2-* S. VI. 132., July 10. '680 NOTES AND QUERIES. 



21 



LONDON, SATURDAY, JULY 10. 1888. 



THE INDIAN REVOLT, AND THE DEBATE IN LONDON 



A.D. 1858 THE MITYLENEAN BEVOLT, AND THE 



DEBATE IN ATHENS B.C. 427. 



Of tbe first of the two subjects named above, I 

 will say nothing. The details of that matter, and 

 the speeches on the famous proclamation-debate 

 on our policy in Oude, are known to every 

 one. I only use the title that it may serve to 

 mark an historical parallel which occurred to me, 

 when reading the debate in question, and which 

 may be acceptable to those persons who like to 

 draw and dwell upon such parallels. 



In the Peloponnesian war, the Lesbians were 

 the unwilling allies of the Athenians, to whom 

 they were in some degree subject. The Lacedae- 

 monians succeeded in getting these desirable Les- 

 bians (they were capital sailors) on their side ; 

 and the Athenians immediately blockaded the re- 

 volted Lesbian city of Mitylene. The end of the 

 process and of some fighting was, that the city 

 surrendered ; and when the Athenians entered, 

 the first thing they did was to hang the LacedaB- 

 raonian general, Salasthus, who had sustained the 

 revolt, — and there was not a mock-philanthropist 

 in Athens who objected to the proceeding. The 

 other principal agents in the treason were sent 

 captives to Athens, where it was decreed that not 

 only they, but all the Mityleneans should be put 

 to death. A despatch was forthwith sent to the 

 general commanding there to carry out this de- 

 cree. After it had been sent ofi", the citizens began 

 to look at each other, and to ask if it were accord- 

 ing to the fitness of things that a people who 

 owed no positive allegiance to Athens should be 

 entirely destroyed for attempting to get rid of a 

 forced and bated subjection. Thucydides will tell 

 you what an uproar there was in the city on this 

 question. There was no quieting the good tur- 

 bulent folks, who loved nothing so much as a poli- 

 tical, statistical, moral, religious, or philosophical 

 " row," whereon to spend their time, and whereby 

 to test the state of parties. Above all, they loved 

 a political difficulty. Here was one which offered 

 a first-rate opportunity for the leaders of either 

 i'action. A public assembly was convened to de- 

 liberate upon the sanguinary decree; and the 

 debate on the propriety of confiscating the terri- 

 tory of Oude, lively as it was, was a small matter 

 compared with the eagerness, earnestness, latitude 

 of assertion, and unbounded interest, which marked 

 the great debate at Athens. The notorious Cleon, 

 who certainly was not such a fool as Aristophanes 

 makes him, if he delivered the speech reported by 

 Thu(;ydides, led the party for tbe stronger mea- 

 sure. The humanitarian side of tbe "house," and 

 the outside people of the same opinion, were re- 



presented by Diodotus. The speeches of both 

 orators will bear comparison with any speech de- 

 livered on the Oude debate. Cleon's sarcasm, his 

 sweeping insults at an unstable democracy, his 

 irresistible ridicule of his unlucky auditors, most 

 of whom were more ready to hear their own 

 voices, as he said, than good sense from others, was 

 quite in tbe style of Hunt and Cobbett when in 

 their happiest, or most impudent vein. Cleon 

 knew but of one method of dealing with van- 

 quished rebels, — kill them and take their goods, 

 and then their masters will not only have crushed 

 daring rebels, but profited by the rebellion. The 

 honourable (and rather sanguinary) gentleman 

 resumed his seat amid deafening cheers. But these 

 billows of sound were hushed into calmness by the 

 gentle and business-like Diodotus. He blamed 

 nobody, but insinuated his own sentiments into 

 the bosom of everybody. He attributes no un- 

 worthy motives to the actions of any one, and asks 

 for as much civility for himself. He goes into the 

 entire question ; and shows, as was shown for the 

 men of Oude, that to throw off the insolent yoke 

 of new and rapacious masters, is not a deed to be 

 met by general massacre or confiscation. There 

 was nothing said more to this purpose the other 

 night in our august assembly, than was expressed 

 more than two thousand years ago in the memor- 

 able debate at Athens. One really grows in love, 

 as it were, with the humane Diodotus : so mild, 

 so charitable, so winning, so irresistible is he in 

 working towards the triumphant establishment of 

 his principle of mercy. There is, however, one little 

 unpleasant drawback, in the ground on which this 

 principle is founded by the right honourable 

 speaker. He allows that, after all, justice might 

 be with Cleon ; and he admits that he too would 

 have counselled that all the Mityleneans should be 

 butchered, if it were expedient, and any advantage 

 could be got by it. " If they ever so much de- 

 served forgiveness," remarked the consistent ora- 

 tor, " I declare I would not advise you to forgive 

 them, were it not that I am quite sure we shall all 

 profit by it ! " So profit and expediency moved 

 the heathen assembly ; and they who less than 

 three days previously had voted the contrary way, 

 now gave their voices for the motion of Diodotus, 



— a sample of tergiversation that will excite a 

 sneer, and call up a moral sentiment from every 

 Joseph Surface among us proud of the legislatures 

 of more enlightened times. At Athens, after all, 

 mercy was only carried by a narrow majority. 



Then followed the despatching of the new de- 

 cree annulling the old one, already on its way, 



— having a start of four-and-twenty hours; and 

 then ensued the imiijortal race which could only 

 happen before the days of electric wires and tele- 

 grams. The trireme that was ahead carried with 

 it orders, not only for the massacre of the inlia- 

 bitants, but for the destruction of the entire city 



