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nature. It is an injury to mankind, if the highest abilities are not placed in the highest stations. Had you, Scipio, been kept down by the Republican jealousy of Cato the Cenfor, Hannibal would have never been recalled out of Italy, nor defeated in Africk. And if I had not been treacheroufly murdered by the daggers of Brutus and Caffius, my fword would have avenged the defeat of Craffus, and added the empire of Parthia to that of Rome. Nor was my government tyrannical. It was mild, humane, and bounteous. The world would have been happy under it, and wifhed its continuance: but my death broke the pillars of the public tranquillity, and brought upon the whole empire a direful fcene of calamity and confufion.

Scipio. You fay that great minds will naturally aspire to fovereign power. But, if they are good, as well as great, they will regulate their ambition by the laws of their country. The laws of Rome permitted me to afpire to the conduct of the war againft Carthage; but they did not permit you to turn her arms against herself, and fubject her to your will. The breach of one law of liberty is a greater evil to a nation than the lofs of a province; and, in my opinion, the conqueft of the whole world would not be enough to compenfate for the total loss of their freedom.'

Cæfar not knowing how to evade the force of thefe arguments, recriminates on Scipio:

You talk finely, Africanus-but ask yourself, whether the height and dignity of your mind, that noble pride which accompanies the magnanimity of a hero, could always ftoop to a nice conformity with the laws of your country? Is there a law of liberty more effential, more facred than that, which obliges every member of a free community to fubmit himself to a trial, upon a legal charge brought against him for a public mifdemeanour? In what manner did you answer a regular accufation from a tribune of the people, who charged you with embezzling the money of the ftate? You told your judges, that on that day you had vanquished Hannibal and Carthage, and bade them follow you to the temples to give thanks to the Gods. Nor could you ever be brought to ftand a legal trial, or justify those accounts, which you had torn in the fenate, when they were queftioned there by two magiftrates in the name of the Roman people. Was this acting like the fubject of a free ftate? Had your victory procured you an exemption from juftice? Had it given into your hands the money of the republic without account? If it had, you were king of Rome. Pharfalia, Thapfus, and Munda, could do no more for me.'

After some altercation, Scipio is brought to the following confeffion :

I acknowledge, my conduct in that business was not abfolutely

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lutely blameless: The generous pride of virtue was too strong. in my mind. It made me forget I was creating a dangerous precedent in declining to plead to a legal accufation, brought. against me by a magiftrate invested with the majesty of the whole Roman people. It made me unjustly accufe my country of ingratitude, when fhe had fhewn herself grateful, even beyond the true bounds of policy and juftice, by not inflicting upon me any penalty for fo irregular a proceeding. But, at the fame time, what a proof did I give of moderation, and refpect for her liberty, when my utmoft refentment could impel me to nothing more violent than a voluntary retreat, and quiet banishment of myself from the city of Rome! Scipio Africanus, offended, and living a private man, in a country-house at Liternum was an example of more ufe to fecure the equality of the Roman commonwealth, than all the power of its tribunes.. Cafar. I had rather have been thrown down the Tarpeian rock, than have retired, as you did, to the obfcurity of a vil lage, after acting the first part on the greateft theatre of the world.

Scipio. An ufurper exalted on the higheft throne of the uni verfe is not fo glorious as I was in that obfcure Retirement. I hear indeed, that you, Cæfar, have been deified by the flattery of fome of your fucceffors. But the impartial judgment of hif tory has confecrated my name, and ranks me in the first class of heroes and patriots: whereas the highest praife her records, even under the dominion ufurped by your family, have given to you, is, that your courage and talents were equal to the object your ambition afpired to, the empire of the world; and that you exercifed a fovereignty unjustly acquired with a magnanimous clemency. But it would have been better for your country, and better for mankind, if you had never exifted."

This feems to be a very juft eftimate of Cæfar's character; but, in our judgment, the inftance of S.ipio's refufing to anfwer before the judicatory of his country, might have been prefel ftronger against him by his antagonist: for, surely, he who refufes to plead before the lawful tribunal of his country, is as great a rebel against the conftitution, as he who attempts to fubvert it by force of arms.

The next dialogue, which paffes between Plato and Diogenes, conveys fome fhrewd obfervations on the nature and effect of flattery; with which Diogenes having charged Plato, the latter replies in the following juft and spirited manner :

Do you pretend, Diogenes, that, because you were never in a court, you never, flattered? How did you gain the affection. of the people of Athens, but by foothing their ruling paffion, the defire of hearing their fuperiors abused? Your cynic railing was to them the most acceptable flattery. This you well un

derstood,

derstood, and made your court to the vulgar, always envious and malignant, by trying to lower all dignity and confound all order: you made your court, I fay, as fervilely, and with as much offence to virtue, as the bafeft flatterer ever did to the most corrupted prince. But true philofophy will difdain to act either of these parts. Neither in the affemblies of the people, nor in the cabinets of kings, will fhe obtain favour by fomenting any bad difpofitions. If her endeavours to do good prove unsuccessful, fhe will retire with honour, as an honeft physician departs from the house of a patient, whose diftemper he finds incurable, or who refufes to take the remedies he prescribes. But if the fucceeds; if, like the mufic of Orpheus, her sweet perfuafions can mitigate the ferocity of the multitude, and tame their minds to a due obedience of laws and reverence of magi, ftrates; or if she can form a Timoleon, or a Numa Pompilius, to the government of a ftate, how meritorious is the work! One king, nay one minifter, or counsellor of ftate, imbued with her precepts, is of more value than all the fpeculative, retired philofophers, or cynical revilers of princes and magiftrates, that ever lived upon earth.'

