106 
that of Referved Knowledge. The firft 
figure, fitting with the fcroll on his lap, ap- 
pears (by the doGtrine of eclipfes, the tropi- 
cal and polar divifions, and the mode of cal- 
culating altitudes by the lengths of propor- 
tionate fhadows, infcribed on it) to be Thales, 
who is faid to have firft diffeminated this 
knowledge in Greece, and who is looking at 
a.demonftration of more improved geometry, 
pointed out by Des Cartes, on which alfo Ar- 
chimedes is looking with great attention,— 
The figure fitting below is the admirable Friar 
Bacon, juft opening his Opus Majus, and in 
deep converfation with Bifhop Grouthead, 
who feems pointing or referring to fomething _ 
in that work. Even independent of Grout~- 
head’s commendable zeal for melioration and 
the removal of abufes, which occafioned him 
fo much conteft, there was reafon enough to 
entitle him to a place ia Elyfium as the friend 
of Bacon, whofe patronage followed him inall 
fortunes: it is indeed an argument of no 
imall virtue in ‘the great to be able to fup- 
prefs thofe felfith vanities and difpofitions 
which but too often accompany and enfeeble 
their friendthips for men of great talents.— 
The figures above Thales are Lord Baccn,Co- 
pernicus, Gallileo,. and Newton, whe, not-* 
withftanding all their knowledge here below, 
behold now with admiration and aftonifhment 
what is difcovered and pointed out by the an- 
gelic or fuperior intelligence on unveiling the 
real fyfem of things. On the {mall flip 
which unites this with the next print, the 
two truly-chriftian works under the elbow of 
the ever-admirable Las Cafas, and the, band- 
age or inftrument of acknowledgment for the 
pawn of the jewels which fo werthily binds 
on and is fufpended from the crown on the 
head of Ifabella of Caftile, whoappears talk- 
ing with Columbus in the next print: near 
Aer is Ma#illan, the firft circumnavigator, 
holding the chart of his voyage. ‘The figure 
yiext to Columbus in the next printis Epami- 
x ondas, with the famous oblique movement 
inicribed on his fhield, by which intelleétual 
fkx1l became fuperior to mere bodily force in. 
th t memorable battle of Leuétra, where the 
fer.dcious power of the Spartans (fo often un- 
juft.ly and ill-exercifed) was fo happily hum- 
bled.. Next to this heroic Theban comman- 
der, (fo eminent for foldierfhip, philofophy, 
patric ‘tifm, and all the endearing, interefting 
virtue.3 that adorn private Jife,) Socrates, in 
his own gracefuily-familiar, cogent way, is 
explaining fomething to J. Brotus, M. Ca- 
to, Sir Thomas More, and M. Brutus, which 
la holds imhis lap the Treatife he wrote on 
the {ufficiency of virtue. It does honour to 
the h ead and heart of Swift, in his account of 
Glulsdubdribb, where hementiens this Sextum- 
irat.t, to diftinguifh as he has done between 
the y ounger and the elder Cato. From the 
one le tter of this younger Cato, which is hap- 
pily p teferved in the Colleétion of Cicero’s, 
and the interview with him in Lucullus’s 
Letter from Mr. Barry. 
‘[ Sept. rt, 
library, mentioned in the Tufculan Difpu- 
tations, even from thefe we fee enough to 
enamour us with the fweet. and graceful af- 
femblage of virtues in the charaéter of this 
illuftrious Roman}; one cannot without the 
“moft heartfelt fatisfattion, fee the extreme 
politenefs and delicacy which he employs even 
in the exercife of the highef and moft effen- 
tial virtues: how truly ‘would Dryden’s tri- 
plet apply here: 
<¢ Firm Doric pillars form his manly bafe, 
The fair Corinthian fills the higher {pace ; 
Thus all below is ftrength, and all ie is 
grace.” 
I cannot, will not, deny myfelf the pleafure 
of the refle€tions which occur in running 
over the arrangement of fuch characters, 
however the mere narration might be inter- 
rupted by it 3 fuch interruption is one of the 
grand advantages refulting from the employ- 
ment of fach matter, I fhall therefore allow 
myfelf further to advert alfo to the medals : 
which he caufed to be ftruck on different oc- 
cafions, confecrated to Rome, to Minerva, ta 
Jupiter, where the abfence of his own por- 
trait on any of them, exhibits him fo com- 
pletely to our view, as to leave nothing for 
regret, except the fatal imperfection of the ~ 
philofophy he followed, which, by its for- 
getfulnefs of the neceflary refignation and 
dependance of the creature upon the divine 
will of its Creator,”rafhly prefumed to open 
the door, and to go out of exiftence before 
the grand bufinefs of the completion of vir- 
tue was exhibited in all its poflible exemplary 
views. Stoical pride apart, what had Cato 
to fear from even a worfe man than Cefar, 
armed with the whole power of the warld? 
With the happy advantage of Chriftian prin- 
ciples, which would comport fo admirabiy 
with ail Cato’s other virtues, what could 
have prevented his ating and fuffering in 
the manner becoming himielf, whilft God 
Almiglity chufed to preferve and hold him 
cut as an example profitable in all fituations ? 
If we thould fuppofe that fomething like this 
imperfe€tion -of ftoicifm was the fubject on 
which Socrates was difcourfing, which his 
own patient example would well warrant, ~ 
there can be no doubt but his hearers would 
now moft heartily affent to it. Shaftefbury, 
Joha Locke, and Zeno, with two Veftals, 
are in the range above this Sextumvirate— 
The next is Ariftotle, looking at the group 
of the more perfeét legiflators in the next 
print, to which Plato is pointing. Dr. Har- 
vey and Hippocrates come next. Overhead 
Angels are incenfing, and as it were inter- 
ceding and fupplying the deficiency in the 
more imperfeé legiflators, Bramha, Confu- 
cius, Mango Capac, &c. whom they are pre-= 
ives. and they make part of a group which 
extends into the next print, confifting of 
Grotius, Barneveldt, Bifhop- Berkley, Benja- 
min Franklin, Hither Paul-of Venice, Cardi- 
nal Pole, Mariana, Bithop Chichle, and 
Pope 
