lowed Savidienus, Murina Lepidus, Coepio Murina, and Ignatius Caepio; begin now to try the experiment of mildness and clemency. Cinna is convicted, pardon him; he will never henceforth have the heart to injure thee, and his pardon will redound to thy glory." Augustus was delighted thus to find an advocate for his way of thinking; having thanked his wise, and in the morning countermanded his friends, who were assigned for his council, he ordered Cinna into his presence. After desiring him to be seated, he then thus addressed him: "In the first place, I demand of thee, Cinna, an uninterrupted hearing, and I will afterwards give thee time and leisure to reply.

"Thou knowest, Cinna, that having taken thee prisoner in the enemy's camp, and that being my enemy, not only from inclination, but from inheritance, I gave thee thy life, restored thee all thy property, and in fine, rendered thy situation so comfortable, that the victor envied the conquered. The sacerdotal office which thou demanded of me I gave thee, having refused it to others, whose

fathers

fathers ever combated with me; and after having conferred so many obligations upon thee, thou hast undertaken to kill me." At which Cinna exclaiming, that he was very far from entertaining so wicked a thought; "Thou dost not keep thy word as thou hast promised me," pursued Augustus, "not to interrupt me; yes, thou hast undertaken to murder me in such a place, on such a day, in such company, and in such a manner." At these words, seeing Cinna stupified with apprehension at the discovery of his guilt; "For what purpose," he continued, "wouldst thou do so? is it that thou hopest to be chosen emperor? believe me, the republic is in a very bad condition, if I am the only person who impedes thy attaining the empire; thou canst scarcely desend thy own house, and but the other day thou wast baffled in a law suit by a manumitted slave. What! are there no other means of obtaining power, but by attempting the life of Cæsar? I will resign the title if I alone exclude thy hopes. Thinkest thou that Paulus, that Fabius, that the Cassians and Servilians, and so many noble

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noble Romans, whose virtue honours their nobility, would suffer thee to rule? Go," he added, "I now give that life to thee as a traitor and a parricide, which I once before gave thee as an enemy. From henceforth let friendship commence between us, let us make the trial which of us will be most faithful, me in having given thee life, thou in having received it?" in saying this he departed.

Some time after Augustus gave Cinna the consulate, complaining that he had not the confidence to demand it; held him in estimation as his greatest friend, and was at last made by him his sole heir. From this time, which was in Augustus's fortieth year, there were no more plots or conspiracies against him, and he received the just recompence of his clemency. But with regard to the first story of the duke of Guise, his mildness did not hield him from the snares of future. treason; so vain and frivolous a thing is human precaution. Thus in most cases much depends upon chance. We term those physicians fortunate, when they hit upon a lucky cure, as if

it

it was only their art that could not support itself, but must owe its success to fortune's favour; whereas other professions would be undermined without similar aid. For my part I think just as well or as ill of physic as people would wish me, for, thanks to God, we have no commerce together. I am entirely of a contrary opinion to other men, for I always despise it; when I am sick, instead of recanting or entering into composition, I begin then both to hate and sear it, and my reply to those who press me to take drugs, is invariably to leave me time at least to regain my strength, and my health, that I may be equal to sustain the hazard and effort attending their nostrums. Thus I leave nature to do her own work, supposing her to be sufficiently armed with teeth and claws to defend herself against assaults, and to support the contexture of life, whose dissolution she is continually trying to evade. I am apprehensive otherwise, that instead of succouring her, when grappled by and struggling with disease, I should assist her adverfary instead of her, and should experience

new

new evils. Now this is not my opinion only in physic, but in other more esteemed sciences, where much celebrity is derived from chance. Those poetical sallies which ravish the author, and transport him beyond himself; why are they net attributed to his fortune? since he himself confesses that they surpass his powers, and that he can no more summon them at will, than wrestlers, according to their own confession, can command those extraordinary motions which sometimes push them beyond their natural strength.

It is the same in painting, where strokes of grace and elegance will sometimes slip from the hand of the artist, so entirely surpassing his conception and apparent knowledge, that even he will contemplate them with admiration and astonishment.

A judicious reader will frequently discover greater perfections in other men's writings, than the authors have either intended or perceived.

With regard to military exploits, every one sees the great share which fortune has in thofe

affairs.