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ends, to which man and woman are ordained, from the different qualities of body and mind, wherewith they are endowed by the Author of nature, who has given the one ftrength of body and intrepidity of mind, to enable him to undergo the greatest hardships, and face the most imminent dangers; whilft the other on the contrary is of a weak and delicate conftitution, accompanied with a natural softness and modest timidity, which render her more fit for a fedentary life, and difpofe her to keep within the precincts of the house, to employ herself in a prudent and induftrious œconomy.

(s) Xenophon is of the fame opinion with Ariftotle; and in order to fet off the occupation of the wife, who confines herfelf within her houfe, agreeably compares her to the motherbee, commonly called the king of the bees, who alone governs and has the fuperintendance of the whole hive, who diftributes all their employments, encourages their industry, prefides over the building of their little cells, takes care of the nourishment and fubfiftence of her numerous family; regulates the quantity of honey appointed for that purpose, and at fixed and proper feasons fends abroad the new swarms in colonies, to eafe and discharge the hive of its fuperfluous inhabitants. He remarks, with Aristotle, the difference of constitution and inclinations, defignedly given by the Author of nature to man and woman, to point out to each of them their proper and refpective offices and functions.

This allotment, far from degrading or leffening the woman, is really for her advantage and honour, in confiding to her a kind of domestick empire and government, administered only by gentleness, reason, equity, and good-nature; and in giving her frequent occafions to exert the most valuable and excellent qualities under the ineftimable veil of modefty and fubmission. For it must ingenuoufly be owned, that at all times, and in all conditions, there have been women, who by a real and folid merit have diftinguished themselves above their sex; as there have been innumerable inftances of men, who by their defects have dishonoured theirs. But these are only particular cafes, which form no rule, and which ought not to prevail agains an establishment founded in nature, and prescribed by the Creator himself.

(t) NINYAS. This prince was in no refpect like thofe, from whom he received life, and to whofe throne he fucceeded. Wholly intent upon his pleafures, he kept himself shut up in his palace, and feldom fhewed himself to his people. To keep them in their duty, he had always at Nineveh a certain number

() De adminiftr. dom, p. 839.

(✔) Diod, 1. ii. p. 108,

number of regular troops, furnished every year from the feve, ral provinces of his empire, at the expiration of which term they were fucceeded by the like number of other troops on the famé conditions; the king putting a commander at the head of them, on whofe fidelity he could depend. He made ufe of this method, that the officers might not have time to gain the affections of the foldiers, and fo form any confpiracies against him.

His fucceffors for thirty generations followed his example, and even out-did him in indolence. Their history is abfolutely unknown, there remaining no footsteps of it.

(a) In Abraham's time the fcripture fpeaks of Amraphael, king of Sennaar, the country where Babylon was fituated, who with two other princes followed Chedarlaomer, king of the Elamites, whofe tributary he probably was, in the war carried on by the latter against five kings of the land of Canaan.

(w) It was under the government of thefe inactive princes, that Sefoftris, king of Egypt, extended his conquefts fo far in the Eaft. But as his power was of a fhort duration, and not fupported by his fucceffors, the Affyrian empire foon returned to its former state.

(x) Plato, a curious obferver of antiquities, makes the kingdom of Troy, in the time of Priamus, dependent on the Affyrian empire. And Ctefias fays, that Teutamus, the twentieth king after Ninyas, fent a confiderable body of troops to the affiftance of the Trojans, under the conduct of Memnon, the fon of Tithonus, at a time when the Affyrian empire had fabfifted above a thousand years; which agrees exactly with the time, wherein I have placed the foundation of that empire. But the filence of Homer concerning fo mighty a people, and which muft needs have been well known, renders this fact exceeding doubtful. And it must be owned, that whatever relates to the times of the ancient hiftory of the Affyrians, is attended with great difficulties, into which my plan does not permit me to enter.

(y) PUL. The fcripture informs us, that Pul, king of Affyria, being come into the land of Ifrael, had a thousand talents of filver gives him by Menahem, king of the tea tribes, to engage him to lend him affiftance, and fecure him on his throne.

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This Pul is fuppofed to be the king of Nineveh, who repented with all his people, at the preaching of Jonah.

He is alfo thought to be the father of Sardanapalus, the last king of the Affyrians, called, according to the custom of the eaftern nations, Sardan-pul, that is to fay, Sardan, the son of Pul.

(2) SARDANAPALUS. This prince furpaffed all his prede ceffors in effeminacy, luxury, and cowardice. He never went out of his palace, but fpent all his time amongst a company - of women dreffed and painted like them, and employed like them at the diftaff. He placed all his happiness and glory in the poffeffion of immenfe treafures, in feafting and rioting, and indulging himself in all the most infamous and criminal pleafures. He ordered two verfes to be put upon his tomb, when he died, which imported, that he carried away with him all that he had eaten, and all the pleafures he had enjoyed, but left all the reft behind him.

* Hæc habeo quæ edi, quæque exaturata libido

Haufit: at illa jacent multa & præclara relicta. An epitaph, fays Ariftotle, fit for a hog.

