Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1849-1856, 1852-03-04
WHOLE NO. 1921


been but 10 attempt the instruction Of
the future--making his work what he
calls demonsfrdtire history, fitted Tor
the use oistatcsmen He is the last Of
| the really good Greek historians.
The Romans had the great Greek
masters in prose and poetry all be-
lore them, and initiated them in every
thing, but approached their models near
ly, only IN eloquence and history. Like
the Greeks, too, they had early poeticaI
histories, historical legends, songs, &c.
Ennius wrote sort of epic history Of
| Rome. Cesar, one Of the most distin-
gnIshed ofall grea. men, wrote accounts
Of what he had done, or what related
directly 10. himself. The clearness, pur-
ty, and precision of his style are as
characteristic Of him as any Of his great
achievements
Sallust went more upon Greek mod
els. Each Of his two remaining histories
is an epic whole +; shor, indeed, but com!
| plete fashioned with the greatest ex-
actness !; and inspired with dignity and
\ stateliness OF style, which Cesar did not
seek, and which Would not have been
fitting for his personal memoirs
LIvy had another purpose 4: there is
an epic completeness in his great wofs,
though that work has come down TO us
in a mutilhted state. lNdjestas popui
Romdni was his subject, and he sacr.
| ficcs much TO IL even. not unirequent-
| ly, the rigor Of truth. His style is rich
and flowing, some one speaks Of Lirii
hGcied ubert0s His descriptions are
excellent ; indeed, there is nobleness
( and grandeur about his whole work,
well fitted 10 his magnificent purpose III
writing il.
Tacitus comes later when he could
no longer feel so proud Of his country
as Livy had done. He ad all the spirit
and the power OF Thucydides. Both
were great, upright men, dissatisfied
with their times, the one, because Of the
ascendancy Of demagogues among tho
! people. the other with the imperial vices
Il and the growing decentralization OF his
|, age. Tacitus is h ,wcver. tree from
|, passion, and is a wise, sratesmanlike
and profound writer throughout. OF
both his history and annals large por-
tions are lost. We cannot, therefore,
/ tell how much Of completeness and pro-
portion there my have been in either.
Bot the nature Of the period he discusses
in each, aperiod, as he says" opimum
casibus, atrox prelis, discors seditioni-
bus, ipsa etiam pace sevum," forbade
II poetical ornament, not less than tho
\ severity oihIs own nature. In character
! drawing he is hardly excelled by any
I one. BY single dash Of his pencil, he
sometimes throws out likeness, which
all feel and acknowledge, and yet il has
been thought, that some degree of fall
! ing of in the purity and elegance OF the
Latin historical style is discernible in
his pages
OF the Did Roniah writer's, my pre-.
terence is strongly for SaIlust adj
fnire his reach OF thought, his clearncss
Of style. as well shis accuracy Of narra-
ton. He is sufficiently concise he 10
sentenrious without being meagre or
obscure, and his power Of personal and
, ihdividfai description is remarkable.
| There are, indeed in his style, some
roughnesses belonging TO the Romsh
t6ngue at an earlier age, but they seem
to Strengthen the structure Of his sem
tences, without especially injuring their
beauty. No character drawing can well
exceed his delneation Of .Cataline, his
account of Jugurtha or his parallel be-
tween Cesar and Cato. have thought,
sometimes, that | saw resemblances
been terse and powerful periods, and the
remarks and sayings OF DR.. Johnson, as
they appear, not in his stately pcrlor-
mances, but in The record Of his conver-
sations, by Boswell.
In turning 10 peruse Onre more the
pages OF Salust, TO refresh myself for
the preparation of this address, ! was
struck by the coincidence Of transac-
ton narrated by him, with one which
we have seen very recently in our own
country.
When Jugur.ha had put 10 death
Hcmpsa and expelled Adherbal from
his righuul throne, the latter, who was
born in Numidia, and mol in Hungary
came to Rome to invoke what we should
call, the Intervention Of the Roman peo-
pie. His speech, delivered on that oc-
ca sion, IN the Senate, as Sallust has
given it, is one of the most touching ever
made by man in misfortune, and SUI
iering from injury, TO those having the
power oil granting relief or redress. His
supplicatlon TO the Senate is founded on
the broad and general idea, that the
Roman people we're just themselves,
and, as they had the power, so it was
their duty TO prevent or punish high
handed injustice threatened or inflicted
by others.
Sed quoniam parum tuta per SO
ipsa probitas, neque mihi in manu- Tut,
Jugurtha qualis ioret ad vos coniugi,
palres conscripli. quibus, quod misserri-
mum, cogor prius oneri, guam usui csse.
Ceteri reyes aut bello victi in amicltam
a vobs receipt, aut in su!s debus rebus
societatcm vestram appetiverunt fam
lila nostra cum populo Romano oeiio
Carthaginiensi amIcl;iam institute; quo
tempore magisfdes cjus, guam fortuna
petcnda erar Quorum progenem vos,
patres conscripti, nolite pa,i irus;ra a
vobis auxilium petere. 81 ad impeiran-
dun nihil cause haberefr, prgtcr mis-
crandam lortunam quod paulo ante
rex. genere, fama atquc coplis pofens,
mune deiormatus mrumnis, lnope,
alienns opes expecto fdRien erdt ndt-
estaifs Romdni popnb prohiJere inJur .dDs
negue pan c1uSqnam regnwr .per scets
ctesctTs.
"Quid AGAIN 2 QUO potissimum in
lcix arcedam Generis pr@sidia omnia
exslincta stunt: pater, uli necesse erat,
nature cOncessii; iratri, quem minims
decuit, propinquos pr rcelus vitam
eripui,; afiines. umicos, proplnquos Get
eros, a Ium ALA clades oppressIt: cap
ii sb Jugurthn, pars in eruc.m acii, pars
lbesii Q ohjecii; pauci, quibus rslictr