7. Modesty and decency entirely neglected.

But that wherein Lycurgus appears to be most culpable, and what most clearly shows the prodigious enormities and gross darkness in which the Pagans were plunged, is the little regard he showed for modesty and decency, in what concerned the education of girls, and the marriages of young women; which was without doubt the source of those disorders that prevailed in Sparta, as Aristotle has wisely observed. When we compare these indecent and licentious institutions of the wisest legislator that ever profane antiquity could boast, with the sanctity and purity of the evangelical precepts, what a noble idea does it give us of the dignity and excellence of the Christian religion!

Nor will it give us a less advantageous notion of this pre-eminence, if we compare the most excellent and laudable part of Lycur gus's institutions with the laws of the Gospel. It is, we must own, a wonderful thing, that a whole people should consent to a division of their lands, which set the poor upon an equal footing with the rich; and that by a total exclusion of gold and silver, they should reduce themselves to a kind of voluntary poverty. But the Spartan legislator, when he enacted these laws, had the sword in his hand; whereas the Christian Legislator says but a word, Blessed are the poor in spirit, and thousands of the faithful through all succeeding generations, renounce their goods, sell their lands and estates, and leave all to follow Jesus Christ, their master, in poverty and want.

ARTICLE VIII.

The government of Athens. The laws of Solon. The history of that republic from the time of Solon to the reign of Darius the First.

I have already observed, that Athens was at first governed by kings. But they had little more than the name; for their whole power being confined to the command of the armies, vanished in time of peace. Every man was master in his own house, where he lived in an absolute state of independence. Codrus, the last king of Athens, having devoted himself to die for the public good, his sons Medon and Nileus quarrelled about the succession. The Athenians took this occasion to abolish the regal power, though it did not much incommode them; and declared, that Jupiter alone was king of Athens; at the very same time that the Jews, weary of the theocracy, that is, of having the true God for their king, would absolutely have a man to reign over them.

Plutarch observes, that Homer, when he enumerates the ships of the confederate Grecians, gives the name of people to none but the Athenians; from whence it may be inferred, that the Athenians, even then had a great inclination to a democratical government, and that the chief authority was at that time vested in the people.

* Codrus was contemporary with Saul.

In the place of their kings they substituted a kind of governors for life, under the title of Archons. But this perpetual magistracy appeared still, in the eyes of this free people, as too lively an image of regal power, of which they were desirous of abolishing even the very shadow; for which reason, they first reduced that office to the term often years, and then to that of one: and this they did with a view of resuming the authority the more frequently into their own hands, which they never transferred to their magistrates but with regret.

Such a limited power as this was not sufficient to restrain those turbulent spirits, who were grown excessively jealous of their liberty and independence, very tender and apt to be offended at any thing that seemed to encroach upon their equality, and always ready to take umbrage at whatever had the least appearance of dominion or superiority. From hence arose continual factions and quarrels: there was no agreement or concord among them, either about religion or government.

Athens therefore continued a long time incapable of enlarging her power, it being very happy for her that she could preserve herself from ruin in the midst of those long and frequent dissensions, with which she had to struggle.

Misfortunes instruct. Athens learned, at length, that true liberty upon justice and reason. This happy sub

consists in a depen established, but by a legislator. She therefore

jection could not be

pitched upon Draco, a man of acknowledged wisdom and integrity. A. M. 3380. It does not appear that Greece had, before his time, Ant. J. C. 624. any written laws. He published some, whose rigour, anticipating, as it were, the Stoical doctrine, was so great, that it punished the smallest offence, as well as the most enormous crimes, equally with death. These laws of Draco, written, says Demades, not with ink, but with blood, had the same fate as usually attends all violent extremes. Sentiments of humanity in the judges, compassion for the accused, whom they were wont to look upon rather as unfortunate than criminal, and the apprehensions the accusers and witnesses were under of rendering themselves odious to the people; all these motives, I say, concurred to produce a remissness in the execution of the laws; which by that means, in process of time, became as it were abrogated through disuse: and thus an excessive rigour paved the way for impunity.

The danger of relapsing into their former disorders, made them have recourse to fresh precautions: for they were willing to slacken the curb and restraint of fear, but not to break it. In order therefore to find out mitigations, which might make amends for what they took away from the letter of the law, they cast their eyes upon one of the wisest and most virtuous persons of his age, Ant. J. C. 604. I mean Solon; whose singular qualities, and especially his great mildness, had acquired him the affection and veneration of the whole city.

A. M. 3400.

VOL. II.

Ꮓ

His chief application had been to the study of philosophy, and especially to that part of it which we call politics, and which teaches the art of government. His extraordinary merit gave him one of the first ranks among the seven sages of Greece, who rendered the age we are speaking of so illustrious. These sages often paid visits to one another.* One day that Solon went to Miletus to see Thales, the first thing he said to him was, that he wondered why he had never chosen to have either wife or children. Thales made him no answer then: but a few days after he contrived that a stranger should come into their company, and pretend that he was just arrived from Athens, from whence he had set out about ten days before. Solon asked him, if there was no news at Athens when he came away. The stranger, who had been taught his lesson, replied, that he had heard of nothing but the death of a young gentleman, whose funeral was attended by all the town; because, as they said, he was the son of the worthiest man in the city, who was then absent.-Alas! cried Solon, interrupting the man's story; how much is the poor father of the youth to be pitied! But pray, what is the gentleman's name?—I heard his name, replied the stranger, but I have forgotten it: I only remember, that the people talked much of his wisdom and justice.-Every answer afforded new cause of anxiety and terror to the inquiring father, who was so justly alarmed.-Was it not, said he at length, the son of Solon?-The very same, replied the stranger. Solon at these words rent his clothes, and beat his breast, and, expressing his sorrow by tears and groans, abandoned himself to the most sensible affliction. Thales, seeing this, took him by the hand, and said to him with a smile: Comfort yourself, my friend; all that has been told to you, is a mere fiction. Now you see the reason why I never married: it is because I am unwilling to expose myself to such trials and afflictions.

