The Greeks and Ro ment. Certain nations of the new-discovered Indies (no matter for naming them, since they are no more; for, by wonderful and unheard of example, the desolation of that conquest extended to the utter abolition of names, and the ancient knowledge of places) offered to their Gods human blood, "But only such 66 as was drawn from the tongue and ears, to atone "for the sin of lying, as well heard as pronounced." The good fellow of Greece* was wont to say, "That "children were amused with rattles, and men with "words." As to the various usages of our giving the lie, and mans not so the laws of honour in that case, and the alterations delicate in they have received, Þ shall defer saying what I know of lying, as of them to another time, and shall learn, if I can, the article we are. in the mean while, at what time the custom took beginning, of so exactly weighing and measuring words, and of engaging our honour to them; for it is easy to judge, that it was anciently amongst the Greeks and Romans; and I have often thought it strange to see them rail at, and give one another the lie, without any farther quarrel. The laws of their duty steered some other course than ours. Cæsar is sometimes called thief, and sometimes drunkard, to his teeth. We see the liberty of invectives, which they practised upon one another, I mean the greatest chiefs of war of both nations, where words were only revenged with words, without any other consequence. Lysander, in Plutarch's Life of him, chap. 4. CHAPTER X. Of Liberty of Conscience. extrava conse quently un IT is usual to see good intentions, if pursued with- Religions out moderation, push men on to very vicious effects. zeal often In the dispute, which has now engaged France in a gant and civil war, the best and the soundest cause, no doubt, is that which maintains the ancient religion and go-just. vernment of the kingdom. Nevertheless, amongst the good men of that party (for I do not speak of those that make a pretence of it, either to execute their own particular revenge, or to gratify their avarice, or to court the favour of princes; but of those who engage in the quarrel out of true zeal to religion, and a regard to the peace and government of their country), of these, I say, we see many whom passion transports beyond the bounds of reason, and sometimes inspires with counsels that are unjust and violent, and also rash. Christians, became Pagan books. It is true, that in those primitive times, when our This zeal religion began to gain authority with the laws, zeal induced the armed many against all sorts of Pagan books, by when they which the learned suffered an exceeding great loss ; masters, which, I conceive, did more prejudice to letters, to destroy than all the flames kindled by the barbarians. Of this Cornelius Tacitus is a very good witness; for though the emperor Tacitus, his kinsman, had, by express order, furnished all the libraries in the world with his book, nevertheless, one entire copy could not escape the curious search of those who desired to abolish it, for only five or six idle clauses in it, that were contrary to our belief. emperors, They were also very ready to lend undue praises And to to all the emperors who did any thing for us, and praise bad universally to condemn all the actions of those who who fawere our adversaries, as is manifest in the emperor ChristianiJulian, surnamed the Apostate; who was, in truth, ts, and to voured. Jian, and o The charac-. Julian the ty. * blame Ju- a very great and rare man, a man in whose soul that thers, who philosophy was imprinted in lively characters, by opposed it, which he professed to govern all his actions; and, ter of the in truth, there is no sort of virtue, of which he has emperor not left behind him very notable examples. In Apostate. chastity (of which the whole course of his life has given manifest proof) we read the like of him, as was said of Alexander and Scipio, that, being in the flower of his age (for he was slain by the Parthians at one and thirty), of a great many very beautiful captives, he would not touch, nor so much as look upon one. As to his justice,† he took himself the pains to hear the parties, and although he would, out of curiosity, inquire what religion they were of, nevertheless the hatred he had to ours, never turned the balance. He made several good laws, and cut off a great part of the subsidies and taxes levied by his predecessors.‡ Julian blamed by witnesses of his ac tions. We have two good historians, who were eye-wit two histo- nesses of his actions; one of whom, Marcellinus, in rians, eye- several places of his history, sharply reproves an edict of his, whereby "He interdicted all Christian "rhetoricians and grammarians from keeping school, "or teaching," and says, "he could wish that act "of his had been buried in silence."