temples that cost millions. They did not exaggerate on these occasions; for the temple of Minerva, called the Parthenon, had alone cost three millions of livres".

Pericles, on the contrary, remonstrated to the Athenians, that they were not obliged to give the allies an account of the monies they had received from them; that it was enough they defended them from, and repulsed, the Barbarians, whilst the allies furnished neither soldiers, horses, nor ships; and were excused for some sums of money, which, from the instant they were paid in, were no longer the property of the donors, but of those who received them: provided they performed the conditions agreed upon, and in consideration of which they were received. He added, that as the Athenians were sufficiently provided with all things necessary for war, it was but just, that they should employ the rest of their riches in edifices and other works, which, when finished, would give immortal glory to the city; and the whole time they were carrying on, diffused a general plenty, and gave bread to an infinite number of citizens: that they themselves had all kinds of materials, as timber, stone, brass, ivory, gold, ebony, and cyprus wood; and all sorts of artificers capable of working them, as carpenters, masons, smiths, stonecutters, dyers, goldsmiths; artificers in ebony, painters, embroiderers, and turners; men fit to convey these materials by sea, as merchants, sailors, and experienced pilots; others for land-carriage, as cart-wrights, waggoners, carters, rope-makers, stone-cutters, paviors, and miners. That it was for the advantage of the state to employ these different artificers and workmen, who, as so many separate bodies, formed, when united, a kind of peaceable and domestic army, whose different functions and employments diffused gain and increase throughout all sexes and ages: lastly, that whilst men of robust bodies, and of an age fit to bear arms, whether soldiers or mariners, and those who were in the different garrisons, were supported with the public monies; it was but just, that the rest of the people who lived in the city should also be maintained in their way; and that, as all were members of the same republic, they all ought to reap the same advantages, by doing it services, which, though of a different kind, did however all contribute to its security or ornament.

One day, as the debates were growing warm, Pericles offered to defray all the expense of these buildings, provided it should be declared in the public inscriptions, that he alone had been at the charge of them. At these words the people, either admiring his magnanimity, or fired with emulation, and determined not to let him engross that glory a About i.145,000 sterling.

cried with one voice, that he might take out of the public treasury all the sums necessary for his purpose.

Phidias the celebrated sculptor presided over all these works, as director general. It was he in particular who formed the gold and ivory statue representing Pallas, which was so highly valued by all the judges of antiquity. There arose an incredible ardour and emulation among the several artificers, who all strove to excel each other, and immortalize their names by master-pieces of art.

The Odeon, or music-theatre, which had a great number of rows of seats and columns within it, and whose roof grew narrower by degrees, and terminated in a point, was built, as history informs us, after the model of king Xerxes's tent, according to the direction of Pericles. It was at that time he proposed, with great warmth, a decree, by which it was ordained, that musical games should be celebrated on the festival called Panathenæa; and having been chosen the judge and distributor of the prizes, he regulated the manner in which musicians should play on the flute and the lyre, as well as sing. From that time, the musical games were always exhibited in this theatre.

I have already taken notice, that the more the beauty and splendour of these works were admired, the greater envy and clamour were raised against Pericles. The orators of the opposite faction were eternally exclaiming against him; accusing him of squandering the public monies, and laying out very unseasonably the revenues of the state in edifices, whose magnificence was of no use. At last, the rupture between him and Thucydides rose to such a height, that one or other of them must necessarily be banished by the ostracism. He got the better of Thucydides; prevailed to have him banished; crushed by that means the faction which opposed him, and obtained a despotic authority over the city and government of Athens. He now disposed at pleasure of the public monies, troops, and ships. The islands and sea were subject to him; and he reigned singly and alone in that wide domain, which extended, not only over the Greeks, but the Barbarians also, and which was cemented and strengthened by the obedience and fidelity of the conquered nations, by the friendship of kings, and treaties concluded with various princes.

Historians expatiate greatly on the magnificent edifices and other works with which Pericles adorned Athens, and I have related faithfully their testimony; but I do not know whether the complaints and murmurs raised against him

a Non Minerve Athenis factæ amplitudine utemur, cum ea sit cubitorum xxvi. Ebore hæc & auro constat. Plin. 1. xxxvi. c. 5. This statue was twenty-six cubits in height,

were so very ill grounded. Was it, indeed, just in him to expend in superfluous buildings, and vain decorations, the immense sums intended as a fund for carrying on the war; and would it not have been better to have eased the allies of part of the contributions, which, in Pericles's administration, were raised to a third part more than before? According to Cicero," only such edifices and other works are worthy of admiration, as are of use to the public, as aqueducts, city walls, citadels, arsenals, sea ports: and among these we must rank the work made by Pericles to join Athens to the port of Piræus. But Cicero observes at the same time, that Pericles was blamed for squandering away the public treasure, merely to embellish the city with superfluous ornaments. Plato, who formed a judgment of things, not from their outward splendour, but from truth, observes (after his master Socrates) that Pericles, with all his grand edifices and other works, had not improved the mind of one of the citizens in virtue, but rather corrupted the purity and simplicity of their ancient manners.

C

SECT. XI.

Pericles changes his Conduct towards the People. His prodigious Authority. His Disinterestedness.

