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the hills, fupply refreshing rivers to water the plains beneath. The hanging groves of palm-trees on the steepest declivities fhade the delighted traveller, while the impending rays of a more genial fun ripen the vegetable juices, and amidst the pregnant minerals digeft the rich feeds of gold. +Saba, the ancient metropolis of this happy land, is fituated on an eafy afcent: the mountains, that surround it, rise and fall in shapes the most pleasingly striking and romantic, discovering the fummits of other hills beyond them, which are feen in profpect from the royal town, till the eye is loft in an undiftinguished mafs of fainter rifings, blended by their distance amidst transparent clouds. I call it the royal town, for a fort of kingly government ftill fubfifts in it; nor have the Arabians of this district been ever subjected to a foreign power, as the Arabians in general are rather friends and allies to the Perfian empire, as they were before to the Affyrian, than vaffals and tributaries to either; though upon fome occafions they have courted by presents the favour of our mighty monarchs. The riches and grandeur of this place bespeak it to have been the seat of many potent princes. The palace, the citadel, and the ruins of a library, fhew the most expenfive state of royal magnificence. The portico's of their publick buildings are overlaid with gold; but the splendor of fome of their private houses is incredible. A monument is ftill fhewn in an ancient temple, where they fay is repofed the facred duft of a queen, once the wonder and glory of the East. A queen, whose genius was equal to the highest things, and her learning and knowledge proportionate to her genius. It was her thirst after the endowments of the latter, that induced her to travel into the

+Agatharchidis Periplo, p. 63.

‡ Diod. Sicul. Lib. 2, initio. Herod. Thal. c. 97. ibid. 91. & 7. ibid. Lib. 3. C. 3.

diftant country of Judæa, with infinite pomp and magnificence, to visit a king renowned for the greatness of his wisdom, the riches of his kingdom, and the prosperity of his reign. She proved him by hard questions, and discoursed with him on subjects of the most refined nature. His wisdom, his riches, his prosperity, exceeded the reports of fame, and wrapt her in the deepest aftonishment. Under her reign Arabia was a powerful and flourishing kingdom §; an epoch of its greatness more certain than the ancient times they boaft, of their king's reigning in Babylonia before the days of NINUS. She rul❜d with wisdom and equanimity, beloved by her fubjects, and regarded by all as their common parent: her court was a college of learned men, where all were generously received, and met with fuitable rewards, who made any useful improvements in arts and sciences, or new discoveries in the knowledge of nature. Among other improvements * the Arabians are esteemed to be skilled in augury and foothsaying. Whether there is any certainty in this science, it belongs not to me to difpute. Our great CYRUS is reported to have paid a religious regard to augury. 'Tis not improbable, that as the warmth and pleasantnefs of the climate will allow them to lie out all the year in the fields, with their flocks and cattle, which in feveral parts of this country they are great dealers in, they may have made more obfervations than others, upon the different flights and motions, the various founds and voices of the fowls of the air. My short stay here, in paffing through the country, will not permit me to make a strict enquiry into their religious doctrines and ceremonies. But the chief objects of their worship are the fun and moon, which they name

$Syncell.

*Cicero, de Divin. Lib. 1. c. 42.

Herod, Thal c. 8. Philoftorg. in Phot. Strabo, & Theophraft.

in their language Urotalt and Alilat; and to Urotalt is daily offered frankincenfe and myrrh in his temple at Saba. § They pay likewife a religious regard to the fouls of their moft eminent lawgivers and benefactors, upon a perfuafion, which has pretty generally prevailed throughout the world, and is a principle of the philofophy of the Sabian Magi, that those excellent perfons were benevolent demons, who from a superior happy ftate defcended into mortal bodies, and were contented to submit to all the inconveniencies aud evils of human life, for the benefit and advantage of mankind.

