CHARACTER OF THE GAULS. For the Gauls, I do not say frequently, but even in everything, they attempt, are carried forward headlong by their passions, and never listen to the dictates of reason. NOTHING WITHOUT A CAUSE. For nothing happens without a cause, not even among those events which seem to be most fortuitous. FEELINGS OF KINGS. But he recollected, also, that kings entertain feelings neither of enmity nor friendship towards any, but are in both guided solely by what they consider to be their interest. WRITERS OF HISTORY AND TRAGEDY CONTRASTED. Consider, then, the peculiar character of history, and what is its proper aim. A historian ought not to try, like the writers of tragedy, to astonish and terrify the reader by extraordinary occurrences, nor yet ought he to draw on his imagination for speeches that might have been delivered, nor events that might have happened; but he should be satisfied to give a simple narrative of the speeches actually delivered, and of the events as they occurred, even though they may contain nothing noble or exciting. But the object and scope of tragedy are altogether different from those of history. It is the business of the latter to strike and fascinate the minds of the audience who are listening by such representations as are barely possible; whereas history professes to deliver lessons, from which all ages may derive improvement, by giving a true and accurate account of the speeches and events as they actually took place. In the one, therefore, the probable, though untrue, may be sufficient to guide us to the end in view, which is the delight and amusement of the audience; but the other addresses itself to a nobler object-the instruction and improvement of the human race, and must have truth as its basis. SOME END IN ALL HUMAN ACTIONS PROPOSED. the first step towards the execution of any project, after it has been resolved on; but the cause is to be sought previous to the resolution. In fact, it is something that first puts the idea into our heads, and that inclines us, after mature deliberation, to carry it into execution. A STATESMAN. For a statesman who is ignorant of the way in which events have originated, and who cannot tell from what circumstances they have arisen, may be compared to a physician who fails to make himself acquainted with the causes of those diseases which he is called in to cure. They are both equally use less and worthless; for the latter cannot be sup posed to be acquainted with the proper means of restoring the body to health, nor can the forme be likely to discover the remedies necessary to ge the better of the evils that are incident to states For matters of the greatest importance often tak their rise from the most trifling incidents; and i is easier to resist the beginnings of evils than t stop them when they have made considerabl progress. HYPOCRISY OF MEN. For all those with whom we live are like actor on a stage, they assume whatever dress and a So Shakespeare (" As You Like It," act ii., sc. 1)— A MAN OF CONCEIT. Flaminius was well-suited to gain the affections ( the populace, and very desirous to stand high i their favor; but he was destitute of all those p culiar talents that are necessary for the conductin of war and actual business, though he entertaine a high opinion of his own abilities. OF HIS OPPONENT. For every one must confess that there is n greater proof of the abilities of a general than t investigate, with the utmost care, into the chara ter and natural abilities of his opponent. For certainly, it ought never to be imagined, either by the rulers of states, or by those who are A GENERAL OUGHT TO EXAMINE THE CHARACTE going to give an account of their transactions, that the main object of war is victory, and putting others in subjection to us. No wise man ever makes war merely for the sake of showing his superiority over his neighbors, nor navigates the sea for the sole purpose of passing from place to place. Nor does he practise an art or science merely to MEN ASSIMILATED TO THE CLIMATE IN WHIC acquire a knowledge of it. In all human actions there is always some end in view, either of pleasure, or honor, or advantage, as the result of our labors. THEY LIVE. Looking at their morose and austere manners which are the necessary consequence of the col and harsh climate that overhangs the whole o DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CAUSE AND BEGIN- their province, for men are very much in dispo NING OF AN ACT. These misconceptions arise from our forgetting that there is a difference between the beginning of a war and its cause and pretext, and that the latter of these are always in order antecedent to the former. To speak correctly, the beginning is sition and feelings according to the nature of th country which they inhabit; nor can we attribut it to any other reason than that in the variou nations of the world, so far removed from each other, we find so vast a difference in features complexion, and customs. EVERY INJURY IS NOT TO BE SUBMITTED TO. to secure their obedience than by a victory in the For it is my opinion that war is no doubt much | field of battle. For in the one case they yield to to be dreaded, but still not to such a degree that we should be willing to submit to every kind of insult rather than engage in it. For why should we value so highly equality of government, liberty of speech, and the glorious name of freedom, if nothing is to be preferred to peace? PEACE NOT TO BE PREFERRED TO EVERYTHING. Nor can we approve of what Pindar recommends to his fellow-citizens, when he advises them to