: obtained the glorious furname of the Juft; a title, fays Plutarch, truly diyine but of which princes are feldom ambitious, becaule generally ignorant of its beauty and excellency. They choose rather to be called the conquerors of cities and the thunderbolts of war, preferring the vain honour of pompous titles, which convey no other idea than violence and flaughter, to the folid glory of thofe expreffive of goodness and virtue. How much Ariftides deferved the title given him, will appear in the following inftances; though it ought to be obferved, that he acquired it not by one or two particular actions, but by the whole tenor of his conduct. Themistocles having conceived the defign of fupplanting the Lacedemonians, and of taking the government of Greece out of their hands, in order to put it into thofe of the Athenians, kept his eye and his thoughts continually fixed upon that great project; and as he was not very nice or fcrupulous in the choice of his meafures, whatever tended toward the accomplishing of the end he had in view he looked upon as just and lawful. On a certain day then he declared in a full affembly of the people, that he had a very important defign to propofe; but that he could not communicate it to the people, because its fuccefs required it should be carried on with the greateft fecrecy: he therefore defired they would appoint a perfon to whom he might explain himself upon the matter in queftion. Ariftides was unanimously fixed upon by the whole affembly, who referred themfelves entirely to his opinion of the affair; fo great a confidence had they both in his probity and prudence. Themiftocles, therefore, having taken him afide, told him that the defign he had conceived was to burn the fleet belonging to the rest of the Grecian states, which then lay in a neighbouring port; and by this means Athens would certainly become miftrefs of all Greece. Ariftides hereupon returned to the affembly, and only declared to them, that indeed nothing could be more advantageous to the commonwealth than Themiftocles' project, but that at the fame time nothing in the world could be more unjuft. All the people unanimoufly ordained that Themiftocles fhould entirely defift from his projec. There is not perhaps in all hiftory a fact more worthy of admiration than this. It is not a company of philofophers (to whom it costs nothing to eftablifh fine maxims and fublime no tions of morality in the fchool) who determine on this occafion that the confideration of profit and advantage, ought never to prevail in preference to what is honeft and just; but the whole people who are highly interested in the propofal made to them, that are convinced it is of the greatest importance to the welfare of the ftate, and who, however, reject it with unanimous confent, and without a moment's hesitation; and for this only reafon, that it is contrary to justice. How black and perfidious, on the other hand, was the defign which Themiftocles propofed to them, of burning the fleet of their Grecian confederates at a time of entire peace, folely to aggrandize the power of the Athenians! Had he a hundred times the merit ascribed to him, this fingle action would be fufficient to fully all! his glory; for it is the heart, that is to fay, integrity and probity, which conftitutes and diftinguishes true merit. The government of Greece having paffed from Sparta to the Athenians, it was thought proper under this new government to lodge in the island of Delos the common treafure of Greece; to fix new regulations with regard to the public money; and to lay fuch a tax as might be regulated according to the revenue of each city and state, in order that the expences being equally borne by the feveral individuals who compofed the body of the allies, no one might have reafon to murmur. The difficulty was to find a perfon of fo honeft and incorrupt a mind, as to discharge faithfully an employment of fo delicate and dangerous a kind, the due administration of which fo nearly concerned the public welfare. All the allies caft their eyes on Ariftides; accordingly they invested him with full powers, and appointed him to levy a tax on each of them, relying entirely on his wifdom and juftice. The citizens had no caufe to repent their choice. He prefided over the treafury with the fidelity and difinterefledness of a man who looks upon it as a capital crime to embezzle the fmalleft portion of another's poffeffions, with the care and activity of a father of a family in the management of his own eftate, and with the caution and integrity of a perfon who confiders the public monies as facred. In fine, he fucceeded in what is equally difficult and extraordinary, viz. to acquire the love of all in an office in which he who efcapes the public odium gains a great point. Such is the glorious character which Seneca gives of a perfon charged with an employment of almoft the fame kind, and the noblest eulogium that can be given to fuch as adminifter public revenues. It is the exact picture of Ariftides. He difcovered fo much probity and wisdom in the exercife of this office, that no man complained; and those times were confidered ever after as the golden age; that is, the period in which Greece had attained its highest pitch of virtue and happiness. While he was treasurer-general of the republic, he made it appear that his predeceffors in that office had cheated the fate of vaft fums of money, and among the rest Themistocles in particular; for this great man, with all his merit, was not irreproachable on that head; for which reafon, when Ariflides