ATTICA. 
5 ! f> 
fend. The Peloponnefians burnt a part of the town, by 
means of bundles of (ticks, to which they fet fire. On 
the other hand, the belieged neglected no expedient to 
fruftrate the various attempts of the enemy. But the 
mod' furprifingcircumftance of all is, thatfo fmall a place 
as Platea, which contained no more than 400 inhabitants, 
and eighty Athenians, was capable of making fo vigorous 
a refifiance againft a powerful army. The enemy at laft 
changed the liege into a blockade, and furrounded the 
ton n with two ditches. The Boeotians were left to guard 
thefe entrenchments, and the bulk of the army marched 
away. About the fame time the Athenians were beaten 
in an engagement by the Chalcidians, a people of Thrace, 
and purfued to the very gates of Athens. But their vic¬ 
tory at Naupadus made amends for that difafter. Phor- 
mion attacked, near the place, a Peloponnelian fleet of 
forty-fix velfels, took twelve of them, and put the reft 
to flight, and entered Athens in triumph. Brafidas and 
Cnenius, two Spartan officers, having failed againft Sala- 
mis with a fleet of forty vefl'els, made a def'cent upon that 
iiland, and laid it wafte. 
In the year 429 B.C. died Pericfes. Plutarch fays he 
was taken off by the plague. Other authors write, that 
lie was worn out by a languifhing confumption. It is rei 
ported of him, that a little while before his death, on 
hearing fome of his friends extolling his victories, (for lie 
had erected no fewer than nine trophies,) he told them, 
that they had overlooked a more glorious circumftance 
ftill, namely, that lie had never, on any private perfonal 
account, given caufe to a Angle fellow-citizen to wear 
mourning. His death was univerfally regretted by the 
Athenians. He was unqueftionably one of the greateft 
men that Athens ever produced ; having difplayed on all 
occafions uncommon magnanimity, and (hewn himfelf per¬ 
fectly qualified for every office that he undertook. The 
abfolute power that he enjoyed in this republic for the 
/pace of forty years, was w holly attained by his admirable 
eloquence, which was fo powerful, as to triumph even 
over the prejudices and paflions of his oppofers, and to 
bring them over to his views, the perfection of that admi¬ 
rable talent. Athens flouriftied while Pericles held the 
helm of government. 
Although no oration of his own compofing has reached 
to our times, yet, from the effeCts of his eloquence, and 
what is reported of it by hiftorians, he may be juftly plac¬ 
ed at the head of the Grecian orators. By Cicero’s ac¬ 
count, it was he that introduced into Athens a tafte for 
perfect eloquence. He had learned of Anaxagoras all 
the principles of perfuafion ; and his own genius directed 
him to employ thofe principles to the greateft advantage. 
On account of the force and vehemence of his declama¬ 
tion, he was laid to thunder and lighten ; and to denote 
the beauty of his language, and his ftrength of argument, 
the goddefs of perfualion, with all her graces, was faid to 
dwell on his lips. It was this power of eloquence that 
enabled him boldly to oppofe the urireafonable defires of 
the Athenians ; preferred to him, for the fpace of forty 
years, an abfolute power among that 1110ft fickle and 
capricious people ; and procured him fuch vaft influence 
over their minds, that he changed even their fyftem of 
government at his pleafure, and erected Attica into a kind 
of monarchy, of which his own extraordinary merit ren¬ 
dered him, in effect, the king. But lie ufed his extenfive 
authority with Inch lenity and moderation, and conducted 
himfelf with fuch extreme caution and referve, as to pre¬ 
vent his adminiftration from wearing the appearance of 
tyranny. His talents for war were univerfally acknow¬ 
ledged. He depended more on ftratageni than on defperate 
courage. His application of the large revenues of the 
ftate proves him to have been a man of the mod refined 
tafte, a lover ot real glory, and far above any fordid views 
ot felf-intereft. He employed them in what he conceived 
to be the good of the commonwealth, in promoting the 
liberal arts, and in decorating and ornamenting the city. 
As a ftatefman, his conduit affords a moft inftruitive 
pattern to all who apply to public bufmefs. His life was 
totally exempted from the finalleff tincture of dillipation. 
