open'd, and the † palace fhall be diffolv'd. And Huzzab fhall be led away captive; fhe fhall be brought up, and her maids fhall lead her as with the voice of doves tabring upon their breafts. I see iii. 3. a multitude of flain, and a great number of carcaffes; Náhum and there is no end of their corpfes: they ftumble ii.11,12. upon their corpfes. * Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feeding-place of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion walked, and the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid: where the lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and ftrangled for his lioneffes, and filled his holes with Zephan.ii.prey, and his dens with rapine? The Lord fhall de13--15 troy Affur. He fhall depopulate that city, which was fo beautiful, and turn it into a land where no man cometh, and into a defart. It fhall be a dwelling place for wild beafts, and the birds of night fhall lurk therein. Behold, fhall it be faid, fee that proud city, which was fo ftately, and fo exalted; which faid in her heart, I am the only city, and befides me there is no other. All they that pass by her fhall fcoff at her, and shall infult her with hiffings and contemptuous gestures. The two armies enrich'd themselves with the spoils of Nineveh: and Cyaxares profecuting his victories made himself master of all the cities of the kingdom of Affyria, except Babylon and Chaldea, which belong'd to Nabopolaffar. After this expedition Cyaxares died, and left his dominions to his fon Aftyages. The author in this place renders it, Her temple is deftroy'd to the foundations. But I have chofen to follow our English bible, tho' in the Latin 'tis templum. *This is a noble image of the cruel avarice of the Affyrian kings, who pillaged and plundered all their neighbouring nations, especially Judea, and car ried away the fpoils of them to Nineveh. ASTY ASTYAGES reign'd 35 years. This prince is call'd in fcripture Ahafuerus. Tho' AN.MUN. his reign was very long, having lafted no less than 3409. Bethirty-five years, yet have we no particulars of it fore CHR. recorded in history. He had two children, whofe 595. names are famous, namely Cyaxares, by his wife Aryenis, and Mandana, by a former marriage. In his father's life-time he married Mandana to Cambyfes, the son of Achemenes, king of Perfia: From this marriage fprung Cyrus, who was born but one year after the birth of his uncle Cyaxares. The latter fucceeded his father in the kingdom of the Medes. CYAXARES II. This is the prince whom the fcripture calls Darius the Mede. Cyrus, having taken Babylon, in conjunction with his uncle Cyaxares, left it under his government. After the death of his uncle, and his father Cambyfes, he united the kingdoms of the Medes and the Perfians into one: In the fequel therefore of this difcourfe they will be confidered only as one empire. I fhall begin the hiftory of that empire with the reign of Cyrus: which will acquaint us alfo with what is preserved of the reigns of his two predeceffors, Cyaxares and Aftyages. But I fhall previoufly give fome account of the kingdom of Lydia, because Crofus, who was king thereof, is pretty much concerned in the tranfactions and events of which I am to speak. CHAP. Herod.1.1. C. 7--13. AN.MUN. T' CHAP. IV. The history of the Lydians. HE kings, who firft reigned over the Lydians, are by Herodotus called Atyades, that is, defcendants from Atys. Thefe, he tells us, derived their origin from Lydus, the fon of Atys; and Lydus gave the name of Lydians to that people, who before his time were called Meonians. These Atyades were fucceeded by the Heraclidæ, or descendants of Hercules, who poffefs'd this kingdom for the space of five hundred and five years. ARGO, great grand-fon of Alcæus, fon of 2781. Be-Hercules, was the firft of the Heraclides, who fore CHR reigned in Lydia. 