SOLON. 



much lofs, that a law pafTcd to make it a capital offence for 

 any one to propofe a renewal of the attempt. Solon, feel- 

 ing mortified at the difgrace attached to this decree, com- 

 pofed an elegy adapted to roufc the fpirits of the people, and 

 feignintj himfelf to be under the influence of a temporary in- 

 fanity, ran into the market-place, mounted the crycr's ftool, 

 and pronounced his veries with great vehemence. The 

 crowd gathered round felt a rifing ardour ; which was far- 

 ther excited by an harangue of Pififtratus, and they, with- 

 out hefitation, decreed a war againll the Megarenfians. Sa- 

 lamis was recovered, and, according to a tradition which has 

 been generally received, by a ilratagem of Solon's. He af- 

 terwards increafed his reputation by adviling a war with the 

 people of Cirrha, who had ravaged the lacred territory of 

 Delphi, and contributed to the redudlion of their city. 

 Athens at this time was in a very unquiet ftate, arifing as well 

 from the contentions of different political faftions, as from 

 the oppreffions of the fuperior cladeF, who had reduced a 

 great part of the common people to (lavery, in confcqucnce 

 of their debts. Solon, in this emergency, was looked up 

 to by the citizens in general as the man who, by his wifdom 

 and virtue, was belt qualified to reftore public tranquillity, 

 and a large party was defirous of raifing him to the fove- 

 reignty. This, however, he pofitively declined ; but being 

 chofen archon by acclamation in the year B.C. 594, he fet 

 himfelf to compole the diffentions by moderate meafures. 

 At firft his plans were not well received, but refleftion con- 

 vinced all parties that his objeft was good, and they unani- 

 moudy invelled him with the high truil of new-modelling 

 their laws and conttitution. He abrogated the fanguinary 

 laws of Draco, excepting fuch as related to homicide. 

 Democracy being the form of government to which the 

 Athenians were attached, he regarded it as the bafe of his 

 new conftitution, but fludied to give it due checks and coun- 

 terbalances. Hence he divided the citizens into four dalles, 

 three of which were formed upon different fcales of pro- 

 perty : the fourth included thofe of the loweft order, who 

 vVere deftitute of all property. Thefe were excluded from 

 public offices, but admitted to vote in the general affembly 

 of the peoplci As this body was in pod'effion of the fu- 

 preme power, and judged caufes in the lafl refort, the con- 

 fequence, or at leall the fafety, ot tlie meanell members of 

 the ilate was fufficiently fecured. To prevent inconfidcrate 

 refolutions in the democratic affembly, he initituted a fcnate 

 of 400, which was to have a prior deliberation upon every 

 propofal to be fubmitted to the "general aliembly. Solon 

 revived the ancient Areopagus, and ordained that it ihould 

 be compofed only of thofe who had palled through the office 

 of archon, the highelt magillracy of the Itatc ; which con- 

 ferred on it a fplcndour that rendered its decrees revered 

 through tlie whole of Greece. The laws of Solon have 

 been ranged under various heads, but it would not comport 

 with our plan to enter at large into their nature. Their ge- 

 neral fpirit is mild and equitable. One of them has been 

 the fubjeft of much political dilcuffion : this was, that in 

 any cafe of civil contell, in which oppofite parties take up 

 arms, the citizen who remains neuter Ihall be punilhcd with 

 exile and confilcation of goods : another regulation, very fa- 

 lutary in its effeds, and well adapted to a fmall Ilate, was, 

 that the Areopagus fhould have full power to enquire how 

 every citizen fupported himfelf, with the view of inlliiling 

 penalties on the idle. 



As an apology for any imperfeftion that might be found 

 in his code, Solon was accullomed to fay, " I have given to 

 the Athenians not the bell pofiible laws, but tlie bed they 

 were capable of receiving." Tlie code given by .SdIoii was 

 intended by the author to be in force a century, and then to 



be revifed and amended, as occafion might fecm to demand. 

