fuccefs the Athenians would have in the war, namely, that they would ruin themselves, by grasping at too much. But it was entirely against the opinion of Fabius, that the Romans fent Scipio into Africa, and yet they were victorious there, not by the favour of fortune, but by the courage and conduct of their general. So that the misfortunes of his country bore witnefs to the fagacity of Pericles, and from the glorious fuccefs of the Romans it appeared that Fabius was utterly mistaken. And, indeed, it is an equal fault in a commander in chief, to lose an advantage through diffidence, and to fall into danger for want of forefight. For it is the fame * want of judgement and fkill, that sometimes produces too much confidence, and sometimes leaves too little. Thus far concerning their abilities in

war.

And if we confider them in their political capacity, we fhall find that the greateft fault laid to the charge of Pericles, was, that he caufed the Peloponnefian war; through oppofition to the Lacedaemonians, which made him unwilling to give up the leaft point to them. I do not fuppofe, that Fabius Maximus would have given up any point to the Carthaginians, but that he would generously have run the laft rifque to maintain the dignity of Rome.

The mild and moderate behaviour of Fabius to Minucius, fets in a very difadvantageous light the conduct of Pericles, in his implacable perfecution of Cimon and Thucydides, valuable men, and friends to the Ariftocracy, and yet banished by his practices and intrigues.

Befides, the power of Pericles was much greater than that of Fabius; and therefore he did not fuffer any misfortune to be brought upon Athens by the wrong measures of other generals. Tolmides only

This apa fignifies, as well as inexperience, Fabius had much experience as Pericles, and yet was not equally happy in his conjectures with regard to future events.

only carried it against him for attacking the Boeotians, and in doing it, he was defeated and flain. All the reft adhered to his party, and fubmitted to his opinion, on account of his fuperior authority: whereas Fabius, whofe measures were falutary and fafe, as far as they depended upon himself, appears only to have fallen fhort, by his inability to prevent the miscarriages of others. For the Romans would not have had fo many misfortunes to deplore, if the power of Fabius had been as great in Rome, as that of Pericles in Athens.

As to their liberality and public fpirit, Pericles fhewed it in refuting the fums that were of fered him, and Fabius in ranfoming his foldiers with his own money. This, indeed, was no great expence, being only about fix talents. But it is not eafy to fay what a treasure Pericles might have amaffed from the allies, and from kings who made their court to him; on account of his great authority, yet no man ever kept himself more free from corruption.

As for the temples, the public edifices and other works, with which Pericles adorned Athens, all the ftructures of that kind in Rome put together, until the times of the Cæfars, deferved not to be compared with them, either in the greatness of the defign, or the excellence of the execution.

• Probably this is an error of the tranfcribers. For Fabius was to pay two hundred and fifty drachmas for each prifoner, and he ranfomed two hundred and forty feven; which would ftand him in fixty-one thousand feven hundred and fifty drachmas, that is more than ten talents. A very confiderable expence to Fabius, which he could not anfwer without felling his eftate.

AL CIBIADE S.

TH HOSE that have fearched into the pedigree of Alcibiades, fay, that Euryfaces, the fon of Ajax, was founder of the family; and that by his mother's fide he was defcended from Alcmaeon: for Dinomache, his mother, was the daughter of Megacles, who was of that line. His father Clinias gained great honour in the fea-fight of Artemifium, where he fought in a galley fitted out at his own expence, and afterwards was flain in the battle of Coronea, where the Boeotians won the day. Pericles and Ariphron, the fons of Xanthippus, and near relations to Alcibiades, were his guardians. It is faid, (and not without reafon) that the affection and attachment of Socrates contributed much to his fame. For, Nicias, Demofthenes, Lamachus, Phormio, Thrafybulus, Theramenes, were illuftrious perfons, and his cotemporaries, yet we do not fo much as know the name of the mother of either of them; whereas we know even the nurse of Alcibiades, that he was of Lacedæ mon, and that her name was Amycla; as well as that Zopyrus was his school mafter; the one being recorded by Antisthenes, and the other by Plato.

As to the beauty of Alcibiades, it may be fufficient to fay, that it retained its charm through the feveral ftages of childhood, youth and manhood. For it is not univerfally true, what Euripides fays,

The very autumn of a form once fine

Retains its beauties.

Yet this was the cafe of Alcibia les, amongst a few others, by reason of his natural vigour and happy constitution.

He

He had a lisping in his fpeech, which became him, and gave a grace and perfuafive turn to his difcourfe. Ariftophanes, in those verses wherein he ridicules Theorus, takes notice, that Alcibiades lifped, for instead of calling him Corax, Raven, he called him Colax, Flatterer; from whence the poet takes occafion to obferve, that the term in that lifping pronunciation too, was very applicable to him. With this agrees the fatyrical description which Archippus gives of the fon of Alcibiades,

With faunt'ring step, to imitate his father,

The vain youth moves; his loofe robe wildly floats; He bends the neck; be lifps.

His manners were far from being uniform: nor is it ftrange, that they varied according to the many viciffitudes and wonderful turns of his fortune. He was naturally a man of ftrong paffions; but his ruling paffion was an ambition to contend and overcome. This appears from what is related of his fayings when a boy. When hard preft in wrestling, to prevent his being thrown, he bit the hands of his antagonist; who let go his hold, and faid, " you "bite, Alcibiades, like a woman." No;" fays he, like a lion."

One day he was playing at dice with other boys in the treet: and when it came to his turn to throw, a loaded waggon came up. At first he called to the driver to ftop, because he was to throw in the way over which the waggon was to pafs, The ruftic difregarding him and driving on, the other boys broke way; but Alcibiades threw himfelf upon his face directly before the waggon, and stretching himfelf out, bade the fellow drive on if he pleafed. Upon this, he was fo ftartled, that he ffopt his horfes, while those that faw it, ran up to him with

terror.

In the courfe of his education, he willingly took the leffons of his other masters, but refufed learning

to play upon the flute, which he looked upon as a mean art, and unbecoming a gentleman. "The "ufe of the plectrum upon the lyre," he would fay, has nothing in it that diforders the features or form, but a man is hardly to be known by his moft intimate friends when he plays upon the "flute. Befides, the lyre does not hinder the per"former from fpeaking or accompanying it with a fong, whereas the flute fo engages the mouth and "the breath, that it leaves no poffibility of fpeaking. Therefore, let the Theban youth pipe, who "know not how to difcourfe: but we Athenians,

according to the account of our ancestors, have "Minerva for our patronefs, and Apollo for our "protector, one of whom threw away the flute,

and the other ftripped off the man's skin * who "played upon it." Thus partly by raillery, and partly by argument, Alcibiades kept both himself and others, from learning to play upon the flute: for it foon became the talk among the young men of condition, that Alcibiades was right in holding that art in abomination, and ridiculing thofe that practifed it. Thus it loft its place in the number of liberal accomplishments, and was univerfally exploded.

In the invective which Antipho wrote againft Alcibiades, one ftory is, that when a boy, he ran away from his guardians to one of his friends named Democrates: and that Ariphron would have had proclamation made for him, had not Pericles diverted him from it, by faying, "if he is dead, "we fhall only find him one day the fooner for it; "if he is fafe, it will be a reproach to him as long "as he lives." Another ftory is, that he killed one of his fervants with a ftroke of his ftick, in Sibyrtius's place of exércife. But, perhaps, we fhould not give entire credit to these things which were profefedly written by an enemy to defame him.