- C O N 
Continence is a virtue among# men, that entitles them 
to the higheft veneration and regard. Examples of this 
are as follow : Scipio tire Younger, when only twenty- 
four years of age;, was 1 appointed by the Roman republic 
to the command of the army again# the Spaniards. Ke 
befieged-and took the city of Carthagena, the capital of 
the then Carthaginian empire in Spain. Ten thoufand 
citizens were made prifoners ; .and above three hundred 
more, of both foxes, were.received as hoftages. Ainong 
the tatter, a very'ancient lady, the wife of Mandonius, 
brother of Indibilis king of the Tlergetes, throwing her- 
felf at the conqueror’s feet, conjured him to recommend 
to thofe who had the ladies under their care, to have 
regard to their fex and birth. Scipio nobly anfwered, 
“ My own glory, and that of the Roman people,-confijts in 
not differing virtue to be expofed in my camp, to a treat¬ 
ment unworthy of it. But you give me a new motive 
■for being more drift, in the virtuous folicitude you (how, 
in thinking only of the prefervation of your honour, in 
the mid# of fo many other objefls of fear.” He then 
•committed the care of the ladies to officers of experienced 
prudence, ftridfly commanding that they fliould treat 
■them with ail the refpefl they could pay to the mothers, 
wives, and daughters, of their allies and particular triends. 
It was not long before Scipio’s continence was put more 
feverdv to the trial. Being retired in his camp, fome 
of his officers brought him a young virgin of fuch exqui- 
iite beauty, that flie drew upon her the eyes and admira¬ 
tion of every beholder. The young conqueror darted 
from his feat with confufion and furprize ; and, like one 
thunder-ftruck, feemed to be robbed of that prefence of 
mind fo neceffary in a general, and for which Scipio was 
remarkably famous. In a fe.w moments, having rallied 
his draggling 1 fpirits, he enquired of the beautiful cap¬ 
tive concerning her country, birth, and connections; and 
finding that die was betrothed to a CeltibeHan prince 
named Allucius, he ordered both him and the captive’s 
parents to be fent for. The Spanifli prince no fooner ap¬ 
peared in the prefence of Scipio, than, even before he 
ipoke to the father and mother, he took him afide and 
.addreded him in the following words : “You and I are 
young, which admits of my fpeaking to you with more 
liberty. Thofe who brought me your future lpoufe, 
allured me, at the fame time, that you loved her with 
extreme tendernefs ; and her beauty'left me no room to 
doubt it. Upon which reflecting, that if, like you, I 
had thought on making an engagement, and were not 
wholly engrofied with the affairs of my country, I fliould 
defire that fo honourable and legitimate a pailion ffiould 
find favour, I -think myfelf happy in the prelent con- 
jundture to do you this fervice. Though the fortune of 
war has made me your mailer, I defire to be your friend. 
Here is your wife : take her, and may the gods blefs you 
with' her. One thing I would have you be fully allured 
of, that fhe has been amongll us as fhe would have been 
in the houfe of her father and mother. Far be it from 
Scipio to purchase a loofe and momentary pleafure at the 
expence of virtue, honour, and the happinefs of an ho¬ 
ned man. No; I have kept her for you, in order to 
make you a prefent worthy of you to receive, and of me 
to give. The only gratitude I require for this ineftimable 
gilt is, that you will be a friend to the Roman people.” 
The circumftance which raifes Alexander the Great 
above- many conquerors, and, as it were, above himfelf, 
is the continence he heroically preferved after the battle 
of Ulus. '1 his'is the mod honourable incident in his life. 
