Not for her friends or children dear
She mourns, but only for her beer.
E'en in the very grave, they say,
She thirsts for drink to wet her clay;
And, faith, she thinks it very wrong
This jug should stand unfill'd so long.

Callimachus, Jac. Bk. vii. Ep. 517.

AT morn we placed on his funereal bier
Young Melanippus; and at eventide,
Unable to sustain a loss so dear,

By her own hand his blooming sister died.
Thus Aristippus mourn'd his noble race,
Annihilated by a double blow,

Bland.

Nor son could hope, nor daughter to embrace,
And all Cyrene sadden'd at his woe. Wm. Cowper.

Simonides, Jac. Bk. vii. Ep. 677.

THIS tomb records Megistias' honour'd name,
Who, boldly fighting in the ranks of fame,
Fell by the Persians near Spercheus' tide.
Both past and future well the prophet knew;
And yet, though death was open to his view,
He chose to perish at his general's side.29

7. H. Merivale.

29 Megistias, the soothsayer, who predicted the event of the conflict at Thermopyla, declined to withdraw, and died fighting by the side of Leonidas.

ON SOLON.30

Diog. Laert. Jac. Bk. vii. Ep. 86.

To Cyprian flames in foreign land was Solon's body

borne,

But Salamis retain'd his bones which turn her dust to

corn;

The tablets of his laws, wherein so light a burthen he Set Athens, instantly upbore his soul in heaven to be. Major Macgregor.

30 At the commencement of the sixth century B. C. there sprang up in different parts of Greece a number of men who, under the name of the Seven Sages, became distinguished for their practical sagacity and wise sayings and maxims. Their names are differently given in the various popular catalogues; but those most generally admitted to the honour are Solon, Thales, Pittacus, Periander, Cleobulus, Chilo, and Bias. Most of these personages were actively engaged in the affairs of public life, and exercised great influence upon their contemporaries. Solon framed for Athens a judicious code of laws, which afterwards became the basis of the laws of the twelve tables in Rome. In his criminal code are many wise and excellent regulations. He repealed the bloody laws of Draco, except those relating to murder, and made such reforms in the Athenian State as tended to eradicate the prevalent discontents and ensure its future prosperity. His laws were as well adapted to promote the benefit and prosperity of Athens as were those of Lycurgus, so justly celebrated by all historians, to ensure the greatness of the Spartan State. The seven wise men were the authors of the celebrated mottoes inscribed in later days in the Delphian temple, "Know thyself;" "No

D

ON XENOPHON.31

Diog. Laert. Jac. Bk. vii. Ep. 97.

NOT into Persian lands alone
At Cyrus' call went Xenophon:

His is it now the skies to climb,

Where sits high Zeus on throne sublime,
Recounting-rich in varied lore-

The mighty deeds of Hellas o'er,
Or loving the wise words to tell

Of Socrates remember'd well.—Major M.

thing too much;" "Know thy opportunity;" "Suretyship is the precursor of ruin ;" and of the following maxims: "The greatest blessing which a man can enjoy is the power of doing good;" "The most sagacious man is he who foresees the ap proach of misfortune;" "He is the bravest man who knows how to bear it;" "Victory should never be stained with blood;" "Pardon is often a more effectual check on crime than punishment;" "A man should never leave his dwelling without considering well what he is about to do, or re-enter it without reflecting on what he has done;" "It is folly in a husband either to fondle or reprove his wife in company;" "The three most difficult things in a man's life are, to keep a secret, to forgive injuries, and to make a profitable use of leisure time;" "The most unfortunate of all men is the man who knows not how to bear misfortunes;" "A man should be slow in making up his mind, but swift in executing his decisions;" "A man should temper his love for his friends by the reflection that they may some day become his enemies, and moderate his hatred of his enemies by the reflection that

ON PHILIP, KING OF MACEDON.32

Addæus Mac. Jac. Bk. vii. Ep. 238.

I, PHILIP, first to lead Æmathia's hosts,
By the deep soil of Ægæ shrouded lie.

No king hath done such deeds. Or if one boasts
Might more than mine, he is my progeny.

Rev. J. Davies.

they may some day become his friends;" "It is more pleasing for a man to convince his country of his disinterestedness than to possess great riches;" "Do good unto your friends, that you may attach them to you the more: do good unto your enemies, that you may make friends of them;" "In everything you do, consider the end;" "He who has learned to obey, will know how to command;" "Laws are like cobwebs, that entangle the weak, but are broken through by the strong;" "No man should be deemed happy till he has finished his life in a happy way;" "It is a sickness of mind to wish for impossible things."

31 In 401 B. C. Xenophon, the Athenian general, historian, and philosopher, joined the Greeks in the pay of Cyrus, who had rebelled against his brother Artaxerxes, king of Persia. After the battle of Cunaxa, in which Cyrus was slain, the Greeks found themselves in the heart of the Persian empire, and surrounded by enemies. Xenophon immortalized himself by successfully conducting them from Cunaxa to Chrysopolis, opposite Byzantium. This retreat, in a military point of view, still remains an unexampled instance of military skill and political sagacity, and had the large effect of first opening the eyes of the Greeks to the real weakness of the Persian empire, and paved the way for the conquest of Alexander.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT.33

Addæus, Jac. Bk. vii. Ep. 240.

IF thou would'st Alexander's tomb fitly in verse present, Say that two continents unite to bear his monument. Rev. J. Davies.

"Sufficit huic tumulus, cui non suffecerat orbis."

FOR him, who living, deem'd a world but small,
Six feet of earth in death are all-in-all.-7. Booth.

In his Anabasis, in which the expedition of Cyrus and the retreat of the Greeks is related, we have also much curious information on the country traversed, and its people. His "Memorabilia of Socrates," " 'Cyropædia," &c. are composed in so chaste and elegant a style that Xenophon has been termed "The Attic Bee."

32 Philip II. son of Amyntas, became king of Macedon, B. C. 359. He learnt the art of war under Epaminondas at Thebes; and, possessing great military talents and unbounded ambition, after opposing the Illyrians, Pæonians, and Thracians, he turned his arms against Athens, and formed the design of subduing all Greece. The Athenians were roused against Philip by the eloquence of Demosthenes; but all the efforts of the great orator proved ineffectual when 'opposed to the arms and gold of the king of Macedon. The independence of Greece was extinguished after the battle of Charonea; and it then became in reality a province of the Macedonian monarchy. Philip brought the Greek phalanx to a state of great perfection, by which his victories were obtained. His ambitious object of conquering the Persian empire, which his son