1223. The laft was CANDAULES. This prince was married to a lady of exquifite beauty; and, being infatuated by his paffion for her, was perpetually boafting of her charms to others. Nothing would ferve him, but that Gyges, one of his chief officers, fhould fee her hidden beauties, and judge of them by his own eyes; as if the hufband's own knowledge of them was not fufficient for his happiness, or the beauty of his wife would have been impaired by his filence. The king to this end placed Gyges fecretly in a convenient place: but notwithstanding that precaution, the queen perceived him when he retired, yet took no manner of notice of it; judging, as the hiftorian reprefents it, that the moft valuable treasure of a woman is her modefty, she studied how to take a fignal vengeance for the *Non contentus voluptatum fuarum tacita confcientia -- prorfus quafi filentium dammum pulchritudinis effet. Justin. 1. 1. c. 7. injury the had received; and, to punish the fault of her husband, committed a ftill greater crime. Poffibly a fecret paffion for Gyges had as great fhare in that action, as her refentment for the dishonour done her. Be that as it will, fhe fent for Gyges, and obliged him to expiate his crime either by his own death or the king's, at his own option. After fome remonftrances to no purpose, he refolved upon the latter, and by the murder of Candaules became maf-AN.MUN. ter of his queen and his throne. By this means the 3286. Bekingdom paffed from the family of the Heraclide for CHR. into that of the Mermnades. Archilochus, the poet, liv'd at this time, and, as Herodotus informs us, inferted this adventure of Gyges in his poems. 718. I can't forbear mentioning in this place what is related by Herodotus, that amongit the Lydians, and almost all other Barbarians, it was reckoned fhameful and infamous, even for a man to appear naked. Thefe footsteps of modefty, which are met with amongst pagans, ought to be reckoned valuable. * We are affured, that among the Romans a fon, who was come to the age of maturity, never went into the baths with his father, nor even a fon-in-law + with his father-in-law; and this modefty and decency were looked upon by them as a law of nature, the violation whereof was criminal. 'Tis astonishing, that amongst us our magiftrates take no care to prevent this diforder, which, in the midst of Paris, at the season of bathing, is openly committed with impunity; a diforder fo visibly contrary to the rules. of common decency, fo dangerous to young perfons of both fexes, and fo feverely condemn'd by paganism itself. * Noftro quidem more cum parentibus puberes filii, cum feceris generi, non lavantur. Retinenda eft igitur hujus generis verecundia, præfertim natura ipfa magiftra &duce. Cic. 1. 1. de offic. n Nudare fe nefas effe credebatur, Plato Plato de Plato relates the ftory of Gyges in a different Rep. 1. 2. manner from Herodotus. He tells us, that Gyges P. 359. AN.MUN. wore a ring, the ftone of which, when turn'd towards him, render'd him invisible; fo that he had the advantage of feeing others, without being seen himself; and that by means of this ring, with the concurrence of the queen, he deprived Candaules of his life and throne. This probably fignifies, that, in order to compafs his criminal defign, he ufed all the tricks and ftratagems, which the world calls a subtle and refined policy, which penetrates into the most secret purposes of others, without making the least discovery of its own. This story thus explained carries in it a greater appearance of truth, than what we read in Herodotus. Cicero, after having related this fable of * Gyges's famous ring, adds, that if a wife man had fuch a ring, he would not use it to any wicked purpofe; because virtue confiders what is honourable and juft, and has no occafion for darkness. GYGES reign'd 38 years. The murder of Candaules raifed a fedition among 3286. Be-the Lydians. The two parties, inftead of coming fore CHR to blows, agreed to refer the matter to the decifion Her. 1. 1. of the Delphian oracle, which declared in favour of c. 13, 14. Gyges. The king made large prefents to the temple 718. of Delphos, which undoubtedly preceded, and had no little influence upon the oracle's anfwer. Among other things of value Herodotus mentions fix golden cups, weighing thirty talents, amounting to near a million of French Money, which is above fifty thoufand pounds fterling. Affoon as he was in peaceable poffeffion of the throne, he made war against Miletos, Smyrna, and *Hunc ipfum annulum fi habeat fapiens, nihilo plus fibi licere putet peccare, quam fi non haberet. Honefta enim bonis viris, non occulta quæruntur. Lib.3. de offic. n. 38. Colophon, |