difficulties in the execution of the most dangerous commiffions; thele are your brave men, and chiefs in an army: while they who enjoy public ease at the expence of others labours, are mere poltrons (e) who buy their fafety with difgrace.

(a) This is true wifdom, the principal doctrine of the Stoics, and confirmed throughout the whole tenour of the Gospel." He is but a bad foldier, who fighs and marches on with reluctancy; we must receive the orders with spirit and chearfulness, and not endeavour to flink out of the part affigned us in this beautiful difpofition of things; whereof even our fufferings make a neceffary part. Let us addrefs ourselves to God who governs all; as Cleanthes did in those excellent lines which are going to lofe part of their grace and energy by my tranflation of them. Bolingbroke. (See the original Epiftle, 107, N. f..)

Parent of Nature, master of the world,
Where'er thy providence directs, behold
My fteps with chearful refignatiun turn.

Fate leads the willing, drags the backward on.
Why should I grieve, when grieving I must bear,

Or take with guilt, what guiltless I might foare?

Thus let us fpeak, thus let us act. Refignation to the will of God is true magnanimity. But the fure mark of a pufillanimous and bafe fpirit, is to firuggle againft, to cenfure, the order of Providence; and inftead of mending our own conduct, to fet up for that of correcting our Maker. Id. See alfo Adams on Suicide, p. 176.

(¿) « This established course of things it is not in our power to change: but it is in our power to affume fuch a greatnefs of mind as becomes wife and virtuous men ; as may enable us to encounter the accidents of life with fortitude; and to conform ourselves to the order of Nature; who governs her great kingdom, the world, by continual mutations. Let us fubmit to this order: let us be perfuaded that whatever does happen ought to happen; (or, as Mr. Pope expresses it, whatever is, is right;) and never to be fo foolish as to expoftulate with Nature."

The beft refolution we can take, is to fuffer what we cannot alter; and to purfue, without repining, the road which Providence, who directs every thing, has marked out to us. Id. (c)

Γῆρας ἐπαν μὲν ἀτῇ, πᾶς ἔυχετας, ἣν δέ πολ ̓ ἐλῃ,

Μέμφεται· ἔςι δ' ἀπὶ χρῆσσον ὀφειλόμενον.

All wish for age, but when it comes, they cry,
They have enough, and rather wish to die.
Εἴ τὶς γηράσας ζηνέυχεται, άξιος εστι

Γηράσκειν πολλῶν εις ετέων δεκάδας.

(d) This allufion is common in fcripture. I have fought a good fight, faith St. Paul; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith; henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteoufness. ii. Tim. 4.7. This charge I commit with thee, fon Timothy, that thou mayest war a good warfare. i. Tim.

1. 18.

(e) Turdilli funt, tuti contumeliæ caufa.---Al. Turburilla funt. Pincian. Tubiline, the name of a Goddess amongst the ancients. Lipf. Turdi funt. From one Turdus, a man of fo infamous a character, that his name became a proverb.---Seneca, the father, makes mention of him, in 1. 9. Controv. 4.---Turdilli, Onfils; or fome fuch birds, that are fafe in being defpicable.

You are mistaken, Lucilius, if you think luxury, disorderly behahaviour, and other indecencies, which men are apt to lay to the charge of their own times, the peculiar vices of this age (a). There is no age exempt from them: but it is man that is in fault, not the age. And if once we begin to examine into the licentioufnefs of certain times, I am ashamed to fay, that nothing could be more notorious, than the crimes that were committed in the face of Cato.

Would any one think that money fhould be employed in that folemn trial, when Clodius was accufed of adultery, committed in difguife with the wife of Cafar; and of violating the holy rites, inftituted for the good of the people (b); at what time men are so far from being admitted, that the very pictures of any male animal were covered (c) ? But the Judges took money; nay, what is much worse, they exacted, noblemen. young There by way of fees, the violation of matrons and was lefs heinoufnefs in the crime, than in the abfolution of it. The accused of adultery divided with his Judges his finful fport; nor was he fecure until he had involved his Judges in the fame guilt with himself.

Such were the tranfactions in the trial of Clodius, wherein Cato, if But because the nothing more, was fummoned to give evidence. thing exceeds all belief, I will give you the very words of Cicero; Accerfivit ad fe, promifit, interceffit, dedit, jam verò, (O Dii boni, rem perditam!) etiam noctes certarum mulierum, atque adolefcentulorum nobilium perductiones, nonnullis judicibus pro mercedis cumulo fuerunt. Calvus, the manager for Clodius, called the Judges to him: be made them large promifes, be entreated, he gave them money; (Oye Gods,) what abominable wickedness! fome of the Judges, by way of a bleffing,

3

but now,

a blefing, above their fee, were to be introduced by night to the enjoyment of certain women of quality and young noblemen. There was no room to complain of the fee, be it what it will, fince it was attended with fuch a blessing, as, would you have the wife of that fevere old fellow, (Cato, fuppofe?) I will procure her for you. Or do you prefer the wife of that rich man (Craffus?) you all enjoy her. And when you yourfelf have committed adultery, condemn it, if you can. Yes, that beauthful lady, if you defire her, fhall be at your fervice; I promise you a night with her, when you please; you fhall be fure to have her during the adjournment of the trials. It is more to procure and diftribute adulteries, than to commit them: the former confifts in fummoning the matrons, and artfully taking them off their guard; the latter in freely abusing them. These Judges however of Clodius, demanded of the fenate protection and a guard, which they had no need of, as they had no defign to condemn him; but they obtained it: whereupon when they had acquitted him, Catulus faid fiartly to one of them, Quid vos præfidium a nobis petebatis? To what intent do you ask a guard? was you afraid any one fould take the bribe from you, which you had just received?

