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or affect us like the fhepherd's reed. But these, even amidst all their noble ease, ftrike, alarm, tranfport us." When I confider the contents of the Scriptures, and believe myself interested in the promises they make, and the privileges they confer, I am induced to cry out, "What are all the other books in the world, compared with these invaluable volumes !"*

HERVEY.

CHAP. VII.

PUBLIC SPEECHES.

SECTION I.

The defence of Socrates before his judges. SOCRATES, in his defence, employed neither artifice nor the glitter of eloquence. He had not recourse either to folicitation or entreaty. He brought neither his wife nor children to incline the judges in his favour, by their fighs and tears. But though he firmly refufed to make ufe of any other voice than his own, and to appear before his judges in the fubmiffive posture of a suppliant, he did not behave in that manner from pride, or contempt of the tribunal: it was from a noble and intrepid affurance, refulting from greatnefs of foul, and the confciousness of his truth and innocence. His defence had nothing timorous or weak in it. His difcourfe was bold, manly, generous, without paffion, without emotion, full of the noble liberty of a philofopher, with no other ornament than that of truth, and brightened univerfally with the character and language of innocence Plato, who was prefent, transcribed it after

*That accomplished scholar and distinguished writer, the late Sir William Jones, chief Justice of Bengal, at the end of his Bible wrote the following note; which coming from a man of his profound erudition, and perfect knowledge of the oriental languages, customs, and manners, must be considered as a powerful testimony, not only to the sublimity, but to the divine inspiration of the sacred writings.

"I have," says he, "regularly and attentively read these Holy Scriptures; and I am of opinion, that this volume, independently of its divine origin, contains more true sublimity, more exquisite beauty, more pure morality, more important history, and finer strains both of poetry and eloquence, than can be collected from all other books, in whatever age or language they may have been composed."

wards, and without any additions, compofed from it the work which he calls the Apology of Socrates, one of the moft confummate mafter-pieces of antiquity. The following is an extract from it.

"I am accused of corrupting the youth, and of inftilling dangerous maxims into their minds, as well in regard to divine worship, as to the rules of government. You know, Athenians, that I never made it my profeffion to teach : nor can envy, however violent, reproach me with having ever fold my instructions I have an undeniable evidence for me in this respect, which is my poverty. I am always equally ready to communicate my thoughts both to the rich and the poor, and to give them opportunity to question and answer me. I lend myself to every one who is defirous of becoming virtuous; and if, amongst thofe who hear me, there are any that prove either good or bad, neither the virtues of the one, nor the vices of the other, to which I have not contributed, are to be ascribed to me employment is to counfel the young and the old against too much love for the body, for riches, and all other precarious things, of whatever nature they be; and against too little regard for the foul, which ought to be the object of their affection For I inceffantly urge to them, that virtue does not proceed from riches; but on the contrary, riches from virtue; and that all the other goods of human life, as well public as private, have their fource in the fame principle.

My whole

"If to fpeak in this manner be to corrupt youth, I confefs, Athenians, that I am guilty, and deferve to be punished. If what I fay be not true, it is moft eafy to convict me of falfehood. I fee here a great number of my difciples: they have only to come forward It will perhaps be faid that the regard and veneration due to a mafter who has inftructed them, will prevent them from declaring against me but their fathers, brothers, and uncles, cannot, as good relations and good citizens, excufe themselves for not tanding forth to demand vengeance againft the corrupter of their fons, brothers and nephews. Thefe are, however, the perfons who take upon them my defence, and interest themselves in the fuccefs of my caufe.

"País on me what fentence you please, Athenians: I can neither repent nor alter my conduct. I must not abandon or fufpend a function which God himself has imposed on me. Now he has charged me with the care of instructing

I

my fellow-citizens. If after having faithfully kept all the pofts wherein I was placed by our generals at Potidæa, Amphipolis, and Delium, the fear of death fhould at this time make me abandon that in which the divine Providence has placed me, by commanding me to pafs my life in the ftudy of philofophy, for the instruction of myself and others; this would be a most criminal desertion indeed, and make me highly worthy of being cited before this tribunal as an impious man, who does not believe in the gods. Should you refolve to acquit me, I should not, Athenians, hesitate to fay, I honour and love you; but I fhall choose rather to obey God than you; and to my latest breath fhall never renounce my philofophy, nor cease to exhort and reprove you according to my cuftom, by faying to each of you as occafion offers; "my good friend and citizen of the most famous city in the world for wisdom and valour, are you not ashamed to have no other thoughts than those of amaffing wealth, and of acquiring glory, credit, and dignities; neglecting the treasures of prudence, truth and wisdom, and taking no pains to render your foul as good and perfect as it is capable of being ?"

