he difmifled the youngeft 
 
 * The fenate and people flattered themfelves with having 
 again found Marcus Aurelius in Pertinax ; but he only 
 reigned eighty-feven days. The Prretorian guards, who 
 could not bear an Emperor fo different from Commodus, 
 maflacred him in the palace. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 j- The reproof given him by Silenus [rather Nemefis] 
 for being concerned in the confpiracy of Letus and Marcia 
 feems not well founded; but Julian perhaps follows fomc 
 hiftorian unknown to us. The death of Pertinax was re- 
 venged by Didius Julianus, who put Letus and Marcia to 
 death; and by Severus, who cafliiered the Praetorians. 
 Julian is right in not naming among the Emperors Didius 
 Julianus, worthy of eternal oblivion, for buying the 
 empire which the Przetorian guards had put up to auction. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 t Severus was perhaps the moft warlike of all the Em- 
 perors. Like Hannibal an African, he had all his virtues ; 
 but he had alfo all the vices which the Romans afcribe to 
 the Carthaginian general. What Sylla faid of himfelf may 
 be faid of Severus j " no one was a better friend or a worfe 
 enemy." Mid. 
 
 [GETAJ,
 
 *t E C^SARS. 
 
 [GETA], arid ordered the eldeft [CARACALLA] to 
 be punifhed for his crimes *. 
 
 That crafty murderer MACRINUS f, and the 
 yotfth of Eraefa j [ELAGABALUS], were driven from 
 the facred inclofure. But ALEXANDER THE 
 SYRIAN , being placed in the hinder ranks, be- 
 wailed 
 
 * The antipathy of Caracslla and Geta is well known. 
 The latter feemed to have fome good qualities. The 
 former (tabbed his brother in the arms of Julia, their com- 
 mon mother, who herfelf received a wound in the hand. 
 He was as wicked, and almoft as ftupid, as Caligula. He 
 was a profefled enemy to men of learning. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 f Macrinus, Praetorian prefect, knowing that Caracalla 
 intended to kill him, caufed that prince to be affaffinated, 
 On the road from Edefia to Carrae. The army, who did 
 hot think him guilty of that murder, chofe him Emperor ; 
 and their choice was confirmed by the Senate. But four- 
 teen months after, Variils Avitus Baffianus, afterwards 
 known by the name of Elagabalus, having afiumed the 
 title of Auguftus, marched againft him, and attacked him 
 On the borders of Syria and Phoenicia. Macriniis fhame- 
 fully fled, while the event of the battle was yet undeter- 
 mined. Endeavouring to efcape into Europe, he was over- 
 taken by his purfuers, and put to death. Ibid. 
 
 J Elagabalus was of Emefa in Syria, the fon of Varius 
 Marcellus, a Roman fenator, by Soe'mia, the daughter of 
 Msefa, lifter to the Emprels 'Julia. He may in fome 
 manner be confidered as the nephew of Carncalla. He 
 pretended even to be his fon. All the infamous, extra- 
 vagant, and cruel practices that can be committed by a 
 young man without genius, tafte, or the leaft fpark of 
 virtue or femiment, who, to indulge his caprice, endeavours 
 to exhauft the power and wealth of a Roman Emperor ; 
 this is an abftrat^ of the reign of that prince, or> to fpeak 
 more properly, that monfter. Ibid, 
 
 Alexander Severus is confidered by many, even at pre- 
 fent, as a moderate prince, mag'n. extra vitia quum cum vir- 
 tutllus, of a narrow genius, timid, the {lave of an impe- 
 tious mother, &c. He owes this reputation to the hiftory 
 
 M 2 of
 
 THEC.ZE.SARS: 
 
 wailed his misfortune. Silenus added, " O thoii 
 " fool and madman! highly exalted as thou were, 
 " thou didft not govern for thyfelf, but gavefl 
 
 of Herpdian, an author by no means exact, but agree- 
 able and interefting, whom two tranilatioris, one in Latin, 
 the other in French, as good at leaft as the original, have 
 put within the reach of every one. Herodian difcovers an 
 extravagant prejudice againft the Emperor Alexander, for 
 whichwe might perhaps be able to account, if the hiftorian 
 were known to us otberwifc than by his work. It were to 
 be wiflied that a pen as brilliant as his would endeavour to 
 re-eftablifti the memory of a prince in all refpects the mo ft 
 amiable and accompliflied that is mentioned in ancient hif- 
 tory. He wanted neither courage nor firmnefs. If he 
 had a great deference for his mother Mammea, it was as 
 much owing to his difcernment as to his gratitude and 
 tendernefs for her. The occonomy with which they are 
 reproached was a virtue more neceflary than ever in the' 
 ilate to which the fenfelefs prodigality of ElagabaTus had 
 reduced the finances. Alexander died at twenty-nine years 
 of age, and consequently was younger than Trajan, T. 
 Antoninus, and Marcus Aurelins were when they afcendcd 
 the throne ; and yet he deferves at leaft to be compared 
 with them. Julian has followed the Memoirs of Herodian ; 
 and, belides, it fhould not be forgotten, that Mammea 
 was probably a Chrifiian ; that Alexander, inftead of per- 
 iecuting the Chriitians, worfhipped Jefus Chrift, whofe 
 ftatue he honoured, in his oratory, with thofe of Apollo- 
 nius Tyanneus, Abraham, and Orpheus; that he had a 
 defign of building a temple to Jefus Chrift, and of caufing 
 him to be received among the deities adored by the Ro- 
 mans. This was more than fufficient to make Alexander 
 defpile:! by Julian. Among the ftrokes of fatire which 
 are couched under the name of Syrian, which he gives to 
 the fon of Mammea, and which, however, he did not de- 
 ferve, except by his birth, I have no doubt that Julian in- 
 cludes the character of a worfhipper of Jefus Chrift. We 
 know that Judea, where the Chriilian religion had irs rife, 
 was an appendage of Syria, and that the dlfciples of Jefus 
 C'hrift were fir ft ityled Chriftian's at Antioch. 
 
 LA B LET-ERIE. 
 
 2 "'thy
 
 THE C-^ S A R S. 165 
 
 " thy wealth to thy mother, and could'ft not be 
 " perfuaded that it was much better to beflow it 
 <f on thy friends than to hoard it *." ' All, how- 
 
 4 ever,' 
 
 * MAXIMA, of the Gothic nation, the firft of the Bar- 
 barians of the North, whom I find inverted with the 
 Roman dignities, made a fenator. by Alexander, and com- 
 manding feme troops, coafpired again ft his benefador, 
 caufed him to be aflailinated near Mentz, and ui'urped the 
 fupreme power. This Maximin was a kind of giant, being 
 eight feet high, and with ftrength proportioned to his fta- 
 ture ; he was a great warrior, but fo cruel and blood-thirfty, 
 that he was named Cyclops and,Phalaris. He obliged the 
 whole empire to revolt againft him, and, with his fon, was 
 .at length {lain by the ibldiers, who thus revenged the 
 death of Alexander. 
 
 It is furprifing that Julian fays not a fingle word of any 
 of the Emperors who reigned from Alexander to Valerian ; 
 namely, PUPIENUS and BALBJNUS, GORDIAN the younger, 
 the two PHILIPS, TRAJAN-DECIUS, and yEmilian. If he had 
 omitted only the two fir ft Gordians, and ibme others, 
 /Emilian, for inftance, it might be fuppofed that he con- 
 fidered them only as the phantoms of Emperors. Yet ftill 
 they deferred to be named as much as Galba, Otho, and 
 Vitellius, and more fo than Vindex. Will it be faid, that 
 fome of them were unworthy to reign ? Yet others were 
 worthy; and, befides, Julian has juft mentioned Eljgabalus. 
 Will it be i v ',;d, that all ' thofe princes had a tragical end r 1 
 But he preicntiy introduces Valerian. It may alfo be ob- 
 feived, that Julian appears to have elreemed the younger 
 Gordian.by offering i'aerifices and libations o.n his tomb, 
 while he was marching againft the Perfians. 
 
 In the IV th century, at latefl, it was ftid, that the Em- 
 peror Philip the father had been a ChriiHan, and that he 
 had fubmitted to public penance ; a tradition the more 
 (Inking, as the ChViftiaus had little intc-rcft in claiming 
 the murderer of Gordian. TheChriilianiry of Philip, real 
 or pretended, and the manner fo unchriftian in which he 
 arrived at the throne, might have fupplied the Silenus of - 
 Julian with fome fingular ftrokes. Trajan-Decius would 
 have been reckoned among the good princes, if he had 
 
 M not
 
 THE CJESARS, 
 
 * ever/ faid Nemefis, * who were acceflary to his 
 ' death, I will deliver to the tormentors.' And 
 thus the youth was difmifled. 
 
 GALLIENUS then entered, with his father [VA- 
 LERIAN], the latter dragging the chain of his cap- 
 tivity, the other effeminate both in his drefs an<i 
 behaviour. Silenus thus ridiculed the father : 
 
 " _ By thofe fnowy plumes diftinguiuVd, 
 
 . ^ k Before the ranks who marches in the van *." 
 
 And 
 
 not been a perfecutor of the Chriftians ; and cloubtlefs it 
 is not on that account that Julian erafes him from the lift 
 of Emperors, Certain it is that no fatisfaclory reafon can, 
 be affigned for all thefe omiffions. It feeins therefore very 
 probable to me that the text is here mutilated. It is not 
 the only chafm that I think I perceive in the fa tire of the 
 Cadars. LA BLSTERIE. 
 
 * Wodhull's tranflation. 
 
 Thefe two verfes are taken from the Phoenician Virgins 
 of Euripides,. By o XswoXopa?, " with the white plume," 
 I imagine that Silenus alludes to- the age and white hairs 
 of Valerian. No one is unacquainted with his captivity, 
 any more than the barbarity with which he was treated by 
 Sapor I. Upon a falfe report of the death of Valerian, the 
 Romans placed him among the Gods. Thus this unfor- 
 tunate prince had altars in Rome, while in Perfia he was 
 trodden under foot. He was perhaps flead alive. Certain 
 it is, that the Perfians tanned his flcin, dyed it red, and 
 covered it with ftraw, in order to preferve it in a temple. 
 Valerian had fome excellent qualities ; and his fate w'ould 
 perhaps have had more claim to pity, if he had not de- 
 ferved it by wedding the blood of the Chriftians. The 
 moU dreadful circumflance of his misfortune was, the 
 having on the throne a fon who did not fend even to 
 demand his releafe. " He would have been revenged," 
 fays M. de Tillemont, " if he had not had a fon." When 
 Gallienus was informed of the imprifonrnent of his father, 
 - he anfvvered by an apophthegm ; " I knew that my father 
 ** was liable to the misfortunes of human nature." How 
 
 much
 
 THECJESARS. 167 
 
 And to the fon he faid, 
 
 " Him. gold adorns, all daintv as a bride *." 
 
 Jupiter ordered them both to depart from the 
 banquet -h 
 
 They were fucceeded by CLAUDIUS J, on who~n 
 all the Gods fixed their eyes, admiring his mag- 
 nanimity, 
 
 nv.ich are princes to be pitied ! The flatterers of Gallienus 
 dilcovered philofophy, and even heroifnyin the indifference 
 of this unnatural fon. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 * This is an imitation of a line of Ariftophanes, in his 
 comedy of The Birds. Gallienus was a cowardly, floth- 
 ful, effeminate prince, a good orator, a good poet, but 
 a very bad emperor. While he was engaged in his de- 
 baucheries, and amufing himfelf in fome mifplaced ftudies, 
 in fome .effufion of wit, in making fome pretty verfes, or 
 uttering fome good jokes on the lofs of provinces, Italy 
 itfelf was ravaged by the Barbarians. Without reckoning 
 Zenobia and Odenathus, eighteen ufurpers allumed. the 
 purple. Gallienus, to prevent fuch revolts, excluded the 
 fenators from all military employments ; a fatal policy, 
 which, in the fequel, contributed to raife to the throne 
 mere cyphers, men who had nothing Roman but the name. 
 In fliort, the reign of Gallienus is the aera of the fall of 
 the empire, which never perfectly recovered the violent 
 fliccks which it then received. /.->/. 
 
 f Gallienus deferved to be excluded. But Julian feerns 
 to reprefent the Gods as ungrateful. Ought they thus to 
 treat the fate of the unfortunate Valerian, who was fo 
 zealous for their worfhip ? Misfortune, after all, is not a 
 crime. But it fliould be remembered that Valerian was 
 taken by his own fault, and that, according to the Pagan 
 ideas, being a prifoner, he ought to have fhorteaed his dif- 
 grace, and not have furvived his liberty. When Perfeus, 
 king of Macedonia, applied to Paulus JLmilius not to 
 lead him in triumph, the Roman confidered him as a 
 coward, and anfvvered, " That depended, and ftill depends, 
 on himfelf." Ibid. 
 
 J Claudius II. had every civil virtue and military talent. 
 His reign lafted only two years ; but he fignalifed it by a 
 
 M 4
 
 168 T H E C IE S A R S. 
 
 nanimity, and granted the empire to his defceud- 
 ants, thinking it juft that the pofterity of fuch a 
 lover of his country fhould enjoy the fovereignty 
 as long as poffible *. 
 
 After him entered AURELIUS "j~, as if to efcape 
 thofe who were accufing him before Minos. For 
 
 many 
 
 . great victory gained over the Germans, and by the defeat of 
 320,000 Goths. It is faid, that he devoted himfelf for the 
 fafety of his country. This devotemtnt (if we under- 
 ftand by it a folemn devotement, like that which the Decii 
 rnade of their perfons in the time of the republic) is a fic- 
 tion,' contrary to the 'relation of the beft hiftorians, who 
 fay, that -Claudius died of a peftilential fever at Sirmium. 
 Julian, however, manifeftly alludes to it. He believed, or 
 was willing to believe, an incident fo honourable to the 
 memory of C!audh:s, whom he conftdered as the founder 
 of his family. CcnfVantius-Chlorus, the grandfather of 
 Julian, was the ion of Claudia, the daughter of Crifpus, 
 one of the brothers of Claudius II. Tht- Turnair.e of Cor\- 
 - itantiae came from the family of Claudius, as he had a 
 lifter named Conftantina. Julian pafles over Quintillus, 
 the brother and fucceffor of Claudius, becaufe he rergned 
 only twenty days at moft. LA BLETKRIE. 
 
 In his firft oration in praife of Confl?niiu's, Julian cele- 
 brates a!fo " the eminent virtues" of their common anceftor 
 the Emperor Claudius ; " the battles which he fought with 
 *' the Barbarians beyond the Danube, his condescending 
 *' manners, and that modefry of drefs which was ftill ob- 
 " fervabie on his ftatues." 
 
 * In Julian this was not adulation, but fuperflition and 
 vanity. GIBBON. 
 
 f Aurelian, the conqueror of the Barbarians, of Zenobia, 
 and of Tetricus, completed the recovery of what Gallienns 
 had loft. Tf he did the ftate too many lervices to be placed 
 in the rank of bad princes, he was too fevere and too cruel 
 to be reckoned among the good. He was born in Pan- 
 nonia, or Dacia, of a very obfcure family. The mother 
 of Aurelian, prieftefs of the Sun in her village, infpiicd 
 her fon, no doubt, with the zeal which he always pro- 
 
 i'dled
 
 T H E C M S A R S. 
 
 many charges of murder, which he could not pal- 
 liate or excufe, were brought againft him. But 
 my Lord the Sun *, who had patronifed him oh 
 other occasions, affifted him alfo on this, by inform- 
 ing the Gods, that the Delphic oracle 
 
 " That he who efil does, fhould evil ; fufTer, 
 
 " Is righteous judgment," 
 had been fulfilled. 
 
 The next was PROBUS, who in lefs than' fcven 
 years re-built feventy cities, and- alfo enacted many 
 wife laws. Having --fuffered imjuftly, he was ho- 
 noured by the Gods, and his death was revenged 
 by the punimment of his murderers. Siiemis, 
 neverthelefs, endeavoured, in like manner/to ridi- 
 cule him ; and many of the; Gods urging him to 
 'be filenr, " Let thofe who ' (hall follow;" faici 
 
 foiled, for thnt Cod. ' He chcie him" for his tutelar deity, 
 as Julian did afterwards. 
 
 TACITUS, a prince truly refpechible, and worthy of the 
 fenate who chofe hrm, 'ought tt> haVe been placed at the 
 feaft of the Cu.-iai's. Neverthelefs, Jie is not even named. 
 Is the omiffioa owing to Julian, or the tranfcribers ? As 
 Tacitus reigned only fix months, <l will m>t venture to. de- 
 termine. As to his brother, Florian, uho reigned only 
 three, or perhaps two, and who, bolides, took .pofTeffio.n 
 of the empire, as of an inheritance, without being chofca 
 by the ienate, or even propofcd by t.he army, he deferved 
 to be omitted. LA BLETEUiji. 
 
 * Aurelian adored that Deity as the parent of his life 
 and fortunes. His mother had been an inferior prie^ic'fs in 
 a chapel of the Sun : a peculiar devotion to the God o 
 light was a fentiment which the fortunate peafant imbibed 
 in his infancy, and every itcp of his elevation, every victory 
 "f his reign, fortified iuperilition by gratitude. GIBBON. 
 
 he,
 
 THE CJESARS. 
 
 he, " grow wifer by his example. Doft thou 
 *' not kr.ow,O PROBUS, that phyficians make bitrer 
 " potions palatable, by infufmg them in mead ? 
 " But thou, who wert always fo fevere and cruel 
 * e that none could equal thee .*, haft fullered, how- 
 44 ever unjuftly, in like manner. For no one can 
 " govern brutes, much lefs men, but by fometiraes 
 41 gratifying and indulging them ; as phyficians 
 ** humour their patients in trifles, that they may 
 4 *. infure their compliance in things eflential." 
 ' What! dear father/ faid Bacchus ; * do you now 
 ' play the philqfopher upon us?' " Why not >*' 
 replied Silenus. ** Were not you too, my fon, 
 41 inftru&ed by me in philofophy ? Know you not 
 ** that Socrates alfo held, like me, the firft rank 
 " in philofophy among his contemporaries, if you 
 " credit the oracle of Delphi ? Allow me therefore 
 " to fpeak not always jocofely, but fometimes 
 4< ferioufly." 
 
 V/hile they were thus talking, CARUS with his 
 fons [CARINUS and NUMERIAN] would have 
 
 * This cenfure of Silenus is extravagant. Probus can 
 only be reproached for having enforced military difcipline 
 with a ftriftnefs of which the Roman armies were no longer 
 capable. In time of peace he employed them in ufeful 
 labours. One day happening to fay inadvertently, that 
 *' there fhould foon be no more need of foldiers," this ex- 
 preffion coft him his life. The fame army, however, who 
 had murdered him, creeled a monument to him, with this 
 infcription : Hie Probus Imferator et vere Probus Jltus eft t 
 viftcr omnium gentium barbararum^ etiam tyrannorum. 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 
 entered,
 
 T H E C JE S A R S. 
 
 entered, had not Nemefis repulfed them *. DI- 
 OCLETIAN -J", accompanied by the two 
 
 * Hiflory reprefents Carus as a prince above mediocrity ; 
 vlrum medium, inter lonos, magis quam inter malos, cdllncandum. 
 But he had the misfortune to fucceed Probus, and to have 
 Carinus for his fon. On the other hand, he defeated the 
 Periians, and took Seleucia and Ctefiphon, when a flafti 
 of lightning terminated his conquefts and his life. It muft 
 not, however, be faid that the fentence of Julian is too 
 ievere, as Carus dared to affume, or fuffered flattery to 
 give him, the title of " Lord and God." Betides, Julian 
 thought perhaps that Cirus was guilty of the death of his 
 predeceffor Probus ; but the fact is at leaft doubtful. His 
 jfecond fon, Numerian, was not unworthy of a place at the 
 banquet. Hiftory fpeaks of him advantageoufly. As to 
 what is faid of Carinus, the juftice of Nemeiis cannot but 
 be applauded. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 -f- Diocletian reigned for twenty years with great prof- 
 perity and addrefs ; bnt he difgraced the latter part of his 
 reign by the matt barbarous of all perfections. He was a 
 ibldier of fortune, and having learned nothing but the art of 
 war, he was a profound politician, and had a fubtle genius 
 that penetrated every thing, but was itfelf impenetrable. 
 He always attended to what was folid. His projects, though 
 grand and vaft, were never chimerical, unlefs it were that of 
 extinguifhing the Chriitian name ; yet of that he was not 
 the author. He had the art of doing good himfelf, and 
 of employing others to do evil. Being mafter of his paf- 
 fions, he could difguife all his vices, except pride, which 
 made him introduce into the court of the emperors the 
 ceremonial of the .court of Perfia. He fhould be con- 
 lidered as the founder of a new empire, which had not, it 
 may be faid, any thing in common with that which was 
 founded by Auguftus, but the name. The effective par- 
 tition of the provinces fubject to the Romans annihilated 
 the ancient plan, and gave the finifning ftroke to the fenate, 
 which till then had always had an influence in public 
 affairs, and whofe authority was much reftored after the 
 death of'Aurelian. The averfion of Diocletian to the city 
 of Rome prepared the great event of the foundation of 
 Conitantinople. Ibid. 
 
 MIAN
 
 THE CAESARS. 
 
 MIANS, and my grandfather CONSTANTIUS *, then 
 approached, magnificently drefled. Thefe, though 
 they held each other by the hand, did not walk on 
 a line with DIOCLETIAN, Three others f alfo 
 
 fon- 
 
 * Coriitantius-Chlorus. 
 
 f- Diocletian ' firft. divided the empire with Maximian, 
 
 afterwards furname.d Herculius, his old friend, a great 
 
 j,l, very liberal, and not deficient in genius ; but un- 
 
 - 1 cruel, without education, and without manners. 
 
 Hijunftion the title of Csefar to Conilantius- 
 
 Chlci -'v'alerius, and divided the Roman 
 
 empir- , vy'?3 governed by two Emperors and two 
 
 Ca?iai. -Mir 'parts. 
 
 Conftan ' Chie-rus was the only one of the four who 
 wai of hi "With ail the talents of his collegues, 
 
 he 1 1 n<;:;, their faults. His Ible ambition was to 
 '-py. No prince ever loved money fo 
 lit.'. , or wa's'i a.uch lovul by his fu hi efts. Through fear 
 .of'oj preiVmg them, he denied himfelf neceflaries. Such 
 is the picture that is drawn of him even by the authors 
 who have written fince his family has been extinft. 
 
 As for Maximian- Galerius, furnamed Armentar l iits\ 01 
 .** ii:e Heidfnian,'' 5 he w^s rather a Barbarian. tV. 
 
 i;. He had great talents for war, and all fmaghiahle 
 
 vices, which he nevertheless concealed- a Httle j fo much v. ;;- 
 
 lie afraid of Diocletian. He had rlmoft an equal hatred 
 
 . Chrili;:'.n religion an-d to learning, and forced Pio- 
 
 j cietiaa to become a perfecutor. Thc-ie four pi 
 
 reined with a perfeft union, whole tie w;'.s the refpect 
 
 which Maximian-Hercvilius^ and the two C^fars, had for 
 
 Diocletian, whom they 'regarded as their father, and nlmoft 
 
 ?.s their Gcd. Diocletian, en his fide, did not exalt him- 
 
 Telf above them ; and, in particular, he took care to flifie 
 
 Ix (1 report?. What Julian here fays of the modefty of 
 
 that prince and his collegues admits, however, of iorre 
 
 exception. Diocletinn fometimes treated Galerius with 
 
 great haughtinefs ; and Galerius, tired of trembling before 
 
 him, made him tremble in his turn, and forced him to 
 
 abdicate the empire. Diocletian and Herculius quitted the 
 
 purple on the fame day the firit at Nicomedia, and the 
 
 other
 
 THE C 3 S A R S. 
 
 furrounded him, in the manner of a chorus ; but 
 when, like harbingers, they would have preceded 
 him, he forbade them, not thinking himfelf en- 
 titled to any diitin&ion. Transferring only to them 
 a burthen which he had borne on his own moulders, 
 he walked with much greater eafe. Admiring 
 their union, the Gods affigned them a feat fuperior 
 to many. But MAXIMIAN * behaving with im- 
 prudence and haughtinefs, Silenus, though he did 
 not think him worthy of ridicule, would" rot ad- 
 mit him into the fociety of the Emperors. And, 
 befides, he was not only addi&ed to all kinds of 
 lafcivioufnefs, but by his impertinent officioufnefs 
 and perfidy often interrupted the harmonious con- 
 cert. Nemefis therefore foon banifhed him, and 
 whither he went I know not, as I forgot to a/k 
 Mercury. 
 
 other at Milan. The abdication of Diocletian has been 
 co-nfidered as the greateft effort of human virtue; never- 
 thelefs, it was not fo voluntary as is generally fuppofed. 
 But he made it honeilly, and without return ; wifer than 
 Herculius, who, after reluming the purple, : ivJ < canon- 
 ing many ditiurbances, was obliged to dei'troy iiimielf. 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 
 * I know not why Julian excludes only one of the two 
 Maximians. As a proof that neither of them deferred to 
 be admitted, we do not immediately difcover which he 
 means. However, as this Maximian alone di {curbed the 
 concert formed by the union of Diocletian and his col- 
 legues, Julian muft necelTarily fpeak of Maximian-Galeri-us. 
 He died at Sardis, of a dreadful diibrder, considering his 
 death as a punifliment of the cruelties which he had exer- 
 cifed againft the Chriftians. /;. 
 
 To
 
 174 THEC^ESARS. 
 
 To this moft melodious tetrachord a harm, dif- 
 agreeable, and difcordant found fucceeded *. Two 
 of the candidates Nemefis would not fuiFer to ap- 
 proach even the door of the afiembly. LICINIUS 
 came thus far, but having been guilty of many 
 crimes, he was repulfed by Minos* CONSTANT INE 
 entered, and fat fome time ; and near him fat his 
 
 * Diocletian had flattered himfetf that the partition of 
 the empire between two Emperors and two Caefars would 
 fubfift in future ; but one of the chagrins which he felt in 
 his retirement was the ambition and milunderftanding of 
 his fuccefibrs, each of whom thought only of making him- 
 felf mafter of the whole empire. Thofe whom Julian has 
 here in view are Maxentius, Maximin-Dai'a, Licinius, and 
 Conftantine. 
 
 Maxentius, the foh, or fuppofed fon, of Maximian-Her- 
 culius, was a prince ill-made, without genius, cowardly^ 
 flothful, cruel, debauched. When he harangued his 
 foldiers, it was to exhort them to make good cheer, td 
 fpend money, to enjoy l\k;fruimini. He obliged Sophronia^ 
 daughter of the governor of Rome, to renew the tragical 
 hiftory of Lucretia. It is well known that he perifhed in 
 the Tiber, in his endeavour to deftroy Conftantine. 
 
 Maximin-Daia, as defpicable as Maxentius, and a Hill 
 more cruel perfeeutor than his uncle Maximian-Galerius, 
 being vanquiflied by Licinius, efcaped to the city of 
 Tarfus, and took poifon at the end of a great entertain- 
 ment. This poifon, failing of its entire effect, occafioned 
 him a horrible and long malady. I do not find in all an- 
 tiquity a death more fhocking than his. 
 
 Though Licinius had courage and fuccefs in war, he was 
 ftill more wicked than Maximin< He confidered literature 
 as the pelt of a ftate. Conftantine vanquifhed him, ob- 
 liged him to quit the purple, and, foon after, deprived 
 him of life. Of .Conftantine and his fons more in the 
 fequel. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 5 ions.
 
 T ti E C 2E S A R g. 
 
 fons. As for MAGNENTIUS *, he was refilled ad- 
 mittance, becaufe he had never done any thing 
 JAudable, though many of his actions might appear 
 brilliant. But the Gods, perceiving that they 
 did not flow from a good principle, ditmifled him 
 much afflicted. 
 
 * Magnentius, who derived his origin from the Franks 
 and the Saxons, ferved with reputation in the Roman 
 troops, when he affumed the purple at Autun, and caufed 
 the Emperor Conftans to be put to death. He was vanquished 
 by Conftantius in the battle of Murfa in 352, and in the fol- 
 lowing year, through fear of falling into the hands of the 
 conqueror, he killed himfelf in the Gauls, after having 
 killed all his family. He had profefled Chriftianity, though 
 he was perhaps a Pagan in his heart. Courage is afcribed 
 to him, or that which often produces the fame effect, 
 the art of concealing his timidity, with a tafte for books, 
 learning, a lively and animated eloquence, and refpect and 
 zeal for the laws, when they were no obftacle to his ambitious 
 projects. No writer charges him with debauchery, and 
 this filence exprefles much. Such vices, however, arc 
 given him as are always given to unfuccefsful ufurpers. 
 Julian, in particular, elfewhere paints Magnentius in the 
 moft hideous colours ; but it is in his panegyrics of Con- 
 fiantius. The opinion which he forms here feems much 
 more credible, and fufficiently agrees with that of Zofimus. 
 ** Magnentius," fays that hiftorian (/. ii.) " was bold in 
 *' profperity, and timid in adverfity. He knew fo well 
 " how to difguife his natural perverfenefs, that thofe 
 ** who did not know him took him for a man of fun- 
 " plicity and of an excellent character. I think myfelf 
 " obliged to make this remark," continues Zofimus, 
 " becaufe fome have thought that he governed the ftate 
 '* well. Let them be no longer deceived in him. Magnentius 
 " did nothing from good motives, from a principle of 
 " virtue." Let us obferve, by the way, that the true or 
 falfe idea which Julian gives of Magnentius is exactly 
 tke fame which we ought to have of Julian. 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 
 In
 
 T H E C JE S A R S. 
 
 In this manner was the banquet prepared. At 
 the table of the Gods nothing was wanting, for 
 all things are theirs. But that of the heroes Mer- 
 cury thought imperfeft, and Jupiter was of the 
 fame opinion. Quirinus had long requeued to 
 introduce another of his defendants. But Her- 
 cules faid, " I will not fuller it, Quirinus. For 
 ** why have you not invited my ALEXANDER alfo 
 " to the feaft ? If therefore^ Jupiter, you intend 
 " to enroll any of the heroes among us, fend, 
 " I intreat you, for ALEXANDER. When we 
 *' are canvaffing the merits of men, why fhould 
 " the braveft be omitted ?" What the fon of 
 Alcmena propofed was approved by Jupiter. 
 ALEXANDER therefore entered the afiembly of 
 heroes; but neither C^?SAR, nor any one elfe, 
 rofe up to him; fo that he was obliged to take the 
 feat which the elded fon of SEVERUS had left va- 
 cant *, he, for his fratricide, having been expelled, 
 
 * What is the reafon that Alexander takes the feat in- 
 tended for Caracalla, when there are ib many others va- 
 cant ? This is one of thofe little circumftances that give 
 narrations a greater air of truth. Beiides, this recalls fonie 
 facts. Caracalla was inflamed with a foolifh paffion for 
 Alexander. Not contented with filling the cities, the 
 temples, Rome, and the capitol with the ftatues of that 
 prince, with having a phalanx vvhofe officers bore the 
 names of the generals of Alexander, and drefiing in the 
 Macedonian manner, he endeavoured to identify himfelf with 
 his hero in feme fantaftic pictures, where the face was 
 compofed of half that of Alexander and half that of his 
 own. He periecuted the Peripatetic philofophers, becaute 
 Ariilotle was iufpecled of being concerned in the death of 
 that conqueror. LA BLETHRIE. 
 
 Silenus
 
 T K E C M S A R S. 
 
 Silenus then fcoffing at Quirinus, faid, * Take care, 
 f or this one Greek will excell all your Romans.' 
 
 1 By Jove," replied Quirinus, '* I think that many 
 *' of them are, in every refpe<ft, his equals. My 
 " pofterity indeed have fo much admired him, that 
 " of foreign generals they ftyle arid think him 
 " only great ; not that they deem him fuperior to 
 
 1 their countrymen, or are void of national preju- 
 " dice. But that we fhall foon determine when we 
 " have brought their merits to the teft !" Saying 
 this, Qui;inus blufhed *, and feemed evidently 
 anxious for his defcendants. 
 
 After this, Jupiter afked the Gods, whether all 
 fhould enter the lifts, or whether they (hould adopt 
 the practice obferved in wreftling, where whoever 
 conquers him who has gained the moft victories is 
 deemed the only vi<ftor, even of thofe who "have 
 been .vanquifhed by his antagonift, though they 
 have not been his competitors ? This was generally 
 approved, as a juft determination. Mercury then 
 proclaimed that CAESAR ftiou'd advance firft, OCTA- 
 VIANUS next, and TRAJAN third, thofe being the 
 greateft warriors. Silence being commanded, Sa- 
 turn, turning to Jupiter, expreiTed his furprife at 
 feeing martial Emperors fummoned to this conteft, 
 
 * We muft not forget that Julian is a Greek to the 
 bottom of his foul. His only comfort in being a Roman 
 was his having been born at Byzantium, and his considering 
 Rome as a colony of Greeks. LA BJ-ETERIE, 
 
 VOL* L N but
 
 THE CAESARS. 
 
 but no philosophers *. " Thefe," he faid, " arc 
 ' equally dear to me. Call therefore, and intro- 
 " duce MARCUS [AURELIUS]." He being furri'- 
 moned, advanced with a ferious afpeft f, occa- 
 fioned by the labours of his mind. His eyes were 
 hollow, his brow was contracted "|, and his whole 
 form difplayed unftudied beauty j for his hair was 
 uncombed, his beard was. long, his drefs fimple 
 and (economical, and by fcanty nourifhment his 
 
 body 
 
 * It is right for Saturn, a pacific God, and the father 
 of the golden age, to be interefled for philofophical princes, 
 and for Marcus Aurelius in particular, the greateft phi- 
 lofopher of them nil ; who, in ipite of the various fcourges 
 with which the empire was afflicted in his time, promoted 
 the hnppinefs of the Romans. It is faid of this Emperor, 
 that Providence gave him tq mankind in increy, to temper 
 the feverify of the chaflifements which it had inflided upon 
 them in jullice. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 f It is prercnded, that, even in his childhood, neither 
 joy nor for row ever made him change countenance : but his 
 gravity had nothing in it fad oraullere. Sine trijiitla gravh. 
 
 IbiJ. 
 
 J He is thus reprefented on his medals, efpecially thole 
 ' which were ftrnck in the latter years of his life. Ibid. 
 At the age of twelve years, Marcus Aurelius took the 
 habit of a philofopher, and foon after he was defirous of 
 practiting all the aufterities of the Stoic philofophy, even 
 to the King on the ground under his cloak. His mother 
 ufcd her utmoit endeavours .to pcrfusde him to He on a 
 wooden bedflcd covered with a lingle Ikin. A life fo 
 hardy made no abatement in the fweefnefs of his temper, 
 but it impaired his health. Neverthelefs, his habitual in- 
 firmities never prevented him from fulfilling all his duties, 
 ' and from finding time befides for ftudy. His foul appeared 
 - to -have gained what his btfdy had loft. 
 
 Julian piqued htmlclf on being an imitator of Marcus 
 Aurelius, flept hardly, and lived on vegetables. Some of 
 
 the
 
 THE C J2 S A R S. 179 
 
 body was tranfparent and fpleodid, like the pureft 
 and cleared light. When lie was admitted within 
 the facred inclofure, Bacchus faid, " King Saturn 
 '* and Father Jupiter, can any thing imperfect be 
 " allowed among the Gods ?" No anfwer being 
 returned, " Let us fend then," proceeded he, 
 '* for fofne lover of pleafure." ' But,' replied Ju- 
 piter, ' it is not lawful for any one to be admitted 
 ' here who does not worfhip us *.' " Let judgment 
 " therefore," faid Bacchus, " be pronounced on 
 " him in the veftibule. We will call, with your 
 " leave, a prince, not indeed nnwarlike.-f, but 
 
 " foftened 
 
 the EpifHes of Julian give us reafon to think that he was 
 frequently ill. But it is more eafy to wear the beard of 
 Marcus Aurelius, to copy his autfenties, and to ruin one's 
 health, like him, than to acquire his folidity of genius, 
 his love of virtue for virtue's fake, his contempt of glory, 
 and, if I may venture fo to exprefs myfelf, that fobdety 
 of wifdom, which was the foundation of his character. 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 
 * Ov Septic v ftJTi.' si1av a>3^ /xi To. rf*els^u ^i}XvV. M. de la, 
 
 Bleterie tranflates this, " Whoever does not take us for 
 " his model cannot fet foot here;" but I underftand it, 
 " Whoever is not a worfhipper of us," &c. in allufion to 
 Conftantine, who was a Chriftian. It is obfervable, how- 
 ever, that Conitantine and his fons are before mentioned as 
 entering the aflembly and fitting fome time. 
 
 f If Conftantine had been a llave to his pleafures, fo far 
 as to deferve, though he had declared for Chri'ftianity, the 
 protection of Bacchus, he would not have been 16 diftin- 
 guifhed in war and in peace ; he would not have reigned 
 Ib glorioufly for more than thirty years, that is, much 
 longer than any Emperor had reigned fince Auguftus. 
 This general reflection may be fufficient to fliev the injuftice 
 of Julian. Hiftory reprefents Conftantine to us as a prince 
 al-.vays engp.gcd in fome ufeful project, giving fr<r^':cnt au- 
 
 N 2 diences.
 
 !8o T H E C J&S A R S, 
 
 " fofceflcd by pleafure and enjoyment. LetCoN- 
 " STANTINE come as far as the veftibule." 
 
 This 
 
 _ 
 
 diences, drawing up his laws and difpatches himself, bor- 
 rowing from Tus fleep time to read the holy fcriptures, and 
 to compofe fome religious difcourfes, which he pronounced 
 in public, endeavouring to obtain the affiftance of Heaven 
 by prayer, fafting, and abuinence from lawful pleafares. 
 
 if we deduct from theie elogiums whatever may be taken 
 from panegyrics, if we iet slide the good that is laid of him 
 by Chriftian writers, and even the praifes that are given him 
 by fuc'h of the Pagans as mhy be fufpefted of flattery, having 
 written in his reign, or in that of his fons,I meanLibanius, 
 and the hiftorian Praxagoras; in a word, if Conftantine be 
 judged by the teftimony of Eutropius, who dedicates his 
 xvork to Valens, and by what is faid of him by that Victor 
 who wrote in the reign of the fons of Theodofius I. the 
 relult will be, that Conftantine was a prince of an elevated 
 genius, active, vigilant, laborious, and, even independently of 
 what he did for the Chriflian religion, and notwithftanding 
 the blemiihes that are found in his life, that he deferved 
 the title of Great. The teftimony of thofe authors is 
 the more important, as they ipare neither his faults nor 
 failings. 
 
 Zoiimus, a partial writer, and the declared enemy of 
 the Chriftian Emperors, is the only one, befides Julian, 
 who accufes him of being devoted to pleafures. Yet Zo- 
 fimus throws this reproach only on the latter years of his 
 reign. In fa6l Conftanrine could have given no pretext 
 for that accvrfation till after the foundation of New 
 Rome. Tired of wars, and even of victories, he thought 
 that he had acquired a right to talle the fmit of his 
 labours.- Without remaining in inactivity, or living in 
 voluntuouiheis (for, to the end of his life, he employed 
 himicif in affairs of ftate, and in thofe of the church), 
 he gave fome brilliant 'entertainments. His court was 
 magnificent ; he procured himieif fome amufements that 
 had nothing criminal in the eyes of the world, and which 
 perhaps he thought were allowed him becaufe he had 
 not yet been baptif:d. 
 
 It
 
 T H E C IE, S A R S. 4 Si 
 
 This being allowed (the mode of their conten- 
 tion having been previoufly fettled) Mercury ad- 
 vifed, that every one fliould feverally fpenk for 
 himfelf, and that the Gods fhould then give their 
 votes. But of this Apollo difapproved, infixing, 
 that truth only, and not eloquence, or the charms 
 of oratory, ought to be difcuffed and examined 
 by the Gods. Jupiter, wifliing to oblige all, and, 
 at the fame time, defirous to prolong the affembly, 
 replied, " There can be no inconvenience in di- 
 * reding each of them to fpeak by a certain 
 " meafure of water *, and afterwards we may 
 "' interrogate them and fcrutinife their thoughts." 
 Silenus jocofely added, ' Take care, Neptune, or 
 * TRAJAN and ALEXANDER!, miftaking the water 
 
 * for 
 
 It is fuppofed that the imagination and malignity of 
 Julian working on this canvas might make Conftantine a 
 Have to pleafure. Let us never forget that Julian detefted 
 his uncle as the deftroyer of Pagannrn j and that he was 
 by tafte, by principle, by vanity, an enemy to all pleafures. 
 Hov/ much muft the magnificence of Conftantine have 
 wounded a man who gave into the oppolite extreme, who 
 carried philofophy to fuch an excels, as to defpife deconrn, 
 and who, by the manners which he afcribes to himfelf in 
 the Mifopogon, feems to have been defirous tha: his pic- 
 ture fhould be the companion of that of Diogenes ! 
 
 LA IJLE VERIE. 
 
 * When the Greeks and Romans would give orators a 
 certain fixed time, they employed hour-glafles of water, 
 to which they gave the name ot depfydra, which the modern 
 Larimib apply very imp r operly to our lands. Ib:J.. 
 
 f It is well known that Alexander was very fond of 
 wine, and that in drunkennefs he waa capable of the 
 
 N 3 greateft
 
 i8a THECJESAR3. 
 
 s for nectar, will fwallow it all, and fo leave none 
 * for the reft.' Neptune anfwered, " They were 
 " much more fond of your draughts, Silenus, 
 ** than of mine. It behoves you therefore to be 
 44 rather afraid of your own vines than of my 
 " fprings." Silenus was chagrined, and made no 
 reply, but afterwards attended folely to the diir 
 putants. Mercury then proclaimed, 
 * * The arbiter of prizes due 
 
 * To fignal merit now begins, 
 
 * Delay no longer, Time exhorts, 
 
 ' But lend your ears to what the voice 
 
 * Of herald Mercury proclaims. 
 
 ' Ye kings, to whofe fuperior fway 
 c Of old iubmiffive nations bow'd, 
 4 Who launch'd in fight the holiile fpear, 
 
 greateft excefTes. His laft debauch coft him his life. As 
 for Trajan, he was obliged to forbid the execution of any 
 orders which he might give at coming from a great enter- 
 tainment. One of the methods of which Hadrian availed 
 himlelf to gain his friendfliip was to caroufe with him at 
 table. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 * See Lucian, at the end of his Demoniacs. PETAU. 
 
 The three fir ft lines only (in the original) are quoted 
 from that work. 
 
 This proclamation, in the tafte of thofe which were 
 made in Greece at the opening of the games, confilts of 
 forms uled on thofe occafions, and of ends of verfes taken 
 Irom the Greek poets that we have, and thofe whom we 
 have not. This kind of cento has in the original, 
 or rather had, a merit which we may imagine, but 
 which it is importable to transfufe intp another language. 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 
 M. de la Bleterie has only given the fenfe. The Eoglifh 
 i ahnoft literal, 
 
 * Advance,
 
 T H E C JE S A R S. Z 8 3 
 
 * Advance, contend, with prudent minds 
 ' Oppofe your rivals, and await 
 
 * The juft, th* impartial will of Heaven ! 
 ' Wifdom thefe think the end of life, 
 
 Thofe, vengeance on their foes to wreak, 
 
 * And ferve their friends : of life, of toil, 
 
 * Pleafure fome make the fingle view, 
 
 * Feafts, nuptials, all that feeds their eyes: 
 
 * From dainty ornaments of drefs, 
 
 * Or rings, with precious gems adorn'd, 
 ' Others fuperior blifs derive. 
 
 ' Jove will the victory decree.' 
 