Thy letter, CLEANDER, has juft reached me, in which thou conceiveft too high an opinion of my parts and improvements. But however incapable I am of answering thy expectations, or following thy excellent rules for the direction of my travels, I am glad thou encourageft me to unbofom to thee fuch trivial obfervations, as a variety of new objects will naturally fuggeft; which to a young traveller, when the fancy is heated, and his thoughts diftracted with repeated novelties, is next to the pleasure he took in seeing the things themselves. I rejoice that thou art removed to Salamis, and that our excellent monarch has such a tender regard for his able and faithful minifters. Adieu, L.

§ Δῆλοι δὲ εἰσιν οἱ Βάρβαροι διαφερόντως τιμήσανες τὰς αὐτῶν νομοθέτας, ψυχὰς γὰρ ἀγαθὰς κατὰ Πλάτωνα καλαλιπέσας τὸν ὑπερεράνιον τόπον υπομεῖναι ἐλθεῖν εἰς τόνδε τὸν τάρταρον κὶ σῶμα ἀναλαβώσας-ὑπολαμβάνεσι Βραχμάνες τε σύμπανίες ——ἐθεολόγησαν ἀκριβῶς τὰ ἐκείνων. Χαλδαῖοι τε κὶ Αράβιοι οἱ κληθέντες Εὐδαίμονες. Clem. Alexan. Strom, Lib. I.

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LETTER XXII.

CLEANDER to GOBRYAS.

MY laft letters, noble scribe, contained a faithful account of the miserable state of Athens, under the afflicting circumftances of a war and peftilence united to diftrefs them. The posture of their affairs, fince I wrote, has received no alteration, but what encreases their discontent, and adds to their misfortunes. Befides the continuance of the plague, the operations of this fummer's campaign were not much in their favour. PERICLES has been forced to raise the fiege of Epidaurus, and is returned home with his fquadron, after wafting the coafts of Peloponnefus, which is the only damage their enemies have received from this expedition. News is fince come, that the fiege of Potidea goes on very flowly, the army before that place being much weakened, as well by the fallies of the garrison, as by the plague, which a late reinforcement from Athens brought among them. The Peloponnefian army did not ftay long in the territories of Attica; for hearing that PERICLES was ravaging their country, and being apprehensive of infection from the plague, they retired home, and are now dispersed into their respective cities. The Lacedæmonians are preparing to invade the island Zacynthus. The party opposite to PERICLES take advantage of his ill fuccefs at Epidaurus, to incenfe the people against him, who expected he would have made their domeftic grievances more tolerable, by extending their power and reputation abroad. CLEON accuses him in every assembly, in his infolent and declamatory harangues, as the fole caufe of the miseries of

Greece. He charges him with having involved his country in an expenfive war, purely for his own intereft, and the prefervation of his own authority; aud then wafting the public treasure in fruitless expeditions, and suffering their enemies to infult them at their gates, through cowardice and imprudence in the conduct of it. Another piece of flander is spread about, relating to a decree of the Athenians against Megara, which prohibits all commerce between the two cities, makes it capital for any native of Megara to be seen in the dominions of Athens, and enjoins the generals of the republic, to make an annual invasion of their territories. This fevere decree the Lacedæmonians demanded to have reversed; which PERICLES ftrenuously opposed, recriminating upon the Megareans for harbouring their revolted slaves, and murdering an Athenian herald. However, it is confidently affirmed here, that he promoted this affair with no other view, than to revenge an insult put upon his mistress ASPASIA by fome young Megareans, who ftole away two of her flaves. PERICLES and his friends justify his measures at large, against all these accufations. They represent, "that whoever confiders the fituation of "affairs in Greece, must be convinced, that the war "wanted no incendiary to set it on foot, fince it owes its "rife to a very natural caufe, the jealoufies of Lacedæmon ❝ and Peloponnefus at the grandeur of Athens; particularly "of the former, as they thought it had rifen upon the "ruins of theirs; that the Athenians had paid more regard "even to the literal fenfe of treaties than their enemies, "who, before the war broke out, required them to fatisfy "the complaints of the Corinthians and Megareans without "farther debate; though it was exprefsly ftipulated by an "article of the laft treaty between the Grecian states, that "all controverfies fhould be referred to arbitrators, to be "determined in an amicable way, before either party had ❝recourse to arms. That many of the Lacedæmonians

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