Part 25 (1/2)

”'I also considered the qualities of the air, which surrounds and sustains all living animals; I particularly remarked the noxious or salutary effects it is able to produce upon their const.i.tutions; and, by these means, was frequently enabled to give useful counsels to all the neighbourhood. A large tract of ground had been formerly deluged by the sea; and the waters, finding no convenient vent, spread themselves all around, and converted a large extent of soil into a filthy marsh. Every year, when the heat of summer prevailed, the atmosphere was filled with putrid exhalations, which produced fevers and pestilential disorders among the inhabitants. Touched with compa.s.sion for the evils which they endured, I persuaded them to undertake the task of draining the soil and letting off the superfluous waters. This I instructed them to do with such success that, in a short time, an unwholesome desert became covered with the most luxuriant harvests, and was deprived of all its noxious influence. By thus rendering my services useful to my fellow-creatures, I received the purest reward which can attend the increase of knowledge--the consciousness of performing my duty, and humbly imitating that Being, whose goodness is as general and unbounded as his power.

”'Amidst these tranquil and innocent employments my life flowed gently away like a clear and even stream. I was a stranger to avarice or ambition, and to all the cares which agitate the bulk of mortals.

Alternate labour and study preserved the vigour both of body and mind; our wants were few and easily gratified; we chiefly subsisted upon the liberal returns of the earth, and seldom polluted our table with the bodies of slaughtered animals. One only child, the unfortunate girl who owes her preservation to the courage of this young man, was granted to our prayers; but in her we found enough to exercise all the affections of our minds; we hung with ecstasy upon her innocent smiles, and remarked her opening graces with all the partiality of parental fondness. As she grew up, her mother instructed her in all the arts and employments of her s.e.x; while I, who already saw the tempest gathering, which has since burst with such fatal fury upon my country, thought it necessary to arm her mind with all the firmness which education can bestow. For this reason I endeavoured to give both her mind and body a degree of vigour which is seldom found in the female s.e.x.

”'As soon as Selene (for that was her name) was sufficiently advanced in strength to be capable of the lighter labours of husbandry and gardening, I employed her as my constant companion, and she soon acquired a dexterity in all the rustic employments, which I considered with equal pleasure and admiration. If women are in general feeble both in body and mind, it arises less from nature than from education; _we_ encourage a vicious indolence and inactivity which we falsely call delicacy; instead of hardening their minds by the severer principles of reason and philosophy, we breed them to useless arts, which terminate in vanity and sensuality. In most of the countries which I had visited, they are taught nothing of a higher nature than a few modulations of the voice, or useless postures of the body; their time is consumed in sloth or trifles, and trifles become the only pursuit capable of interesting them. _We_ seem to forget that it is upon the qualities of the female s.e.x that our own domestic comforts and the education of our children must depend. And what are the comforts or the education which a race of beings, corrupted from their infancy, and unacquainted with all the duties of life, are fitted to bestow? To touch a musical instrument with useless skill, to exhibit their natural or affected graces to the eyes of indolent and debauched young men, to dissipate their husbands'

patrimony in riotous and unnecessary expenses--these are the only arts cultivated by women in most of the polished nations I had seen; and the consequences are uniformly such as may be expected to proceed from such polluted sources--private misery and public servitude.

”'But Selene's education was regulated by different views, and conducted upon severer principles--if that can be called _severity_ which opens the mind to a sense of moral and religious duties, and most effectually arms it against the inevitable evils of life. With the rising sun she left her bed, and accompanied me to the garden or the vineyard. Her little hands were employed in shortening the luxurious shoots of fruitful trees that supplied our table with wholesome and delicious fruits, or in supporting the branches of such as sunk beneath their load. Sometimes she collected water from a clear and constant rill that rolled along the valley, and recruited the force of plants that were exhausted by the sun. With what delight did I view her innocent cheerfulness and a.s.siduity! With what pleasure did she receive the praises which I gave to her skill and industry; or hear the lessons of wisdom and the examples of virtuous women, which I used to read to her at evening, out of the writings of celebrated philosophers which I had collected in my travels.

”'But such a life was too unchecquered with misfortune to last. The first stroke which attacked and almost destroyed my hopes of good was the untimely loss of my dear and virtuous wife. The pestilential heats of autumn overpowered her tender frame, and raised a consuming fever in her veins; for some time she struggled against the disease, but at length her pure and innocent spirit forsook this earth for ever, and left me comfortless and forlorn to mourn her loss!