 Mercury having made this proclamation, the 
 combatants drew lots : and the lot happened to 
 concur with the love of pre-eminence habitual to 
 CJESAR. This augmented his pride and arrogance ; 
 fo that ALEXANDER would have declined the con- 
 teft, had he not been encouraged and perfuaded 
 by Hercules. ALEXANDER obtained the next turn 
 of fpeaking after C.CSAR. When all the reft had 
 had their proper turns affigned them, C^SAR thus 
 began : 
 
 " It was my good fortune, O Jnpiter and ye 
 " Gods, to be born, 'After many heroes, in that 
 " illuftrious city, which has extended her do- 
 '* minion farther than any other; fo that they all 
 " may be fatisfied, if they obtain the fecond place. 
 " For what other city, deducing its origin from 
 " three thoufand men, has, in lels than iix hun- 
 " dred years, carried its conquefts to the utmoft 
 N " extremities
 
 IMi E C & S A R S. 
 
 extremities of the earth ? What other nation has 
 produced fo many diltinguiihed warriors and 
 
 * legiflators, or fuch devout worlhippcrs of the 
 ' Gods? Born in a city fo renowned, I furpaffed, 
 
 by my actions, not only my contemporaries, but 
 all the heroes th?t ever lived. Of my own 
 
 * countrymen I know not one that will deny me 
 the fupcriority. But as this Grecian is fo pre- 
 
 4 fumptuous, which of his actions wi)l he pretend 
 to put in competition with mine? His Ferfian 
 4 trophies perhaps, as if he knew not how many 
 ** I won from Pompey. And who was the mo ft ex- 
 ** perienced general, Pompey or Darius? Which of 
 " them commanded the braved troops ? Inftead of 
 *' the refufe of mankind, Pompey had in his army 
 " more warlike nations than were ever fubjeft to 
 *' Darius; of Europeans, thofe who had often 
 " routed the hoftile Afiatics, and of them the 
 " moil valiant ; Italians, Illyrians, and Gauls. 
 " Having mentioned the Gauls, can the Getic 
 *' exploits of ALIXANDLR be compared with my 
 " conquefl of Ga,ul ? He pafTcd the Danube once; 
 44 I twice pafled the Rhine ; and of my German 
 " victories no one can diipute the glory. I fought 
 " with Arioviftus *. 
 
 ' I was the fir ft Roman who dared to crofs the 
 " German ocean f. Though this was a wonder- 
 
 * The antithefis is this : " Alexander met with no op- 
 
 * poiition in his Getic 'expedition, and therefore he 
 
 * marched with impunity. But 1 was rcuited by Arioviftus." 
 
 TETAU. 
 
 f In the original. TJ ixlo? OaXaerr*;?, " the c\itward lea." 
 Ti;e inner was the
 
 T H E C M S A R S. 185 
 
 " fol atchievement, however- it may be admired, 
 ' more glorious was my intrepidity in being the 
 " firft who leaped on fhore *. Of the Helvetic 
 '* and Iberian nations I fay nothing ; nor have I 
 " mentioned my actions in Gaul, where I took 
 " above three hundred towns -f-, and defeated two 
 " millions of men. Great as the-fe aftions were, 
 " that which followed was greater and more il- 
 " luftrious. Being obliged to wage war with my 
 * fellow-citizens, I vanquiflied the unconquered 
 " and invincible Romans. If we fhould be judged 
 " by the number of our battles, I fought thrice 
 
 / -*j 
 
 " as many as are afcribed to ALEXANDER by his 
 
 " greatcft panegyrifts ; if by the number of towns 
 
 " taken, not in Afia only, but alfo in Europe, I 
 
 " reduced more. ALEXANDER faw and Tavrfed 
 
 " ./Egypt ; I, while I feafled there, fubdued it. 
 
 ** Will you alfo compare the clemency of each of 
 
 " us, when victorious ? I pardoned my enemies, 
 
 * He alludes here to the defcent which Ccefar made on 
 Britain. But the memory or Julian deceives him. Heat- 
 tributes to Csefar what Crefar himfelf fays (/. v. de lello 
 Galileo) of the eagle-bearer of the tenth legion. " He 
 ' who bore the eagle of the tenth legion, after befeeching 
 ' the Gods, that the event might be prcfperons to the 
 ' legion, faid, * Leap afhore, loldiers, unlefs you would 
 betray the eagle to the rncmy.' " Saying this, with a 
 ' loud voice, he threw himi'elf out of the fliip, and ad- 
 4 vanced with the eagle to.";ircis the ene:ny, &c/' It was 
 Alexander, who, after palling the HelL-lpout, firft leaped 
 afhore completely armed. Such a proceeding is more fuit- 
 able to the impetuous valour of Alexander than to the 
 phlegmatic and feclatc courage of Csl'ar. LA BLETERJE. 
 f See Plutarch. 
 
 i " and
 
 x86 TtfEC-ffiSAllS. 
 
 " and received from them fuch a return as Neifiefis 
 
 " has revenged. He never fpared his enemies, nor 
 
 '* even his friends. In particular, as you difpute 
 
 " the pre-eminence, and will not immediately yield 
 
 " to me, like the reft, you compel me to mention 
 
 " your cruel behaviour to the Thebans *. On 
 
 ' the contrary, how great was my humanity to 
 
 " the Ilelvctii ! The cities of the former were 
 
 " burnt by you ; the cities of the latter, burnt by 
 
 " their own inhabitants, were rebuilt by me -jv 
 
 '* Which, in fliort, was mcft illuftrious ; your 
 
 " defeating ten thoufand Greeks, or my repulfing 
 
 " the attacks of a hundred and fifty thoufand Ro- 
 
 " mans? Much more could I add, both of ALEX- 
 
 " ANDER and myfelf ; but as I never had leifure 
 
 " to ftudy the art of oratory ;, you muft excufe 
 
 " me, and, forming a juft and impartial judge-- 
 
 " ment both from what I have faid, and what I 
 
 " have omitted, will, I doubt not, give me the 
 
 " fuperiority." 
 
 * When Alexander took Thebes by ftorm, the inhabi- 
 tants were (lain and deftroyed for feveral hours \vithout 
 regard to fex or age ; and the city was afterwards raxed, 
 the houfe of Pindar only excepted. 
 
 j- The Helvetii having abandoned their country, and 
 burnt their towns, as they were preparing to enter Gaul, 
 were defeated by Cnsfar, Cent back to their country, and* 
 ordered to re-build their houies. 
 
 j In the original, TO Xtyeiv ityt^iTr,o-ee, or (tipiXyo-at. Per- 
 haps he does not mean to fay, that C:cftt'r had no excel- 
 lence in fpeaking ; for he was reckoned among the 
 orators of his time; witneis Cicero, in his -Brutus; but 
 that he was not ufcd to ipeak without premeditation. 
 
 CANTOCLARUS. 
 CvESAR
 
 T H E C JE S A R S. ,87 
 
 thus concluded, but feeming defirous of 
 faying ft ill more ; ALEXANDER, who before had 
 with difficulty retrained himfelf, could refrain no 
 longer, but, with much anxiety and emotion, thus 
 began : 
 
 44 How long, O Jupiter and ye Gods, fhall I 
 " filently bear the infolence of this boafter * ! He 
 44 fets no bounds, you Ice, to his praife of himfelf, 
 44 or to his abufe of me. Much better would it 
 11 have become him to have abftained equally from 
 44 both, as both are alike intolerable, but chiefly 
 " that of depreciating my conduct, which he made 
 44 the example of his own. Such is his afTurance, 
 if that he has dared to ridicule his own moJel. 
 44 You mould have recojiefted, C/ESAR, the tears 
 44 which you fhcd on hearing of the memorials 
 44 that were raiied in honour of my deeds |. But 
 ' you afterwards owed your elevation to Pompey, 
 41 who, though he \vas really infignificant J, was 
 44 idolifed by his countrymen. As to his ArV^un 
 
 * This is not unlike the beginning of Cicero's Oration 
 againft Catiline, ^Koufipie tandem abut ere, Catillna, patientid 
 noftra ? 
 
 j- At Gades, obferving in the temple of Huiv-u i 
 ftatue of Alexander the Greif, he iigh ', ;"c' 
 afliamccl of his own iupinenefs in hv.:ng dnp.c no. ing me- 
 morable at an age when Alexander had conqi,,:n the 
 world, he importunately urged to I r- oiJlc'l t'.i KJ . e, 
 that he might he ready on the ipot to erahracv; any occ.'fi./n 
 that might offer for more important aadert^fcings. Sueton. 
 Jul. Ctt-far. c. 7. See alfo Pluurca. 
 
 . J It is ;;',.tin that Julian had read the Erotic, ^f Cicero 
 to Attic us. LA Ih. i : B ii. 
 
 3 4<
 
 THE-C-ESARS. 
 
 " triumph *, no great exploit, his fame was owing 
 " to the weaknefs and inactivity of the confuls f. 
 " The fervile war % was not waged with men, but 
 " with the moft abandoned Haves, and it was con- 
 ** dueled by Craflus and Lucius , though Pompey 
 " had the name and the reputation. Armenia and 
 Sk the neighbouring provinces were conquered by 
 *' Lucullus; yet for thefe alfo Pompey triumphed. 
 " He was then flattered by his fellow-citizens, 
 " and named the Great. But than whom of his 
 " predeceffors was he greater ? Which of his 
 " actions is comparable to thofe of Marius, or of 
 " the two Scipios? or of Camillus,who was almoft 
 *' as much the founder of Rome as this Ouirinus, 
 " having rebuilt his city when it was almoft falling? 
 " For they did not arrogate to therafelves the 
 " works of others, as is ufnal in buildings founded 
 <c and -finiQied at the public expence, where the 
 ** magiitrate, who has only plaiftered the walls, 
 41 on completing the edifice, infcribes the foun- 
 " elation (tone. But thefe heroes, as public ar- 
 *' tifkers and architects, have juftly immortaliled 
 *' their own names. It is no wonder therefore, 
 ** that you vanquifhed Pompey, fcratching his 
 
 "' : pompey, at the age of twenty-nine, when he was only 
 a knighr, was fent into Africa to encounter the party of 
 Manns. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 -f M. Tullius Dccula and Cn. Cornelius Dolabella. 
 
 J The war of Spartacus. 
 
 Lucius GeHius. See Plutarch '5 Life of CraiTus, and 
 Appian, Bell. Civil. I. 
 
 " head,
 
 THE -C JE-.S A R S. 
 
 * head *, and more refembiing a fox than, a lion. 
 " When he was deferred by Fortune, who had 
 " long favoured him, you eafily conquered him 
 " fingle. But that your fuccefs was owing to no 
 " fuperior abilities is evident ; for being in want 
 " of provifions (which, you know, is no fmall fault 
 " of a general f ), you fought, and were defeated J. 
 " And if Pompey, by his imprudence, or folly, or 
 ' becaufe he could not govern his army, when he 
 " fhou'd have protrafted the war, gave battle , 
 " and did not purfue his viclory, his failure was 
 " the confequence of his own mifconducT:, not of 
 " your military Ikill. The Perfians, on the con- 
 " trary, though in every refpeft well prepared .and 
 " amply provided, fubmuted to my dominion. 
 " And as it becomes a good man and a ,wife 
 
 * In the original, Jx7tX xup.t>t) t which the French 
 tranflator has paraphrafed, ** who, for fear of difarranging 
 " his hair, did not venture 'to touch his head but with his 
 *' finger's end." Yet Ammianus (xvii. n.) tnentioning 
 two ludicrous faults that the envious imputed to Pompey, 
 lays that this was one, quod genutno qnodam more cafu urto 
 diglto fcalpebat ; " that he fcratched his head, in a pur- 
 *' ticular manner, with one of his fingers." 
 
 \ Julian himfelf committed the fame fault in his Perfun 
 expedition. 
 
 4; At the battle of Dyrrhacium. 
 
 This interpretation agrees better with the fenfe, arid 
 with hiftory, than the proper lignification of the Greek; 
 words, [which is, " when he fliould have declined to give 
 *' battle."] For certain it is, from Appian, Plutarch, and 
 other writers, that Pompey did not aft like a prudent ge- 
 neral in offering battle to Cat far at Pharfalia, when Ciel'ar 
 was in fuch a lituation, that he mufl eafily have been re- 
 duced by his want of necefTaries. CANTOCLARUS. 
 
 * f -prince
 
 i 9 o THEC/ESARS. 
 
 " prince to aft not only with moderation, but witri 
 " juftice, I took arms to revenge the Greeks on 
 " the Perfrans, and to free Greece from civil war. 
 '* Nor was it ever my intention to ravage Greece, 
 " but thofe only, who would have prevented my 
 " march again ft Perfia, I chaftifed. Yon, after 
 4< fubduing the Gauls and Germans, turned your 
 '* arms againft your own country. What can be 
 ' worfe, what more infamous ? 
 
 " You have mentioned, with a fneer, * my de- 
 ' feating ten thoufand Greeks.' " That you your- 
 " felves fprung from the Greeks, and that the 
 ** Greeks inhabited the greateft part of Italy, I 
 " well know; but on this I will not infift. With 
 " a fmall nation of them, the 7Etolians, your 
 " neighbours, you thought it of great confluence 
 " to make an alliance ; but after they had fought 
 " for you, why did you reduce them, and that 
 41 not eafily, to fubjeftion? If then, in the old age, 
 *' as it has been called, of Greece, you could 
 " fcarce reduce, not the whole, but one fmall 
 *' nation, which was fcarce known when Greece 
 " was in her vigour, what would have been the 
 " event, if you had been obliged to contend with 
 tf the Greeks when flourifhing and united ? How 
 " much you were alarmed by the invaiion of 
 " Pyrrhus you need not be reminded. As you 
 u think the conqueft of Perfia fuch a trifle, and 
 ".depreciate an cnterprife fo glorious, tell me 
 " why, after a war of above two thoufand years, 
 ' jou have never fubdued a fmall province be- 
 
 " yond
 
 T H E C M S A R S. 
 
 " yond the Tigris *, fubject to the Parthians? 
 " Shall I inform you ? The darts of the Perfians 
 " prevented you. Antony, who ferved under 
 " your command, can give you an account of 
 " them f. But in lefs than ten years I conquered 
 " both Perfia and India. After this, do you dare 
 " to contend with me, who, trained to war from 
 " my childhood, performed fuch deeds, that the 
 " remembrance of them, though they have not 
 " been fufficiently celebrated by hiftorians, will 
 *' live for ever, like thofe of the invincible Her- 
 " cules, of whom I was the follower and imitator ? 
 " I rivalled, in foort, my anceftor Achilles, and, 
 " admiring Hercules, I trod in his fteps as nearly 
 " as a mortal can follow a God. Thus much, O 
 " ye Gods, it was neceflary for me to fay in my 
 " own defence again It an opponent, whom per- 
 " haps it might have been better to have filently 
 " dcfpifed. If I was guilty of any cruelties, the 
 
 * Meaning Babylonia, where the Romans never made 
 any folid conqueih It was the northern part of Mefopo- 
 taniia. LA Br.tTER.iE. 
 
 f Antony, having entered Media, thought himfelf 
 happy to cfcape with the remains of his army, after lofing 
 twenty thoufand men, and all his baggage. Julian might 
 have quoted many other Roman generals and Emperors 
 [Craflus in particular], who were worfe treated even than 
 Antony, in their expeditions againft the Parthians, or 
 Verfians. But he did not forefee that he himfelf would 
 foon add to the number of thofe unfortunate heroes. Ibid. 
 
 It is impolfible to read the interefting narrative of 
 Plutarch (torn. v. p. 102 116.) without perceiving that 
 Mark Antony and Julian were purfued by the fame enemies, 
 and involved in the lame diilrefs. GIBBON. 
 
 " innocent
 
 T H E C M S A R S. 
 
 " innocent were not the objects, but fuch as had 
 " frequently and nororioully oiTeuded, and had 
 " made no proper ufe of their opportunities. 
 ** And my offences even againft them were fol- 
 <' lowed, by Repentance *, a very wife Goddefs, 
 " and, the preserver of thofe who have erred. As 
 " for my chafUfing the ambitious, who always 
 " hated and had often injured me, in that I 
 " thought myfelf excufable." 
 
 This military harangue being concluded, the atten- 
 dant of Neptune gave the liour-glafs to OCTAVI- 
 ANUS, meafuring to him a very fmall quantity of 
 Water, and at the fame time, reminding him of his 
 infolence to that Deity -f. On which having re- 
 fle&ed with his ufual fagacity, omitting to fay any 
 thing of others, he thus began : 
 
 " Inftead of depreciating the actions of others, 
 " O Jupiter and ye Gods, I will confine my whole 
 " fpeech to what concerns myfelf. In my youth 
 
 * Mslaptf.&x. This Goddefs, thus deified by Julian, 
 feems rather taken from the Chriftian fcriptures, than the 
 Heathen mythology. The French tranilator ftyles her 
 Metan'ee, from Mflaiota, and *' a celebrated retreat for pe- 
 *' nitents, knovv in Ecclefiaftical hiflory by the name of 
 " laMftanee" 
 
 f In the war which Oclavius waged againft Sextu* 
 Pornpey, many reproach him as well for feme of his ex- 
 preffions, as for his conduct, having. faid, when his fleet 
 was loft in a ftorm, that " he would gain the victory even. 
 " in fpite of Neptune." And accordingly, when the Cir- 
 cenfian games were next performed, he excluded the image 
 of that God. from the folernnity. Suet. Aug. c. xvi. 
 
 Julian himfelf, in like manner, fwore afterwards, in a 
 pafllon, that he would never laciifice again to Mars. See 
 xxiv. 6. 
 
 " I had
 
 THE CAESARS. 
 
 " I had the government of my native city, like 
 
 " this illuflrious ALEXANDER. The German wars, 
 
 " like my father CJESAR, I happily concluded. 
 
 11 Involved in civil diflenfions, I fubdued ^t'gypt 
 
 " at Aclium in a fea-fight. I defeated Brutus and 
 
 * Caffius at Philippi, and I made the fon of Pom- 
 
 " pey contribute to my glory. Such, however, 
 
 " was my attachment to philofophy, that, inftead 
 
 " of being difgufted at the freedom affumed by 
 
 " Athenodorus *, I was pleafed with it, and re- 
 
 " vered him as a preceptor, or rather as a parent. 
 
 " Areus -f- alfo was my friend and confident. And, 
 
 " upon the whole, I was never guilty of the leaft 
 
 * A very bold acYion is related of this philofopher : Au- 
 guftus, \vhofe behaviour was never very guarded, fome- 
 times made fome private aflignations which might have 
 been fatal to him. One day, when a Roman lady was to 
 go to the palace incognito, Athenodorus got into a clofe 
 chair, and ordered himiclf to be carried to the apartment 
 of the Emperor. Then, ftepping out, with a fword in, 
 his hand, *' See," faid he, " to what you expofe yourfelf ! 
 *' Are you not afraid that fome republican, or an enraged 
 " hufband, fhould take fuch an opportunity of putting 
 " you to death f" Auguftus thanked the philofopher for 
 his leflbn, and promifed to reform. He took greater pre- 
 cautions, no doubt, for the future, but his reformation 
 went no farther. Livia, it is well known, to maintain her 
 alcendant over him, was obliged to connive at his infidelities. 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 
 f Julian in his Epiftles mentions more than once the 
 philoibpher Areus, and the eiteem which Auguflus had 
 for him. Certainly if by philofophy are meant the phi- 
 lofophers, (lie cannot but be well fatisfied with Auguftus. 
 Such equivocal expreffions are too common. Hid. 
 
 Areus is mentioned in the Epiftle to Themiftius, (fee p. 
 25. and note *) and in Epiftle LT. 
 
 VOL. I. O " offence
 
 I94 T H E C JE S A R S. 
 
 " offence againft philofophy. As Rome, I faw, had 
 44 been frequently reduced to the laft extremity by 
 44 inteftine divifions, I fo re-eftablifhed her affairs, 
 14 as to render them, by your affiftance, O ye 
 14 Gods, firm and adamantine. Without indulg- 
 14 ing an infatiable ambition, I fludioufly endeav- 
 44 oured to enlarge her dominions ; but I concurred 
 44 with nature in fixing the rivers Danube and 
 44 Euphrates as their boundaries. After having fub- 
 " dued the Scythians and Thracians, I did not 
 4 employ the long reign with which you indulged 
 " me in meditating war after war, but devoted my 
 44 leifure to the correction of the evils which war 
 44 had occafioned, and to legislation ; in which, I 
 " apprehend, I did not confult the public wel- 
 * 4 fare lefs than my predeceflbrs ; nay, if I mnft 
 " boldly fpeak the truth, I confulted it more than 
 " any who have governed fuch an empire. For 
 " fome who have commanded armies, when they 
 44 might at length have refted in peace, have made 
 44 one war the pretence for another, as the litigious 
 " contrive law-fuits. Others, when forced into a 
 4< war, have been immerfed in pleafure *, and have 
 44 preferred the moft infamous purfuits, not only 
 44 to their glory, but even to their lives. Well 
 " weighing all thefe things, I do not think myfeif 
 " entitled to the loweft place. But it becomes 
 ft me to acquiefce in whatever you, O ye Gods, 
 <v may pleafe to determine." 
 
 * Alluding to Antony. 
 
 ' - TRA-
 
 T H E C JE S A R S. lr - 
 
 y J 
 
 TRAJAN was appointed to harangue next. 
 Though he had a talent for fpeaking *, fuch was 
 his indolence, that he ufiially employed Sura to 
 compofe his orations. Bawling, rather than fpeak- 
 ing, he difplayed to the Gods his Getic and Par- 
 thian trophies. He then lamented his old age, as 
 if that had prevented him from extending his Par- 
 thian conquefts. ' You fool/ faid Silenus, ' you 
 
 * reigned twenty years, and this ALEXANDER only 
 ' twelve. Why, then, do you hot condemn your 
 ( own indolence, inftead of throwing the blame on 
 
 * want of time ?' Provoked at this taunt, for he was 
 not deficient in eloquence, though it was often 
 blunted by intemperance, TRAJAN added, 
 
 " O Jupiter, and ye Gods, when I aflumed the 
 te reins of government, I found the empire in a 
 6< torpid and divided ftate, occafioned partly by 
 
 * Trajan, it is faid, had written the hiflory of his wars 
 with the Dacians. There is a fliort Greek epigram by 
 him in the Anthotogia. He was hot learned ; but he 
 efteemed and favoured men of letters. When he triumphed , 
 
 over the Dacians, he had in his car the fophift Dion,' 
 Chryfoftom, and, during the proceffion, he frequently 
 turned to fpeak to him. L. Licinius Sura was the confident 
 of Trajan, who loaded him with riches, and raifed hiiii 
 thrice to the confulfhip, The enemies of Sura accufed him! 
 of a defign againft the life of the Emperor. Trajan, by 
 way of anfwer, went to fup with Sura, had his eyes exa- 
 mined by the furgeon, and was fliaved by the barber, of 
 Sura, and flipped with great gaiety. On the next day he 
 fa id to the accufers, ** Confeis that, if Sura wanted to dif- 
 " patch m'e, he yefterday mifled a fine opportunity." After 
 the death of Sura, Trajau borrowed the pen of Hadrian. 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 
 O 2 " the
 
 I9 6 THE C JE S A R S. 
 
 " the tyranny which had long prevailed at home, 
 " and partly by the infults of the Getes abroad *. 
 " I did not hefitate, however, fingly to attack the 
 " nations beyond the Danube. That of the Getes 
 " I fubdued and extirpated; of all the mod war- 
 <f like, not only by their bodily ftrength, but by 
 if the courage with which they are infpired by the 
 " doctrine of their renowned Zamolxis f . For the 
 
 " firm 
 
 * By the Getes may be underftood the Dacians. Dece- 
 balus, king of the Dacians, had obliged Domitian to pur- 
 chafe a peace, of which he endeavoured to cover the dil- 
 grace by a magnificent triumph. " The poets of the 
 *' time," fays M. de Tillemont, " equalled his pretended 
 ' victory to thofe of Alexander and Ctefar." For that 
 they were paid, or expected to be paid ;. but the Romans 
 did not give them credit. Trajan, who was not difpofed 
 to be tributary to the Barbarians, availing himfelf of the 
 firft infraction which Decebalus made, or feemed to make, 
 of the treaty, marched againft the Dacians. They de- 
 fended themfelves with much courage, and even conduct. 
 But at length Decebalus, being reduced to the laft ex- 
 tremities, deftroyed himfelf, and Dacia was made a pro- 
 vince. LA BLETEKIE. 
 
 f Zamolxis was the lawgiver of the Getes. [See p. 152.] 
 Some Greeks pretend that he had been the flave of Py- 
 thagoras j but Herodotus thinks Zamolxis much more 
 ancient. The opinion of the Getes as to the immortality of 
 the foul had an affinity to the metempfychofis : They faid 
 that the dead went to find Zamolxis, and every five years 
 they fent an exprcfs to repreient to him the exigencies of 
 the nation. See Herod. /. iv. 49. 
 
 It muft not be fuppofed, that, before Zamolxis, thofe 
 people believed that the foul perifhed with the body. Za- 
 molxis only published his own private ideas concerning the 
 Hate of feparate fouls. No nation is or ever was perfuaded 
 that all ends with death. No nation has received from its 
 lawgivers the belief cf another life ; the lawgivers have 
 
 every
 
 THE C JE S A R S. I 97 
 
 " firm perfuafion that they fliall not perifli, but 
 " only change their place of .abode, makes them 
 " always prepared as tor a journey. This enter- 
 " prife I completed in lefs than five years. Of 
 " all the Emperors who preceded me * not one 
 " was fo mild to his fubj.eicis, nor can that be 
 " contefted with me even with this CJESAR, be- 
 " fore imrivalleS in clemency, nor by any other. 
 " The Parthians, till they infulted me, I thought it 
 " unjuft to attack ; but after they had infulted me, 
 (( neither my age, nor the laws which allowed me 
 " to quit the fervice +, prevented my invading 
 
 every where found it. Some hrive not mentioned this 
 dodtrine, becaufe it was fufficiently eftablifhed. Others 
 have mentioned it, not in order to prove it, which was by 
 no means neceffary, but to particularife it, and to dif- 
 play its confequences. The perfuafion of the immor- 
 tality of the foul, as well as that of the exigence of God, 
 is the tenet of mankind, and the faith of nature. 
 The contrary error is either the frenzy of a philofopher 
 who choofes to be angular, or the interefted wiflt of a li- 
 bertine. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 * In the original, Havli'v ruv -rrgo e/xs ysyovolw* av7wplo(>u 
 u$w 7045 WTJIXOOIS ^aololo.;, " Of all the Emperors who pre- 
 *' ceded me I was the mildcft to my fubjefts." This paf- 
 fage, by which Trajan confounds bimfelf with his prede- 
 cellbrs, is fimilar to that of Milton (noticed by Addifon in 
 the Spectator, N 285.) in which Adam and Eve are ranked 
 among their polterity. 
 
 Adam, the goodlieft man of men fince born 
 His fons, the faireft of her daughters Eve. 
 
 f Regularly, every Roman, after twenty years fervice, 
 was exempted from bearing arms. Trajan had ferved from 
 his earlieft youth. He was fifty-five years old, at leaft, 
 perhaps fifty-feven, when he made war with Coiroes, king 
 of Parthia. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 03 " them.
 
 I9 3 THEG^SARS. 
 
 " them. Thus circumftanced, am not I, who was 
 " eminently mild to my fubje&s and formidable 
 " to my enemies, and who revered your divine 
 " daughter, Philofophy, juftly entitled to fuperior 
 " honours, and even to the firft rank I" 
 
 TRAJAN having concluded, it was allowed that 
 he excelled all in clemency, a virtue particularly 
 pleating to the Gods. 
 
 MARCUS AURELIUS then beginning to fpeak, Si- 
 lenus faid, in a low voice, to Bacchus, ' Let us 
 ' hear which of his wonderful paradoxes and 
 ' aphorifms this Stoic will produce.' But he ? 
 fixing his eyes on Jupiter and the other Gods, thus 
 addreffed them : 
 
 " I have no oceafion, O Jupiter and ye Gods, 
 " to harangue or difpute. If you were ignorant 
 '.' of my actions, it would be proper for me to ac- 
 *' quaint you with them j but as you are privy tp 
 " them, and nothing is concealed from you, you 
 " will honour me as I deferve." 
 
 Thus MARCUS, as in every thing elfe, feemed 
 worthy of admiration for his extraordinary pru- 
 dence in knowing when to fpeak, and when to be 
 filent *. 
 
 * Thjs is an imitation of a verfe of JEfchylus, quoted 
 by Auius Gellius. Jn this particular, the pretended copy 
 of Marcus Aurejus did not refemble his origina-1. Julian 
 Jpoke much and often. Lingua: fvftoris et aclmcdiun raro 
 J'.'tntis, lays Arr.mianus. LA BLh.rt.RiE. 
 
 CQN-
 
 THE C M S A R S. i 99 
 
 CONSTANTINE * was then fummoned to fpeak. 
 He entered the lifts with confidence; but when he 
 reflected on the aftions of his competitors, his own 
 feerred trivial and inconfiderable. He defeated, it 
 is true, two tyrants f ; one of them unwarlike and 
 
 pufil- 
 
 * Every impartial reader muft perceive and condemn the 
 partiality of Julian againft his uncle and the Chriftian re- 
 ligion. On this occalioH the interpreters are compelled, 
 by a more facred intereft, to renounce their allegiance, and 
 defer r the caufe of their author. GIBBON. 
 
 The reflections, or fa realms, on the other candidates are 
 confined to Silenus, or their antagonists. On this occafioa 
 Julian is betrayed by his prejudice into a breach of the 
 unity of character before obferved, by taking, or rather 
 making Mercury, his informant, take a decided part againft 
 Conltantinc. 
 
 f Julian ufes his utmoft endeavours to depreciate the 
 exploits of his uncle. Conftantine was a great general ; 
 and perhaps his moft fubftantial fault is his having been too 
 warlike. If he had good fortune, he deferved it ; and the 
 Pagans themfelves acknowledged that his talents were equal 
 to his goi>d fortune. Jnnumerte in eo animi corforifque vir- 
 tutes clarucrunt, fays Eunopius. Militans glorits appeten- 
 tijfimHS, fortund in bellis profperd fuit ; *verum ita 7ft non fu- 
 peraret indiiftriant, I know that Maxentius was a kind of 
 Sardanapalus, who, remaining at Rome, while his col- 
 legue made war, faid, that he alone was Emperor, and that 
 the others were his lieutenants ; that he conftdered the 
 going from his palace to the gardens of Salluft as a long 
 journey, &c. But he had 200.000 troops, a great deal of 
 money, and good officers " To dethrone him, Conftantine," 
 fays a contemporary author, " with an army lefs numerous 
 *' than that of Alexander when he marched againft Darius,'* 
 that is, with no more than 40,000 men, " malt have forced 
 ic the pafs of Succi, and have gained the battles of Turin, 
 " Breicia, Verona, and Rome, of which the three firft, 
 " at leaft, muft have been very obftinate and bloody.' 1 
 
 With regard to Licinius, he was not above fifty years 
 
 old \vh-u he was defeated at the bntrle of Cibal, and about 
 
 C 4. fixty
 
 200 THEC^ESARS. 
 
 pufillanimous, the other unfortunate and advanced 
 in years, and both of them odious to Gods and 
 men. As for his exploits againft the Barbarians, 
 they were ridiculous. For he, in a manner, paid 
 them tribute, to indulge his love of pleafure. He, 
 flood therefore at a diilance from the Gods, near 
 the entrance of the moon, of whom he was ena- 
 moured *, and, gazing only on her, was regardlefs 
 of the victory. 
 
 How- 
 
 fixty when he loft the battles of Adrianoplc and Chryfo- 
 polis, which rendered Conftantine mailer of the empire. 
 Licinius, with all his vices, was brave and fkilrul in the 
 conduct of war. He made his troops obferve the ancient 
 difcipline witli extreme feverity. Whatever Julian may fay 
 of him, his_age had not at all abated his courage, any more 
 than the vigour of his cpnftitution. He was always proi- 
 perous when he had not Conftantine to encounter. Add, 
 that the reproach with which fome writers have branded 
 Conftantine of breaking his word with Licinius, by putting 
 him to death after having promiied him life, feems removed 
 by the filence of Julian. As to the victories which he 
 gained over the Barbarians, that is, over the Franks, the 
 Germans, the Sarmatians, and the Goths, Julian is the 
 only one who defpifes thole " exploits." It is well known 
 that Conftantine, far from " paying tribute" to the Bar- 
 barians, freed theRomans from that which they paid to the 
 Goths under the honourable name of penfion. But as he 
 took into the fervice of the empire 40,000 men of that 
 nation, the pay which he gave them is probably that which 
 Jnihn calls " tribute." LA BLETEIUE. 
 
 * Why does Julian make Conftantine " enamoured of 
 " the moon ?" This is an aenigma which I have endea- 
 voured to folve. Am I fo fortunate as to have at laft fuc- 
 ceeded ? The reader fhall determine. Antiquaries agree, 
 that, from the earlieft times, the crefcent was the diftinc- 
 tion, or, as we fhould now exprefs it, the arms of Byzan- 
 tium, as it itill continues to be of Conftaminople. Thus, 
 
 when
 
 T H E C JE S A R S. 20l 
 
 However, as it was neceflary for him to fpeak, 
 " In thefe particulars," faid he, " I am fuperior 
 '* to my opponents ; to the Macedonian, in having 
 " fought againft the Romans, Germans, and Scy- 
 " thians, inftead of Afiatic Barbarians ; to CAESAR 
 " and OCTAVIANUS, in not having vanquished, 
 " like them, good and virtuous citizens, but the 
 " moil cruel and wicked tyrants. To TRAJAN 
 '* alfo, for my ftrenuo.us exertions againft tyrants, 
 * I deferve no lefs to be preferred. To recover 
 " the province * which he conquered feems to me 
 
 t ( equally 
 
 when Julian reproaches his uncle with being enamoured of 
 the moon, and attending iblely to her, inftead of thinking 
 of the victory, the author, without detriment to the other 
 ideas to which this reproach may give rife, principally 
 means, that Cqnftantine. wholly devoted to the care of 
 founding and embeliiftiing his new city, had neglected the 
 affairs of ftate, and fuffered his laurels to wither. This is 
 exactly what Zolimus, the copyer of Eunapius and the 
 echo of Julian, imputes to him, by faying, that " Con- 
 " ftantine, after the foundation of Conftantinople, had no 
 *' fuccefs in war; ^kjli^nn ToXiuo li itaJopfiw^iwj, and that 
 *' he iuffered the Barbarians to infult him in his new ca- 
 " pital." LA BLETERIE. 
 
 The above ingenious folution of a difficulty, before infu- / 
 perable, will, I doubt not, be approved by every reader, 
 and adopted by all future commentators on the Cxfars. 
 
 * Meaning Dacia, which Trp.jan had reduced to a pro- 
 vince. Aurelian having abandoned it, it was ufurped by 
 the Goths. There can be no doubt of Conftantine having 
 carried his arms beyond the Danube. The two Victors 
 enumerate, among his great actions, his having made a 
 bridge over that river. But it is certain, that he did 
 not conquer the country of the Dacians. I am convinced 
 that Julian, in order to render him ridiculous, reprefents 
 him as affecting the importance of a conqueror on account 
 
 of
 
 202 
 
 THE C JE S A 11 S. 
 
 " equally meritorious: perhaps to regain is more 
 " laudable than to gain. As to this MARCUS, he, 
 " by faying nothing for himfelf, yields us all the 
 " precedency." 
 
 ( But, CONSTANTINE,' faid SHenus, * why do 
 * you not mention, among your great works, the 
 ' gardens of Adonis * ? " What mean you, " replied 
 CONSTANTINE, u by the gardens of Adonis -|~ ?*' 
 
 of fome advantages which he had gained over the Goths 
 fettled in Dacia ; and perhaps for fome forts which he had 
 ereded on the left of the Danube. With the fame view, 
 Julian makes him draw, from the filence of Marcus 
 Aurelius, the mofl abiurd, and, I may venture to fay, 
 the moft foolifli concjufion that can be imagined. 
 
 LA BLETERIE, 
 
 * Thus Suidas : '' The gardens of Adonis con fitted of 
 " lettuce and fennel, which were fown in pots. It is ufed 
 *' as a proverb of things immature, or, when in feafon, 
 ** flight, and not rooted, not lafting, but adhering only 
 " to the furface." See Athen, 1. iv. c. 8. and Arria.Vs 
 Epiftetus. CA,NTOCLARUS. 
 
 Thus Shakfpeare fays, 
 Thy promifes are like Adonis' gardens, 
 That one day bloom'd, and fruitful were the next. 
 
 i Hen. IV. Ad. I. Sc. II. 
 
 And Mr. Bramftone, in his Man of Tafte. (Dodfley's 
 Poems, Vol. I.) fays, 
 
 Pots o'er the door I'll place, like cirs balconies, 
 Which Bentiey calls the gardens of Adonis ; 
 and refers to Bentley's Milton, b. IX. vcr. 439. 
 
 thofe gardens feign'd 
 
 Or of reviv'cl Adonis. 
 
 He nvght have referred to much more ancient writers 
 than Miiron or his commentaror, whom one would not 
 have expetecl to have been ridiculed for this expreifion by 
 a ichchr. 
 
 -j- Could Conflantine, though a Chriftian, be ignorant 
 
 of the rites of a religion which he had long praclifed ? If 
 
 1 ir.iihike not, he is here meant to be accufecl on the moft 
 
 ...r.n fubjcdts. LA'BI-ETERIE.
 
 THEC^ESARS. 
 
 * Pots/anfwered Silenus,' filled with earth, in which 
 
 * women fow herbs in honour of that lover * of 
 
 * Venus. They flourifii for a fhort time, but foon 
 ' fade.' At this CONSTANTINE blufhed, knowing 
 it to be intended as a farcafmon his own actions. 
 
 Silence being proclaimed, it was expected that 
 the Gods would immediately have determined the 
 pre-eminence by their votes. But they thought it 
 proper firft to examine the intentions of the can- 
 didates, and not merely to collect them from their 
 actions, in which Fortune had the greateft ihare ; 
 and that Goddefs, being prefent, loudly reproached 
 them all, OCTAVIANUS alone excepted, who, Ihe 
 faid, had always been grateful to her. Of this the 
 Gods apprifed Mercury, and commanded him to 
 begin with afking ALEXANDER " what he 
 *' thought the highefl excellence, and what 
 " was his principal view in all the great actions 
 " and labours of his life ?" He replied, * Univerfal 
 ' conquefl.' " And in this," faid Mercury, did 
 " you think you fucceeded r" ' Certainly/ an- 
 fvvered ALEXANDER. Silenus added, with a fneer- 
 ing laugh, " You forget that you were often con- 
 ?' quered by my daughters," meaning vines ; and 
 ridiculing ALEXANDER for his intemperance. 
 ALEXANDER, well verfed in the Peripatetic apho- 
 rifms, replied, ' Things inanimate cannot conquer. 
 ' There can be no contention with them, but only 
 6 with men or animals.' At this, Silenus ironically 
 
 * A% (" hufband") in the original. 
 
 exp re fling;
 
 204 T H E C M S A R S. 
 
 expreffing his admiration, exclaimed, " Alas ! alas ! 
 " how great are the fubterfuges of logicians ! But 
 "' in what clafs will you rank yourfelf, among 
 *' things inanimate, or among the animate and 
 "living?" ALEXANDER, with fome difpleafure, 
 replied, * Be lefs fevere ; fuch was my mag- 
 ' nimity, that I was convinced that I fliould be, 
 c nay that I was, a God.' " You allow then/* 
 faid Silenus, "that you were often conquered by 
 f< yourfelf, when anger, grief, or fome other paffion 
 " debafed and debilitated your mind." * But,' 
 anfwered ALEXANDER, * for any one to conquer 
 ' himfelf, and to be conquered by himfelf, are fy- 
 ' nonymous. I am talking of my victories over 
 ' others.' " Fie upon your logic!" returned Si- 
 lenus ; c < how it detefts my fophiftry ! But when 
 " you were wounded in India #, and Peucefles lay 
 ' near you, and you, almoft breathlefs, were car- 
 tf ned out of the city, were you conquered by him 
 " who wounded you, or did you conquer him ?" 
 ' I not only conquered him,' replied ALEXANDER, 
 , * but I alfo deftroyedthe city.' " Not you, indeed, 
 (( you Immortal," faid Silenus j" you lay like Homer's 
 
 * Alexander, when he was befieging the capital of the 
 Oxydracre, according to Quintus Curtius, but, as others 
 lay,, of the Mallians, was fo rafli as to leap alone into 
 the city, where he was dangeroufly wounded with an 
 arrpw by an Indian, who, believing him dead, then ad- 
 vanced tq ftrip him. Alexander, however, recovering, 
 killed him with his dagger, and was foon after refcued by 
 his ibldiers, and carried off to his tent almoft dead. 
 
 LA BLETERIE, 
 
 He^or,
 
 THE CAESARS. 
 
 " Hector *, languid, and almoft expiring ; others 
 *' fought and conquered." ' True, anfwer'ed 
 ALEXANDER, ' but under my command/ " How 
 " could they obey you," faid Silenus, " who were 
 " carried out almofl dead ?" 
 
 He then fung thefe verfes of Euripides -f* : 
 " Unjufl the cuitom of the Greeks; the troops 
 " The battle gain, their leaders gain the glory." 
 
 * Say no more, my dear father/ faid Bacchus, 
 
 * left he fhould treat you as he treated Clitus.' 
 At this ALEXANDER blufhed, wept, and was 
 filent. 
 
 This difcourfe ended, Mercury thus interrogated 
 CAESAR : tf What, CAESAR, was the principal view 
 " of your life ?" c To excell .my contemporaries,* 
 he replied, ' and neither to be, nor to be thought, 
 
 * fecond to any." " This," faid Mercury, ' is 
 
 not quite clear. In what did you particularly 
 wifh to excell, in wifdom or eloquence, in mili- 
 tary skill, or political abilities?" * In every 
 < thing,' anfwered C ESAR. ' I was defirous of be* 
 
 * ing the firft of men ; but, as that was impoffible, 
 ' I endeavoured to be the moft powerful of my 
 ' fellow-citizens.' " And had you much power 
 " among them:" faid Silenus. ' Certainly,' re- 
 
 * When he was wounded by Ajax; II. XIV. 432. and 
 XV. 246. 
 
 f In his Andromache. Clitus is faid to have repeated 
 thefe verfes at a banquet of Alexander, in order to de- 
 preciate his exploits, by which he provoked Alexander to 
 kill him, as Quintus Curtius informs us, in his eighth book, 
 and Plutarch, in his Life of Alexander. BARNES. 
 
 3 P lied 
 
 " 
 
 <f
 
 T H E C IE S A R S. 
 
 plied CAESAR, for I became their governor,' 
 " That," returned Silenus, " you might be j but 
 '* you could never gain their love, though, for 
 " that purpofe,- you difiembled much humanity, 
 " afting a part like a player, and meanly fiatter- 
 " ing all men.'* ' What !' faid C^SAR ; was I 
 ' n'ot loved by the people who persecuted Brutus 
 
 * and Caffius?' " That," replied Silenus, " was 
 ** not becaufe they had murdered you ; for on that 
 ' account the people made them confuls * ; but 
 *' for the fake of your money, as foon as they had 
 " heard your will, and found that no fmall reward 
 *' was given to thofe who mould be their enemies." 
 
 This difcourfe alfo being concluded, Mercury 
 thus accofted OCTAVIANUS: ' Will you alfo tell us 
 
 * what Was your principal view ?' He replied, 
 " To feign well." " What means that ?" faid 
 
 * This is contrary to hiftory. Brutus and Caffius were 
 not nominated to the confulfhip by the people. The 
 former was to have filled that place four years after, but 
 that was an arrangement made by Czefar. Though, ia 
 {read of warn;, " coniuls," we fhould read a^v^Kra^ 
 <l pro- confuls, *" Julian would ftill be miftaken. It was 
 not the people, bur the lenate, that invefted Brutus and 
 Caffius with pro-confnlar power in the provinces of which 
 thofe two republicans had taken pofTcffion. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 M. de la Bleterie has altered this paffage, in his tranf- 
 lation, to " they thought them worthy of the confulfhip 
 " for having killed you." I cannot allow myfelf fuch. a 
 liberty, remembering the rule of Rofcommon, 
 Your author always will the beft advife, 
 Fall when he falls : 
 
 A tranflator may correct his author in the notes, but 
 in the text he fhould let him fpeak his own language. 
 
