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NUMBER 58.
Ciimon and Pericles.
Tun noble character held by the Athenians in Greece,
emblazoned as it was by the services of the great men
called forth by the Persian invasion, received its climax
under the warlike operations of Cimon. As his father
wasthe first, so was be last, of a gallant and honour-
able band of military chiefs, who, amidst the comman
of power and the gratified prcmptings of a soldier-like
ambition, never forgot, as the sole object of their call-
ing, the freedom and honour of the state. Although
the Athenians long displayed the polish of their man-
ners, and evinced even for ages that delicacy of refine-
ment and love of art for which their city, will be re-
nowned when war itself shall be forgotten, yet those
severer Virtues, which cultivated personal and national
advancement, which rejoiced in the transaction of un-
sullied deeds, and gloried'in the absence of reproach,
which delighted in the fame of its citizens, and attracted
all eyes to the homage of patriotism-these now began
to feel the influence of decay, and to wax dim before
‘the encroachments of vanity, of vindictive feelings, and
the palrry ambition of being without'a rival among the
states of Greece.
This lamentable march on its downward way began
to be evinced, when Cimon returned to Athens with his
Persian spoils, with which he commenced to decorate the
city, and originate in chaste love for the elegancies of
art, for the sublimities of a pure architecture, and t a
noble designs of sculpture, in imitation of which all
nations have progressed to excellence. While thus en-
gaged, arival sprung up in the person of Pericles, a
young man of superior talent, of cultivated intellect,
and of an ambition ns lnltv in its desires as it was
subtle in its means of operation. The first artifice of
Pericles was to affect an extreme moderation, to decline
all public employment, and to veil his conduct with
that show of modesty snd ditlidence ever taken as
the evidence of true ability and patriotism. Pos-
sessed of oratorical powers of no common order,
gifted with a handsome person, a noble hearing, which
could descend to ndlibility without appearing vu‘gar, be
employed his time in the Ecclesia, haranguinz the
people on all public topics. and insinuating himself into
their good graces
which he was a consummate master. The 61-st occasion
on which he appeared as a public opponent to Cimon,
was on the request of the Spartans for friendly assist-
ance to put down a revolt of tin! llclots. This insurrec-
tion occurred immediately after an earthquake, by
which almost every house in Sparta was destroyed, and
upwards of twenty thousand of the citizens destroyed.
The llelots, tliirsting after liberty, took advantage of
the confusion resulting; from this terrible disaster, rose
upon their masters, and inflicted fearful retaliation for
their past sufferings and slavery. With whatever fecl.
ings ofcondernnation the conduct of Sparta to this un-
fortunate race may be regarded, the spirit which ani-
mated a portion of the Athenians on this occasion was
the most disreputable that can be conceived. Rphialtes,
an orator ofthc faction of Pericles, stood up in the open
assembly, and declared the cold-blooded opinion, that
Sparta and Athens wcrenatural enemies, that they both
could not exist in greatness. that one or other must
perish. and that this signal visitation of the'gods, nnd
the rebellion ofthe llclots, were alike causes of convra.
tulation for Athens, which should refuse assistance, iand
leave its rival to the worst effects of its calamities.
With generous ardour did Cimon combat this murder.
ous advice; he threw all the influence of his position,
and all the grateful recollcctionii of his services, into the
cause offricndly suicour, and, be it recorded as another
of the shames of Athens, he with difficulty obtained the
sanction of the people no nlnrcll to the aid of those brave
allies. Whose fathers battled at 'l‘hormapyl<B. or stood
by them side by side through all the condict of
Salnmis.
Ilavillg compelled lhn llelors to return to their alle-
giance, Cimou came back to Athens only to had that
No. 25.-"oi. ll.
by a process of delicate flattery, of
SATURDAY, JULY 2, 1842.
his enemies had been busy in his absence, and that his
eminent services, his honoured name, his patriotic con-
duct, had all been turned against him. The son of Mil-
tiades and the pupil of Aristides was noivjoo great, too
wood a man for Athens. The same mean and jealous
feeling which had thrown his father into prison, and
driven his preccptor into exile. was now called into
active requisition against himself. He was banished for
ten years as a person dangerous to the well being of the
St
The Ilelots of Sparta again revolted, and again did
the citizens of that republic solicit assistance from the
Athenians. The induence of Pericles was now in the
sscendant, and the request was refused in somewhat
supercilious terms. The Lacedzernonians, however, were
too determined a people to be easily thwarted; they
applied themselves earnestly to the reduction of the in-
surrection, and succeeded in enclosing the revolted
Ilelots in a fort called Ithome, which actually held out
for the long space of ten years. The llelots at length
capituloted, and the Spartans, with a dignity scarcely to
be expected from their ferocity in war, permitted the
vanquished to retire unharmed from Lnceda-mon, on
condition that they quittetl the Peloponnesus for ever.
This display of moderation may be accounted for either
by the supposition that the Spartans were in some
degree charmed by the brave defence of the Ilelots, or
that the prospect of a rupture with Athens, which had
been long impending, required all their attention, and
absorbed all their desire of revenge.
