1S06.] 



On the Poetical Oracles of the Greeks. 



247 



tlie Ciiidians.) fent them tliis ftriking 

 warning, which made tliem infuiiitly dcllft 

 from their purpole : 



Dig not the foil, — your impious labours clofe. 

 Jove might have made an iiland if he chol'e. 



The pious Cnidians, wlio immedi-.itely 

 faw the raadiicl's of" their piujeci, and 

 left their peninfula open to llarpagus, 

 becaufe if Jupiter had decreed that they 

 fliould be prcferved, he would liir.ifelf 

 have made thcui infular at iirft, atli'd on 

 an argument not a whit more ahfurd than 

 our good old women, who, from iijniiar 

 motives, oppofed inoculation about a 

 century ago, and in oar own days join in 

 the hue-and-cry agaiull vaccination, be- 

 caufe, forlboth, the fmali-pox is a viiita- 

 tion from heaven, and God would never 

 have fent it, if he meant that iin])i()us 

 man fhould extir}>ate it, and I'o dciboy 

 what he had picafed to create. Oh ye 

 fagacious Cnidians, and ye more than 

 fagacious old v.omen of England ! 



" There lived, about three genera- 

 tions iince, at Sparta," fays Leutychides, 

 in the hmple but elegant apologue 

 which he delivers to the Atlienians for 

 the purpofe of recovering fonie money 

 which had been left in tlieir hands as a 

 pledge, and which they had lately rcfufed 

 to deliver up, " Tiiere lived at Sparta, 

 about tliree generations lince, Glaucus 

 the fon of Epycides, a man famous 

 throughout Greece for h.is jufticc and in- 

 tegrity, whofe great reputation encou- 

 raged a certain Milefian (under the ap- 

 prelienlion which the difturbances in his 

 own country occalioned,) to depolit a 

 confiderabic fum of money in liis hands. 

 Years liad elapied, during whicli Giaucus 

 heard nothing of any applications for the 

 money, when, one day, the Tons of this 

 Milefian arrived at Sparta. Tliey went 

 to Glaucus, informed him of their fa- 

 ther's death, fhcwed him the bill for the 

 money which they had found among his 

 effects, and demanded the reftoration of 

 their owji prop.erty. The good truftee 

 for fome time preiended ignorance ; at 

 Lift he informed tl'.em that iie mult have 

 time to look over his books, and fettle 

 his accounts, when if any fuch fum of 

 inoney liad ever been depofited with 

 liim, he (hould be able to detect the cir- 

 cumftance, and would refund whatever 

 he owed. The young men allowed him 

 p\\ tlie delay he alked, and lie fet olf for 

 Delpiii to alk the opinion of the oracle 

 whether it was lawful to perjure himlelf, 

 and keep poffi'lhon of the J\iilefian's mo- 

 ney. Indignant at fo fliauieful au appli- 



cation, the God returned him the follow- 

 ing anfwer : 



' If, fon of Epicydes, to be bleft 



With flicrt-liv'd treafures of thy ancient 



gueft. 

 Provoke thy foul to fwear, Swear then ! for 



Death 

 Spares not the righteous, nor the perjur'd 



breath. 

 But by the throne of holy Horcus ftands 

 A namelefs ofispring without reet or hands ; 

 Swilt onDeftruftion's rapid win^s ihe goes, 

 'i'ears down whole houies, and a race o'er- 



tlirows. 

 Her Harpy-talons for the perjur'd wait ; 

 The righteous Houfe furvives, and fears no foe; 



but Fate.' 

 " Th.^ curfe implied in the latter part of 

 tliis retponfe was ambiguous ; at leail it 

 was poetical, and there is always fume- 

 thing dark and uncertain in poetical 

 phrafeology. The former lines appeared 

 much more clear to Glaucus : they were 

 \'tii-y fenfible, good, lioneft, intelligible 

 prole : bcfides, tiiey were uttered fomc- 

 what with ti'e tone of command, and 

 Glaucus was mucii too pious to difobev 

 or difoblige the god. The matter was 

 accordingly foon lettletl. The poor iVIi- 

 lelians were fent away with the molt p; - 

 iitivc and abfolute denial of any know- 

 ledge or recollection of the fact, as impof- 

 tors and liars. Ghuicus lived on in as 

 high credit, and with fur greater fplen- 

 dour than ever for fome time, till, fome 

 fudden reverfes and misfortunes happen- 

 ing, he bethought himfelf of the oracle, 

 began to imagine it was not quite i'o dark 

 and ambiguous as he had taught himfelf 

 to believe it, and at laft concluded to 

 feiid for the men he had cheated. To 

 them he probably made out a good llory ; 

 that ho had millaid his boohs, or was 

 puzzled in his accounts ; in fine, he paid 

 them tlie money with all the iutereil they 

 required, difmiiTed them with many pro- 

 teliations of friendlliip for them and re- 

 fpect for the memory of their dear de- 

 parted father, and begged tlicm in God's 

 name to think no more about it. But 

 Apollo, and the dauglitcr of Ilorcus, it 

 fcems, were not fo ealily reconciietf. Tiie 

 tide of ill-luck fet in flrong againft the 

 family of Epicydes, and, in a very fliort 

 fpace of tii'-.e, Glaucus himfelf was dead, 

 and not a veitige ol' his name or race fur- 

 vived him." 



In this inftance the veneration for 

 oracles produced a moft fahitary moral 

 elfect ; and the exaujple which this (lory 

 alTdrded, may have been of great advan- 

 tage to many fuccceding ages. But the 

 , politic^ 



