of their generals, which, however useful as a political institution, I always thought very barbarous, appear to have been, for the most part, humane and juft, if we may properly call any nation humane and juft, who make war for conqueft; and many particular perfons among them were fome of the most illuftrious examples of private virtue that we meet with in history: whereas the Carthaginians, the most formidable enemies they ever had, unless we except the Gauls, were perfidious to a proverb, and very cruel. The favage, the diabolical cruelty they exercifed upon Regulus, whofe virtues they ought to have adored, has made me their irreconcileable enemy: and confequently the long feries of their fuccefs against the Romans under Hannibal, who was himself very cruel, if we may believe the Roman hiftorians, always gives me pain in the reading and when a check was given to those fucceffes, firft by Fabius Maximus, and then by Marcellus, I rejoice with the Romans. But the decifive victory obtained over Hannibal and the Carthaginians, in Africa, by the Romans under the conduct of Scipio, (who was fo much the better man) completes my fatisfaction, I had almost faid, my triumph.

I HAVE

I HAVE now, Sir, in part complied with your requeft; and if my sentiments on this fubject should prove agreeable to yours, and this letter serve to amufe you, it will be no fmall fatisfaction to

Yours, &c.

P. S. You will obferve, Sir, that I have, in the preceding part of this letter, made a query, Whether any people, who engage in war merely for the fake of conqueft, may properly be ftyled humane and juft? Certainly, no nation, which wages war for that purpose, can deserve those epithets. It may indeed be pleaded in behalf of the Romans, that when they fubdued barbarous nations, they civilized and polished them: but as this was not the motive of their wars; pride and ambition being the apparent incentives, this plea will not excuse them. Befides, they made war upon the Greeks, who were much more polished than the Romans themselves, and this purely to bring those people under their dominion.

I Do not recollect, that any of the Roman historians or poets blame their countrymen for making war merely for the fake of conqueft: on the contrary, they extol and celebrate them for it. Even Virgil, who appears by his writings to have been a person C

of

of great humanity, and, as we have already feen, deplores, in fome cafes, the miferies of war, yet seems to exult in this practice of the Roman people. He introduces Anchifes acknowledging that other nations may fucceed better in ftatuary, oratory, or aftronomy, than the Romans; but, fays he,

Tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento: Ha tibi erunt artes; pacifque imponere morem, Parcere fubjectis, et debellare fuperbos.

Thus Englished by Dryden:

But, Rome, 'tis thine alone, with awful fway,
To rule mankind, and make the world obey;
Difpofing peace, and war, thy own majestic way.
To tame the proud, the fetter'd flave to free:
Thefe are imperial arts, and worthy thee.

And who are these proud people that were to be tamed, or, as the word debellare more properly fignifies, fubdued by war? Why, thofe who would not meanly part with their laws and liberties, and fubmit to the Roman yoke.

Ar my leifure I may very probably give you some farther thoughts on the subjects of Cruelty and War.

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Eneid. 1. vi...

Effay

ESSAY I

19

OF

CRUELTY,

AND OF

WA R.

INTRODUCTION.

T

HE numberless acts of cruelty that now are, and always have been, fo frequent in the world, as they are a difgrace to human nature, and of the moft pernicious and fatal confequence to mankind, cannot fail of giving great concern to the humane and compaffionate.

IT is natural for all men, when they are in pain, distress, or affliction, to defire and expect

C 2

expect afsistance from their fellow-creatures: that which all men defire and expect for themselves from others, every man should, according to his ability, readily afford to others.

If this rule, which is fo juft, equal, and beneficial, was univerfally obferved, how greatly would it tend to alleviate the miferies of mankind, and promote their happiness?

BUT this is fo far from being the practice of men in general, or the rule of their conduct, that great part of them are principally employed in bringing mifery, calamities, and deftruction on their own fpecies.

WHEN We denominate pity and compaffion humanity, because, as we fay, they are qualities belonging or effential to man, do we not rather compliment our fpecies, or at leaft the bulk of them, with what they ought to be, than truly defcribe what they really are?

WHOEVER takes an impartial view of the behaviour and actions of the greater part of mankind, must allow, that tendernefs and compaffion are much less their true characteristics, than hard-heartedness and cruelty. But our being obliged to acknowledge this truth ought not to render those vices lefs odious to us, or flacken our endeavours to eradicate or suppress them.

THO'