Vor. TV. 
nity was celebrated among us, which 
is known by the name, of CN Reis ; 
riorum *, nothing was omitted which boys, 
in that feftivity, are accuftomed to per- 
form. For when our parents had fet 
before us the rewards propofed for the 
conreft of finging veries, both a multi-. 
tude of veries ‘of many poets were recited, 
and many of us efpecially fung the po- 
ems of Solon, becaule they were at chat 
time entirely new. But. then, one of our 
tribe, whether he was willing to gratify 
Critias, Pewhether itiwas his, réal opi+ 
nion, afirmed that Solon 
him moft wife in other concerns ; and, 
in things refpeéting poctry, the moft in- 
genious of all poets.’ Upon hearing this, 
the old man (for I very well remember) 
was vehemently deiighted ; and faid, 
laughing,—‘ If Solon, O Amynander ! 
had not engaged in pctrv as a cafual af- 
fair, but h anasle it, as others do, a fe- 
rious employment; and if, through fe- 
‘ditions and other Raceatcien: of the ftate, 
in. which he found his country involved, 
he had not been compelled to negleét the 
completion of the hiftory which he 
brought from Egypt, | do not think thar 
either Hefiod or Homer, or any ether 
poet, would haye acquired greater glory 
and renown. In comfequence of this, 
Amynander enguired of Critias what 
that hiftory was. To which he anfwer- 
ed, ‘ that it was conce erning an affair, the 
oreatelt and moft. celebrated which “his 
city (Athens) ever performed ; though, 
through length of time, and the defiruc 
ton ot thefe: by whom it was eens 

* The Apsturia, according to Proclus’ and 
Suidas, were feftivals in honour of Kacchus, 
which were publicly celebrated. for the ipace of 
three days. And they were afligned this name, 
: anaryy, that is, on account of the deception 
throuch which Neptune is reported to have 
vanquifhed Xanthus. The firft day of thefe 
feftivals was called doze, in which, as the 
name indicates, thofe of the fame tribe feafted 
together ; ana hence (fays Proclus) on this 
day, euwyiat 4 dere TAKE, fplendid banquets 
and much feafting took place ‘The fecond day 
was called evuppucicy a facrifice, becaule many 
victims were facrificed in it; and hence the vic- 
tims were called ayappupraray hecauie eovopreve 
ery EextUETO, they were drawn upwards, and [a- 
crifued, The third day, of which Plato {peaks 
in this place, was called xoyc:w7ns, becaule on 
this day xovex, that is, boys or girls, were col- 
deéted together in tribes, withtheir hair thorn. 
And to this fome add a fourth day, which they 
call exiGde, or the day after. Proclus farther 
informs us, that the boys who were colie¢ted on 
the third day were about three or four years-old, 
Complete Tranflation of Plate’ s Atlantic 
appear Saco 
Hiftory. 521 
the fame of its preciugr has not reach- 
edthe prefentage.’--‘ But, I befeech you, 
Ctitias (lays Aviynander) relate rhis af- 
fair from che bev inning ; and inform me. 
what that event was w Rich Solon afferred 
ay a fact, and on w hat occafion and from 
whom he received it.’ 
‘There is then (jays he) a certain re- 
gion of Fgypr called Delta, about the 
umimit of which the ftreams of the Nile 
are divided, In this place a govern. 
ment ts cftab ifhed, called Saitical, and 
the chicf city of this region of Delta is 
Sais, from, which alfo ki ing Amafis de- 
rived his origin. This cicty has a pre- 
hiding divinity, whofe name is, 1m the 
Hegyptian tongue, Neith, and in the 
Greek, Athena or I AUGER Lhete nen 
were friends of the Athenians, witts 
whom they declared they were familiar, 
through a certain bond of alliance: In 
this country Solon, on his arrival sane 
was, as he himfelf relates, very, honour- 
ably received ; and, upon his enquiring 
about ancient affairs of thofe priclts who 
poffeffed a knowledge in fuch particu- 
hi s fuperior to others, he perceiv ved that 
neither himiclf, nor any one of the 
Greeks (as. he himfelf declared) had any 
knowledge of very remote antiquity. 
Hence, when he was defired to excite 
them to the relation of ancient tran{fac- 
tions, he, for this purpofe, began to dif= 
courfe about thofe moft ancient’ events 
whch former rly happened among us; F 
mean the traditions concerning ¢ ‘the firft 
Pheroneus oad Niobe,‘ and, afrer’ the 
deluge, of Deucalion and Pyrtha (as de- 
{eribed by the Mythologifts, together with“ 
their pofterity ; at the rine time paying 
a proper attention to the different ages 
in which thefe events are faid- to have 
fubfified. 
‘But, upon this, one of thofe more an- 
cient priefts exclaimed, **O Solon! Solcn! 
you Greeks are always children, nor is 
there any fuch thing as an aged Grecian 
among you.” But Solon, when he heard 
thi. ; © What (fays he) is the motive of 
your ee aoe 2”? To whom the prieft, 
—“ Becaufe. all your fouls are juvenile ; 5 
neither containing any ancient opinion 
derived from remote tradition, nor any 
difcipline hoary from its exiftence in for- 
mer periods of time, But the reafon of 
this 1s the multitude and variety of de- 
ftruétions of the human race, which for- 
merly have been, and again, will be: the 
greareft of thefe, indeed, arifing from fire 
and water ; but the leffer from ten thou- 
fand other’ contingencies, © For the rela- 
tion fubfiting among you, that Phaéton, 
32 the 