”'I will not, my worthy hosts, attempt to describe the inexpressible distress which seized my soul at seeing myself thus deserted. There are some philosophers who aspire to triumph over human feelings, and consider all tender affections as disgraceful weaknesses; for my part, I have never pretended to that degree in insensibility. I have, indeed, opposed as criminal that habitual acquiescence in sorrow which renders us unfit for the discharge of our duties; but while I have endeavoured to _act_, I have never blushed at _feeling_, like a man. Even now, that time has mitigated the keenness of the smart, I feel the habitual anguish of an incurable wound. But let me rather hasten to relate the few remaining events of a uniform unvaried life than detain you with a useless repet.i.tion of my sorrows.

”'Scarcely had time afforded me a feeble comfort, when the recollection of past misfortunes was almost extinguished by the new ones which overwhelmed my country. The fertile plains of Syria abounded in all the necessaries and conveniences of life; the vine seemed to grow spontaneously in every valley, and offer its luxuriant produce to every hand; the industrious insect which spins the wonderful substance called _silk_ out of its bowels, though lately introduced into that part of Asia, seemed to receive new vigour from the mildness of the climate; corn and oil, the n.o.blest fruits and the most salubrious herbs, were found in the garden of every peasant; and the herds of cattle and horses, which wandered over our luxuriant pastures, equalled or surpa.s.sed all I had observed in other countries. But this profusion of blessings, instead of being attended with any beneficial effects, produced nothing but a foolish taste for frivolous employment and sensuality; feasts, and dances, and music, and tricks of players, and exhibitions of buffoons, were more attended to than all the serious and important cares of life. Every young man was a critic in the science of adjusting the folds of his robe, or of giving a studied negligence to his hair; every young woman was instructed in every art that serves to consume time or endanger modesty. Repeat to them an idle tale, the tricks of a gamester, or the adventures of a singing-girl, and every audience listened with mute attention to the wonderful narration; but tell them of the situation of their country, the wretched state of their civil and military discipline, or of the numerous and warlike tribes of barbarians which surround them, and every auditor would steal away in silence, and leave the uninteresting theme.

”'In such a state of things, it was not long to be expected that my countrymen would be permitted to hold the riches they abused, and wanted firmness to defend. A warlike tribe of barbarians burst forth from the northern mountains of Asia, and spread themselves over our fertile plains, which they laid waste like a consuming tempest. After a few ineffectual skirmishes, which only served to expose their weakness to the contempt of their enemies, they yielded without opposition to the invader; in this, indeed, more wise than to irritate him by a fruitless resistance; and thus, in a few weeks, the leader of an obscure tribe of barbarians saw himself become a powerful monarch, and possessor of one of the richest provinces of Asia.

”'I was sitting one evening at the door of my cottage, gazing upon the fading glory of the setting sun, when a man, of a majestic appearance, but with something ferocious in his look, attended by several others, pa.s.sed by. As he approached my little garden, he seemed to view it with satisfaction, and to unbend the habitual sternness of his look; I asked him if he would enter in and taste the fruits with his companions. He accepted my offer, and, entering into a shady arbour, I brought him the most palatable fruits I could find, with milk and other rustic fare, such as my farm afforded. He seemed pleased with his entertainment, and, when he was departing, thanked me with great affability, and bade me ask a favour in return, 'which,' added he, with a certain degree of conscious pride, 'you can scarcely make too great either for my grat.i.tude or power.' 'If,' answered I (for I began to suspect that it was Arsaces, the leader of these barbarians), 'your power is indeed equal to every boon, give peace and liberty to my country!' 'The first,'

said he, 'I have already given; and, as to the second, it is impossible; their vices and effeminacy render them incapable of enjoying it. Men that have neither virtue, temperance, nor valour, can never want a master, even though Arsaces were to withdraw his conquering troops.'

'But ask again,' added he, 'something for thyself, and let the favour be worthy me to bestow.' 'Heaven,' answered I with a smile, 'has already given everything I can want, when it gave the earth fertility, and me the power to labour. All, therefore, that I request, O mighty conqueror, is, that you will please to order your men to step aside from the newly cultivated ground, and not destroy my vegetables.' 'By heaven!' said Arsaces, turning to his companions, 'there is something elevated in the tranquillity and composure of this man's mind; and, was I not _Arsaces_, I should be with pleasure _Chares_.' He then departed, but ordered me to attend him the next day at the camp, and gave strict orders that none of the soldiers should molest or injure my humble residence.

”'I attended the great Arsaces at the time he had appointed, and traversed the encampment of his troop with admiration and regret. This people was a tribe of that mighty empire which is called _Scythia_, whose inhabitants have so often issued from their deserts for the conquest and destruction of their neighbours.