When Pericles saw himself thus invested with the whole authority, he began to change his behaviour. He now was not so mild and affable as before, nor did he submit or abandon himself any longer to the whims and caprice of the people, as to so many winds; but drawing in, says Plutarch, the reigns of this too loose, popular government, in the same manner as we screw up the strings of an instrument when too slack, he changed it into an aristocracy, or rather a kind of monarchy, without departing however from the public good. Choosing always what was most expedient, and becoming irreproachable in all things, he gained so mighty an ascendant over the minds of the people, that he turned and directed them at pleasure. Sometimes, by his bare counsel, and by persuasive methods, he would win them over gently to his will, and gain their assent spontaneously; at other times, when he found them obstinate, he would in a manner drag them forward against their will, to those measures which were most expedient, imitating in this respect a skilful physician, who, in a tedious and stubborn disease, knows at what time it is proper for him to indulge his patient in innocent medicines that are pleasing; at what time afterwards

a They amounted to upwards of ten millions French money.

b Lib. ii. Offic n 60.

d Plut. in Fericl. p. 161.

c In Gorg. p. 515. In Alcib. c. i. p. 119.

he must administer those of a strong and violent nature, which indeed put him to pain, but are alone capable of restoring his health.

And indeed, it is manifest that the utmost skill and abilities were required, to manage and govern a populace haughty from their power and exceedingly capricious; and in this respect Pericles succeeded wonderfully. He used to employ, according to the different situation of things, sometimes hope, and at other times fear, as a double helm, either to check the wild transports and impetuosity of the people, or to raise their spirits when dejected and desponding. By this conduct he showed that eloquence, as Plato observes, is only the art of directing the minds of people at will; and that the chief excellency of this art consists in moving, seasonably, the various passions, whether gentle or violent; which being to the soul what strings are to a musical instrument, need only be touched by an ingenious and skilful hand to produce their effect.

It must nevertheless be confessed, that the circumstance which gave Pericles this great authority, was, not only the force of his eloquence; but, as Thucydides observes, the reputation of his life, and great probity.

Plutarch points out in Pericles one quality which is very essential to statesmen: a quality well adapted to win the esteem and confidence of the public, and which supposes a great superiority of mind; and that is, for a man to be fully persuaded that he wants the counsels of others, and is not able to manage and direct all things alone; to associate with himself in his labours persons of merit, to employ each of these according to his talents; and to leave to them the management of small matters, which only consume time, and deprive him of that liberty of mind, which is so necessary in the conduct of important affairs. Such a conduct, says Plutarch, is productive of two great advantages. First, it extinguishes or at least deadens the force of envy and jealousy, by dividing, in some measure, a power, which is grating and offensive to our self-love when we see it united in one single person, as if all merit centered in him alone. Secondly, it advances and facilitates the execution of affairs, and makes their success more certain. Plutarch, the better to explain his thought, employs a very natural and beautiful comparison. The hand, says he, from its being divided into five fingers, is so far from being weaker, that it is the stronger, the more active, and better adapted to motion on that very account. It is the same of a statesman, who has the skill to divide his cares and functions in a proper manner, and who by that means makes his authority more active, more exten

a Plut. in præc. de rep. ger. p. 812.

sive and decisive: whereas, the indiscreet fire of a narrow minded man, who takes umbrage at, and wishes to engross every thing, serves to no other purpose but to set his weakness and incapacity in a stronger light, and to disconcert his affairs. But Pericles, says Plutarch, did not act in this manner. Like a skilful pilot, who, though he stand almost motionless himself, however puts every thing in motion, and will sometimes seat subaltern officers at the helm; so Pericles was the soul of the government; and, seeming to do nothing of himself, he actuated and governed all things; employing the eloquence of one man, the credit and interest of another, the prudence of a third, and the bravery and courage of a fourth.

a To what has been here related, we may add another quality which is no less rare and valuable, I mean, a noble and disinterested soul. Pericles was so averse to the receiving of gifts, had such an utter contempt for riches, and was so far above all rapaciousness and avarice, that though he had raised Athens to the richest and most flourishing state; though his power had surpassed that of many tyrants and kings; though he had long disposed in an absolute manner of the treasures of Greece, he did not however add a single drachma to the estate he inherited from his father. This was the source, the true cause of the supreme authority of Pericles in the republic; the just and deserved fruit of his integrity and perfect disinterestedness.

It was not only for a few short moments, nor during the first impressions of rising favour, which are generally shortlived, that he preserved this authority. He maintained it 40 years, notwithstanding the opposition of Cimon, of Tolmides, of Thucydides, and many others, who had all declared against him; and of these 40 years he spent 15 without a rival, from the time of Thucydides's banishment, and disposed of all affairs with absolute power. Nevertheless, in the midst of this supreme authority which he had rendered perpetual and unlimited in his own person, his soul was always superior to the charms and allurements of wealth, though he never neglected improving his estate to the utmost of his power, For Pericles did not act like those rich men, who, notwithstanding their immense revenues, either through negligence or want of economy, or pompous and absurd expenses are always poor in the midst of their riches; unable and unwilling to do the least service to their virtuous friends, or their faithful and zealous domestics; and at last die overwhelmed with debts, leaving their name and memory to the detestation of their unfortunate creditors, of whose ruin they have been the cause. I shall not expiate on an

a Plut in vit. Pericl. p. 161, 162.