44 were univerfally. efteemed, with the fatisfaction of feeing thofe childrens children, and at laft died gloriously in fight ing for his country." Such an answer as this, in which gold and filver were ac counted as nothing, feemed to Crofus to argue a ftrange igno rance and ftupidity. However, as he flattered himfelf of be ing ranked in the fecond degree of happinefs, he asked him, "Who, of all thofe he had feen, was the next in felicity to Tellus." Solon anfwered, Cleobis and Biton, of Argos, two brothers, who had left behind them a perfect pattern "of fraternal affection, and of the refpect due from children to their parents. Upon a folemn feftival, when their mo"ther, a prieftefs of Juno, was to go to the temple, the oxen that were to draw her not being ready, the two fons put themselves to the yoke, and drew their mother's chariot thither, which was above five miles diftant. All the mothers of the place, ravifhed with admiration, congratulated the prieftefs on the piety of her fons. She in the tranfports of her joy and thankfulness earnestly intreated the goddefs to reward her children with the beft thing that heaven can give to man. Her prayers were heard. When the facrifice was over, her two fons fell afleep in the very temple, and there "died in a foft and peaceful flumber. In honour of their "piety, the people of Argos confecrated ftatues to them in the temple of Delphos." "What then (fays Crafus, in a tone that fhewed his di "content) you do not reckon me in the number of the hap py?" Solon, who was not willing either to flatter, or exafperate him any further, replied calmly: "King of Lydia, befides many other advantages, the gods have given us Gre"cians a fpirit of moderation, and referve, which has produced among us a plain, popular kind of philofophy, ac"companied with a certain generous freedom, void of pride or oftentation, and therefore not well fuited to the courts of "kings: This philofophy, confidering what an infinite num"ber of viciffitudes and accidents the life of man is liable to, 44 does not allow us either to glory in any profperity we enjoy "ourselves, or to admire happinefs in others, which perhaps "may prove only tranfient, or fuperficial." From hence he took occafion to reprefent to him further, "That the life of *man feldom exceeds feventy years, which make up in all fix thousand two hundred and fifty days, of which two are not *exactly alike; fo that the time to come is nothing but a feThe fatigue of drawing the chariot • Dinadenpas & ginojebrejus dinge. I might be the cause of it. γόντως άνδρας. **ries "ries of various accidents which cannot be foreseen. There"fore, in our opinion (continued he) no man can be esteemed "happy, but he whofe happiness God continues to the end of "his life: As for others, who are perpetually expofed to a "thousand dangers, we account their happinefs as uncertain, as the crown is to a perfon that is ftill engaged in battle, "and has not yet obtained the victory." Solon retired, when he had fpoken these words, which ferved only to mortify. Cræfus, but not to reform him. Elop, the author of the fables, was then at the court of this prince, by whom he was very kindly entertained. He was concerned at the unhandfome treatment Solon received, and faid to him by way of advice; † "Solon, we must either not come near princes at all, or fpeak things that are agreeable " to them." "Say rather (replied Solon) that we fhould "either never come near them at all, or else speak fuch things as may be for their good." In Plutarch's time, fome of the learned were of opinion, that this interview between Solon and Cræfus did not agree with the dates of chronology. But as thofe dates are very un-. certain, that judicious author did not think this objection. ought to prevail against the authority of feveral credible wri ters, by whom this flory is attefted. What we have now related of Craefus is a very natural pieture of the behaviour of kings and great men, who for the moft part are feduced by flattery; and fhews us at the fame time the two fources from whence that blindness generally proceeds. The one is, a fecret inclination which all men have, but efpecially the great, of receiving praife without any precaution, and of judging favourably of all that admire them, or fhew an unlimited fubmiffion and complaifance to their hu mours. The other is, the great refemblance there is between flattery