”'This country extends to an unknown length behind the most fertile districts of Europe and Asia. The climate is cold in winter, and the earth for several months covered with snow; but in summer it feels the enlivening influence of the sun, and for that reason is possessed of an amazing degree of fertility. But as the inhabitants live remote from the sea, and possess few navigable rivers, they are little acquainted with agriculture, or the arts of life. Instead of trusting to the increase of their fields for food, they raise prodigious herds of cattle and horses in the luxuriant pastures which everywhere abound. The Scythians, like the Arabians, wander over these immense s.p.a.ces without a fixed or permanent residence. By the side of lakes and rivers, where the verdure is most constant, and the vegetation stronger, they generally encamp, until the heats of the summer compel them to ascend the mountains, and seek a cooler residence. Their houses are composed of slender poles covered with skins, or a coa.r.s.e cloth, and therefore easily erected, or taken down and stowed in waggons, for the convenience of transporting them in their marches. Their diet is answerable to the poverty of their habitations. They milk their herds, and, above all, their mares, and preserve the produce in large bottles for months together. This sour and homely mess is to them the greatest dainty, and composes the chief of their nourishment; to this they add the flesh of their cattle and horses, which they kill when afflicted with disease, but rarely in health.

”'This is the simple and uniform life of all the Scythians; but this simplicity renders them formidable to all their neighbours, and irresistible in war. Unsoftened by ease or luxury, unacquainted with the artificial wants of life, these nations pa.s.s their lives in manly exercises and rustic employments; but horsemans.h.i.+p is the greatest pride and pa.s.sion of their souls; nor is there an individual who does not at least possess several of these n.o.ble animals, which, though small in size, are admirably adapted for the fatigues of war and the chase, and endowed with incomparable swiftness. As to the Scythians themselves, they excel all other nations, unless it be the Arabs, in their courage and address in riding; without a saddle, or even a bridle, their young men will vault upon an unbacked courser, and keep their seats, in spite of all his violent efforts, till they have rendered him tame and obedient to their will. In their military expeditions they neither regard the obstacles of nature nor the inclemency of the season; and their horses are accustomed to traverse rocks and mountains with a facility that is incredible. If they reach a river, instead of waiting for the tedious a.s.sistance of boats and bridges, the warrior divests himself of his clothes and arms, which he places in a bundle upon the horse's back, and then, plunging into the stream, conducts him over by the bridle. Even in the midst of winter, when the hatred of other nations gives way to the inclemencies of the season, the Scythian follows his military labours, and rejoices to see the earth thick covered with frost and snow, because it affords him a solid path in his excursions; neither the severest cold nor the most violent storms can check his ardour. Wrapped up in the thick furs of animals, the patient horseman pursues his march, while all his food for weeks together is comprised in a little bag of seeds or corn. Javelins, and bows and arrows, are the arms which these people are taught from their infancy to use with surprising dexterity; and, no less dangerous when they fly than when they charge the enemy in front, they are accustomed to shoot with an unerring aim at their pursuers, and turn the fortune of the battle.

Such men are scarcely to be conquered by the efforts of the most powerful nations or sovereigns; and therefore the proudest conquerors of the world have failed in their attempts to subdue them.

”'Darius, one of the greatest kings which the vast empire of Persia ever obeyed, once attempted the exploit, and had nearly perished in the attempt. He advanced with a powerful army, but ill prepared for such an expedition, into the Scythian wastes. The inhabitants, well acquainted with the most effectual methods of defence, transported their families and herds into the interior parts of the country, and mounting their fleetest horses, seemed to fly before the monarch, who, infatuated with pride and confidence, pursued the chase for several days, until he found himself in the midst of solitary deserts, totally dest.i.tute of all that human wants require, where his army could neither advance nor retire without equal danger of peris.h.i.+ng by thirst and famine. When the Scythian hors.e.m.e.n saw him thus involved, they began to check their speed; instead of flying, as usual, they hemmed him in on every side, and hara.s.sed the army with continual attacks. It was then they sent a present to the Persian king, the mysterious meaning of which increased the terrors of his situation. A Scythian, mounted upon a fiery steed, entered the camp at full speed, and, regardless of danger or opposition, penetrated even to the royal tent, where Darius was holding a council with his n.o.bles. While they were all amazed at this extraordinary boldness, the man leaped lightly from his horse, and placing a little bundle upon the ground, vaulted up again with inconceivable agility, and retired with the same happy expedition. The curiosity of the monarch made him instantly order the packet to be examined, which contained only a mouse, a bird, a fish, and a bundle of arrows. Silence and astonishment for some time seized the a.s.sembly, till at length the king observed, that he thought the present which the Scythians had sent could signify nothing but their submission to his arms. 'The mouse,' said he, 'must represent the earth, because he resides in holes which he digs in the soil; the fish inhabits the water, and the bird resides in the air.