came to pafs his account, Themiftocles raifed a mighty faction against him, accufed him of having embezzled the public treasure, and prevailed fo far as to have him condemned and fined. But the principal inhabitants, and the most virtuous part of the citizens, rifing up against fo unjust 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 fhowing himfelf more tractable and indulgent toward others, he found out the fecret of pleafing all that plundered the commonwealth for as he neither reproved them nor narrowly infpected their accounts, all these plunderers, grown fat with fpoil and rapine, now extolled Ariftides to the kies. It would have been eafy for him, as we perceive, to have enriched himself in a poft of that nature, which feems, as it were, to invite a man to it by the many favourable opportunities it lays in his way; especially 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 treasurer their mafter 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 election was come, juft as they were on the point of electing Ariftides unanimoufly, he rose up, and warmly reproved the Athenian people: What (fays he) when I managed your treasure with all the fidelity and diligence an honeft man is capable of, I met with the most cruel treatment, and the most mortifying returns; and now that I have abandoned it to the mercy of these robbers of the republic, I am an admirable man and the beft of citizens ! I cannot help declaring to you, that I am more afhamed of the honour you do me this day, than I was of the condemnation you paffed against me this time twelve-month; and with grief I find that it is more glorious with us to be complaifant to knaves than to fave the treafures of the republic.' By this declaration he filenced the public plunderers and gained the esteem of all good men. ་ An Account of GIDEA HALL, in Effex, the Seat of RICHARD BENY ON, Efq. With a Perspective View. G1 IDEA HALL was an anci- both which met with the highest apent feat, near Rumford, in Ef- plause.-Elizabeth, the third, enjoyed sex, twelve miles from London. It the fame liberal education which was was begun by fir Thomas Cooke, beftowed upon her fifters, and `was who was knighted by Edward IV, at equally happy in improving the adthe coronation of his queen. He ob- vantages conferred upon her; for fuch tained of the king licence to make was her progrefs in the learned lanhere a park and caftle; but being fe- guages, that the gained the applaufe verely fined, and his houfe plundered, of the most eminent scholars of the on a charge of treafon, for refufing age. She was firft the wife of fir to lend money for the use of the houfe Thomas Hobby, ambaffador to France; of Lancaster, he left it unfinished at and, afterward, of John lord Ruffell, his death in 1478. Sir Anthony, his fon and heir of Francis Ruffell, earl of grandfon, one of the preceptors of Bedford. For the tombs of both her Edward II, and an exile in the reign hufbands, fhe wrote epitaphs in Greek, of queen Mary, finished it in that of Latin, and English.-Catherine, the queen Elizabeth; whom he had the fourth, married to fir Henry Killehonour of entertaining here in her grew, was famous for her knowledge progrefs in 1568. This fir Anthony in the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin Cooke was particularly fortunate in tongues, and for her skill in poetry. his four daughters, who were all emi- She was buried in the chancel of the nent for their great literary attain- church of St. Thomas the Apostle, in ments. Mildred, the eldeft, was above Vintry-yard, London, where there is forty-two years the faithful wife of that an elegant monument erected to her great ftatefman William Cecil lord memory, with an infcription compofed Burleigh. She was learned in the by herself. Greek tongue, and wrote a letter in that language, to the univerfity of Cambridge. She had, moreover, great political talents; was a patronefs of literature; and diftinguifhed for her numerous charities --Anne, the fecond, was the fecond wife of fir Nicholas Bacon, the lord keeper, and mother of the great lord Verulam. This lady, who was eminently fkilled in Greek, Latin, and Italian, had the honour of being appointed governefs to king Edward VI. To her inftructions was probably owing the furprifing knowledge of that excellent young prince. Her fons Anthony and Francis were not a little indebted, for the reputation they acquired, to the pains taken with them, by this excellent woman, in their tender years. When they grew up, they found in her a fevere, but admirable monitor. She tranflated from the Italian, the Sermons of Barnardine Ochine; and, from the Latin, bishop Jewel's Apology for the Church of England; From the eldest daughter of the great grandfon of fir Anthony Cooke, this venerable manfion paffed to the family of Sydenham. Mary de Medicis was lodged here one night after her landing in 1637, at which time it belonged to a widow lady, probably Mrs. Martha Cooke, mother of Mrs. Sydenham. It had different proprietors, till it was purchased, in the beginning of this century, by fir John Eyles, bart. who took down the old manfion, and built the prefent ftructure, which he fold, in 1745, to governor Benyon, whofe fon, Richard Benyon, efq. member of parliament for Peterborough, is the prefent proprietor. The houfe has been raifed, enlarged, and repaired by Mr. Benyon, who has much improved the grounds by extenfive, plantations, and a fine piece of water, which the great road croffes, over an elegant bridge of three elliptic arches defigned by Mr. Wyatt. Kk Intereft |