For Orodes was not unverfed in the Grecian literature; and Artavafdes had written tragedies himself, as well as orations and hiftories, fome of which are ftill extant. In one of these entertainments, while they were yet at table, the head of Craffus was brought to the door. Jafon, a tragedian of the city of Tralles, was rehearfing the Baccha of Euripides, and in the tragical adventures of Pentheus and Agave. All the company were expreffing their admiration of the pieces, when Sillaces entering the apartment, proftrated himself before the king, and laid the head of Craffus at his feet. The Parthians welcomed it with acclamations of joy, and the attendants, by the king's order, placed Sillaces at the table. Hereupon, Jafon gave one of the actors the habit of Pentheus, in which he had appeared, and putting on that of Agave, with the frantic air and all the enthusiasm of a Bacchanal, fung that part, where Agave prefents the head of Pentheus upon her Thyrfus, fancying it to be that of a young lion Well are our toils repaid: On yonder mountain Finding the company extremely delighted, he went on The Chorus afks, Who gave the glorious blow? Pomax thres, who was fitting at the table, upon hearing this, ftarted up, and would have taken the head from Jafon, infifting that that part belonged to him, and not to the actor. The king, highly diverted, made Pomaxæthres the prefents ufual on fuch occafions, and rewarded Jafon with a talent. The expedition of Craffus was a real tragedy, and fuch was the exodium, or farce after it. However, the divine juftice punished Orodes for his cruelty, and Surena for his perjury. Orodes, envying the glory Surena had acquired, put him to death foon after. And Exodium, in its original fenfe, fignified the unravelling of the plot, the catastrophe of a tragedy, and it retained that fenfe among the Greeks. But when the Romans began to act their light fatirical pieces (of which they had always been very fond) after their tragedies, they applied the term to thofe pieces. And that prince having loft his fon Pacarus in a battle with the Romans, fell into a languishing diforder which turned to a droply. His fecond fon Phraates took the opportunity to give him aconite. But finding the poifon worked only upon the watery humour, and was carrying off the disease with it, he took a fhorter method, and ftrangled him with his own hands NICIAS AND CRASSUS COMPARED. ONE of the first things that occurs in this comparifon, is, that Nicias gained his wealth in a lefs exceptionable manner than Craffus. The working of mines, indeed, does not feem very fuitable to a man of Nicia's character, where the perfons employed are commonly malefactors or barbarians, fome of which work in fetters, till the damps and unwholesome air put an end to their * There have been more execrable characters, but there is not perhaps in the history of mankind one more contemptible than that of Craffus. His ruling paffion was the most fordid luft of wealth, and the whole of his conduct, political, popular, and military, was fubfervient to this. If at any time he gave into public munificence, it was with him no more than a fpecies of commerce. By thus treating the people he was laying out his money in the purchase of provinces. When Syria fell to his lot, the transports he discovered fprung not from the great ambition of carrying the Roman Eagles over the east. They were nothing more than the joy of a mifer, when he ftumbles upon a hidden treasure. Dazzled with the profpect of barbarian gold, he grafped with eagerness a command for which he had no adequate capacity. We find him embarraffed by the flighteft difficulties in his military operations, and, where his obftinacy would permit him, taking his measures from the advice of his lieutenants. We look with indignation on the Roman squadrons ftanding, by his difpofitions, as a mark for the Parthian archers, and incapable of acting either on the offerfive or the defenfive. The Romans could not be ignorant of the Parthian method of attacking and retreating, when they had before spent fo much time in Armenia. The fame of their cavalry could not be unknown in a country where it was fo much dreaded. It was therefore the first business of the Roman general to avoid thofe countries which might give them any advantage in the equestrian action. But the hot fcent of eaftern treafure made him a dupe even to the policy of the barbarians, and to arrive at this the nearest way, he facrificed the lives of thirty. thoufand Romans. their being. But it is comparatively an honourable putfuit, when put in parallel with getting an eftate by the confifcations of Sylla, or by buying houfes in the midst Yet Craffas dealt as openly in these things as he did in agriculture and ufury. As to the other matters which he was cenfured for, and which he denied, namely, his making money of his vote in the fenate, his extorting it from the allies his over-reaching filly women by flattery, and his undertaking the defence of ill men; nothing like these things was ever imputed by flander herfelf to Nicias. As to his waiting his money upon thofe who made a trade of impeachments, to prevent their doing him any harm, it was a circumflance which expofed him to ridicule; and unworthy, perhaps, of the charac ters of Pericles and Ariftides; but neceffary for him, who had a timidity in his nature. It was a thing which Lycurgus the orator afterwards made a merit of to the people when cenfured for having brought off one of thefe trading informers, "I rejoice," faid he," that after having been fo long employed in the administration, "I am difcovered to have given money, and not taken 66 As to their expences, Nicias appears to