 Silenus,
 
 THE CJESARS. 
 
 207 
 
 Silenus. te Explain, AUGUSTUS, as this is pretended 
 " even by the wicked. Even Dionyfius * thought 
 " that he reigned v/ell ; and fo did the flill more 
 " abandoned Agathocles *." < You know then,' 
 replied OCTAVIANUS, * ye Gods, that when I 
 4 parted with my grand fon -f-, I prayed you -to 
 
 * give him the courage of CAESAR, the conduct of 
 4 Pompey, and my good fortune/ " Many flatues 
 " of Gods," faid Silenns, " moft curioufly carved, 
 " of Gods of great merit, have been fent us by 
 " this ftatuary." * Why,' anfwered OCTAVIANUS, - 
 ' do you give me that ridiculous appellation?' 
 (t As Nymphs are carved," he replied, " have not 
 <{ you formed Gods, one of whom, and the prin- 
 " cipal, is thisC^SARr" OCTAVIANUS blufhed |, 
 and faid no more. 
 
 Mercury then, addrefling himfelf to TRAJAN, 
 asked, * what end his aftions had in view?' * The 
 " fame," he replied, " as thofe of ALEXANDER, 
 <{ but with more moderation/' r So you were 
 ' conquered,' faid Silenus, c by more ignoble paf- 
 c fions. He was frequently fubdued by anger, 
 
 * you by the vilefl and moil difgraceful plea- 
 
 * Tyrants of Syracufe well kno<l r n. 
 
 f Aiignftus wilhed this to C. Cscfar, the eldeft fon of 
 Agrippa and Julia, when he lent him to wage war in the 
 call. LA BLETESIE. 
 
 J Auguftus had reafon to blufh at thofe extravagant 
 apotheoies ; and Julian was in the right to ridicule them. 
 But ftiould he not have reflected that many of tiu Gods 
 whom he worfhipped were no more than images a litt'e 
 older ? Magii e IcHgin^uo re-veren'ia. Ibid. 
 
 * furts.
 
 208 T H E C JE S A R S. 
 
 ' fures '*, u Plague on jou !" faid Bacchus. " Your 
 " farcafms prevent their fpeaking for themfelves. 
 tf A truce with your jokes, and confider now what 
 " you can find reprehenfible in MARCUS ; for he 
 *' feems to me, in the fenfe of Simonides -f-, per- 
 tf feft and faultlefs J." Then Mercury, turning 
 towards MARCUS, faid> ' And what, O fage, did 
 ' you think the greateft happinefs ?' With a low 
 voice, and with great diffidence, he replied, ce fo 
 " imitate the Gods.*' This anfwer Was immedi- 
 ately deemed highly noble and praife-worthy. 
 Nor would Mercury quefHon him any farther* 
 convinced that MARCUS would always anfwer with 
 equal propriety. In this opinion all the other 
 Gods concurred. Silenus only exclaimed, { By 
 c Bacchus, I will not fpare this fophift . Why 
 4 did you formerly eat bread and drink wine, and 
 ' not neclar and ambrofia, like ns ?' " Not in 
 " order to imitate the Gods/' replied he, *' but 
 " to nouriili my body, from a perfuafion, whether 
 " true or falfe, that your bodies alfo require 
 
 * Yet Pliny the younger makes an admirable elogium ort 
 the chaftity of Trajan. Rely on panegyrifts. LA BLETERIE* 
 
 f A native of Ceos, one of the Cyclades, diflinguilhed 
 by his elegiac verfes. His anfwer to Hiero's queflion, 
 " What is God ?" is well known. 
 
 J; In the original, T/lgayawof, " four-cornered," or 
 " fquare." This expreffion occurs in one of the fragments 
 of this poet fiiil preferred. 
 
 No one lefs deierves the name of fophift than Marcus 
 Aurelius. " A great proof of the regard of the Gods for 
 " me," fays he, ..." is that having a very great love 
 *' for philosophy, I have never fallen into the hands of any 
 " fophift; that I have not amufed myfelf with reading 
 " their books, or unravelling their vain fubtleties, &c." 
 Me litailons of Marcus Antoninus, LA BLETERIE. 
 
 being
 
 THE CAESARS. 
 
 " being noun (bed by the fumes of facrifices *. I 
 " did not, however, think that you were to be imi- 
 " tated in this, but in your minds." Silenus, as 
 moch ftunned at this as if he had been ftruck by a 
 skilful boxer, replied, * This is fomewhat plau- 
 ' fible | ; but tell me now, in what did you for- 
 ' merly think, that the imitation of the Gods coh- 
 1 fitted ?' MARCUS anfwered, " In having as few 
 " wants, and doing as much good, as poffible.'* 
 f What ! hnd you no wants ?' faid Silenus. " As 
 " to myfclf," replied MARCUS, " I had none; but 
 " my body perhaps had a few." MARCUS feem- 
 ing in this alfo to have anfwered wifely, Silenus at 
 laft infilled on what he thought improper and 
 unjuft in the conduct of MARCUS towards his 
 wife and fon, his enrolling her among the God- 
 defits, and entruvVmg the empire to him. c In 
 1 this alfo,' faid MARCUS, * I imitated the Gods. 
 ' For I pradliled that maxim of Homer, 
 
 * Julian adopts this grofs- conception by afcriblng it to 
 his favourite Marcus Antoninus. The Stoics and Platonifts 
 hefitated between the analogy of bodies and the purity of 
 ipirits ; yet the graved philofophers inclined to the 
 Whimfical fancy of Ariftophanes and Julian, that an un- 
 believing ?ge might ftarve the immortal Gods. GIEBCN. 
 
 f Tbe Gods of Julian are not jealous Gods. On the con- 
 trary, they are of a good compofition, according to the ar- 
 rogant philof >phyof the Stoics, who were fo chimerical as to 
 imagine, that man has no need of any inward fupport, and 
 that he may become like to God without any other ftrength 
 than that of nature. *' In which man," faid they, " has 
 " the advantage of Jupiter hinafelf. Jupiter is good by 
 " nature, but the wile man is good by his own choice." 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 
 VOL. I. P The
 
 THE C # S A R S. 
 
 * The wife whom choice and paffion both approve, 
 f Sure every wife and worthy man \vul love *. 
 
 * And as to my fon, I am juftified in my behaviour 
 ' by that of Jupiter himfelf. " I ihould long ago,'" 
 ' fa'd he to Mars, " have transfixed thee with a 
 " thuuder-bolt, if I had not loved thee, beuaufe thou 
 ** art my fon f ." * Befides, I never imagined that 
 
 * COMMODUS would have proved fo profligate. And 
 f though his youth, aflailed on all fides by ftrong 
 
 * temptations, was hurried away by the word, I 
 ( entruiled the government - to one 'not yet cor- 
 ' rupted. Afterwards, indeed, he became wicked. 
 ' My tendernefs therefore to my wife was copied 
 
 * from the example of the divine Achilles J, and 
 
 'that 
 
 ,* Pope, 450. This is fa id by Achilles, on the fubjedt 
 'of Brifeis, ' . hbm he confiders as his wife, and whom Aga- 
 memnon r d taken from 'him, II. IX. 343. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 Julian, after Homer, ftyles Brifeis " the wife" (ya^la?) 
 of Ach'iles, as he had before ftyled Adonis " the husband'* 
 (c^) of Venus. One would think he had readThelyphthora. 
 
 f This is the fubftance 'of what Jupiter fays to Mars. 
 II. V. 896, 5:c. 
 
 J It is impoffible fully to juflify the vveaknefs of Marcus 
 Aurelius in regard to his wife. ', Julian, hovyever, might 
 have made him ofier a more plaufible excufe than a maxim 
 true in general, but liable to forne exceptions; and which, 
 for having come from the mouth of the divine Achilles, an 
 authority very weak in point of conduit, was not the more 
 applicable to the cafe of Marcus Aurelius. He might 
 have alleged, not in his juftification, but .as an excufe, 
 that, never fufpecling evil, and judging of others by him- 
 felf, he had thought that his wife was what (he ought to 
 have been. Whatever fome hiftorians may fay, Marcus 
 Aurelius was ignorant of the irregularities of Fauftina, as 
 he thanks the Gods " for having given him a wife fo good- 
 
 " natured
 
 T H E C JE S A R S. 2IX 
 
 ' that to my fon * was in imitation of the fupreme 
 ' Jupiter ; and, befides, in both thefe I was guilty 
 
 of 
 
 " natured and obliging, full of tendernefs for her husband, 
 * and of a wonderful ftmplicity of manners." Meditations 
 of Marcus Antoninus, 1. i. XVII. 
 
 " This ought not to feem very furprifing," fays Madam 
 Dacier, " if we confider, on one fide, the fimplicity of 
 " Antoninus," (fo (lie always calls Marcus Aurelius) " and, 
 ** on the other, the genius of Fauftina, who had no lefs 
 " art than beauty, and who had captivated the emperor 
 '* by all the external demonftrations of a tendernefs, which 
 ** appeared great in proportion to its fa'fhood. Half as 
 " much would have been fufficienc to deceive a man much 
 " more diftruftful and fufpicious than Antoninus. If, after 
 " this, any are obftihately aftonifhed at his ignorance," 
 continues Madam'Dacier, " I have no objection, perfuaded, 
 " that thofe who are fo aftoniftied are in the fame fituation ; 
 " for the world abounds with fuch examples, and there is 
 " nothing of which women are more capable than fuch 
 *' diffimuhtion." 
 
 Madam Dacier adds, that, " if, in the fatire of the 
 " Casfars, this prince, inftead of excnfing himfelf on ac- 
 ** count of his ignorance, alleges the maxim of Achilles, 
 " and the example of other emperors, who have paid the 
 ** fame honours to their wives, though they were no more 
 *' worthy than Fauftina, the reafon probably was, that 
 " Julian meant to include in this fatire the wives of Ha- 
 " drian, Vefpafian, and Auguftus." That may be. But 
 I rather think that Julian imagined he had aniwered every 
 thing when he had quoted fome verfe of Homer. 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 
 The deification of Fauftina is the only defect which 
 Julian's criticifm is able to difcover in the all-accompliflied 
 Marcus Aurelius. GIBBON. 
 
 Another " defect," obferved by Julian in Marcus Aure- 
 lius, was the entrufting the empire to his fon. See p. 209. 
 
 * We will not lay, with the Emperor Severus, that 
 Marcus Aurelius ought to have put his fon Commodus to 
 death. But the faults, which paternal tendernefs made that 
 philofophical Emperor commit, are utterly inex'cufable in fo 
 
 P 2 great
 
 THE C JE. S A R S. 
 
 * of no innovation. It is the general cuftom for 
 ' fons to fucceed to the inheritance of their fathers, 
 ' and this is alfo the wifh of all. Nor was I 
 ' the firft who decreed divine honours to a wife, 
 
 * there being many precedents. To have intro- 
 
 * duced it might perhaps have been unreasonable ; 
 s but to prevent the nearefl relations from fol- 
 ' lowing a cuftom eftablifhed by others, would be 
 4 unjuft. But I forget myfelf, and h.ave been too 
 ' prolix in my apology to you, O Jupiter and ye 
 
 great a man. I know that he at firft took all poffible 
 methods to give his fon an excellent education. But fome 
 corrupters infmuated themfelves into the favour of that 
 prince. It ii faid, that, when Marcus Aurelius removed 
 them, Commodus was fo chagrined as to be ill, and that 
 his father had the weaknefs to reftore them to him. 
 
 Be that as it may, one of thefe three things muft be 
 allowed ; either Marcus Aurelius was apprifed of the bad 
 inclinations of his fon ; or he confidered him as a young 
 man wavering between good and evil; or, laftly, he thought 
 him folidly virtuous. In the firft cafe, the empire not being 
 hereditary, Marcus Aurelius Ihould have cauied the fenate 
 to name him another fuccefibr, and not have falfiiied the 
 fair fpeeches which he himfelf had made : " May my 
 <k children perifh, if they lefs delerve to be loved than 
 ** thofe of Cafliiis, and if their lives are not ufeful to the 
 " republic!" In the fecond cafe, was the love of his 
 country displayed by eMpofing it to the nfk of having a vicious 
 Emperor ? On the third fuppofition, how can this prince 
 be exculpated for having depended too much on the virtues 
 which he thought he law in a child ? He made the fenate 
 confer on him, at the age of fifteen or fixteen at moft, both 
 . the confnlfhip, and the tribunitial power, a.nd even the title 
 of Auguftus ; and by that in a mannef divsfted himfelf of 
 paternal authority. Antoninus had not done fo much in 
 favour of Marcus Aurelius himfelf, though he was fo early 
 attached to virtue. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 < Gods,
 
 T H E C JE S A R S. 213 
 
 * Gods, who know all things. Pardon me this 
 
 * indifcretion.' 
 
 When MARCUS had finiftied his fpeech, Mer- 
 cury interrogated CONSTANTINE, and afked him, 
 * What good end he had in view ?" ' Having 
 ' amafTed great riches */ he replied, ' to disburfe 
 ' them liberally in the gratification of my own de- 
 
 * fires, and thofe of my friends/ At this, Silenus 
 burft into a fit of loud langhter, and faid, *' You 
 " now wifli to pafs for a bunker f ; but how can 
 
 " you 
 
 * It is difficult to conceive that Conftantine did not op. 
 prefs his fubje&s. I mean, that he did not lay fome new 
 burthen upon them, and even that he granted fome dimi- 
 nution of the old ones, according to M. de Tillemont. 
 However, if we confider the flate in which the empire muft 
 be, after fo many civil wars, after having fuffered the reigns 
 of that crowd of Emperors and Cojfars, or rather tyrants, 
 each of whom expended as much as a fingle fovereign, we 
 fhall allow that, in fuch circumftances, the defign of found- 
 ing a new capital, and of making Constantinople at once 
 equal to Rome, the work of fo many ages, was not that 
 of a prince fufliciently intent on the welfare of his fubje&s. 
 But to fay that, in amafling wealth, his objed was to 
 fatisfy the paifions of others, is unjuilly to render him re- 
 fponfible for the abules which were made of his liberality 
 by fome of his friends, whom perhaps he had not chofen 
 with fuffxdent difcermnent. To pretend that his view was 
 to fatisfy his own palTions is a calumny v unlefs it means his 
 paffion for New Rome : that paffion, however, did not fo 
 exhaufl. his trcafi.res as to leave him nothing to diftribute 
 in immenfe charities, in building and endowing churches, 
 and in magnificently rewarding men of letters and artitts. 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 
 f To underlhnd this farcaftic p'eafantry of Silenus, we 
 muft fuppofethat the bankers at that time lived and cirefled 
 very penunouily. *' As by your own confeffion," fays 
 
 p Silenus,
 
 '214- THE C /E S A R S. 
 
 " you forget your living like a cook, or a liair- 
 " dreffer ? This your hair and looks formerly 
 
 Silenus, " you employed yourfelf in receiving and counting 
 " money, like a banker, you ought to have lived and 
 " drefled like one. You ought not to have indulged your- 
 " felf in good cheer, in inventing new ragouts, in paying 
 " fo much attention to your hair." The table of Con- 
 ftantine was ferved with magnificence. By his medals it is 
 thought that he was perhaps too curious in drefs. Eufe- 
 bius mentions fome white hair that was among the pre- 
 fents which were fent him by Barbarian kings *. He wore 
 gold-flowered fluffs, and a diadem adorned with jewels and 
 pearls. What a fcandal to Julian, who banifhed from his 
 palace all the cooks, who lived on vegetables, who ne- 
 glefted his hair and his perfon, on whom the diadem fat 
 fo heavy that he retained it only through policy ! He muft 
 have been enraged at him who had made the ufe of it 
 common, and by that means laid his fuccefTors under the 
 oeceffity of wearing it. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 The drefs and manners, which, towards the decline of 
 life, he chofe to affect, ferved only to degrade him in the 
 eyes of mankind. The Afiatic pomp, which had been 
 adopted by the pride of Diocletian, affumecl an air of 
 foftnefs and effeminuncy in the perfon of Conftantine. He 
 is reprefented with falfe hair of various colours, laborioufly 
 arranged by the fkilful artifts of the times, a diadem of a 
 new and more expcnfivc fafhion, a profufion of gems and 
 pearls, of collars and bracelets, and a variegated flowing 
 robe of filk, moft curioufly embroidered with flowers of 
 gold. In fuch apparel, fcarccly to be excufed in the youth 
 and folly of Elagabalus, \ve are at a lofs to difcover the 
 wifdom of an aged monarch, and the fimplicity of a Roman 
 veteran. Julian, in the Coefars, attempts to ridicule his 
 uncle. His fulpicious teftimony is confirmed, however, 
 by the learned Spanheim, with the authority of medals. 
 Eufebius alleges, that *' Conflantine drefTcd for the public, 
 *' not for himfelf." Were this admitted, the vaineft cox- 
 comb could never want an excufe. GIBBON. 
 
 * Sec Eufebius's Life of Conftantinc IV. 
 
 " proved,
 
 T H E C ^E S A R S. 
 
 " proved, but now your words demonftrate." 
 Thus feverely farcaftic was Silenus. 
 
 Silence being proclaimed, the Gods gave their 
 votes privately. Moft were in favour of MARCUS *, 
 but Jupiter, after difcourfing apart with his father, 
 ordered Mercury to make the following procla- 
 mation : * All you who have engaged in this con- 
 ' teft, know, that, by our laws and decrees, the 
 ' vidtor is allowed to rejoice, but not to infult the 
 ( vanquiflied. Depart then wherever you pleafe, 
 f under the patronage of the Gods, and, for the 
 ' future, refiding here, let every one choofe fome 
 ( guardian and protector.' 
 
 ALEXANDER immediately haflened to Hercules, 
 and OCTAVIANUS to Apollo ; but MARCUS at- 
 tached himfelf clofely both to Jupiter and Saturn. 
 CJESAR wandered about, and ran here and there, 
 'till Mars and Venus, moved with compaflion, 
 called him to them. TRAJAN joined ALEXANDER, 
 as if he would feat himfelf in the fame place. 
 But CONSTANTINE not finding among the Gods 
 the model of his aftions, and perceiving the God- 
 defs of Pleafure, repaired to her. She received 
 him very courteoufly, embraced him, and then 
 dreffing him in a woman's variegated gown, and 
 
 * Julian was fecretly inclined to prefer a Greek to a 
 Roman. But when he ferioufly compared a hero with a 
 philosopher, he was fenlibie that mankind had much greater 
 obligations to Socrates than to Alexander, GIBBON. 
 
 See his Epiftle to Themiftius, p. 24. 
 
 P 4 nicely
 
 T H E C M S A R S. 
 
 nicely curling his hair, led him away to Luxury *. 
 With her he found one of his fons -)*, who loudly 
 
 proclaimed, 
 
 * A<ralnc.. Julian here perfonifies Luxury, or (as M. de 
 la Bleterie tranflates it) Debauchery, and places her among 
 the Gods, in the fame manner as he had before deified 
 pleafure (T^vft*), and Repentance (M/]a^EX.) 
 
 j- This fon, whom Conftantine finds with Debauchery, is 
 not one of the three who had followed him to the banquet, 
 and whom, Julian fays a little lower, their father " led 
 " out of the affcmbly of the Gods." Me here means , 
 Crifpus, the eldeft of all, a pupil of the celebrated Lac- 
 tantius, and known by his tragical death ft ill more than 
 by his victories. But why does Julian place near De- . 
 bauchery that prince whom hiftory mentions as an unfor- 
 tunate hero ? Is it becaufe he thought him guilty of the 
 crime of which his ftep-mother accufed him ? No ; that 
 would tend to the exculpation of Conftantine. It is rather 
 owing to Julian's continuing to treat a manner of living 
 lefs fmgular than his own as effeminacy and debauchery. 
 Crifpus was charged by the Emprefs Fauita with the fame 
 crime of which Phaedra had formerly accufed Hippolytus, 
 and of intending to dethrone his father. Conftantine, too 
 credulous, put his fon to death, and foon after, having 
 difcovered the innocence of Crifpus, he punifhed the falie 
 accufer with a rigour that was confidcred as a new crime. 
 
 Thefe two deaths, and that of his nephew, young 
 Licinius, are indeed enormous crimes, which might have 
 been expiated by the baptifrn which Conftantine received 
 before he, died. But we rnny judge of the effet which 
 they produced on fuch fupeiiicial and corrupt minds as 
 imputed to religion the faults, of its profefibrs, both by the 
 blafphemies of Julian and of modern infidels. Without 
 pretending to penetrate into the judgments of God, we 
 may confider, with M.de Tilleinont, as the chaftifement of 
 thefe cruel actions of Conihmtine, both the faults which 
 the Arians made him commit, and the extinction of his 
 family, which feemed likely to continue for many ages ; yet, 
 . numerous as it was, perifhed in lefs than forty years, by 
 fuch a, variety of bloody and untimely deaths, as excite? 
 horror. NO-VJ therefore the fixord JJjtdl not ikpart front 
 
 thine
 
 T H E C J S A R S. 2I? 
 
 proclaimed, " Let all, whether they be libertines, 
 " or murderers, or whatever be their crimes *, 
 
 " boldly 
 
 thine houfe . . . lecaufe tbou haft given g'-eat occafiiin to the 
 cnc/nia of the Lord to blafpbeme. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 Such haughty contempt for the opinion of mankind, 
 whilft it imprints an indelible difgrace on the memory of 
 Conftantine, muft remind us of the very different behaviour 
 of one of the greateft monarch? of the p relent age. The 
 Czar Peter, in the full pofleffion of deljpotic power, fub- 
 mitted to the judgment of Ruffia, of Europe, and of pof- 
 terity, the reafons which had compelled him to fubfcribe 
 the condemnation of a criminal, or, at leaft, a degenerate 
 fon. GIBBON. 
 
 * One would think, at firft, that Julian alludes to the 
 ftory which the Pagans of the fifth century circulated 
 on the fubiect of the converllon of Conftantine. They 
 faid, that that prince, ftruck with remorfe for having put 
 his fon and his wife to death, having afced Sopater, chief 
 of the Platonic fchool, and the Pagan pontiffs, whether 
 the religion of the Gentiles had any expiation to efface 
 fuch crimes, anfwered him, that it had not ; that, in con- 
 fequence, Conftantine had a conference with a certain 
 .'Egyptian, who had come from Spain to Rome, and was well 
 known to the women of the palace ; that this Egyptian and 
 fome bifhops allured him that the Chriftian religion would 
 give him what the Pagans refufed him ; and that there was 
 no kind of wickedneis which could not be walhed in the 
 blood of Jefus Chrift ; and that, upon their anfwer, he 
 embraced Chriftianity, and declared himfelf its protestor. 
 
 This relation proves that the Pagans did not confider 
 Conftantine as a man without confcience ; and that, mote 
 equitable than our free-thinkers, they afcribed his change, 
 not to policy, but to convittion. If the ftory were true, 
 there would be no more pretence to infult us for the faults 
 of Conflantine, as he muit have committed them in the 
 darknefs of idolatry. But tnith obliges me to fay, that the 
 fa6t cannot be fupported. For, i. as Sozomen remarks, 
 the philofopher Sopater, being well verfed in the religion 
 of the Gentilez, could not be ignorant that it had fome 
 pretended expiations for fuch calcs 33 :hst of Conftantine. 
 4 2. It
 
 2 18 T H E C JE S A R S. 
 
 " boldly advance, for by fprinkling them with 
 " water, I will immediately make them pure. And 
 
 " if 
 
 2. It- is not credible that the pontiffs of the idols fhould 
 have been fo filly as to lay him under an abfolute neceffity 
 of providing himfelf e'fewhere. If they had not had ex- 
 piations, they would have invented them, to quiet the con- 
 fcience of an Emperor whom they faw on the eve of de- 
 ferting them, and throwing himfelf into the arms of the 
 ChriiHans. 3. Crifpus, Faufta, and young Licimus died 
 in 326 ; and in the year 312 Conilantine acknowledged the 
 Chriftian religion as the only true one. 
 
 Julian was too well acquainted with the hiftory of his 
 family, and the nsra of the converfion of Conftantine, to 
 have had in view a fable, which he coniidered as a fable, 
 fuppofing that in his time it had been yet invented. I 
 imagine therefore that this apoftate introduces Crifpus 
 vaunting the efficacy of baptifm and repentance, in order 
 to infinuate, by that profane irony, that the profpecT: of the 
 refources offered to fmners by the Chriftian religion had 
 emboldened Conftantine to flied the blood of his relations. 
 It was a common calumny with the Pagans to fay, that 
 ChrifHanity favoured the corruption of men by promifmg 
 pardon to the greateft crimes; as if thegofpel promifes any 
 thing to incorrigible finners, or affurcs them that they {hall 
 have time and the will to reform. 
 
 This calumny is the more atrocious in the mouth of 
 Julian, as, having been of the clergy, he muft be better 
 acquainted with the fpirit of the church, with the wife 
 precautions and long probations that fhe employs to be 
 ruTured of the converfion both of catechumens and of 
 penitents. A religion, which did not offer to the moft mife- 
 rable man a method cf recovering the favour of God, would 
 be an ineffectual religion, and little worthy of the goodnefs 
 of God who would have all men faved. It would indeed 
 favour corruption by plunging or leaving the guilty iu c!e- 
 fpair. A religion, which fiiould pretend to efface crimes by 
 mere ceremonies, without reforming the criminal, would be 
 no more than a farce, a defpicable palliative, likely to ex- 
 afptrate the difeafe, but not to cure it. Chritfianity ob- 
 ferves the jull mean. Adapted to the wants of mankind, 
 
 and
 
 THE CAESARS. 
 
 " if they fhould relapfe, they need only fmite 
 " their breads and beat their heads, and they will 
 " again be purified." 
 
 and worthy of the fan&ity of its author, it prefents men, 
 to whatever abyfs of degradation and mifery vice may have 
 reduced them, with a line which condu&s them ftrait to 
 God, provided, and not elfe, that they become new men 
 in and by Jems Chrift. In all times, fome, feparating the 
 promife from the condition, have aflumed, by a deplorable 
 abufe, a kind of title to fin more boldly. But God for- 
 bid, that, on the word of an accufer, who guefles and can- 
 not prove, we fhould think that Conftantine was of that 
 number, and that the expectation of baptifm fhould have 
 influenced him to actions for which he is juftly reproached ! 
 After all, it is not the fault of phyfic, if, from the uncer- 
 tain hope of the affiftnnce that it offers, fome are fo ex- 
 travagant as to aggravate their difeafes. 
 
 Befides the ilanderous imputation jufl mentioned, I per- 
 ceive in the words of Crifpus a iatirical ftroke which is not 
 undeferved. By the confeilion of Eufebius (which is faying 
 every thing) Conftantine did not enough diftinguifli from 
 true Chriftians thofe who embraced Christianity only to 
 make their fortunes. " By their hypocrify and artifice," 
 fays Eufebius, *' they infinuated themfelves into the favour 
 44 of the Emperor, and much injured his reputation." Julian 
 therefore here means to reproach Conftantine for having 
 over-looked everything, and pardoned every thing, provided 
 his religion was profefled. But why did not the cenfor 
 perceive, that he himfelf is more juftly entitled to the like 
 cenfure ? Neither the uncle nor the nephew had fufficient 
 delicacy as to their profelytes. Yet they muft have been 
 well acquainted with a memorable ftorj of Conftantins. 
 Chlorus. That prince, at the time when his collegues 
 were perfecuting Chriftianity with fire and fword, af- 
 fcmbled fuch officers of his palace, and governors of his 
 provinces, as were Chriflians, and gave them the alter- 
 native, either of retaining their places, by facrificing to the 
 Gods, or of lofing them by adhering to their religion. 
 When they had all made their options, he faid to. the pre- 
 
 varicators.
 
 THE C^ESAPvS. 
 
 To this Goddefs CONSTANTINE gladly devoted 
 himfeif, and with her conduced his fons out of the 
 affembly of the Gods. But the Deities who punifh 
 atheifm * and bloodfhed avenged on him and them 
 the murder of their relations f, till Jupiter, in fa- 
 vour of CLAUDIUS J and CONSTANTIUS, gave 
 them fome refpite. 
 
 varicators, " You have bafe and venal minds. I cafhier 
 *' you, and banifh you for ever from my palace. He who 
 *' betrays his confcience is capable of betraying me. As 
 " for you," faid he to the others, " I give you my eiteem 
 " and confidence. A man is faithful to his prince and 
 " the community when he is faithful to his God." He 
 retained them in his fervice, and entrufted them with the 
 guard of his perfon, and the principal affairs of ftate ; 
 considering them as his fureft friends and real treafures. 
 I mail conclude this long note, or rather differtation, with 
 obferving that M. de Tillemont queftions whether Crifpus 
 had received baptifm. The fpeech which Julian ailigns to 
 him leaves no room to doubt it. But it was not before 
 perceived that it is Crifpus who fpeaks in this paffage. 
 
 LA BLETEB.IE. 
 
 Dr. Bentley, under the borrowed name of Phileieutherus 
 Lipfienfis, ftyles this " a ridiculous and ftale banter, ufed 
 " by Celfus and others, before Julian, upon the Chriflian 
 " doctrines of baptifm, and repentance, and remifiion of 
 *' fins," and has refuted it at large in his Remarks on a 
 late difcourfe of Free-thinking, xhi. 
 
 * Julian treats the Chriftians as atheilts, becaufe they 
 reject the plurality of Gods, and acknowledge one only. 
 
 L* BLETE RIE. 
 
 f After the death of Conftantine, the foldiers laid 
 violent hands on his three brothers, and five of his nephews. 
 Conilantins was confidered as guilty of this maflacre, and 
 Julian probably means to charge with it Conflantine the 
 younger alfo, and Conflans. Be that as it may, the two 
 latter made war on each other, and Conftantine the younger 
 was killed near Aquileia by the troops of Conflans. That 
 Conftantius put Gallus to death is well known. Ibid. 
 
 j Claudius II. mentioned p. 167, 
 
 " As
 
 THE C u S A ITS. 221 
 
 " As for you," faid Mercury, iiddreffing hin> 
 felf to me, " I have introduced you to the know- 
 " ledge of your father the Sun * ; obey then his 
 " dictates, making him your guide and fecure 
 " refuge, while you live ; and when you kare 
 " the world, adopt him, with good hopes, for 
 " your tutelar God." 
 
 * Julian, as foon as he rofe, always addrefled a prayer 
 to Mercury. He thotight himfelf under the protection of 
 that God. We have laid in the preface,, and lhall again 
 obferve in another place, that by the Sun he underftands 
 the Demiurgus, or Logos. LA BLETERIF. 
 
 The
 
 222 
 
 i JULIUS CJESAR, died 44 
 A.D. 
 
 THE CAESARS. 
 
 The following Lift of the Roman Emperors, from 
 JULIUS CAESAR to JULIAN, will give a fuccinift 
 view of all that are mentioned, and all that are 
 omitted, in the foregoing Satire. 
 
 Before Xt. 
 
 26 * Maximin, died 
 
 and 
 Maximus 
 
 27 Pupienus 
 
 and 
 Balbinus 
 
 28 Gordian 
 
 29 Philip 
 
 30 Dccius 
 
 31 Gallus 
 
 32 f Valerian 
 
 33 f Gallienus 
 
 34 Claudius II. 
 
 35 Aurelian 
 
 36 Tacitus 
 
 37 Probus 
 
 38 f Carus 
 
 f Carinus 
 
 and 
 f Numerian 
 
 39 Diocletian -j 
 
 and > refigned 305 
 Maximian J 
 4oConftantius-Chlorusd.3o6 
 
 2 AUGUSTUS 
 
 14 
 
 3 Tiberius 
 
 37 
 
 4 * Caligula 
 
 41 
 
 <; Claudius I. 
 
 54 
 
 ' 6'* Nero 
 
 68 
 
 [Vmdex] 
 
 68 
 
 7 Galba 
 
 68 
 
 8 Otho 
 
 69 
 
 9 Vitellius 
 
 69 
 
 10 Vefpafiaji 
 
 79 
 
 ii Titus 
 
 81 
 
 12 * Domitian 
 
 96 
 
 13 Nerva 
 
 98 
 
 14 TRAJAN 
 
 117 
 
 15 Hadrian 
 
 137 
 
 1 6 Antoninus Pius 
 
 161 
 
 MARCUS AURELIUS 180 
 and 
 
 A. D. 
 
 ,38 
 
 ,38 
 243 
 249 
 251 
 252 
 260 
 268 
 270 
 275 
 276 
 282 
 284 
 285 
 
 284 
 
 Lucius Verus 
 
 18 f Commodus 
 
 19 Pertinax 
 
 20 Julian I. 
 ii Severus 
 
 22 * Caracalla 
 
 and 
 Geta 
 
 23 f Macrinus 
 
 and 
 Diadumenus 
 
 24 -j- Eliagabalus 
 
 35 Alexander Severus 
 
 169 
 193 
 193 
 193 
 
 21 I 
 
 4 1 
 
 and 
 
 j- Galerius 311 
 
 f CONST AN TINE THE 
 
 337 
 
 212 GREAT 
 
 218 and 
 
 f Licinius 
 
 218 42 f Conilantine II. 
 222 f Conftantius 
 
 235 and 
 
 f Conftans 
 43 JULIAN II. 
 
 N. B. Thofe marked f were excluded the ailembly ; tluoie * 
 were thrown into Tartarus ; and thofe in Italicks are not mentioned. 
 Vmdex, though mentioned, was not Emperor. And Tiberius r 
 Commodus, and Elagabalus, though they eicaped Tartarus, de- 
 ibrved it. The 
 
 3 2 3 
 
 340 
 361 
 
 350 
 3 6 3
 
 t "3 ] 
 
 ; i 
 m \/r' i A 
 
 The MISOPOGON T , or the,ANTiocHiAN *. 
 < tw ~ 
 
 A NACREON f compofed many ludicrous A. D. 
 g~ *" poems , the Fates having endowed him 
 with a fportive vein. ; But. neither A learns ,-' nor 
 
 Archi- 
 
 * Being jeered by the Antiochians,.and feveral afperfions 
 having been thrown on his bearcfin" particular, Julian took 
 his Revenge in this fatire, in which, by a figurative repre- 
 henfion of himfelf, he drew his keen pen againit the man- 
 ners and .luxury of the people of Antioch. This, work, 
 and its fubjec"t, are mentioned by Ammianus, /. xxii. 
 Zofimus, /. in. Gregory Naziarizen, Grat. 11. on Julian, 
 and Socrates, /. in. 'c. 17. PETAV- 
 
 It feems as if Julian meant in forne fort to confound hiiw- 
 
 felf with his beard, .which was ib dear to him tn?.t it, 4^~ 
 
 pleafed the inhabitant? of- Antioch." After all, the title of 
 
 a book frequently refers to fome pafTage pnly in the v/ork. 
 
 LA BJ.ETERIE. 
 
 Inftead of abufmg, or exerting, the authority., of the 
 flate, to revenge his perfonal injuries, Julian aoiitented 
 himfelf with an inoffenfive mode' of retaliation \vhich it 
 would be in the power of few princes to employ. He h/id 
 been infulted by iatires and libels ; in his turn, he cooi- 
 pofed, under the title of " The Enemy of the Beard," 
 an ironical confeffion of his own faults, and a fevere fatire 
 on the licentious and eiT^ninate manners of Antioch. 
 This imperial reply was publickly expofed before the gates 
 of the palace, and the Mifopogon flill remains a fingular 
 monument of the refcntment, the wit, the humanity, and 
 the indifrretion of Julian. GIBSON. 
 
 The fatire of Julian, and the homilies of St. Chry- 
 foftom, exhibit the fame picture of Antioch. Ibid. 
 
 In like manner, Hadrian, it is obfervable, was alfo 
 much offended with the levity and petulance of the An- 
 tiochians, and had thoughts of disjoining Phoenicia from 
 Syria, that their city might not continue the metropolis of 
 fo many others. 
 
 A Lyric
 
 224 T H E M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 Archilochus * of Paros, were favoured by the 
 
 Gods with a Mufe who had a talent for mirth and 
 
 /A 
 pleafantry ; for when they were opprefled with 
 
 misfortunes, they had recourfe to the Mufes, and 
 alleviated the weight of their cares by railing at 
 their enemies. The law, however, , forbids me, as 
 well as every one elfe, to accufe any by name]], 
 
 even 
 
 f A Lyric poet of Teos, a city in Ionia, who wrote 
 many more odes than are tranfmitted to us, as Horace 
 fays, perfttpe ca<vd tajludine Jlevit amorcm. Epod. xiv. 4.. 
 
 j We read in the editions, " Anacreca made many 
 
 *' ierious and ludicrous poems," ;#** o-tpia, xcu ^aM>l. 
 
 Whether this poet wrote any thing but fongs, is the quef- 
 
 rbn. By faying, that u Anacreon made fome ferious verfes," 
 
 Julian would lay the direct contrary of what he meant. I 
 
 thiuk therefore that the text flioul be corrected, and the 
 
 word Tffrva fubftituted, or that we mould only read ;#*nv/a. 
 
 In one of the MSS. of the King's library, which has been 
 
 lent me, the words at^.K * are not to be found ; and the 
 
 other informs the reader, that there are fome MSS. in 
 
 which thofe words do not occur. LA BLETEUIE. 
 
 A native of Mitylene. From him the Alcaic verfes 
 
 -derive their name'. His pieces were fevere fatires againfc 
 
 the tyrant? of l^esbos, Fittacns in particular. His ^le, 
 
 according tb Qniutilian, was lofty, and much refembled 
 
 thnt of Homer. 
 
 * See p. 131. 
 
 |l The Roman hw?, beginning \vith thofe fubfequeut 
 to the xir table?, condemn fcverely the authors of defa- 
 matory iibc's. Julian, though in joke, is glad to {hew that 
 he has a republican fpirit. He confidered the Emperors as 
 juftly iubjecT: to ail the laws, except thofe with which they 
 had fpecifically difpenfed. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 Peribnal fatire was condemned by the law of the twelve 
 tables. 
 
 SI r,:ala cor.d'ulerit In quern guis carmina, jus eft 
 JuiltcitJ}}iqtie. Hor. 
 
 Julian owns himfelf fubjecl: to the law, and the Abbe 
 dc la Bleterie has eagerly embraced a declaration fo agree- 
 able
 
 T H E M I S O P (3 G O N: 
 
 even of thofe, who, as I have in no refpeft in- 
 jured them, are hoftile aggreffors. And, befides, 
 the mode of education, which is at prefent purfued 
 by pcrfons of fafhion *, deprives me of the har- 
 
 mony 
 
 able to his own fyftem, and indeed to the true fpirit of the 
 Imperial conititution. GIBBON. 
 
 * I do not remember elfevvhere to have read that poetry 
 was then i'o much decried. However that might be, in 
 Greece the age of verfe was not then over : witnefs St. 
 Gregory ,Nazienztn, whofe' fublime and truly Homeric 
 poems prove that genius and enthufiafm require not the 
 affiftaqcC of fable. Julian himfelf was a poet; and Li- 
 banius informs ur, that there was a collection of verfcs 
 made by that prince to celebrate the arrival of fome men 
 of learning at his court. Two fmall pieces of his writino- 
 are all that now remain. In one of them, he elegantly 
 and forcibly defcribes an organ, confiding, like ours, of 
 pipes, bellows, and flops. The other is an epigram 
 *' againft beer." It mull have been made in the Gauls, 
 
 LA ELETIiRIE. 
 
 Of the latter, M. de la.Bleterie has given a paraphrafe, 
 or imitation, in French. The following are clofe tranf- 
 lations of them both. The originals, as literary curi- 
 olities, are annexed. 
 
 The Emperor Julian on an Organ. 
 
 Reeds ftrike my wond'ring eyes, unknown before, 
 Sprung from Ibine brazen foil, fome foreign fliore ; 
 Fruitlefs our efforts, for in vain we blow, 
 Till, from a cave of leather, winds below 
 To hollow pipes harmonious powers impart : 
 Then, if foriie matter, in ta' Orphean art 
 Kxperienc'd, touch rhe well -according keys, 
 Inllant they warble, and refponlive pleafe. 
 
 'y-XP 1 - P&^v* tut&tariif9>* apf^*;;. 
 
 AX ?. -j reti'sfir,; ^"f-crvfi'J c",7r,'*.v-"yo: ctjlw 
 
 VOL. 1. Q
 
 THE MISOPOGON. 
 
 mony of numbers. For it feems now as difho- 
 nourable to cultivate poetry, as it was in former 
 times to be unjuftly rich. 
 
 Merfennus has inferted a Latin tranflation of this epi- 
 gram, in his lib. in. De Organis, p. 113. and Zarlino r 
 who wrote in 1571, is of opinion, that the organ here 
 mentioned was eflentially the fame with the organ of his 
 time. But the introduction of it into churches is generally 
 afcribed to Pope Vitellianus, who was advanced to the Pon- 
 tificate, A. D. 663. Dr. Prieuley indeed (Hiftory of the 
 Corruptions of Chriftianity, vol. II. p'. 122.) by fome mif- 
 take. fuppofes it to be introduced into churches by Ma'imis 
 Sanutus fo late as 1312. An organ is mentioned by 
 Gervafe the monk, who wrote hi 1200, as having been 
 fometime erefted in Canterbury Cathedral, over St. 
 Michael's chapel (uli organafoltnt effe), and the foundation 
 of its loft remains to this day. An hydraulic organ (of 
 xvhich Sir John Hawkins has given a fketch from Kircher) 
 is defcribed by Vitruvius, who lived in the reign of Au- 
 guftus. The following note is from Dr, Burney. 
 
 The moft ancient proof of an inftrument refcmbling a 
 modern organ blown by bellows, and played by keys, very 
 different from the Hydraulicon (or water-orgun) which is of 
 much higher antiquity, is a Greek epigram in the dtbn- 
 logia^ attributed to the Emperor Julian the Apoflate, who 
 fiourifhed abov.t 364 J. 
 
 I fiiall here give a literal tranflatioti of this epigram, 
 which, though it contain no very beautiful or poetical 
 images, will anfwer the hiitoricai purpofe of aicertalning 
 
 * A tall fturdy fel'ov/. " alluding to the force neceffisry to beat 
 ilo.vn that kind of clumfy cariilon keys of this mdc jiiftn.. 
 of new invention. BURN:. v- 
 
 f The rulers of the pipes, literally keys. laid. 
 
 \ This is 2 fmall chronological miftake. a Julian died in June. 
 1*3. 
 
 the
 
 THE M 1 S O P O G O N. 
 
 I will nor, however, totally difclaim the aflifl:- 
 nnce of the Mufes. I have feen the barbarous 
 nations beyond the Rhine delighted with the 
 melody of fa v age mufic, whofe notes referable the 
 diflbnant fcreams of birds. , 'Bad muficians difgufb 
 
 the exiftence of an inflrument in the fourth century, which 
 in many particulars refembled a modern organ. 
 
 " I fee reeds of a new fpecies, the growth of another 
 " and a brazen foil ; fuch as are not agitated by our winds* 
 ** but by a blaft that nifties from a leathern cavern be- 
 *' neath their rodts ; while a robuft mortal, running with 
 *' fwift fingers over the concordant keys, makes them, as 
 " they fmoothly dance, utter concordant founds.'* 
 
 Nothing material is omitted in the verfion of this epi* 
 
 gram, or rather enigma, upon the organ, though not a 
 
 very ingenious one ; for the word a/Xa, ibe pipes, difcovers 
 
 the whole myftcry. BURNEY* 
 
 The Emperor Julian on Barley*vrine 
 
 Who, \vhat art thou ? thy name, thy birth declare : 
 
 Thou art no Bacchus, I by Bacchus fwear. 
 
 Jove's fort alone T know, I know hot thee ; 
 
 Thou fmeirft like goats, but fweet as nec"tar he. 
 
