750 ' LU C R 
trembling, murmured like the wind in the foreft. In the 
mean time, a female fhadeappeared, who advanced clothed 
in a white veil, defirous of drawing attention by her tears 
and her expreffions of grief. She now plunged into the 
thickeft of the crowd, and now appeared out of it, like 
the moon among the clouds ; when the multitude, which 
the had difturbed, leaving an opening, fne remained dif- 
tinfl in the midft, and hopped. Through the tranfpa- 
rent veil which defcended to her feet, was feen her lovely 
form, like a rofe clothed in morning dew ; but fuddenly 
rending it from a new impulfe of anger, (lie difcovered the 
whitenefs of her well-formed (houlders and her heaving 
bofom, upon which, however, with mcdeft repentance, 
the held with her right-hand the difordered veil, leaving 
a great part of her figure uncovered. She call down her 
weeping eyes; anguifh was painted upon her forehead, 
from which the thick golden hair fell upon her fnowy 
limbs. How the heart is chilled by the fight of beauty in 
diftrefs! As I looked upon her, I already felt the thrill 
of foft companion run through my limbs, when my atten¬ 
tion was drawn by a general whifper, which repeated the 
name of Lucretia. Pomponius, not difturbed by the tu¬ 
mult, nor by the fame of fo illultriousa woman, approach¬ 
ing her, thus intrepidly continued: “O celebrated con- 
fort of Collatinus, do not be offended at my conjefrures 
concerning thee, fince they arile, not from hatred to thee, 
but from love for truth. Now thou mayeft thyfelf declare 
it, after fo many ages of uncertain opinion.” Then the 
lady raifed her difconfolate countenance, and turned to¬ 
wards him who queftioned her her mournful eyes. She 
panted for breath, (lie trembled, and angui(h feemed to 
choke her utterance. A mournful filence prevailed in the 
air: the crowd, waiting in an attitude of aftonifliment, 
expefled to hear from her fome interefting information ; 
filch is the attention of the audience when a (kilful mufi- 
cian is ready to delight them with his harmonious voice. 
But the lady remained in that diftrefsful fituation, as if 
unable to fpeak, or as if doubtful which of the many 
words that crowded to her lips (lie (liould utter or retain. 
At length, in an humble manner, (he bowed her head 
upon her delicate bread; and, as if overcome with grief, 
'threw lierfelf upon a tomb. Ail hope of hearing her 
being now not only deluded, but extinguilhed, Tullius 
thus broke filence : “ I do not.know, my Atticus, why 
thou now takeft pleafure to offend this lady with thy fe- 
vere words, though, when amongft us, they flowed fo 
mildly from thy lips. Certainly lilence and darknefs are 
not the only teftimonies of the infults (lie buffered 5 but 
the magnanimous penalty (he inflicted on herfelf is a de- 
monftration of her innocence. Neither her bed nor her 
thoughts were contaminated by the royal licentioufnefs ; 
her body only was defiled by it ; in which, as being pro¬ 
faned, this chafte fpirit difdained afterwards to dwell. 
See the deep wound in her beauteous bofom, the pure afy- 
lum of lovely children. Is not the fword by which it 
was torn fufficient to deftroy calumny ?” Atticus an- 
fwered : “ Although it be a bold attempt to difpute with 
thee, O father of the Roman eloquence, yet we are at 
length permitted to judge here of human affairs without 
the confinement of timid opinion ; and, as thou defended, 
with wonderful art and eloquence, not only the innocent, 
but the guilty, fo here thou fpeakeft decidedly on a very 
■uncertain fubjeft. I freely declare, that her (lory feems 
■very improbable.” Marcus Brutus was grieved at thefe 
words, recollecting that Junius Brutus, from whom he 
was defcended, took the yet-reeking dagger from her ba- 
fom, and promoted the levere and memorable revenge. 
