never be defended even upon the principles of reason and policy. For does sound policy require that celestial justice should be transformed into an infernal fury, and employed in torturing malefactors by arts and inventions which are truly diabolical? For though men may forfeit their claims to the benefits of society, and by infringing its laws may cease to be a part of the community; yel never can they forfeit all pretensions to pity and benevolence, because they can never cease to be a part of the human species. Besides, no end whatever can warrant the use of absurd and unnatural means: and such must the punishments in question, for ever be believed, unless it can be shown that they have at least as much efficacy to prevent crimes as they certainly have to extinguish humanity. H DISINTERESTEDNESS. SENTIMENTS. E who in good time firmly renounces a great name,' great authority, or a great fortune, delivers himself at once from a host of troubles, from many restless nights, and, what is still better, often from many crimes. Many unjust grow rich, and pious poor; We would not change our virtue for their store: Riches from man to man uncertain pass. Let no price or promises bribe thee to take part with the enemies of thy prince; whoever wins, thou art lost. If thy prince prosper, thou art proclaimed a rebel, and must expect the consequence; if the enemy prevail, thou art reckoned but a meritorious traitor: though he may like and love thy treason, yet he will hate and despise thee. Nothing is a greater argument of a brave soul, and impregnable virtue, than for a man to be so much mas ter of himself, that he can either take or leave those conveniences of life, with respect to which most are either uneasy without them, or intemperate with them. EXAMPLES. NEVER man showed a more generous disinterestedness with regard to himself, nor a more sincere and unshaken zeal for the public good, than the Theban general Epaminondas. He was of one of the greatest and most opulent families in Thebes; and Polymnus, his father, had been so liberal in his education, furnishing him with the best masters Greece could produce, not only in philosophy, rhetoric, and other liberal sciences, but for all sorts of exercises and accomplishments suitable to his rank and the hopes he had conceived of him, as well as in the magnificent manner in which he rewarded them, that he greatly injured his estate, and had hardly any other fortune to leave him than what he had bestowed on him in this manner. Epaminondas trod so closely in his father's steps, and showed such a noble contempt of riches, that when Pelopidas, his intimate friend, and who was possessed at that time of a large fortune, would have made him many considerable presents, he could never prevail on him to accept of them. As a more striking instance of his generous virtue, we are told, that the Persians, knowing of what consequence it was to bring him over to their interest, sparing neither promises nor bribes to effect it; but: were so far from succeeding in it, that they received a very mortifying repulse from him. Diomedon of Cyzi-i cus, in particular, had been sent to corrupt him, if pos sible, by a large sum of money; and before he ventured to attempt him, had, by the help of five talents, gained over a favourite of his, named Micythus, to sound him upon it. Epaminondas rejected the offer with a scorn and indignation worthy of so great a patriot; telling him, "That he would never set the wealth of the whole world in competition with the interest of his country. It is plain," continued he, speaking to the Persian agent, "that you do not know me; and I am not surprised that you should form a judgment of me from yourself, and therefore am ready to forgive you but I advise you, at the same time, to make the best of your way home, before you get a further opportunity of corrupting another Theban. As for you," said he to Micythus, if you do not immediately return the five talents, I will infallibly deliver you up to the magistra His behaviour to Jasan was still more noble and singular. He was lately come to Thebes to negociate an alliance with the Thebans. As he did not doubt but Epaminondas' narrow circumstances would easily induce him to accept of some present from him, so he tried to gain his friendship by such considerable ones as hé thought would not meet with a refusal from so indigent a person; but, to his great surprise, he found them not only rejected with the utmost scorn and indignation, but himself severely reproved for offering them. "This attempt to corrupt me," said that noble patriot, "I resent as the greatest indignity that can be offered me, and shall look upon it in no other view than as a declaration of war; and, as I am born a member of this free state, I shall be so far from selling the freedom of vot-ing of my fellow-citizens, that I will maintain it with all my might." This inflexibility was so much the more to be admired, because it was dangerous to exasperate so powerful a prince, who was bold and successful, and at the head of an army hitherto victorious! Not long after