Thefe fentiments convey the keeneft reproof of the conduct of thofe mock-patriots who fervilely cringe to the rabble, while they affect to treat with infulting arrogance, thofe whom the conftitution teaches them to refpect.

In the progrefs of the dialogue, Diogenes fneers at Plato concerning his vifionary republic; to which Plato answers,

I am conscious, Diogenes, that my republic was imaginary, and could never be established. But they fhew as little knowlege of what is practicable in politics, as I did in that book, who fuppofe that the liberty of any civil fociety can be maintained by the deftruction of order and decency, or promoted by the petulance of unbridled defamation.

"Diogenes. I never knew any government angry at defamation, when it fell on those who disliked or obstructed its meafures. But I well remember, that the thirty tyrants at Athens called oppofition to them the deftruction of order and decency.'

Of the truth of these reflections, daily experience fatally convinces us. How often do we fee men who have rifen to power: by the arts of defamation, turn the most rigid perfecutors of thofe who oppose their measures, while at the fame time they patronize the fouleft libels against their competitors: and yet the deluded multitude will still continue to be the dupes of contending parties, who thus betray the public, and weaken the conftitution, to compass their own private ends!

In the dialogue which follows, between Ariftides, Phocion, and Demofthenes, the different principles of the two latter are accurately fcrutinized; Phocion is cenfured for having temporized against Philip, and for having at length been averse to

ferve the public: Demofthenes, on the other hand, is commended for having carried the war out of Attica against Philip, but blamed for having been induced by the spirit of party, to lay afide fo great a general as Phocion.

In the concluding dialogue, Marcus Aurelius Philofophus and Servius Tullius are the Interlocutors. The fubject of this colloquy is curious, and particularly interefting to a British reader. Servius Tullius lays claim to merit, fuperior to that of Marcus Aurelius.

I need not tell you,' fays the former, that the plan of government inftituted by me was adopted by the Romans, when they had driven out Tarquin, the deftroyer of their liberty; and gave its form to that republic, compofed of a due mixture of the regal, ariftocratical, and democratical powers, the ftrength and wisdom of which fubdued the world. Thus all the glory of that great people, who for many ages excelled the rest of mankind in the arts of war and of policy, belongs originally

to me.'

To which Marcus Aurelius answers:

There is much truth in what you fay. But would not the Romans have done better, if, after the expulfion of Tarquin, they had vested the regal power in a limited monarch, instead of placing it in two annual elective magiftrates, with the title of confuls? This was a great deviation from your plan of government, and I think, an unwife one. For a divided royalty is a folecism, an abfurdity in politics. Nor was the regal power, committed to the adminiftration of confuls, continued in their hands long enough, to enable them to finish any difficult war, or other act of great moment. From hence arofe a neceffity of prolonging their commands beyond the legal term; of shortening the interval prefcribed by the laws between the elections to thofe offices; and of granting extraordinary commiffions and powers, by all which the republic was in the end deftroyed.'

To this Servius replies, that the revolution which enfued on the death of Lavinia, was made with so much anger, that no wonder the Romans abolished the name of king. But if anger, fays he, acted too violently in reforming abufes, philosophy might have wifely corrected that error. He then proceeds to obferve, that Marcus Aurelius might have formed a limited monarchy to which Marcus makes the following judicious reply:

I fhould have been happy indeed, if it had been in my power to do fuch good to my country. But the gods themselves cannot force their bleffing on men, who by their vices are become incapable to receive them. Liberty, like power, is only good for those who poffefs it, when it is under the conftant direction of virtue. No laws can have force enough to hinder it from degenerating into faction and anarchy, where the morals

of

of a nation are depraved; and continual habits of vice will eradicate the very love of it out of the hearts of a people. A Marcus Brutus, in my time, could not have drawn to his ftandard a fingle legion of Romans. But further, it is certain that the Spirit of Liberty is abfolutely incompatible with the fpirit of conqueft. To keep great conquered nations in fubjection and obedience, great flanding armies are neceflary. The generals of thofe armies will not long remain fubjects; and whoever acquires dominion by the fword, muft rule by the fword. If he does not deftroy liberty, liberty will deftroy him.'

These fentiments are more particularly worthy our attention at this critical conjuncture; we have now a deplorable inftance before us of the fatal effects of extending dominion too widely. We fee an act of the British legiflature openly oppofed by British fubjects: and the power of government (hitherto) too weak to enforce obedience to their authority. If there should be a neceffity of employing military force, they and their mothercountry would have cause to mourn the occafion: and yet the mad multitude are dazzled with the fpirit of conqueft, not confidering that conquefts are purchased by the immediate facrifices of their property, and at the hazard of their liberty.

The noble and ingenious Author concludes this dialogue with an encomium on the British conftitution, which his Lordship has conftantly endeavoured to preferve by his abilities, integrity, and moderation.

Practical Obfervations concerning the Cure of the Venereal Difeafe by Mercurials. To which is added, a Letter to Peter Collinfon, Efq; F.R. S. containing an Account of an Ear of Dog's Grass, that was fwallowed by a Child, and afterwards difcharged on its Back. By Jonathan Wathen, Surgeon. 8vo. I s. 6d. Rivington.

R. Wathen profeffes to point out that peculiar operation by which mercury removes the various appearances and degrees of the Venereal Difeafe. His principles, he fays, are founded on a strict attention to a great number of cafes which have occurred in practice; and these are to be confidered as fo many experiments which have afforded him an opportunity of drawing conclufions with almoft the fame degree of certainty as in mathematical deductions.-Our Author's experiments, however, are not related, his cafes are unpublished, and he has vouchsafed only to favour the world with his almoft mathematical conclufons,-The moft remarkable of these we fhall briefly enume

rate,

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