It is the point of view in which it is his intered to be 
confldered; and it is impoflible for him not to appear 
truly great in that view. ~ By the vidlory of Ulus he be¬ 
came poflelfed of the choiced females in the Perfian em¬ 
pire ; not only Syfigambis, Darius’s mother, was his cap¬ 
tive, but alio his wile and daughters, princelfes whole 
beauty was not to be equalled again in Alia. Alexander, 
like Scipio, was in the bloom oi life,' a conqueror, free, 
Vol. V, No. z 6 o, 5 “ } } 
CON 137 
and not yet engaged in matrimony: neverthelefs, his 
camp wqs to thofe princelfes a facred afylum, or rather 
a temple, in which their chadity was fecured as under 
the guard of virtue itfelf; and fo highly revered, that 
Darius, in his expiring moments, hearing the honoura¬ 
ble treatment they had met with, could not help lifting 
up his dying hands towards heaven, and wilhing Riccels 
to fo wile and generous a conqueror, who could-govern 
his paliions at fo critical time. After the fird vilit, which 
was a refpedlful and ceremonious one, Alexander, to 
avoid expofing himfelf to the dangers of human frailty, 
made a folemn refolution never to vidt Darius’s queen 
any more. He himfelf informs Us of this memorable qir- 
cumdance, in a letter wiitten by him to Parmenio, in 
which he commanded him to put to death certain Mace¬ 
donians, who had fullied the glory ofconqued, by forcing 
the wives of fome foreign foldicrs. 
lathe reign of Chavl.es II. when incontinence was at 
great height in Britain, a yeoman of the guards refufed 
the miftrefs vif a king. The lady, who was diflatisfied 
with her royal lover, had fixed her eyes upon this man, 
and thought Ihe had no more to do than fpeak her plea¬ 
fure. Ke got out of her way. He refufed to under¬ 
hand her; and, when die prefled him further, lie faid, 
“ I am married.” The dory reached the king, with all 
its circumftances : but they who expedled an extravagant 
laugh upon the occafion, were difappointed. He fent 
for the perfon: lie found him A gentleman, though re¬ 
duced to that mean ftation ; and, “ Odds fifh, man, (fays 
he,) though I am not honed enough to be virtuous my¬ 
felf, I value them that are.” He gave him an appoint-, 
ment, and refoedled him through life. 
CONTINENT, adj. [ continens , Lat.] Clwfte , abfle- 
miotis in lawful pleafures: 
Life 
Hath tieen as continent, as chafte, as true. 
As I am now unhappy. Shakcfpearc. 
Redrained; moderate ; temperate.-—I pray you have a eo«- 
tinerit forbearance, till the fpeed of his rage grows flower. 
S/iakjpcare. —Continuous; connected.—The north-eaft 
part of Ada, if not continent with the wed fide of Ame¬ 
rica, yet certainly is the lead disjoined by fea of all that 
coad of Ada. Brerezvood. —Oppoiing ;' retraining: 
My dedre 
All continent impediments would o’erbear, 
That did oppofe my will. Shakcfpeart. 
CON'TINENT,yi ^pontinens, tat. ] Mainland. Land 
not disjoined by the lea from other lands. See Geo¬ 
graphy. 
If England’s portion of the world were rent 
By the rude ocean from the continent, 
Or thus created, it, was fare defign’d 
To be the facred refuge of mankind. Walter. 
That which contains any thing : 
O cleave, my ddes ! 
Heart, once be dronger than.thy continent! 
Crack thy frail cafe. Shakefpcare . 
I told our pilot, that pad other men 
He mod mud bear firm fpirits, iince he fway’d 
The continent, that all our fpirits convey’d. Chapman’s Odyf. 
Ground in general.—She threw herfelf downe on the 
continent. Spcnfer. 
The carc'as with the ftreame was carried downe. 
But the head fell backeward on the continent. Spenjc 
To CQNTIN'GE, v.n. [contingo , Eat.] To touch; t ; s 
reach; to happen. 
CONTIN'GENCE, or Contin'gency, J. The qua 
lity of being fortuitous; accidental pofijbility.—Aridotle 
fays, we are not to build certain rules upon tile contingency 
of human actions. South. 
N n 
For 