 In Gallia, thirity Gallia, thou vvert born, 
 
 Scanty of grapes, but prodigal of corn. 
 
 Bfomus, not Brcmius, ftyl'd, thy brows with corn, 
 
 As fprung from Ceres, not from Jove, adorn. 
 
 The turn, or pun* at the conclufion, cannot be preferved 
 in Englifh. Bromius was one name of Bacchus, from B^cu*'* 
 " to rave," like the Bacchanals. And Julian gives the 
 name of Bromns to beer, from B^s/xs.;, cats." Such, however^ 
 is the improvement of climates, that modern Gaul pro- 
 daces as much and a-s good wines as Italy ; and Britain more 
 and better beer than ancient Gaul. 
 
 iX'.w,- et: o; atra xpin,-. , 
 
 Tic; 5roSeir;, AniVfcre ; f**y^ TUV y.^r^ia, BJSXJ/O, 
 
 Oy tr'e~w, iu(T*.u' Tor Aio; oda, ixovo . 
 Keco; fxi o$x$f' cv o- Tfatyoy. i\ ex ai Ki/fei 
 
 TV, -ztHr, $-Sl;vu* Tet|v a^r' ara%f^>. 
 Ti- crt y^i\ xyJiKH* Ar}w.Tcioy, a A'ovycrov, 
 *.ai Bji^or, H fl^id*. 
 
 O ?. their
 
 thtlr hearers, but they are naturally pleafiog ta 
 themfelves. Reflecting on this, I have been wont 
 to whifper to rayfelf, not indeed with equal addrefs, 
 but, I am certain, with equal magnanimity, what 
 Ifmenias * faid of old, " 1 will fmg for the Mufes 
 " and niyfelf/' But my fong is in profe, and will 
 contain many bitter farcafms, not on others, by 
 Jupiter, (for how can that be, as they are illegal :) 
 but on the author himfelf. For no law forbids 
 my \\riting a panegyrick or fatire on my fell ; 
 though if I were defirous of praifmg myfelf, I could 
 not, but blame I can in many inftances. 
 
 And, firft, I will begin with my face. To this, 
 formed by nature not over beautiful, graceful, or 
 becoming, my own perverfenefs and fmgularity 
 have added this long beard f, to punifli it, as it 
 
 were, 
 
 * Ifmenias was a very fkilful player on the flute. Julian 
 is the only one who afcribes to him this expreflion. Cicero, 
 [in his Brutus, c. 50.} puts one very like it in the mouth 
 ot Antigenidas, another player on the flute, who, in order 
 to encourage one of his Icholars, whom the public did not 
 relifh, faid to him, " Play for the Mules, and for me." 
 
 LA ELETEKIS. 
 
 t Some friends, for whole underftamling and tafte I have 
 the high eft rcfpecl, iuppofmg thetnfelves to fpeak in the 
 name of the nation, requefted me to fupprefs entirely the 
 idea which Julian here conveys. It is only by fufferance 
 that they have allowed me to intimate it by one rapid word. 
 For my own part, I was afraid of giving a handle to infi- 
 delity. ..Will the French delicacy go fo far as to fallify 
 authors ? The more dilgufting this paflage of Julian is, the 
 more it characlerifes him ? and every thing that charac- 
 tcrifes, when it does not offend good manners or religion, 
 
 fliould
 
 T H E M I S O P O G O N. 229 
 
 were, for no other reafon but becaufe Nature has 
 not made it handfome. Therefore I fuffer lice to. 
 fcamper about it, like beads through a thicket : I 
 cannot indulge myfelf in eating voracioufly, and 
 mud be cautious of opening my mouth wide when 
 I drink, left I fwallow as many hairs as crumbs. 
 As for kiffing, and being kifled, they give me not 
 the leaft trouble. . 
 
 .Yet amongft other inconveniences of my beard, 
 this is one, that it prevents ray joining pure lips 
 to fmootji, and, I think, much fweeter lips, as was 
 formerly obferved * by one, who, infpired by Pan 
 
 fliould he facred to a tranflafor. As the notes admit any 
 tiling, here follows a faithful tranilation of the paflage in 
 queftidn ; excepting that the original calls the things by 
 their n'ame. [In the French tranflation therefore $6*ftii 
 " lice/' are rendered by <k pet its anin-aux incommodes^ *' fome 
 " little troublefome animals," which might as well be fleas, 
 And why not eks infctlcs, or Jc la vermine ?~\ That a Roman 
 emperor fliould boait of fuch a circumftance, and that he 
 Jhould boail of it falleiy, as I fuppofe, is, literally Ipeakr 
 ing, a fingular ilroke, which paints Julian better than a 
 thoufr.nd volumes. LA BLETESIE.' 
 
 The friends of the Abbe de la Blete'rie adjured him, in 
 the name of the French nation, not to tranflate this paf- 
 iage fo oflenfive to their delicacy. Like him, I have con- 
 tented myfelf with a traniient allufion ; but the little ani- 
 mal,- which Tulian name?, '- is a beaft familiar to man, 
 " ,-nci fignifies love." [Shakfpeare, 2 Hen. IV.] GIBBON. 
 
 Mr. Gibbon's " traniient allufion" is " the fliaggy and 
 " populous beard," and '^ la letrbe longue et pcuplce* is th<; 
 " rapid word" of M. de la Bleterie. 
 
 Theocritus, Idyll, xii. 32. 
 O? $e KI !j^4stai] yXtix.ffcJlf^a %>." XAvj, x. T. X. 
 
 He who fliall lips to lips moil fweetly join, &c. 
 leaking of a garland that was prefented at the tomb of 
 Diodes to the youth who gave the fweeteil kifs.
 
 THE M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 and Calliope, made feme verfes on Daphnis *. You 
 fay, that " it is only fit to twifl into ropes." That 
 1 would readily allow, provided you could fo art- 
 fully extract the briftles, as to prevent their hurting 
 your foft and tender fingers. Think not that this 
 offends me ; .for t will give ycu a reafon why I 
 wear a chin like a goat, inftead of making ic 
 finooth and bare like thofe of beautiful boys, 
 and of all women by nature lovely. You, fuch is 
 the delicacy, and perhaps fimplicity, of your man- 
 ners, even when old, imitate your fons and daugh- 
 ters by ftudioufly (having" your chins, thus dif- 
 playing the man by the forehead only, and not, 
 like me, by the cheeks. But not contented with 
 this length of beard, my head is alfo nafty and 
 feldom combed, my nails are unpared, and my 
 fingers are ufually black with ink. And> to tell 
 you a fecrct, my hoforn too is rough and hairy, 
 like the mane of the lion, king of beafts, nor 
 have I ever made it fmooth, fuch is my mcannefs 
 and iliiberaiity. If I had any wart, J would 
 readily 'difclofe ir, as Cimon did, but at prefeot 
 in truth I have none. 
 
 * The fon of Mercury, whofe ftory is fung in. the fi;fr 
 Tdvlh'iin Diotiorus Siculus fuppoi'cs him to have been the 
 tint author of bucolic poetry ; and., agreeably to this, 
 Thcon, /.n old icholiall on Theocritus, .in his note on th-e 
 fnft idyll'uim, ver. 14;. mentioning Daphnis, fays, " he 
 " WHS the inventor of bucolics." Be that as it may, this 
 Paphnis xvas prob;.bly the fir ft I'ubj-jct of bucolic longs. 
 
 FAWK-ES. 
 
 Theocritus hs3 alfo n?) epigram " to, Daphnis fleeping." 
 The above is a noie of the trjunlator. 
 
 Another
 
 THE MISOPOQQN. 
 
 Another circumftance, well known to you, I will 
 alfo mention. Not faiisfied with fuch an uncomely 
 perfon, I lead a very rigid life. I abfent myfe'flF 
 from the theatres, through mere ftupidity -, nor do 
 I allow a play at court, fuch a dolt am I, except 
 on the calends of the year *, when I referable a 
 poor farmer bringing his rent, or taxes, to a ra- 
 pacious landlord ; and when I am there, I feem as 
 folemn as at a facrifice f . As it is not long fmce 
 you faw him, you may recolkcl the youth, the ge- 
 nius, and underftanding of my predeceilbr t; my 
 way of life, fo different from his, is a fufficient proof 
 of my frowardnefs. 
 
 But to add fotnething farther ; I have always 
 hated horfe-races as much as a debtor hates the 
 forum. Therefore I icldom re fort to them, except 
 on the feftivals of the Gods, nor do I ever pafs 
 
 * The calends of January were celebrated by the ancient 
 Heathens with all kinds of public mirth and lafcivioufnefs, 
 and for a long time were devored by the Chriftians to no 
 very different amufements. PETAU. 
 
 f There is in the original a fenfence which I omit. 
 The paffage is certainly faulty, and fo it is thought to be 
 by F. Petau. Literally tranilated it would be thus : " I 
 " have no pofTeffions ; and though I am ftyled the great king, 
 u like a prefect or duke, I am in fad a king, or.general, of 
 " players and charioteers." But this fenfe does not connect 
 with that which precedes and follows if. The MSS. have 
 here given me no affiitancc. LA BI.ETERIE. 
 
 For the fame reafon it k a lib emitted here. 
 
 t Conftantius. It is needlefs to fay, this" is ironical. 
 The " genius and underfhnding" of Conftantius Julian 
 deipifed ; and as to his " youth," he wa 44 year* old 
 when, he died.
 
 THE M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 the whole day there, as was the pra&ice of my 
 coufin *, my uncle -f, and my brother ; but after 
 feeing fix races , and that not with the keennefs 
 of a fportfman, but, by Jupiter, with difguft and 
 averfioii, 1 depart with joy t But enough of my 
 public condufr. And yet how few of my offences 
 againfl you have I mentioned ! 
 
 As to domeftic affairs, fleeplefs nights en ftraw, 
 and food lefs than enough, give a feverky to my 
 manners, totally repugnant to a luxurious city ||. 
 Be not offended with rrve for this **. A great and 
 
 foplifti 
 
 * Conftanthu. 
 
 f -Count Julian. .See Ephlle xm. 
 
 "" 
 
 I Gallus. Julian ityles him (as he was) " his half- 
 ' brother." 
 
 & Out of four and twenty, which was the ufunl number. 
 A twenty-fifth. race, or mffus, was added, to complete .the 
 r,;:!r,bcr of one hundred chariots, lour of which, the four 
 colours, ftarted each heat. 
 
 GentKfli qHadrijiigos agilnbo ad jln-ilna cnrfas. 
 Tt appears that they ran five or feven times round the 
 fa, and (from the meafure of the Circus Mdximtti at Rome, 
 the- Hippodrome at Conftantinople, &c.) it rni^ht be about 
 a fonr-rnile courie. Gi.. 
 
 [i The private life of Julian. in Gaul, and the fevere dif- 
 
 ciplinc which he en.braced, arc difplayed by Aramianus. 
 
 . (.xvi. v } who-prcfciies to praile, aiui by fuiian himielf, 
 
 vvho affects to ridicule, a conduct which in a prince -of the 
 
 tarnily of Conituntine might juiliy excit: the iurprife of 
 
 : nkind. Hid, 
 
 *'* It may not be improper to add here the picture which 
 
 Libanius draws of Julian's manner of life. " Always ab- 
 
 t; nemious, and never opprefied by food, he applied him- 
 
 * lelf to buiniefs with the activity of a bird, and difi>..tdied 
 
 - it with infinite eaie. In one and the fame day he gave 
 " ftvoral audiences ; he vvrore fo cities, to m^ginraLes, to 
 
 generals of armies, to his abfent friends, to ihoie who 
 
 " were
 
 THE M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 foolifh mi flake lias from my childhood induced me 
 to wage \var with my flomach. I therefore never 
 allow it to be filled with food. Confeqnently, to 
 nothing am I fo little addicted as to vomiting: and 
 this, I remember, befell me once only fince I became 
 Cccfar ; and that by accident, not repletion. It 
 may not be arntfs to relate the ftory, not that I 
 think it entertaining, but as it was to me of the 
 utmoft confeqnence. 
 
 I happened to be in winter quarters at my dear 
 Lutetia * ; for fo the Gauls call the town of the 
 
 Parilians. 
 
 " were on the fpot 5 hearing letters read that were addrefied 
 " to him, examining petitions, and dilating with fuch rn- 
 " pidity, that the fhort-hand writers could' not keep pace 
 " with him. He alone had the fee ret of hearing, fpeaking, 
 *' and writing at the fame time ; and in this multitude of 
 * complicated operations he never miflook. After having 
 ' difpatched bufinefs, and dined merely through urgent ne- 
 " cellity, (hutting himfelf up in his library, he read and com- 
 " poieci till i he inilant when affairs of itate fummoned him 
 ' to other labours. A fupper ftill more fparing than the 
 dinner was followed by a fleep as light as his meals. 
 *' He awaked in order to labour witii other fecretaries 
 whom he had allowed to fleep on the preceding day. 
 " His minifters were obliged to relieve each other; but, as 
 < for himfelf, he knew no repoie but the change of em- 
 " ployment. He alone was always labouring, he multi- 
 " plied himfelf, and r: {Turned as many forms as' Proteus. 
 ' Julian was pontiff, author, diviner, judge, general of 
 " the armv, and, in all thefe characters, the father of his 
 *' country.' Lib an. Oral. Parent. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 * Leucetia, or Lutetia, was the ancient name of the 
 city, which, according to the fafhion of the ivth century, 
 )Tnmed the territorial appellation of Parif.i. 
 
 The licenticufnefs and corruption of Antioch recalled to 
 the memory of Julian the fevere and fimple manners of his 
 
 " beloved
 
 234 THE M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 Parifians. It is fituated in a fmall ifland ; two 
 wooden bridges lead to it, and the river feldom 
 rifescr falls, but is generally of the fame depth both 
 in iuiDLner and whiter. The water is very clear 
 to the eye, and pure to the tafte *. This is of great 
 
 importance 
 
 "'beloved Lutetia ;" where the amufements of the theatre 
 vrcre- unknown or defptfcd. He indignantly contrafted the 
 effeminate Syrians with the brave and honeft fimplicity of 
 the Gauls, and almoft forgave the intemperance which was 
 the only {tain, of the Celtic character. If Julian could now 
 jevitit the capital of France, he might converfe with men 
 of fcience and genius, capable of UHderftanding and of 
 imtructing a difciple of the Greeks ; he might excufe the 
 lively and graceful follies of a nation, \vhofe martial fpirit 
 has never been enervated by the indulgence of luxury, and 
 he muft applaud the pcrfedion of that ineftiniable art which 
 Coftcns, and refines, and embellifh.es the vntercourfe of focial 
 life. GIBBON. 
 
 Worthy patriot ! Enlightened philofopher ! 
 Whatever " ibftens, refines, and embellifhes" human life, 
 in a proper degree, is certainly defirable. But why muft 
 I'Yance be commended with fuch warmth of approbation, 
 as if file poffelled this " jneftimable art" exclufively ? I 
 think in this polifhed and enlightened age, the art is 
 known and pra&iled in England, as much as is confluent 
 \vith the national character, and the prefervation of that 
 pnanly fpirit which is ncceflary to the exiftence of civil 
 liberty ; an *' inefiimable" blefllng, which enlarges, and 
 ennobles, and ftcures all the natural rights and enjoyments 
 of human nature. 
 
 I cannot think it confident with a good citizen, and a 
 lover of one's country, to admire and extol the " martial 
 *' fpiiit" of that nation, which is at this moment moft 
 hrftile to all \ve hold dear, and whicli in the prefent war 
 hns behaved with fuch perfidy as would ftigmatife an in- 
 dividual in private life with perpetual difgrace. 
 
 KNOX. 
 
 * Julian gives the water of this river a better cha- 
 r after than is ufually allowed it, in modern times at lealt, 
 
 and
 
 THEMISOPOGON. 235 
 
 importance to the inhabitant?, as they are iflanders. 
 The winter there is extremely mild, which is ar- 
 tributed to the warmth of the fea, it not being 
 above ninety iladia diftant * ; fo that wholefome 
 exhalations from the ocean are perhaps wafted 
 thither, falt-vvater being warmer than frefli. 
 Whether this be the reafon, cv fome other un- 
 known to ire, fuch is the fact, the inhabitants of 
 that country have .mild winters ; good wines there- 
 fore are produced there, and fome have even 
 railed tigs by covering them with mats by way of 
 cloathing, and other fuch prefervatives from the 
 inclemency of the weather. 
 
 The winter was then uncommonly fevere, and 
 the river fupported blocks, as it were, of marble, 
 (you know, without doubt, the Phrygian quarries, 
 which large flakes of ice "f-, floating on each other, 
 greatly refeinble) forming a kind of continual 
 paffage and a dream of bridges. Being, on this 
 occafion, more boorifh than ufual, I would not 
 fuffer my fervants to warm the chamber in which I 
 
 and efpecially by foreigners. A late writer, a Frenchman 
 
 too, exprefTes himfelf thus: *' The Seine-water relaxes 
 ' the ftomach of thofe who are no: ufed to it. Foreigners 
 ' generally fuffcr the inconvenience of a flight diarrhara ; 
 ' but they might avoid it if they had the precaution of 
 4 putting a fpoonful of white vinegar into every pint of. 
 ' water." Tableau efc Paris. 
 * The calculation is juit ; but I will not be anfwerajble 
 
 for the natural philofophy of the Parilias of thofe times. 
 
 '7/v-A. fih^ltrl <^^\ t^ ^>-**t4- . I;A BI.ETERIE. 
 
 f The inhabitants 'of Antioch had never feen the river 
 
 bear. Ibid* 
 
 ilepr,
 
 T H E M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 flepr, though the cold increafed and grew every 
 day more intenfe, left it fhould draw the dimp 
 out of the walls, I only ordered fome lighted 
 brands, and a few live coals, to be carried, in and 
 placed there. Thefe exhaled fo much vapour 
 from the walls, that, my head being .oppreff*.!, I 
 fell afleep, and narrowly escaped fuffjcaticn. But 
 being carried into the air, and, by the advice of my, 
 phyficians, difgorging the food that I had jail 
 fwallowed, though I did not -difcharge much, I 
 was immediately relieved, fo as to pjfs an ealy 
 night, and on the next day I was again fit for 
 
 bufinefs. 
 
 i 
 
 Thus, while I refided among the Gauls, like the 
 Humouriil * of Menander, I led an auftere life. 
 This, however, gave no offence to that ruftic ra- 
 tion -f% But fuch a rich, flourifhing, and populous 
 city as yours is juftly difpleafed ; a city, in_\vhich 
 are many dancers,, many pipers, more players than 
 
 * Aya-xsXo.-,- the title of n comedy of Menander.' 
 
 f- Though the Gauls had long become Romans, foreign 
 warmers had not yet penetrated into the rtorthern parts of 
 Gaul. Folitenefs, with its advantages and inconvehiences; 
 makes the toitr of the world. 7f Julinn were now to re- 
 vifit his " dear Lutetii," would he tnke it for Antioch r 
 No. He would find there fo much love and refpeft for 
 the fovereign, that he ",',ould be foort undeceived. 
 
 LA BI.ETESIE. 
 
 Spoken like a Frenchinnn ! Julian would never have 
 thought highly of the fenfe, or fincerity, of a people v.'ho 
 could " lose and refpe6t" fuch a ipvereign as Louis XV. 
 in whofe reign the above note was written. 
 
 5 citizens,
 
 THE M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 citizens, and no refpecl for fovereigns. A blufh 
 befits only the pufillanimous -, but fuch heroes as 
 you fhould revel in the mcrning, purfue pleafure 
 at night, and not only teach by words, but fliew 
 by deeds, your utter contempt: of the laws. Thofe 
 therefore, who, like you, infult the prince, offer 
 a ft ill greater infult to the laws. That fuch is your 
 delight you frequently and clearly demonftrate, 
 particularly in the forum and the theatre; the 
 people by iliouts and clamour ; the magiflrates by 
 their extravagance, which gains them more diftino 
 lion and applaufe, from all to whom they have 
 given thefe expenfive entertainments, than Solon, 
 the Athenian, obtained from his converfation with 
 Crcefus, king of Lydia *. Ail there are hand- 
 feme, fmooth and beardlefs ; all, both young and 
 old, imitate alike the k happinefs of the Phcea- 
 cians -f-, and 
 
 Variety of drefles, baths, amours, 
 they prefer, without hefitation, to what is juft and 
 right. 
 
 ANTIOCHIAX. And do you think, Julian, that 
 your rufticity, favagenefs, and morofenefs are fuit- 
 
 * Every one knows the journey which Solon took to the 
 court of king Croefus, and the truths which he dared 
 utter to that piince, intoxicated, as he was, with opu- 
 lence and grandeur. LA BLETEIUE. 
 
 -j- The idatul of Phse'.icia is now the ifland of Corfu. 
 Homer, (Od)H'. vin. 249.) reprefents the Phxiiciaas as a 
 nation given xip to good cheer, luxury, mufic, dancing, 
 and all kinds of pleafure. Ibid. 
 
 able
 
 T H E M I S O P O G N. 
 
 able to us ? O thou mod ignorant and odious/* of 
 all men, is your temperate, little animal, as fomei 
 mean mortals have fly led your foul, fo mad and 
 fbolifli, that you think it requires the ornaments 
 and trappings of wifdom? In this you are miflaken j 
 for, firft, tell us, as we know not, what wifdom is? 
 With the name only we are acquainted, but of 
 the meaning we are ignorant. If it be that which 
 you now praftife, it confifts in enforcing fubor- 
 dination to the Gods and the laws, in teaching 
 equals to bear with equals, in obferving mode- 
 ration, in preventing the poor- from being op- 
 preffed by the rich, and, for thefe purpofes, 
 flifling refentment, encountering enmity, anger, 
 reproaches; in fhort, fupporting all thefe with 
 firmnefs, without being provoked, or giving way 
 to paffiori, but keeping it, as much as pofLblt, in 
 proper bounds, and under due fubjection. And 
 if it fliould alfo be deemed a branch of wifdom to 
 renounce even thofe pleafures which are not un- 
 becoming, nor feem difhonourable, from a per- 
 iualion that it is impoffible for any one to be tem- 
 perate at home, and in private, who is diiTolute 
 abroad, and in public, and enamoured of the 
 theatre ; if this too be wifdom, you ruin yourfelf, 
 and you would, alfo ruin us. The very name of 
 
 who nrt moft fond of being hated." 
 This is one of the many Greek words which can only 
 be rendered by a periphrafis. M. de la Bleterie has tranf- 
 lated it h flm hdijjalk. It occurs again in the dole of this 
 iatire, 
 
 i ferykude
 
 T H E M I S O P O G O N. 239 
 
 fcrvitude either to the Gods or the laws difgufts us. 
 Liberty is fweet in all things. 
 
 Of what prevarication are you guilty ? You fay, 
 you are not Lord *, nor can you endure the name. 
 
 You 
 
 * The word Jomlnus, which the Greeks tranflated by 
 xupoj and &cr7roTi)j [or " lord"] properly fignified the power 
 of matters over their ilaves. Under Augufhis, child- 
 ren already gave that name to their father, fometimes 
 brothers gave it to their brothers, and wives to their huf- 
 bands, who returned them that of domina, Auguftus fuf- 
 fered none but his flaves to give him that title, nor even 
 his children and grand-children to treat him as " lord*' 
 by way of joke. Dominum appellari fe nee a liltris quidem 
 ant ncpoiilin fuis <vcl fcrio -vcl joco pajjus eft, atqwe bujufrnji 
 blanditias inter ipfos problbult. Suet. Aug. Satisfied with 
 having deftroyed liberty, he fcrupuloufly banifhed every 
 thing that could induce a thought of flavery. Some one 
 having called Tiberius " Lord," he faid, with an angry 
 look, that he did not like to be affronted. " I am,'* added 
 he, " the prinfce of the fenate, and the general of the- 
 ** army ; bxu I am lord only of my flaves." Caligula took 
 the name of Lord, and even that of God. But none of 
 the emperors who fucceeded him, not even Nero, followed 
 his example, till Domitian, who exprefsly commanded hiin- 
 felf to be called Lord and God, both in letters and iu 
 fpeech. One day, dictating an edifr, he began it with 
 thefe words, ** Our Lord and our God ordains whr.t fol- 
 ' lows," It appears, by the letters of Pliny the younger, 
 that Trajan, averfe as he was to that impious pride, lut- 
 fered himfelf, nevertbelefs, to be called Lord ; but at that 
 vv-c mufl not be furprifcd. The more flavery augmented, 
 the more complimentary the nation became. In the l^me 
 of Seneca they gave each other the title of " Lord," 
 alrooft as commonly as we give one another the appel- 
 lation of " Sir," which. is much lefs fignificant. O.'/tvV.., 
 ft nomcn non fuccwrit, dominos appettamus. Men gave wo- 
 men that of domina as foon as they were fourteen 
 years old. How it was ufed by the fiu:ceflbrs of Trajan 
 is not known. Certain it is, that Alexander, the fon 
 of Mammea, rejefkd the title of Lord as too oftcn-
 
 THE M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 You refcht it fo much, that you have induced 
 many, who were formerly accuftomed to ir, to banifh 
 it from the empire, as invidious ; yet you oblige 
 us to obey the magiflrates and the laws. How 
 much better would it be for us to call you Lord, 
 but in fadt to be allowed freedom ! O mild in ap- 
 pearance *, but in deeds moft cruel ! How un- 
 merciful 
 
 tatious. At la ft this name made part of the ceremonial 
 of the court, and was inferted even in the public monu- 
 ments. It is affirmed, that it is not found on any medal till 
 thofe of Aurelian, and even on them it is rare : it is more 
 common on thofe of Cams, and frequent on thofe of 
 Diocletian, his collegues, and his fucceflbrs. Julian had 
 not time to abolifh it. It is read on many of his. 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 
 As Julian never abolifhed, by any public law, the proud 
 
 appellations of Bejpot., or Dominus, they are flill extant on 
 
 his medals, (Ducatige, Fa?n. JZyzantin. pp. 58, 39.) and the 
 
 private difpleafure which lie affeifted to exprefs only gave a 
 
 different tone to the fervility of the courr. The Abbe de la 
 
 Bleterie has curioufly traced the origin and progreis of the 
 
 word tlomitius under the Imperial government. GIBBON. 
 
 In the Hippoly tus of Euripides, an officer fays to that prince, 
 
 My royal Matter, (for the Gods alone 
 
 Challenge the name of Lord,) &c. 
 
 on which 'Mr. Wodhull obierves, after mentioning the 
 practice of Auguitus and TiberiSs, that " we find, by the; 
 " Miiopogon of Julian, that he followed their example at 
 " Conftantinople" [rather Antioch] " in much later times, 
 *' fvirrounded, as he was, by Aliatic flaves, inured to the 
 *' yokej men to whom the fight of a philofopher on the 
 " throne was fo flrange, that they ridiculed that moderation 
 " in the conduft of their fove reign, which they felt them.- 
 " felves incapable of imitating." 
 
 * In the original, o^nara, (" eyes") perhaps for orofxI 
 (" names") for Julian was called by his friends srgao/aloj y.i 
 q^oG-oQulKicx;, " the mildeft and moft philofophical." Theod. 
 1. in. c. 15. PETAU. 
 
 He
 
 T HE M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 merciful is it to require moderation from the rich 
 in the courts of juftice, and to reftrain the poor 
 from flander! By abolifhing the fbge, the players, 
 and the dancers, you have ruined our city, fo that 
 we have no confolation left, except, r.fter having 
 groaned under your oppreffioris for feven months *, 
 that of referring our prayers for a deliverance from 
 fo great an evil to the old women f who conftamly 
 frequent the tombs of the dead. But we have 
 fucceeded by our fcurrility, transfixing you with 
 farcafms as with arrows. If you are thus intimi- 
 dated by our taunts, how, noble Sir, will you be 
 able to fuftain the darts of the Perfians ? 
 
 But we will now exhibit. another charge. You 
 refort frequently to the temples, perverfe, morofe, 
 and abandoned as you are. On your account, the 
 populace, and even many of the magiftrates, flock 
 thither, and welcome you with Ihouts, accla- 
 mations, and all the fplendid applaufes of the 
 theatre. Why then are you not pleafed ? But, in- 
 
 He had probably in his view that line of Homer's 
 Achilles, 
 
 Thou dog in forehead, but in heart a deer, 
 as Pope tranflates it. 
 
 * Julian arrived at Antioch in the month of July, 362. 
 He therefore compofed the Milbpogon in the month of 
 January, or of February, 363. LABLLTERIE. 
 
 f The churches were generally built over the tomb of 
 fome martyr, Julian fuppoies that the women, more 
 affiduous at' the churches than the men, requeued God by 
 the interceffion of the martyrs to deliver them from him. 
 In that there might be fome truth. Ibul. 
 
 VOL. I. R fteid
 
 T H E M I S O P O G O N, 
 
 flead of approving, you endeavour, in this reipcdt,. 
 to be wifer even than the Pythian *', by haranguing 
 the people, and feverely reproving thofe who cla- 
 mour f ; thus addreffing the mod adtive : " You 
 11 feldom enter the temples, through reverence to 
 " the Gods, but when you refort to them on my ac- 
 " count, you fill their fanctviaries with disturbance. 
 " Men of found minds ihould pray and afk blef- 
 " fings of the Gods in filence, obferviog this rule 
 " of Homer, 
 
 11 Silently pray J 
 " Remember too that Ulyffes checked Euryclea ||, 
 
 * The prieftefs of Apollo, who delivered his oracles 
 {landing on a tripod called 'Cortina, which was placed on 
 the mouth of a hollow in Mount Painaiius, whence pro- 
 ceeded a vapour that affeded the head; and round this 
 hollow was built the temple of Delphi. 
 
 J- In his Lxivth Epiflle Julian reproves the people of 
 Conftantinople on the fame account. 
 
 \ In the vnth book of the Iliad, ver. 193, &c. Ajax, 
 ready to fight with Hedor, fays, 
 
 Now while my brighteft arms my limbs invert, 
 
 To Saturn's fon be all your vows addreil. 
 
 But pray in fecret, left the foes fhould hear, 
 
 And deem your prayers the ineau effect of fear. 
 
 Said I in fecret ? No, your vows declare, 
 
 In fuch a voice as fills the earth and air. Pope, 229. 
 
 How co~uld Julian find, in thefe words of Ajax, a law 
 which enjoins to " pray in filencer" All the Greeks had 
 the practice of quoting Homer at random. It is vexatious 
 to fee authors, infinitely more refpedable than Homer, 
 fometimes quoted with as little propriety. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 1J Euryclea was the nurfe of Ulyffes. See OdyflT. xxn. 
 411. 
 
 *' when
 
 T H E M I S O ? O G O N. 234 
 
 '* When flie loudly exprefled her aftoni(hmer,t at 
 " the greatnefs of the deed ; 
 
 " Woman, eXpericnc'd as thou art, contfoul 
 
 " Indecent joy, and Feaft thy fecret foul *. 
 
 " None of the Trojans in the Iliad, neither 
 " men nor women, are made fuppliant to Priam, 
 * 4 or to any one of his daughters, or fons, liot 
 " even to Hector, though it is faid they extolled 
 " him as a God : but to Minerva all the women, 
 14 he fays, 
 
 *' With hands uplifted, and imploring eyes, 
 
 " Fill all the dome with fopplicating cries |. 
 
 " This, indeed, was f LI it able to Barbarians arid 
 " women, but was no impiety towards the Gods, 
 ** fuch as you commit by praifmg mortals like 
 " Gods, or rather flattering us more than Gods ; 
 ** when, inflead of flittering even them, you had 
 *' much better worfhip them wifely.'' 
 
 JULIAN. I repeat, yon fee, one of thofe re- 
 monftrances which I have been accuftomed to make, 
 and, in (lead of fpeakiiig boldly and freely, with 
 my ufual abfurdity, 1 bear filfe \vitnefs againft 
 myfelf. Are thefe, and the like, proper leflcns for 
 thofe who would treat with freedom not only 
 princes, but alfo the Go. is? Can they deem any 
 one a mild and benevolent parent, who is natu- 
 rally wicked like me ? 
 
 * Pope, 448. 
 
 f Iliad. YI. 301. Pope, ^74,
 
 244 T H E M O S O P O G O N. 
 
 ANT. It is plain then, Julian, that they hate 
 you, and that they jeer you both in public and 
 private, fince thofe who fee and applaud you 
 in the temples you deem flatterers. You have not 
 fludied how to accommodate yourfelf to their ideas, 
 lives, and manners. Well, but who can excufe 
 this ? You fleep almoft every night alone *, nor 
 
 can 
 
 * K>At'oi5 is- itriwav nxluf port*;. " You fleep almofl always 
 " alone." How is this " almnft always" to be reconciled 
 with the perfect continence which the Pagan authors 
 afcribe to Julian, and which none of the Chriilian writers, 
 not even St. Gregory Nazianzen himfelf, deny ? Mamer- 
 tinus fcruples not to fay that " the bed of that prince was 
 ** purer than that of the Veftals." If we believe Libanius, 
 Julian never had the leaft frailty, either before his mar- 
 riage, or after the death of his wife Helena. What that 
 orator lays is fufceptible of no ambiguity or exception. I 
 will content myfelf with quoting the Latin tranflation of 
 Fabricius : Niji conjugii vlnculis a Junone fuijjet innexus, de 
 muttiis bominum amplexilus^ non alia, ratione quam ex libris fer- 
 monilufque edottus, meriturus fuijjet .... Legitimam quidem 
 luxit uxorem ; aliam vero nullam, Jive anfca, five pojl fasminam 
 attigit, &c. 
 
 It may be replied, that Mamertinus and Libanius are 
 pancgyrifts. But what fhall we fay of Ammianus, whofe 
 teftimony is as pofitive as that of Libanius ? Ammianus is 
 a moft judicious hiftorian, and does not fpare Julian for 
 any of his faults. He knew him perfectly, and feems even 
 to have interrogated, on the point in difpute, thofe do- 
 meftics of Julian to whom his frailties, luppofing he had 
 any, could not but be known. Ita inviolatd caftitate enituit, 
 vt poft amiJTam conjugcm^ nihil \inquam venercum agitaret . . . 
 */ ne fufpicione quidem tenus libi dints ulUus vel citerioris vitE 
 miniftris incufaretur. Ammianus was of Antioch. Though 
 he wrote in Latin, he was better acquainted with Greek. 
 He had read the Mifopogon. Perhaps then Martimius, the 
 Latin tranilator of this fatire, M, de Fleury, M. de Tillc- 
 5 mont,
 
 THE M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 can any thing ("often your favage and brutal dif 
 pofition. You have clofed up all the avenues of 
 
 pleafuro 
 
 mont, and mvfelf tranflate this paffage of Julian impro- 
 perly, and the Greek words *;,- wrxt do not lignify here 
 " almoft always," but " always," abfolutely. At leaft, 
 it is certain that t~frra.v occurs in both figniiications. In 
 this cale, I ought to have tranflated it, " You never mare 
 ** your bed with any one." I think, however, that it ought 
 to be trahflated, as I have done," You fhare fcarce ever." 
 This reftridion feems to me a refined but levere raillery 
 againft tlie inhabitants of Antioch, from which nothing 
 can be inferred againft the chaftity of Julian. It is 
 in their name that he abufes himfelf. He muft therefore 
 (peak their language. Throughout the whole fatire he 
 reprefents them as perfons immeried in debauchery, and 
 abandoned to the moft infamous pleafures. People of 
 this character do not believe in virtue. They- fuppofe all 
 men to be vicious, and that they only differ in vice as to 
 the more and the lefs. On the part of Julian, whole morals 
 were fuperior to all fufpicion, it is a ftroke of pleaiantry 
 to reprefent his enemies as perfuaded that his wildom fuf- 
 fered eclipfes, and making, neverthelefs, his excefs of 
 wildom a crime in him. M. cle Tiilemont, who under- 
 ftands the text in queftion literally, and coniidcrs it as a 
 confeffion, which Julian himfelf makes, of his incontinence, 
 obferves, in order to ftrengthen this pretended avowal, that 
 Julian, in an Epiftle to the philofopher Jamblicus [the 
 XLth] fpeaks of the man " who nurfed his children." 
 This learned writer adds, that Codin, in his Antiquities 
 of Conftantinople, mentions fome ftatues of Julian and 
 his children. " Now," fays M. de Tiilemont, " he never 
 " had any legitimate, excepting a fon, who was deftroyed 
 *' by the midwife that was fuborned by the emprefs Eufebia : 
 *' the faft is certain ; he therefore had fome illegitimate." 
 Let us briefly examine thefe two difficulties, always re- 
 membering that the Pagans, on the one fide, pafs an elo- 
 giuin on the chaftity of Julian, the completeft, the moft 
 forcible, and the moil exclutive of the leaft reft riction ; and 
 that, on the other fide, the Chriftians, far from controvert- 
 R 3 i"g
 
 T H E M I S O P G O O N. 
 
 pleafure, and, which is the greateft of evils, you de- 
 light in leading fuch a rigid life, and make pleafur<? 
 the fubjed: of your deteflation. In fhort, you are 
 angry at the mention of this, though you ought 
 rather to thank thofe who have kindly and har- 
 monioufly admonifhed you in anapsfts, firft, to 
 fhave thofe cheeks, and then, having begun with 
 yourfelf, to exhibit all pleafurable entertainment? 
 to this laughter-loving people, fuch as players, 
 dancers, and, in particular, lewd women, public 
 aiTcmblies, and feftivals, not facred indeed, in 
 which wifdom and temperance muft be obferved *, 
 for thefe are .as abundant as acorns, fo as to occa- 
 iluii a general clifguft. 
 
 JULIAN, The Emperor, I allow, facrificed once 
 in .the temple of Jupiter, and afterwards in that of 
 
 Ing tbof: .;'''-> ; : ';r~-, have not fa id, a word that can render^ 
 them lufpected. This eirab'ifhcd, what flrefs ought to be 
 nei 4 :: indication of a modern Greek, fuch as 
 d'eorge Codin, v.-hn is knov/n to have fv.rvived the taking 
 of C'inftantinople by Mahomet II. f 1 It" Julian had had 
 bafhrHs, \vould he have creTfed ftatx-.es to rhem ? Would 
 be, v,-ho faid, thnt " incontinence is fuff.cieht to tarnifh 
 " the \-.- j A life," have publiiued his o-.vn fname, and that 
 of his children, in tender age ? &c. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 For ivhi-it is fiid on the paiTnge above-rnentioned in the 
 XLth P.riftle,' lee the notes'on that EpifUe. 
 
 This lufpicious expreilion (w; sm^av) is explained by the 
 <\bbe dc h-Bleterie, With candour and ingenuity. 
 
 GIBBON. 
 
 * This is not absolutely contrary to what is related of 
 he extravagant proceflions of Julian on the feftivals of 
 Venus snd others. All the Pagan feftivals were not fo li- 
 :"ixious as tiiofe of Venus. LA BI.ETERIE. 
 
 Fortune.
 
 T H E M I S O P O G O N. 247 
 
 Fortune *. He alfo went thrice to that of Ceres, 
 I forget how often I went to the temple of Daphne, 
 that auguft fabrick which was betrayed by the 
 treachery of the keepers, and by the prefiwption 
 of the impious f. On the Syrian calends f , Ccefar 
 
 goes 
 
 * Genius and Fortune i were Dii Contulernaks, and had 
 temples dedicated to them jointly. See Paufax. 'Bteotic. 
 p. 313. Hence what Aramianus calls Getiiitemplum (xxili. 
 i.) Julian here ftyles 'MX*:, the one a ruaie, the. other a 
 female, deity, the images of both being- fe't up together* 
 Modern antiquaries, as well as artiils, by a kind of my- 
 thological folecifm,' have 'Confounded that diftincHan, who 
 call a. female deity the Genius 'of a city. BOVVYER. 
 
 t After Babylas (a. biihop .of Antioch, who died in 
 prifbn in the periecution of Decius) had refled near a: 
 century in his grave, his body, 'by the order of the Cojfar 
 Callus, was tranfported into the mid ft of the grove of 
 Daphne. A magnificent church was erected over his re- 
 mains ; a portion of the facred lands was ufurped for the 
 maintenance of the clergy-, and for the burial of the Chrif* 
 tians nf Antioch, who were ambitious of lying at the feet 
 of their bifhop ; nnd the pricits of Apollo retired, with 
 their affrighted and indignant votaries. As foon .as ano- 
 ther revolution feemed to reilore the fortune of Paganifm, 
 the church of St. Babylas was demolished, and new build- 
 ings were added to the mouldering edifice which had been 
 jaifed by -the piety of Syrian kings. But the firft and moft 
 Icriaus.care.of Julian- was to deliver his opprefTed deity 
 front the odious prefence of the dead and living Chriftiansy 
 u-ho had fo eReftually iV.pprelled the voice of fraud or en- 
 thufiafm. The fcehe of iufeftion was purified, according 
 to the forms of ancient rituals; the bodies were decently 
 removed ; and the minilUrs of the church were permitted 
 to convey the remains of St. Babylas. to their former habi- 
 tation within the walls of Antioch. The modeft behaviour, 
 -.vhich might have afluaged the jealoufy of an hoftile go- 
 vcrnmcat, was, on this occafion, neglected by the zeal of 
 -~he Chriit qns. The lofty car, that tranfported the relics 
 
 R 4 of
 
 THEMISOPO G.O.N. 
 
 of BabyJas, was ^ followed, and accompanied, and re- 
 ceived by an innumerable multitude ; who chanted with 
 thundering acclamations, the Ptalrtis of David the moft ex- 
 preffive of their contempt for idols and idolaters. The re- 
 turn oV the faint was a triumph ; and the triumph was an 
 infult; r 6W ; the religion of the Emperor, who 'exerted his 
 pride to diliertible his.relentraenr. During the night which 
 terminated this indifcreet proceffion [22 Oct. 362.] the 
 temple of Daphne was in flames, the ftatue of Apollo was 
 coniumed, and the walls of the edifice were left a naked 
 and awful monument of ruin. The Chriitians of Antioch 
 affected, with 'religious, confidence,' that the powerful in- 
 terceffion of St. Babylas had pointed, the lightnings of 
 heavea agsinft .the devoted, roof; but 35 Julian was re- 
 duced to the alternative of believing either a crime : or a 
 miracle, he -chafe', without he'fitation,, without evidence, 
 but with forae colour of probability, to impute the fire of 
 Daphne to the revenge of. the Galileans. GIBBON. 
 
 Julian (in Mifopogbn),jather .insinuates, than affirms, 
 their guilt. Annmiahus-.(xxil. 1.3,). treats. the imputation 
 zs.feviJfi-mKs rumor, and.idatcs thg ifcory.ivith extraordinary 
 candour. Ibid. 
 
 I do not find- that Arnmiaous' 'treats?, this rre^ort in the 
 manner here affirmed. All tivit he fays of .it ;is. this.: Suf- 
 picalatur cn':m IdCkrijiiar.ris egyje, jtimulatos in^idM^ quld'ldeat 
 templum iriruiti nndebmii amkitiefa. circumdan perijlylio. ;'' For 
 *.' he fufpefted- the Cbriitians,,to-hay.e. been theperpetraifiors, 
 *' urged to it .by ejivy.on. fceingi.'rehu^antly that. temple 
 *' furrou'ndcd by a .ip.aciotis,. periilyie." Then follows, 
 Fere lattar _ auletn, (ifytftsttaan Icviffi/no, btic'cx caul's. Mufldgt'aJJe 
 di-lulrum, &c. " But it V/HS'. j-e'popted, though .on thr Jligkteft, 
 fc< grounds, that this wa,s the- (jauie of the fire : The phi- 
 " lofopher Afclepiades, : .bting on a vifit to Julian,-, and 
 " going to that fnburb, ^as hti,was ufed. to. carry with him, 
 " wherever he went, a jimailifi'tyer. invtgQ.ctf .Juoo^ placed 
 *' it at the feefcof tli.great;ihwgt;,rTnd light-ing. wax tapers', 
 " as ufual, departed; fto n \vlue;h, in tlie middle of the 
 *' night, v.hen no one ,ct)iild. at^nxj or -affift, fparks. flying 
 " adhered to . the very ancient- materials," -&c. To this 
 fiory therefore, and not .that of the Chriitians, the levlf- 
 fmus rumor is app'i.'d. 
 