Arbaces, governor of Media, having found means to get into the palace, and with his own eyes feen Sardanapalus in the midst of an infamous feraglio, enraged at fuch a spectacle, and not able to endure, that fo many brave men fhould be fubject to a prince more foft and effeminate than the women themselves, immediately formed a confpiracy against him. Belefis, governor of Babylon, and feveral others, entered into it. On the first rumour of this revolt, the king hid himself in the inmoft part of his palace. Being obliged afterwards to take the field with fome forces which he had affembled, he was overcome, and purfued to the gates of Nineveh; wherein he fhut himself, in hopes the rebels would never be able to take fo well fortified a city, and ftored with provifions for a confiderable time: The fiege proved indeed of very great length. It had been declared by an ancient oracle, that Nineveh could never be taken, unless the river became an enemy to the city. Thefe words buoyed up Sardanapalus, becaufe he looked upon the thing as impoffible. But when he faw, that the Tigris by a violent inundation had thrown down twenty † ftadia of the city(*) Diod. 1. ii. p. 109-115. Ath. 1. xii. p. 529, 530. Juft. 1. i. c. 3. * Keiv' xw doo' Ipayov, ¿épúbęıca καὶ μετ' ἐγαλος Τέρπν ̓ ἔπαθον· τὰ δὲ πολ λὰ καὶ ἔλεια πάντα λέλειπται. Quid a liud, inquit Ariftoteles, in bovis, non in regis fepulchro, infcriberes? Hæc

habere fe mortuum dicit, quæ ne vivus quidem diutius habebat, quam fruebatur. Cic. Tufc. Quæft. lib. ❤.

7. 101.

↑ Two miles and an ba'f.

city-wall, and by that means opened a paffage to the enemy, he understood the meaning of the oracle, and thought himself loft. He refolved, however, to die in fuch a manner, as, according to his opinion, fhould cover the infamy of his feandalous and effeminate life (a). He ordered a pile of wood to be made in his palace, and fetting fire to it, burnt himself, his eunuchs, his women and his treafures. Athenæus makes thefe treasures amount to a thousand myriads of talents of gold, and to ten times as many talents of filver, which, without reckoning any thing else, is a fum that exceeds all credibility. A myriad contains ten thousand; and one fingle myriad of talents of filver is worth thirty millions of French money, or about one million four hundred thousand pounds fterling. A man is loft, if he attempts to fum up the whole value; which induces me to believe, that Athenæus must have very much exaggerated in his computation; however, we may be affured from his account, that the treasures were immensely great.

(6) Plutarch, in his fecond treatise, dedicated to the praise of Alexander the Great, wherein he examines in what the true greatness of princes confifts, after having fhewn, that it can arife from nothing but their own perfonal merit, confirms it by two very different examples, taken from the hiftory of the Affyrians, which we are upon. Semiramis and Sardanapalus (fays he) both governed the fame kingdom; both had the fame people, the fame extent of country, the fame revenues, the fame forces, and number of troops; but they had not the fame difpofitions, nor the fame view. Semiramis, raifing herself above her fex, built magnificent cities, equipped fleets, armed legions, fubdued neighbouring nations, penetrated into Arabia and Ethiopia, and carried her victorious arms to the extremities of Afia, fpreading confternation and terror every where. Whereas Sardanapalus, as if he had entirely renounced his fex, spent all his time in the heart of his palace, perpetually furrounded with a company of women, whofe habit and even manners he had taken, applying himself with them to the fpindle and the diftaff, neither understanding nor, doing any other thing than fpinning, eating and drinking, and wallowing in all manner of infamous pleasure. Accordingly, a ftatue was erected to him, after his death, which reprefented him in the pofture of a dancer, with an infcription upon it, in which he addreffed E 2 himself

~ (a) A. M. 3257. Ant. J. C. 747

(6) Pag. 335, 336.

* About fourteen hundred millions sterling.

himself to the fpectator in thefe words, (c) Eat, drink, and be merry; every thing elfe is nothing. An infcription very fuitable to the epitaph he himself had ordered to be put upon his mo

nument.

Plutarch in this place judges of Semiramis, as almost all the prophane hiftorians do of the glory of conquerors. But, if we would make a true judgment of things, was the unbounded ambition of that queen much lefs blameable, than the diffolute effeminacy of Sardanapalus; which of the two vices did. moft mifchief to mankind?

We are not to wonder that the Affyrian empire fhould fall under fuch a prince; but undoubtedly it was not till after having paffed through various augmentations, diminutions, and revolutions, common to all ftates, even to the greateft, during the courfe of feveral ages. This empire had fubfifted above 1450 years.

Of the ruins of this vaft empire were formed three confiderable kingdoms; that of the Medes, which Arbaces, the principal head of the confpiracy, reftored to its liberty; that of the Affyrians of Babylon, which was given to Belefis, governor of that city; and that of the Affyrians of Nineveh, the first king whereof took the name of Ninus the younger.

In order to understand the hiftory of the fecond Affyrian empire, which is very obfcure, and of which little is faid by hiftorians, it is proper, and even abfolutely neceffary, to compare what is faid of it by prophane authors with what we find of it in holy fcripture; that by the help of that double light we may have the clearer idea of the two empires of Nineveh and Babylon, which for fome time were feparate and diftinct, and afterwards united and confounded together. I fhall first treat of this fecond Affyrian empire, and then return to the kingdom of the Medes.

CHA P. II.

The fecond Affyrian empire, both of Nineveh and Babylon.

ΤΗ

HIS fecond Affyrian empire continued two hundred and ten years, reckoning to the year in which Cyrus, who was become abfolute mafter of the caft by the death of his father Cambyfes, and his father-in-law Cyaxares, published the famous edict, whereby the Jews were permitted to return into their own country, after a feventy years captivity at Babylon.

(ε) Εσθιε αΐνε, ἀφροδισίαζει τἄλλα δὲ ὑδίνο

Kings

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