penfation that frequently attends their greatest exceffes; politi! cal, like phyfical evils, either working their own cure, or being productive of fome equivalent good. Thus, "It muft be confeffed, continues he, that the great exploits of victorious Gene rals, dreadful and fanguinary as they are in themselves, are of ten productive of advantageous revolutions in fociety. The tu mult of war awakens the fluggard fpirits that have been plunge in indolence, by too long a peace; the communication and mixture of different nations, render both more refined and induftrious; the opulence of the Conquerors elevates their ideas, and excites them to gratify new wants, and ftrike out new refources: one or the ether of thefe is generally the confequence; at leaft this is certain, that there never appears fo many gre men of every kind, as immediately after thofe violent criks which disturb or prove the deftruction of empires. It feems a if the arts and sciences were a compenfation for the evils of wa a falutary remedy which nature provides against depopulatie: Thefe are the flowers of the fpring that fucceed to the icicles winter. Thefe were the confolation of Rome, under Auguft for all the horrors of civil war and profcription. These ob terated in France the fury of the League, and repaired the dy · orders it occafioned. It was the cultivation of the arts and ences which calmed the fermentation that brought a King England to the fcaffold; and this it is which preferves that to bulent island in repofe to this day. It is thefe that dry up tears of humanity, and heal the wounds which are caufed by naticifm and ambition." "It is in this point of view, proceeds our Author, that I regr the age of Alexander. His very name ftill excites our admintion, and is hardly to be pronounced without refpect. Princ efteem it an honour to be compared to him; and this honours often the greateft recompence to thofe ambitious minds, whe higheft glory is to deftroy their fellow-creatures. Thefe dor reflect, however, that had Alexander contented himself with the mere deftruction of the human fpecies; if he had not con penfated, by actions truly laudable, for the mifchiefs of th fanguinary heroifm which laid fo many provinces wafte; name had never merited a greater eulogium than thofe of a T. merlane and an Attila. He would have merited only, that reign fhould have been remembered, as a calamity which cha ed the face of things for a time, over a confiderable part of th carth. Happily, however, fuch is not the idea we should c tertain of that memorable æra; which we regard as a fix point in the study of antiquity, whereat we fhould begin to t the progrefs of the human mind.” Our young Hiftorian explains himself particularly on th head head; after which he goes on to obferve, that it may with fome appearance of juftice be objected against him, that, in a work entitled, the Age of Alexander, he fhould treat of fo many fubjects foreign to the perfon of his Hero: for inftance, in the articles of the Arts and Philofophy, it does not appear what particular fhare Alexander had in their progrefs; that progrefs itfelf alfo, with the great men that promoted it, in a great measure, preceded his reign. He defires his Readers, however, to reflect, that in writing of the Age of Alexander, it is lefs the history of that Hero himself than of the men of his time, that he propofes to write. "The Author of the Age of Lewis the fourteenth, indeed, might apply almost every thing in his work to that Monarch, because he was actually concerned in all the confiderable tranfactions of his time. The form of his government exacted fuch dependence. In an abfolute monarchy, the Sovereign himfelf is the only object of confideration; he alone being poffeffed of the power to excite men to the execution of great defigns, and reaping the honour of every thing that is executed under his protection. In the prefent cafe, it is different. Alexander was only refpectable as a Chief among the Greeks, who had I made him their choice: and tho' the fuccefs of his arms rendered him defpotic in Afia, he was obliged to behave with caution to the Europeans who had been his companions in his victories. Thefe people, already civilized, had brought almoft all the arts to the utmoft perfection of which they were then capable; and were enjoying the fruits of their labour, when Alexander appeared. Greece had poffeffed for near fixty years before, a number of great men, who did honour to their country; fo that this illuftrious age might be cafily diftinguished by other names: but that of Alexander having fince eclipfed all those which preceded him, his conquefts and tafte for the arts, having made even the barbarous nations of Afia partakers in the fciences of Greece, the honour of this revolution is thought particularly due to him." In the commencement of the hiftory itfelf, our ingenious Author, determined to go far enough back, fets out nearly with the beginning of the world, at leaft as early as the Writers of prophane hiftory will permit him: for, as to the facred Hiftorians, he feems to lay no great ftrefs on their authority; their relations being, according to him, too vague and indeterminate to fatisfy our curiofity as to facts of this nature. When Mofes, fays he, gives an account of the difperfion of the fons of men over the face of the earth, he fays only, that fome established themselves in the east, and others in the weft; but the weft and eaft might both be contained within a moderate extent. not to be supposed, that the grand-children of Noah quitted their Nn 2 It is family family and country to difpoffefs the bears of the frozen hills i Norway; or, that a people accustomed to the mild and fort climate of Afia, fhould determine all at once, to betike the felves to Lapland, to live upon fimoaked porpoife and while fleft. Our Author goes on to defcribe the manner in which he co ceives the globe to have been at first peop'ed; which is inges end loufible. He conlilers next the hiftory of E Perla, Carthage, and of Greece in general; bringing d that of each to the time of Alexander. He then treats partic larly of the fituation of Sparta, Athens, Thebes, Macedon and the rest of Greece; after which he enters on the run Alexander. But as the military exploits of this Hero at univerfally known, we fhall not detain our Readers with qu tions from this part of the work. We cannot emit our Auth apology, however, for that strange perverfion of manners w his Hero fell into on his uncommon fuccefs in Ferfia. ↑ death of Darius, it is faid, was the fatal epoch at which the tues of Alexander vanifhed. Before this time, he had beca ber, temperate, an enemy to inordinate pleasures; but became at once, an epicure, a lover of women, and of all of debauchery. He had lived before in all the fimplicity of own country, which he now exchanged