 J As i-n the conclufio of -the Mifopbgoa, Julian reckons 
 the Macedonian month Let is the tenth of the Syrian year, 
 
 this
 
 THE MISOPOG ON. 
 
 goes again to the temple of Jupiter Philius *. Thca 
 
 this year began wi.th the month Dius. In the Syrian yenr, 
 which is ufed by' Enfebius, St. Epiphatmis, Kna^rius, 
 Malela, Sic. the month Dins anfw-ers to the month of 
 November. But perhaps the city. of Antioch had a Syrian 
 year that was peculiar to it. In d'ifTefenfMacedoniih cities, 
 the month Dius anfwered to different Roman months. Ic 
 is certain that the Syrian year of Antioch began in mu ;inn. 
 We cannot, however, pofitively affert in which oi' 
 Roman months, September, Oftober, or November.- This. 
 is the reful t of fome learned and judicious obierv:; 
 corrjmunicated to me by a friend to. whom I owe feveral of" 
 my remarks. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 * The patron of friendmip, the fame with 
 ".a bearded face, with a placid. .look, fo denote," fays 
 Tritbin, " that. true friendfhip is ,the relult of age." Ka 
 had a temple at Antioch, where Julian facrinced fo him 
 more than once, during his residence there ; pleated, no 
 doubt, to have fo good an authority for . his beard, which 
 as che inhabitants little regarded in Jupiter, no wonder they 
 ridiculed in the Emperor. Bo-. 
 
 f The calends of January (mentioned above, ;% --. 1 
 when the confuls entered on. their office, and the prit us,. 
 in a folemn proceffibn, offered vows for the public fafety pf 
 
 r i V. r ii 
 
 the empire, or or .thi Roman fenate and 'people. 
 
 This therefore Libanius, in lik .roonnei'. (in his dfcrip- 
 tion of the calends), fcyles " a general festival to all.who 
 " live Tinder the Roman government." SPANTHEIM. 
 
 This day was deemed a feuival throughout all the Ro- 
 man world, though all did not begin the year with it. 
 For inllance, the Romans then commenced' the year 
 Dius, which anfwers to the Julian November : Therefore, 
 in the above paffage of Julian i Stf** Nsou.n*, (" the Syrian 
 *' calends,) are the firft day of the month Dius. This 
 paflage has been rmflmdcrftood by Martinius, the [Latin] 
 translator. V ALOIS. 
 
 clay,
 
 THE'MISOPOGON. 
 
 day **," he again pays his vows in the temple of 
 Jupiter Philius, after the manner of his anceftors f. 
 Who can endure Casfar's going fo frequently to the 
 temples, when the Gods fhould be troubled only 
 once or twice to celebrate thofe feft'iFals which are 
 common to all the people, and of which not only 
 they who honour the Gods, but they Wo with w.lioiji 
 the city is rilled, participate |?- What an exquiiire 
 pleafure and delight does every one conftantly ehr 
 joy in the fight of a number of- dancing men, 
 dancing women, and dancing boys! 
 
 Reflecting on thefe 'things, I cannot but think 
 you happy in fuch diverfions, and yet I am by no 
 means diffatisfied with myfelf ; for- the life I lead, 
 by the influence perhaps of fome God, is to n;e 
 agreeable. Believe me, therefore,' far from being 
 offended with thofe who reprobate my life and 
 manners, I even add to their farcafms as many as, 
 poffible, and accumulate on myfelr- more reproaches 
 for beinq fuch a fool as not to -perceive at fi'rft 
 
 S? J 
 
 what were the manners of this 'city, efpeciidly as. 
 none of my contemporaries, I am certain, are more 
 
 coriverfant with books than myfclf. 
 
 J 
 
 - 
 
 ;* Jan. 2. The days immediately follou ing tr.?- cak-nds,- 
 r,ones, and ides were reckoned inaufpicious. Ov, 7 
 
 -- 55- ct fet' . 
 
 f On Jan. 3, \vhen folemn vows were offered fur the 
 
 fafety of the prvnce. 
 
 I He means the games and fhews at which the Chril. 
 iians, as well as the Gentiles, were prefent, to the great 
 offence of the moft holy prelates ; which St. Chyfoftom, 
 among others, frequently mentions. PETAU. 
 
 I;
 
 THE M I S O P O G O N. 251 
 
 It is related that the- king who was namefake to 
 this city, or rather, to whom it owes its name (for 
 it was built by Seleucus *, but takes its name from 
 his fon), Antiochus I mean, from an exceffive in- 
 dulgence in luxurious delights, always loving and 
 being loved, was at length illegally enamoured of 
 his mother-in-law -f-. He \viflied to conceal his 
 paffion, but could not ; his body being emaciated^ 
 and fecretly decaying, his itrengrh failing, and hit 
 mind being languid. His cafe feemed mylrerious, 
 the diforder having no apparent caufe, and the 
 nature of it not being known.- The young man's 
 illnefs, however, being certain, the great difficulty 
 propofed to a Samian phyfician "| was, to dif- 
 cover what the diftemper was. He, fufpefting from 
 Homer what are '* the limbs-confuming cares ", 
 and that anxiety of mind, not weaknefs of body, 
 is often the caufe of bodily decay, and obferving 
 the youth, as well by years as constitution, to be 
 not averfe to love, took this method to difcrtver the 
 difeafe. He fat down by the bed-fide, and looking 
 the young man ftcdfaftly in the face-, he tlcfired 
 ibme beautiful women to t>e introduced, beginning 
 
 * Seleucus Nicator. 
 
 f Stratonlce, the daughter of Demetrius Poliorcctes, 
 and wife of Seleucus. 
 
 J Erafiftratus. 
 
 ruioCo^ot juxJwj, " the anxieties that devour the body." 
 I do not find the word ymofiopo* jn the Index of Homer, made 
 by Wolfgangus Sebcrus. If the index be not faulty, Julian 
 is miftaken, or quotes fogae work of Homer which we do 
 potpoflcfs, LA BLETERIE. 
 
 with
 
 THEMfSOPOGON. 
 
 with the queen. As foon as flie appeared, or as 
 foon as he fa.w her, the youth betrayed ibme fymp* 
 tQms of his diforder , he breathed fhort, as if he 
 had been afth.matic, with his utmofl endeavours he 
 fequld not avoid trembling, great was the evident 
 agitanon of his mind, and his face was covered 
 with blufhes. The phyfician, obferving this,' ap-> 
 plied his hand to his patient's breany and found 
 his heart beat violently, as if it would bur (I forth. 
 Such , were this fenfations 'while the! queen was 
 prefect. But when (he had withdrawn, while the 
 others were parting by, he remained tranquil, and 
 feemed in perfeft health.. Having thus, difcovered 
 his malady, Erafiftratus communicated it to the 
 king, and he, being an affectionate father, faid, 
 he would refign his wife to his fon. He then re- 
 fufe.dit; but his father dying not long after, the 
 prefent, which, when offered him before, he nobly 
 declined, he then very eagerly .feized *. Such was 
 the conduct of Antiochus. 
 
 That his defcendants therefore (hould imitate 
 their founder, or, at Jeaft, their naracfake, is not 
 blameable. For, as in plants, it is .probable that 
 the qualities are widely diffufed, and perhaps thofe 
 which are produced altogether refemble thofe 
 
 * Plutarch relates the ftory differently in his life of )c- 
 metrins. For he fays, that Antioc'hns, the fon of Deme- 
 trius Poliorcetes, married his mother-in-law in die life-time 
 of his father, PF.TAU. 
 
 which
 
 THEMISOPOGON. 
 
 which produce them; fo, among men *, the manners 
 of the defcendants are likely to be fimilar to thofe 
 of their anceftors. Of the Greeks I think the 
 Athenians the inoft liberal and humane ; though 
 all the Greeks, I have obferved, are the fame, and 
 I can truly affirm of them, that of all men they 
 are the greateft lovers of the Gods, and moft hof- 
 pitable to ftrangers; but of the Greeks, I give 
 this teftimony chiefly to the Athenians. And if 
 they retain in their manners the refemblance of 
 ancient virtue, why may not the fame fimilitude be 
 traced in the Syrians, the Arabians, the Gauls, 
 the Thracians, the Pannonians, and that nation 
 which is fituated between the two latter on the 
 banks of the Danube ? I mean the Myiians, 
 the flock from which I am defcended f, who 
 are abfolutely inelegant, boorifh, auftere, uncivi- 
 lifed, and obftinately tenacious of their opinions, 
 all which are proofs of lamentable rufticity. 
 
 Firft, therefore, I afk pardon for myfelf, for 
 imitating the manners of my anceftors, and then 
 I grant it to you for the fame offence ; nor do I 
 mention, as a reproach, your being 
 
 In lying and in wanton dances ildll'd J. 
 
 * The inhabitants of Antioch were nothing to Antiochus. 
 The kind of argument which Julian here employs muft not 
 be underftood lerioufly. It is a mere joke. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 f Eutropius, the great grandfather of Julian, and the 
 father of Conlhntius-Chlorus, was of the province of 
 Myfia. Rid. 
 
 I Iliad, xxiv. 261. Priam's reproach of his nine fur- 
 viving fons. 
 
 On
 
 tHEMtSOPOGO N. 
 
 
 
 On the contrary, your following the examples and 
 ftudies of your fathers I think much to your ho- 
 nour. Thus Homer alib, praifing Autolycus, fays, 
 that he excelled all men 
 
 In thieving and in fwearing *". 
 
 * Homer, in the xixth book of the Ociyfiey, v. 396, 
 fays, that Autolycus, the maternal grandt'ather of Ulyfles, 
 excelled other men, *Xr1o<roif 6'opxJls, *' in theft and oaths." 
 Mad. Dacier, on this paffage, fays, in effect, that the Word 
 K^aiioyvtr, may fignify not only " theft," but alfo " cunning, 
 " addrefs, ftratagem, (kill to conceal the knowledge of 
 " his fchemes, to penetrate the fecrets of others, &c; 
 *' and that Homer meant to fay that Autolycus was a very 
 *' acute politician, an artful prince, an able negotiator, who 
 " knew how to make treaties to his advantage, but, on the 
 " whole, was faithful to his word, and one who refpefted 
 " his oaths." Admitting the charitable explanation of Mad. 
 Dacier, it is unfortunate for him to have been praifed by 
 Homer in equivocal terms ; for the knavery df Autolycus 
 has grown proverbial. Martial, fpeaking of a thief, fays, 
 Non full Autolyci tarn piceata nianus. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 Dr. Clarke (on the above line in the Odyfley) un- 
 derftands it, however, as a commendation ; and Fenton, 
 agreeably to the fame interpretation, has, in his tranf- 
 lation, afcribed to Autolycus 
 
 ' a mighty name 
 
 For fpotlefs faith, and deeds of martial fame. 456. 
 
 Shakfpeare, on the contrary, has given his name 
 to a roguifh pedlar: " My father," fays he, " named me 
 ' Autolycus, who being, as I am, littered under Mercury, 
 *' was likewiie a fnapper-up of unconfidered trifles." 
 
 Winter's Tale, A$ IV. Sc. II. 
 
 Euripides had two dramas (now loft) named Autolycns, 
 the firft fatyric (as we learn from Julius Pollux) of which 
 a fragment is preferved by Galen and Athenrcus. Barnes 
 and Dr. Mufgrave fuppofe that it derives its name from 
 this Autolycus ; but from what is tranfmitted to us, Mr. 
 Wodhull, who has tranflared it, thinks, with more pro- 
 bability, that another Autolycus, a champion in the pub- 
 lic games, was its hero. 
 
 And
 
 THE M I 3 Q ? O GO N. 
 
 And fo, you fay, do I in rufticity, obftihacy, 
 morofenefs, in not being eafily foftened by fup- 
 piications, or induced by intreaties or clamours, to 
 mind my bufmcfs. With thefe reproaches I am 
 not in the lead offended. Which of us is the 
 moft excufable is known to the Gods, but no man 
 $an determine between us, fuch is our felf-love, 
 every one admiring his own endowments, and 
 defpifmg thofe of others. But he, who bears with 
 indulgence a courfe of life the reverfe of his own, 
 feems to me the moft benevolent. 
 
 [On reflection, I find that, in fome other par- 
 ticulars, I have been much my own enemy. For 
 when I came to a free city, which could not en- 
 dure the naftinefs of my hair, I came to it un- 
 combed and bearded, as if barbers had been 
 wanting *. You would have taken me for 
 Smicrines or Thrafyleon f , a morofe old man, or a 
 
 frantic 
 
 * Soon after his entrance into the palace of Conftan- 
 tinople, Julian had occaiion for the lervice of a barber. 
 An officer, magnificently d re fled, immediately prefented 
 himfelf. " It is a barber," exclaimed the prince, " that 
 " I want, and not a receiver- general of the finances." 1 ! 
 He queftioned the man concerning the profits of his em- 
 ployment; and was informed, that, befides a large falary, 
 and fome valuable perquiiltes, he enjoyed a daily allowance 
 of twenty fervants, and as many hories. GIBBON. 
 
 .Libanius-fays, that a thoufand cooks, as many barbers 
 (xy f -t; H* EAaT r te : -), more cup-bearers, c. were distributed in 
 the feveral offices of luxury which Julian aboliihed or re- 
 trenched. 
 
 f Thefe were probably two comic characters of Me- 
 r.andcr, as Cafaubon (Animtuh.inAtbtn*9iH) I, vi. c. 12.) 
 
 mentions
 
 THEMISOPOG'ON. 
 
 frantic" foldier, when I might have appeared, by 
 the ornamental advantages of drefs, a handibme 
 boy, or, at leaft, a youth, if not in years *, in 
 effeminacy and features f/j 
 
 ANT. You know not how to afibciate with men; 
 you adopt not the maxims of Theognis , nor 
 imitate (as he recommends) the changeful polypus , 
 
 mentions a comedy by that poet named Thraly Icon. He 
 adds, that there was one of the fame name in Latin by 
 Turpilius, a tranflation, he fuppofes, from Menander, 
 which is often quoted by Nonius. 
 
 * When Julian firft came to Antioch, he was thirty-one 
 years old. 
 
 f- The paragraphs between [ ] are omitted here, and 
 removed lower, by the French tranflator. They feem in- 
 deed a repetition of what was faid at the beginning, yet I 
 do not think myfelf warranted to tranfpofe them, though 
 I thoroughly affent to the propriety of the following re- 
 mark of M. de la Bleterie, as an excufe for the incorred- 
 iiefs of the author, but not for the corrections of his tranf- 
 lator : " In general, the Mifopogon is a little unfewed, 
 *' and the repetitions in it are too frequent. It was com- 
 " pofed perhaps in the fpace of one or two nights. Julian 
 *' was too much employed to be an author by premedi- 
 *' tation. When an author fcarce reads what he writes, 
 " we cannot wonder at tautology." 
 
 J Theognis, a poet of Megara, lived about 550 years 
 before the Chriltian sera. We have fome fentences, or 
 maxims, by him, in elegiac verfe. LA BLKTERIE. 
 
 Ulyfles, clinging to a cliff, is compared to this fifh 
 by Homer, Odyff. V. 452. Ariflotle, and others, fuppofe, 
 that it changes its colour, in order more eafily to catch its 
 prey, or from fear. St. Paul, who, for good reafons became 
 ail things to all men, is on that account, compared to a poly- 
 pus by Julian in his work againft the Chriftian religion, 
 preferved and confuted by Cyril. But its more extra- 
 ordinary power of re-produftion was referred for the fpecu- 
 lation of modern naturalifts. 
 
 which
 
 T HE M I S O P O G N. 
 
 Which aflumes the colour of rocks, bur, on the 
 contrary, you behave to all with the proverbial 
 ruflicity, folly, and morofenefs of a Myconian *. 
 Know you not, that we are widely different from 
 the Gauls, the Thracians, and the lilyrians ? This 
 city, you fee,- abounds with Ihops. Bun you pro- 
 voke the retailers by not fuffering them to extort, 
 both from natives and foreigners, what price they 
 pleafe for provifions. They complain of the land- 
 holders -f- ; but thefe alfo you make your enemies, 
 
 * Archilochus of Paros writes, that Pericles ufed to 
 come uninvited to the entertainments of others, after the 
 manner of the Myconi'ans, who inhabiting a barren ifland 
 [in the Archipelago] were notorious for their avarice and 
 ruiljcity. ATHEN^US. 
 
 On this proverb fee Euftathius (In Odyff. xvn.) Suidas, 
 and Zenobius. PETAC. 
 
 J- This palTage is obfcure. What follows may explain 
 it. . Ammianus fays (/. xxn.) that Julian, " with no 
 " apparent reafon, for the fake of popularity, ertdea- 
 * c voured to make all commodities cheap, which feme- 
 " times, by improper management, occaftons dearth and 
 " famine." Nor could the magiftrates of Antioch dif- 
 fuade him. By fixing therefore a lower price on things 
 that were to be fold, he made the retailers his enemies, 
 And when thofe retailers, be ; .ng charged with the unrea- 
 fonablenefs of their demands, complained that they bought 
 corn and provifions dearer of the landholder, he compelled 
 them alfo, by the fame edift, to make abatements. This 
 feverity and rigour, exercifed ngainft thefe two ranks, ex- 
 tended to the chief men of the 'city and the magiftrates, 
 who fupplied the markets, and owned the lands. And 
 thus they were doubly mulded. Ibul. 
 
 The mngiftrates of Antioch perhaps condefcended to fell 
 wine themfelves by retail, like fome of the prefent nobility 
 of Florence, as mentioned by Lord Corke, Dr. Smollett, 
 and other travellers. 
 
 VOL. I. S by
 
 25 8 THEMISOPOGON. 
 
 by obliging them to be juft. The magiftrates, 
 who, availing themfelves of bo^h thefe diftreffes, 
 rejoiced before at "receiving double profits, both 
 as landholders and as retailers, now, on being de- 
 prived of both thefe advantages, are equally ex- 
 afperated. The Syrians too, at being precluded 
 both from drinking immoderately and dancing la* 
 icivioufly, are no lefs enraged ; but by giving 
 them bread in plenty, you think they are fuffi- 
 ciently regaled. And fo gracious are you, that 
 you are not contented with procuring them oyfters 
 'only. 
 
 When a complaint was lately madej that no 
 fifh, and fcarce any poultry, could be procured in 
 the markets, you fald, with a frteering laugh, that 
 " a frugal city ought to be fatisfied with bread, 
 *' wine, and oil ; that meat was a dainty ; but 
 " filh and poultry were more than dainties, and 
 " would not have been indulged even to the fuitors 
 *' in Ithaca." Thus you would have us deem 
 pork and mutton luxuries, and fubfilt, like you, on 
 vegetables *, thinking that in this you govern well, 
 
 and' 
 
 * In the time of Julian, the philosophers of the reign- 
 ing feet, \vlio had blended the yEgyptian and Chaldean 
 tenets with Platonifm and tlie ruins of the dcxftrine of Py- 
 thagoras, transmitted by a very uncertain tradition, thole' 
 philofophers, I fay, or rather the moft perfedt among them, 
 adopted a very auftere mode of life, which made part of 
 the doctrine which was revealed, in the myfi.eries, to the 
 initiated. As Orpheus palled for the firft inflitutor of the 
 myfterics, it tvas pretended that this kind of life was that 
 
 which-
 
 T II E j\i I S O P O G O N. 259 
 
 and are giving laws to your Thracian countrymen, 
 or to thofe tUipid Gauls, who, by their education, 
 have made yon a mere block of holm or maple, 
 not a Marathonian but half an Acharmun * warrior, 
 
 ons 
 
 which Plato and fome other ahcients have mentioned under 
 the name of " Orphic life," O^.xoc <>,-. This life, which 
 ' Porphyry preaches in his book, De a*>J}incMi-t anlmallum^ 
 Con lifted in the practice of moral virtues, added lo the pri- 
 vation of things allowed in common Ufei The Orphics 
 mull have refembled the /Egyptian priefts and the Bramin?. 
 Julian had not embraced the Orphic life, but be en- 
 tleavoured to approach near it. To what I have eUewhere 
 raid of his extreme frugality, I will add here what I find 
 in his funeral oration. See the Billiotheta Gr<c.-a of Fa- 
 bricius, vol. vn./>. 309, 310. " What private philosopher 
 " in his cottage," lays Libanius, " ever prac'tifed an ab- 
 " itinence fo rigorous as that of this Emperor ? Who de 
 *' prived himfelf more often than he, fomettmes of one 
 " foodj fometlmes of another, in honour of Pan, of Mer- 
 *' cury, of Hecate, of Ifis, of all the deities ? Who, like 
 " him, ever took delight in abftainirig frequently from all 
 " nouriflimcnt ? Thus he lived in an intimate .connection 
 " with the Gods . . . his body not allowing him to raife 
 " himfelf to heaven, they descended on earth to converfe 
 " with him. They came to inftrucl him in what he lliould 
 " do or forbear. ... He had n& occafion for human 
 " wifdom or uhderftanding. The immortal being, who 
 *' know every thing, were both his counri! and his guard. 
 " By them he was almoft dways furrounded." After this 
 quotation, to which I could add many fimilar, no one, I 
 fancy, wilt have the leaf} doubt of the fanaticifm of Julian 
 any more than of tluit of his panegyrift. LA BLETERIE. 
 * The Aciuraians (fo one of the tribes of Athens was 
 cr.llecT; were valiant, but rough and hardy. In the comedy 
 of Ariftophanes, entitled the Acharninn, fome old men 
 of that tribe are ftyled " men of oak and maple, foldiers 
 " of Marathon ;" meaning invincible warriors. The in- 
 habitants of Anfioch, in allufion to this paffage of the 
 comic poet, reproach Julian for having the hardinefs, the 
 
 S 2 impolite*
 
 26o T H E M IS O,P O G O N. 
 
 one generally odious and difguftful. Was it not 
 
 better for you to walk the forum, fcented with 
 
 perfumes, and preceded by . beautiful boys, and 
 
 thus to attract the eyes of the, citizens, and bands 
 
 of, women, fuch as you fee aflembled every day *? 
 
 JUL. But to look wantonly, carting ray eyes on 
 
 all fides, and to appear beautiful to you in perfon, 
 
 not in mind, ray principles will not: allow me. 
 
 " The true beauty of the mind confifts," you fay, 
 
 "in the enjoyment of life."' But my governor 
 
 taught me, when I attended mailers, to behold the 
 
 ground, not -the Itage, and to cherifh the hairs of 
 
 my chin more than, thofe of my head. And even 
 
 unpolitencfs, the roughnefs, of the Acharnians, without 
 the courage t>f thofe brave Attic peafants. To thefe ideas, 
 which are purely Greek, I have fubftituted feme that are 
 equivalent. LA BI.ETERIE. 
 
 In this tranflation the Greek ideas are retained. As 
 Julian is the fpeaker, let him fpeak as a Greek or Roman, 
 and not like a Londoner or Parifian. Though it is not un- 
 common with us to fay, in like manner, of thole who are 
 hardy, that they are " made of iron and fteel ;" and thus 
 Charles XII. was ftyled by the Turks, " iron-head," and 
 by Dr. Johnfon, '* a frame of adamant, afibul of fire." 
 
 * Nothing could equal the festivals of Venus, and other 
 fuch folemnities, when, refilling to give audience to the 
 officers and magiftratds, Julian conducted through the city 
 the female proftitutes, and the ether vidlirns of the public 
 incontinence. The women walked firft ; after them came 
 the effeminate youths. Between thefe two infamous troops, 
 who burft into loud monts of laughter, and uttered all that 
 debauchery could diclate, marched the reformer of Paga- 
 nifm, with a bnrlefque gravity, heightening as much as 
 poffible his puny ftature, extending a pointed beard, and 
 affecting the ftep of a giant. His horfe followed at a dif- 
 tance, and his guards doled this extravagant pomp. 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 at
 
 THE M I S O P O G O N. 261 
 
 at that age I never went to the theatre privately 
 and voluntarily, but twice or thrice only, 
 To pleafe Patroclus, by the prince commanded *, 
 my intimate friend and kinfman. I was then a 
 fubjeft. 
 
 Pardon me therefore, and rather turn your re- 
 fentment againft that wicked governor, who was 
 then fo troublefome to me by inculcating thofe 
 moral lefTons. He has occafioned all your diflike 
 to me by fixing, and, as it were, carving on 
 my mind what I ought to fliun. And, as if he 
 meant to pleafe me, he exerted himfelf xvith the 
 utmoft earneftnefs, calling rufticity gravity, and flu- 
 pidity temperance, faying, that to refift the paflions 
 was fortitude, and .that the gratification of them 
 does not conftitute happinefs. My governor often 
 faid to me, when I was quite a boy, as Jove and the 
 Mufes can witnefs, u Do not fuffer yourfelf to be 
 " feduced to the theatre by the crowd of your 
 " companions, nor be enamoured of fuch enter- 
 " tainments. Do you wifh to fee a chariot-race ? 
 " It is elegantly defcribed in Homer -f- : open the 
 " book, and read. Do you hear of pantomime 
 
 This, though not printed as fuch in the editions, or ob- 
 ferved by the commentators, is an heroic verie ; but 
 it does not occur in Homer, nor is, it clear whom Ju- 
 lian here means by " Patroclus." The prince (*WM) 
 muft probably be his brother, Csfar Gallus. 
 
 j- In the xx 1 1 id book of the Iliad, Achilles caufes fome 
 games to be celebrated in honour of the funeral of Pa- 
 troclus. Among them is a clefcription of a chariot-race. 
 
 LABLETERIE. 
 
 83 * dancers ?
 
 .462 T II E M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 " dancers? Away with them! The Phasacian 
 " youths are Jefs effeminate * You have there 
 *' the harper Phemius f , and the finger Demo- 
 *' docus |. H'S trees too are more delightful to 
 '* the ear than ours are to the eye, 
 
 * Thus feeras the palm , with {lately honours 
 " crown'd, 
 
 " By Phoebus' altar j| ; thus overlooks the ground, 
 
 ** The pride of Delos. 
 
 * See the dances of thp Phzcacians in the vinth book of 
 the Odytfey. ' LA DLETERIE. 
 
 f Phemius was a mufician of the ifland of Ithaca, whom 
 the fuitors of Penelope forced to play on the harp during 
 their banquets. Ibid. 
 
 J The Greeks muft certainly have been very fond of 
 their Homer, as a governor fo grave as that of Julian ad- 
 vifes a rhiid to read the fcandalous romance of Mars taken 
 in the nets of Vulcan, which Demodocus fings at the feaft 
 of Alcinou-. See Odyfi". viii. Ibid. 
 
 Another grave and intelligent tutor, himfelf a proficient 
 in rmific, (who has lately given excellent " Advice to his 
 " pupils,") V.MS alfo inattentive to thefe furta Deorum, as 
 Virgil rnodeitly ftyles them, when he faid, " The wife men 
 *' of Heathen antiquity reler.ved the powers of mufic for 
 " the infliiling inoi'al inftrudtion into youth." JoneSs Phy- 
 jlolegical Dif.nt <fit ions t p. 354. 
 
 ^ Oa^li. vi. 162. Broome, 193. Nauficaa is compared 
 t > this palm-tree by Ulyffes. 
 
 Becauie the Ulylfes of Homer faid, that he " favv a tall 
 and tender palm-tree at Delos," the fame is ilill Ihevvn at 
 this day. Cicero dc Legil>u!>, I, i. 
 
 The palm alfo of Delos is viiible from the time of that 
 God [Apollo.] PUn. Nat. H'lfi. I. xvi. 44. 
 
 i) In the original it is vmca. @*pu. Cafaubon, in his notes 
 on Athenseus, xvi. 9. quotes it #p (Sauu. But Julian, in 
 the pafiage above, reads it, or quotes it by memory, t<?f 
 Ki-^oy, CLARKE. 
 
 And
 
 THE MISOPOGON. 
 
 " And the woody iftand of Calypfo, and the 
 " groves of Circe, and the garden of Alcinous, 
 ' be allured you will fee nothing more enchant- 
 M ing." 
 
 Would you know the name of this governor, 
 and his family ? By all the Gods and Goddeffes, 
 he was a Barbarian, a Scythian, and name-fake to 
 him *, who perfuaded Xerxes to wage war againft 
 Greece and the renowned Argives. He was an 
 eunuch, a title, which twenty months ago f was 
 revered, but is now the fubjeft of fhame and re- 
 proach. He was educated by my grandfather J, 
 
 s that 
 
 * It is well known that it was Mardonius, the fon of 
 Gobryas, who, in the council qf Xerxes, gave his opinion 
 for making war with the, Greeks, and whofe advice pre-r 
 vailed. Herod. VII. The governor of Julian had the fame 
 name. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 f He principally means Eufcbius, the chamberlain of 
 Cpnftantius, [fee the Epiftle to the Athenians, p. 68.] who, 
 in his reign, had the management of public affairs. Am- 
 mianus, (xxi. 15.) relates, that " Conltantius died Oct. 5. 
 " in the confulfliip of Taurus and Florentius," which was 
 A. D. 361. He alfo fays, in the next book, that *' Julian 
 f l compofed his Mifopogon towards the end of the year 362, 
 ** and that he marched from Antioch againft the Perfians, 
 41 March i, 363." So that from the death of Conftan- 
 tius to the time of his writing the Mifopogon there was 
 an interval of not quite fifteen months. But Julian reckons 
 twenty. Whether it is a miftake, or not, I cannot tell. 
 
 PETAU. 
 
 Julian probably fixes the epocha of the difgrace of the 
 eunuchs to the time of his declaring war againft Conftantius. 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 
 J The przefeft Julian (probably Aniciusjulianus, who was 
 eonful in 322) the mod illuflrious private perfon of his age 
 
 84 by
 
 THE M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 that he might inflruft my mother * in the poems of 
 Homer and Hefiod. I was her firft and only fon -f, 
 and a few months after my birth (he died, leaving, 
 me an orphan, and opprefled with many misfor- 
 tunes. Young and tender, at feven years of age I 
 was entrufted to his care. From that time, con^ 
 du&ing me to proper matters, he perfuaded me 
 that this was the only right way ; and as he him- 
 felf would not know, nor would fuffer me to pur- 
 fue, any other, he has expofed me to your re- 
 fen tment. 
 
 But, if you pleafe, we will now make peace, 
 and terminate our ammofity. For he had no idea 
 pf my coming hither, far from expe&ing that I 
 
 by his birth, his riches, and his reputation ; and perhaps the 
 firft Roman fenator who made a public profeffion of Chrif- 
 tianUy. He had been engaged hi the party of Maxehtius ; 
 but Confkntine, after the victory, revered the fuperior 
 talents of this great man, and' a virtue ftill fuperior to 
 them. He made him conful, prefect, and at length his 
 
 brother^in-law. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 . 
 
 * BafiUna. It is faid, that, when me was ready, to lie- 
 in, me dreamed that fiie brought Achilles into the world; 
 and that, upon her waking, while fhe related this dream, 
 /he was delivered of Julian, almoft without pain. This 
 princefs died in the flower of her age. She appears to have 
 been an Arian and a perfecutrefs, which is not furprifing, 
 if fhe was related to Eufebius of Nicomedia. " It is cer- 
 .tain that Julian was a diftant relation of this bifhop," fays 
 Ammianus : probably by the fide of Balilina, whofe mother, 
 the maternal grandmother of Julian, might be of Ionia or 
 JSithynia. Ibid. 
 
 f Callus (as above-mentioned) was by another mother. 
 
 fhould
 
 THE M I S O P O G O N. 265 
 
 fliould govern fuch an empire * as the Gods 
 have bellowed, much againft the will, believe me, 
 both of ihe giver and receiver. For he who con- 
 ferred j~ this honour, or favour, or whatever elfe 
 you may pleafe to call it, conferred it with re- 
 luctance, and by him who accepted it, the Gods 
 well know, it was fincerely rejected. But their 
 will is and mufl be obeyed. If my governor could 
 have forefeen this, he would, without doubt, have 
 endeavoured to make me acceptable to you. But 
 now, whatever manners I may have previoufly con- 
 traded, whether gentle or boorim, it is impoffible 
 for me to alter or unlearn. Habit is faid to be a 
 fecond nature; to oppofe it is irkfcme; but to coun- 
 teract: the ftudy of more than thirty years is ex- 
 tremely difficult, efpecially when it has been im- 
 bibed with fo much attention. 
 
 ANT. Allowing this, what induced you to in- 
 vefligate and determine matters of traffkk ? This, 
 I imagine, was not taught you by your governor, 
 as he did not forefee your reigning. 
 
 JUL. This alfo was owing to that wicked old 
 man, whom, as the principal dire&or of my ftudies, 
 you fo juftly reproach as well as me; but know, 
 that he was deceived by others. You have often 
 
 * Conftantius, by the courfe of mmire, might have had 
 children, and Gallus was the elder brother of Julian, who 
 \vas intended for the ecclefiaftical ftate. LA BI.ETERIE. 
 
 f It is pretended that Conftantius, on his death-bed, 
 named Julian his iuccefibr. Julian believes, or affefts to 
 believe, it. Ibid. 
 
 heard,
 
 T H E M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 heard, I fuppofe, the names of Plato, Socrates, 
 Ariftotle, and Theophraftus #, mentioned with 
 ckrifiui]. On thefe that old man had the folly to 
 rely, and afterwards finding me young and capable 
 of improvement, he told me, that, if in every 
 thing I would make them my models, I fhould 
 cxcell, he would not fay all other men (for with 
 them there was no competition), but myfelf. Thus 
 guided by him, how could I act other-wife ? Were 
 it ever fo defirable, I can now make no alteration, 
 ;ir,d when I reproach myfelf for not indulging every 
 vice, I recollect what the Athenian ftranger fays 
 in Plato f : " He is to be honoured who commits 
 " no crime ; he who prevents others from being 
 " criminal is worthy of more than double honour : 
 '* the former is equal in dignity to a man ; the 
 * latter, who difcovers to the magiftrates the crimes 
 " of others, is equal to many. But he, who, in 
 " punifliing, afibciates himlelf in authority with 
 *' the magiftrates, is a great and perfect citizen, 
 " and (hall be deemed victor in the lifts of virtue: 
 " the fame praife is due to temperance and pru- 
 " dence, and to all thofe other good qualities 
 " which are not only ufeful to the poffeflbrs, but 
 * are alfo imparted to others." 
 
 * A Peripatetic pliilofopher, who fucceeded Ariftotle in 
 his fchool. Cic. in Orat. xix. His books of plants and moral 
 charafters are all that remain of his compofition ; the reft 
 of his works are enumerated by Diogenes Lnertius in his 
 lite. His name was changed by Ariftotle, for his eloquence, 
 from Tyrtamus. 
 
 f De Lfgil>us t 1. v. 
 
 I Such
 
 THE M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 Such were the inftruftions that I received from 
 one who thought that he was forming a private 
 individual, not forefecing the rank in which Jupiter 
 has placed me. I fhould be afhamcd of appear- 
 ing worfe as a prince than as a fubjec~t. I have 
 indeed fo far forgotten myfelf as to acquaint you 
 with my ruftichy. Another law of Plato, which 
 has made me recollect myfelf, and be your enemy, 
 fays, that " the magistrates and elders ftiould prac- 
 *' tife modefty and temperance, that their lives 
 " may be lefibns to the people." Singly, there- 
 fore, or rather with a few, I obferve thefe rules ; 
 but the event has been different from what I ex- 
 pected, and has juftiy involved me in difgrace. 
 Seven of us foreigners *, who have lately 
 arrived among you, (but one, who has fince 
 joined us, is your own fellow-citizen -f-, dear to 
 Mercury and to me, an excellent mafter of oratory,) 
 have no connection with the reft of the world ; 
 we go out but feldom, and that only to the temples 
 of the Gods. To the theatres we never refort, 
 thinking them of all places the moft ignoble, of 
 all purfuits the mod inglorious. If the Grecian 
 
 * In the number of the fix friends, whom the Emperor 
 had with him, mud certainly he placed the philofophers 
 Maxinuis of Ephefus, Priicus of Epirue, the fophift Hi- 
 mcrivis of Bithynia, and the phyfician Oribafius of Per- 
 gamus. It may be furmifed that the two others were SaHuft 
 the fecond and Anatolius. But I do not think that Julian 
 here fpeaks of any officer of the empire. LA BLETERIE. 
 f It is needlefs to obferve thnt Libanius is here meant. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 fages
 
 THE MISOPOGON. 
 
 fages will allow me to diftinguifh our fociety by 
 the moft remarkable circumftance that attends ir, 
 nothing feems ib peculiarly our charafteriftic as 
 an averfion to public entertainments *. Thus we 
 folicit your hatred and refentment, inftead of ca- 
 joling and endeavouring to pleafe you. 
 
 ANT. Suppofe a man is guilty of inj uftice. What 
 folly is it in you to interfere ! You might not only 
 have ingratiated yourfelf with him, but have 
 fhared the emoluments of his inj uftice. Yet you 
 prefer his enmity; You fhould have confidered 
 that one who is injured never complains of the 
 magiftrates, but only of the perfon who has in- 
 jured him. But, when he has been punifhed, in- 
 ftead of blaming his accufer, he turns his refentment 
 againft the magiftrates. With your ufual wifdom 
 therefore you fhould have refrained from compel- 
 ling others to be juft by force, and have allowed 
 them all full liberty to aft as they pleafed, the 
 manners of this city being remarkably free. Not 
 attending to this, how can you think they will 
 obey -the dictates of prudence, or renounce that 
 freedom which even the afles and the camels here 
 enjoy ? The drivers lead their camels through the 
 porticoes, like fo many brides, magnificently 
 dreffed f. As if the wide ftreets and narrow lanes 
 
 * There being no fenfe to be collected from the original, 
 as it appears in the editions, both printed and MS. I have 
 adopted that which M. de la Bleterie has lubftituted. 
 
 -j- A latirical ftroke on the bad police of Antioch. 
 
 4 were
 
 T H E M* I S O P O G O N. -69 
 
 were not intended for their ufe, they freely range 
 the porticoes, and no one interferes, left he fhould 
 be thought to abridge their liberty. Such is the 
 freedom of this city; and yet you would have the 
 young men here live peaceably, and think, or, 
 lead fpeak, what it may give you pleafure -to hear. 
 But they are accuftomed to banquet freely every 
 day, efpecially on feftivals. 
 
 JUL. The Romans formerly took vengeance on 
 the Tarentines for affronting their ambaflfadors > sf. 
 a Bacchanalian debauch *. But you, much happier 
 than the Tarentines, inftead of a few days, revel the 
 whole year f, and inftead of foreign ambaffadors, 
 
 * In the year of Rome 473, the Romans fent an embsfly 
 to the city of Tarentum to demand fatisfaclion for an a$: 
 of hoftility committed againft their {hips. Their ambafla- 
 dors had an audience in the theatre, which was the ufual 
 place of aflembly in all the Greek cities. The Roman 
 ambafiadors deiiring to fpeak in Greek were treated as Bar- 
 barians, infulted for their foreign accent and drefs, and at 
 length driven out of the aflembly. A buffoon, with beaflly 
 impudence, foiled their robes, to the diversion of ever/ 
 one, and was unanimoufly applauded. " Laugh now," faici 
 Poilhumus, the chief of the embafly; *' you fliall weep - 
 " hereafter. This habit fhall be waflied with ftreams of 
 *' blood." The Romans declared war againft the inhabi- 
 tants of Tarentum. They called Pyrrhus to their affift- 
 ance ; but Pyrrhus being forced to abandon 'Italy, the Ta- 
 rentines furrendered at difcretion. The Romans defpoiled 
 them of a confiderable part of their territory, obliged them 
 to deliver up their arms, and their fliips, deflroyed the walls 
 of the city, and made it tributary. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 f Let Julian fay what he will, I do not imagine that 
 the inhabitants of Tarentum were at all inferior to thofe 
 
 ttf
 
 THEMISOPOGON. 
 
 you infult your own princes, and, in particular, 
 deride their beards, and the devices of their coin *^ 
 I congratulate you, moft mode ft citizens, fome for 
 indulging thefe fportive conceits, and others for 
 applauding and admiring them. Thofe, it is cer- 
 tain, are not more delighted with uttering, than 
 thefe are with hearing, fuch ribaldry. Such a 
 harmonious concurrence is wonderfully pleafmg to 
 ine, and happy is this one chy in being actuated 
 only by tfne mind; 
 
 To check and reftrain the petulance and licen- 
 tioufncfsof youth is by no means right or laudabl- 
 For to deprive men of the power of faying ami 
 doing whatever they pleafe is an offence againil 
 liberty of the deeped die. Thoroughly convinced 
 that you ought in all refpefts to be free, firft, you 
 allow your wives to be their own rulers, that they 
 may be as licentious as pcffible ; and, next, you 
 devolve upon them the education of your children, 
 left by our laying reftraints upon .you, they alfo 
 Ihould at length be enilavcd ; or, when they ad- 
 vance to maturity, they Ihould be taught to refpe& 
 their elders, and rhen by degrees fhouki reyererice 
 their princes ; and, hillly, fhould thus be claffed, 
 not among men, bur ilaves, and by becoming tem- 
 perate, jufl, and honeft, fhouid be corrupted and 
 
 of Antioch. It is faid of the fonnef, that thcr hnd more 
 feafls And public festivals than there were da'v s in a year. 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 
 * The inhabitants of Antioch rlc'-culcd the marks of 
 idolatry thai appeared on the coins of Julian. Ibid* 
 
 rulaedv
 
 THE M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 ruinecl. As to the women, they feduce their 
 children to their religion by the charms of plea- 
 fure *, which is deemed the greatcft good not only 
 by men, but brutes. la coufequence of this, you 
 arc moft happy when you renounce all fabjeftion; 
 .firfl, to the Gods, fecondly to the laws, and, laftly, 
 to us, the guardians of the laws. And if the 
 Gods thus connive at this licentious city, and take 
 no vengeance on its crimes, for us to be indignant 
 and enraged would be folly in the extreme. 
 
 Neither the Chi nor the Kappa, you fey, have 
 .hurt your city. This senjgma of your wifdom it 
 is difficult to underhand. But from forae inter- 
 preters, of your city, I have learned, that thefe 
 letters are the initials of certain names, the one of 
 Conflantius, the other of Chrifl f. Allow me, on 
 this fubjecl:, to deliver my fentimerus with free- 
 dom. The only inftance, in which you were in- 
 jured by Conftantius, was his not putting me to 
 'death when he made me Csefar. Would to heav.cn, 
 that you alone, of all the Roman?, had many 
 'Contlantii, or rather might experience the rapine 
 of his favourites ! As for him, he was my relation 
 
 * It is an accufer \vho fpeaks. However, it is eafy fj 
 fuppofe, that, in the reign of a prince ib eager, as Julian 
 wa, to make profelytes, fathers anil mothers were ex- 
 tremely indulgent to their children, left they fliould em- 
 brace the religion of their fovereign. It is laid, that, among 
 the modern Greeks, the children of the lovveft of the people, 
 when they are ill-treated by their parents, threaten to turn 
 Turks, and fometimes keep their <vord. LA SLF.TEHJ. 
 
 f X/ir> and KMT* >*):> 
 
 and
 
 T H E M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 and friend; but after he converted' his friendlhip tv 
 enmity, and the Gods had terminated our difpute by 
 gentle means *, I became a more iincere friend to 
 him than, before our rupture, he could have ex- 
 pe&ed. Why then fhould you think medifpleafed 
 with thofe who praife him ? On the contrary, I am 
 offended with thofe who difparage him. 
 
 But you love Chrift, and adore him as a tu- 
 telar deity, in the room of Jupiter, Daphnaean 
 Apollo, and Calliope, who has deteftcd your irrr- 
 pofture f . . . . Did the Emefen'ians J (hew their 
 love of Chrilt by burning the fepulchres of the 
 Galileans ? But have I ever offended the Emefe- 
 nians? On the contrary, whom have I not offended 
 of you ? Moft, if not all, of you, the fenate, the 
 rich, the populace ? Or, rather, all the peopie, 
 being attached to impiety, are'difplcafcd with me 
 
 * There was no blood flicd in the war. " Conftantius 
 died of a fever, (fee p. 104,, note.) while he was marching 
 againft Julian. LA BLETERJE. 
 
 f Though neither the printed editions, nor the . 
 take notice here of any chaim, the paflage feenis to r.ie 
 dcfetive. I fvifpeft that there were fome biafpheaues here, 
 which-the trani'cribers have retrenched. Kid. 
 