One of the principal causes of the war between the
Athenians and Spartans was the wasteful expenditure
of the public money by Pericles. A portion he dis-
bursed in shows and other amusements for the people,
and devoted the remainder to the adornment ofths city
with the productions of art. When called to account
for his conduct by some of theminorstates,bcllaugluily
replied that Athens, which was the pmtcctorofGreece,
needed not to be accountable to those who had sought
her aid in the day of dnngzcr, that Athens had fulfilled
her trust in securing the liberties of all, and that she
was well entitled to expend the money in whatever way
she chose-that the peaceful citizclis were equally enu-
tlcd with the soldiery to a share of the surplus, and
that the arts and sciences were in good kecping when
fostered by the superior mind and ability of the Athe-
nians. Sume of the smaller states qunrrelling among
themselves, those who had not previously expressed
their disapprobstion of the conductpf 'cricI<>s now
sought his aid against those who had denounced him,
while the Spartans were inflamed by his conduct in pro-
tecting and garrisoning lllegara, which had revolted
against them. The rupture at length broke out, war
was declared, and those who, when united, had defied
the most puissant hosts of Asia, now sought with equal
hate to rend and destroy each‘ other. At this juncture,
Cixnon, accompanied by A hundred of his friends who
had retired with him to exile, came to the Athenians
and proffered his assistance. lie was driven o
exile, as one unworthy to engage in his country's
quarrels, as unht to assert her honour, as too infamous
to die in her behalf. His friends, however. with a
chivalric resolution to sustain the splendour of his
name, and to convince his ungrateful countrymen of
their estimate of his merit, on being cast oil‘ from the
Athenian army, went forth alone to meet the warriors
of Lacedrcmon, threw themselves upon the hostile
phalanx, and were cut off to a man. The infor-
mation of this desperate deed operated like an elec-
tric shock on the tickle-minded Athenians; they saw in
that sacribce the motive and the heroism of the purpose
of that heroic band ; they stood self-convinced of their
cruelty towards an old and useful servant; and Pericles.
seeing in what channel the public sympathy was about
to run, was the hrst to propose the rt-cal of Cimon from
banishment. This being effected, theprininrynttenlpt of
the latter was to soothe the aspt-rirics which had exas-
perated the rival states of Athens and Sparta. He then,
as I mean: to keep the martini spirit of the people from
=
PRICE THREE HALFPENCE.
acting in suicidal phrenzy against the common weal, set
sail, with two hundred ships, to drive the Persians from
Cyprus, the last footing which they held in the Medi-
terranean. In thiscampnign, however, the anxiety and
fatigue broke down his frame, rand, though successful
in all his manccuvres; and on the point of achieving his
anal triumph by the reduction oftlxe capital ofllieislnnd,
his wasted energies gave way to the encroachmcnts of
disease. For thirty days was his death concealed from
the troops; nor was it until the banner of the Greeks
floated on the citadel, that they were made aware of the
loss they had sustained. In his grave was buried the
last liberating warrior of Athens. Of men formed for
tumult she had enough and to spare; from amongst the-
prodigality of her crime arose philosophers, whose intel-
ect and imagination were suilicient to adorn the whole
earth, but whose reward was contumcly, banishment,
and death; amidst her brawls sprung up orntors, tired
with the unimpcachable glow of purest patriotism, yet
the tempests of faction listened not, nor believed. With
Cimon perished the last noble attribute of the Athenian
armies, in cordial amity with the other states, which m’: o
the common good superior to the aggrandisrrment of any
particular party. Now faction did its worst; it l"lOf.t?tl
in the blind recklessness of success. and bv its pride and
glaring injustice brought down upon it the indignation
ofalmost all the states of Greece.
Pericles, released from the pontrol of his rival, now
gave full vent to his ambition. lln so fatleretl the
vanity ofthe people as to induce them to demand that
the general council of the Grecian states should meet at
Athens, and that each republic should send a deputy to
consult with them on matters for the general welfare.
No response being made to this presumptuous attempt.
except, indeed, the expressed contempt of lhe larger
states, and the silent disobedience of the smaller, Peri-
cles saw that he had proceeded somewhat too fur. The
general contributions were now altogether discontinued,
and Athens suddenly felt the effect of its own inherent
poverty : the taxes were increased, the people began to
complain, and an attempt was made by Thucyditles,
the brother-in-law of Cimon, and others, to call the
dictator to accdunt. Pericles, however, with an insinu-
ating liberality, ntfered, rather than that the progress of
the ornamental buildings should be arrested, or the lbs-
tive feasts and shows given up, to defray their expcni
from his private fortune as far as it wouId'go. This
was touching Athenian vanity on its most tr-nder string:
so generous an offer no people could accept, the man
who could make it must indeed he a thorough lover of
his country. Pericles was therefore again installed in
the public confidence, and Thucydides rewarded with
banishment for his in ours.
At this time a quarrel occurred between Corinth and
Corcyca. One appealed to Athens, the other to Sparta;
and these two rival states, though attempting lo con-
ceal their mutual jealousy, entere into a league with
the contending parties, more for the purpose of attack-
ing each other than to decide the justice of the petty
dispute they appeared to settle. After much solemn
mockery of negotiation, war was fommlly declared ; and
the Pelponuesian contest, which for so many years depo
pulated Greece, commenced.
It is distinctly asserted by Thncydides, in his CPlB--
brated history, that Pericles was personally interested
in involving his country in war. llis expenditure had
been so great, and his accounts were in such a state of
confusion, that he feared to be called on to give an ac.
count of his stewardship. Being one day ohserved in
avery thoughtful mood by his friend Alcibiades, who
inquired the cause of his anxiety, Pericles replied that
he was thinking how he could make up his ac-cuumg,
“ It would be better to consider how you chum make
yourself above being accountable," observed Alcihiadcs.
Such advice as this, and the counsel of the courtezan
Aspasia, whom he afterwards married, were the l.-ailing
influences which govemed the policy of Pericles, and
he ultimately obtained his put-pot.-3 in w;,,,,.,,,.;,,.; the
armies of Athens and Sparta arrayed against each other.
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