Amidst all these jokes the adulterer was acquitted, even before the trial; and his pimp taken no notice of during the procefs; who indeed escaped fentence, which he more deferved than the other. Can you think then any age more corrupt in morals than this; when luft could not be restrained by holy ceremonies, nor public juftice? when in that very enquiry, which was extraordinarily debated in the senate, greater villainy was committed than in the matter in queftion? The enquiry was, whether a man, after committing adultery, could live safe in Rome? and it appeared, that without committing adultery he could not be fafe.

peo

Such were the tranfactions in the time of Cæfar and Pompey; nay, in the time of Cicero and Cato, even that Cato, in whofe presence the ple dared not to demand the celebration of the sports called Floralia (d). Think you, then, men were more fevere with regard to what they faw, than in the courts of judicature? No; fuch exceffes have happened,

and

and will happen. The licentioufnefs of critics is fometimes reftrained by fear and difcipline, but never fubfides of itfelf. There is no reafon therefore you fhould think, that in our time only, the laws have little credit, and licentiousness the fashion. For my part, I think our youth are not fo profligate as at the time when the perfon accufed of adultery denied the fact to his judges, and the judges confeffed, or expofed their guilt to him. When whoredoms were committed in order to qualify fuch as were to try the caufe; and when Clodius, (becoming gracious by thofe very crimes that rendered him guilty) instead of proper allegations, and proving his innocence, turned procurer for his judges. Would any one believe this, that he who was accused of one criminal fact, fhould get acquitted by committing more? Every age will have a Clodius, but not every age a Cato.

We are all prone to evil, because herein we feldom want either at leader or a companion: not but that the business goes on without either a companion or a leader. Men are not only prone, but run headlong into evil: and what renders many incurable is, that artificers are afhamed of any errors in their profeffions, but men delight in the errors of life. A pilot rejoiceth not in the wreck of his ship, nor a physician in the death of his patient, nor an orator in lofing his client's caufe : but, on the contrary, men take pleasure and even glory in their fins. One man, for instance, triumphs in committing adultery, especially if with great difficulty he obtained the favour; another, in overreaching, and pilfering from, his neighbour: nor does the fin ever displease them, provided they have the good fortune to escape punish

ment.

Now this is owing to the prevalency of bad cuftom. For, obferve, that you may know, there is ftill a fenfe of good, left even in minds that are most corrupt; and that men, however negligent, are not quite void of shame; almost all diffemble their crimes: and, when they have fucceeded, they enjoy the fruits of their actions, but at the fame time endeavour to conceal the actions themselves. Whereas a good confcience defires to appear openly, and to be feen of men; nay wickedness

is afraid of darkness itself. I think it therefore elegantly faid by Epicurus, Poteft nocenti contingere ut lateat, latendi fides non poteft; guilty perfon may poffibly lie concealed, but he cannot trust to it; or perhaps you may think it better expressed in this manner: Ideo non prodeft latere peccantibus, quia latendi etiam fi felicitatem habent, fiduciam non habent: it is of little avail for a finner to hide himself, for let him bide himself as he will, he can never be affured of peace and fecurity.

Thus it is; wickedness may be fafe, but it never can be fecure. And I cannot think this affertion anywife repugnant to the doctrine of our fect (e.) And why? because the first and greatest punishment of offenders is in the offence itfelf: nor does any wickednefs, though fortune may adorn it with her choiceft gifts, nay, though she may defend and protect it, go unpunished. Because the punishment, I fay, of wickedRefs is in wickednefs itself: nevertheless both the one and the other are still preffed upon and followed with this secondary chastisement, a continual dread, and diffidence of security.

And why should I defire to deliver wickedness from this certain punishment? why should I not leave a mind fo engaged ftill in fufpenfe? We must diffent indeed from Epicurus, when he faith (f), nothing is just by nature; and that crimes are avoided, becaufe fear is not to be avoided: but herein we must agree with him, that evil deeds are Scourged by confcience, and the greatest part of her torture confifts in that anxiety which prefeth upon and wrings her, because she can put no confidence in she any thing that promifeth her fecurity. For thus Epicurus argues, we naturally abhor villainy, becaufe no one is fo fafe as to be out of the reach of fear; good fortune delivers many from punishment, but no one from the fear of it; because there is implanted in us an averfion to whatever is condemned by nature: therefore there can be no furety of concealment, even to those who endeavour to conceal themselves; fince confcience accufeth them, and betrayeth them to themfelves. It is the property of guilt to tremble. It would be bad for us indeed, forafmuch as many crimes efcape the law, the Judge, and penal ftatutes, if thefe natural and grievous punishments were not immediately inflicted; and fear fupplied not the place of a beadle. A N