 J The inhabitants of Antioch placed to the account of 
 the other people of Syria, and in particular of the city of 
 Emeia, the longs and fatires which- they compofcd againit 
 the Emperor. But Julian was not duped by them : the other 
 cities of Syria teftified a zeal for Paganiiin, which would 
 not admit a fuipicion that they widied to diihonour the 
 reftorer of their religion. The inhabitants of Emefe had 
 fet fire to the churches built over the tombs of the martyrs, 
 and had Ipared only the principal, which they converted 
 into a temple of Bacchus. JbiJ. 
 
 for
 
 T II E M I S O P O G O N. 273 
 
 for adhering to the laws and ceremonies of my 
 anceftors ; the rich, becaufe I prevent their exacting 
 unreafonable prices ; and all on account of the 
 dancers and players, not becaufe I abolifli them, 
 but becaufe I regard them no more than the frogs 
 of the lakes *. After having excited fo much 
 hatred, may I not be allowed to accufe myfelf ? 
 
 The Roman Cato (what kind of beard he wore 
 I know not -f-, but of this I am certain) excelled . 
 all who were mod renowned for temperance, mag- 
 nanimity, and, which is the greateft of all, bravery* 
 "When, therefore, he vifited this populous, luxu- 
 rious, and wealthy city, feeing in the fuburbs the 
 young men under arms, and the magiftrates in 
 their robes, he thought all this parade was ex- 
 hibited by your anceftors in compliment to him ; 
 and alighting immediately from his horfe , he 
 haftened forward, and blamed his friends, who had 
 entered the city before him, for apprifing the 
 
 * A proverbial hyperbole, meaning that the bufinefs 
 is nothing to us . And it is juftly alfo applied to 
 detractors, when we mean to fay we hold their calumnies 
 in contempt. As though frogs croak continually, and bark 
 at the paflers-by, repeating inceflantly that odious ditty, 
 P?E*xfx= xoaf xo|, yet no one is offended. ERASMUS. 
 
 ' f Julian muft furely have known that, in the time of 
 Cato of Utica, the Romans wore no beards. It may be 
 faid that he is forry that Cato had not one as long as his 
 own. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 J Plutarch fays, that " Cato was on foot, as was his 
 " ufual cuftom, and his friends, who accompanied him, on 
 *.' horfcback. On this occafian, he made them difmount." 
 
 Rather that we totally difregard it ; as many do not regard 
 what greatly concerns them ; and, on the contrary, pay great at- 
 tention to matters with which they have no concern. STEPHENS. 
 
 VOL. I. T citizens
 
 274 THEMISOPOGON. 
 
 citizens of his approach, and perfuading them to 
 go and meet him. While Cato thus hefitated, and 
 feemed abafhed, the matter of the ceremonies 
 coming up to him, faid, " Stranger, how far off 
 " is Demetrius ?" He was a freed-man of Pompey, 
 and was pofleffed of much wealth. You will 
 afk me how much *, as I know nothing more 
 likely to excite .your curiofity. For this I mult 
 refer you to my author, Damophilus f of Bithynia, 
 who collected many fuch {lories from various 
 writers, which are very entertaining both to young 
 and old who have a tafte for fuch fubjedts. For 
 old age feems to renew the curiofity of youth in 
 the moft incurious ; to which, I imagine, it is 
 owing, that both old and young are equally fond 
 of ftories. But to return. Would you know what 
 anfwer Cato gave ? Sufpeft not that 1 traduce the 
 city. The ftory is not mine. If the name of a 
 certain native of Chseronea has reached your 
 ears, of that vile feel, as it is called, of infolent 
 philofophers, into which I have not indeed yet 
 been admitted, though fuch is my folly, I have 
 
 . * Bifhop Warburton, in a note on ver. 390, of Pope's 
 Epiftle to Arbuthnot, '* What fortune, pray," [had your 
 parents] where " his friend's perfonating the town, and 
 ** afluming its impertinent curii>iity, gives great fpirit to 
 " the ridicule of the queftion," quotes this paflage of Ju- 
 lian as " a parallel ftrokc." 
 
 j- Damophilus lived, it is faid, in the reign of Marcus 
 Aurelius. Julian gives us no high idea of this compiler, 
 and ridicules him by the way. LA BLETERIE, 
 
 | Every one knows that Plutarch was of Chssronea in 
 Bceotia. He relates this ftory in the Life of Pompey. Ibid* 
 
 He relates it alfo in the Life of Cato. 
 
 wiflied
 
 THE MISOPOGON. 
 
 wilhed it ; he, I fay, relates that Cato made no 
 anfwer, but only exclaimed, like a madman, " 
 " miferable city !" and departed. 
 
 Wonder not therefore at my behaving to -you in 
 the fame manner, cfpecially as I am more favage, 
 and as much bolder and prouder, than Cato as the 
 Gauls arc than the Romans. He lived almoft 
 all his life in his native country. But I was 
 fcarce arrived at manhood when I was fent 
 among the Gauls and Germans, and into the 
 Hercynian foreft * ; and having fpent much time 
 there, fighting with favages, like a hunter chafing 
 wild beafts, I contracted fuch a difpofition as can- 
 not fawn nor flatter, but can live on terms of 
 fimplicity and equality with all men. As in the 
 days of my early yourh I travelled through the 
 works of Plato and Ariftotle *j~, I had no talents 
 for this civil life, and no tafte for pleafure. When 
 J became a man, and my own mailer, I lived among 
 the moil fierce and warlike nations, who had no 
 connexion with Venus, the Goddefs of love, but 
 in the way of marriage, and for the fake of an 
 off-fpringj nor with Bacchus, the God of wine, bat 
 for the fake of drinking as much as they could. 
 In their theatres, they have no obfcenity, no iiv 
 folence, no lafcivious dances. It is faid, that not 
 Jong ago a certain Cappadocian fled thither from 
 hence. You know whom I mean ; the fame who 
 
 * See a Fragment on this forell at the end of the epiftle?, 
 
 f H TI iv (UftfiaKioK ocibc oi ruv rL\a!>i)K>?. Hat Apts-olsAjjj Aoywv, 
 
 laterally. " iny way lay through the difcoiiries," &.c, 
 
 T ?, W3JJ
 
 276 T H E M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 was educated in your city by a goldfmith. He had 
 imbibed, I know not where, fome diflblute prin- 
 ciples, which, I know not how, he had reduced to 
 practice *. Being introduced to one of their 
 kings f, remembering what he had feen here, he 
 firft entertained them with a number of dancers, 
 and afterwards with many other curioiities of this 
 city. At length, being in want of a cotylift J, 
 
 (with 
 
 * In the original, [*."* m OT xa E/xafisj, iv Jfo> opXv yi>aii* 
 uf<fxic5 ^'tw^wgeiv, bx. cc. oTTocra njaot e^acrajxa* 7ra3i'. i have 
 
 fubitituted, with the French tranilator, more decent ge- 
 neral expreflions. 
 
 f llKfx TOV ixeart /3<*<nXia, ad regem qui ill'tc. Mllft we v.n- 
 derfiand, by this, a Barbarian king, for inftance, the chief 
 of fome tribe of Franks, who, in the time of Magnentius, 
 fettled themfelves in a diftrift of Gaul ? Magnentim, who 
 derived his origin from the Franks, might have called fome 
 of them to his affiilance. Belides, Conflantius had fent 
 word to the people beyond the Rhine, that they might 
 enter into the Gauls, and that he would cede to them all 
 the conquefts that they mi^h: make there. The Barbarians 
 feconded his views too well. Julian had much difficulty 
 to make them repafs the Rhine. Perhaps too it may be 
 fuppofed (but this fenfe feems to me leis natural) that it 
 relates to cne of the Emperors, or Cadars, who refidcd in 
 the Gauls before Julian. The name of /SatnXst/; was given 
 to the Errperors and Caefars. It is fometimes given to 
 them even by Julian, notwithflanding his republican ideas. 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 
 J The word cotylijles occurs in no other palTage of Julian, 
 We are totally ignorant of what he means. However, as 
 xoIwXoj and xo]t)Xj fignify a kind of cup, xi/taXim*, their de- 
 rivative, may iignify perhaps " a player with cups, or 
 " a jugler." Seneca calls thefe goblets prajligia- 
 torttm acetaMa. It is remarkable that xoIfXn c^nd acctalulunt 
 have another meaning, which is common to them. They 
 both fignify the cavity of the os ifcmon, in which the head 
 of the thigh is infertecl. A: acetalulitm means <; a tup to 
 " play tricks," there is great probability that xaJvXn is i fed 
 
 2 iU
 
 THE MISOPOGON. 
 
 (with this you are well acquainted both in word 
 and deed) he fent for one alfo from hence, fuch 
 was his attachment to your refpectable way of life. 
 Though the Gauls were (hangers to a cotylift, for 
 this was the firfl time that any one had been feen at 
 court, yet, when the dancers exerted their /kill ia 
 the theatre, they deferted it, thinking thofe per- 
 formers fools or mad. 
 
 To me a theatre feems no lefs ridiculous. But 
 there, the few were derided by the many ; here, 
 I with the few am derided by you all. This, 
 however, does not offend me ; for it would be 
 unjuft in me, after concurring with them, not to 
 bear with patience this treatment -from you. I was 
 fo beloved by the Gauls, for the fimilitude of my 
 manners, that they not only took up arms for me, 
 but alfo made me many prefents ; on my refuting 
 them, they frequently obliged me to accept them, 
 and in everything readily obeyed me. From thence, 
 which was of the utmoft importance, my name was 
 often tranfmitted to you with glory ; and all ex- 
 claimed, that I was brave, prudent, juft, equally 
 expert in peace as in war, mild, and courteous, 
 
 Of this the manner in which you have treated 
 me has been quite ther everfe. Firfl: you fay, " I 
 " have fubverted the world *." In anfwer ; I know 
 
 of 
 
 in the fame fenfe. I am indebted for this erudition to the 
 learned M. Falconet. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 * According ro Socrates, (/. in. c. 17.) the faying, that 
 *' Julian had fubverted the world," was owing to a bull 
 and an altar appearing on his coins, F. Petau, M. Fleury, 
 
 T 3 and
 
 T 11 E M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 of nothing that I have fubverted, either by defign 
 or inadvertence. Next, that " 'my beard (hould 
 " be tWifted into ropes." And, laflly, that " I 
 
 and 3vL de Tillemont ftippofe, that Socrates fays, the bull 
 Liy on his back. But the hiftofian fays no fuch thing. We 
 know of no medal of this prince on which is feen a bull 
 thrown down, or even a bull with an altar. We are ac- 
 quainted with fo'me on which appears a bu!l {landing, above 
 wi.ich are two ftars. At the feet of that animal is an eagle, 
 who holds a crotvn in his beak, and feems to prefent it to 
 the bull; but there is no altar. Suppofing that Socrates i* 
 not miftaken. he alludes to fome medal that is unknown to 
 .us. A victim, ready for facrilke, {tamped on the coins of 
 the Emperor^ fheued that the empire had changed its re- 
 ligion ;' and that is what the inhabitants of Antioch might 
 vciy we!! cill the 'fVfubverfion of the world*" After all* 
 Julian, by Uis jxu'jiefs and reforming genius, by the various 
 chan-jvi which, he introduced, both in the ft ate and religion, 
 ft;f;':Ciently dcienxnl the above reproach, without its being 
 nectary to .hink that this reproach was relative to any 
 one of his coins. ; A -SLETERIE* 
 
 One medal of Julian with a bull and an en/le :i;id another 
 with a bull 'and two ftars, are delcnbed by .Occo, Among 
 the Lnpe4'kU biai's , coins belonging to tl^e library of Chriil- 
 Church, Canterbury, are three, which are fuppofed to 
 be Julian's. One of them, which feems to have his head, has 
 t'is inlcription, DM COKSTANTI . . . . " from which" 
 (fays the expofitor) "one would think this r.oin a Con- 
 " flan'tine ; but the head does not refemblc either of the 
 4< Conflantines, and 1 do not find that Julian took the 
 " n -iiic of Conitantinus, or any name like it. His titles 
 " v. ere Flavins Claudii s Julianus. The reverie is a war- 
 " lior t n 'oof, directing his javelin againil a horfeman, 
 " w'th h s horie falling to the ground. FEL. TEMP. . . . 
 " Dufrefne defcribes this reverlV on a coin of Julian, as 
 *' doe allb Occo, and I find no fuch of either of the Con 
 " ilantines. I fliould think Conftanti . . . might poiiibly be 
 " filled up Conflantinopolis, but DX, Dominus >toj?er y fhews 
 " it to be the emperor's name, and not the city's." 
 
 Conitanti ... on this coin may perhaps mean Con- 
 ilantius, as a coin of his, defcribed by Occo, has the re 
 vcrfc here mentioned. 
 
 11 wage
 
 THE MISOPOGON. 
 
 " wage war againft the G&/..#, and that you regret 
 ' the Kappa f." I wilh that the guardian-gods of 
 this city would give you two fuch Kappas, and thus 
 revenge your flanderoufly imputing the libels 
 againft me to many of the neighbouring holy cities, 
 which agree with me in worshipping the Gods; 
 cities, which, I am certain, have more affection for 
 me than for their own children, as they imme- 
 diately reftored the temples of the Gods, and, at 
 a fignal lately given by me, deftroyed all the 
 tombs of the atheifts J, being fo ardent and zealous 
 
 to 
 
 * Chrift. f Ccnftantius. 
 
 t The cruelties, which were exercifed againft the Chrif- 
 tians by thofe " holy cities," may be fee n in the ecclefi- 
 aftical hiftory. At Heliopolis, a city fituated at the foot 
 of Libanus, men were feen to gna\v the entrails of the 
 facred virgins, to tear out the liver of a deacon named 
 Cyril, and to eat it publickly. The inhabitants of Gaza 
 in Paleftine tore forae of the ChrifKans to pieces, and com- 
 mitted the fame barbarities on the remains of their bodies 
 which in other places were praftifed on the relics of the 
 martyrs. The like enormities happened at Arethufa, &c. 
 1 know that Julian did not command thofe barbarities ; but 
 he could not be ignorant of what the populace are capable. 
 \Vhen we loofen the reins, we are refponfible for their 
 fury. Julian fiiould at leaf! have puniflied thefe excefles, 
 Inftead of apologifing for them. LA BLETERIE, 
 
 This imperfect and reluctant confeflion may appear to 
 confirm the ecclefiaftical narratives, that in the cities of 
 Gaza, Afcalon, Cxfarea, Heliopolis, &c. the Pagans 
 abufed, without prudence or remorfe, the moment of their 
 profperity ; that the unhappy objefts of their cruelty 
 were releafed from torture only by death ; that, as their 
 mangled bodies were dragged through the ftreets, they were 
 pierced (fuch was the univerfal rage) by the fpits of cooks, 
 and the diftaffs of enraged women ; and that ihe entrails of 
 OhrifHan priefls and virgins, after they had been tafted 
 
 T 4 -by
 
 2 8o THEMJ5OPOGON. 
 
 to punifh thofe who had tranfgrefied againft the 
 Gods, as even to exceed my wifhes. 
 
 As to you, many of you, whom my lenity has 
 fcarce been able to pacify, have overthrown the 
 altars lately ere&ed. But after we had fent the dead 
 body # back froni Daphne f, fome of you, who 
 
 wprihipped 
 
 by thofe bloody fanatics, were mixed with barley., and 
 contemptuoufly thrown to the unclean animals of the 
 city. Such fcenes of religious madnefs exhibit the moil 
 contemptible and odious picture of human nature. 
 
 GIBBON. 
 
 * Of Babylas, a Chriftian bifliop of Antioch, men- 
 tioned in a former note, p. 247. 
 
 f At the diftance of five miles from Antioch the Mace- 
 donian kings of Syria had confecrated to Apollo one of 
 the moft elegant places of devotion in the Pagan world. 
 A magnificent ten;ple rofe in honour of the God of light, 
 and his coloffal figure almoft filled the capacious fancluary, 
 which was enriched with gold and gems, and adorned by 
 the fkill of the Grecian artifts. The deity was repre- 
 fented in a bending attitude, with a golden cup in his hand, 
 pouring out a libation on the earth; as if he fupplicated 
 the venerable mother to give to his arms the cold and 
 beauteous DAPHNE; for the fpot was ennobled by fiction ; 
 and the fancy of the Syrian poets had tranfported the 
 amorous tale from the banks of the Peneus to thofe of the 
 Orontes. . . The temple and the village, infenfibly formed 
 by th ; perpetual reibrt of pilgrims and fpeclators, were 
 deeply boibmed in a thick grove of laurels and cyprefles, 
 which reached as far as a circumference of ten miles, and 
 formed in the moil fultry fummers a cool and impenetrable 
 fliade. . . . The groves of Daphne continued for many 
 ages to enjoy the veneration of natives and ill-angers ; the 
 privileges of the holy ground were enlarged by the muni- 
 ficence of iucceeding Emperors ; and every generation added 
 new ornaments to the iplendor of the temple. GIBBON. 
 
 The whole of the garden at Roufham [in Oxfordfhire] 
 hid out by Kent, for General Dormer, is as elegant and 
 
 antique.
 
 THE M I $ O P O G O N. 
 
 worfhipped the Gods, by way of expiation, gave 
 up the temple of the Daphncean God to others 
 who were enraged on account of the relics of the 
 dead. And thefe, by their negligence or conni- 
 vance, kindled thofe flames, and exhibited to 
 foreign nations a light moft horrid, but to your 
 citizens moft pleafing, and by the fenate hitherto 
 difregarded. The God 'indeed feem's, in my opi- 
 nion, to have defence! the temple long before the 
 fire *. This, at my firfl entrance, the ftatue de- 
 clared to me; and I appeal to the great Sun, as a 
 witnefs of it againil unbelievers. 
 
 I mufl now remind you of another of my offen- 
 ces, and then, as I have done before, I will cen- 
 iure and condemn myfelf. In the tenth month f, 
 
 accord- 
 antique, as if the Emperor Julian had felefted the moft 
 pleafing iblitude about Daphne to enjoy a philqfophic re- 
 tirement. WALPOLE. 
 * Ecclefiaftical critics, particularly thofe who love relics, 
 exult in this confeffion of Julian, and that of Libanius, 
 (Ntfnia, p. 185.) that Apollo was diilurbed by the vicinity 
 of one dead man. Yet Ammianus (x>:ir. 12.) clears and 
 purifies the whole ground, according to the rites which the 
 Athenians formerly praclifed in the ifle of Delos. 
 
 GIBBON. 
 
 } F. Petau thinks, that we fliould read " the eleventh 
 " month," and not " the tenth ;" fuppoung that the month 
 Hyperbereteus was the firft of the Macedonian year. But 
 Suidas and Zenobius, from a Macedonian proverb, inform us, 
 that this month was the laftj auti confequently the month 
 Dius was the firfl. The following is the order in vvhich the 
 phyfician /Etius, and all the ephemenils, place the Mace- 
 donian months. I will annex the Roman months to vvhich 
 they anfwer in the Syrian year, which the ecckfiaftical writers 
 
 have
 
 T H E M 1 S O P O G O N. 
 
 according to your reckoning, (you call it, I think, 
 Lous), is the ancient feftival of this God, when 
 great crowds ufed to aflemble at Daphne. I there- 
 fore haftened thither from the temple of Jupiter 
 Caffius *, expecting to fee a profufion of wealth 
 
 and 
 
 have adopted ; but, as I have faid before, it was not per- 
 haps that of Antioch : 
 
 1 Dlus, November. 7 Artemlftis, May. 
 
 2 Appellccus, December. 8 Dccfnts, June. 
 
 3 Audinceus, January. , 9 Panemus t July- 
 
 4 Perittius, February. 10 Low, Auguft. 
 
 5 DyjlruSy March. n Gorpi(eus y September, 
 
 6 Xaut/Jtcus, April. 12 Hyftrbereta'its^ Otober. 
 
 LA BLETERIH. 
 
 * Jupiter was called Cafius, or Caffius, from a very high 
 hill of that name in yria, which bounds Antioch to the 
 fouth, about fifteen miles diftant. This was a day's jour- 
 ney ; but Julian performed it feveral times during his 
 refidence in that city. Nothing was -difficult to him 
 when it was to vifit a place revered by the Pagans. One day, 
 while he was facrificing there, he faw at his feet a man 
 proftrate on the ground, who humbly intreated him to 
 geant him his life. He afked who he was. " Theodotus," 
 he was anfwered, " formerly chief of the council of 
 *' Hierapolis, \vho, when he conducted Conftantius back, 
 " then preparing to attack you, complimented him be- 
 " fore-hand on his viftory, and with iighs and tears 
 44 cqnjured him to fend immediately to Hierapolis the 
 " head of that rebellious, that ungrateful wretch ; thus 
 c< he ftyled you." * I have heard this long ago,' faid the 
 Emperor, * and I have heard it from more than one.' Then 
 addreffing himfelf to Theodotus, who was half-dead with 
 fear, he added, * Return home in fafety, and difmifs all 
 
 * npprehenfions. You live under a prince, who, accord- 
 ' ing to the maxim of a great philofopher, fhidioufly en- 
 
 "* t!eavours to diminifli the number of his enemies, and to 
 
 * increafe that of his friends.,' Ibid. 
 
 Trajan,
 
 THE MISOPOGON. 
 
 and fplendor. Already I feigned to myfelf, and 
 faw there, as in a dream, the folemn pomp, the 
 victims, the libations, the dances, the incenfe, and 
 the boys, with minds properly difpofed to the God, 
 arrayed in white and elegant garments. But when 
 I entered the temple, I found there neither incenfe, 
 nor cake, nor victim. This much furprifed me, 
 and ' concluded that you were waiting without the 
 gate, by way of refpcft, for a fignal from me a"s 
 fovereign Pontiff *. I therefore afked the pried 
 what offering the city intended to make on that 
 folemn anniversary ? He replied, * I have brought 
 '* the Gcd a facred goofe from my own houfe, 
 " but the city has provided nothing/' Odious as 
 I am apt to render myfelf, I expoftulated, on this 
 occafion, with the fenate in fevere terms, which 
 it may not be unfeafonable here to repeat : 
 * Shameful," faid I, " it is, that fo great a city 
 " fhould contemn the Gods more than any village in 
 *' the remoteft parts of Pontus, and though poffef- 
 14 fed of a territory fo extenfive, on the late annual 
 " feftival of your tutelar Deity, the firft fmce the 
 
 Trajan, in his progrefs againfl the Parthinns, made an 
 offering to Jupiter Cnfius ; on which account his temple is 
 represented on Several of his coins, and thofe of other 
 emperors afterwards. He is fuppofed to be the fame with 
 the God Terminus among the Romans. BOVVYER. 
 
 Others derive this name of Jupiter from a hill in Pa- 
 leftine near A : .gypt, where that God had a temple, and 
 Pompey a tomb. See Luc. vu. 451. and Plin. v. 12. 
 
 * Julian difcovers his own character with that zV?, 
 that imconfcious Simplicity, which always conrlitutes true 
 h-.wour. CUK-.OX. 
 
 6 " Gods
 
 2S 4 T I! E M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 " Gods difpelled the cloud of impiety, fhould not 
 " have brought him even a Tingle bird, when 
 " every tribe ought to have facrificed an ox ! Or, 
 44 if that had been too expcnfive, the whole city 
 " might have joined to have offered him a bull. 
 " None of you fcruple being prof ufe of expence 
 " on your private entertainments, and many of 
 " you, I know, lavifh large fums on the feflival of 
 *' the Mamma * but none, either as individuals or a 
 
 " community, 
 
 * I know not whether we muft believe, on the authority 
 of Suidas and of feme comments, that the Mai'uma was 
 <irigin<;!iy a Roman feftival. Suidas fays, that in the 
 month of May, the magistrates of Rome, followed, no 
 doubt, by all the people, went to celebrate it at Oftia, and 
 that, amidft di'veriiorxs arid licentioufnefs, thej' pufhed one 
 another into the lea. But we find in no other author 
 that this feftivify was ever celebrated in Italy, or in any 
 .other part of the Weil. It even feems to have been peculiar 
 to the Orientals, and particularly to the Syrians. As 
 places where there was much v/ater were chofen for its 
 celebration, inch as the Tutnirb of Daphne near Antioch, 
 jmd we knoxv not that it was celebrated in the month of 
 IVIay, it is more probable to fuppole that it w?,s called 
 Maiuma^ becaufe th'at w< rd in "Syriac fignifies " waters.'* 
 All that is known of this feftival is, that it lafted Icven 
 days, and that it " was the efience of it not to abftain 
 " from any kind of infamy." This is the exprellion of 
 Libanius, who, a thorough Pagan as he is, often mentions 
 it with horror. Godefroy thinks that the infamous fpec- 
 tacle againft which St. John Chryfoflom inveighs with fq 
 much zeal muft refer to the iVlaiuma. In the middle of r.n, 
 amphitheatre, in a refervoir filled with water, the common 
 w omen fwam and gambolled in the fight or the whole city. 
 If Godefroy be nut miilaken, as we alfo know that the city 
 of Mai'uma in PalelUne, fituated on the fea-lhore, was par- 
 ticularly devoted to the worfhip of Venus, I fliould fufr 
 peel, that the feftival of the Maiuma had originally for its 
 
 objeft
 
 THEMOSOPOGON. 2 
 
 ' community, facrifice for their private or the 
 
 1 public fafety. The pried alone has facrificed, 
 
 1 who, in my opinion, ought rather to have car- 
 
 * ried home fome part of your offerings. For 
 ' the Gods require the priefb to honour them 
 
 * only by their probity, and attention to virtue, 
 " and their decent miniftrarion of the facred duties'; 
 4< but the city, I think, (hould facrifice both in 
 " public and private. Inftead of this, ail of you 
 " fuffer your wives to friuander your fnbftance on 
 *' the Galileans, who, by feeding the indigent at 
 
 object the celebrntion of the birth of that Godclefs, who, 
 according to the fable, fprung iron) the waves. But it an . 
 pears that, in the time of Julian, theMaaima was no longer 
 ccnlidered as part, of the religious worfhip of the Pagans. 
 However, it is no lefs ilrange to fee the Chriftians of 
 Antioch partake of this fcandalous feilivity. But, as AT. 
 de Tillemont fays, " a jgreat narion is often more zealous 
 " to delend the name of Chriltianity than to practice its 
 " morality." " A wife prince/' lays Libanii::?, (he is 
 i'uppofed to mean Coniiantius) " had fupprefled the fcilival 
 4< of the Ma'ium;.." But it was tolerated in the reigns of 
 Julian and Valens, and till the la it: years of Theodo- 
 fius I. who forbade it fome time before hjs death. Ar- 
 cadius, in 396, allowed it to be celebrated on condition 
 that nothing mould be done there contrary to decency. 
 dementi tc nojir a: placuit, ir/Maiurnar, provlncialibus la-titia red- 
 derctur ; ita tztnen nt Jervetur bo>ieftas, et vereamJia cajl'u 
 moribus perfeverct. But as it was impolfible to exact this, the 
 fame emperor forbade it three years after. Ludicras artes 
 conctdimus agitari, ne ex nimia ba'-itm reJlriElione trijlitia ge- 
 neretur. lllud verl quod Jibi nomen ffocax liccntia vindi- 
 cavit, Mai'umam foedum atque indecorum fpectacuium, ctei::- 
 gamus. xv. Cod, Tbeod. tit. vi. de Maiumd. Son:e remains 
 of this feftival were found nevefthelefs at Conftantinople in 
 the ixth century, in the reign of Leon the fon of Con- 
 ftar.tine Copronyrm s. I A Bi.fe.rERi. 
 
 " vour
 
 2 8<S T H E M I S O P O G O N. . 
 
 " your expence, exhibit a wonderful proof of 
 '* impiety to their poor, who feem to abound 
 " every where. But you, though you contemn 
 '* the worfhip of the Gods, think yourfelves blame- 
 " lefs. No one fupplies the altar with neceflaries, 
 ** not being able, I fuppofe, to defray the expence. 
 " Yet when any one of you celebrates his birth- 
 " day, he provides a fuitable entertainment, and 
 * magnificently treats his friends. While on a 
 '* folemn feftival no one brings the God a libation, 
 44 nor a viftim, nor even oil for his lamp, nor 
 ** incenfe. In what manner this may appear to 
 " any go&d man among you, I know not ; but 
 " that it cannot pleafe the God, I am certain," 
 
 Such, I remember, were my expoftulations, and 
 thefe the God, by his teflimohy, approved ; which 
 I wifh he had not, but, inftead of deferting the 
 fuburb in which he had fo long refided, had in 
 the late tempeft turned the hearts, and opened the 
 hands, of the magiflrates *. But I was fo abfurd 
 
 as 
 
 i * In the original, rwv xffe/U>. Who thefe xgatlavfo are is 
 
 pot fufficiently clear to me ; unlefs he means the guardian 
 .genji of the place [Daphne] whofe attention and power 
 were baffled by a divine interposition, which, in order to 
 avenge the people of Antjoch, occafioned that conflagra- 
 tion. YETAV, 
 The following is the manner in which the whole pafiage 
 ought, I think, to be tranflated, by repeating a negation 
 that occurs a little before. *' Jn that horrible event, 
 *' Apollo would not have diverted the attention of" the tutelar 
 " genii of the place ; he would have flopped tfee baqtb of 
 
 " thf
 
 T H E M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 as to be angry with you, when I ought rather to 
 have been filent, like many who entered the 
 temple with me, and to have made no inquifitive 
 enquiries nor reproaches. But fuch was my pre- 
 .cipitation, and fo ridiculous my flattery, (for it 
 cannot be fuppofed that the fpeech which I ad- 
 dreffed to you was dictated by friendfhip, but by 
 a vain-glorious affectation of reverence to the 
 Gods, and of a fmcere regard for you, which of 
 
 *' the incendiaries." For my part, I am convinced that 
 xsatavle; fignifies here " the people in power, the magiftrates," 
 and if I thought, that, by " the ftorm," we mould under- 
 ftand " the burning of the temple of Apollo," I would 
 tranflate it " he would not have diverted the attention of 
 *' the magiftrates." But I think it more natural to under- 
 ftand by this '* ftorm," or " agitation," **} TW ax, the 
 commotions and dlforders that happened at Antioch on ac- 
 count of the fcarcity which Julian mentions in the fequel. 
 The avarice of the magiftrates, and the moft powerful per- 
 fons of the city, was the caufe of that fcarcity. Thus 
 Julian would fay, that Apollo, if he had {till been in his 
 temple, would have prevented or flopped the diforders, 
 by touching the hearts of thofe rich mifers, by forcing them 
 to open their hands to diitribute the corn which they locked 
 up in their granaries. This is the explanation which I 
 have adopted. I will not venture, however, to affirm that 
 it is the true one. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 I adopt the fame explanation, though I choofe to tranf- 
 late the words literally. M. de la Bleterie renders them, 
 44 In the commotions by which it has lately been agitated, 
 '*' he would have forced the magiftrates to open their 
 " granaries, he would have infpired them with fentiments 
 *' more humane." TfE-^aj u^Xanov iw &aotv feems very 
 analogous to our fcripture expreffion, 05 pwrexalajMo-w xafiw, 
 K, r. X. bt fall turn the heart, &c, Mai. Y. 6. 
 
 all
 
 2fS THE MISOPOGON. 
 
 all flatteries is the mod ridiculous,) that I rafhly 
 inveighed againft you. 
 
 Juftly therefore you now repay me for thofe 
 iriveftives, though not in the fame place. For I 
 reproached you before the God, at the altar, at 
 the feet of the flatue, and in the prefence of 
 few ; bdt you are thus farcaftic on me in the 
 public markets, before all the people, and by the 
 mouths of fome of your worthy fellow-citizens. 
 For, be allured, all who fpeak have a communi- 
 cation with their hearers ; but he who eagerly 
 Jiltens to calumnies enjoys equal pleafure, with 
 more fafety, and is no lefs culpable than he who 
 utters them. 
 
 Thus the whole city hears your lampoons on 
 this unfortunate beard, and on its wearer, who 
 has never (hewn, nor will ever (hew you, what 
 you call a good example. For he will not lead 
 fuch a life as you lead yourfelvcs, and as you ex- 
 >ecl: your princes fhould lead. As to the afper- 
 iions which you have both privately and publickly 
 thrown upon me in fcurrilous anapceftie verfes, I 
 alto condemn myfelf, and very readily allow you 
 ftill farther liberty. I will never expofe you, ort 
 that account, to the danger of death, (tripes, bonds, 
 imprifonment, or to any other punimment. What 
 purpofe would that anfwer ? But as the temperate 
 life which I here lead with my friends feems to 
 you defpicable and loathfome, and exhibits a fight 
 by no means agreeable, I have determined to re- 
 move
 
 THEMJSOPOGON. 
 
 rnove and quit your city *, not from a perfuafion 
 that my perfon and manners will be more acceptable 
 where I am going, butbecaufe I think it expedient, 
 Ihould I fail of being thought good and virtuous, to 
 give. others fome fhare of my difagreeablenefs, and 
 no longer to difguft this happy city with the flench, 
 as it were, of my moderation, and of the tem- 
 perance of my friends. For none of us have pur- 
 chafed fo much as a field or a garden herej or have 
 married, or given in marrhge, or have been en- 
 chanted with any of your amufements; nor have we 
 coveted the Affyrian wealth, nor been lavilh of our 
 patronages } ; nor have we fuffered any of the 
 magiftrates to lhare with us the dominion over you J 
 nor have we allured the people by the ruinous 
 fcftivity of banquets or plays. On the contrary, 
 we have made them fo voluptuous, that, free froni 
 any apprehenfions of indigence^ they have com- 
 pofed anapsefts on thofe to whom they are in- 
 debted for fo much affluence. No gold have we 
 exa&ed, no filver have we demanded, nor have w$ 
 
 * Julian had refolved to return after the Perfian cam- 
 paign, and to pals the winter at Tarfus in Cilicia, 
 
 LA BLETERIE. 
 
 This not being permitted, he ordered his corpfe to be 
 interred there, in the fuburbs. 
 
 + Oui' iv/xjUE8 ra? wjofacrczs. In the Latin, Neqae pree- 
 fccluras defaflifumus. Rather, Ndjue patroclnia diftribuimus. 
 For he means the guardianihip rjnd proteftion of certain 
 orders, and bodies, or the negociation of bufinefs with the 
 Emperor, the foliciting which \vas very lucrative to the 
 great. PETAU; 
 
 VOL, 1. T ^ increafed
 
 THE MI90POGON* 
 
 increafed the taxes ; but, befides the arrears 
 due, we have remitted to all a fifth of what they 
 ufed to pay. 
 
 Not contented with being regular myfelf, I have 
 alfo, (by Jupiter and all the Gods, I am firmly 
 perfuaded) a moft temperate ufher *j who has 
 been much cenfured, however, by you, becaufe 
 though old, and rather bald on the fore part of 
 his head, yet fuch is his perverfenefs, that he 
 is not afhamed to wear his hair on the back parr, 
 like the A'oantes -f of Homer. Two or three more, 
 in no rd'petf his inferiors, 1 may fay four, 1 have alfo 
 at my houfe ; and if you delire even a fifth, fuch 
 was my maternal uncle and namefake J, who go- 
 verned 
 
 * I know not whom Julian here riieans. LA Br,tEftfE. 
 
 EKror/yEXstv One who introduces perfons to a king of 
 prince. ROBERTSON* 
 
 This anfwers to the Englifh word and place of gentle- 
 man-ufher,- or matter of the ceremonies. 
 
 j Among the Greeks who went to the fiege of Troyy 
 Homer reckons the Abantes, to whom he gives the epithet 
 of Mn6e x&^oWlis, retro comati t becaufe they threw their hair 
 back. LABI.ETEUJE. 
 
 Down their broad fhoulders flows a length of hair. POPE. 
 I Julian, Count of the Haft, brother ta Bafilirta. After 
 the profanation and deftruftion of Daphne, (fee p. 248.) 
 bein ordered by the Emperor to flint up the cathedral of 
 Antioch, then poffefled by the Arians, his zeal induced 
 him to exceed hie commilTion by {hutting up all the other 
 churches, and even by beheading a prefbyter, named Theo- 
 tioret. For this rafli ac"t being reprimanded by his nephew, 
 he was feiz'sd, a few days after, with an inveterate ulcer, 
 of which he languiflied two months, and then died. " His 
 '* feaianabit; death," fays Mr. Gibbon, " is related with 
 
 " nmch
 
 T HE M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 Verned you with the flri&eft juftice, as long as the 
 'Gods allowed him to continue and co-operate 
 with us, though he did not manage the affairs of the 
 city with the utmoft prudence. For thofe governors 
 who rule with mildnefs rind moderation feem to me 
 highly laudable, and this, I hoped, would have 
 atoned for my warn of beauty. But fince the 
 length of my beard, the negligence of my hair, 
 my diflike to the theatres, my gravity in the 
 temples, and, above all, my adherence to equity 
 in the courts of juftice, and my earned endeavours 
 to banifh extortion have given you fuch of- 
 fence, I (hall with pleafure leave your city. If I 
 were to attempt to alter my conduct, I fhould pro- 
 bably exemplify the old fable of the kite. For the 
 kite, it is faid, having originally a voice like 
 othtr birds, was defirous to neigh like a hi'gh-bred 
 horfe ; but not being able to attain the one, and 
 lofing the other, he was afterwards deprived of both, 
 and in voice became inferior to them all. In like 
 manner, I am very appiehenfive of being neither 
 rultic nor polite. For, as yon yourfelves perceivtf 5 
 I am now, by the will of the Gods, on the verge of 
 that age, when, according to the Tcian poet, 
 
 Grey hairs will mingle with the black *. 
 
 But 
 
 <c much iuperfHtious complacency by the Abbe de la Ble- 
 " terie." To the above-mentioned indifcretion of his uncle 
 the Emperor probably here alludes. See Epiitie xiil. 
 which is .addretfed to this Count Julian. 
 
 * Et/lf fxot \iVKCti fxiXv^ ta^.Ei4i;</v]a T^^i^. 
 
 The poems of Anacreon, no\v preiervcd, are faid to have 
 
 been firft difcovered by Henry Stephens ; but where or how 
 
 U '*
 
 THE M I S O C G O tf . 
 
 But tell me now, I conjure you, by the im* 
 mortal Gods, and by Jupiter, the guardian of your 
 city, what has occasioned this ingratitude ? Has' 
 any private or public offence of mine fo provoked 
 you, that, nor being able openly to revenge it, 
 you lampoon me in the forum, in anapaftic verfes* 
 as the comic poets treat and reprefent Hercules 
 
 ' and Bacchus * ? Is it becaufe, though I have 
 abfiained from injuring you by my deeds, I have 
 offended you by words, that you tafce your revenge 
 in the fame manner? Can- this have occafioned 
 your enmity and refentment ? But certain I am r 
 
 "that nothing injurious, nothing offenfive, has been 
 done, nor any thing reproachful faid, by me, either 
 
 is frar'ce known. His firft edition of them, which 
 publiftied at Paris in 1544, was deemed a happy difcovery 
 lay fome of the learned, and fufpe&ed by others. Stephens,- 
 
 ' falling into a kind of diftrnftiort in the latter part of his 
 life, fuftered his two MSS. which he had carefully collated, 
 to perifh, without corrirmmicating them even to Gafaubcn, 
 his ibn-in la\v. This we learn from M. de la Mormoie in 
 Bayle's article Anacreon^ And M. de Pauw, whopubliflied 
 an edition of that poet at Utrecht in 1732, in 410, is 
 fully perfuaded that the odes were compofed by different 
 authors ; and, befides, doubts whether Anacreon was really 
 the author of any fingle ode ill the whole collection. Julian 
 has quoted from him one paffage (as above), and refers to- 
 
 . another in his xvmth Epiftle. But neither of them are 
 to be found in Stephens's edition. 
 
 * Ws need only open Ariftophanes, and caft an eye, in 
 particular, on his comedies of The Frogs and The Birds, 
 to be convinced of the licentioufnefs with which the Greek 
 poets treated the Gods. The moft .abufed, and thofe 
 whom they reprefented in the moft ridt&ulous chara&ers^ 
 "tvere Bacchus and Hercules. L.A BLETERIE, 
 
 privately
 
 THE M1SOPOGO N. 
 
 privately againft individuals, or publicly agamft 
 the community. I have even beftowed commen- 
 dations, whenever I thought them due; and I have, 
 in foire refpe&s, been ferviceable to you, as bc- 
 .carne one who was deflrous of being, to the ut- 
 moil of his power, a general benefactor. It was 
 jmpoflib'e, you may be affured, that all the taxes 
 fnould be remitted to thofe who pay them, and 
 that by thofe who ufed to receive them all Ihould 
 be returned. As therefore it appears that I have 
 not diminifhed the public Jargefles, which ufed to 
 be defrayed at the Imperial expence, though I 
 have remitted you feveral taxes, does not this feena 
 mylterious ? But it is more proper for me to be filent 
 as to what I have done tor all the citizens in 
 general, that I may not feena ftudioufly to publifli 
 my owa panegyric, after declaring that I would 
 compote a bitter fatire on myfelf, The inftancef 
 of my railinefs and imprudence towards you, though 
 they ought not to have incurred your difplcafure, 
 jr is, I think, incumbent on me to mention, as 
 they are really difgraceful to me, and being more 
 true, and relating wholly to my mind, are much 
 more important than my peribnal defects, I mean 
 the roughnefs of my vifage, and my unpolit.enefs *, 
 
 * K> TU; wxipfGOKTKts. Venerls odium in the Latin traRfla- 
 tion, not properly. To wa.$pX\vi is oppofed to t-raQpMn. 
 But this means " agreeable and elegant." That therefore 
 js " difagrceable and inelegant ;"'and arnQptyr^ " rulticity, 
 i' unpolitenefs." PETAU. 
 
 U 3 And,
 
 THE M I 3 O P O G O N. 
 
 And, firft, I highly extolled yon, before I was 
 acquainted with yon, or was apprifed on what 
 terms we fhould be, on this confideration only, that 
 you were defcended from the Greeks, as I, though 
 by birth aThracian, am in manners and difpofition 
 a Greek. I prefurned, therefore, that we fhould 
 have a mutual regard for each other. In this one 
 inftance I judged rafaly. Afterwards, though you 
 were the laft who fent ambafladors to me, not ex- 
 cepting the Alexandrians, who are fo remote as 
 ./Egypt, yet I remitted you much gold and filver, 
 and many taxes, in particular, more than to any 
 other city. I alfo augmented the number of your 
 ienators * to two hundred, and I exempted none f, 
 
 my 
 
 * Zef.juiis, /. in. " The Emperor, indulging the city, as 
 t was juft, and granting it a large number of ienators who 
 ** were defcended from parents of that rank, who were born 
 *' of the daughters of fenators, (which, we know, was al- 
 *' lowed to few cities.)" But this was not fo agreeable and 
 honourable to thofe who were enrolled as to the city itfelf. 
 For it was rather burthenforne to be returned to the fenate, 
 and generally declined on account of the weight of afleff- 
 ments. Therefore, fcon after, he fays, he enrolled thofe 
 two hundred in the fenate, " fparing no one," ps-a//.in? 
 K&VO?. For .the more powerful and opulent thought it, as 
 has been obferved, a burthen ; and therefore they were to 
 be compelled. Ibid. 
 
 f- Every city had a fenatr, which was called in Latin 
 Ctiria % the name of Senatus b, :i::g ufually appropriated to 
 the fenntes of Rome and Gonftantinople. Two annual 
 
 ates, named Dmun-'ii-i, were at the head of that 
 ly, \vhofe members bore the name of Curialcs or De- 
 
 . The decurions, arrnng other burthcnfoir.e fnnc- 
 s, were charged with collecting the taxes in the diflricl:
 
 THE M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 my view being to increafe and aggrandife your city, 
 I allowed you therefore to choofe them from 
 among the richeft of my treafurers *, and the 
 officers of the mint. You did nor, however, make 
 choice of thofe who were heft qualified, but, when 
 an opportunity offered, your conduct was that of an 
 ill-governed city, and not unlike yourfelves. Shall 
 I remind you of one inftance ? Having nominated 
 a certain fenator, before he was enrolled on the 
 lift, and while the procefs of his election was yet 
 depending, you dragged him from the .ftreets into 
 the fen ate, indigent as -he was, and thus admitted 
 into your fociety one of the lowed of the people, 
 of thofe who are every where elle difregarded, but 
 whom you chofe to purchafe at any price f. Such 
 
 is 
 
 qf their city, and with making good the payments. Indi- 
 viduals therefore avoided thole places as much as they 
 could. But it was equally the intereft of the empire, and 
 of the cities, to have the curia: numerous and filled with re- 
 iponhble perfons. Citriales fcrvos cjfi rdpullicee, ac vifccra dvi- 
 latum, x>.'i'!us igr.orat, t^orifin catnm re etc (ifpctut-'-'it antniin f as 
 minor cm Staatum, fays the Emperor Majorun . %fai / VbecX, 
 I. iv. tit. i. Julian therefore gave a proof of his zeal for the 
 public good, and of his affeftign for the city of Amioch, by 
 {jiiowing it to augment the number of its lenators, and to 
 ghoofe Them iron- among the officers of the Emperor, who 
 .nded that they \v ere exempted. LA BI.ETERIE. 
 