have been more public fpirited in his. His offerings to the gods, and the games and tragedies with which he entertained the people, were fo many proofs of noble and generous fentiments. It is true, all that Nicias laid out in this manner, and, indeed, his whole eftate, amounted only to a small part of what Craffus expended at once, in entertaining fo many myriads of men, and fupplying them with bread afterwards. But it would be very ftrange to me, if there should be any one who does not perceive that this vice is nothing but an inequality and inconfiftency of character; particularly when he fees men laying out that money in an honourable manner, which they have got difhonourably. So much with regard to their riches. If we confider their behaviour in the administration, we shall not find in Nicias any inftance of cunning, injuftice, violence, or effrontery. On the contrary, he fuffered Alcibiades to impofe upon him, and he was modest or rather timid in his applications to the people. Whereas Craffus in turning from his friends to his enemies, and back again, if his intereft required it, is juftly accused of an an illiberal duplicity. Nor could he deny that he used violence to attain the confulfhip, when he hired ruffians to lay their hands upon Cato and Domitius. In the affembly that was held for the allotment of the provinces, many were wounded, and four citizens killed. Nay, Craffus himself struck a fenator named Lucius Annalius, who opposed his measures, upon the face with his fift (a circumftance which escaped us in his life), and drove him out of the forum covered with blood. But if Craffus was too violent and tyrannical in his proceedings, Nicias was as much too timid. His pole troonery and mean fubmiffion to the most abandoned perfons in the ftate, deferves the greatest reproach. Befides, Craffus fhowed fome magnanimity and dignity of sentiment, in contending, not with fuch wretches as Cleon and Hyperbolus, but with the glory of Cæfar, and the three triumphs of Pompey. In fact, he maintained -the difpute well with them for power, and in the high honour of the cenfarthip he was even beyond Pompey. For he who wants to ftand at the helm, fhould not confider what may expofe him to envy, but what is great and glorious, and may by its luftre force envy to speak behind. But, if fecurity and repofe are to be confulted above all things; if you are afraid of Alcibiades upon the roftrum, of the Lacedemonians at Pylos, and of Perdiccas in Thrace, then furely, Nicias, Athens is wide enough to afford you a corner to retire to, where you may weave yourself a foft crown of tranquillity; as fome of the philofophers exprefs it. The love Nicias .had. for peace, was indeed a divine attachment, and his endeavours during his whole adminiftration to put an end to the war, were worthy of the Grecian humanity. This alone places him in fo honourable a light, that Craffus could not have been compared with him, though he had made the Cafpian fea or the Indian ocean the boundary of the Roman empire. Nevertheless, in a commonwealth which retains any. fentiments of virtue, he who has the lead, fhould not give place for a moment to perfons of no principle; he should intruft no charge with thofe who want capacity, nor place any confidence in those who want honour. And Nicias certainly did this in raifing Cleon to the command of the army: a man who had nothing to recommend him but his impudence and his bawling in the roftrum. On the ether hand, I do not commend Craffus for advancing to action, in the war with Spartacus, with more expedition than prudence though his ambition had this excufe, that he was afraid Pompey would come and fnatch his laurels from him, as Mummius had done from Metellus at Corinth. But the conduct of Nicias was very abfurd and * mean-fpirited. He would not give up to his enemy the honour and trust of commander in chief, while he could execute that charge with ease, and had good hopes of fuccefs; but as foon as he faw it attended with great danger, he was willing to fecure himself, though he exposed the public by it. It was not thus Themistocles behaved in the Perfian war. To prevent the advancement of a man to the command who had neither capacity nor principle, which he knew must have been the ruin of his country, he prevailed with him by a fum of money to give up his pretenfions. And Cato stood for the tribuneship, when he faw it would involve him in the greatest trouble and danger. On the contrary, Nicias was willing enough to be general, when he had only to go against Minoa, Cythera, or the poor Melians; but if there was occafion to fight with the Lacedemonians, he put off his armour, and intrusted the ships, the men, the warlike ftores, in short, the entire direction of a war which required the most confummate prudence and experience, to the ignorance and rafhnefs of Cleon. In which he was not only unjust to himfelf and his own honour, but to the welfare and fafety of his country. This made the Athenians fend him afterwards, contrary to his inclination, against Syracufe. They thought it was not a conviction of the improbability of fuccefs, but a regard to his own eafe, and a want of spirit, which made him willing to deprive them of the conquest of Sicily. But There is, however, this great proof of his integrity, that though he was perpetually against war, and always declined the command, yet they failed not to appoint him to it, as the ableft and beft general they had. Craffus, though he was for ever aiming at fuch a charge, never gained one, except in the war with the gladiators; and that only because Pompey, Metellus, and both the Lucullus's * The fenfe requires, that we should read do not desov. |