place all their happiness in peaceful repose, or, as he expresses it in his poetical language necessity; in the other, it is their own free choice. Besides, how often is the victory dearly bought, while the conquest of an enemy by affection may be brought about without expense or loss! And what ought to be particularly observed is, that subjects have a right to claim a large share in the success that has been obtained by arms, whereas the prince alone reaps all the glory of a victory which is gained by kind treatment. FATE OF COURTIERS. For the rapidity with which men, in all the various positions of life, rise and fall is very marked; but this is chiefly seen in those who are "In the radiant splendors of majestic Peace; " for this plausible and specious advice was found in the end to be not less dishonorable than de-attached to the court of kings. For as the counters structive of the best interests of their country. In short, peace is the greatest of all blessings, if it leaves us in the possession of our honors and lawful rights; but if it is attended with the loss of our national independence, and places a blot on our escutcheon, there is nothing more truly pernicious or fatal to our true interests. RASH PROJECTS. So true it is, that to engage in reckless and desperate enterprises is most frequently the way to reduce men eventually to utter helplessness, and an inability to make resistance. WHAT THINGS ARE ALLOWABLE IN WAR. which are employed in calculation assume their particular value at the will of the man who casts up the account,-sometimes representing a talent, sometimes a farthing,-so courtiers are rich and prosperous, wretched and in poverty, at the nod of their prince. A WORK BEGUN IS HALF DONE. For when the ancients said that a work begun was half done, they meant that we ought to take the utmost pains in every undertaking to make a good beginning. EXECUTION, AND NOT WORDS. For the truth is, that as nothing is more easy than to bind one's self by words to enter on the most daring enterprises, so there is nothing more difficult than to bring them to a successful result. For the former only requires that a man should have sufficient confidence; while success depends on qualities which few possess, and is very rarely reached in life. EFFECTS OF PENURY. Wherefore, there arose disputes, jealousy, and heart-burnings—a state of things which generally takes place, not only in great empires, but among private individuals, when they are depressed by poverty, and are without the means of carrying their designs into effect. For the laws of war force us to appropriate to ourselves what belongs to our enemy, to destroy their forts and cities, their ships and harbors, the fruits of their country, with the inhabitants, for the purpose of weakening them, and adding strength to ourselves. Yet when men proceed to wreak their fury on senseless objects, whose destruction will neither be of advantage to themselves, nor in the slightest degree disable their opponent from carrying on the war, especially if they burn the temples of the gods, destroy their statues, and waste their ornamental furniture, what else can we say of such proceedings, except that they are the acts of men devoid of all feelings of propriety, and infected by frenzy? For it is in no way the object of war, at least among men who have just notions of their duty, to annihilate and utterly subvert those from whom they may have received provocation, but only to induce them to amend that in which they have acted amiss-not to involve the innocent and guilty in one common ruin, but rather to save them both. We may also observe, that it is the act of a tyrant only, who hates, and is hated by, his subjects, to exact by force and terror a reluctant and unwilling obedi- For when the people are accustomed to gain ence; while a king, distinguished for his kindness their livelihood without labor, and to live at the and forbearance, gains the affections of his sub-expense of others, and when at that moment some jects, who learn to look upon him as their friend bold and enterprising leader makes his appearand benefactor, and to submit with cheerfulness ance, who has been prevented from taking part in to his commands. CONQUER ENEMIES BY GENEROSITY. When we conquer our enemies by kind treatment, and by acts of justice, we are more likely BEST FORM OF GOVERNMENT. For that form of government is, no doubt, to be considered the best which is composed of all the three now mentioned-namely, royalty, aristoc racy and democracy. THE USUAL END OF A DEMOCRATICAL GOVERN- public affairs by his poverty, it is then that we see a beautiful example of the character of the multitude: they run together in tumultuous assemblies, and commit all kinds of violence, ending in assassinations, banishments, and seizure of private property, till, being brought at last to a state of savage anarchy, they once more find a master, and submit themselves to arbitrary sway. HOW EACH FORM OF GOVERNMENT DEGEN- For as rust is the canker of iron, and worms destroy wood, and as these substances, even though they may escape a violent end, at last fall a prey to the decay that is, as it were, natural to them; in the same manner, likewise, in every kind of government there is a particular vice inherent in it, which is attached to its very nature, and which brings it to a close. Thus royalty degenerates into tyranny, aristocracy into obligarchy, and democracy into savage violence and anarchy. RELIGION USED TO TERRIFY THE VULGAR. But since the great mass of a people are fickle and inconstant, full of