not imply that the grudge was mutual; the Dorians might have been the peccant party and the aggreffors in this war; and the hiftorian fays they were. But fuppofing the grudge mutual, it does not neceffarily imply that the king had a grudge, though his people had, they might have been criminal, and he innocent; and his dying for them under these circumstances makes the action in a high degree heroical. This grudge might be fufficient to excite the two nations to arms, though the God of the universe meant perhaps, as in other inftances, to chaftize one or both for national fins. And these fecrets of divine providence are not always known to the most fagacious hiftorians: They can therefore only affign the common occafions for fuch events. A Roman general may be fent to chastize the nation of the Jews upon the ufual caufes of refentment, when he is really an inftrument in the hand of God, to execute judgments upon them for other reasons, and deftroys their temple, entirely against his own will, but not againft the will of God. Codrus appears to have been a truly religious prince, and to be of the perfwafion, that the voluntary death of a noble innocent perfon, would be a propitiation to the Deity, and divert national calamities: It appears alfo to have been the fentiment of the two contending nations, because both of them paid regard to the oracle, one in endeavouring to prevent, the other in endeavouring to effect that, upon which the event was to turn: But efpecially from the king of one, offering himself to death with regard to the oracle, and the other retiring without giving battle, imagining the divine will determined.

b

This action of Codrus made his name fo esteemed as to give reafon for the proverbs, Codro Antiquior, Codro generofior. For although they mean only fuch perfons as pride themselves in a bigh traced pedigree, to nobility of Ancestry; yet the memorable heroifm of this man in the early ages of the world, was the occafion why he, in preference to others, was pitcht upon to denote antiquity and honour.

THE

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HE next paffage of history to the purpose is that of Marcus Curtius leaping into the gulph. While the Romans were endeavouring to bring back the revolted Hernici to their duty, an unfore"feen accident threw the city into the utmoft con❝fternation. The earth opened all on a sudden in the "midst of the Forum, probably by the violence of an earthquake. The citizens, having laboured in "vain to fill up the chafm by throwing abundance "of earth into it, had at last recourfe to the augurs, "who declared, they would never be able to com"pafs their defign, till that thing, in which the "ftrength and power of the Roman people con"fifted, was thrown into the place. And that "fuch a victim would fecure the eternal duration of the Roman state. While they were all confulting about the meaning of this oracle, M. "Curtius a brave young patrician, having first ask"ed them whether Rome had any thing more va

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luable than arms and valour? Armed himself com$6 pleatly, and mounting a horse richly caparisoned,

came to the forum, and in the fight of the people "who were affembled in crowds, devoted himself "to death for his country, and rode full speed into the Gulph: An action which some historians "would willingly magnify with a miracle; for "they tell us, that the ground immediately closed; but the moft judicious writers own, that the opening was afterwards filled up with rubbish." This

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b Eodem Anno feu motu terræ, feu quâ vi aliâ, forum medium ferme specu vafto collapfo in immenfam altitudinem dicitur: neque eam voraginem conjectu terræ quum pro fe quifque gereret, expleri potuiffe prius; quam Deûm monitu quæri cœptum quo plurimum populus Romanus poffet? Id enim illi loco dicandum, vates canebant, fi Remp. Romanam perpetuam effe vellent: tum M. Curtium egregium, caftigaffe ferunt dubitantes an ullum? magis Romanum bonum, quam arma virtufque effet. Silentio fac to templa deorum immortalium, quæ foro imminent, capitoliumque intuentem et manus nunc in cœlum, nunc in patentes ter

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This paffage of history is as full to the purpose as the former.

For here is a dreadful caufe of fear to the people of a city, extremely populous, and of high renown in the world, and which at that time might be confidered as the greatest part of the Roman ftate, their government having then extended but a small way into Italy. Under a great confternation they fly to religion, all human means failing, they confult thofe, whofe office it was to confult the divine will, by the flight of birds, and the entrails of beafts. They are told the most pretious thing, belonging to them, must be thrown into the gulph made by the gaping of the earth. A noble Roman voluntarily offers himself as a propitiation for the people, to the offended Deity; leaps in, and the earth clofes Fear and the cause of it vanish, and the people look upon themselves as restored to favour again, by this voluntary facrifice.