But Atticus continued :—“ For (lie was not threatened 
with death, according to her own account, by a cruel 
lover, againft whom her complaints would have been vain, 
but in her hufband’s houfe, full of (laves and relations, 
and for the fimplicity of thofe times magnificent. Sextus, 
it feems, threatened to lay a dead (lave by her fide, as an 
ignominious proof of her guilt 5 yet it is evident that fuch 
a crime was difficult to be executed, and eafy to be pre- 
E T I A. 
vented by loud and defperate cries. I am forry, for thg 
fake of her reputation, that in that hateful trial llie (liould 
imagine the beft way to efcape infamy, was to comply 
with the will of her lover. A furprifing docility this, in 
a pattern of Chaftity, to refrain not only from defending 
herfelf, but from calling for afliftance in that diftrefling 
fituation ! An aftonifliing determination to contaminate 
her bed, and then purify it with her own blood ! Nor 
was the royal youth deformed or difagreeable, but liand- 
fome and valiant : he was courteoufly received by her ; he 
fat down with her to the focial fupper, and was afterwards 
conduced by the (laves to the hofpitable chamber. O thy 
childi(h fimplicity, that in harbouring that gueft, in whofe 
eyes female penetration mult have feen the flames of de¬ 
fire, thou didft not fallen thy chamber ! Nor hadft thou 
near thee any inaid-fervant; fo that the midnight traitor, 
like the moft favoured lover, came unoppofed to the altar 
of thy faith, ill-defended by frail virtue 1” Here Brutus 
interrupted: “Why then did (lie reveal with infamy, 
what (he might have denied with honour, and concealed 
with grateful impunity ? Could there be a more foolifti 
refolution, than to excite a fatal quarreL againft the lover? 
She alone was her own voluntary accufer, and the infti- 
gator of vengeance againft her perlidiqus raviflier. Had 
(he yielded unreluClantly to the embraces of the youthful 
feducer, what madnefs more improbable, than to accufe 
herfelf, to kill herfelf, while love alone, filent, and fatif- 
fied, was privy to the fecrets of the night?” Pomponius 
quietly replied : “ Thofe who lived in thofe times, know 
that Sextus was a vain-glorious young man, who, inftead 
of concealing his fuccefs in love-intrigues, (hamelefsly 
boalted of it. It is all'o known from hiltory, that he un¬ 
dertook to conquer her virtue for the fake of laughing at 
Collatinus, who held it up as a model, and invincible. 
Proud, therefore, of this difficult triumph, he was eager 
to difplay it in derifion of the credulous hufoatid. When 
the intoxication of illicit pleafure was removed from the 
lady’s mind, (lie perceived herfelf to be on the brink of a 
precipice, and refolved to die illuftrious by a falfehood, 
rather than live to inevitable and infamous puniftiment.” 
Then Brutus turned towards her, and faid : “Thou, who 
in life revealedft the fecret difgrace, why doll thou not 
now fpeak, and at once put thy detractors to filence ?” 
Alas, at this invitation, I faw tears flow from her difcon¬ 
folate eyes, which wiping away with her veil, (lie after¬ 
wards concealed her features with it entirely, as if to pre¬ 
vent their being fuffufed with painful blufties; (lie then 
fat down in affliction upon the ground, hid her face with 
both her hands, and reded it on her knees, as overwhelm¬ 
ed with mifery. The furrounding (hades looked at each 
other with mutual aftonifliment at that filence; and Brutus 
with a compafiionate voice, added : “ O unhappy, if 
thou wert innocent, and art not by fome unknown fate 
deprived of fpeech, whence fufferelt thou the new jnfult 
of being accufed, and art unable to fpeak freely in thy 
own defence !” Hearing this, (lie rofe updn diftrefs, and 
leemed to declare that (he was dumb from a celeltiai de¬ 
cree ; on which account Brutus, confoling her, concluded : 
“ If thou wert frail in that night for ever doubtful, thou 
becameft magnanimous the following day, and mayell 
boaft of having, by thy ftriking example, founded our li¬ 
berty.” While he went on with foothing words, relating 
the banifhment of the kings, the glorious vengeance, the 
illuftrious events that fucceeded, her eyes feemed .joyful 
as (he liltened to him, and her countenance lefs melan¬ 
choly, as the fky is refrellied by the breath of the zephyr. 
She then difappeared, leaving every mind in the fame un¬ 
certainty as at firft, concerning her reputation. The 
crowd in the mean time difputed with various opinions, 
concerning that event, over which was fpread the veil of 
time, and the impenetrable filence of love.” 
LUCRET'ILIS, now Libretti , a mountain in the country 
of the Sabines, hanging over a pleafant valley, near which 
the houfe and farm of Horace were fituate. 
LUCRETIUS. Titus Lucretius Carus, an eminent 
Latin 