By sending me, therefore, all these various animals, they mean to signify that they resign their air, their waters, and their earth to my dominion. Nor is the bundle of arrows more difficult to be explained; these const.i.tute their princ.i.p.al defence, and, by sending them to an enemy, they can intimate nothing but terror and submission.' All who were present applauded this discourse of the monarch, excepting Gobrias, a man of singular wisdom and experience, who, when he was pressed to declare his sentiments, spoke to him thus:--'It is with the greatest reluctance, O king, that I find myself compelled to explain these presents of our enemies in a very different manner. That the Scythians, who have hitherto shown no marks either of fear or submission, should, on a sudden, feel so great a terror of the Persian arms, I cannot easily believe, more especially when I consider that our army is very much reduced by the distress it has suffered, and environed on every side by the enemy, whose boldness visibly increases with our necessities. What, therefore, I should infer from this extraordinary present is this: they intimate that unless, like the mouse, you can dig your pa.s.sage through the earth, or skim the air like the bird, or glide through waters with the fish, you shall certainly perish by the Scythian arrows.' Such was the sentiment of Gobrias, and all the a.s.sembly was struck with the evident truth of his interpretation, and the king himself began to perceive and repent his rashness; instead, therefore, of advancing farther into deserts which afforded no subsistence, he resolved to attempt a retreat. This, however, he was not able to effect without the loss of the greatest part of his troops, who perished by thirst and famine, and the continued attacks of the enemy.

”'Nor was the expedition of Lysimachus, another powerful king, against this people, less memorable or less unfortunate. His army was defeated, and he himself taken prisoner; but, instead of meeting with that cruelty which we are accustomed to expect from barbarians, he experienced the greatest moderation and humanity from his conquerors. The general of the Scythians invited his captive to a solemn festival, in which he took care to a.s.semble every circ.u.mstance of luxury and magnificence which prevailed in polished nations. The most exquisite meats were served up to table, and the most generous wines sparkled in golden bowls of the exactest workmans.h.i.+p. Lysimachus was equally delighted with the elegance of the repast and the politeness of the entertainer; but he was extremely surprised that, instead of sharing in the feast or even sitting down at table, the Scythian leader reposed in the corner of a tent, upon the bare ground, and satisfied his hunger with the most coa.r.s.e and ordinary fare, prepared with all the simplicity of his country's manners. When the entertainment was finished, he asked Lysimachus which method of life appeared to him the most agreeable.

Lysimachus could not conceal his preference of the more refined and luxurious dainties, or his dislike of the Scythian diet. 'If therefore,'

replied his generous host, 'you feel so great a contempt for what this country produces, and so strong a preference for the productions of your own, what but madness, O king, can have tempted you to come so far in order to subdue men that live in a manner you despise? Is it not much greater wisdom to be contented with those advantages which you prize so highly, than to expose them to a certain hazard, for the chance of acquiring what would afford no pleasure or satisfaction? But let this lesson be sufficient to teach you moderation. A country which produces nothing but iron, is not easily conquered; nor are men, who have been from their infancy inured to every hards.h.i.+p, to be vanquished by curled and perfumed soldiers, who cannot live without baths, and music, and daily feasts. Be contented, therefore, for the future, to number the Scythians among your friends; and rather pray that the G.o.ds may keep them in ignorance of the superiority of your method of living, lest a desire of tasting it should tempt them to desert their own country and invade yours.' With this discourse he generously restored Lysimachus to liberty, and suffered him to lead back the shattered remains of his numerous army.

”'Such was the nation which had invaded Syria, and easily triumphed over the efforts of an effeminate and unwarlike people. As I pa.s.sed through the camp, I was astonished at the order and regularity which prevailed among these barbarians. Some were exercising their horses in the mimic representation of a battle; part fled with incredible speed, while the rest pursued, and darted blunted javelins at their antagonists. Yet even those who fled would frequently turn upon their pursuers and make them repent their rashness. Some, while their horses were running in full speed, would vault from off their backs to others that accompanied them; some would gallop by a mark erected for their arrows, and, when they had pa.s.sed it a considerable way, turn themselves round upon their horses and transfix it with an unerring aim. I saw many who vaulted upon their horses, and placed themselves between two naked swords, which would have given them certain death, had they swerved ever so little from the just direction. In another part of the camp I observed the children, who imitated all the actions of their fathers, bended little bows adapted to their strength, or guided horses of an inferior stature along the plain.

