whereby they are carried out to many unruly and disorderly actions, yet there is in every man a fecret genius of humanity, a fecret biafs towards virtue and goodnefs, that a man can never fo far forth put off and difcharge himself from, but that he will ftill retain an approbation of virtue and goodness, a fecret efteem of it, and of them that practife and ufe it; though mens' paffions, and errors, and incogitancy may carry them off from the practice of it themselves; fo that the common biafs and fecret fympathy of the human nature in all men with virtue, goodnefs and honefty, gives an honeft and a worthy man intereft almoft in the worst of men, whereby they are before they are aware, inclined to love, reverence, and honour him, whom yet their paffions and intereft many times forbid to imitate

And

this goodness of Atticus was that which gave unto him a fecret intereft and party, as it were, in thofe rough, great and ambitious commanders and officers, and all others of the Roman empire, that they durft not injure him, but loved, honoured, and admired him as a man framed according to the true ftandard of the human nature.

And as this connatural benignity of this man was the root and fountain of all thofe excellent actions hereafter mentioned, which were thofe other auxiliaries that procured his fafety, fo I do look upon that native and acquired worth, virtue, goodness, and congruity to human perfection, and that deferved efteem and honour that from thence refulted unto him from the generality of men, to be one of the greatest procurers of his fecurity in troubled times. And indeed upon the bare account of his worth, wifdom, and excellence, I do look upon him as a greater man than Sylla, or great Pompey, or Cæfar, or Antonius, or Auguftus himfelf; for thefe great men being circled about with great armies, with horfemen and legions, with fwords and pikes, and other inftruments of force and cruelty, fubdued and conquered cities, and kingdoms, and armies, and afterwards flattered and broke one another, and with thefe affiftances ruled the fenate, the city, the people; but this fingle man, without either armies, or military power, or external force, without any inftruments of terror, by his own perfonal virtue, goodnefs, and worth, commanded the love and efteem of all, prevented injuries, conquered the conquerors, and reduced them all fucceffively, one after another, when they were in their greateft fplendor and power, to court him to ttrive to oblige him, to pay an awful reverence to him; fo that he was in truth greater than the greatest of thein, and better fortified and guarded against

the

the common violences that attended thofe times, than either Pompey or Cæfar, in the midst of their greatest and moft formidable armies.

C H A P. VI.

CONCERNING THE OTHER EXPEDIENTS THAT THIS WISE MAN USED, TO AVOID THE DIFFICULTIES OF THE TIMES WHEREIN HE LIVED; AND FIRST, OF HIS TRAVELS INTO GREECE.

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In the former chapter we have feen Pomponius Atticus an excellent, good and virtuous man, and in great efteem by reafon thereof, wherever he lived, and the great fecurity he had upon that account, of the great reverence and veneration that all men owed and paid to him and this was the great bafis both of his fecurity and tranquillity in troubled and factious times, and the root and fpring of all thofe virtuous actions and prudent management of his life, which, together with the reverence and veneration of his worth, contributed to his fafety and happinefs of life.

Thefe actions and prudent disposals I have before diftributed, with relation to their objects, into these two kinds : 1. The things which he avoided.

2. The things which he did.

1. The firft effay that he made, was to avoid the scene of the troubled eftate of Rome, upon a wife forefight of the enfuing commotions, and the difficulty for him, being young, rich, and in efteem, to avoid, if he ftaid in Rome, engagement in thofe dangerous factions that were now hatching, and partly broken out; and for that purpose he retired with a confiderable part of his perfonal eftate, to Athens. And this he did principally to avoid thofe growing ftorms which were beginning; but yet with a fair and worthy defign to improve himself in learning at Athens, which was the learnedeft fchool in the world, and the place of young refort of gentlemen, not only of Greece, but of Rome, and other parts of the Roman empire, for their education: and the manner and occafion of this his withdrawing from Rome, was thus:

Marius became a great man in Rome, had been now fix times conful, a man of an active, bufy, fierce, and imperious fpirit, and projected great alterations in affairs to

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the

the detriment of the fenate and nobility of Rome; and by his often holding the magiftracy, had gotten many active fpirits of his party, among which was Julius Cæfar, though privately and cautiously, and many other gentlemen of fpirit and fortune,

Pomponius lived all this time in Rome, being bred there in the time of Marius's power, and bred up with one of his fons, and with divers gentlemen that could not choose but be devoted to the party of Marius.

In the fixth confulate of Marius, he began to be almost of man's eftate, about eighteen years old, the season for young gentlemen of Rome to mingle themselves in public affairs, or to be initiated in military employment; and doubtless he could not choofe but be folicited and importuned thereunto about that age, and could hardly avoid it without an imputation of fluggishness and cowardice, or of being no friend to the prefent ftate of Rome; and the rather because he was known to be rich, and nobly descended.