This fo exactly correfponds with the circumstances of the former story of another nation, that lefs may be faid upon it, because repetitions are of no

moment.

But inafmuch as there is one circumftance of feeming difference, the Devotee in one cafe being a king, in the other only a noble perfon of inferior dignity, it fhould be remarked; that the Romans, being at that time, in a republican form of go

ræ hiatus ad Deos manes porrigentem fe devoviffe: equo deinde quam poterat maxime exornato infidentem armatum fe in fpecum immififle, donaque ac fruges fuper eum à multitudine virorum ac mulierum congeftas: lacumque Curtium non ab antiquo illo T. Tatii milite Curtio Metio, fed ab hoc appellatum. Cura non deeffet, fi qua ad verum via inquirentem ferret: Nunc famæ rerum ftandum eft, ubi certam derogat vetuftas fidem: Et lacus pomen ab hac recentiore infignius fabula eft. Liv. lib. 7. c. 6.

Our account is according to the authors of the univerfal hiftory, who relate the action as taken from Liv. lib. 7. c. 6. Val. Max. 1. 5. c. 6. Orof. 1. 3. c. 5. Auguft, de civitate Dei lib. 5. c. 18.

vernment

vernment, had perhaps no perfon of greater nobility than Marcus Curtius.

The memory of this act, continued to the late time of the Romans, in high eftimation. For the elder Pliny fays of it in few words.

"When the foundations of the empire feem"ed to fink with a prodigy, that would have "been fatal, Curtius filled them up by Virtue and "Piety, the two most valuable things, and by a "most famous death."

Here the character, of Curtius is expreft in two words, virtue and piety, one implies true upright behaviour, the other, regard to religion: And they are called, what they really are, the two most valuable things.

The Romans therefore, were always of this opinion, that the voluntary DEATH of a noble and innocent perfon, might be a propitiation to the offended Deity for a nation, and the prefervation of it.

For the early hiftorians tell the fact, and the late hiftorians quote it with esteem.

It was therefore the opinion of the first and laft relators, and with high probability of the people : For hiftorians do not give opinions, that they do not mean, are either already the opinion of their readers, or that, they do not wifh, fhould be their opinions.

Having thus proved the matter of enquiry with regard to the Romans, who were the governors of the world, and their empire faid to be univerfal, and

Sidentia imperii fundamenta oftento fatali Curtius Maximis bonis, hoc eft, Virtute et pietate, ac morte præclarâ expleverat. Plin. Nat. hif. Lib. 15. C. 18.

If any one is inclined to interpet virtute, valour; it should be confidered, that morte præclara will afterwards feem to make a tautology. But the character of valour being fuppofed to imply other virtues (they who poffefs any one virtue in gradu heroico having all the reft alfo in a high degree,) the rendering of it by valour, will make no alteration in the fenfe.

that

that the opinion which they had, in their early and narrow state of government, continued till their conqueft extended over the whole known world, there is no occafion to examine much into other hiftories of lefs extended communities.

The Analogy therefore is fairly made out between the great unparalleled act of voluntary suffering, whereby mankind is redeemed, from eternal deftruction, and the inferior refembling acts of voluntary fuffering, whereby lefs communities have been faved from temporal deftruction.

If any person should object to this proof, that the facts are not true, he may be told, that the truth of the facts, is no way material to the use which is made of them here: If they be falfe, they equally prove the opinions of the people, to whom they are faid to belong, as if they were true.

National opinions may as well be collected from the writers of romances, as from the relators of the true hiftoriry. Let others then anfwer for the truth of the facts, or give them up, as they fee occafion, in other matters of enquiry: It is fufficient for our prefent purpofe, that we find the memory of thofe acts preferved with high eftimation by the hiftorians. And if Curtius had not leaped into the gulph, or if no hiftorian had related that as a fact; yet the opinion of the Romans in this refpect, might have been proved from the Grecian story of Codrus; because the Roman abridgment of Trogus Pompeius contains it. For the abridger was probably of the opinion, elfe he would not have tranfcribed it, and the Romans were probably of the fame opinion, elfe he would not have inferted it for their reading. At least otherwise he would have fixed fome ftricture of difcredit upon it, left

• There is no doubt with any reader, whether knight errantry was a practice in Spain, when he reads Don Quixote, although thofe whimsical adventures be feigned.

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