this arrived Theanor, with presents from Arcesius; and, upon debating whether they should be accepted, Epaminondas declared against it in words, to this effect, addressed to Theanor: Jason resented my rejecting the vast presents with which he designed to corrupt me; and I gave him such an answer as his attempt deserved. Your offers are indeed more honourable, and consistent with virtue, and as such we esteem them but then they are like physic to a man in health. Should you, or any of our allies who imagined us to be at war, and incapable of maintaining it, send us a supply of men, arms, and provision, but expect we should accept of it when they found us enjoying a profound peace? The case is much the same. Your generosity has made you look upon us as sinking under the pover ty of our condition; whereas that very poverty, instead of being burthensome to us, we look upon as our greatest happiness, glory, and delight, and as the most wel come guest that can come within our walls. The philosophers who sent you here, in that made the noblest use they could of their wealth, and you may assure them, that we highly commend and thank them for it: but tell them, at the same time, that we make the right use of our poverty." Theanor, still desirous to engage him to accept something valuable from him, begged that he would take at least so much as would reimburse him the charges which Polymnus, his father, had been at in the maintenance and funeral obsequies of his late præceptor Lysis. To which he replied, That Lysis. had abun dantly repaid him, in the pains he took to make him cherish the practice of poverty." This occasioned some friendly debate between them, in which Theanor endea, voured to make him sensible of the necessity of acquir ing at least an honourable competency; which only gave the other an opportunity of displaying his talent in praise of his favourite notion of poverty, which he did with such forcible reasoning as left Theanor without reply. The truth is, Epaminondas had a double view in practising and promoting this his darling virtue, viz. To keep himself proof against corruption; and, by his precepts and example, to reform, as much as in him lay, the luxury and dissipation of the people. As neither bribes nor promises could gain him from the interest of his country, so neither threatenings nor dangers could make him betray the honour of it. It was this noble ardour that made him go and fight for it as a privale centinel, when his ungrateful countrymen had been induced by the prevailing faction to strip him of all his posts.. PLUT. COR. NEP. IN VIT. EPAM.. PTOLEMY Philadelphus, king of Egypt, having sent to desire the friendship of the Roman people, an embassy was dispatched from Rome the following year in return for the civilities of Ptolemy. The ambassadors were Q. Fabius Gurges, Cn. Fabius Pictor, with Numerius, his brother, aud. Q. Ogulnius. The disinterested. air with which they appeared, sufficiently indicated the greatness of their souls. Ptolemy gave them a splendid entertainment, and took that opportunity to present each of them with a crown of gold, which they received because they were unwilling to disoblige him by declining the honour he intended them; but they went the next morning, and placed them on the head of the king's statues erected in the public parts of the city. The king likewise having tendered them very considerable presents at their audience of leave, they received them as they before accepted of the crowns; but before they went to the senate to give an account of their embassy, after their arrival at Rome, they deposited all those presents in the public treasury, and made it evident, by so noble a conduct, that persons of honour ought, when they serve the public, to propose no other advantage to themselves than the honour of acquitting themselves well of their duty. The republic, however, would not suffer itself to be exceeded in generosity of sentiments. The senate and people came to a resolution, that the ambassadors, in consideration of the services they had rendered the state, should receive a sum of money equivalent to that they had deposited in the public treasury. This indeed was an amiable contest between generosity and glory; and one is at a loss to know to which of the antagonists to ascribe the victory. Where shall we now find men who devole themselves in such a manner to the public good, without any interested expectations of a return; and who enter upon employments in the state without the least view of enriching themselves? But let me add too, where shall we find states and princes who know how to esteem and recompense merit in this manner? We may observe here, says Valerius Maximus, three fine models set before us, in the noble liberality of Ptolemy, the disinterested spirit of the ambassadors, and the grateful equity of the Romans! VAL. MAX. lib. iv. c. 3.. THE deputies of Philip king of Macedon offering great sums of money in that prince's name to Phocion the Athenian, and entreating him to accept them, if not for himself at least for his children, who were in such |