And befides all this, he was linked into affinity and acquaintance with many of the party of Marius, especially with Sulpicius the tribune, a great friend of Marius, whofe

brother married his fifter.

And now the fenate and nobility of Rome fmarting under the power of Marius, and defirous to avoid his infolence, folicited Sylla to return to Rome for their deliverance.

Sylla returns with his army, and being opposed by the power of Marius and Sulpicius, overcomes them, kills Sulpicius, banisheth Marius, and fits heavy upon the party of Marius, with death, confifcation, and banishment, as hath been before fhewn.

Pomponius finding the bufinefs to grow warm and dangerous, and fearing the increase of troubles, and being now about nineteen or twenty years old, and having an handfome and juft excufe and opportunity to go to Athens, to improve his learning and knowledge, takes the opportunity; and in the interval of the domination of Sylla, and poffibly foreseeing a probability of the party of Marius to engage Rome in new troubles, repairs to Athens, and there he ftays for about eight years, and as it feems, till after the fecond return and death of Sylla.

And by this handfome retirement, he gains these two advantages.

1. The opportunity of his increafe in learning.

2. The declining and avoiding the forms at Rome, and the neceffity of being fome way unhappily engaged in one

of

of the parties, or crushed between both; and yet the reafonablene's of the former, namely, his fcafonable going to Athens for the acqueft of learning, according to the custom of young gentlemen of that age and time, fairly covered his latter defign of avoiding the troublefome concerns of the Roman ftate, and was a juft and reasonable excufe for his retreat thence, though there had been no other cause. So that herein the wildom of this young man appears; namely,

1. In choofing such a season to retire from Rome, when it was not fafe for a young gentleman to remain there, unJefs he would vainly hazard all by engaging in a faction.

2. In choofing fuch a feafon of his age; namely, about twenty years; and fuch a place for his retirement, as was proper for his advance in learning, and carried his apology with it, and avoided all just cause of exception by either party.

And if any fhall fay it was a piece of pufillanimity for him then to retire, when his country ftood. in need of his advice, affiftance, and countenance; it is eafily answered, the whole city was then divided into thofe two factions; if he had gone about to have appeared against both, it had been vain and ridiculous, and utterly ineffectual; he had imprudently loft his labour, and expofed himself inevitably to be ruined by both; or either had he ftood fingle in fuch oppofition, every man would juftly have efteemed him a fool; and had he engaged others in fuch an oppofition, he had ruined his friends and participants as well as himself; which had not only been vain, but also inhuman, to have involved others in fo fruitlefs and defperate an enterprife. But, on the other fide, had he fallen in with either faction, he muft neceffarily have been carried with a violent torrent of the faction wherein he was engaged, either in their common oppofition of his country, and the cruelties which they ufed against their opponents, if they prevailed; or muft. needs have funk in the calamity of that party, if they were fubdued fo that his retirement in this feafon, was an act of great prudence; because unlefs he had fo done, he had no pretence, confidering his youth and eminence, to avoid the entanglement in one faction, or the defperate oppofition of both, if he had ftaid: but afterwards in that faction between Pompey and Cæfar, he being then near fixty years old, kept his ftation in Rome without any retirement, having the fair excufe of his old age, to apologize againft engagement with either. This therefore was the

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firft

firft fpecimen of his prudence, his seasonable and justifiable retirement to Athens in his youth, when factions grew violent, and choofing that time and place for his quiet improvement of learning, which he might with most opportunity and fafety dedicate to that employment.

CHA P. VII.

THE SECOND EXPEDIENT THAT HE USED FOR HIS SAFETY AND PRESERVATION; HIS INDUSTRIOUS AVOIDING OF BEING ENGAGED IN ANY FACTION WHILE HE LIVED IN ROME.

INDEED the generality of the honeft methods of this good man to preserve himself and his tranquillity, together with his innocence, may be reduced to thefe two general heads : his care to avoid the making of enemies, and his endeavours honeftly to make all men his friends: for the latter, both will come under the confideration of what he avoided in order to his prefervation and under this general falls this particular confideration of avoiding engagement in any factions. In order thereunto was that expedient mentioned in the former chapter; namely, his retirement from Rome.

And now I fhall confider the farther profecution thereof in relation to thofe importunities that were used to engage him in parties after his return to Rome, and even while he was in Athens; and fhall make thefe obfervations touching it, that may be useful in relation to it.

When Pomponius was at Athens, Sylla reforted to him, there prefented him with gifts, complimented him, and ufed all methods to endear him. And this he did for many reasons.

First, out of the great refpect and honour that he bore to his learning and worth; this was fair and noble, and became fuch a man as Sylla was, who was a great lover of learning. But this was not all.

Secondly, therefore Sylla being now engaged against the party of Marius, and now about to return to Rome, upon that defign, thought that it would be an advantage to him and his proceeding, if he could but publicly poffefs the

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