 * ATTC ra> 7riTcvto-'/wy ra? Svjya-jps;. He means the Pr.-?- 
 
 feds and Counts of the treafuries, of whom the Notitia 
 
 treats ; .who were under the direakm of the Counts ot th 
 
 i largefles. Thus c ffya<7-^iv> TO ^i^ are the 
 
 officers of the mint. PiiTAU. 
 
 f Martinius and Spanheim confider this as two inilances 
 of popular ikentioulnefs j the one, that of a man, who 
 
 U 4 was
 
 THE M I S O P 6 G Q tf. 
 
 is your difcernment. Many of your elections have 
 been equally irregular, but, as I cannot connive 
 at them all, the remembrance of my pad favours 
 is loft ; and for the refufal of what juftice \voul^ 
 not allow me to grant, you, are incenfed againfl 
 me. But thefe were of little importance, and by 
 no means fufficient to irritate the whole city. What 
 follows was my chief offence, and gave the grea.tei): 
 provocation *. 
 
 When I firft came hither, the people, opprefled 
 by the rich, began with exclaiming in the theatre, 
 *' There is plenty of all things, yet all things are 
 " extravagantly dear." Next day I diicourfed 
 with your magiftrates, and endeavoured to con- 
 vince them of the propriety of fpurning imjuft, 
 
 was enrolled into the fenate, while he had a fuit depend-' 
 ing, whofe iflue ought to have been expected ; the other, 
 that of a poor man, taken from the dregs of the people. 
 Their miftake feems to arjfe from the words pinupa t^ Su*; 
 urns, which they apply to a la'.v-fuit, and AXXO, which, as 
 "ufually printed, begins the next fentence. But the former 
 words may as. well refer to the procefs of the fenatorial 
 election yet undetermined, and accordingly M. de la file-' 
 terie trariflates them, krfque le prods, dont fa nonimatior. 
 fatfuivie, etoit encore pendant . And for AXXo (" Another 
 " man") I would fubftirute xx or \x' (* but"), and 
 clofe the former paragraph with a comma only, or femi- 
 colon. 'That Julian meant to produce no more than a 
 fingle inftance appears from his introductory words, Ewx^fli 
 t*o? y/*j vxopwru ; " Will yoii allow me to remind you of 
 one of them ?" 
 
 * Julian proceeds to make^his apology on account of the 
 Kind 'of famine which Antioch fuffered, while he refided 
 there! Let him fay what he will, the conduct, which he 
 then purfued, does lefs honour to his prudence than to his 
 diTintereitednefs and good intentions. LA BLhTERiE, 
 
 gain.
 
 T H E M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 gain, and of obliging their fellow-citizens and 
 foreigners. They promifed to attend to what I 
 faid ; but after waiting with confidence for three 
 months, fuch was their negligence that I defpaired 
 of any good efi'ect. Finding therefore that the 
 popular clamour was juft and reafonable, and that- 
 the markets were iiraitened not by dearth, b\at by 
 the avarice of the rich, I fixed a moderate price 
 on every commodity, of which I ordered public 
 notice to be given. And as there was great plenty 
 of wine, oil, and all other provifions, except 
 wheat, whofe fcarcity was owing to the drought 
 of the preceding year, I determined to fupply 
 tbat deficiency from Chalcis, Hierapolis, and other 
 neighbouring cities. From them I imported for 
 your ufe four hundred thoufand meafures ; and 
 when they were confiimed, I brought from my own 
 houfe, and gave to the city, fir ft, five thoufand, 
 then feven thoufand, and now, laftly, ten thoufand 
 modii, as you ftyle them, all which wheat was fent 
 in e from ^E^ypt, for my own confumption, and 
 fifteen meafures I ordered to be fold at the fame 
 price that ufed formerly to be given for ten *. If ten 
 
 meafures 
 
 ! * With a falutary view, the Emperor ventured on a 
 very dangerous and doubtful ftep, of fixing, by legaUn- 
 thority, the value of corn. . . . The corifequences might 
 We been forefeen, and were foon felt. The Imperial 
 wheat was purcafed by the rich merchants ; the proprietors 
 of land, or of corn, with-held from the city the accuf- 
 tomed fupply ; and the (in all quantities that appeared "ui 
 the market were fecretly fold at an advanced and illegal 
 
 price.
 
 THE MISOPOGON. 
 
 raeafures eoft you an aureits* in fummer, what could 
 be expected, when, as the Boeotian poet fays, 
 
 cruel famine rages in the houfe -f ? 
 
 Would you not have accepted five meafures +, 
 or lefs, in fuch u ievcre winter as followed ? 
 Why then did your rich merchants clan deft i net y 
 fell their (landing corn for more, and thus take 
 advantage of the public diftrefs I Notwithftanding 
 this, befides the citizens , numbers alfo from the 
 
 country 
 
 price. Julian fti.ll continued to applaud his o\vn policy, 
 treated the complaints of the people as a v:un and ungrate- 
 ful murmur, and convinced Antioch, that he had inherited 
 the obftinacy, though not the cruelty, of his brother- 
 Callus. The ignorance of the moft enlightened princes 
 may claim fome excufe ;' bvtt we cannot be fatisfied with* 
 Julian's own defence [as above], or the elaborate apology of 
 Libanius, Orat. Parent, c. xcvii.^>. 321. GIIJEON, 
 
 * From Mr. Greaves's elements, in his excellent dif- 
 eourfe on the thnarius^ we may fix the currency of the 
 aureus at fomewhat more than eleven {hillings. Ibid. 
 
 "} KatXtTcy ycyyic^mu TOV >.ipiov iwi aofjiali. 
 
 " If I have fearched well," (as M. de la Bleterie fays of 
 another paffage), thefe words are not to be found in any 
 of the works of Pindar that have been tranfmitted to us, 
 
 * Julian fhtes three different proportions of five, ten, 
 or fifteen mediifd wheat, for one piece of gold, according 
 tt) the degrees of plenty and fcarcity. From this fact, 
 and from fome collateral examples, I conclude, that, under 
 the fuccefibrs of Conftantine, the moderate price of wheat 
 \vas about thirty-two ihTiings the Englifh quarter, which 
 is equal to the average price of the fixty-four firft years of 
 the prefent century. GIEBOV. 
 
 Kai v% >i rro^i? /xoic. Something, I think, is wanting 
 here. For the fentence feems abrupt, and rather incom- 
 plete, Underftand it thus. Julian made the price of corn 
 only, and the making of bread, cheap ; that is, he fold 
 fifteen /.'->V;V of corn for one folidus. But the Antiochians, 
 
 betide?
 
 THE M I S O P O G O N. 299 
 
 country came hither in crowds to purchafe bread, 
 the cnly commodity that is plentiful and cheap. 
 But which of you remembers, even in the mod 
 favourable feafons, fifteen meafures of corn fold fo 
 cheap as for one aurzus? I was therefore hated by 
 you bec-iufe I would not fuffer wine, vegetables, 
 and fruit to be fold at an exorbitant price, nor 
 corn, which the rich had hoarded in their granaries, 
 to be immediately converted by them into gold and 
 filver. They infamoufly fold it to foreigners, and, 
 in confequence, expofed you to famine, 
 
 that cruel fcourge of mortals, * 
 
 as ic is ftyled by a God, who feverely reprobates 
 fuch tranfgreffors. Thus, by my attention, the 
 
 pefuies corn, wiflied to have plenty alfo of wine, vegetable:?, 
 and fruit. Compare this with another paffage (p. 2^8.) 
 where he mentions their complaints again ft him for occn- 
 fioning a plenty of bread only, and not alfo of wine, full, 
 and poultry. 'But: here, he fays, he was reproached for 
 net fuffering garden -ft tiff and fruit a?roWae-s x?'-. " to 
 ' be fold for gold." Where x,f vcrr >^ thr1t > 3 " g olt V 
 not XK'J'^i " a P iece f 8^' ^ ca U ed >" I fuppofe to be 
 meant. For when the common people had hitherto pur- 
 chafed from the rich, at an extravagant price, not only 
 corn but wine, and other articles lefs neceiury to fubfiiience 
 than coin, Julian, by fuppiying the people with plenty of 
 corn alone/ in this particular alleviated their wants. But 
 xvhen by his edict he had lowered the prices of meat, wine, 
 ann other things, they w^ere no longer pnblickly fold by the 
 rich; which not being regarded by the Emperor occasioned 
 the popular complaints. PETAV. 
 
 * Ai,,o> aXoiflV.jw |3 ? J!w. This is the concluuon of an 
 Jieroic verie, though not fo diilinguifhed in the edition*'. I 
 luppofe it to be taken from one of the Didymxan oracles 
 (k> called) from which Julian has given another quotation in 
 Jus putitsof a fried:, p. 150, and in his LSI id Epiftlc. ^ 
 
 city
 
 T H E JVI I S O P G O N. 
 
 city abounded in bread, but in nothing elfe. Suclj 
 conduO, I was well aware, would not be generally 
 pleafmg; but this gave me no concern, as I thoughl 
 it my duty to relieve an oppreffed people, and alfo 
 the foreigners who accompanied me hither, and 
 the officers who attended me. But fince they arc 
 now departed, and the whole dry has combined 
 againft me, being hated by fome, and from others, 
 whom I have fupported, having no return but m~. 
 gratitude, relying on divine Nemefis, I will remove 
 to another nation, another city, without reminding 
 you of your ac-h pf juitice on yourfelves nine years 
 $go *, when the populace, with furious clamours, 
 fet fire to the houfcs of the magidrates, and mnf=- 
 facred the governor; and, in return, were punilhed 
 V>y a refentment juil in the motive, but rigorous in. 
 the execution f. 
 
 ;; - In 354, whettQallus fet out for Hier-apolis, the people? 
 p.f Antioch begged him to order an importation of corn. 
 Gallus contented himielf with replying, that " he left the;n 
 V Theophiius, governor of Syria, who very \vell knew 
 *' how to procure it for them." The people, remembering 
 {hefe words, made Theophiius rei'ponfible for the dearth, 
 On account of a quarrel that happened at the games of the 
 Circus, they attacked and murdered the governor, and di- 
 verted themfelves with dragging his body through the 
 fa'eets. Eubulns, one of the principal perfons of the city, 
 grid, his foji, narrowly efcaped the lame treatment, but the 
 people fet fire to their houie. Conltantius fent Strategiui 
 to punifia the rioters. Julian hints that it was a,t the defire 
 pf the imgiftrates. LA BLETERIE. 
 
 ^ Libanius, however, in his oration on this fedition, 
 applauds the clemency of Conftantius. 
 
 In
 
 THE M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 In fhort, what part of my conduct has given 
 you fo much offence ? Is it my fupporting you, 
 from my own houfe, at an cxpcnce which no other 
 city has feen equalled ? Is it my augmenting the 
 number of your feriators ? Is it my pardoning 
 the frauds \vhich I have detected? left this fliould 
 be deemed a rhetorical fiaion, let me fpeciiy one* 
 or two, Three thouiand lots of land, you faid* 
 \Vere vacant *, and defired the grant of them? but 
 When they were granted, the rich alone divided' 
 them. This, en enquiry, being clearly proved, I 
 rook them from thofe unjuft pofieflbrsv and making, 
 no fcrutiny into tbe former exemption of thofe 
 v?ho had no right to it, applied them to the prin- 
 cipal expences of the city. Thus thofe of yoif 
 who annually breed korfes have about three thofc- 
 fand exempt portions, owing partly to the pfu- 
 derice and good management of my uncle and' 
 naraefake f, and partly to my generofny, v/ha, 
 for thus punifliiKg thieves and cheats, am juftly 
 thought by you to have fub verted the world |>- 
 
 *' He here charges ths Antiochians w'.th another in! 
 of ingratitude. For when three thoufand ^^., or lots', of 
 bnd,were vacant, having fallen in by the deaths of the 
 heirs, Julian, at their requeft, gave them to the cmz; 
 But as the few rich divided them among themieives, he ioon 
 after refumed them, and -rsficred them to the public to 
 the cxpence of their games and entertainments, efpecially 
 thofe of the Circus; which, he fays, was the after bis 
 v.ncle Julian. 
 
 f Count Julian, of whom above, p. 290. 
 
 1 See p. >-,,,
 
 T H E M I S O P O G O N. 
 
 For, believe me, lenity to fuch offenders encourages 
 and hardens the wicked *. 
 
 This is the whole of my meaning, and with this 
 I fhali clofe my difcourfe. My misfortunes originate 
 from myfelf alone. They are owing to the inpra- - 
 
 / O O 
 
 titude of thofe whom I have obliged, and are there- 
 fore the effect, not of your liberty, but of my 
 folly. This will teach me to act with more dif- 
 cretion for the future, and for the kindneis which 
 you have publicly (hewn me, may you be properly 
 requited by the Gods -f-! 
 
 * Julian, it is obfefvable, is filent as to his fending the 
 uhole body of the fenators of Antioch, contiiting of two 
 hundred of the moft noble and wealthy citizens, under a 
 guard, from the palace to the prifon, for their difrefpec"tfui 
 ;nd intcrefled boldnefs. Bwt he fuffered them to return to 
 their refpedive houfes before the clofe of the evening. 
 " Their (liort and eafy confinement," fays Mr. Gibbon, 
 " is gently touched by Libani'us, \Ofat.Paretft. c. xcvni. 
 
 " PP- 53 2 > 333-") 
 
 f Though Julian affected to laugh, he could not forgive. 
 
 His contempt v,-as expiefled, and his revenge might be 
 gratified, by the nomination of a governor [A'exancier, of 
 Heliopolis] worthy only of fuch fubjefts ; and tiie Emperor, 
 for ever renouncing the ungrateful city, proclaimed his re- 
 folution to pafs the enfuing winter at Tarfus in Cilicia. 
 Ubanius, in a profefTcd oration, invites him to return to 
 his loyal and penitent city at Antioch. GfBEO'N. 
 
 Soon after writing this fatire, viz. March' 5, 365, Julian 
 began his march towards Ferfia, of which he has given the 
 particulars, as far as Hierapolis^ in his xxviith Epiftle 
 (the lateft extant), to Libanius, *' one citizen of Antioch," 
 as the sbove citfd hiflofiari exprefTes it, '* whole genius and 
 " virtues might atone, in the opinion of Julian, for the 
 ct vice and folly of his country." 
 
 XVI
 
 C 33 
 
 XVIEpimesofIJBANIUS*toJULIAN< 
 
 E P I S T L E I. t 
 
 AY the prefent health and ftrength, that, 
 you fay, you poffefs, be your conflant 
 portion ! E'or your grief may God fupply a remedy 1 
 Or rather your grief requires in part only the 
 
 affi fiance 
 
 * The fophift. Libanius was born in the capital of the 
 Kr.il [Antioch]. He pnblickly profctfed the arts of rhetoric 
 r.nd declamation at Nice, Nicomedia, Conftantinople, 
 Athens, and, during the remainder of his life, at Air- 
 tioch. The preceptors of Julian had extorted a rafli but 
 folemn afiurance. that he would never attend the lec- 
 tures of their adverfary : the curiolity of the royal youth 
 \ras checked and infkuned j he fecfetly procured the writ- 
 higs of thrs ckngenA 1 s fophift, and gradually furpafled. ia 
 the perfect imitation of his ftyle, the moft laborious of his 
 domeiti'c pupils. When Julian afcended the throne, he 
 declared his impatience to embrace and reward the Syrian 
 fophift, who had preferved, ia a degenerate age, the Gre- 
 cian purity of taile, of mariners, and of reMgion. The 
 Emperor's prepofleitlon v.-as increased ind juftified by the 
 difcreet pride of his favourite. Inftead of preffing, with 
 the foremoft of the crowd,- into the palace of Conlian- 
 tinople, Libanius calmly expected his arrival at Antioch; 
 withdrew from court, on the firft fymptoms of coldneft 
 and indifference; required a formal invitation for each vifitj 
 and taught his fovereign an important leflbn, that he 
 might command the obedience of a fubjecl:, but that he 
 muft deferve the attachment cf a friend. . . The volu- 
 minous
 
 EPISTLES OP LIBANIUS. 
 
 affiflance of God, for fome part of it you your- 
 felf can alleviate. You are able, if you pleafe, 
 to re-build rhe city J ; but for your concern on 
 
 account 
 
 rninous wHtings*of Libanius ftill ex'ft i rj-nong them, near 
 two thoufancl of his letters * ... His birth is ;i(Hgncd to 
 the year 314. [In a letter to Prifcus] he mentions the y6th 
 year of his age (A. D. 396.) and feems to allude to iome 
 events of flill later date. GIEEON. 
 
 Libanius was a great admirer of Julian, fond of Gentilifm, 
 and averfe to Chriftianity, but not an enemy to all Chrif- 
 tians. He did not embrace Chriftianity, having been edu- 
 cated in great prejudices againft it, and having never ex- 
 amined its evidence. Neverthelefs, I cannot but efteem 
 him an nfeful man. For, as Socrates acknowledges, he 
 \VP.S an excellent fophift ; he was continually employed in 
 teaching polite literature; and had many fcholars ; fomc 
 of whom were afterwards men of great eminence. Among 
 them, Socrates and Sozomen reckon John Chryibflom, 
 Theodore of Mopfoueftia, and Maximus bifhop of Seleucia 
 in Ifauria. LAIIUNER. 
 
 By comparing their works, we find in reality that Julian 
 refembles Libanius, but it is with a handibme likenefs, and 
 in the fame manner as a perlbn of quality, who fpeaks 
 well without affecting to do fo, mny be faid to referable a 
 rhetorician who makes it his fhidy. " Hence, I imagine," 
 fays Libanius, " his fubfequent writings have fome affinity 
 " to our ftyle, as if he had been one of our fcholars." 
 Julian fubmitted to his criticifm both his actions and writ- 
 ings. He was thought to have aflifted him in the compo r 
 iition of the Mifopogon. *' Libanius," faid he, *' loves 
 ic me more than ever my mother did; he is not attached 
 *' to my fortune, but to my perfon." LA BLETERIE. 
 
 f- This Epiftle is one of the three firft publiflied by 
 Fabricius, with a Latin tranflation, in his Bibliotheca 
 Grseca, vol. vii. p. 397. In the edition of Wollius, it is 
 the xxxmd. 
 
 | Nicomedia, the capital of Bythinia, which, from the 
 .beauty of its fituation, the magnificence of its buildings, 
 
 ' In his Life, his lettrrr?, he fays, were innumerable. 
 
 its
 
 EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS. 
 
 account of the dead, may Heaven afford you con- 
 folation ! Nicomedia, ruined as (he is, I deem 
 moft happy. Her fafety indeed would have beeri 
 mott defirahle ; but even thus (he is honoured * by 
 your tears. Nor are thefe inferior to tlie lamen- 
 tations which the Mufes are faid to have- uttered 
 for Achilles f, or to the drops of blood which 
 Jupiter, in honour of his deareft fon, poured du\vn 
 at the approaching death of Sarpedon |. Thnt 
 (lie therefore, who was lately a city, may .again be 
 a city, will be your concern. Elpidius , always 
 
 its grandeur, and its riches, had been looked upon as the 
 fifth city in the world, was dellroyed by an earthquake^ 
 Aug. 24, 358, followed by a fire which lafted five days* 
 A monody, by Libanius, on this fubjeft, 1 have iuferted in 
 vol. II. Julian was thn only Cxfar ; but he vifited the cityj 
 and gave orders for re-building it, in his way from Conftan- 
 tinople to Antioch, May i$, 362, after his acceiiion to the 
 empire. Another earthquake, which was alfo felt at CorN 
 ftantinople and Nice* fwallowed up the remains of Nico- 
 media, on J inuary i, 363. 
 
 * Teif*nlat $( o'-xa's I have added, to complete the fenfe, 
 from the [French] king's hfgeft MS. where thefe. words are 
 Written -in the margin, but in a more modern hand. That 
 of the Vatican alfo has on the fide !1*fWlt & t>/*ws vtema-x^ 
 For the city might be honoured indeed, but could not be 
 reftored from irs ruins, by the tears of Julian. Valois 
 quotes this pailuge of Libanius, in his notes on Ammianus, 
 
 XXII. 9. p 319. WOJLFIUS* 
 
 f Alluding to Homer, OdyfT. xxiv. 60. 
 
 Round thee the Muies, with alternate (train, 
 
 In ever confecrating verfe, complain. POPE, 77. 
 
 .^ Iliad, xvi. 459. 
 
 Then, touch'd with grief, the weeping heavens diflill'd 
 
 A mower of blood o'er all the fatal field. POPE, 559. 
 
 A philofopher, towhom Julian has addrefied his Lviith 
 Epillle. Libanins alfo has addretfed feveral gpiitles to him, 
 and has mentioned him in feveral others. 
 
 VOL* I.- X a man
 
 EPISTLES. OF L I B A N I U S. 
 
 a man of dittinguifbed probity, has now made 
 wonderful improvements. Thus it is not only true, 
 as Sophocles fays, that 
 
 Wife kings are form'd by converfe with the wife *, 
 but the wildom of a king improves alfo his friends 
 in virtue. So ferviceable have you been to Elpi- 
 dius, making him not only richer but better. 
 Though younger than he, you have been his in- 
 ftruclor in thefe laudable purfuits, in equity, in an 
 eager deiire to alTjir. his friends, to treat cour- 
 teoufly thofe whom he knows not, and by fo treat- 
 ing them, always to retain their friendfhip. For 
 si!., who have approached and converfed with him, 
 have firft admired and then inftantly loved him, or 
 rather have difcovered your ideas in all that you 
 have entrufted to him. I often difcourfe with him ; 
 and all our difcourfes turn on you, on the under* 
 fhnding that you poflefs, and the important affairs 
 in which you are engaged. The manner in which 
 you will complete them, and how you will ward 
 ibme impending dangers, we have fagely difcuffed. 
 I feemed, as it were, converting with yourielf. With 
 particular pleafure I received the intelligence of your 
 having defeated the Barbarians -j~, and that you had 
 related your vi&ories in a commentary J, thus afting 
 
 ruin <ro*p'j.-v tri/vyn*. 
 
 I have ft arched Sophocles in vain for this verfe. WOLFIUS. 
 
 f Probably his vidtories over the Salian franks and Cha- 
 marians. See the Epiftle to the Athenians, p. 87. 
 
 J We (hould add him to the number of celebrated hif- 
 torians, if his Memoirs of the Gallic war had been tranf- 
 mitted to us. LA BLETERIH. 
 
 at
 
 f 1 5 T;I/&5 O F. L I B A N J U S. 
 
 at once as an orator and a general *. Achilles 
 required a Homer, and Alexander many fuch f , 
 But your tronhk?,. ycsir own. 7oice, which has 
 erefod them, will tranfmit to pofterity. Thus 
 you furpafs the fophiiis, by propofmg to them not 
 only actions for them to celebrate, but thp ora- 
 tions, which you have composed on your aftibns, for 
 their emulation. 
 
 To thefe your trophies I with yon to add that 
 of reftoring Pompetanus j to his rights ; and think 
 not this an unworthy contention. For this is the 
 man, whom -formerly, in Bithynia, when he was 
 ambaflador frorn hence, you faw with pleafure, and, 
 on being informed of what he had been defrauded, 
 gave him hopes of recovering his property. Of this 
 promife, O prince $,- 1 intreat you to be mindful. 
 
 V*. 
 
 * Seethe EpHHe to the Athenians, p. S3, note-*, 
 f T.lavan* [the common reading] has no meaning. Span- 
 heim has aJyfa>1w, perhaps for <ny^nn t " writers.'' 
 M. V. la Croze preferred S|iv, (" Sirens/') To me it^is 
 not yet clear, Suppofe we fliouid read ut (" fuch,") 
 which I hare expreffed in my tranflation ? Saivinius has 
 " Titenibus." WOLFIUS. 
 
 ^ Pompeianus, who had been prsfeft of Bithynia, JS 
 mentioned withelogiumsiyLibanius in many other EpiiHcs, 
 suid fome are ^itb addreffed to him. 
 
 O Bo-Xi!;. Thtongh Julian was then only Csefar, as 
 appears from fome pafTages above, both Fabricius and Wol- 
 fius have tranflated this Imferatar. But B<rX;s was often 
 applied to the Caefars, 
 
 X z EPISTLE
 
 EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS. 
 
 EPISTLE II. . 
 A " D * A RE y u t ^ en forgetful f us But Phoenicia 
 
 362* /"% 
 
 -* -*^ does not faffer us to be forgetful of you, as 
 Ihe celebrates your reign in immortal hymns -f. 
 From your { Afia alfo flows the fame of your 
 actions, increafing our expectations. For nothing 
 that we have heard, great as all thefe a&ions are, 
 is fo great as to exceed the hopes that we have 
 formed. We, on account of our relation to the 
 lonians Si rejoice, irufling that you will proceed 
 in the right road, and that your authority both 
 .over them and us will be .more firmly eftablifhed. 
 But this muft be left to the providence of God. 
 
 Andragathius, in requeuing to be the bearer of 
 this,- has rather conferred than afked a favour of me. 
 
 * This is another of the Epiftles preferved by Fabiicius. 
 In the edition of Wolfins it is the ccxxivth. 
 
 f Godefroi, in one of the indexes to his edition of the 
 Theodofian Code, quotes this paffage ; but fuppoles this 
 letter (then unpublifhed) to be addreffed to Count Julian, 
 Confular of Phoenicia. 
 
 J Y^tlffaf. In the Barocc. MS. H^fle^. Our reading is 
 fupported by four others; and juftly, as Libanius appeals to 
 the accounts fent him, of the aftions performed by Julian, 
 from foreign and diftant parts. Addrelling Julian, he flyles 
 Ionia (which is foon after eloquently named) " Tour Afia," 
 meaning a diftrid of Afia Minor, in which, having left 
 Phoenicia, he then was. WOLFIUS. 
 
 For this relationfhip, of which Libanius, an orator of 
 Antioch, here boafts, the fcholiaft thus accounts : " The 
 ** Jonians near Smyrna formerly fent a colony to Antioch, 
 *' and therefore he ftyles them relations." Ibid. 
 
 For
 
 EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS. 
 
 For he will not be more gratified by the pleafurc 
 of feeing you than I am by thus being enabled to 
 accoft you. This youth will have thefe three recom- 
 mendations to you ; an energy of fpeech, which he 
 has difplayed before the prsefecls; a courtefy of 
 behaviour, which endears him to all with whom 
 he converfes ; and fuch an intimacy with me, as, in 
 that refpect, to exceed all the friends that I have 
 had fince my childhood. 
 
 EPISTLE III. * 
 
 [XT' O U have gained a double vi&ory f, one by A. D. 
 -*- your arms, the other by your eloquence. 
 One trophy is ere&ed to you by the Barbarians, 
 and the other by me your friend ; a trophy this 
 moft pleafmg even to a conqueror. For all parents 
 wi(h to be excelled by their children J, and you, , 
 
 * The Barocc. MS. to the name IaXw adds, 
 (" Csefar,") but the Medic. B.rw Ka1 e ^ (" the execrable.") 
 Ezech. Spanheim quotes the beginning of this epiftle in 
 his preface to the works of Julian, p. 4. WOLFIUS. 
 
 In the edition of Wolfius, this is the cccLxxud. 
 
 f Thus our author, in his cccxcivth epiftle, a : " The 
 " excellent Anatoiius has gained two victories over us." 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 J A comparifon by no means foreign to this paflage, as 
 the fophifts ufed to ftyle their fcholars their fons. See 
 Eunapius, in Julian, and Damafcius in the Life of Ifidorus 
 in Photius on Zenodotus ; " alone thought worthy of 
 " being called the darling child of Proclus." Our author 
 alfo in his epiftles has frequently the fame expreffion. 
 That Julian had been imlrufted in the art of fpeaking by the 
 precepts of Libanius, is evident from this as well as from 
 other paflages. ttid 
 
 X 3 who
 
 EPISTLES OF LI BAN I US. 
 
 who by me have been inftrucled in writing, have 
 fa that excelled your inftrudor. But rtow for the 
 brevity* of my epiftte, I, the orator, muft account to 
 you, the general, or rather to one no lefs confummate 
 in the art of oratory than in that of \var -f-. After 
 the Emperor "| had given you a (hare in the go- 
 vernment, I thought myfelf bound to lay fomd 
 feftraint on my freedom, and not to indulge it, as 
 I had been accuftomed, to a man fo exalted. For 
 Knowing, as we do, in our declamatory ikirmifties, 
 how to accoft Pericles, Cimon, and Miltiades, it 
 would have been fhameful in real life to negleft 
 thofe laws. And as you yourfelf fay, that the 
 letters of generals, on account of their avocations, 
 fiiould be fhort, this induced me to contract my 
 
 * Julian loved long epiftles, as appears from his fecond 
 ,to Proh a? refills : ** Sages, like you, may make long and 
 *' veYbofe orations, but from me to you a little is fuffi- 
 " cient." 
 
 -j- This union of war with eloquence and the other arts 
 js applauded by Libanius in other places, hut efpecially in 
 his md cr;;t;on to Julian, p. 183. c * You alone com- 
 " prehend the accomplifhments that are divided among 
 ** others ; and no orator, nor warrior, nor judge, nor 
 f fopbiil, nor myftic, nor philolopher, nor prophet can 
 ** admire himleff when compared with you. For in your 
 '* actions you excell thole who aft, in your fpeeches thofe 
 *' who fpeak." WOLFIUS* 
 
 + That Conftantius, who, when he was opprefied with 
 the difficulties of the Gallic war, though by no means a 
 friend to Julian, rather thinking that he had caufe to fear 
 him, yet yielded to the exigence of the times, and aflb- 
 Julian in the empire. I'or this reaion, in the Sarocc. 
 . this epiftle has the addition of " Czefar." Ibid. 
 
 epiftles,
 
 epiftles, fenfible, that he whofe bulinefs prevents 
 him from writing long letters, by one who fends 
 him long letters muft be much interrupted. But 
 now, as you order me to be diffufe, I will obey. 
 
 And, firft, I congratulate you, that, with arms 
 in your hands, you have not fufpended your appli- 
 cation to oratory, but wage war, -as if war were 
 your only ftudy, and attend to books, as if you 
 were a ft ranger to arms. And next, that he *, who 
 has given you a (hare in the empire, has had ho 
 caule to repent of his having given it, bat con- 
 fidering him as your coufia, and collegue, and lord, 
 and mafter, in all your aliens you promote his 
 glory, and exclaim to yo'ur falling enemies, " what 
 " would be your fare, if the Emperor were pre- 
 " fent?" All this I applaud* and alfo your not 
 having changed your manners with your drefs, nor 
 loft, by gaining power, the remembrance of your 
 friends. Many bleffings attend you for {hewing 
 that, when I celebrated your talents, I was not a 
 liar, or rather for having {hewn that I was a liar 
 in promifing nothing equal to what you have per- 
 formed ! This is all your own, and copied from 
 no model. For though fome, together with the 
 empire, have aflumed the love of money, contract- 
 ing defires to which before they were ftrangers, and 
 others have given more indulgence to their former 
 inclinations, you alone, when raifed to the throne, 
 
 * Cci-lantlo.s, Seethe Uft note, p. 310. 
 
 X 4
 
 EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS. 
 
 have (bared your fortune* apong your friends, 
 giving one a houfe, another flaves, land to this, 
 money to that, and, when a iubject, were more 
 wealthy than now when you are prince. Nor do 
 you exclude me from the number of your friends, 
 though I am not one of thofe who have (hared 
 you*" favours. For I can ailign a reafon of my 
 alone having received nothing. As you would 
 ha.ve cities abound with every thing that can pro- 
 mote their happinefs, you deem nothing more 
 eflential to this than oratory, knowing that, if that 
 were extinct, we fhould refemble the Barbarian?. 
 Apprehending therefore, that, if I abounded with 
 riches, I mould neglect my art, you thought it 
 right for me to remain poor, that I might not be 
 tempted to defert my flation : Such, at leaft, is my 
 folution. Not that you have faid, " Amphiaraus 
 " and Capaneus are fomethingf; but this man 
 *' has neither name nor place ." But your not 
 
 having 
 
 * This may illuftrate what our author, in his Life, p. 42, 
 relates of Julian, viz. that " Libanius loved himfelf, but 
 others loved his riches." WOLSIUS. 
 
 f- This is a proverbial expreflion, which I do not re- 
 member to have read elfewhere. In other paffages of the 
 ancients, Capaneus is applied to a faithful friend, becaufe 
 Capaneus, amidft great wealth, living with frugality and 
 oeconomy, was moft attentive to his friends. Ibid. 
 
 It is ncedlefs to add, that Amphiaraus and Capaneus 
 were two of the feven chiefs againft Thebes. 
 
 \ OVT' i hoyu UT so apiS/nw. This oracle of Apollo, to the 
 inhabitants of yEgina, is quoted by the fcholiaft on Theo- 
 critus : fpsic $', u Msyxp&s, UT' iv ^yw, K. T. ^. Compare the 
 Chiliades of Erafmus, p. 437. Hid. 
 
 The
 
 EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS. 
 
 having given me any thing is owing to your regard 
 for the public. Therefore though we are indi- 
 gent of money, we abound with words. This is 
 your concern ; may we not difgrace the part that 
 is allotted to us, nor you your illuflrious rank ! 
 
 EPISTLE IV. * 
 
 IS E N T you a ihort oration on an important 
 fubjecl. You can add to its length, by fup- 
 plying what is eflential to that purpofe. If you 
 give that, you will Ihew that you think I have a 
 talent for encomiums. If you do not give it, I 
 fhall be induced to entertain fome other fufpicions. 
 
 EPISTLE V. f 
 
 UNLESS you were well apprifed how long 
 ago my friendlhip with the excellent Mace- 
 donius J was contra&ed, and for what reafons 
 it has been fince improved, of thefe I would 
 
 The inhabitants of JEgina, fay fome, of Megara, fay 
 others, after gaining a naval viftory, enquired of Apollo 
 who was the bravefl of the Greeks; to which he gave a 
 depreciating anfwer, concluding as above. 
 
 * This, in the edition of Wolfius, is the oxxvth. It is 
 alfo one of thofe prefervecl in Latin by Zambicari. See a 
 note on Epifile X V. To what oration Libanius here alludes 
 does not appear. 
 
 f This is the DLXXxvith in the edition abovementioned. 
 
 j The fon of Pelagius, of Cyrus, a city in Syria, an 
 orator, and a philofopher. Libanius mentions him with 
 great encomiums in feveral other epiftles, and has addrefled 
 three to him, one of which is a congratulation on his 
 marriage. 
 
 firfl
 
 EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS. 
 
 fir ft apprife you ; but knowing, as you do, itl 
 foundation, you will not wonder that I, who would 
 decline no danger for my friends, fliould devote to 
 his fervice this letter. He has indeed prevailed 
 with me to ask a favour of you, not that you 
 grant favours eafily, or grant all that are afked; but 
 fuch as are juft and right you willingly confer. And, 
 in truth, whoever does not oblige his friends, in 
 
 * O . * 
 
 matters thus irreproachable, blames the daughter * 
 of Jove for retaining the Graces in her veflibule. 
 But that you favour thofe who ask nothing un- 
 reafonable is evident to all. Now obferve whether 
 my requeft is fuch as can be cenfured. 
 
 Macedonius married a wife who had a fon by a 
 former husband. That fon is nw dead. I wifh 
 therefore that the mother j, in preference to the 
 grandfather, may fucceed to his eftate, if a regard 
 to honour can induce the grandfather to wave his 
 right, and to prefer praife to a compliance with 
 the law. Be it therefore your endeavour to con- 
 
 * The Greek mythologifts ftyle her Aoj, (" JufHce,") 
 whom he virtually condemns, that does not return to a 
 friend the favour which he could and ought. WOLFIUS. 
 
 j- The mothers, among the Romans, had not, in the 
 beginning, any (hare in the fucccffion of their children, 
 whether they were emancipated or not. In proeefs of time, 
 the mothers did fucceed, but differently according to the 
 different times, and the vvhinifical changes that many laws 
 made in their right of fucceilion. In England, if, atrer the 
 death of a father, any of his children die inteftate, with- 
 out wife or children, in the life- time of the mother, the 
 mother, in that cafe, fuccecds jointly and equally with the 
 brothers and fillers of the deceased and their reprefenta- 
 
 STRAHAN. 
 
 imce
 
 EPISTLES OF LIBANITJS. 
 
 tince him, that it is more creditable for him to de- 
 cline than to take theie effeas. You will be doubly 
 perfuafive, as, befides the powers of oratory, you 
 poffefs fupreme dominion. And I hear that this 
 old man is vain of a good reputation, and herd 
 rather accumulate farce than wealth. Delay not 
 therefore to fend for and confer with him, and 
 thus perform an aftion more humane than any law. 
 Nor think that we will admit, as an excufe, your 
 alleging that the difcuffion of fuch matters docs 
 not belong to you, or, by way of fubterfuge, that 
 you are unable to perfuade him. To be the inftru- 
 ment of conferring wealth en the mother, and 
 fame on her father, will do you no dishonour. 
 Every word from you makes a ftrong irapreffion 
 on the hearers. 
 
 EPISTLE VI. * 
 
 HE laws and myfelf will take care that that 
 -*- molt abandoned fervant (hall be punifhed for 
 what he has faid and done. But you, together 
 with the empire, fliew that you poflefs alfo fuch 
 benevolence as the excellent Prifcian f difplayed 
 to Seleucus t. Afting thus, you will induce the 
 
 * This, in the edition of Wolfius, is the oxcift. 
 A Prilcian was an excellent orator, and on that account 
 was invited by Julian to Conftantinople. Libanius ha 
 addrefied ieveral Kpiftles to him. 
 
 I Seleucus is alio mentioned as a friend of Libanius m 
 nuny of his EpiiVtes, and many are addrcfled to him. 
 
 preceptors
 
 EPISTLES OFLIBANIUS. 
 
 preceptors of Arrhabius, I mean Calliopius *, and 
 his father, to treat him with more indulgence. For 
 Seleucus married the daughter of one, and the 
 fitter of the other. Him therefore, whom in your 
 letters you fo highly honour as to ftyle him your 
 fbn, affift, I intreat you, in his literary improve- 
 ments. 
 
 EPISTLE VII. f 
 
 "TTTOULD you have me believe that you do 
 not take the lead concern in the affairs of 
 TJIpian and Palladius J, that you neither regard 
 them as friends, nor efteem them as orators, nor 
 recollei that they may aflift you with their friendly 
 offices ? Such reports, which it does not become me 
 to repeat, are circulated by many. On the con- 
 trary, I contend that none of them, as far as you 
 are concerned, are true. Write therefore, and 
 confute them. You will thus confer a favour on 
 yourfelf, as well as on me. 
 
 * Calliopius, by fome of the Epiflles to him, appears 
 to have been an orator. 
 
 f This in the edition of Woliius is the ocnd, a. 
 % T;vo orators, frequently mentioned by Libanius. 
 
 EPISTLE
 
 EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS. 
 
 EPISTLE VIII. * 
 
 I HAVE difcharged my obligations to Arifto- 
 phanes *f- ; but you, in return, have given me 
 fuch fplendid tokens of a vehement affe&ion as are 
 confpicuous both to Gods and men. So that now 
 I feera almofi to foar into the fky, elevated by your 
 epiftle, which has infpired me with fuch hopes, 
 and has fo decorated my oration J, that all things 
 elfe, the wealth of Midas, the beauty of Nireus , 
 the fwiftnefs of Crilbn j|, the ftrength of Poly- 
 damas **, the fword of Peleus f f, feem little in my 
 
 fight. 
 
 * This Epiille is one of the three firft publiflied by Fa- 
 bricius. In the edition of Wolfius it is the DCLXXth. 
 
 f This oration for Ariftophanes, a Corinthian, the foa 
 of Menander, who had been feverely fined by the pre- 
 fect of ./Egypt, on accoimt of his confulting aftrologers, 
 is preferved in the works of Libanius, vol. II. p. 210, &c, 
 
 WOLFIU?. 
 
 It is faid in this oration, that he had been fined, fcourged, 
 and impriioned. 
 
 j The Epiftle of Julian to Libanius, to which this is an 
 anfwer, is the Lxvmth, or laft, in vol. II. 
 
 See Homer. Iliad, ii. 671. 
 
 y Crtfon was that native of Himera, who gained three 
 viftories in the Olympic games. See the Prolegomena of 
 Eral'mus Schmidius on Pindar, p. 31. Add. Pauian. Eliac. 
 p. 172. WOLFIUS. 
 
 ** A famous Theflalian \vreftler, who flrangled a lion 
 on mount Olympus, tamed a wild bull, and flopped a 
 chariot drawn by the flrongeft horfes. He was crudied to 
 death by a rock under which he took fhelter from a ftorrri'; 
 and this was owing to his indifcretion in flattering himfelr" 
 
 that
 
 EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS. 
 
 fight. Even the neclar of the Gods, were I 
 allowed to enjoy it, could not give me greater de- 
 light than I now feel, when my prince, fuch a one 
 as Plato formerly fought aud could Icarcety find *, 
 has commended my femiments, admired my oration, 
 and has not only promifed that he will give fume- 
 thing., but, which is much greater honour, that he 
 will confult with me what to give. They who 
 obferve the riling of the celeftial goat 7, do not 
 always obtain their wi/hes ; but 1, though I have' 
 not attended to this, have been moft fuccefsful. 
 And if I want any other favour, the Emperor, 
 imitating the Deity, is ever gracious. Your epiftle 
 therefore ihall be prefixed to my oration, to in- 
 form all the Greeks, that my dart has not 
 be-en launched in vain, for by what I have writ- 
 tea, Ariilophanes will be honoured, as I am by 
 what you have returned ; or rather both of u# fnalj 
 
 that he^could fupport fhe rock, which was beginning to fall, 
 when his companions fled. MOKERI. 
 
 Libanius mentions him alfo in his xvitK Declamation. 
 
 f-j- Peleus received a fword from Vulcag^ v/ith which 
 he could defend himfelf againft all attacks, as we learn 
 from the fcholiaft on the ivth Nemean of Pindar, ver. 88, 
 &c. WoLFtus.- 
 
 * Alluding to the fnmous faying of Fbto^ that lt go- 
 *' vernments would be happy, if king philofophifed or 
 ** philoibpters reigned." Ibid, 
 
 f A proverbial expreffion, often ufed of thofe witji whom 
 every thing fucceeds happily, and as they wifh ; becaufe it' 
 was of old a vulgar opinion that they who f:uv that goat, 
 \*fho was the nurfe of Jupiter, and on that account was' 
 made a conftellation, obtained whatever they defired. 
 