unruly desires, passionate, and reckless of consequences, there is no other way left to curb them than by filling them with horrible imaginings, and by the pageantry of terrifying myths. The ancients, therefore, did not, in my opinion, act unwisely, nor without sufficient reason, when they implanted such notions of the gods, and a belief in punishments in another world; but those of the present day are much rather to be accused of folly, who try to extirpate all such opinions. GOVERNMENT OF THE MULTITUDE IS THE GREATEST OF ALL EVILS. For when a state, after having gone through many and great dangers, reaches to the highest pinnacle of power, and reigns with undisputed sway, it cannot be otherwise than that luxury and expensive habits should be developed, and that men should indulge in ambitious projects, and be desirous to acquire the high dignities of state. And as these evils are apt to increase, the appetite for power grows on what it feeds upon, and men feel ashamed that any of their fellow-citizens should in any way surpass them. Hence arise all those vices which are the natural result of luxury and overbearing arrogance. Then the people step in and give the finishing stroke to the change in the form of government, finding themselves oppressed by the grasping nature of some, and their vanity flattered by the ambitious views of others. For, fired with rage, and giving full play to their evil passions, they are no longer willing to submit to control, and to share with their rulers the administration of affairs, but insist on having everything subject to their authority. The invariable result of such a state of things is, that the government indeed assumes the noblest of all names, that of a free and popular state, but becomes, in truth, the most execrable of all-the dominion of the mob. SECRECY RECOMMENDED. Now of all the precautions that have been mentioned, the first that the general of an army ought to attend to is secrecy. He ought to take care that his designs be not disclosed by his coun tenance betraying the joyful expectation of suc cess, or the sadness of defeat, nor yet by feelings of friendship or affection for those around him. He should communicate his intention to none ex cept to those without whose assistance his plan cannot be carried into execution, and not even to them till the time when their services are required make it necessary that they should be made ac quainted with them. Nor should the tongue only be silent, but still more must the mind itself be on its guard; for it has often happened that many who have a strict watch over their tongue, hav betrayed their intentions by some external signs and sometimes by their actions. FAVORITES OF FORTUNE. These writers, then, have all agreed in repre senting Scipio as one of those favorites of fortun who bring all their schemes to a happy end by: random thought, and, according to all appearance by running counter to all the rules of reason They regard such men as more immediately unde the inspiration of Heaven, and more deserving our admiration, than those who carry out thei plans in strict consonance with rational principle: forgetting all the while that in the one case me truly merit praise, while in the other all that ca be said of them is that they are fortunate. Th most vulgar and commonplace of men may b fortunate, but the others are distinguished f their mental qualities. These are the men wh approach nearest to the Divine Being, and are i highest favor with the gods. VICTORY WITH ADVANTAGE. For as we have often observed, it is no doubt great thing to be successful in our undertaking and to defeat our enemy in the field of battle; bu it is a proof of greater wisdom, and requires moi skill, to make a good use of victory. For man know how to conquer; few are able to use the conquest aright. POWER OF A MAN IN HIGH AUTHORITY. Thus an admonition, when it comes at the prope moment, from the lips of a man who enjoys th respect of the world, is often able not only to de ter men from the commission of crime, but lead them into the right path. For when the life of speaker is known to be in unison with his words it is impossible that his advice should not hav the greatest weight. CHARACTER OF THE MULTITUDE. The multitude is easily led astray, is moved in every direction by the smallest force, so that the DIFFICULT TO ESCAPE SORROW. agitations of the mob and the sea have a wonderful | It is a difficult matter to escape sorrow; every day brings some new cause of anxiety. ers. ACQUAINTANCES AND FRIENDS. By my skill I have got many acquaintances, but AVARICE. As in the case of those who are afflicted with dropsy, no external application is able to take away or allay the thirst, unless some internal change has been produced by proper remedies; in the same way, also, the desire of gain can never be satiated unless the vicious inclinations of the mind have been got rid of by reason. FORCE OF TRUTH. For my own part I am fully persuaded that the most powerful goddess, and one that rules mankind with the most authoritative sway, is Truth. For though she is resisted by all, and ofttimes has drawn up against her the plausibilities of falsehood in the subtlest forms, she triumphs over all opposition. I know not how it is that she, by her own unadorned charms, forces herself into the heart of man. At times her power is instantly felt; at other times, though obscured for awhile, she at last bursts forth in meridian splendor, and conquers by her innate force the falsehood with which she has been oppressed. WANT OF PERSEVERANCE IN MAN. SIMONIDES. SIMONIDES, lyric