and a fincere affection, or a reafonable refpe&t; which is fometimes counterfeited fo exactly, that the wifeft may be deceived, if they are not very much upon their guard. Crofus, if we judge of him by the character he bears in hiftory, was a very good prince, and worthy of esteem in many re-fpects. He had a great deal of good-nature, affability and hu manity. His palace was a receptacle for men of wit and learning; which fhews, that he himself was a perfon of learning, and F 6. had: ὡς ἄρισα. The jingle of the words ὡς nisa has disa, which is a beauty in the original, becaufe it is founded in the † Ω Σόλων (ἔφη) τοῖς βασιλεῦσι δεῖ disa bendica quideïv. Kat fenfe, cannot be rendered into any other Σόλων: Μα Δί' (είπεν) ἀλλ' ὡς ἥκισα ἢ \ language had a tafte for the fciences. His weakness was, that he laid a great ftrefs upon riches and magnificence, thought himfelf great and happy in proportion to his poffeffions, miftook regal pomp and fplendor for true and folid greatnefs, and fed his vanity with the exceffive fubmiffions of thofe, that ftood in a kind of adoration before him. Thofe learned men, thofe wits and other courtiers, that furrounded this prince, eat at his table, partook of his pleasures, fhared his confidence, and enriched themselves by his bounty and liberality; took care not to differ from the prince's tafte, and never thought of undeceiving him, with refpect to his errors or falfe ideas. "On the contrary, they made it their bufinefs to cherish and fortify them in him, extolling him perpetually as the moft opulent prince of his age, and never fpeaking of his wealth, or the magnificence of his palace, but in terms of admiration and rapture; becaufe they knew this was the fure way to please him, and to fecure his favour. For flattery is nothing elfe but a commerce of falfhood and lying, founded upon intereft on one fide, and vanity on the other. The flatterer defires to advance himself, and make his fortune; the prince to be praised and admired, because he is his own first flatterer, and carries within himself a more fubtle and better prepared poifon than any adulation gives him. That faying of fop, who had formerly been a flave, and fill retained fomewhat of the fpirit and character of flavery, though he had varnished it over with the addrefs of an artful courtier; that faying of his, I fay, to Solon, "That we "fhould either not come near kings, or fay what is agreeable 46 to them," fhews us with what kind of men Crofus had filled his court, and by what means he had banished all fincerity, integrity, and duty, from his prefence. Therefore we fee he could not bear that noble and generous freedom in the philofopher, upon which he ought to have fet an infinite value; as he would have done, had he but understood the worth of a .friend, who, attaching himfelf to the perfon, and not to the fortune of a prince, has the courage to tell him difagreeable truths; truths unpalatable, and bitter to felf-love at the prefent, but that may prove very falutary and ferviceable for the future. Dic illis, non quod volunt audire, fed quod audiffe femper olent. Thefe are Seneca's own words, where he is endeavouring to fhew, of what great ufe a faithful and fincere friend may be to a prince; and what he adds further feems to be writ on purpofe for Cræfus: "Give him (fays he) wholefome "ad Plenas aures adulationibus ali- | utile. Quæris, quid felici præftare quando vera vox intretî da confilium | poffsis? Effice, ne felicitati fuæ credat, Parum "advice. Let a word of truth once reach those ears, which "are perpetually fed and entertained with flattery. You will "afk me, what fervice can be done to a perfon arrived at the "highest pitch of felicity? It will teach him not to truft in "his profperity; it will remove that vain confidence he has "in his power and greatnefs, as if they were to endure for "ever; make him underftand, that every thing which belongs "to and depends upon fortune, is as unstable as herself; and "that there is often but the space of a moment between the "highest elevation and the most unhappy downfall." (s) It was not long before Craefus experienced the truth of what Solon had told him. He had two fons; one of which being dumb, was a perpetual fubject of affliction to him; the other, named Atys, was diftinguished by every good quality, and his great confolation and delight. The father dreamed one night, which made a great