§ It is very likely, that, had he done any more severe things against us, the historian, who was so affectionate to our party, would not have passed it over in silence. He was, indeed, sharp against us, but yet no the report cruel enemy for our own people tell us this story tian author. of him, "That, one day, walking about the city "of Chalcedon, Maris, bishop of that place, called "out to him, and told him, that he was an atheist, "and an apostate:" to which he only answered, "Go, wretch, and lament the loss of thy eyes:" to this the bishop replied again, "I thank Jesus His moderation, by of a Chris *Ammian. Marcell. lib. xxiv. chap. 8. + Idem, lib. xxi. cap. 10. Idem, lib. xxii. cap. 10. Christ for taking away my sight, that I might not "see thy impudent face." So it is, that this action of his savours nothing of the cruelty that he is said to have exercised towards us; though they say, that his answer to the bishop was but an affectation of philosophic patience. He was (says Eutropius,† my other witness) an enemy to Christianity, but "without shedding blood." And, to return to his His justice. justice, there is nothing in that whereof he can be accused, but the severity he practised in the beginning of his reign, against those who had followed the party of Constantius, his predecessor.‡ ty. As to his sobriety, he lived always a soldier kind His sobrie of life; and kept a table, in times of the most profound peace, like one that prepared and inured himself to the rigours of war.§ lance. His vigilance was such, that he divided the night His vigiinto three or four parts, of which always the least was dedicated to sleep; the rest was spent either in visiting his army and guards, or in study; for, amongst other rare qualities, he was excellent in all sorts of literature. It is said of Alexander the Great, "That, when he was in bed, lest sleep "should divert him from his thoughts and studies, "he had always a bason set by his bed-side, and "held one of his hands out with a bullet of copper "in it, to the end that, if he fell asleep, and his fingers left their hold, the bullet, by falling into "the bason, might awake him." But this Julian was so bent upon what he had a mind to do, and so little disturbed with fumes, by reason of his singular abstinence, that he had no need of any such in 66 vention. As to his military experience, he was admirable His milita in all the qualities of a great captain, as it was ence * Sozomen's Ecclesiastical History, lib. v. cap. 4. + Eutrop. lib. x. cap. 8. Ammian. Marcell. lib. xxii. cap. 2. Idem, lib. xvi. cap. 2, et xxvi. cap. 54 ry experi His death. He was ad dicted to the wor likely he should, having been, almost all his life, in a continual exercise of war, and most of that time with us in France, against the Germans and Franconians: we hardly read of any man that ever encountered more dangers, or that gave more frequent proofs of his personal valour. His death has something in it like that of Epaminondas; for he was wounded with an arrow, which he tried to pull out, and would have done it, but that, being two-edged, it cut the sinews of his hand, He called out forthwith, "That they would carry "him, in this condition, into the midst of the bat"tle to encourage his soldiers," who very bravely disputed the battle without him, till night parted the armies.* He was obliged to his philosophy for the singular contempt he had for his life, and all human things; and he had a firm belief of the immortality of the soul. In matters of religion, he was vicious throughout, and was surnamed the Apostate, for having relinship of quished ours: though, methinks, it is more likely, false gods. that he had never thoroughly embraced it, but had dissembled, out of obedience to the laws, till he came to the empire, cubile tious. Excessive- He was, in his own, so superstitious, that he ly supersti- was laughed at for it, by those of the same opinion of his own time, who said, " That, had he got the "victory over the Parthians, he would have de stroyed the breed of oxen in the world to supply "his sacrifices." He was, moreover, a bigot to the art of divination, and gave authority to all sorts of predictions. He said, amongst other things, at his death," That he was obliged to the gods, and "thanked them, in that they had not been pleased "to cut him off by surprise, having, long before, ad"vertised him of the place and hour of his death; nor by a mean and unmanly death, more becom |