He ffudied with unremitting affiduity the affairs of. the 
commonwealth, and underftood every branch of them 
with the utmoft precifion. He managed the revenues with 
irreproachable difintereftednefs fo far as refpeited his pri¬ 
vate fortune : and his public expenditure, for which he 
has been fo harfhly cenfured by fome rigid hiftorians, fur- 
nifhes incontrovertible proof of elevated fentiments, and 
an elegant taffe. His decorations of the city difplayed all 
that was beautiful and fublime in fculpture and in archi- 
teflure; and, by the encouragement beftowed on men of 
diftinguiftied genius, he rendered Athens the refidence of 
all the fine arts. 
Anaxagoras the philofopher died the fame year, and 
before his fcholar, in extreme poverty. It is reported, 
that when Pericles was informed of his lituation, and ot 
the refohition he had formed of ffarving himfelf to death, 
he went to fee him with an intention to diffnade him from 
his defign. But Anaxagoras anfwered him in thefe words: 
“ Thofe, who need the light of a lamp, take care to feed 
it with oil.” Inlimiating, that, though Pericles had taken 
care of his fortune while lie had occasion for his inftruc- 
tion, yet, when that purpofe was ferved, he had fuffered 
him to languish in poverty. 
The Peloponnefians now ravaged Attica for the third 
time. All the inhabitants of Lelbos, thole of Methvmne 
alone excepted, refolved to break their alliance with At¬ 
tica. The Athenians, fenfible how great a lofs to their 
affairs the defection of this iiland would be, fent out a 
fleet of forty gallies to attack that of the Mitvlenians, 
who, on being repulled, propofed terms of accommoda¬ 
tion which were liffened to by the Athenians. A fufpen- 
fion of hoffilities being agreed on, the Mitylenians dif- 
patched ambafl’adors both to Athens and to Lacedemoti 
at the fame time. The ambaffadors were told by the La¬ 
cedemonians, that they ffiould be fully heard at the ap¬ 
proaching Olympic games, where the other allies would 
have an opportunity of affiffing at the conference. Thu¬ 
cydides has tranfniitted to tis the import of what was 
urged by thofe ambairadors ; from which we learn, that 
they admitted the treaty anciently concluded between the 
Lefbians and Athenians, and affigned the ambition of the 
latter, not their prefent misfortunes, as the reafon that 
induced them now to relinquifh that treaty. The allies 
were fatisfied with their reafons, and admitted them into 
their confederacy. It was likewife refolved in this affem- 
bly, to profecute the war more vigoroully than ever againft 
the Athenians; who, receiving information of the great 
preparations making' againft them, fitted out a fleet of 
100 fail, appeared unexpeCfedly off the promontory of 
the ifthmus of Corinth, and made a defeent upon the 
Peloponnefe, while another fleet protefted the coafis of 
Attica. Never had they raifed fo formidable an armament 
before ; and it fo overawed the Lacedemonians, that they 
hurried back to the defence of their own country. The 
Athenians, in the mean time, pufhed on the fiege of Mi- 
tylene, whither they fent a detachment of 1000 foldiers, 
and the town was blocked up both by lea and land. The 
inhabitants receiving no afliftance from the Lacedemonians, 
and being preffed by famine, were obliged to furrender 
at diferetion. The authors of the revolt, to the numbei; 
of more than 1000, were conveyed to Athens and put to 
death. Orders were at the fame time iffued to maffacre 
the reft of the inhabitants, by way of example. But the 
people, fhocked at fuch horrible cruelty, caufed the de¬ 
cree to be revoked, and difpatched counter-orders ; which 
luckily arrived at the inftant they were proceeding to put 
the firft in execution. Then the town was difmantled, 
and the whole territory of the ifland, except Methymne 
alone, was divided by lot among the inhabitants of Athens. 
Let us now look back to the fiege of Platea. The be. 
fieged, having loft all hope of fuccour, refolved to attempt 
to make their efcape out of the town; which about one 
half of them having effected by a very daring ftratagem, 
fuggefted 
