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courted and beloved of every one; but also to conceive a Hatred and Averfion to the Charms which produce that Effect, and to condemn our Beauty because it inflames another, is what, I confefs, I have met with few Examples of. This, indeed, is one: Spurina, a young Man of Tuscany,

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Qualis gemma micat fulvum que dividit aurum,
Aut collo decus, aut capiti, vel quale per artem
Inclufum buxo, aut Oricia Terebintho,

Lucet ebur m.

i. e.

As a Gem fhines in yellow Gold enchac'd,
On Neck, or Head, for Decoration plac'd;
Or as by Art Iv'ry does Luftre get

Amidft the meaner Soil of Sable Jet.

being endowed with fingular Beauty, and fo exceffive, that the chafteft Eyes could not chastely behold its Luftre; difpleased with himself for leaving fo much Flame and Fever as he every-where kindled, without Relief, entered into a furious Spite against himself, and thofe rich Endowments Nature had fo liberally conferred upon him; as if a Man were refponfible to himself for the Faults of others. And purposely flashed and disfigured, with many Wounds and Scars, the perfect Symmetry and Proportion that Nature had fo curiously imprinted in his Face ". To give my free Opinion, I more admire than honour fuch Actions: Such Exceffes are Enemies to my Rules.

The Defign was confcientious and good, but, I think, a little defective in Prudence. What if his Wherein the Deformity served afterwards to make others Action was guilty of the Sin of Hatred, or Contempt, or blameable. of Envy, at the Glory of fo commendable an Action; or of Calumny, interpreting this Humour a mad Ambition ? Is there any Form from whence Vice cannot, if it will, extract Occafion to exercise itself one Way or another? It had been more just, and also more noble, to have made of

Æneid. lib. x. v. 134, &c. a Val. Max. in Externis, lib. iv. fect. 1.

They who fe crete themfelves from the common Offices of Society have the beft Bargain.

of thefe Gifts of God a Subject of exemplary Virtue and
Regularity.
They who fecrete themfelves from the common Offices,
from that infinite Number of crabbed and
double-meaning Rules that fetter a Man of
ftrict Honefty in civil Life, are, in my Opi-
nion, very difcreet, what peculiar Severity
foever they impose upon themselves in so do-
ing. 'Tis, in fome Sort, a Kind of dying to
avoid the Pain of living well. They may
have other Reward, but the Reward of the Difficulty I
never could think they had, nor that in Uneafiness there
can be any Thing beyond keeping himself upright in the
Waves of the bufy World, truly and exactly performing
and anfwering all Parts of his Duty. 'Tis peradventure
more eafy for a Man to live clear from the whole Sex, than
to maintain himself exactly in all Points in the Company
of his Wife; and a Man may more incuriously flip into
Want than Abundance, duly difpenfed. Cuftom, carried
on according to Reafon, has in it more of Sharpness than
Abftinence has: Moderation is a Virtue that has more
Work than Sufferance. The Well-living of Scipio has a
thousand Fashions, that of Diegenes but one. This as
much excels the ordinary Lives in Innocency, as the moft
exquifite and accomplished excel that in Utility and
Force.

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CHA P. XXXIV.

Obfervations on JULIUS CAESAR's Methods of making War.

"TIS

Cæfar's Commentaries a

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IS faid of many great Leaders, That they have
had certain Books in particular Efteem, as Alex-
• ander the Great, Homer; Scipio Africanus,
Xenophon Marcus Brutus, Polybius; Charles
the Fifth, Philip de Comines; and 'tis faid,
that, in our Times, Machiavel is elfewhere
in Repute;' but the late Marfbal Stroffy,
who

proper Leon for every General

1

who took Cæfar for his Man, doubtlefs made the best Choice; for in Truth this Book ought to be the Breviary of every great Soldier, as being the true and fovereign Pattern of the military Art. And, moreover, God knows with what Grace and Beauty he has embellifhed that rich Subject, with fuch pure, delicate, and perfect Expreffion, that, in my Opinion, there are no Writings in the World comparable to his in this Refpect. I will here record fome rare and peculiar Paffages of his Wars that remain in my Memory.

How Cæfar Troops when encouraged bis alarmed by the Superior Num bers of the

Enemy.

His Army being in fome Confternation upon the Rumour that was fpread of the great Forces which King Juba was leading against him, inftead of abating the Apprehenfion which his Soldiers had conceived at the News, and of leffening the Strength of the Enemy, having called them all together to reanimate and encourage them, he took a quite contrary Method to what we are ufed to do; for he told them, That they fhould trouble themfelves no more with enquiring after the Enemy's Strength, for that he was certainly informed of it! And then he mentioned a Number much furpaffing both the Truth and the Report that rumoured in his Army. In this he followed the Advice of Cyrus in Xenophan; forafmuch as the Impofition is not of fo great Importance to find an Enemy weaker than we expected, as it is to find him really very ftrong, after having been made to believe that he was weak.