for the luxury and dour of the Perfians. He permitted, nay even required, t who approached him, to proftrate themfelves after the r gbferved to their Kings. He wore the drefs of the country, obliged His Courtiers to do the fame: and, in fine, ma the daughter of a Perfian Nobleman, as if he intended the to fubmit the blood of the victors to that of the vanqui Thofe who have fo freely cenfured this Monarch, however. fome of the latter articles, have not reflected, perhaps, fu ently on his fituation. He found himfelf the fole Malter of tenfive and populous States, which contained more towns th was poft fled of foldiers. To reftrain and govern them by therefore, was impolable. Thirty thoufand Macedonians. in a day of action, indeed, attack, and put to flight a mort merous army of ill-difciplined and ill-commanded Perfians; fuch a body of troops, when difperfed over fo large a cour were, by no means, able to fecure it. To conceal his wo nefs, therefore, he was obliged to aflume the exterior app ance of the people he had fubdued: for, by keeping up an them that of different customs, he would have cherished a ing motive for their hatred, and a perpetual monument of t flavery; conftantly exciting them to efforts of rebellion. Conquerors, de firons of fecuring the fruits of their vict have found thenfches reduced to make ufe of the like caps ents; as was the cafe with the Lombards in Italy, the Goths in Spain, and the Tartars in China: all of them being either obliged to adopt the cuftoms of the vanquished, or to compel the vanquished to adopt theirs. The Turks are the only people in the world whofe religion, manners, laws, and habits are different to thofe of the natives they fubdued: at the fame time, however, we know what the Turkish government is; that it is founded entirely on the flavifh principle of fear. The union of its provinces is cemented with blood; the Turkish method of preventing revolts, being to depopulate the country; and of fecuring the poffeffion of an empire, by making it a defert. Alexander was of a different way of thinking; and, therefore, wast obliged to make ufe of different means. It was, in all probability, out of political complaifance, that he feemed fond of drinking, to which he had never been accuftomed. Drunkennels was not thought fcandalous among the Perfians: on the contrary, it was held in fome degree honourable; a capacity to bear a good deal of wine, being looked upon as one of the neceffary qua'ifications of a gcat Prince. This prejudice does no honour to their fobriety, if you plafe, but this virtue was not confidered by thofe people at that time, in the manner it is by us at prefent. Even our own ancestors were long, in this refpect, of the fame opinion as the ancient Perfians. It used to be held formerly a great merit in France, to carry off a good quantity of wine. In Switzerland alfo, and in moft parts of Germany, even to this day, a man is held in fome contempt who cannot take off the toalts which are given him; it being held the greateft piece of unpoliteness to refufe one's glafs; and almost as fcandalous not to accept of a bottle, as to run away from the enemy. yet the Swifs and Germans are not the lefs refpectable; fuch customs, tho' no longer ours, do not prevent our holding those pations in efteem, In like manner, Alexander might conform, to this and other cuftoms of the Perfians, without debafing his chara3er. It is farther very poffible, that altho' he at first took to drinking from political motives, he might afterwards give himfelf up to it from inclination; nor doth even tris circumftance, in general, detract from his char: &ler: but war in the moments of intoxication, he aflaffinated one of hi Officers, and dye i the table with the blood of a faithfu' Izr who had fived his life; in this he must be held totallen able. It is true, the peculiar circumftances of the the contrition he afterwards fhewed on that are not quite fo atrocious. It is alfo true, that min whom the world hath lavifhed fuperlative encon mitted murders in cold blood, infinitely r. not fhewn the leaf remoife. Conften in plead wine in excufe for the murder of t And their cruelty juftifies that of Alexander, or that it is my inte tion to vindicate him in all his actions without exception. Hel his faults, because he was a man, and a King. But it appos to me, that Hiftorians in general have been miftaken in his c racter. They have been too prodigal of their commendations his courage, and too fparing of their praifes with regard to b other virtues, which tho' lefs brilliant, were more truly ef mable. He had all the qualities neceffary to form the Her and many of those which conftitute a great King; and only quired to have lived long enough, to display on the throne th pacific virtues which would have fufficiently attoned for all t blood he had spilt in his youth.' Having difmiffed the perfonal character and exploits of Ala ander, our Hiftorian proceeds to give an account of th ftate of government, of the army, and of the administration "). justice, under that Prince and his immediate predeceffors. H goes on next, to confider the state of commerce at this peri and of the arts depending thereon: after which he treats the customs and manners of common life; of public enterta ments; of architecture, fculpture, and painting; of mufica hiftory; and laftly, of philofophy and religion. We fhall qu a paffage or two from this latter part of our Author's perfor ance, to give our Readers an idea of his manner of think and writing on thefe fubjects. Society, or a familiar correfpondence of people with other, was at this time abfolutely unknown in Perfia. Th lived then, as at this day, in a diftant state of gloomy feverit which hath been, in all ages, perhaps, the strongest fupport tyranny. There was none of that free communication betwe individuals; none of thofe family connections, which give m a tafte for liberty, by making known the pleasures and advan ges of friendship. A number of amiable objects, referved the gratification of one man, and a right of employing a num of eunuchs to fecure them for that purpose, were the di guifhing privileges of wealth and power. The reft of the tion, who could not afford to purchase fuch coftly delights, w abforbed in idlenefs and ignorance. Thus, true fociety, or the focial pleasures which foften the bitterness of human life, wen cultivated only in Greece. Certain indecent feftivals, indee are faid to have been kept in Syria. We are told alfo, of temple of Venus at Babylon, where modeft women were ob liged to profitute themfelves for hire once a year, and to gi to the Priefs of the Goddess, the reward of their complaifance But thefe gro's and difgafting customs could not, if true, con fitute the happinefs of the people who practifed them. Th Greeks alone knew how to furnish themfelves with moder amu c |