 ERASMUS, 
 
 {halt
 
 EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS. 
 
 lhali glory in what has been written and will be 
 given by you, for each of us is honoured by each 
 of thefc. 
 
 Bat now it may divert you to hear how Arifto- 
 phanes has been terrined. One of your ufual 
 evening-attendants informed us that, on coming to 
 your door, he was refufed admittance, becaufe h 
 was told, you were bufy in compofing an oration. 
 This immediately occafioned an apprehenfion that 
 you had determined to controvert my oration *, 
 and confute your preceptor, and would thus over- 
 whelm Ariftophanes like the Nile -j-. We haftened 
 therefore to the excellent Elpidius, who, on hear- 
 ing the caufe of our alarm, burft into a loud 
 laughter. Thus we recovered our fpirits, and foon 
 after I received your elegant epiftle J. 
 
 * Libanius means the oration, which he, who had for^ 
 merly been the preceptor of' Julian, had fpoken for Arif- 
 tophanes. WOLFIUS, 
 
 -\ Alluding, I imagine, to the inundation of the Nile, 
 and, at the fame time, to the torrent of Julian's eloquence, 
 which might over-power Ariftophanes. Thus Suidas 
 afcribes to Chryfoftom " cararafts like thofe of the Nile,' r 
 and Tzetzes mentions " Nile-like floods," both applied to 
 eloquence. See p. 305. Ibid, 
 
 t This Epiftle of Julian to Libanius is here.fubjoined in 
 a note, by Wolfius, from Fabricius. But I have added my 
 tranflation of it to his other Epiftles in Vol. II, 
 
 EPISTLE
 
 EPISTLES OFLIBANIUS. 
 
 EPISTLE IX. * 
 
 36?.' TT O W much foever I condemned that journey 
 ** -* (fatiguing as it was) f , I no lefs, or rather 
 more, condemned myfelf for returning fo foon, 
 inflead of going to the place appointed, and 
 there indulging my eyes, the nexc morning, at 
 fun*rifing, with the fight of his divine vifage. 
 And fo unfortunate is the city, that fhe could not 
 afford me the lead confolation. I ftyle her un- 
 fortunate, not on account of the dearth of pro- 
 yifions, but becaufe (he has been and is adjudged 
 wicked, invidious, and ungrateful J by him whofe 
 
 prudence 
 
 * To the name ItXiavw, Atflox^oloji ( u Emperor,' 1 ) is pre- 
 fixed in two MSS. And in another, ?<* Tfiowolagflfla (" moil 
 *' execrable,") is annexed to it; WOLFIUS. 
 
 In the edition of Wolfius it is the Dccxiith. It is alfo 
 one of thofe pfeierved in Larin by Zambicari. 
 
 f What fatiguing and fruitlefs journey Libanius had 
 taken, does not appear. Perhaps it was to Mount Caffius, 
 (lee the Miibpogon, p. 282.) where Jupiter had a temple, 
 fifteen miles, or a day's journey, from Ai.tiorh, which-, 
 however, Julian performed fevered times during his re- 
 fidefice in that ciry. For " from thence," fays Ammi- 
 anus', (xxii. 14.) " at the fecond eock-crowing, is full 
 " feen the rifulg of the furr." 
 
 J Meaning Antioch, at that time not only afflicted with 
 famine, but expufed ro the refentment of the Emperor for 
 difregarding his edift for lowering the price of provifions, 
 and not abftaining from iarcafms on himfelf. This appears 
 from the embafly (Tgsu'&i.'iixo,,-) our author fent to Julian for 
 
 the
 
 fePISTLESOF LIBANIUS. 
 
 prudence furpafles his dominions, extenfive as they 
 are. While Alcimus * was with me, I had one 
 who would hear with indulgence my fl If- reproaches 
 and my boafts of the diftinclion fhevvn me by you. 
 But after his departure, considering the deling as 
 my only friend, I looked up to it, as I lay in my 
 bed, and faid, " Now the Emperor fent for me : 
 ** now I entered and fat down (tor that he allowed 
 " me) ; now I pleaded for the city, as I was per- 
 ** mitted to intercede with him for thofe who 
 " had offended him. But he prevailed, To jufl 
 " was his charge, and fo powerful his elocution. 
 '* And though I oppofed him, I was neither dif- 
 " liked j nor ejected." With this banquet I regale 
 tnyfelf, and I intreat the Gods, firfr, that they will 
 give you the fuperiority over your enemies, and, 
 fecondly, that they will render you as propitious 
 to us as you were formerly. I have alfo a third 
 petition, which they have heard, hut I will not 
 here mention. I ought not, however/even to 
 have faid that I will not mention it. For you are 
 ingenious enough to conjecture this third article 
 from my wilhing to conceal what I wifh. And, in- 
 
 the Antiochians, which h in thefecond Volume of his works, 
 p. 151, and alfo from his oration to the Antiochians de Im~ 
 peratorls ira, which, before unpublifhed, our learned Fabri- 
 cius has inferted in his Bibliotheca Gn-eca, vol. VII. p. 207. 
 
 WOLFIUS. 
 
 See alfo the Mifopogon, p. 296, &c. 
 
 * A native of Nicomedia, and a man of teaming, as 
 appears from feveral letters addrefled to him by Liban^ . 
 
 VOL, I, Y deed,
 
 EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS. 
 
 deed, I apprehend that the contrary will be your 
 choice *. 
 
 Now then pafs the rivers ; rufh on the archers f 
 more irapetuoufly thaa a torrent ; and after- 
 wards think on what you faid you would think. 
 But fail not to folace me, in your abfence, as 
 much as you can. . I, fdr my part, will (end 
 epifiles to extort your anfwers from the midil of 
 the battle, as I am convinced that you have a 
 genius that can at once command an army, fight 
 an enemy, and correfpond with a friend. I am fo 
 infirm, that I am obliged to hear what I ought to 
 fee. Happy is Seleucus { in this glorious fight, 
 and in preferring the honour of ferving fuch a 
 prince to that which he derives from a good wife, 
 and a raoft beloved daughter ! 
 
 * I fiiould underhand this of marriage, to which Julian 
 watarerfe. WOLFIUS. 
 
 f Meaning the Perfians, Julian being then engaged in 
 that expedition. Ibid. 
 
 t Seleucus has been mentioned in Hpiftle VI. p. 315. 
 
 EPISTLE
 
 EPISTLES OF LIB AN I US. 
 
 EPISTLE X. *. 
 
 ' I A HAT Alexander f was appointed to the go- A - D 
 
 -* vernment, it firft, I confefs, gave me fome 
 concern, as the principal perfons among us were 
 diflatisfied. I thought it difhonourable, inju- 
 rious, and unbecoming a prince ; and that re- 
 peated mulfts would rather weaken than improve 
 the city. But now the good effefts of this feverity 
 are fo manifeft, that I recant f . For they, who for- 
 merly bathed and flept at noon, now, imitating the 
 
 * This, in the edition of Wolfius, is the ocxxnd. 
 
 f This is the Alexander of whom Ammiarnjs fays, (xxm, 
 2.) u When Julian was going to leave Antioch, he made 
 *' one Alexander of Heljopolis governor of Syria, a tur- 
 l< bulent and fevere man, faying, that * undeferving as he 
 ' was, fuch a ruler fuited the avaricious and contu- 
 * melious Antiochians," Confult Valois on that paffagc, 
 who refers to this Epiftle, then unpubiiflied. WOLFIUS. 
 
 See the Mifopogon, p, 302. note -j-. 
 
 J A$u iraXivw&ay. This proverb is taken from a tranf- 
 aclion of Stefichorus, the Lyric poet, mentioned by Plato 
 in his Phsdrus. For having ilandered Helen, in a poem, he 
 was deprived of his eye-fight ; but Achilles, by her defire, 
 as Paufanias relates, in his Laconica, having acquainted 
 him with the caufe of his blindnefs, he immediately fung a re- 
 cantation, by praifing Helen, whom before ht- hud cenfured; 
 and thus he recovered his fight. Socrates fnys, in joke, that 
 *' he wiflies to imitate him, and would rather (ing a recan- 
 " tation in favour of love, which he had blamed, than, 
 ' lofehis eyes." ERASMUS. 
 
 , * ' 
 
 Y 2 manneri
 
 EPISTLES OF LIBANK 
 
 manners of the Lacedaemonians *, labour inde- 
 fatigably not only in the day-time, but no fmall 
 part of the night, nailed, as it were, to the gate of 
 Alexander. And when he clamours from within, 
 every thing is inftantly in motion. Thus the 
 fword will never be wanted, fmce his threats alone 
 are fufficient to render the impudent model!, and 
 the flothful induftrious. Calliope is alfo honoured? 
 agreeably to your wiflies -f, not only by horfe- 
 races, but theatrical exhibitions ; and facrifkes arc 
 offered to that Goddefs in the theatre, without our 
 making the lead alteration. Loud applaufe is 
 given, and amidfl this applaufe the Gods are in- 
 voked. With this applaufe the governor feems 
 fo delighted, that he urges many more to add to. 
 it. Of fuch importance, O prince, to mankind is 
 divination J, as it teaches every one the beft man- 
 ner of governing a family, a city, a nation, aijd 
 a kingdom. 
 
 * For the Lacedemonians were far from being delicate, 
 Hence arofe the proverb, Aaxw*w{ &7reu, (" to fup Lace- 
 daemonially,") on which fee Erafmus, p. 268. WOLFIUS. 
 
 f This muft probably be ironical, as Julian was far from 
 being a favourer, or frequenter, of the circus, or the 
 theatre. See the Mifopogon, pp. 232, 261, and 268. 
 
 J Libanius here flatters Julian, as if he had learned by 
 divination that Alexander was fuch a one as ought to govern 
 Syria and the Antiochians. WOLFIUS. 
 
 EPISTLE
 
 EPISTLES OF LIBAN1US. 
 
 EPISTLE XI. *. 
 
 N all accounts I was pleafed to fee Ablavius f, 
 but principally becaufe he brought me a 
 letter from you. For fooner than blame you I 
 fliould deleft myfelf ; fuch has been your attention 
 to the promotion of my intereft, amidft this te- 
 dious war, which you could not have been, if any 
 one had fpoken to my difadvantage. In feem- 
 ing to laugh, and in pardoning thofe who, in order 
 to flatter one, calumniate another, you a&ed like 
 yourfelf. Flattery is their trade, and as neceflary 
 to their fubfiilence as rowing is to that of failors. 
 That fage, with vvhofe morals Ablavius acquainted 
 me, though he would not difclofe his name, gave 
 me no concern on any account, this only excepted, 
 that in mentioning me he was guilty of a folecifm ; 
 and I, though guilty of no offence, was fent by him 
 among the Barbarians J. Inform him of this, and 
 caution him to avoid fuch miftakes for the future ; 
 he may then, if he pleafes, fpeak evil of me, for 
 then, at leaft, he will not fpeak ill . But this 
 
 * This, in the edition of Wolfius, is the Mxxxvth. 
 
 j- Libanius has two Epiftles to Ablavius, by which it 
 appears that he \vas an orator. 
 
 J Libanius ridicules the man, by whofe fpeaking bar- 
 baroufly of him, he himfelf was, as it were, made a Bar- 
 barian. WOLFIUS. 
 
 This play on the words toywv xaxw?, and t^n xaxw?, I have 
 endeavoured to retain in Englifh, by the equivocal meaning 
 of " evil" and * ill," as applied to flandex and to language. 
 
 man
 
 - EPISTLES O F L I B A N I U S. 
 
 man is unalterable *. If, however, by his ca- 
 lumnies he fhould ftill offend you, and you wifh 
 to punifh him, you eaftly may, by confining him 
 lo his boufe, in an afternoop, and obliging him 
 to fup at home ; and when he again grows 
 .infolent, through repletion, and drinks your own 
 wjne again ft you -f-, you need only repeat that 
 pumffimenc? you cannot inflift a greater. This 
 will effectually curb his licentious tongue j but, 
 whatever be his name, let me know it, that, when 
 
 i i ' i i 
 
 I. write his elogmm, it may not be anonymous. 
 
 EPISTLE XII. { 
 
 *' D ' A k & S I alas i how infatiable is your defire of 
 ^ -^ farther attainments! You poflefs the palm 
 of eloquence, fnatched from others, at once 
 A matchlefs prince an4 a moft potent fage 
 
 Other 
 
 - i.r-;o.o,-, in Gic.cV,Tjfualfyiignifies ' firm, immoveable," 
 
 :ei-{i::ind,. therefore, this paflage of a man who cannot 
 '' r- changed', but always remains the fame. WOLFIUS, 
 
 f.nisfi Toy w taoi.xAta. <ra. It fliould fecm by this paflage, 
 ut it v;as cuitomary to drink health, or confuiion, in 
 fe times as it is in ours. 
 I la the edition, of Wolfius this is the Mcx.xvth. 
 
 / ' , 
 
 'In VJiufion" to Homer. Iliad III. 178. 
 
 A*$--^ gttyfavc -'' f.yy. 1 ^;, V^SLK-V: r' ati^Mir,;. 
 
 Gre.-'.r in the war, nd ^reat in arts of ("way. Ton:, 236. 
 Tii.t IJlKinhis here did not flatter Julian, in praifing 
 ' him for ins eloquence, his orations and epifdes ftill extaat 
 aiteft. To which may be added \vhat Spanheim fays in 
 his preface to the works of Julian, c. 2. " Among the 
 '** Emperors his' predeceflbrs, or thofe v:ho followed him 
 3 " iu
 
 EPISTLES OF LIB A NI US, 337 
 
 Other princes have acted, and we applauded ; but 
 you excell in both thofe capacities. For how can 
 we fpeak fo highly in: commendation of your 
 actions as you do of that (hort letter * ? Hence I 
 conjecture what you will do, when you have! fut> 
 dued Phoenicia -f, as already you adminftkt 
 jufiice to your fubjects, wage war with; the Bar- 
 barians, and in the composition of orations farexocied 
 the.cornmon ra.nk.. ; . Though I am not felicitous as 
 to the future, I /hall be as much pleafed- vvidi-this 
 flaughter as vvulx a victory. For when the van' 
 quilhed and the victor are friends, the vanquifhed 
 has a (hare in the triumph ; as friends, it,. is feud, 
 have all things common J. 
 
 . 
 
 *' in the fame exalted flation, I cannot fee tiny, who as to't'us 
 ** extent, or copiouftiefs, of their learning, or the bright - 
 li neis of dieir-geuins, or the power of their eloquea^e, 
 " can in thofe arts, and in the talent of writing, contcll 
 '* with him the iqfteriority." Libanius beftows a fitarlar 
 on Julian in his own Ufe, p. 41.' ilyling him " til? 
 
 * moft temperate, the inoft oratorical, and ihe moft vv;u- 
 <^ like." \Voi,?ius. 
 
 * Julian alfo highly commended other orations of Li- 
 banius. See on this fubject the remarkable Epulle & 
 Julran, before unpubliQied,. mentioned in p. 317. now the 
 j[Lxrinth.] '1'nd. 
 
 f I fljould .uatlerftand this of the orators of Fhoenicj.a. 
 
 | K ya, ^ao-i, T TW $i\uv. This proverb "is qxiotei 
 by Euripides in his Oreftes, in the fame words. See this 
 Chtliades of Erafmus [p. 13 ] and G*egoF : Nazianz. Epv 
 LJCIV. Ibid, 
 
 " No proverb," fays Erafmus, " is more falutary, or 
 ** more celebrated, than this," 
 
 EPISTLE
 
 EPISTLE S OF LIB A NIUS. 
 
 G 
 
 EPISTLE XIII. * 
 
 EMELLUS -f is my relation and my friend, 
 and by his manners is no difgrace to his 
 family. If he had been pofleffed of money and 
 e large eftate, he would long sgo have been em- 
 ployed on fome public function. But as his for- 
 tune is fmall, he has, by my advice, taken a 
 method which may exempt him from tears and 
 chains, the ufual attendants of thofe. whom pub- 
 lic employments have reduced to poverty. 
 
 Happy he is in difcharging thisofEce under ycwr 
 infpe&ion ; as you never fail to reprobate inju(lice< 
 and to honour what is jufl and equitable. Many 
 there are who look upon juftice and equity as 
 meannefs, jand accordingly defpife them. But far 
 different is your conduft ; for you were well born, 
 and well inftrufted, and therefore glory more in 
 being virtuous than in the numerous nations which 
 you govern. Of this Gemellus ; Has proofs ; and, 
 that he may have more, let him be obliged for 
 thofe to you, but for thefe to me. For if he 
 fhould receive any greater favours in confequejice 
 of my letter, he will certainly be indebted for 
 them to my advice. 
 
 * In the edition of Wolfius this is the Mcc'cxcivth* 
 f To this Gemellus Libanius has feveral epiftles. 
 
 ZP'STLE
 
 EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS. 
 
 EPISTLE XIV. * 
 
 TT T E have made a mutual agreement, that I 
 fhould write to you in behalf of my 
 friends, and that if their requefls are reafonable, 
 you will affift them. Of your affiftance let this 
 Hyperechius -\~ firfl reap the advantage. He 
 has long been harraffed and opprefled by thofe 
 xvhofe chief fludy is unjufl gain. He was one of 
 my fcholars in my former profperity. Such I 
 deem the time of my refidence at Nicomedia J ; 
 not on account of the wealth, but of the excel- 
 lent friends, that it procured me, many of whom 
 are no more. This man, whofe hopes now reft on 
 you, then came from Ancyra . In eloquence, 
 none excelled him ; in manners, none equalled him, I 
 love him therefore with a parental affection. I can-- 
 cot fee him injured without aflifting him iriyfelf, 
 and urging others to affift him alfo. And if in this 
 -you think that I act no bad part, (hew by your 
 deeds that you approve my conduct. 
 
 * In the edition of Wolfius this is the Mccccxcth. 
 
 f An orator, the fon of Maximus, a native of Galatia. 
 Libanius has nddrelled ieveral epiftles to him. 
 
 J Our author affirms, in his Life, p. 21, that he fpent 
 five years with pleafure at Nicomedia, and calls that time 
 *' -the fprino' of his life." WOLFIUS. 
 
 1 O 
 
 The fame city which Libanhis, in his xxvith oration, 
 p. 599, ftyles *' the principal and largeit city in Galatia." 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 Voi. I. Z EPISTLE
 
 EPISTLES OFLIBANIUS. 
 
 EPISTLE XV. # 
 
 A. D. np HE oration f, which contains fome account of 
 *- your glorious aftions, you honour not only 
 with praife, but admiration. And as you are 
 ranked among the learned, you maintain, I am 
 told, that Demofthenes could not have written 
 more forcibly, Socrates more agreeably, or Plato 
 more copioufly, on the occafion. You affirm alfo, 
 that greater glory will redound to you from my 
 writings, than from the fortunate event of your 
 actions. My opinion is far different. For though, 
 with my moft fludious and elaborate endeavours, 
 I ft rove to exalt your name ; yet, as my ftrength 
 was unequal to fuch a weight, what I performed 
 I performed with great pleafure. But fo brilliant 
 
 are your praifes, that the rudelt genius may feem 
 
 - 
 
 * This is the nid of the iid book of the Epiftles of 
 tibanius, colle&ed in Greece by Francifco Zambicari of 
 Bologna, and publifhed, in his Latin tranflation only by John 
 Somerfeld, at Cracow, 1504, It is alfo inferted by.Fa- 
 bricius, in his Bibliotheca Grasca, vol. VII. p. 390. 
 
 f His Hfoo-QwAwc, or panegyrical adcirefs to Julian, when 
 he was at Antioch, juft before, he fet out en his Perfian 
 expedition. It is the Vth in the lid Vol.. ; of the works 
 bf this Sophift, publifhed by Morell. How agreeable -it 
 was to the Emperor Libanius mentions in ,an, Epiflk to 
 Celfus [the DCXLvuith], as well a,s in the above. 
 
 FABRICIUS. 
 
 fuffi-
 
 EPIST.LES OF LIBANIUS. 
 
 fufljpieptly decorated by the dignity of the fub-. 
 ject. Year actions therefore were the nobleft 
 ornaments of my oration. Ai>d though I attempted 
 to illuflrate thole actions which in their own nature 
 were moil fplen-Jid, I rather illuftrated myfelf. 
 So that you have no caufe to return me thanks, 
 or to think ihat they are due to me. But that I 
 may acquire fuch a fplendor by recording your 
 exploits, whatever fuccefs may attend you in fu- 
 ture fail not to communicate to me by a letter. 
 
 EPISTLE XVI. * 
 
 T C AN fcarce believe that, than which nothing 
 -*- can be more certain. Departing from you, 
 in obedience to your order, and on an urgent 
 occafion, I am both willingly and unwillingly 
 abfent from you. For I think I could be fooner 
 negligent of my life than of your commands. 
 Any labours, howeye_r great, feem triSes ; however 
 fmall, when defired to undertake them for you, I 
 have been ufed to think them fweeter than ambrciia. 
 To this it is owing, that, were you to command me, 
 I would depart not only from you, but from mylelf. 
 But as I confider you as my deity, without you 
 nothing feems pleafing. Ycu conilantly occur to 
 my mind : whatever I hear repeats the voice of 
 
 * This alfo is published only in Latin by Zambicariy 
 It is the XlVth of his lid book, 
 
 6 Julian *
 
 EPISTLES OF LIBANIUS. 
 
 Julian ; whatever I fee reflects the image of my 
 venerable deity. And when a fweet {lumber re- 
 frefhes my languid limbs, you feem fo prefent to 
 me, that, by the kindnefs of the immortal Gods, 
 feparated and Ibofed from the body, my mind 
 ieems to fly to you, to embrace, accoft, in Ihort, to 
 worfliip you; fo that if I were to be deprived of 
 life, I would wifh that to be -my lad day. Farther, 
 that I may no longer be thus tormented, I intreat 
 you to give me your permiffion to return to you, 
 and in your prefence to adore your deity, which 
 abfent I at once admire and venerate. If not, 
 as by your indulgence it may be effected, I could 
 eafily confent to be baniftied, not only from the 
 city I fo much love, but alfo from the world *. 
 
 * In the Latin, non modo interdict mihi optatijjima urt>t t 
 fed ipfa ctiam urle facile patiar which I do not underftand. 
 Perhaps ipfa urle mould be ipfo orbe. I have ventured f 
 to trauflate it. 
 
 Thefe are all the Epiftles of Libanius to the Emperor 
 that are extant. Of the others addreffed to Julian 
 (of which there are ten more), one is to his uncle the 
 Count of the Eaft, and the reft to fome other perfoir, 
 or perform, of the fame name. 
 
 T \ r D E X.
 
 INDEX 
 
 T O 
 
 VOLUME I. 
 
 A. Page 
 
 AE A N TE S, a people of Greece 290 
 
 ^*- Acbarnians, a tribe of Athens 259 (note) 
 
 P i - a comedy of Ariltophanes ibid. 
 
 Adonis, gardens of 202 
 
 Emperor, omitted by Julian in the Caefars 
 
 165 (note) 
 
 us, quotation from 139 (note) imitated 198 
 
 an Arian bifhop, duped by Julian 3 (note) 
 
 Africanus, fate of 70 (note) 
 
 Agrippina (Cologne) retaken by Julian 84 
 
 Alcxus, the poet 2^3, 4 (note) 
 
 Alexander the Great n, 50, 51, 183, 187, 203, &c. 
 
 Severus, Emperor 163 
 
 governor of Syria 302 (note) 323 
 
 Allegorical Fable xxxi. loij 
 
 Amphiaraus, his modefty 138 
 
 Anacrcon, the poet 223, 4. quotation from 291. ac- 
 count of his fuppofed poems Hid. (note) 
 AnaJeagoras, the philofopher 21. 41. 42. 44. 
 Andragatbius, recommended to Julian by Libanius 309 
 Antinous, his d ification 159 (note) 
 Antiocb, inhabitants of, their chara&er and manners. 
 
 See the whole Mifopogon 
 Antiocbus gives his name to Antioch. Hiilory of his 
 
 marriage 251, 252 
 
 AntlftlcneSy the philofopher 20. 34 
 
 VOL. I. A a
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Antoninus, Pius, Emperor 
 
 . Philofophua (fee Marcus Aurelius) 
 
 Antony, Mark 191. 194. 
 
 Apollo, his feftival ill celebrated at Daphne 283. Com- 
 plaints and reproaches of Julian on that fubjecV Hid. 
 Araxius and Areta, friends of Julian 14 
 
 Archilochus, the p^et, reprobated by Julian 131. 224 
 
 Areus, a friend of Auguftus 25, 26. 193 
 
 Arifiides, the Juft 61, 62. 
 
 Arijiopbanes, the poet, imitation of 167 
 
 of Corinth, defended by Libanius 317 
 
 Arijlotle, his thoughts on fovereignty 16. his definition 
 
 . of law 17. his work on the nature of God 24 
 
 ' Athenians, Epiftle to the xvn. 59. What Julian thought 
 
 of them 2^3 
 
 Athenodorus. A bold action of that philofopher 193 (note) 
 Augujtus (fee Octavianus) 
 
 Aurellan, Emperor (mifprinted Aurelius) 168 
 Autolycus, equivocal elogium on, by Homer 254 (note) 
 a roguifh pedlar in Shakfpeare ibid. 
 
 B. 
 
 Balylas, bifliop of Antioch, his corpfe removed 247 (note) 
 Balbinus, Emperor, omitted in the Citfars 165 (note) 
 
 BafiUna, the mother of Julian 264 
 
 Beer, verfes againft, by Julian 2:7 (note) 
 
 Berenice, queen. Her wifdom at leaft equivocal 150 (note) 
 
 injured the reputation of Titus Hid. 
 
 Bkterie, Abbe de la, account of his Life of Julian, 
 
 and Hiftory of Jovian v. tranflation of the for. 
 
 mer vi. his account of the works of Julian ix. 
 Byzantium. The .crefcent was from all antiquity its 
 
 arms 200 (note) 
 
 C. 
 
 Cafar Julius, difputes before the Gods againft Ale- 
 xander 183 
 Cafars. Elogium on that work xxm 146 (note) 
 Caligula, Emperor 153 
 Calliftbenes, the philofopher 34 
 iCaracalla, Emperor 163 
 
 Carus,
 
 IN D E X. 
 
 &ntf, Emperor, and his fons 170 
 
 Cato of Utica 9, elogiurri on 273.- 
 
 what happened to him at Antioch ibid. 
 
 Cbantavians reduced by Julian .87 
 
 Charity enforced . 122. 142 
 
 Cbarmidcs, a beautiful Athenian 38 
 
 Cbriftianity is revenged by the ridiculous opinions of 
 thofe who attack it xviii- The obligations which 
 
 unbelievers have to it 22 (note) does not favour 
 the corruptions of mankind, whatever the Pagans 
 
 may fay 218 (note) 
 
 a Stoic philofopher 8. 133 
 
 Claudius I. Emperor 153 
 
 II. 167, 220- 
 
 CW/wwrtr, king, taken prifoner by Julian 85 
 
 Coins of Julian 277, 8 (note) 
 
 CommoduS) Emperor 161. 2:0 
 
 Conjlans, Emperor 105 (note) 
 
 Conftanthtt the Great, harangues before the Gods 105. 199. 
 
 201. 213. 215 
 
 ' the Younger 105 (note) 
 
 C0/?*//a.r-Chlorus, the grandfather of Julian 172 
 
 Conftantius, Emperor. Julian writes to him 54. 
 
 his'cruelties 63, 64. his death 104 (note) 
 
 CotyUJt, a kind of juggler 276 (note) 
 
 Caefar, fon of Conftantine the Great 216 
 
 put to death by his father. ibid, (note 
 
 Curia. What it was 294 (note) 
 
 Curiales. Their functions ibid,. 
 
 Cyril, of Alexandria, St. His books againft Julian 
 
 account of, xxi. 
 
 D. 
 
 Ddlmatius, brother of Conuantine 63 (note) 106 (note) 
 
 nephew of Conftantine ibid. 
 
 Damopbilus, a compiler, ridiculed by Julian 274 
 
 Daphne, the burning of its temple 248 (note) the 
 
 fuburb of defcribed 2^2 
 
 Demetrius, a freed- man of Pompey 2 74 
 
 Democritusy the philofopher - x 
 
 Didymaan oracle quoted 12". 130 
 
 Diocletian, Emperor J 7 r 
 
 Dion Siculus 9 
 A a 2
 
 INDEX. 
 
 What emperors refufed to take that title 
 
 339 (note) 
 
 Demitian, Emperor 156 
 
 Duties of 4 prieft 118, &c. 
 
 Dynamius, an informer 71 
 
 E. 
 
 Elagabalus, Emperor 163 
 
 Ety'.dius, his praifes 306 
 
 Emefa, the inhabitants of, burn the Chriftian churches 272 
 
 the Antiochians afcribe to them the libels which 
 
 they made againft Julian ibid, (note) 
 
 Epifletus, a Gallic bifhop, fent to Julian by Conftantius 101 
 
 Epicurus, his advice controverted 8 
 
 his tenets exploded 134. 
 
 Epiftles of Julian, account of xxxi 
 
 XVI of Libanius to Julian 303, &c. 
 
 Erafijlratus. How he knew the malady of Antiochus 251 
 . Euemerus. the librarian of Julian 78 
 
 ILuripides, quotations ftom 139 (note) 166. 205. 240 (note) 
 Eufebia, Emprefs. Her kindnefs to Julian 69.71.7^ 
 
 Eufebiusi chamberlain to Coaftantius 68. jri. 263 (note) 
 Eutropius, the great grandfather of Julian 253 (note) 
 
 F. 
 
 fait/la, the wife of Conflantine, deftroys Crifpus by her 
 
 calumnies, and perifhes herfelf 216 (note) 
 
 FlorentiuS) prafeft of Gaul , 87 
 
 His inveteracy againft Julian 92 
 
 Florian, Emperor, juftly omitted in the Csefars 169 (note) 
 
 Fragment, a long account of 17. 118 (note) 
 
 Friends, fix, of Julian, their conduct, and characteriftic 267 
 
 their names Ibid, (note) 
 
 G. 
 
 Galba y Emperor 1^5 
 
 Galileans t a term of reproach 133 (note) 
 
 Gallicifms military 89 (note) 
 
 Gattienus, Emperor 166 
 
 Gallus t
 
 I N D E X. 
 
 Page 
 
 Gallus, Csefar, writes to his brother Julian i. Accoxint 
 of him Hid. (note). What his Chriftianity 
 was .4. (note). His cataflrophe 65. 68. Occa- 
 fions a fedition at Antioch 300 (note) 
 
 - Emperor, omitted in the Csefars 165 (note) 
 
 (omitted alfo by miflake in this page) 
 
 GavJMdiufy an informer 70. 92^ 
 
 Gauls, elogium on by Julian 275 
 
 Adventure of a Cappadocian at the court of one 
 of their kings . 276 
 
 GemeUus, a relation and friend of Libanius 328 
 
 Geta, Emperor 163 
 
 Gods. The licentioufnefs with which the comic poets 
 
 treated them 292 
 
 Gordians (the three) Emperors, omitted in the Crefars 
 
 165 (note) 
 Gregory Nazianzen, his poems commended 225 (note) 
 
 H. 
 
 Hadrian, Emperor 158. Compared with Julian ibid, (note) 
 Hanftilalianus, nephew of Conftantine 63 (note) 106 (note) 
 Helena^ wife of Julian 97. 106 (note) 108 (nore) 
 
 Heraclivs, a Cynic. Julian addrefTes a dilcourfe to him xiii 
 Hefiod, quotation from 40 
 
 Hipponax^ the poet, reprobated by Julian 132 
 
 Homer ^ often quoted by Julian at randcm 3 (note) 35 (note) 
 
 242 (note), paflfages from him 3. 10. 15. 20. 32. 35. 
 
 (note) 39. 44. 46. 48. 49. 50. 53. 78. (note) no. 
 
 in. 121. (note) 139. (note) 148, 149. 210. 237. 
 
 241. (note) 242, 243. 251. 253, 254. 262. 305. (note) 
 
 325. 
 
 Humour IJl of Menander 236 
 
 in the theatres 141 
 
 Hymcttus, mountain 33 
 
 Hyperecbius, a Galatian, recommended to Julian by 
 
 Libanius 329 
 
 I. and J. 
 Ifmenlas, a player on the flute. A faying which Julian 
 
 afcribcs to him 228 
 
 A a 4 JULIAN,
 
 33 8 I N D E X. 
 
 ?age 
 
 JULIAN, Emperor, La Bleterie's opinion and chara&er 
 of all his' works, ix Annals of his life, xxxv. 
 his pedigree, XL. confined in Cappadocia, 65. de" 
 claredCaefar, 77. fent into-Gaul, 79. his firft cam* 
 paign, 80. recovers Agrippina, 84. takes king 
 Cnodomar prifoner, 85. his fecond and .third 
 campaigns, 86. declared Auguftus, 55. 98. his 
 propofals toConftantius, 56. acknowledges God's 
 providence, in. is initiated at Ephefus, 113. 
 (note) his temperance, 140. (note) writes verfes, 
 225. (note) his ftrange picture of himfelf, 228. 
 his rigid life, 231. hates the circus and the 
 theatre, 232. his danger at Paris, 236. cannot 
 endure to be called Lord, 239. quotes Homer 
 improperly, 242. (note) was he fo chafte as is 
 fajd ? 244. (note) accufed-Af having fubverted the 
 World, 277. expoftulates with 'the fenate of An- 
 tioch, 283. makes his apology on account of the 
 famine in that city, 296. his commentaries, 88. 
 (note) 306. his excellence both in arms and ora- 
 tory 307. 309, 310. 327 
 $ulian. Count, uncle to the Emperor 232. 290 
 Julius Cbnftantius, the father of Julian 63 (note) 
 Jupiter Phmus 249 
 Caffius i8i 
 
 K, 
 JCtights of Af iftophanes 153 
 
 L. 
 
 Laws, Roman, againft defamatory libels 224, 
 Isibanius^ the fophift j his pidure of Julian's manner 
 of HTe, 232 (note), his Epiftles to Julian 303. his 
 chara&er ibid. (note), his panegyric on Julian 
 
 praifed by that prince 330 
 
 JJce, a remarkable paflfage concerning 229 
 
 Licinixsi Emperor 174 
 
 vanquifhed by Conftantine 199 
 
 jLogs of Plato.- Wh^it it was xi 
 
 quotation from 182 
 
 Emperor 166
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 Lupichlus, % general in Gaul 89. 93. fent to Britain 
 
 89 (note) 04 
 
 Lutetia, or Paris. Its fituation and climate 23^ 
 
 Mr. Gibbon's encomium on it 234. (note) cen- 
 
 fured by Mr. Knox ib. Julian is in danger of 
 
 loiing his life there, 236 
 
 Luxury, deified by Julian 316 
 
 Lycurgus y the lawgiver of Sparta 6 
 
 M. 
 
 MaceJonius, recommended to Julian by Libanius 315 
 
 MacritiKS, Emperor 163 
 
 Magnentivi the tyrant 175. Refemblance of that prince 
 
 and Julian Hid. (note) 
 
 Maiuma, the feftival, hiflory of 284 (note) 
 
 Marccttus, a general in Gaul, 81.91. his perfidy 6t 
 
 Marcus Aurelius, Emperor 160. 198. blamed for his 
 
 conduct towards his wife and fon 161. 210 (note) 
 Mardonius, an eunuch, the governor of Julian 73. 261 
 Marriages between coufin-germans exploded 108 
 
 Maxentius, the tyrant 174. (note) 199 
 
 Maxim!an-Herc\i\im, Emperor 172 (note) 
 
 Galerius, Emperor ibid. 
 
 Maximin I. Emperor 165 
 
 'II. furnamed DaVa 174 (note) 
 
 acco\int of xxix. 323 (note). The meaning 
 of that word ibid, when Julian compofed ' that 
 fatire 241 (note) 263 (note) 
 
 Months, Macedonian and Roman 248 (note) 281 (note) 
 Mufonius, a Roman knight and Stoic philofopher, ill- 
 treated by Nero 25 (note) 
 Mycon, ijland of, 257 (note) 
 
 N. 
 
 ffelrldius, pnefecl of Gaul, his rcfolution 94 (note) 
 
 Nepenti-cs, drug 3 2 
 
 Nero, Emperor 154 
 
 Nerva, Emperor 157 
 
 Nicolans, of Damafcus, a philofopher 25 
 
 ia, city of, deftroyed by an earthquake 304 
 
 grief of Julian 305 
 
 Oflavi-
 
 INDEX. 
 
 O. Page 
 Oclavlanus (or Auguftus) Emperor 150'. harangues 
 
 before the Gods 192 
 
 Oration, A confolatory xx. 30 
 
 Orations of Julian, account of 10 
 
 Organ, verfes on , by Julian 225 (note) 
 
 Oribajius, the phyfician of Juliaa 78 
 
 Orphic life 258 (note) 
 
 Otho, Emperor 155 
 
 P. 
 
 Palace of the baths at Paris 97 (note) 
 
 Paul, a flanderer 92 
 
 Pentadim, his innovations ibid* 
 
 Pericles, his friendihip for Anaxagoras 41. a fuppofed 
 
 fpeech of 4 2 & c - 
 
 Pcrtinax, Emperor 162 
 
 Pctau, Dionyfius, his Latin tranflation of Julian vm. 
 
 an account of him, . ibid, (note) 
 
 Phaacians, the idea which Homer gives of them 237 
 
 inhabitants of the ifland now called Corfu ibid, (note) 
 Phlanthropy recommended 1 20 
 
 Philips (the two) Emperors, omitted in the Caefars 165 (rote) 
 Pbilofophy incapable of reiloring mankind 22 (note) 
 
 Phoenicia, her praifes of Julian 308 
 
 Pindar, quotation from 298 
 
 Pittacus, one of the wife men of Greece 6 
 
 Plato, quotations from n, 12. 37. 266. 318 (note) 
 
 Plutarch, an extra ft from 274 
 
 Pokmo, the philofopher 34 
 
 Pompeianus, fon-in-'aw of Marcus Aurelius 161 
 
 Priefts Ihould be honoured 125. how they fhould aft 126 
 Probus, Emperor 169 
 
 Prujfia, king of, compared with Julian 158 (note) 
 
 Pupicnus, Emperor, omitted in the Caefars 165 (note) 
 
 Pyrrbo, his tenets exploded by Julian 134 
 
 Pythagoras, the philofopher 21. 40,41.51.^133. a 
 
 faying of 40
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Q, Page 
 
 s, Emperor, omitted in the Caefars 168 (noce) 
 Quirinus (fee Romulus) 
 
 R. 
 
 Repentance deified by Julian 192 
 
 RHlu. pafTed by Julian thrice 88 
 
 a fourth and fifth time 102 (note) 
 
 Rodney Lord, his pious magnanimity 79 (note) 
 
 Romulus (or Qnirinus) his banquet 148 
 
 S 
 
 Sultans, furprifed by Julian 87 
 
 Salluft, oration on his departure i. 30 (note) his virtues 
 
 recalled 37. 91, 92 
 
 - the fecond, prxfecl of the Eaft 31 (note) 
 
 Saturnalia, account of 146 (note) 
 
 Scipio Africanus, his friendfhip with Lslius 39. 41 
 
 Seleucus Nicator, the founder of Antioch s^i 
 
 Sever us , Emperor 162 
 
 Simonides, the poet, an expreffion of 208 
 
 'Socrates withdrew from the bar many indifferent orators 8 
 
 preferred to Alexander 21. incapable ot reforming 
 
 mankind 22 (note) Dsemon of 47, Mr. Nares's 
 
 idea of it iluL (note) 
 
 Sobn> one of the wife men of Greece . 6. 18. 237 
 
 Sophocles quoted 306 
 
 Soul, immortality of, inculcated by Julian 117 
 
 believed by all nations 196 (note) 
 
 Sfanbelm Ezekiel, account of viu (note) Character of 
 
 his tranflation of the Czefars vn. xxvm. 
 Strajburgb, battle of 85 
 
 Stratonice y the wife of Seleucus, marries herfon-in-law 252 
 Sylvanus, revolt of 71, 72. (note) 
 
 T. 
 
 Talk of the Emperors from Julius Caefar to Julian 222 
 
 Tacitus, Emperor, omitted in the Csfars 169 (note) 
 Tarentines, puniflied by the Romans for infulting their 
 
 ambaflfadors 269 
 
 Taurus, praefeft of Italy, baniflied 101 (note) 
 
 7 Tbemijiius,
 
 I N D E X. 
 
 tftitu, Epiftle to, account of xxxn. 4 (note) a 
 
 fenator of Conftantinople 26 (note) 
 
 Theocritus, .quotation from .229 
 
 Tbeognis, the poet, his maxims 256 
 
 fbeopbraftus, the philofopher 266 
 
 yhrafyleon of Menander 256 (note) 
 
 ttrafyllus, the philofopher 259 
 
 fiber ius, Emperor 152 
 
 "Tillemont M, de, underftands too rigoroufly an expreffion 
 
 of Julian 245 (note) 
 
 37/*/, Emperor, too harfhly treated by Julian 156 (note) 
 
 Juftified, ibid. 
 
 Trajan, Emperor 157. harangues before the Gods 195 
 
 -- Decius, Emperor, omitted in the Gaefars 165 (note) 
 TranJJations of Julian by La Bleterie v. Petau viii 
 
 Spanheim viii. xxvm. 
 
 V. 
 
 Vefpajian^ Emperor 155 
 
 Vindcx C. Julius. Julian feems to reckon him among 
 
 the Emperors 155. Rebells againftNero ibid* (note) 
 iuS) Emperor 155 
 
 W. 
 
 Walpok Mr. his elogium on Roulham 280 (note) 
 Warburton Bifliop, compares a paflage of Pope to 
 
 one of Julian 274 (note) 
 
 Z. 
 
 7.amolxis, his incantations 38. 152. his do&rine 
 
 Zeno, the philofopher 39. 133. 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
 
 The Tranflator's diftance from the prefs, he is forry to 
 find, has occafioned the following ERRATA. 
 
 Page 
 
 V. 1. 3. r. * Juliet 
 
 xxvir. 1. n.r. * refponfible* 
 
 xxxi. note f 1. i. for 
 
 LXX1' r. LXXX.' 
 xxxvii. 1.3. fr. the bottom, 
 
 r. 360.* 
 
 2. 1. 2. r. * anceftors* 
 7. notef I. pen. after < ap- 
 prehenfion', put a comma 
 10. notefl. i.r. * afteriflcs' 
 13. note 1. i. r. yvs/1w 
 
 2. r. Jj 
 
 17. nate || 1. i. r. wQfavoy 
 
 20. note * r. ES- 
 
 38. note J 1. 4. r. * Critias 
 
 he re fays' 
 49. note . After ' 0Eo0Xij' 
 
 put a full flop 
 
 note f 1. penult, r. 
 
 * opening of* 
 
 Page 
 
 143. note f 1. 14. r. ' 
 165. note 1. 16. after ' TRA- 
 jAN-DEcius'add ' GALLUS* 
 168. 1. 5. r. * AURELIAN* 
 195. note 1. 5. r. ' Dion- 
 
 Chryfoftom' 
 
 197, 1. 7. For* with* r. * by* 
 224. note I 1. 2. r. ' /?..' 
 227. note 1. 6. fr. the bot- 
 
 tom. r. * fJM yag' 
 1. 9. fr. the bot- 
 
 tom r. ' wine' 
 243. is mifpaged 
 
 247. note * 1. 4. r. * TV^; 
 
 248. note t 1. ult. r. * Lous* 
 304. note J 1. i.r.' Bithynia' 
 
 note*l. 3.r. ' WOLFIUS* 
 note J 1. 2. dele ' or laft* 
 
 312. 
 
 3*7- 
 
 93 
 
 323. 1. 3. For it' r. at' 
 note * r. MDccxxud. 
 328. 1. 6. For ' en' r. in.
 
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