eight days, though attacked and haraffed all the way by the enemy, he preferved his own divifion of the army, tolerably entire; till Demofthenes was taken prifoner, and the troops he had the conduct of, were furrounded, after a brave refiftance, at a fmall place called Polyzelium. Demofthenes then drew his fword and ftabbed himself, but as the enemy came immediately upon him and feized him, he had not time to give himself the finishing stroke.

Some Syracufans rode up to Nicias with this news, and he fent a few of his own cavalry to know the certainty. Finding, from their account, that Demofthenes and his party were really prifoners, he begged to treat with Gylippus, and offered hostages for paying the Syracufans the whole charge of the war, on condition they would suffer the Athenians to quit Sicily. The Syracufans rejected the propofal with every mark of infolence and outrage, and fell again upon a wretched man, who was in want of all manner of neceffaries *.

He defended himself, however, all that night, and continued his march the next day to the river Afinarus, The enemy galled his troops all the way, and, when they came to the banks of the river, pushed them in. Nay fome, impatient to quench their burning thirst, voluntarily plunged into the ftream. Then followed a most cruel fcene of blood and flaughter; the poor wretches being maffacred as they were drinking. At laft, Nicias threw himself at the feet of Gylippus, and faid, " Gylippus,

you should show fome compaffion amidst your victory. I "afk nothing for myself. What is life to a man, whose "misfortunes are even proverbial? But, with respect to "the other Athenians, methinks, you should remember "that the chance of war is uncertain, and with what hu"manity and moderation they treated you, when they were "victorious."

Gyllippus was fomewhat affected both at the fight of Nicias, and at his fpeech. He knew the good offices he had done the Lacedemonians at the laft treaty of peace; and he was fenfible it would contribute greatly to his honour, if he could take two of the enemy's generals prifoners.

*But were thefe brave people to blame? Was it not natural for them'to ufe every means in their power to harass and weaken an enemy, whe had ambitioufly confidered their country as a property?

prifoners. Therefore, raifing Nicias from the ground, he bade him take courage; and gave orders that the other Athenians fhould have quarter. But as the order was flowly communicated, the number of those that were faved, was greatly inferior to that of the flain; though the foldiers fpared feveral, unknown to their officers.

When the Syracufans had collected all the prisoners they could find into one body, they dreffed fome of the talleft and straightest trees that grew by the river, as trophies, with the arms they had taken from the enemy. After which, they marched homeward, with garlands on their heads, and with their horfes adorned in the most fplendid manner; having first shorn thofe of the Atheni nians. Thus they entered the city, as it were in triumph, after the happy termination of the fharpeft difpute that ever fubfifted between Grecians, and one of the most complete victories the fun ever beheld, gained by a glo rious and perfevering exertion of firmness and valour.

A general affembly of the people of Syracufe and of its allies then was held, in which * Eurycles the orator propofed a decree, "That, in the first place, the day they "took Nicias should be observed as a feftival, with the "title of Afinaria, from the river where that great event "took place, and that it should be entirely employed in "facrifices to the gods." This was the twenty-feventh day of the month Carneus, called by the Athenians Metagitnion +. "As to the prifoners, he propofed, that the "Athenian fervants and all the allies fhould be fold for "flaves; that fuch of the Athenians as were freemen, "and the Cicilians, their partizans, fhould be confined "to the quarries; and that the generals fhould be put to death." As the Syracufans accepted the bill, Hermocrates rofe up and faid, "It was a more glorious thing to make a good ufe of a victory, than to gain one. But his motion raised a great ferment in the affembly. Gylippus expreffing his defire to have the Athenian generals, that he might carry them prisoners to Lacedemon, the Syracufans, now grown infolent with their

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*Diodorus Siculus calls him Diocles.

Though it is not eafy, as we have obferved in a former note, to bring the Grecian month to tally with ours, yet we agree in this place with Dacier, that September is probably meant, or part of it; because Plutarch had faid above, that the fickness had fet in with autumn,

their good fortune, loaded him with reproaches. Indeed, they could not well bear his feverity and Lacedemonian rigour in command, while the war lafted. Befides, as Timæus obferves, they had difcovered in him an avarice and meanness, which was a difeafe he inherited from his father Cleandrides, who was banished for taking of bribes. The fon, out of the thousand talents which Lyfander fent him to Sparta, purloined thirty, and hid them under the tiles of his houfe. Being detected in it, he fled his country with the utmoft difgrace; as we have related more at large in the life of Lyfander.

