affured He, whether confcious of his Innocence, or of the Secrecy, offered to come to his Tryal before he went to his Command: This the Athenians refufed: But as foon as he was got to Sicily, they fent for him back, defigning to take the Advantage, and prosecute him in the Abfence of his Friends, and of the Army, where he was very powerful. It feems, he understood the Refentments of a popular Affembly too well to trust them; and therefore, instead of returning, escaped to Sparta; where his Defire of Revenge prevailing over his Love to his Country, he became its greatest Enemy. Mean while, the Athenians before Sicily, by the Death of one Commander, and the Superftition, Weakness, and perfect ill Conduct of the other, were utterly deftroyed; the whole Fleet taken, a miferable Slaughter made of the Army, whereof hardly one ever returned. Some Time after this, Alcibiades was recalled upon his own Conditions, by the Neceffities of the People, and made chief Commander at Sea and Land; but his Lieutenant engaging against his pofitive Orders, and being beaten by Lyfander; Alcibiades was again difgraced and banished. However, the Athenians having loft all Strength and Heart fince their Misfortune at Sicily, and now deprived of the only Perfon that was able to recover their Loffes, repent of their Rashness, and endeavour, in vain, for his Reftoration; the Perfian Lieutenant, to whofe Protection he fled, making him a Sacrifice to the Refentments of Lyfander, the General of the Lacedemonians; who now reduceth all the Dominions of the Athenians, takes the City, razes their Walls, ruins their Works, and changes the Form of their Government; which, although again restored for fome Time by Thrafybu

lus,

us, (as their Walls were rebuilt by Conon) yet here we muft date the Fall of the Athenian Greatnefs; the Dominion and chief Power in Greece, from that Period, to the Time of Alexander the Great, which was about fifty Years, being divided between the Spartans and Thebans: Although Philip, Alexander's Father, (the moft Chriftian King of that Age) had, indeed, fome Time before, begun to break in upon the Republicks of Greece, by Conqueft or Bribery particularly dealing large Money among fome popular Orators; by which he brought many of them (as the Term of Art was then) to Philippize.

In the Time of Alexander and his Captains, the Athenians were offered an Opportunity of recovering their Liberty, and being restored to their former State; but the wife Turn they thought to give the Matter, was by an Impeachment and Sacrifice of the Author, to hinder the Succefs. For, after the Deftruction of Thebes by Alexander, this Prince defigning the Conquest of Athens, was prevented by Phocion, the Athenian General, then Ambaffador from that State; who, by his great Wisdom and Skill at Negociation, diverted Alexander from his Defign, and reftored the Athenians to his Favour. The very fame Success he had with Antipater after Alexander's Death; at which Time, the Government was new regulated by Solon's Laws: But Polyperchon, in Hatred to Phocion, having, by Order of the young King, (whofe Governor he was) reftored thofe whom Phocion had banished; the Plot fucceeded, Phocion was accufed by popular Orators, and put to Death.

THUS was the most powerful Commonwealth of all Greece, after great Degeneracies from the Inftitu

tion of Solon, utterly deftroyed by that rash, jealous and inconstant Humour of the People, which was never fatisfied to fee a General either victorious, or unfortunate: Such ill Judges, as well as Rewarders, have popular Affemblies been, of those who beft deferved from them.

Now the Circumftance, which makes thefe Examples of more Importance, is, that this very Power of the People in Athens, claimed fo confidently for an inherent Right, and insisted on as the undoubted Privilege of an Athenian born,, was the rankeft Encroachment imaginable, and the groffeft Degeneracy from the Form that Selon left them. In short, their Government was grown into a Dominatio Plebis, or Tyranny of the People; who, by Degrees, had broke and overthrown the Ballance which that Legislator had very well fixed and provided for. This appears not only from what hath been already faid of that

Law-giver, but more manifeftly from a lib. 28. Paffage in Diodorus; who tells us, That Antipater, one of Alexander's Captains, abrogated the popular Government, (in Athens) and restored the Power of Suffrages and Magiftracy, to fuch, only, as were worth two Thousand Drachmas; by which Means, (fays he) that Republick came to be again adminiftered by the Laws of Solon. By this Quotation, it is manifeft, that this great Author looked upon Solon's Inftitution, and a popular Government to be two different Things. And as for this Reftoration by Antipater, it had neither Confequence nor Continuance worth obferving.

I MIGHT eafily produce many more Examples, but thefe are fufficient: And it may be worth the Reader's Time to reflect, a little, on the Merits of the

Caufe,

Caufe, as well as of the Men who had been thus dealt with by their Country. I thall direct him no further, than by repeating, that Ariftides was the moft renowned by the People themselves for his exat Juftice, and Knowledge in the Law. That The. miftocles was a moft fortunate Admiral, and had got a mighty Victory over the great King of Perfia's Fleet. That Pericles was an able Minifter of State, an excellent Orator, and a Man of Letters; And laftly, that Phocion, befides the Succefs of his Arms, was also renowned for his Negotiations abroad; having, in an Embaffy, brought the greatest Monarch of the World, at that Time, to the Terms of an bonourable Peace, by which his Country was preferved.

I SHALL Conclude my Remarks upon Athens, with the Character given us of that People by Polybius. About this Time, (fays he) the Athenians were governed by two Men, quite funk in their Affairs; had little or no Commerce with the rest of Greece; and were become great Reverencers of crowned Heads.

FOR, from the Time of Alexander's Captains, till Greece was fubdued by the Romans, (to the latter Part of which, this Description of Polybius falls in) Athens never produced one famous Man, either for Councils or Arms, or hardly for Learning, And, indeed, it was a dark infipid Period through all Greece; For, except the Achaian League under

Aratus and Philopamen; and the Endea- Polyb. vours of Agis and Cleomenes, to restore

the State of Sparta, fo frequently haraffed with Ty rannies, occafioned by the popular Practices of the Ephori; there was very little worth recording. All which Confequences may, perhaps, be justly imputed to this Degeneracy of Athens.

CHAP

CHA P. III.

Of the Diffentions between the Patricians and Plebeians in Rome; with the Confequences they had upon that State.

H

AVING, in the foregoing Chapter, confined my felf to the Proceedings of the COMMONS, only by the Method of Impeachments against particular Perfons, with the fatal Effects they had upon the State of Athens; I shall now treat of the Diffentions at Rome, between the People and the Collective Body of the Patricians or Nobles. It is a large Subject; but I fhall draw it into as narrow a Compafs as

I can.

'Dionyf Halica.

2

As Greece, from the most antient Accounts we have of it, was divided into feveral Kingdoms, fo was moft Part of Italy into feveral petty Commonwealths. And, as thofe Kings in Greece are faid to have been depofed by their People, upon the Score of their arbitrary Proceedings; fo, on the contrary, the Commonwealths of Italy were all fwallowed up, and concluded in the Tyranny of the Roman Emperors. However, the Differences between thofe Grecian Monarchies, and Italian Republicks, were not very great: For, by the Accounts Homer gives us of thofe Grecian Princes, Who Came to the Siege of Troy, as well as by feveral

Paf