JUSTICE. 
5^6 
confitiers the public money as facred. In fine, he fucceeded 
in what is equally difficult and extraordinary, viz. to ac¬ 
quire the love of all in an office in which he who efcapes 
the public odium gains a great point. Such is the glori¬ 
ous character which Seneca gives of a perfon charged with 
an employment of almolt the fame kind, and the nobleft 
eulogium that can be given to i'uch as adminifter public 
revenues. It is the exact piClure of Ariftides. He difco- 
vered fo much probity and wifdom in tire exercife of this 
office, that no man complained; and thofe times were 
confidered ever after as the golden age ; that is, the period 
in which Greece had attained the higheft pitch of virtue 
and happinefs. 
While he was treafurer-general of the republic, he made 
it appear that his predeceifors in that office had cheated 
the (late of vail fums of money, and among the relt The- 
miftpclesin particular: for this reafon, when Arillides came 
to pafs his account, Themillocles railed a mighty faClion 
againff him, accufed him of having embezzled the public 
treafure, and prevailed fo far as to have iiirn condemned 
and fined. But, the principal inhabitants, and the moll 
virtuous part of the citizens, rifing up againll fo unjuft 
a fentence, not only the judgment was reverfed and the 
fine remitted, but he was elected treafurer again for the 
year enfuing. He then feemed to repent of his former 
adminiftration ; and, by ffiowing himfelf more traCtable 
and indulgent towards others, he found out the fecret of 
pleafing all that plundered the commonwealth; for, as he 
neither reproved them nor narrowly infpeCted their ac¬ 
counts, ali thefe plunderers, grown fat with lpoil and ra¬ 
pine, now extolled Ariftides to the Ikies. It would have 
been eafy for him, as we perceive, to have enriched him¬ 
felf in a poll of that nature, which feems, as it were, to 
invite a man to it by the many favourable opportunities 
it lays in his way ; efpecially as he had to do with officers, 
who for their part were intent upon nothing but robbing 
the public, and would have been ready to conceal the 
frauds of the treafurer their mailer, upon condition he 
did them the fame favour. Thefe very officers now made 
intereft with the people to have him continued a third 
year in the fame employment: but when the time of elec¬ 
tion was come, juft as they were on the point of dealing 
Ariftides unanimoully, lie rofe up, and warmly reproved 
the Athenian people: “What! (fays he,) when I ma¬ 
naged your treafure with all the fidelity and diligence an 
lioneft man is capable of, I met with the mod cruel treat¬ 
ment, and the moll mortifying returns ; and now that I 
have abandoned it to the mercy of thefe robbers of the 
republic, I am an admirable man and the bell of citizens ! 
I cannot help declaring to you, that I am more affiamed 
of the honour you do me this day, than I was of the con¬ 
demnation you palled againll me this time twelve-months; 
and with grief I find that it is more glorious with us to 
be complaifant to knaves than to fave the treafuresof the 
republic.” By this declaration he iilenced the public plun¬ 
derers, and gained the elleem of all good men. 
3. Ariftides being judge between two private perfons, 
one of them declared, that his adverfary had greatly in¬ 
jured Ariftides. “Relate rather, good friend, (laid he, 
interrupting him.) what wrong he hath done thee ; for it 
is thy caufe, not mine, that I now fit judge of.”—Again : 
Being defired by Simonides', a poet of Chios, who had a 
caufe to try fie fore him, to ftretch a point in his favour, 
he replied, “As you would not be a good poet if your 
lines ran contrary to the juft ineafures and rules of your 
art; fo I ffiould neither be a good judge nor an lioneft 
man if I decided aught in oppofition to law and juftice.” 
