566 
MERGE TO GYRENE. 
Philosophy and literature were diligently cultivated at Cyrene ; 
which gave birth to Aristippus, the founder of the sect distinguished 
by the name of Cyrenaic, and to many other celebrated men ; among 
whom we may reckon Callimachus and Eratosthenes, Aristippus the 
younger, Anniceris, Carneades, &c. 
The philosophy of Aristippus appears to have inculcated, that the 
soul has two particular motions, or sensations, — those of pain and 
pleasure ; that all pleasures are alike ; and that virtue is only to be 
esteemed inasmuch as it conduces to our gratification. Carneades 
denied that any thing could be perceived or understood in the world, 
and was the first philosopher who introduced an universal suspension 
of assent : he pretended to discover an uncertainty in the most self- 
evident notions ; and vigorously opposed the doctrine of the stoics 
in his attempt to confute Chrysippus. When Carneades was sent as 
ambassador to Pome, with Diogenes the stoic, and Critolaus the 
peripatetic, he pronounced a very learned dissertation upon justice, 
which strongly convinced all his auditors of its value and importance 
in society : in another speech, however, the philosopher confuted all 
the arguments which he had established in his first discourse ; and 
gave no existence at all to the virtue which he had just before 
strongly recommended. The Roman youth were so captivated with 
the eloquence and the reasoning powers of Carneades, that they are 
said, on this occasion, to have forgotten their usual amusements and 
thought of nothing else but philosophy. The effect produced upon 
the public mind was at all events so strong, that Cato the censor gave 
immediate audience to the Athenian ambassadors in the Senate ; and 
