62 



HISTORY. 



History, intermixture of fable. A more particular account of 

 '"Y"*'*^ several events in the period of Herodotus' History may 

 be extracted from the following authors : Justin, books 

 i. ii. iii. and vii. ; the 7th book of Xenophon's Cyropae- 

 dia ; the lives of Aristides, Themistocles, Cimon, Mil- 

 tiades, and Pausanius, by Plutarch and Cornelius Ne- 

 pos ; and those of Anaximander, Zeno, Euripides, He- 

 raclitus, and Democritus, by Diogenes Laertius, will 

 illustrate not only the history of Herodotus, but also 

 the state of manners and philosophy at that period. 



_. ... Thucydides must be read after Herodotus. In his in- 

 **' troduction he connects his history with that of Herodo- 

 tus, by giving a summary view of the history of Greece, 

 from the departure of Xerxes to the commencement of 

 the Peloponnesian war. He proposed to write the en- 

 tire history of that war, but his work reaches only to 

 the 21st year of it. The method he pursues is direct- 

 ly the reverse of that followed by Herodotus ; for his 

 exact and scrupulous observance of chronological or- 

 der, obliges him to interrupt his narrative, in a manner 

 that is very painful and disagreeable to his reader. His 

 style is uncommonly compact and dense ; so that his 

 meaning is frequently not brought out with sufficient 

 fulness and perspicuity. His reflections are acute and 

 profound, but more interesting to the politician than 

 the philosopher. After the first book of this author, 

 the llth and 12th of Diodorus Siculus ought to be 

 read ; and, after the whole of his work, the 4th and 5th 

 books of Justin, and the lives of Alcibiades, Chabrias, 

 Thrasybulus, and Lysias, by Plutarch. 

 The 1 st and 2d books of Xenophon's History of Greece, 



Xenophon. com pi e t e the account of the Peloponnesian war, with the 

 contemporary affairs of the Medes and Persians. After 

 this the expedition of Cyrus, by the same author, should 

 be read ; and, lastly, the remainder of his History of 

 Greece, which contains an account of the affairs of the 

 Greeks and Persians till the battle of Mantinea, in the 

 year 363 before Christ. All the historical books of Xe- 

 nophon comprise a period of about 48 years. The style 

 of Xenophon is remarkable for its elegance ; his impar- 

 tiality is undoubted ; and his manner and plan form a 

 happy medium between the loose and slightly cqnnect- 

 ed excursions of Herodotus, and the extreme rigour of 

 Thucydides. His account of the retreat of the Ten 

 Thousand, in which he bore a principal part, is perhaps 

 as interesting a portion of history as ancient or modern 

 times can present, and is told in the most interesting 

 manner. To complete the history of all that period of 

 which Xenophon treats, the lives of Lysander, Agesi- 

 laus, Artaxerxes, Conon, and Datames, by Plutarch 

 or Cornelius Nepos, and the 13th, 14th, and 15th books 

 of Diodorus Siculus, ought to be read. The continua- 

 tion of the work of Diodorus Siculus brings the histo- 

 ry of Greece and Persia down to the commencement of 

 the reign of Alexander the Great, in the year 336' be- 

 fore Christ. The history of Alexander has been written 

 by Arrian, Plutarch and Quintus Curtius. After these 

 authors, may be read the 18th, 19th, and 20th books of 

 Diodorus Siculus, together with the 13th, 14th, and 

 15th books of Justin; these contain the history of 

 Greece from the 323 before Christ to the year SOI. 

 At this period, the course of historical narrative may 

 be traced from the l6th to the 30th books of Justin, 

 and all that follow till the two last, which complete the 

 history of Greece till it mingles with that of Rome. 



Hiodorus The object of Diodorus Siculus was, by reading and 



Siculus. travelling, to collect materials for an universal history, 

 from the earliest account of things to the time of Au- 

 gustus when he flourished. But only a small portion 



of it has come down to us. Of 40 books, of which the History. 

 entire work consisted, the first five, which bring the *" "%" 

 history of the world to the Trojan war, are entire ; the 

 next five are wanting; but from the llth to the 20th 

 inclusive the work is complete. The work of Justin is 

 an abridgment of an universal history, written by Tropes 

 Pompeius, who lived in the age of Augustus. It is 

 written in a style of considerable perspicuity and force, 

 and a due proportion and connection is observed among 

 its several parts. Plutarch's lives of Pyrrhus, Aratus, 

 Agis, Cleomenes, and Philopoemon, should be read to 

 complete this portion of history. 



As these authors contain not only the history of 

 Greece, but that of all the nations of the world that 

 were known to the historians ; so the following course 

 of Roman history must also be regarded as compre- 

 hending all that is now to be learned of the subsequent 

 ancient history of all other nations. 



The early part of the Roman history is treated in Dinnysiiis 

 the most full and satisfactory manner by Dionysius of* ^ al i ca^ 

 Halicarnassus. His entire work consisted of 20 books, na 

 and brought down the history to the commencement of 

 the first Punic war; but of these, only the 11 first are 

 now extant, and they terminate in the year 341 before 

 Christ, after the dissolution of the decemvirate, and the 

 resumption of the chief authority by the consuls. This 

 author pays much more particular attention to manners, 

 customs, and laws, than the ancient historians usually 

 did ; and, on this account, is peculiarly interesting and 

 instructive. He is, however, very credulous; and his 

 style, though pure, is harsh. To complete the history 

 of the period of which Dionysius treats, the 1st, 2d, 

 and 3d books of Livy, and the lives of Romulus, Numa 

 Pompilius, Valerius Poplicola, Coriolanus, and Camil- 

 lus, by Plutarch, should be read. 



After Dionysius, by reading from the 4th to the 10th Livy. 

 books inclusive of Livy, the history of Rome will be 

 brought down to the year 292 before Christ. The en- 

 tire work of Livy consisted of 14^ books; but it has 

 come down to us in a very mutilated and imperfect 

 state, only 35 being left. This author is entitled to the 

 highest praise for fidelity, impartiality, and the rich 

 and eloquent grandeur of his style. A chasm occurs 

 between the 10th and 20th books of Livy, which may 

 be, however, in some measure, filled up, b}' the perusal 

 of the 1st and 2d books of Polybius; the 17th, 18th, Polybius. 

 22d, and 23d books of Justin ; and Appian's Punic and 

 Illyrian wars. From Polybius we may learn many 

 curious and important particulars respecting the art of 

 war among the ancients. His topographical descrip- 

 tions of the places which have been the site of the re- 

 markable events he records are uncommonly accurate. 

 His style is harsh and involved ; his reflections bear 

 evidence of a strong and reflecting mind. After Ap- 

 pian should be read the remainder of Livy from the 

 21st book to the end, which brings the history of Rome 

 to the year lfif> before Christ. The lives of Hannibal, 

 Scipio Africanus, Quintus Flaminius, Paulus jEmilius, 

 Cato major, the Gracchi, Marius, Sylla, Cato minor, 

 Sertorius, Lucullus, Pompey, and Brutus, by Plutarch, 

 will not only serve to complete the history of Livy, but 

 will also afford some striking particulars respecting the 

 manners and state of society of Rome during the most 

 interesting period of its history. 



The war of .lugurtha, and the conspiracy of Cata- Sallust. 

 line, which happened respectively 100, and 62 years 

 before Christ, have been narrated by Sallust. The 

 great merit of this writer is his impartiality at a time 

 when prejudice and party spirit must have been very 



