matter was confufed, came and reduced it to order, which is the world we fee.' He fuffered much from fome magiftrates for his opinion; yet dying, was admired by them': his epitaph in English thus: Here lies, who thro' the trueft paths did pafs §. XV. Heraclitus was invited by king Darius for his great virtue and learning, to this effect; Come as foon as thou canft to my prefence, and royal palace; for the Greeks, for the moft part, are not obfequious to wife men, but defpife the good things which they deliver. With me thou fhalt have the firft place, and daily honour and titles: thy way of living fhall be as noble as thy inftructions.' But Heraclitus refufing his offer, returned this anfwer, Heraclitus to Darius the king, health. Most men refrain from juftice and truth, and purfue infatiableness and vain glory, by reason of their folly but I, having forgot all evil, and shunning the fociety of inbred envy and pride, will never come to the kingdom of Perfia, being contented with a little according to my own mind.' He alfo flighted the Athenians. He had great and clear apprehenfions of the nature and power of God, maintaining his divinity against the idolatry in fafhion. This definition he gives of God; He is not made with hands. The whole world, adorned with his creatures, is his manfion. Where is God? Shut up in temples! Impious men! who place their God in the dark. It is a reproach to a man, to tell him he is a ftone, yet the god you profefs, is born of a rock: you ignorant people! you know not God: his works bear witnefs of him.' Of himself he faith, O ye men, will ye not learn why I never laugh? It is not that I hate men, but their wickednefs. If you would not have me weep, live in peace: you carry fwords in your tongues; you plunder wealth, ravish women, poifon friends, betray the trust the people repofe in you: fhall I laugh when I fee men do these things? Their garments, beards, and heads, adorned with unneceffary care; a mother deferted by a wicked fon; or young men confuming their patrimony; a citizen's wife taken from him; a virgin ravished; a concubine kept as a wife: others filling their bellies at feafts, more with poison than with dainties. Virtue would ftrike me blind, if I fhould laugh at your wars. By mufic, pipes, and ftripes, you are excited to things contrary to all harmony. Iron, a metal more proper for ploughs and tillages, is fitted for flaughter and death; men raifing armies of men, covet to kill one another, and punish them that quit the field, for not staying to murder men. They honour as valiants fuch as are drunk with blood; but lions, horíes, eagles, and other creatures, ufe not fwords, bucklers, and inftruments of war: their limbs are their weapons, fome their horns, fome their bills, fome their wings; to one is given fwiftnefs; to another bignefs; to a third fwimming. No irrational creature ufeth; a fword, but keeps itfelf within the laws of its creation, except man, th doth not fo, which brings the heavier blame, because he hath the greatest understanding.You must leave your wars, and your wickednefs, which you ratify by a law, if you would have me leave my feverity. I have overcome pleasure, I have overcome riches, I have overcome ambition, I have mastered flattery: fear hath nothing to object against me, drunkenness hath nothing to charge upon me, anger is afraid of me: I have won the garland, in fighting against these enemies." -This, and much more, did he write in his epiftles to Hermodorus, of his complaints against the great degeneracy of the Ephefians. And in an epistle to Aphidamus, he writes, "I am fallen fick, Aphidamus, of a dropfy; whatsoever is of us, if it get the dominion, it becomes a disease. Excefs of heat, is a fever; excefs of cold, a palfy; excefs of wind, a cholic: my disease cometh from excefs of moifture. The foul is fomething divine, which keeps all these in a due proportion. I know the nature of the world; I know that of man; I know difeafes; I know health: I will cure myself; I will imitate God, who makes equal the inequalities of the world but if my body be over-preffed, it muft defcend to the place ordained; however, my foul fhall not defcend; but being a thing immortal, I fhall afcend on high, where an heavenly manfion fhall receive me.' A moft weighty and pathetical discourse: they that know any thing of God, may favour fomething divine in it. O! that the degenerate Choftians of thefe times, would but take a Unless view of the virtue, temperance, zeal, piety, and faith of this Heathen, who, notwithstanding that he lived five hundred years before the coming of Chrift in the flesh, had thefe excellent fentences. Yet again, he taught that God punisheth not by taking away riches; he rather alloweth them to the wicked to difcover them; for poverty may be a veil. Speaking of God, "How can that light, which never fets, be ever hidden or obfcured? Juftice,' faith he, hall feize one day upon defrauders and witneffes of falfe things. Unless a man hopes to the end, for that which is to be hoped for, he fhall not find that which is unfearchable;' which Clemens, an ancient father, applied to Ifa. vi. you believe, you fhall not understand.' Heraclitus derided the facrifice of creatures;' 'Do you think,' faith he, to pacify God, and cleanse yourselves by polluting yourselves with blood? As if a man fhould go into the dirt to cleanse himself.' Which fheweth a fight of a more fpiritual worship, than that of the facrifices of beafts. He lived folitary in the mountains had a fight of his end: and as he was prepared for it, fo he rejoiced in it. These certainly were the men, who having not a law without them, became a law unto themselves," Shewing forth the work of the law written in their hearts. And who, for that reason, fhall judge the circumcifion, and receive the reward of Well done,' by him who is Judge of quick and dead. . §. XVI. Democritus would fay, that he had ▾ Rom. ii. 14. lived to an extraordinary age, by keeping him felf from luxury and excefs. That a little estate went a great way with men that were neither covetous nor prodigal. That luxury furnished great tables with variety; and temperance fur nifheth little ones. That riches do not confift in the poffeffion, but right ufe of wealth. He was a man of great retirement, avoiding public honours and employments; bewailed by the people of Abdera as mad, whilft indeed he only fmiled at the madness of the world. a §. XVII. Socrates, the most religious and learned philofopher of his time, and of whom it is reported Apollo gave this character, that he was the wifeft man on earth," was a man of a fevere life, and instructed people gratis, in just, grave, and virtuous manners: for which, being envied by Ariftophanes, the vain comical wit of that age, as one fpoiling the trade of plays, and exercifing the generality of the people with more noble and virtuous things, was reprefented by him in a play, in which he rendered Socrates fo ridiculous, that the vulgar would rather part with Socrates in earnest, than Socrates in jeft; which made way for their impeaching him as an enemy to their gods; for which they put him to death. But in a fhort fpace, his eighty judges, and the whole people, fo deeply refeated the lofs, that they flew many of his accufers; fome hanged themfelves: none would trade with them, nor anfwer them a queftion. They erected several ftatues to his praife; they forbad his name to be mentioned, that they Plat. Apolog. Diog. Laert, Helvic. Cic. Tufc. Quest. 1. Xenoph. Brut. Cic. Orat. Liban. Apol. Varro. Hift. Schol. Arist," a |