impreffion upon his mind, that this beloved fon of his was to perish by iron. This became a new fource of anxiety and trouble, and care is taken to remove out of the young prince's way every thing made of iron, as partizans, lances, javelins, &c. No mention is made of armies, wars, or fieges, before him. But one day there was to be an extraordinary hunting-match, for the killing of a wild boar, which had committed great ravage in the neighbourhood. All the young lords of the court were to be at this hunting. Atys very earnestly importuned his father, that he would give him leave to be prefent, at least as a fpectator. The king could not refufe him that request, but let him go under the care of a difcreet young prince, who had taken refuge in his court, and was named Adraftus. And this very Adraftus, as he was aiming to fling his javelin at the boar, unfortunately killed Atys. It is impoffible to exprefs either the affliction of the father, when he heard of this fatal accident, or of the unhappy prince, the innocent author of the murder, who expiated his fault with his blood, ftabbing himself in the breaft with his own fword, upon the funeral-pile of the unfor tunate Atys. (1) Two years were spent on this occafion in deep mourn ing, the afflicted father's thoughts being wholly taken up with the lofs he had fuftained. But the growing reputation, and great qualities of Cyrus, who began to make himfelf known, rouzed (s) Her. 1. i. c. 34-45. (t) Ibid. c. 46-56. Parum in illum contuleris, fi illi fe- fæpe inter fortunam maximam & ul mel ftultam fiduciam permanfuræ timam nihil intereffe. Sen. de benef femper potentiæ excufferis, docuerif-vi, c. 33. e mobilia effe quæ dedit cafus ; ac rouzed him out of his lethargy. He thought it behoved him to put a flop to the power of the Perfians, which was enlarging itfelf every day. As he was very religious in his way, he would never enter upon any enterprize, without confulting the gods. But, that he might not act blindly, and to be able to form a certain judgment on the answers he should receive, be was willing to affure himself before-hand of the truth of the oracles. For which purpose, he fent meffengers to all the moft celebrated oracles both of Greece and Africa, with orders to enquire, every one at his refpective oracle, what Craefus was doing on fuch a day, and fuch an hour, before agreed on. His orders were punctually obferved; and of all the oracles none gave a true anfwer but that of Delphos. The answer was given in Greek hexameter verfes, and was in fubftance as follows: I know the number of the grains of fand on the fea-fbore, and the measure of the ocean's vast extent. I can hear the dumb, and him that has not yet learnt to speak. A frong smell of a tortoife boiled in brafs, togelber with sheep's fiefb, has reached my nofwils, brass beneath, brafs above. And indeed the king, think-, ing to invent fomething that could not poffibly be gueffed at, had employed himself, on the day and hour fet down, in boiling a tortoife and a lamb in a brafs pot, which had a brass cover. St. Auftin obferves in feveral places, that God, to punish the blindness of the Pagans, fometimes permitted the devils to give answers conformable to the truth.. Crcefus, thas affared of the god's veracity, whom he defigned to confult, offered three thoufand victims to his honour, and ordered an infinite number of veffels, tripods, and golden tables, to be melted down, and converted into ingots of gola, to the number of an hundred and feventeen, to augment the wreafures of the Delphick temple. Each of thefe ingots weighed at least two talents; befides which, he made feveral other prefents: Amongst others, Herodotus mentions a golden lion, weighing ten talents, and two veffels of an extraordimary bignefs, one of gold, which weighed eight talents and an half, and twelve mina's; the other of filver, which contained fix hundred of the measures called amphora's. All thefe prefents, and many more, which for brevity's fake L omit, were to be feen in the time of Herodotus. The meffengers were ordered to confult the god upon twopoints; first, whether Crafus fhould undertake a war againt the Perfians; fecondly, if he did, whether he should require the fuccour of any auxiliary troops. The oracle anfwered apon the first article, that if he carried his arms against the Perfians, he would fubvert a great empire; upon the fecond, that |