poet, was born in the island of Ceos in the year 556 B.C. LIFE OF MEN HERE BELOW. The vigor of man is but for a day, and his sorrows are incurable. Labor upon labor comes for a few short years; unavoidable death is impending; for the good and the bad have an equal share in it. THE WAY TO HADES. Being of good cheer, proceed creeping along the road to Hades: for it is not of difficult passage nor uneven, nor full of windings, but all very straight and down-hill, and can be gone along with shut eyes. HOW WE LIVE. For there is plenty of time to die, but we lead a bad life for a few years. TO-MORROW. For some men, like unskilful jockeys, give up Being mortal, thou canst not tell what will be their designs when they have almost reached the to-morrow, nor when thou seest a man happy, how goal; while others, on the contrary, obtain a vic-long he will be so, for not so swift is the flight of tory over their opponents, by exerting, at the last the wide-winged fly. moment, more vigorous efforts than before. SELF-ACCUSING CONSCIENCE. There is no witness so terrible, no accuser so powerful, as conscience, that dwells in the breast of each. THE COWARD. Death overtakes even the coward. ADVANTAGE OF SILENCE. The reward of silence is attended by no danger. TIME THE TOUCHSTONE of EVERYTHING. There is no better touchstone of everything than time, which shows the mind of man in his breast. sons of the most distinguished citizens of Athens. His first appearance as a dramatist took place in B.C. 468, when he gained the first prize in competition with the veteran Eschylus; and from that time Sophocles held the supremacy of the Athenian stage. Family dissensions troubled his last years. One of his sons summoned his father before the magistrates, on the charge that his mind was affected by old age. As his only reply, Sophocles answered, "If I am Sophocles, I am not beside myself; and if I am beside myself, I am not Sophocles." He then read a passage from the magnificent parodos to his unpublished play, "Edipus at Colonus," and when he had finished, the judges dismissed the case, and rebuked the ungrateful prosecutor. The poet was allowed to pass the remainder of his days in peace. He died at the extreme age of ninety. DOING GOOD SHOULD BE THE TASK OF MAN. GOD SEES THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED. also the wicked, nor has any impious man ever Believe that the gods behold the righteous and escaped their eye. So Jeremiah (xxxii. 19)—“ For Thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." A GOOD MAN IS HIS OWN FRIEND. For what good man is not his own friend? to thyself, men will speak well of thee." TOILING FOR A PARENT. For if any one toil for a parent, it is not fitting to bear remembrance of the toil. WE KNOW NOT WHAT A DAY MAY BRING FORTH. For I know that being a man I have no more For a man to exert his power in doing good so power to rule the events of to-morrow than thou. far as he can is a most glorious task. THE HONEST CONTRASTED WITH THE BASE. TO LAY MY BONES AMONG YE. I come to bestow on you as a gift, this my For it is not just lightly to deem the wicked wretched body, not goodly to the sight, but the good or the good wicked. He that throws a advantages to be gained from it are of greater faithful friend away, I call as bad as if he threw consequence than a fair form. his life away, which is most dear to him. But in time thou wilt know all this; for time alone shows the honest man; the base thou mightest discover even in one day. QUICK DECISION IS Unsafe. Quick resolves are oft unsafe. THE WISE GATHER WISDOM FROM THE PAST. Shakespeare (" Henry VIII.," act iv., sc. 2) says- An old man, broken with the storms of state, TIME CHANGES EVERYTHING. O dearest son of Egeus, to the gods alone is given exemption from old age and death; but the The wise form right judgment of the present all-powerful hand of time crumbles everything from what is past. THE AGED. else to dust. The vigor of the earth, the vigor of the body wastes away; faith dies and perfidy springs up afresh; the gale does not always blow A trifling bend of the scale sends aged frames to the same to friends among men, nor to state rest. MAN CONTROLLED BY FATE. For why should man fear, whom the decrees of fate control, while there is no sure foresight of aught? "Twere best to live at random, even as one could. LIFE AN AIRY DREAM. Ye race of mortals, how I deem your life as nothing but an airy dream! For this is the only happiness granted to man, to fancy that he has it, and so fancying to see the glittering vision melt away. NO ONE TO BE PRONOUNCED HAPPY BEFORE DEATH. Wherefore since thou art looking out, as being mortal, for thy last day, call no man happy, before he has passed the boundary of life, having suffered nothing evil. Lord Byron says- "The first dark day of nothingness. The last of danger and distress." towards state. For what is grateful now becomes hateful, to some at once, to others in distant time; and then delights again. So 1 Timothy (vi. 16)—“ Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto.” WHERE THE CAUSE IS JUST, THE WEAK CONQUERS THE STRONG. In a just cause, the weak subdue the strong. THE DEAD FEEL NO GRIEF. For rage is not abated but by death; the dead feel no grief. THE HUNTER TAKEN IN HIS OWN TOILS. And know that thou art seized, as thou hast seized; fortune takes the hunter in his own toils; for things got by fraud and injustice abide not. SMALL CIRCUMSTANCES OFTEN IMPORTANT. Things of trifling appearance are often preg nant with high import; a prudent man neglects no circumstance. |