"I am reproached with abject fear, and meannefs of fpirit, for being fo bufy in imparting my advice to every one in private, and for having always avoided to be present in your affemblies to give my counfels to my country. I think I have fufficiently proved my courage and fortitude, both in the field where I have borne arms with you, and in the fenate, where I alone opposed the unjust fentence you pronounced against the ten captains, who had not taken up and interred the bodies of those who were killed and drowned in the fea fight near the ifland Arginufæ ; and when, upon more than one occafion, I oppofed the violent and cruel orders of the thirty tyrants. What is it then that has prevented me from appearing in your affemblies? Do not take it ill, I beseech you, if I fpeak my thoughts without disguise, and with truth and freedom. Every man who would generoufly oppofe a whole people, either amongst us or elsewhere, and who inflexibly applies himfelf to prevent the violation of the laws, and the practice of iniquity in a government, will never do fo long with impunity. It is abfolutely neceffary for a man of this difpofition, if he has any thoughts of living, to remain in a private station, and never to have any fhare in public affairs.

"For the reft, Athenians, if, in my prefent extreme danger, I do not imitate the behaviour of thofe, who, upon lefs emergences, have implored and fupplicated their judges with tears, and have brought forth their children, relations, and friends; it is not through pride and obftinacy, or any contempt for you, but folely for your honour, and for that of the whole city. You fhould know, that there are amongst our citizens, those who do not regard death as an evil, and who give that name only to injustice and infamy. At my age, and with the reputation, true or falfe, which I have, would it be confiftent for me, after all the leffons I have given upon the contempt of death, to be afraid of it myfelf, and to belie, in my last action, all the principles and fentiments of my past life?

"But without fpeaking of my fame, which I should extremely injure by fuch a conduct, I do not think it allowa ble to entreat a judge, nor to be abfolved by fupplications. He ought to be influenced only by reafon and evidence. The judge does not fit upon the bench to fhow favour, by violating the laws, but to do juftice in conforming to them. He does not fwear to difcharge with impunity, whom he pleafes, but to do juftice where it is due. We ought not, therefore, to accultom you to perjury, nor you to fuffer yourselves to be accustomed to it; for in fo doing, both the one and the other of us equally injure justice and religion, and both are criminals.

"Do not, therefore, expect from me, Athenians, that I fhould have recourse amongst you to means which I believe neither honeft nor lawful, especially upon this occafion, wherein I am accufed of impiety, by Miletus: for, if I fhould influence you by my prayers, and thereby induce you to violate your oaths, it would be undeniably evident, that I teach you not to believe in the gods; and even in defending an juftifying myself, fhould furnish my adverfa. ries with arms against me, and prove that I believe no divinity. But I am very far from fuch bad thoughts: I am more convinced of the existence of God than my accufers are; and fo convinced, that I abandon myself to God and you, that you may judge of me as you fhall deem best for yourselves and me."

Socrates pronounced this difcourfe with a firm and intrepid tone. His air, his action, his vifage, expreffed nothing of the accufed. He feemed to be the mafter of his judges, from the greatnefs of soul with which he spoke, 784167A

without however lofing any of the modesty natural to him. But how flight foever the proofs were against him, the faction was powerful enough to find him guilty. There was the form of a process against him, and his irreligion was the pretence upon which it was grounded: but his death was certainly a concerted thing. His fteady, uninterrupted courfe of oblinate virtue, which had made him in many cafes appear fingular, and oppose whatever he thought illegal or unjuft, without any regard to times or perfons, had procured him a great deal of envy and ill will. After his fentence, he continued with the fame ferene and intrepid afpect with which he had long enforced virtue and held tyrants in awe. When he entered his prifon, which then became the refidence of virtue and probity, his friends followed him, and continued to vifit him during the interval between his condemnation and his death.

SECTION II.

GOLDSMITH.

The Scythian ambassadors to Alexander, on his making prepar ations to attack their country.

If your perfon were as gigantic as your defires, the world could not contain you. Your right hand would touch the east, and your left the weft at the fame time: you grafp at more than you are equal to. From Europe you reach Afia; from Afia you lay hold on Europe. And if you should conquer all mankind, you feem difposed to wage war with wood and fnows, with rivers and wild beafts, and to attempt to fubdue nature But have you confide ed the ufual courfe of things? have you reflected, that great trees are many years in growing to their height, and are cut down in an hour? It is foolish to think of the fruit only, without confidering the height you have to climb to come at it. Take care, left, while you ftrive to reach the top, you fall to the ground with the branches you have laid hold on.

Befides, what have you to do with the Scythians, or the Scythians with you? We have never invaded Macedon; why fhould you attack Scythia? You pretend to be the punither of robbers; and are yourself the general robber of mankind. You have taken Lydia; you have feized Syria; you are master of Ferfia; you have fubdued the Bactrians, and attacked India: all this will not fatisfy you, unless you lay your greedy and infatiable hands upon our flocks and our herds. How imprudent is your conduct; you grafp at

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