MAGAZINE. PART XXXII. Postage for a quarterly part, 4 cents; if over 100 miles, 7 cents QUARTERLY PARTS PUBLISHED ON THE FIRST OF MARCH, JUNE, SEPTEMBER, DECEMBER, AT ONE DOLLAR A YEAR, PAYABLE IN ADVANCE. PUBLISHED BY CHARLES S. FRANCIS, 252 BROADWAY, NEW-YORK; AND JOSEPH H. FRANCIS, 128 WASHINGTON-STREET, BOSTON. Р SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED-STATES. VOL. VIII. OCTOBER, 1840. OCTOBER, 1840. IT TRUE STORIES. BY THE AUTHORESS OF ALWAYS HAPPY.' ALCIBIADES. SOCRATES. No. IV. T was very usual, in Athens, for the young men to attach themselves, as pupils and disciples, to the sages and philosophers; an excellent practice, because it throws youth in the way of profiting by the wisdom and experience of age. Alcibiades, when very young, was a follower and admirer of Socrates, one of the most celebrated men of Greece. Tho' Alcibiades was sometimes wild, and deserted the precepts and the company of his master, yet, the moment Socrates found him again, he was all submission and attachment. A noble action is recorded of this singular young man. In the heat of passion, he one day struck an elderly and very respectable Athenian: the beholders naturally expressed their indignation at this insolent and most unworthy outrage. Alcibiades, touched and ashamed, hastened to the person he had insulted, and, handing him a cane, offered to submit himself to deserved chastisement. The old man was so much pleased with the candor and spirit of the young offender, that he not only pardoned him, but soon afterwards gave him his daughter in marriage. disgrace, in which human beings cannot act with honor and virtue. With many shining virtues, Alcibiades had many defects; he was fond of power, and very jealous of any one who gained the public applause. Nicias, a very able general, (who had principally procured the long peace with Sparta, so that it was called the "peace of Nicias,") was disliked by Alcibiades, because he was much beloved by the Athenians. The peace having been broken, war was renewed between these cities. Alcibiades persuaded the Athenians to try the conquest of Sicily, and was sent as general of the troops, Nicias being ordered to go with him. When they were gone, the enemies of Alcibiades raised an accusation against him, and the fickle people directed him to return immediately. Alcibiades, fearing to return whilst the Athenians were so incensed against him, fled secretly; and when he was told that, for his disobedience, all his property had been confiscated, (that is, taken for the use of the state,) and that he was himself condemned to death, he exclaimed, "I will show them that I am alive!" Nicias managed matters so skilfully, that he was on the point of taking Syra There are no circumstances, even of cuse, when the alarmed Syracusans were their displeasure. But when he heard that Lysander, the Spartan general, was artfully planning to conquer the Athenians, he returned to give the commanders of Athens notice of what was going on against them. They treated his opinion with contempt, and ordered him to quit the camp. cheered by the news that the Lacedemo- The Athenians being again displeased nians were coming to their assistance. with Alcibiades, he left the city, to avoid They then exerted themselves more earnestly; and, the Spartans arriving, after many desperate conflicts, Nicias, in attempting to escape to Athens, was conquered by the Syracusans; his soldiers were made prisoners, and himself was massacred. Nicias had never approved of this expedition, but he did his utmost for its success when it was undertaken; and one cannot help lamenting his undeserved fate. Alcibiades first fled to Argos, and next to Sparta, where he gained all hearts by conforming to their plain dress and simple food. But Agis, who was then one of the kings of Sparta, saw that Alcibiades was affecting to appear what he was not; and, as all art or cunning are despicable, Agis disapproved of the crafty Alcibiades, who, seeing this, quitted Sparta, and went for protection to Tisaphernes, a Persian grandee. Here, by the elegance of his manners and the charms of his conversation, he obtained universal admiration. Athens was now governed by a council of four hundred; and the tyranny of these was so great, that Alcibiades was sent for, to assist in restoring the liberty of the people. The Spartans, with some vessels, were watching the city, to take advantage of the confusion that distracted it; but Alcibiades, with a small fleet, which he had collected at Samos, attacked the Spartans, destroyed their ships, and soon after entered Athens in triumph. The Athenians used every morning to put out their fleet to sea, and feigned to threaten the Spartans with battle; but every night they returned to their own station, and, mooring their vessels to the shore, the soldiers and sailors dispersed about the country, and spent the evening in mirth and jollity. Lysander allowed them to do this several times, without offering battle, to make them believe he feared them. But, one night, when, as usual, the Athenians had quitted their ships, and were scattered far from them, Lysander with his fleet bore down upon the Athenian force, and, in the moment of hurry and confusion, destroyed their vessels, and took three thousand prisoners. He next proceeded to Athens, gained possession of it, burnt down the houses, and demolished the walls. It is said, that Lysander was so cruel as to add insult to misfortune, by ordering music to be played whilst the walls were destroyed. Alcibiades now retired to a small village in Phrygia, where he lived with a woman called Timandra. The Spartans persuaded the Persians to destroy him: a party of soldiers was sent for this pur- change enabled Socrates to attend the pose to his house; but, fearing his known public lectures of the most celebrated courage, they dared not enter, and there- philosophers, which increased his ardor fore set fire to the building. Alcibiades in the pursuit of knowledge; and, under rushed out, and the cowardly barbarians, from a distance, killed him with darts and arrows. Timandra buried the corpse decently, and was the only mourner of this once powerful man. Not long after the death of Alcibiades, his friend and tutor, Socrates, was put to death. As a private citizen, a skilful artist, a brave soldier, an upright magistrate, and a profound philosopher, Socrates attained a proud eminence in the Athenian republic: he was honored and beloved by all men during a long life; but, in his old age, men jealous of his fame excited a cabal against him, and he was condemned to death as an impious and profane person. Socrates was born of poor parents but he was never ashamed of his origin. He was brought up to his father's business of a statuary; and, although he had a great dislike to the trade, he executed a group of the Graces, which was universally admired, and obtained a place in the Acropolis, or citadel of Athens. Anaxagoras and Archelaus, he laid the foundation of that exemplary virtue, which succeeding ages have always loved and reverenced. During the Peloponnesian war, Socrates, in common with the rest of his countrymen, appeared in the field of battle, where he fought with boldness and intrepidity; and to his courage two of his friends and disciples, Alcibiades and Xenophon, owed the preservation of their lives. The former, at the siege of Potide, had fallen down severely wounded, and was on the point of being destroyed by the enemy, when Socrates, rushing between them, saved both Alcibiades and his arms. The prize of valor, which the generals usually bestowed on the man who had fought best, undoubtedly belonged to Socrates; but he was the first to vote it to his young friend, Alcibiades, by way of encouragement to his rising merit. In his second campaign, when engaged in an expedition against the BooThe study of philosophy had greater tians, he displayed the generous bravery charms for Socrates than any fame he of his character in many instances. On might have acquired as an artist; and, one occasion, when the Athenians were after some years of alternate labor at obliged to give way before their enemies, his business and mental improvement, Socrates, as he slowly retreated, observhe attracted the notice of Crito, a rich ed Xenophon upon the ground, covered and generous Athenian, who took him with wounds. Immediately, reckless of from his workshop, and entrusted him his own safety, he raised his friend, and with the instruction of his children. This carried him a considerable distance, at |