ANIMALS. 441 



sons of princes ; while we are told of scarcely 

 any share of prowess in the meaner men of the 

 army, who are only brought into the field for 

 these to protect or to slaughter. But nothing 

 can be more unlikely, than that those men who 

 were bred in the luxury of courts, should be 

 strong, while the whole body of the people^ who 

 received a plainer and simpler education, should 

 be comparatively weak. Nothing can be more 

 contrary to the general laws of nature, than that 

 all the sons of heroes should thus inherit not only 

 the kingdoms, but the strength of their fore- 

 fathers ; and we may conclude, that they owe the 

 greatest share of their imputed strength rather 

 to the dignity of their stations than the force of 

 their arms, and, like all fortunate princes, their 

 flatterers happened to be believed. In later 

 ages, indeed, we have some accounts of amazing 

 strength, which we can have no reason to doubt 

 of. But in these, nature is found to pursue her 

 ordinary course, and we find their strength acci- 

 dental. We find these strong men among the 

 lowest of the people, and gradually rising into 

 notice, as this superiority had more opportunity 

 of being seen. Of this number was the Roman 

 tribune, who went by the name of the second 

 Achilles ; who, with his own hand, is said to 

 have killed, at different times, three hundred of 

 the enemy; and, when treacherously set upon 

 by twenty-five of his own countrymen, although 

 then past his sixtieth year, killed fourteen of them 

 before he was slain. Of this number was Milo, 

 who, when he' stood upright, could not be forced 