4. When Charles duke of Burgundy, furnamed the Bold , 
reigned over fpacious dominions, now fwallowed up by 
the power of France, he heaped many favours and honours 
■upon Claudius Rynfault, a German, who had lerved him 
in his wars againll the infults of his neighbours. The 
prince himfelf was a perfon of lingular humanity and juf¬ 
tice ; and, being prepolfelfed in favour of Rynfault, upon 
the dectafe of the governor of the chief town of Zealand 
gave him that command. He was not long feated in that 
government before he call his eyes upon Sapphira, a wo¬ 
man of exquifite beauty, the wife of Paul Danvelt, a 
wealthy merchant of the city under his protection and go¬ 
vernment. Rynfault was a man of a warm conftitution, 
and violent inclination to women. He knew what it was 
to enjoy the fatisfaCtions which are reaped from the pof- 
feffion of beauty; but was an utter llranger to the decen¬ 
cies, honours, and delicacies, that attend the paffion to¬ 
ward them in elegant minds. He could with his tongua 
utter a paffion with which his heart was wholly untouched. 
In ffiort, he was one of thofe brutal minds which can be 
gratified with the violation of innocence and beauty, with¬ 
out the leaft pity, paffion, or love, for that with which 
they are fo much delighted. 
Rynfault, being relolved to accotnplifh his will on the 
wife of Danvelt, left no arts untried to get into a fami¬ 
liarity at her houfe ; but fire knew his character and dif- 
pofition too well not to ffiun all occafions that might en- 
irtare her into his converfktion. The governor, defpair- 
ing of fuccefs by ordinary means, apprehended and im- 
pril’oned her hulband, under pretence of an information 
that he was guilty of a correfpondence with the enemies 
of the duke to betray the town into their polfeffion. This 
delign had its defired effeCt; and the wife of the unfor¬ 
tunate Danvelt, the day before that which was appointed 
for his execution, prelented herfelf in the hall of the go¬ 
vernor’s houfe, and as he palled through the apartment 
threw herfelf at his feet, and, holding his knees, befought 
his mercy. Rynfault beheld her with adiffembled fatisfac- 
tion ; and, afluming an air of thought and authority, he 
bade her rife, and told her Hie inuft follow him to his clo- 
fet; and, afking her whether file knew the hand of the 
letter he pulled out of his pocket, went from her, leaving 
this admonition aloud: “If you would fave your huf- 
band, you mull give me an account of all you know, 
without prevarication; for every body is fatisfied that he 
is too fond of you to be able to hide from you the names 
of the reft of the confpirators, or any other particulars 
whatfoever.” He went to his clofet, and foon after the 
lady was fent for to an audience. The fervants knew their 
diftance when matters of ftate were to be debated ; and the 
governor, laying afide the air with which he had appeared 
in public, began to be the fupplicant, and to rally an af¬ 
fliction which it was in her power eafiiy to remove. She 
eafily perceived his intention; and, bathed in tears, be¬ 
gan to deprecate fo wicked a delign. But he fignined to 
her, in lb many plain terms, that he was unhappy till he 
pofl'elfed her, and nothing lefs ffiould be the price of her 
hu(band’s life; and that (he mult, before the following noon, 
pronounce the death or enlargement of Danvelt. After 
this notification, when he faw Sapphira enough diftraCted 
to make the fubjeCt of their difcourfe to common eyes ap¬ 
pear different from what it was, he called his fervants to 
conduct her to the gate. Loaded with infupportable afflic¬ 
tion, Hie immediately repaired to her hulband, and, haying 
flgnified to the gaolers that file had a propolal to make to 
her hulband from the governor, the was left alone with him, 
revealed to him all that had palled, and reprefented the 
endlefs conflict flie was in between love to his perfon and 
fidelity to his Bed. It is eafy to imagine the fharp afflic¬ 
tion this honeft pair were in upon I'uch an incident, in. 
lives not ufed to any but ordinary occurrences. The man 
was bridled by fliame from fpeaking what his fear prompt¬ 
ed upon fo near an approach of death ; but let fail words 
that flgnified to her, he fliould not think her polluted, 
though flie had confeffed to him that the governor had vi¬ 
olated her perlon, lince he knew her will had no part in 
the aClion. She parted from him with this oblique per- 
miffion, to lave a life he had not refolution enough to re- 
fign for the fafety of his honour. The next morning the 
unhappy Sapphira attended the governor, and, being led 
into a remote apartment, fubmitred to his delires. Ryn¬ 
fault commended her charms ; claimed a familiarity after 
what had palled between them 3 and with an air of gaiety,. 
3 