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It was his Way to accuftom his Soldiers fimply to obey, without taking upon them to controul, or fo The ready much as to fpeak of their Captain's Defigns; Obedience of which he never communicated to them but, Cæfar's Solupon the Point of Execution; and he took diers. a Delight, if they discovered any Thing of what he intended, immediately to change his Orders to deceive them and, to that Purpose, when he had affigned his Quarters in a particular Place, he often paffed forward and lengthened his March, especially if it was foul Weather. The Swiss, in the Beginning of his Wars in Gaul, ha

• Suetonius in the Life of Julius Cæfar, c: 66.

;

ving

How he amu

ving fent to him to demand a free Paffage fed the Enemy, through the Roman Territories; though he in Order the refolved to hinder them by Force, he neverbetter to fur- theless spoke kindly to the Meffengers, and prife them. took fome Days to return an Anfwer, in Order to make use of that Refpite for affembling his Army together. These filly People did not know how good a Hufband he was of his Time; for he often repeats it, That it is the Excellency of a Captain to feize the critical Juncture;' and his Diligence in his Exploits is, in Truth, unparallelled and incredible.

As he was not very confcientious in taking Advantage The Virtue he of an Enemy under Colour of a Treaty of required in his Agreement, he was as little in this, that he Soldiers. required no other Virtue in a Soldier but Valour, and feldom punished any other Faults but Mutiny and Difobedience.'

After his Victories he often gave them all Manner of The License in Liberty, difpenfing them, for fome Time, from the Rules of military Difcipline, faying withal, That he had Soldiers fo well trained up, that, though powdered and perfumed, they would run furiously to Battle.'

which he indulged them.

He loved that

.

In Truth, he loved to have them richly armed, and their Furniture to be engraved, gilt, and filthey should be vered over, to the End that the Care of farichly armed. ving their Arms might engage them to a more

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obftinate Defence. When he harangued them, he called them by the Name of Fellow-Soldiers, as we do to this Day; which his Succeffor Auguftus reformed, suppofing he had only done it upon Neceffity, and to cajole those who only followed him as Volunteers; - Rheni mihi Cæfar in undis,

with.

Dux erat, bic facius, facinus quos inquinat, æquat.

i. e.

Great Gafar, who my Gen'ral did appear

Upon the Banks of Rhine, 's my Fellow here;

Suetonius in the Life of Julius Cæfar, c. 67.

• Lucan, lib. v. v. 289.

For

For Wickedness, where once it hold does take,
All Men whom it defiles does equal make.

but that this Carriage was too low for the Dignity of an Emperor and General of an Army; and therefore he brought up the Cuftom of calling them Soldiers only. With this Courtesy Cafar mixed great Severity, to keep them in Awe. The ninth Legion having mutinied near to Placentia, he ignominiously bis Soldiers. His Severity to cashiered them, though Pompey was yet on Foot, and received them not again to Grace till after many Supplications: He quieted them more by Authority and Boldness than by gentle Ways. In that Place where he fpeaks of his Paffage over the Rhine towards Germany, he fays, "That, thinking it unworthy of the Honour of Roman People to waft over his Army in Veffels, he built a Bridge, that they might pafs over dry Foot. There it was that he built that wonderful Bridge, of which he gives fo particular a Defcription; for he is no where fo fond of difplaying his own Actions, as in reprefenting to us the Subtlety of his Inventions in fuch mechanical Perform

ances.

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tance.

I have also observed this, that he was fond of giving Exhortations to the Soldiers before a Battle; Exhortations for, where he would fhew, that he was either to Soldiers befurprized, or reduced to a Neceffity of Fight- fore a Battle of ing, he always brings in this,That he had great Impor not fo much as Leisure to harangue his Ar'my.' Before that great Battle with thofe of Tournay, Cafar, fays he, having given Order for every Thing elfe, presently ran where Fortune carried him to encourage his Men, and, meeting the tenth Legion, had no ⚫ more Time to fay any Thing to them but this, That they should remember their wonted Valour, and not be aftonished, but bravely fuftain the Enemy's Shock ;' and, as the Enemy already approached within a Dart's Caft, he gave the Signal of Battle; and, going fuddenly thence elsewhere to encourage others, he found that they were already engaged. That, by his own Account of it, VOL. II.

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De Bello Gallico, lib. iv. c. 2.

Idem, lib. ii, c. 3.

his

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