Of HISTORICAL COMPOSITION. 109 



habits we are little acquainted ! Every inveftigation of this fort 

 muft be attended with uncertainty. Yet hiftorians have, in 

 this refpecl, been undaunted. They have proceeded boldly in 

 unfolding the mazes of the human heart, in delineating cha- 

 racters, and in explaining great revolutions by the paffions, de- 

 fires, or interefts of famous men. In fome cafes, motives are 

 very obvious. When THUCYDIDES tells us, that the Lacedae- 

 monians entered into the Peloponnefian war, not fo much to 

 protect the other Grecian ftates, as to hinder Athens from grow- 

 ing powerful, we aflent very readily to his opinion. In like 

 manner, when a modern hiftorian, of uncommon elegance, 

 informs us, in his hiflory of America, that " PIZARRO, intoxi- 

 *' cated with the fuccefs which had hitherto accompanied his 

 " arms, and elated with having again near a thoufand men un- 

 " der his command, refufed to liften to any terms * ;" we give 

 eafy credit to his account. At the fame time, the only fact, of 

 which we have fufficient evidence, is, that PIZARRO refufed to 

 liften to any terms. The motives alleged, though probable, 

 are fuggefted by conjecture. The fame obfervation is more 

 fully illuflrated in the following pailage from MIDDLETON'S 

 life of CICERO, tranflated almoft literally from Dio CASSIUS. 

 " JULIUS CESAR alfo was a zealous promoter of this lawf, 

 " from a different motive than the love either of POMPEY or 

 " of the republic. His defign was, to recommend himfelf by 

 1 it to the people, whofe favour, he forefaw, would be of more 

 1 ufe to him than the fenate's, and to caft a frefh load of envy 

 " on POMPEY, which, by fome accident, might be improved af- 

 ' terwards to his hurt ; but his chief view was, to make the 

 " precedent familiar, that whatever ufe POMPEY might make of 

 " it, he himfelf might one day make a bad one." Had this hiftorian 

 been CJESAR'S father-confeffor, he could not have been more 



intimately 



* Dr ROBERTSON'S Hift. of America, vol. ii. p. 255. edit. 410. 

 t THE Manilian law. 