Timæus does not agree with Philiftius and Thucydides, that Demofthenes and Nicias were ftoned to death by the Syracufans. Inftead of that, he tells us, that Hermocrates fent one of his people, to acquaint these two generals with what was paffing in the affembly, and the mesfenger being admitted by the guards before the court was difmiffed, the unhappy men difpatched themfelves. Their bodies were thrown without the gates, and lay there expofed to the view of all those who wanted to enjoy the fpectacle. I am informed that a fhield, faid to be that of Nicias, is fhown to this day in one of the temples at Syracufe; the exterior texture of which is gold and purple, and executed with furprifing art.

As to the other Athenians, the greateft part perished in the quarries to which they were confined, by difeafes and bad diet; for they were allowed only a pint of barley a-day, and half a pint of water. Many of those who were concealed by the foldiers, or escaped by paffing as fervants, were fold for flaves, and ftigmatized with the figure of a horse upon their foreheads. Several of thefe, however, fubmitted to their fate with patience; and the modefty and decency with which they behaved, were fuch, that they were either foon released, or treated in their fervitude with great refpect by their mafters.

Some there were who owed their preservation to Euripides. Of all the Grecians, his was the mufe whom the Sicilians were moft in love with. From every stranger that landed in their island, they gleaned every small fpecimen or portion of his works, and communicated it with pleafure to each other. It is faid, that on this occafion a number of Athenians, upon their return home, went to Euripides, and thanked him in the most respectful man

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ner for their obligations to his pen; fome having been enfranchised for teaching their mafters what they remembered of his poems,, and others having got refreshments when they were wandering about after the battle for fing ing a few of his verfes. Nor is this to be wondered at, fince they tell us, that when a fhip from Caunus, which happened to be purfued by pirates, was going to take fhelter in one of their ports, the Sicilians at first refused to admit her; upon afking the crew whether they knew any of the verses of Euripides, and being anfwered in the affirmative, they received both them and their veffel.

The Athenians, we are told, did not give credit to the first news of this misfortune; the perfon who brought it, not appearing to deserve their notice. It feems a ftranger who landed in the Piræus, as he fat to be shaved in a barber's fhop, spoke of it as an event already known to the Athenians. The barber no fooner heard it, but, refore the ftranger could communicate it to any other per fon, he ran into the city; and applying to the magistrates, informed them of the news in open court. Trouble and difmay feized on all that heard it. The magiftrates immediately fummoned an affembly, and introduced the informant. There he was interrogated, of whom he had the intelligence; and, as he could give no clear and pertinent anfwer, he was confidered as a forger of false news and a public incendiary. In this light he was faftened to the wheel, where he bore the torture for fome time, till at length fome credible perfons arrived; who gave a diftinct account of the whole difafter. With fo much difficulty did the misfortunes of Nicias find credit among the Athenians, though he had often forewarned them that they would certainly happen.

*

MAR

* Cafaubon would infer from hence, that the Athenians had a law for punishing the forgers of falfe news. But this perfon was punished, not fo much as a forger of falfe news, as a public incendiary, who by exciting groundless terrors in the people aided and abetted their ene

mies.

MARCUS CRASSUS.

MARCUS CRASSUS, whofe father had borne the of fice of cenfor, and been honoured with a triumph, was brought up in a fmall houfe with his two brothers. Thefe married while their parents were living, and they all eat at the fame table. This, we may fuppofe, contributed not a little to render him fober and moderate in his diet. Upon the death of one of his brothers, he took the widow and children into his houfe. With refpect to women, there was not a man in Rome more regular in his conduct; though, when fomewhat advanced in years, he was fufpected of a criminal commerce with one of the vestal virgins named Licinia. Licinia was impeached by one Plotinus, but acquitted upon trial. It feems, the vestal had a beautiful country-houfe, which Craffus wanting to have at an under-price, paid his court to the lady with great affiduity, and thence fell under that fufpicion. His judges, knowing that avarice was at the bottom of all, acquitted him of the charge of corrupting the vestal: and he never let her reft till she had fold him her house.

The Romans fay, Craffus had only that one vice of avarice, which caft a fhade upon his many virtues. He appeared, indeed, to have but one bad quality, because it was fo much stronger and more powerful than the rest, that it quite obfcured them. His love of money is very evident from the fize of his eftate, and his manner of raising it. At first it did not exceed three hundred talents. But, during his public employments, after he had confecrated the tenths of his fubftance to Hercules, given an entertainment to the people, and a fupply of bread corn to each citizen for three months, he found, upon an exact computation, that he was mafter of feven thousand one hundred talents. The greatest part of this fortune, if we may declare the truth to his extreme difgrace, was gleaned from war and from fires; for he made a traffic of the public calamities. When Sylla had taken Rome, and fold the eftates of thofe whom he had put to death, which he both reputed and called the fpoils of his enemies, he was VOL. III, defirous