Plutarch has given us a large refutation of Thales's reasoning, which tends to deprive mankind of the most natural and reasonable attachments in life, in lieu of which the heart of man will not fail to substitute others of an unjust and unlawful nature, which will expose him to the same pains and inconveniences. The remedy, says this historian, against the grief that may arise from the loss of goods, of friends, or of children, is not to throw away our estates, and reduce ourselves to poverty, to make an absolute renunciation of all friendship, or to confine ourselves to a state of celibacy; but upon all such accidents and misfortunes, to make a right use of our reason. Athens, after some interval of tranquillity and peace, which the prudence and courage of Solon had procured, who was as great a warrior as he was a statesman, relapsed into her former dissensions about the government of the commonwealth, and was divided into as many different parties, as there were sorts of inhabitants in Attica. For those that lived upon the mountains, were fond

* Plut. in Solon. p. 81, 82.

↑ Plut. in Solon. p. 85, 86.

of popular government; those in the low-lands were for an oligarchy; and those that dwelt on the sea-coasts, were for having a mixed government, composed of those two forms blended together; and these hindered the other two contending parties from getting any ground of each other. Besides these, there was a fourth party which consisted only of the poor, who were grievously harassed and oppressed by the rich, on account of their debts, which they were not able to discharge. This unhappy party was determined to choose themselves a chief, who should deliver them from the inhuman severity of their creditors, and make an entire change in the form of their government, by making a new division of the lands.

In this extreme danger all the wise Athenians cast their eyes upon Solon, who was obnoxious to neither party; because he had never sided either with the injustice of the rich, or the rebellion of the poor; and they solicited him very earnestly to take the management of affairs, and to endeavour to put an end to these differences and disorders. He was very unwilling to take upon him so dangerous a commission: however, he was at last chosen Archon, and was constituted supreme arbiter and legislator, with the unanimous consent of all parties; the rich liking him, as he was rich; and the poor, because he was honest. He now had it in his power to make himself king: several of the citizens advised him to it; and even the wisest among them, not thinking it was in the power of human reason to bring about a favourable change consistent with the laws, were not unwilling that the supreme power should be vested in one man, who was so eminently distinguished for his prudence and justice. But, notwithstanding all the remonstrances that were made to him, and all the solicitations and reproaches of his friends, who treated his refusal of the diadem as an effect of pusillanimity and meanness of spirit, he was still firm and unchangeable in his purpose, and thought only of settling a form of government in his country, that should be the parent of a just and reasonable liberty. Not venturing to meddle with certain disorders and evils which he looked upon as incurable, he undertook to bring about no other alterations or changes, than such as he thought he could persuade the citizens to comply with, by the influence of reason; or bring them into, by the weight of his authority; wisely mixing, as he himself said, authority and power with reason and justice. Wherefore, when one afterwards asked him, if the laws which he had made for the Athenians, were the best that could be given them; Yes, said he, the best they were capable of receiving.

The soul of popular states is equality. But, for fear of disgusting the rich, Solon durst not propose any equality of lands and wealth; whereby Attica, as well as Laconia, would have resembled a paternal inheritance divided among a number of brethren. However, he went so far as to put an end to the slavery and oppression of those poor citizens, whose excessive debts and accumulated ar

rears had forced them to sell their persons and liberty, and reduce themselves to a state of servitude and bondage. An express law was made, which declared all debtors discharged and acquitted of all their debts.

This affair drew Solon into a troublesome scrape,* which gave him a great deal of vexation and concern. When he first determined to cancel the debts, he foresaw, that such an edict, which had something in it contrary to justice, would be extremely offensive. For which reason, he endeavoured in some measure to rectify the tenor of it, by introducing it with a specious preamble, which set forth a great many very plausible pretexts, and gave a colour of equity and reason to the law, which in reality it had not. But in order hereto, he first disclosed his design to some particular friends, whom he used to consult in all his affairs, and concerted with them the form and the terms in which this edict should be expressed. Now, before it was published, his friends, who were more interested than faithful, secretly borrowed large sums of money of their rich acquaintance, which they laid out in purchasing of lands, as knowing they would not be affected by the edict. When the edict was published, the general indignation, that was raised by such a base and flagrant knavery, fell upon Solon, though in fact he had no hand in it. But it is not enough for a man in office to be disinterested and upright himself; all that surround and approach him ought to be so too; wife, relations, friends, secretaries, and servants. The faults of others are charged to his account: all the wrongs, all the rapine, that may be committed either through his negligence or connivance, are justly imputed to him; because it is his business, and one of the principal designs of his being put into such trust, to prevent those corruptions and abuses.

This ordinance at first pleased neither of the two parties; it disgusted the rich, because it abolished the debts; and dissatisfied the poor, because it did not ordain a new division of the lands, as they had expected, and as Lycurgus had actually effected at Sparta. But Solon's influence at Athens fell very short of that which Lycurgus had acquired in Sparta; for he had no other authority over the Athenians, than what the reputation of his wisdom, and the confidence of the people in his integrity, had procured him.

However, in a little time afterwards, this ordinance was generally approved, and the same powers as before were continued to Solon.

He repealed all the laws that had been made by Draco, except those against murder. The reason of his doing this, was the excessive rigour of those laws, which inflicted death alike upon all sorts of offenders; so that they who were convicted of sloth and idleness, or they that had stolen only a few herbs or a little fruit out of a garden, were as severely punished as those that were guilty of murder or sacrilege.

*Plut. in Salon. p. 87.