Chap. IX. ANTIENTMETAPHYSI C S. 195 



' he), know the man; but I titiiik no man i? eivitled to be dininguilTi- 

 • ed by fuch an epithet'. Their expedition scrainft Syracufe, mad as 

 it was, might have fucceeded, if they h. : .ontinued Akibiades m 

 the command of the forces, which ;bey 1 ^ ' to Sicny ; but, infteaj 

 of that, they recalled him to land trial tor a ciune, whi.h I 

 think it is impoffible he could hnve been . ihy of, that of disfi- 

 guring, in one niglit, al! the ftatues of h aes, in Athens ; ma- 

 ny of which flatues were copied from biaJes hi i.i'eif, wlio 

 was as eminent for the beauty of his pi . as for the quali- 

 ties of his mind. Such a crime, I think, was more likely to hive 

 been committed by fome v.'ho envied and hated Alcibiades, but 

 who endeavoured to perfuade the people that he was the auihor 

 of it. 1 will mention only one other a6l of theirs, of the greateft 

 ingratitude, more violent and unj ift, than any I have hitherto men- 

 tioned, or than I believe was ever committed by any tyrant. It 

 was condemning to death by one vote, and executing, five of iheir 

 naval commanders who iiad obtained for them a noble vidlory in 

 the gteateft fea fight that ever was between Greeks and Greeks; 

 becaufe they h.id lef; unburied thofe of the Athenians, who were 

 lofl in that battle, and had perilhed in the fea, when they were 

 prevented by a violent ftorm from recovering their bodies, and giv- 

 ing them buriah Upon this Diodorus Siculus lias pronounced the 

 cenf'jre, that I think it deferved, treating the people as mad, who 

 could inflidl fuch a punifhment upon men who not only had com- 

 mitted no crime, but were worthy of the higheft praile and great- 

 e(l honours. Diodorus fays, that it was the Demagogues who 

 incited them to this adt of violence and injuffice. But it would 

 not have been in the power of the Demagogues to have done this, 

 if they had not been poiTeiTed of that fpirit of envy, jealoufy, and 

 fufpicion, which made them the enemies of men, who had diftin- 

 guiihed themfelves fo much by fuch a fignal vidory. 



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