Their women were indeed inferior to the Syrians in beauty and elegance, but seemed to be of a more robust const.i.tution, and more adapted to produce and educate warriors. I saw no gold, no jewels, no vain and costly apparel; but all seemed busy in domestic cares, preparing the food of their families, or tending upon their infants.

”'At length I reached the royal tent, which scarcely differed from the rest in its structure or simplicity; and was immediately introduced to the great Arsaces. He received me with a courtesy which had nothing of the barbarian in it; seated me familiarly by his side, and entered into a long conversation with me upon the laws, and manners, and customs of the different nations I had seen. I was surprised at the vigour and penetration which I discovered in this untutored warrior's mind.

Unbia.s.sed by the ma.s.s of prejudices which we acquire in cities, even from our earliest childhood, unenc.u.mbered by forms and ceremonies which contract the understanding while they pretend to improve the manners, he seemed to possess a certain energy of soul which never missed the mark; nature in him had produced the same effects that study and philosophy do in others. But, what amazed me more than all, was to find this Scythian chief as well acquainted with the state and consequence of _our_ manners, as if he had pa.s.sed his life in Greece or Syria, instead of the plains and forests of his own domain. He entertained a rooted contempt for all the arts which softened the body and mind, under the pretence of adding to the elegancies of life; these, he said, were more efficacious agents to reduce men to slavery, than the swords and arrows of their enemies.

”'One day I remember that some of our princ.i.p.al men, judging of the mind of their conqueror by their own, brought to him a celebrated dancer; who, at that time, engaged the whole attention of our city, and seemed to interest it much more than the loss of liberty. This man, who did not doubt that he should enchant the soul of a Scythian barbarian, by the same arts which had enraptured his refined audiences at home, exerted himself with an agility that extorted the loudest applause from all the spectators but Arsaces. At length one of our countrymen took the liberty of asking the monarch what he thought of this extraordinary performance?

'I think,' replied he, coldly, 'that it would gain him great credit among a nation of monkeys.' Another time he was present at the exhibitions of a celebrated musician, who was reputed to possess unrivalled skill in playing soft and melting tunes upon the lyre. All the audience seemed to feel the influence of his art, by their inarticulate murmurs of admiration, and the languis.h.i.+ng postures of their bodies. When the exhibition was finished, the musician advanced, amid the united plaudits of the audience, as if to receive the just tribute of approbation from Arsaces; but he, with a stern look, said to him, 'Friend, I permit thee to play every night before the Syrians; but if thy lyre is ever heard to sound in the presence of my Scythians, I denounce certain death for the offence.' Another time an officious glutton of our city introduced to him, with great solemnity, two men, whose talents he a.s.sured him were unequalled in their different professions. The one, he said, adjusted hair with such dexterity, that he could give an artificial beauty to every countenance; and the other possessed such unrivalled skill in cooking a repast, that even the soberest guest was tempted to commit intemperance. 'My soldiers,'

replied Arsaces, 'are accustomed to adjust their locks with the point of their arrows, nor does our nation consider a bloated paunch and an unwieldy shape as any accomplishment in warriors; all therefore, that I can do for these gentlemen is, to depute one of them to comb my horse's tail, and the other to feed the hogs of the army.'

”'After I had conversed some time with this barbarian chief, who heard me with the greatest attention, the hour of refreshment for the army approached, and I was preparing to retire; but the general stopped me with a smile, and told me, I had already entertained him with the greatest hospitality, and that therefore it was just that I should stay and taste the Scythian food. A bit of dried flesh, which I afterwards found was that of a horse, some sour coagulated milk, with an infusion of certain herbs, thickened with a coa.r.s.e kind of flour, were then brought in and placed upon the ground. I had learned, during my travels in different countries, to discard the false antipathies which so many nations entertain against the diet as well as manners of each other.

Whatever is adapted to support life is proper for the food of man; habit will reconcile us to any kind of food; and he that can accustom himself to be the most easily contented, is happiest and best prepared for performing the duties of life. I therefore placed myself by the side of Arsaces, and fed without any visible repugnance upon the diet, which would have excited abhorrence in the minds of all my countrymen. With them it was a work of the greatest importance to settle the formalities of a meal; to contrive a new and poignant sauce, to combine contrary flavours in a pickle, to stimulate the jaded appet.i.te to new exertions, till reason and everything human sank under the undigested ma.s.s of food, were reckoned the highest efforts of genius; even the magistrate did not blush to display a greater knowledge of cookery than of the laws; the debates of the senate itself were often suspended by the fear of losing a repast; and many of our generals prided themselves more on the arrangement of their tables, than the martial evolutions of their troops.