 After the promulgation of his code, Solon was continually 

 moleded by perfons who came to him, either for explanation 

 of oblcure paffages, or with propofals for improvements of 

 which they imagined it capable. To avoid iheir importu- 

 nities he refolved to travel ; and having obtained leave of 

 abfence for ten years, and exacted an oath from the citi- 

 zens, that nothing diould be altered till his return, lie 

 lailed to Egypt. He there procured inltruftions in pliilo- 

 fophy from the prielts of HeHupolis and Sais, one of whom, 

 it is faid, in the pride of Egyptian antiquity, faid to him, 

 " Solon, Solon, ycu Greeks arc children, you have not a 

 grey-headed man among you." From Egypt lie went to 

 Cyprus, where he fuggelted to one of the petty princes the 

 eredion of a new city, which was called after his name. 

 About this time alfo he held a conference with Thales, the 

 Milefian, recorded by Plutarch, and it was about this pe- 

 riod that he vifited the court of Cra-fus, king of Lydia. 



On his return to Athens, he fmnid the Ilate in great con- 

 fufion from the contcds of different faftions. Pifillratus had 

 placed himfelf at the head of the popular party, and was 

 aiming, through its favour, at the fovercignty. Solon at- 

 tempted to oppofe the current, but in vain : he appeared 

 with his arms in the ad'embly, and harangued the people, 

 but he had loft his influence, and being wholly unable to 

 roufe the people, he withdrew from Athens never more to 

 return. The place anii time of his death have never been 

 accurately afcertained, but it is generally believed that he 

 died at Cyprus, at the age of eighty. The Athenians held 

 his memory in iuch high reverence, that they erected a llatue 

 of brafs to his memory in the forum : the opinion of man- 

 kind at large has, however, furvived the brazen memorial, 

 and he is itill regarded as among the greatell benefactors of 

 mankind. 



Solon was one of thofe early Greek philofophers who 

 were diffinguilhed by the appellation of the feven wile men. 

 Philofophy had in that age attained to no fyltematic cultiva- 

 tion, and the only monuments of the wildom of moll of 

 thofe ancient fages which have come down to us, are fome 

 (hort moral and prudential maxims, which leem to require for 

 their difcovery little depth of penetration or extent of ob- 

 fervation. They have, however, been confecrated to per- 

 petual remembrance by the gratitude and admiration of 

 Greece. That the laws of Solon might be open to the in- 

 fpeftion of the people, they were inlcribed on wooden 

 tablets, turning on axes, and faid to have been of diflerent 

 forms, according as the laws which they contained related to 

 private or public affairs. The mode of writing is tiiat which 

 is termed in the Greek langu.ige pvcrlfofw-j, that is, trom the 

 right to the left, and tlien from left to right ; the term is 

 taken from the method uled in ploughing, which was always 

 done in ancient times by means of oxen. The fragments of 

 Solon's laws have been collefted by various writers, but 

 with very great care by Samuel Petit, in a learned work, 

 which is, however, not free from inaccuracies, and coujeftures 

 that will not bear the teft of criticifm. This work was 

 pubhihed at Paris, in folio, in the year 1635, under the title 

 of " Leges Atticns." It was republilhcd by Wedeling, with 

 many improvements, and the additions of his own remarks 

 and thole of other critics, in 1742. Diogenes Laertius has 

 annexed to his life of Solon four epillles, which he afcribes 

 to that philofopher, addrell'ed to Periander, Epimcnide.5, 

 Pifillratus, :.nd Croefus. Of his fayings or maxims, the fol- 

 lowing have come down to us. " Laws are like cobwebs, that 

 entangle the weak, but are broken througli by the llrong :" 

 «' 1 Ic who has learned to obey, will know how to command :" 

 " In every thing you Jo, coiiliJer the objed and end ;" ♦' In 



all 



